A germanium/single-walled carbon nanotube composite paper as a free-standing anode for lithium-ion batteries

Paper-like free-standing germanium (Ge) and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite anodes were synthesized by the vacuum filtration of Ge/SWCNT composites, which were prepared by a facile aqueous-based method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the Ge/SWCNT composite paper anode with the weight percentage of 32% Ge delivered a specific discharge capacity of 417 mA h g-1 after 40 cycles at a current density of 25 mA g-1, 117% higher than the pure SWCNT paper anode. The SWCNTs not only function as a flexible mechanical support for strain release, but also provide excellent electrically conducting channels, while the nanosized Ge particles contribute to improving the discharge capacity of the paper anode.

Thermal properties of single-phase Y2SiO5

Y2SiO5 is a promising candidate for oxidation-resistant or environmental/thermal barrier coatings (ETBC) due to its excellent high-temperature stability, low elastic modulus and low oxygen permeability. In this paper, we investigated the thermal properties of Y2SiO5 comprehensively, including thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity. It is interesting that Y2SiO5 has a very low thermal conductivity (∼1.40 W/m K) but a relatively high linear thermal expansion coefficient ((8.36 ± 0.5) × 10-6 K-1), suggesting compatible thermal and mechanical properties to some non-oxide ceramics and nickel superalloys as ETBC layer. Y2SiO5 is also an ideal EBC on YSZ TBC layer due to their close thermal expansion coefficients. As a continuous source of Y3+, it is predicted that Y2SiO5 EBC may prolong the lifetime of zirconia-based TBC by stopping the degradation aroused by the loss of Y stabilizer.

Predicting single-layer technetium dichalcogenides (TcX2, X = S, Se) with promising applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis

One of the least known compounds among transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is the layered triclinic technetium dichalcogenides (TcX2, X = S, Se). In this work, we systematically study the structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers based on density functional theory (DFT). We find that TcS2 and TcSe2 can be easily exfoliated in a monolayer form because their formation and cleavage energy are analogous to those of other experimentally realized TMDCs monolayer. By using a hybrid DFT functional, the TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers are calculated to be indirect semiconductors with band gaps of 1.91 and 1.69 eV, respectively. However, bilayer TcS2 exhibits direct-bandgap character, and both TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers can be tuned from semiconductor to metal under effective tensile/compressive strains. Calculations of visible light absorption indicate that 2D TcS2 and TcSe2 generally possess better capability of harvesting sunlight compared to single-layer MoS2 and ReSe2, implying their potential as excellent light-absorbers. Most interestingly, we have discovered that the TcSe2 monolayer is an excellent photocatalyst for splitting water into hydrogen due to the perfect fit of band edge positions with respect to the water reduction and oxidation potentials. Our predictions expand the two-dimensional (2D) family of TMDCs, and the remarkable electronic/optical properties of monolayer TcS2 and TcSe2 will place them among the most promising 2D TMDCs for renewable energy application in the future.

Multi-GNSS precise point positioning with raw single-frequency and dual-frequency measurement models

The emergence of multiple satellite navigation systems, including BDS, Galileo, modernized GPS, and GLONASS, brings great opportunities and challenges for precise point positioning (PPP). We study the contributions of various GNSS combinations to PPP performance based on undifferenced or raw observations, in which the signal delays and ionospheric delays must be considered. A priori ionospheric knowledge, such as regional or global corrections, strengthens the estimation of ionospheric delay parameters. The undifferenced models are generally more suitable for single-, dual-, or multi-frequency data processing for single or combined GNSS constellations. Another advantage over ionospheric-free PPP models is that undifferenced models avoid noise amplification by linear combinations. Extensive performance evaluations are conducted with multi-GNSS data sets collected from 105 MGEX stations in July 2014. Dual-frequency PPP results from each single constellation show that the convergence time of undifferenced PPP solution is usually shorter than that of ionospheric-free PPP solutions, while the positioning accuracy of undifferenced PPP shows more improvement for the GLONASS system. In addition, the GLONASS undifferenced PPP results demonstrate performance advantages in high latitude areas, while this impact is less obvious in the GPS/GLONASS combined configuration. The results have also indicated that the BDS GEO satellites have negative impacts on the undifferenced PPP performance given the current “poor” orbit and clock knowledge of GEO satellites. More generally, the multi-GNSS undifferenced PPP results have shown improvements in the convergence time by more than 60 % in both the single- and dual-frequency PPP results, while the positioning accuracy after convergence indicates no significant improvements for the dual-frequency PPP solutions, but an improvement of about 25 % on average for the single-frequency PPP solutions.

Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program Study (WWACP)– A multi centre randomised controlled trial examining the benefits and cost effectiveness of an Evidenced Based, e-health intervention

Background Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment have significantly improved survival rates, through their subsequent health needs are often not adequately addressed by current health services. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnerships Project awarded a national collaborative project to develop, trial and evaluate clinical benefits and cost effectiveness of an e-health enabled structured health promotion intervention - The Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program (WWACP). The aim of this e-health enabled multimodal intervention is to improve health related quality of life in women previously treated for target cancers. Aim The WWACP is a 12-week web based, interactive, holistic program. Primary outcomes for this project are to promote a positive change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and reduction in Body Mass Index (BMI) in the women undertaking WWACP compared to women who receive usual care. Secondary outcomes include managing other side effects of cancer treatment through evidence-based nutrition and exercise practices, dealing with stress, sleep, menopause and sexuality issues. Methods The single-blinded multi-center randomized controlled trial recruited a toatl of 330 women within 24 months of completion of chemotherapy and /or radiotherapy. Women were randomly assigned to either a usual care or intervention group. Women provided with the intervention were provided with an interactive iBook and journal, web interface, and three virtual consultations by experienced cancer nurses. A variety of methods were utilized, to enable positive self- efficacy and lifestyle changes. These include online coaching with a registered nurse trained in the intervention, plus written educational and health promotional information. The program has been delivered through the e-health enabled interfaces, which enables virtual delivery via desktop and mobile computing devices. Importantly this enables accessibility for rural and regional women in Australia who are frequently geographically disadvantaged in terms of health care provision. Results Research focusing on alternative methods of delivering post treatment / or survivorship care in cancer utilizing web based interfaces is limited, but emerging evidence suggests that Internet interventions can increase psychological and physical wellbeing in cancer patients. The WWACP trial aims to establish the effectiveness of delivery of the program in terms of positive patient outcomes and cost effective, flexibility. The trial will be completed in September and results will be presented at the conference. Conclusions Women after acute hematological, breast and gynecological cancer treatments demonstrate good cancer survival rates and face residual health problems which are amenable to behavioral interventions. The conclusion of active treatment is a key 'teachable moment' in which sustainable positive lifestyle change can be achieved if patients receive education and psychological support which targets key treatment related health problems and known chronic disease risk factors.

Interprofessional education in clinical practice: Not a single vaccine

In increasingly complex health service environments, the quality of teamwork and co-operation between doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, is 'under the microscope'. Interprofessional education (IPE), a process whereby health professionals learn 'from, with and about each other', is advocated as a response to widespread calls for improved communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals. Although there is much that is commendable in IPE, the authors caution that the benefits may be overstated if too much is attributed to, or expected of, IPE activities. The authors propose that clarity is required around what can realistically be achieved. Furthermore, engagement with clinicians in the clinical practice setting who are instrumental in assisting students make sense of their knowledge through practice, is imperative for sustainable outcomes. © AHHA 2010.

Single atom (Pd/Pt) supported on graphitic carbon nitride as efficient photocatalyst for visible-light reduction of carbon dioxide

Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) to hydrocarbon fuel with solar energy is significant for high-density solar energy storage and carbon balance. In this work, single palladium/platinum (Pd/Pt) atoms supported on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), i.e. Pd/g-C3N4 and Pt/g-C3N4, acting as photocatalysts for CO2 reduction were investigated by density function theory (DFT) calcu-lations for the first time. During CO2 reduction, the individual metal atoms function as the active sites, while g-C3N4 provides the source of hydrogen (H*) from hydrogen evolution reaction. The complete, as-designed photocatalysts exhibit excellent activity in CO2 reduction. HCOOH is the preferred product of CO2 reduction on the Pd/g-C3N4 catalyst with a rate-determining barrier of 0.66 eV, while the Pt/g-C3N4 catalyst prefers to reduce CO2 to CH4 with a rate-determining barrier of 1.16 eV. In addition, depositing atom catalysts on g-C3N4 significantly enhances the visible light absorption, rendering them ideal for visible light reduction of CO2. Our findings open a new avenue of CO2 reduction for renewable energy supply.

Is the mental wellbeing of young Australians best represented by a single, multidimensional or bifactor model?

Internationally there is a growing interest in the mental wellbeing of young people. However, it is unclear whether mental wellbeing is best conceptualized as a general wellbeing factor or a multidimensional construct. This paper investigated whether mental wellbeing, measured by the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), is best represented by: (1) a single-factor general model; (2) a three-factor multidimensional model or (3) a combination of both (bifactor model). 2,220 young Australians aged between 16 and 25 years completed an online survey including the MHC-SF and a range of other wellbeing and mental ill-health measures. Exploratory factor analysis supported a bifactor solution, comprised of a general wellbeing factor, and specific group factors of psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the bifactor model had a better fit than competing single and three-factor models. The MHC-SF total score was more strongly associated with other wellbeing and mental ill-health measures than the social, emotional or psychological subscale scores. Findings indicate that the mental wellbeing of young people is best conceptualized as an overarching latent construct (general wellbeing) to which emotional, social and psychological domains contribute. The MHC-SF total score is a valid and reliable measure of this general wellbeing factor.

Eddy diffusivity: A single dispersion analysis of high resolution drifters in a tidal shallow estuary

In an estuary, mixing and dispersion resulting from turbulence and small scale fluctuation has strong spatio-temporal variability which cannot be resolved in conventional hydrodynamic models while some models employs parameterizations large water bodies. This paper presents small scale diffusivity estimates from high resolution drifters sampled at 10 Hz for periods of about 4 hours to resolve turbulence and shear diffusivity within a tidal shallow estuary (depth < 3 m). Taylor's diffusion theorem forms the basis of a first order estimate for the diffusivity scale. Diffusivity varied between 0.001 – 0.02 m2/s during the flood tide experiment. The diffusivity showed strong dependence (R2 > 0.9) on the horizontal mean velocity within the channel. Enhanced diffusivity caused by shear dispersion resulting from the interaction of large scale flow with the boundary geometries was observed. Turbulence within the shallow channel showed some similarities with the boundary layer flow which include consistency with slope of 5/3 predicted by Kolmogorov's similarity hypothesis within the inertial subrange. The diffusivities scale locally by 4/3 power law following Okubo's scaling and the length scale scales as 3/2 power law of the time scale. The diffusivity scaling herein suggests that the modelling of small scale mixing within tidal shallow estuaries can be approached from classical turbulence scaling upon identifying pertinent parameters.

Ductile deformation of single inclusions in simple shear with a finite-strain hyperelastoviscoplastic rheology

We examine the 2D plane-­strain deformation of initially round, matrix-­bonded, deformable single inclusions in isothermal simple shear using a recently introduced hyperelastoviscoplastic rheology. The broad parameter space spanned by the wide range of effective viscosities, yield stresses, relaxation times, and strain rates encountered in the ductile lithosphere is explored systematically for weak and strong inclusions, the effective viscosity of which varies with respect to the matrix. Most inclusion studies to date focused on elastic or purely viscous rheologies. Comparing our results with linear-­viscous inclusions in a linear-­viscous matrix, we observe significantly different shape evolution of weak and strong inclusions over most of the relevant parameter space. The evolution of inclusion inclination relative to the shear plane is more strongly affected by elastic and plastic contributions to rheology in the case of strong inclusions. In addition, we found that strong inclusions deform in the transient viscoelastic stress regime at high Weissenberg numbers (≥0.01) up to bulk shear strains larger than 3. Studies using the shapes of deformed objects for finite-­strain analysis or viscosity-­ratio estimation should establish carefully which rheology and loading conditions reflect material and deformation properties. We suggest that relatively strong, deformable clasts in shear zones retain stored energy up to fairly high shear strains. Hence, purely viscous models of clast deformation may overlook an important contribution to the energy budget, which may drive dissipation processes within and around natural inclusions.