Oriented Multiwalled Organic–Co(OH)2 Nanotubes for Energy Storage

In energy storage materials, large surface areas and oriented structures are key architecture design features for improving performance through enhanced electrolyte access and efficient electron conduction pathways. Layered hydroxides provide a tunable materials platform with opportunities for achieving such nanostructures via bottom‐up syntheses. These nanostructures, however, can degrade in the presence of the alkaline electrolytes required for their redox‐based energy storage. A layered Co(OH)₂–organic hybrid material that forms a hierarchical structure consisting of micrometer‐long, 30 nm diameter tubes with concentric curved layers of Co(OH)₂ and 1‐pyrenebutyric acid is reported. The nanotubular structure offers high surface area as well as macroscopic orientation perpendicular to the substrate for efficient electron transfer. Using a comparison with flat films of the same composition, it is demonstrated that the superior performance of the nanotubular films is the result of a large accessible surface area for redox activity. It is found that the organic molecules used to template nanotubular growth also impart stability to the hybrid when present in the alkaline environments necessary for redox function.     

TiO2 Nanoparticles and Commensal Bacteria Alter Mucus Layer Thickness and Composition in a Gastrointestinal Tract Model

Nanoparticles (NPs) are used in food packaging and processing and have become an integral part of many commonly ingested products. There are few studies that have focused on the interaction between ingested NPs, gut function, the mucus layer, and the gut microbiota. In this work, an in vitro model of gastrointestinal (GI) tract is used to determine whether, and how, the mucus layer is affected by the presence of Gram‐positive, commensal Lactobacillus rhamnosus; Gram‐negative, opportunistic Escherichia coli; and/or exposure to physiologically relevant doses of pristine or digested TiO₂ NPs. Caco‐2/HT29‐MTX‐E12 cell monolayers are exposed to physiological concentrations of bacteria (expressing fluorescent proteins) and/or TiO₂ nanoparticles for a period of 4 h. To determine mucus thickness and composition, cell monolayers are stained with alcian blue, periodic acid schiff, or an Alexa Fluor 488 conjugate of wheat germ agglutinin. It is found that the presence of both bacteria and nanoparticles alter the thickness and composition of the mucus layer. Changes in the distribution or pattern of mucins can be indicative of pathological conditions, and this model provides a platform for understanding how bacteria and/or NPs may interact with and alter the mucus layer.     

Review on Engineering and Characterization of Activated Carbon Electrodes for Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors and Separation Processes

Carbonaceous materials are highly important electrode materials due to their wide electrochemical window, inertness with a wide spectrum of electroactive materials, and the possibility to develop highly porous but yet conductive activated carbons. Carbon cloth electrodes could be prepared from simple polymeric materials such as cotton cloth (poly-cellulose) and then could be activated by mild oxidation processes (e.g., using CO₂ at elevated temperatures). Monolithic, conductive carbon cloth electrodes with specific surface area up to 2000 m²/g could be obtained and their porosity could be adjusted by the activation process and calibrated by adsorption processes from both gas and solution phases. Capacities up to 350 F/g could be obtained with activated carbon electrodes in acidic aqueous solutions, which makes these systems very promising for super-capacitor devices. Highly interesting are the correlations between electro-adsorption processes and the electrical properties of activated carbon electrodes, as described herein. This review provides useful guidelines for the engineering of porous carbon electrodes and their characterization by electrochemical, spectral, and physical methods.     

Families and Networks of Internet Memes: The Relationship Between Cohesiveness,Uniqueness, and Quiddity Concreteness

This study employs a large‐scale quantitative analysis to reveal structural patterns of internet memes, focusing on 2 forces that bind them together: the quiddities of each meme family and the generic attributes of the broader memetic sphere. Using content and network analysis of 1013 meme instances (including videos, images, and text), we explore memes' prevalent quiddity types and generic features, and the ways in which they relate to each other. Our findings show that (a) higher cohesiveness of meme families is associated with a greater uniqueness of their generic attributes; and (b) the concreteness of meme quiddities is associated with cohesiveness and uniqueness. We discuss the implications of these findings to the understanding of internet memes and participatory culture.     

Multiphase imaging of gas flow in a nanoporous material using remote-detection NMR

Pore structure and connectivity determine how microstructured materials perform in applications such as catalysis, fluid storage and transport, filtering or as reactors. We report a model study on silica aerogel using a time-of-flight magnetic resonance imaging technique to characterize the flow field and explain the effects of heterogeneities in the pore structure on gas flow and dispersion with 129Xe as the gas-phase sensor. The observed chemical shift allows the separate visualization of unrestricted xenon and xenon confined in the pores of the aerogel. The asymmetrical nature of the dispersion pattern alludes to the existence of a stationary and a flow regime in the aerogel. An exchange time constant is determined to characterize the gas transfer between them. As a general methodology, this technique provides insights into the dynamics of flow in porous media where several phases or chemical species may be present.     

Optimal operation of multiquality water distribution systems: unsteady conditions

This paper describes the methodology and application of a genetic algorithm scheme tailor-made to EPANET, for optimizing the operation of a water distribution system under unsteady water quality conditions. The water distribution system consists of sources of different qualities, treatment facilities, tanks, pipes, control valves, and pumping stations. The objective is to minimize the total cost of pumping and treating the water for a selected operational time horizon, while delivering the consumers the required quantities at acceptable qualities and pressures. The decision variables for each of the time steps that encompass the total operational time horizon include: the scheduling of the pumping units, settings of the control valves, and treatment removal ratios at the treatment facilities. The constraints are: head and concentrations at the consumer nodes, maximum removal ratios at the treatment facilities, maximum allowable amounts of water withdrawals at the sources, and returning at the end of the operational time horizon to a prescribed total volume in the tanks. The model is explored through two example applications.     

Polychromatic 4-coloring of guillotine subdivisions

A polychromatic k-coloring of a plane graph G is an assignment of k colors to the vertices of G such that each face of G, except possibly for the outer face, has all k colors on its boundary. A rectangular partition is a partition of a rectangle R into a set of non-overlapping rectangles such that no four rectangles meet at a point. It was conjectured in [Y. Dinitz, M.J. Katz, R. Krakovski, Guarding rectangular partitions, in: 23rd European Workshop Computational Geometry, 2007, pp. 30-33] that every rectangular partition admits a polychromatic 4-coloring. In this note we prove the conjecture for guillotine subdivisions — a well-studied subfamily of rectangular partitions.