Coil‐Type Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrical Cables

Cable‐shaped supercapacitors (SCs) have recently aroused significant attention due to their attractive properties such as small size, lightweight, and bendability. Current cable‐shaped SCs have symmetric device configuration. However, if an asymmetric design is used in cable‐shaped supercapacitors, they would become more attractive due to broader cell operation voltages, which results in higher energy densities. Here, a novel coil‐type asymmetric supercapacitor electrical cable (CASEC) is reported with enhanced cell operation voltage and extraordinary mechanical‐electrochemical stability. The CASECs show excellent charge–discharge profiles, extraordinary rate capability (95.4%), high energy density (0.85 mWh cm⁻³), remarkable flexibility and bendability, and superior bending cycle stability (≈93.0% after 4000 cycles at different bending states). In addition, the CASECs not only exhibit the capability to store energy but also to transmit electricity simultaneously and independently. The integrated electrical conduction and storage capability of CASECS offer many potential applications in solar energy storage and electronic gadgets.     

Fluconazole versus itraconazole for candida esophagitis in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Candida Esophagitis

BACKGROUNDS & AIMS: Contrasting opinions exist about the pharmacological treatment of esophageal candidiasis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy of fluconazole and itraconazole treatment. METHODS: This study evaluated 2213 human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients at first episode of esophageal candidiasis diagnosed by endoscopy; 1105 received fluconazole and 1108 received itraconazole. The endoscopic and clinical response to treatment was assessed periodically until the end of the follow-up period (1 year). RESULTS: At week 2, endoscopic cure occurred in 81.2% of patients treated with fluconazole and in 65.6% of patients treated with itraconazole (P < 0.001). Clinical cure was observed in 81.5% of patients treated with fluconazole and in 75.2% of patients treated with itraconazole (P < 0.001). At the end of the follow-up period, endoscopic and clinical cure were observed in 96% of patients treated with fluconazole and in 95.6% of patients treated with itraconazole (P = 0.788), with similar differences by intention-to-treat analysis (93.6% vs. 93.3%; P = 0.853). Treatment failure was observed in 22.3% of fluconazole-treated patients and in 26.6% of itraconazole-treated patients (P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Fluconazole and itraconazole are provided with good long-term therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of Candida esophagitis in patients with AIDS. Fluconazole is associated with a higher rate of cure than itraconazole in short-term treatment.     

Determination of organochlorine pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in fatty fish by tandem solid-phase extraction cleanup

A rapid, multiresidue solid-phase extraction (SPE) technique for determination of organochlorine pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) residues in nonfatty fish was modified for use with fatty fish. In the modified procedures, samples are extracted with acetonitrile, and the extract is cleaned up with both C18 and Florisil SPE columns. Residues are determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The original method was modified for use with fatty fish by reducing the amount of tissue extracted and by using an improved Florisil SPE cleanup. Recovery data are presented for 24 fortified organochlorine pesticide residues (0.12 ppm) and 3 fortified PCB residues (0.80 ppm) from flounder, bluefish, and shad samples, which contained 0.8, 5.4, and 22.6% fat, respectively. For the 3 types of fish, recoveries of 23 of 24 fortified organochlorine pesticide residues ranged from 55 to 129%, and recoveries of 3 fortified PCB residues ranged from 55 to 104%. There were no significant differences in recovery based on fish species and/or fat content for the majority of residues studied. This SPE method and the official AOAC method yielded comparable results for fish containing incurred organochlorine residues.     

Effects of extreme floods on macroinvertebrate assemblages in tributaries to the Mohawk River,New York,USA

Climate change is forecast to bring more frequent and intense precipitation to New York which has motivated research into the effects of floods on stream ecosystems. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were sampled at 13 sites in the Mohawk River basin during August 2011, and again in October 2011, following historic floods caused by remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The annual exceedance probabilities of floods at regional flow‐monitoring sites ranged from 0.5 to 0.001. Data from the first 2 surveys, and from additional surveys done during July and October 2014, were assessed to characterize the severity of flood impacts, effect of seasonality, and recovery. Indices of total taxa richness; Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness; Hilsenhoff's biotic index; per cent model affinity; and nutrient biotic index‐phosphorus were combined to calculate New York State Biological Assessment Profile scores. Analysis of variance tests were used to determine if the Biological Assessment Profile, its component metrics, relative abundance, and diversity differed significantly (p ≤ .05) among the four surveys. Only total taxa richness and Shannon–Wiener diversity increased significantly, and abundance decreased significantly, following the floods. No metrics differed significantly between the July and August 2014 surveys which indicates that the differences denoted between the August and October 2011 surveys were caused by the floods. Changes in taxa richness, EPT richness, and diversity were significantly correlated with flood annual exceedance probabilities. This study increased our understanding of the resistance and resilience of benthic macroinvertebrate communities by showing that their assemblages were relatively impervious to extreme floods across the region.     

Assessment of the environmental quality of two urbanized lotic systems using multiple indicators

Urbanization impacts ecosystems through loss and fragmentation of habitat, loss of diversity, increase in runoff, and contaminant discharges, and the invasion of exotic species. Potrero de los Funes Village (San Luis, Argentina) is experiencing not only a population increase during summer months due to tourism but also an accelerated growth of its permanent population. In order to evaluate the potential effects of urbanization, the environmental quality of Potrero de los Funes River and Las Chacras Stream was assessed, using physical–chemical and biological indicators. Macroinvertebrates, through the application of the Biotic Index for San Luis Sierras (BISLS), anuran amphibian richness and relative abundance, and riparian vegetation were used as bioindicators. While the Simplified Index of Water Quality (SIWQ) was used to characterize the physical–chemical quality of water at each site. SIWQ and BISLS scores were significantly different between sites (F_7,28 = 9.88, p < .001 and F_7,28 = 24.18, p < .001, respectively). SIWQ was significantly correlated with BISLS (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.8, p < .001). Four anuran species were registered along Potrero River, with no significant differences in the intensity of vocalizations between sites. No species were detected in Las Chacras Stream. Average total plant species richness, exotic plants richness, and vegetation cover were higher at the most impaired system, Las Chacras Stream. The principal component analysis showed that the first two principal components (PCs) explained 76.3% of the total variance. PC1, with strong loadings of SIWQ, BISLS, and amphibian richness, was principally driven by chemical water quality and biological conditions. PC2 was mainly determined by plant richness. The chemical and biological water quality of Potrero and Las Chacras is somewhat impaired, being the upper Las Chacras Stream the most compromised area. This study provides information that will certainly be used to manage future impacts of urbanization on aquatic resources.     

On the Structure of Amorphous Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles by Aberration‐Corrected STEM

Mesoporous silica materials have demonstrated a vast spectrum of applications, stimulating an intensive field of study due to their potential use as nanocarriers. Nonetheless, when produced at the nanoscale, their structural characterization is hindered due to the re‐arrangement of the pores. To address this issue, this work combines molecular dynamics simulations with electron microscopy computer simulations and experimental results to provide an insight into the structure of amorphous mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The amorphous silica model is prepared using a simple melt‐quench molecular dynamics method, while the reconstruction of the mesoporous nanoparticles is carried out using a methodology to avoid false symmetry in the final model. Simulated scanning transmission electron microscopy images are compared with experimental images, revealing the existence of structural domains, created by the misalignment of the pores to compensate the surface tension of these spherical nanoparticles.     

Agent decision-making in open mixed networks

Computer systems increasingly carry out tasks in mixed networks, that is in group settings in which they interact both with other computer systems and with people. Participants in these heterogeneous human-computer groups vary in their capabilities, goals, and strategies; they may cooperate, collaborate, or compete. The presence of people in mixed networks raises challenges for the design and the evaluation of decision-making strategies for computer agents. This paper describes several new decision-making models that represent, learn and adapt to various social attributes that influence people's decision-making and presents a novel approach to evaluating such models. It identifies a range of social attributes in an open-network setting that influence people's decision-making and thus affect the performance of computer-agent strategies, and establishes the importance of learning and adaptation to the success of such strategies. The settings vary in the capabilities, goals, and strategies that people bring into their interactions. The studies deploy a configurable system called Colored Trails (CT) that generates a family of games. CT is an abstract, conceptually simple but highly versatile game in which players negotiate and exchange resources to enable them to achieve their individual or group goals. It provides a realistic analogue to multi-agent task domains, while not requiring extensive domain modeling. It is less abstract than payoff matrices, and people exhibit less strategic and more helpful behavior in CT than in the identical payoff matrix decision-making context. By not requiring extensive domain modeling, CT enables agent researchers to focus their attention on strategy design, and it provides an environment in which the influence of social factors can be better isolated and studied.     

Generating human-like soccer primitives from human data

Recently, interest in analysis and generation of human and human-like motion has increased in various areas. In robotics, in order to operate a humanoid robot, it is necessary to generate motions that have strictly dynamic consistency. Furthermore, human-like motion for robots will bring advantages such as energy optimization.This paper presents a mechanism to generate two human-like motions, walking and kicking, for a biped robot using a simple model based on observation and analysis of human motion. Our ultimate goal is to establish a design principle of a controller in order to achieve natural human-like motions. The approach presented here rests on the principle that in most biological motor learning scenarios some form of optimization with respect to a physical criterion is taking place. In a similar way, the equations of motion for the humanoid robot systems are formulated in such a way that the resulting optimization problems can be solved reliably and efficiently.The simulation results show that faster and more accurate searching can be achieved to generate an efficient human-like gait. Comparison is made with methods that do not include observation of human gait. The gait has been successfully used to control Robo-Erectus, a soccer-playing humanoid robot, which is one of the foremost leading soccer-playing humanoid robots in the RoboCup Humanoid League.     

Nanostructured metal composites reinforced with fullerenes

This work presents the results of the characterization of nanostructured Al or Fe matrix composites reinforced with fullerenes. The fullerene used is a mix of 15 wt%C₆₀, 5 wt.%C₇₀, and 80 wt.% soot that is the product of the primary synthesis of C₆₀. The composites were produced by mechanical alloying and sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS). It was found that in both composites, C₆₀ withstands mechanical alloying, and acts as a control agent, reducing the agglomeration of the particles. In both composite systems the as-mechanically alloyed powders as well as the SPS sintered products are nanostructured. During the SPS process the effect of the metal (Al or Fe) matrix with the fullerene is different for each composite. For instance, Al reacts with all the carbon in the fullerene mix and forms Al₄C₃; on the contrary, in the Fe-fullerene composite, Fe sponsors the synthesis of C₆₀ during the SPS process. The synthesis of the C₆₀ is presumably assisted by the catalytic nature of Fe and the electric field generated during the SPS sintering process.