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- ItemChronostratigraphy of silt-dominated Pleistocene periglacial slope deposits on Mt. Ślęża (SW, Poland): Palaeoenvironmental and pedogenic significance(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2020) Waroszewski, Jaroslaw; Sprafke, Tobias; Kabala, Cezary; Musztyfaga, Elżbieta; Kot, Aleksandra; Tsukamoto, Sumiko; Frechen, ManfredSlope deposits with aeolian silt admixture are a widespread parent material of soils in the temperate zone but may be neglected when rates of soil production are quantified. The concept of periglacial cover beds differentiates slope deposits with or without aeolian silt admixture; yet there is a remaining debate on processes and the timing of their formation. A previous study done by us at Mt. Ślęża, SW Poland, concluded that slope deposits with variable aeolian silt admixture, or its lack, have a significant influence on the pathway of soil formation. The present work builds upon this finding, by adding further granulometric and micromorphological data from three representative profiles along a toposequence, in order to refine our understanding of local slope deposits and soil formation. Additionally, seven numerical ages using luminescence dating provide a chronological framework for our reconstructions and allow linking the forming processes of these pedosedimentary records to regional palaeoenvironmental conditions. The oldest aeolian deposits are of Middle Pleistocene age (>280 ± 19 ka) with interlayered palaeosol (marine isotope stage [MIS] 9 or older). Late Pleistocene slope deposits encompass the maximum loess thickness and are dated to MIS 2. Luminescence ages from the upper layers indicate shallow reworking, which we tentatively correlate to the Younger Dryas (YD). Two profiles with thick loess mantles have strong clay illuviation features, presumably formed during the Holocene. However, weak clay illuviation in the third profile with a thin loess mantle (having an age of YD) over granite regolith seems to have occurred before the Holocene, as only fragmented clay coatings (probably MIS 2 pedogenesis) could be found. © 2020 The Authors
- ItemLate Pleistocene paleosol formation in a dynamic aggradational microenvironment - A case study from the Malá nad Hronom loess succession (Slovakia)(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2021) Bradák, B.; Csonka, D.; Novothny, Á.; Szeberényi, J.; Medveďová, A.; Rostinsky, P.; Fehér, K.; Barta, G.; Végh, T.; Kiss, K.; Megyeri, M.The geomorphological characteristics of the loess succession at Malá nad Hronom (Slovakia) mean that it provides a valuable opportunity for the investigation of differences in soil formation in various topographic positions. Along with the semiquantitative characterization of the paleosols (on the basis of physical properties, texture, the characteristics of peds, clay films, horizon boundaries), high-resolution field magnetic susceptibility measurements and sampling were carried out along four different sections of the profile. Samples for luminescence dating were also taken, in order to establish the chronostratigraphical position of the paleosols studied. The comparison of various proxies revealed the differences in soil formation in a dynamic aggradational microenvironment for the same paleosol horizons located in various positions along the slope. Contrary to expectation, paleosols developed in local top or slope topographical positions did not display significant differences in e.g. in their degree of development, nor the characteristics of their magnetic susceptibility curves. In the case of paleosols in positions lower down the slope, signs of quasi-permanent sediment input could be recognized as being present as early as during the formation of the soil itself. This sediment input would seem to be surpassed in the case of pedogenesis strengthened by the climate of the last interglacial (marine isotope stage - MIS 5). Pedogenesis seems to be sustained by renewed intense dust accumulation in the Late Pleistocene, in MIS 3, though compared to MIS 5, the climate of MIS 3 did not favor intense pedogenesis. Despite the general belief that loess series formed in plateau positions can preserve terrestrial records without significant erosion, in the case of the Malá nad Hronom loess this is not so. Compared to the sequence affected by erosional events in the local top position, the sequence affected by quasi-continuous sediment input in the lower slope position seems to have preserved the soil horizons intact. © 2020 The Author(s)
- ItemProvenance and paleoenvironmental context of the Late Pleistocene thin aeolian silt mantles in southwestern Poland – A widespread parent material for soils(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2021) Waroszewski, Jaroslaw; Pietranik, Anna; Sprafke, Tobias; Kabała, Cezary; Frechen, Manfred; Jary, Zdzisław; Kot, Aleksandra; Tsukamoto, Sumiko; Meyer-Heintze, Simon; Krawczyk, Marcin; Łabaz, Beata; Schultz, Bernhard; Erban Kochergina, Yulia V.Thin loess deposits are widespread soil parent materials and important archives for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The origin of loess in SW Poland is attributed to the Great Odra Valley (GOV), following the general concept that large rivers play a major role in regional silt supply. Yet, the precise provenance (glacier sources and/or local rocks) of silts, possibly deflated from dry GOV braided riverbeds, is not clear. Our study of thin and thick loess mantles in SW Poland for the first time indicates the provenance of thin loess based on mineralogical (MLA-SEM) and isotopic analyses (143Nd/144Nd, 87Sr/86Sr). Luminescence ages of five localities point to thin loess mantle formation during and shortly (23.0 to 17.7 ka yr) after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our isotopic data indicate that thin loess deposits in SW Poland are the mixtures of two main components – local Sudetic and Scandinavian, the latter delivered by the Fennoscandian ice sheet (FIS). Also, detailed analyses of heavy minerals show that a single mineral (e.g., hornblende) may come from both Sudetic and Scandinavian sources. This research highlights the role of the (Pleistocene) GOV in collecting and homogenizing materials, while supplying the region with fine particles to be deflated by paleowinds from open surfaces. Anomalies in mineralogy and isotopic composition are connected with influence of Sudetic mountain rivers and locally blowing silt material by katabatic winds. Regional grain size differentiation of thin loess mantles explains transport distance and altitude. © 2021 The Authors
- ItemFabrication of four-level hierarchical topographies through the combination of LIPSS and direct laser interference pattering on near-beta titanium alloy(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2022) Schell, Frederic; Alamri, Sabri; Hariharan, Avinash; Gebert, Annett; Lasagni, Andrés Fabián; Kunze, TimComplex repetitive periodic surface patterns were produced on a near-beta Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy, using two-beam Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP) employing a picosecond-pulsed laser source with wavelengths of 355 nm, 532 nm and 1064 nm. Different types of Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are produced, including low and high spatial frequency LIPSS, which are observed frequently on top of the line-like DLIP microstructures, as well as quasi-periodic microstructures with periods greater than the laser wavelength. The feature size of the fabricated LIPSS features could be tuned as function of the utilized laser process parameters.
- ItemThe HITRAN2020 molecular spectroscopic database(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2022) Gordon, I.E.; Rothman, L.S.; Hargreaves, R.J.; Hashemi, R.; Karlovets, E.V.; Skinner, F.M.; Conway, E.K.; Hill, C.; Kochanov, R.V.; Tan, Y.; Wcisło, P.; Finenko, A.A.; Nelson, K.; Bernath, P.F.; Birk, M.; Boudon, V.; Campargue, A.; Chance, K.V.; Coustenis, A.; Drouin, B.J.; Flaud, J.M.; Gamache, R.R.; Hodges, J.T.; Jacquemart, D.; Mlawer, E.J.; Nikitin, A.V.; Perevalov, V.I.; Rotger, M.; Tennyson, J.; Toon, G.C.; Tran, H.; Tyuterev, V.G.; Adkins, E.M.; Baker, A.; Barbe, A.; Canè, E.; Császár, A.G.; Dudaryonok, A.; Egorov, O.; Fleisher, A.J.; Fleurbaey, H.; Foltynowicz, A.; Furtenbacher, T.; Harrison, J.J.; Hartmann, J.M.; Horneman, V.M.; Huang, X.; Karman, T.; Karns, J.; Kassi, S.; Kleiner, I.; Kofman, V.; Kwabia-Tchana, F.; Lavrentieva, N.N.; Lee, T.J.; Long, D.A.; Lukashevskaya, A.A.; Lyulin, O.M.; Makhnev, V.Yu.; Matt, W.; Massie, S.T.; Melosso, M.; Mikhailenko, S.N.; Mondelain, D.; Müller, H.S.P.; Naumenko, O.V.; Perrin, A.; Polyansky, O.L.; Raddaoui, E.; Raston, P.L.; Reed, Z.D.; Rey, M.; Richard, C.; Tóbiás, R.; Sadiek, I.; Schwenke, D.W.; Starikova, E.; Sung, K.; Tamassia, F.; Tashkun, S.A.; Vander Auwera, J.; Vasilenko, I.A.; Vigasin, A.A.; Villanueva, G.L.; Vispoel, B.; Wagner, G.; Yachmenev, A.; Yurchenko, S.N.The HITRAN database is a compilation of molecular spectroscopic parameters. It was established in the early 1970s and is used by various computer codes to predict and simulate the transmission and emission of light in gaseous media (with an emphasis on terrestrial and planetary atmospheres). The HITRAN compilation is composed of five major components: the line-by-line spectroscopic parameters required for high-resolution radiative-transfer codes, experimental infrared absorption cross-sections (for molecules where it is not yet feasible for representation in a line-by-line form), collision-induced absorption data, aerosol indices of refraction, and general tables (including partition sums) that apply globally to the data. This paper describes the contents of the 2020 quadrennial edition of HITRAN. The HITRAN2020 edition takes advantage of recent experimental and theoretical data that were meticulously validated, in particular, against laboratory and atmospheric spectra. The new edition replaces the previous HITRAN edition of 2016 (including its updates during the intervening years). All five components of HITRAN have undergone major updates. In particular, the extent of the updates in the HITRAN2020 edition range from updating a few lines of specific molecules to complete replacements of the lists, and also the introduction of additional isotopologues and new (to HITRAN) molecules: SO, CH3F, GeH4, CS2, CH3I and NF3. Many new vibrational bands were added, extending the spectral coverage and completeness of the line lists. Also, the accuracy of the parameters for major atmospheric absorbers has been increased substantially, often featuring sub-percent uncertainties. Broadening parameters associated with the ambient pressure of water vapor were introduced to HITRAN for the first time and are now available for several molecules. The HITRAN2020 edition continues to take advantage of the relational structure and efficient interface available at www.hitran.org and the HITRAN Application Programming Interface (HAPI). The functionality of both tools has been extended for the new edition.
- ItemInterlaboratory study assessing the analysis of supercapacitor electrochemistry data(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2023) Gittins, Jamie W.; Chen, Yuan; Arnold, Stefanie; Augustyn, Veronica; Balducci, Andrea; Brousse, Thierry; Frackowiak, Elzbieta; Gómez-Romero, Pedro; Kanwade, Archana; Köps, Lukas; Jha, Plawan Kumar; Lyu, Dongxun; Meo, Michele; Pandey, Deepak; Pang, Le; Presser, Volker; Rapisarda, Mario; Rueda-García, Daniel; Saeed, Saeed; Shirage, Parasharam M.; Ślesiński, Adam; Soavi, Francesca; Thomas, Jayan; Titirici, Maria-Magdalena; Wang, Hongxia; Xu, Zhen; Yu, Aiping; Zhang, Maiwen; Forse, Alexander C.Supercapacitors are fast-charging energy storage devices of great importance for developing robust and climate-friendly energy infrastructures for the future. Research in this field has seen rapid growth in recent years, therefore consistent reporting practices must be implemented to enable reliable comparison of device performance. Although several studies have highlighted the best practices for analysing and reporting data from such energy storage devices, there is yet to be an empirical study investigating whether researchers in the field are correctly implementing these recommendations, and which assesses the variation in reporting between different laboratories. Here we address this deficit by carrying out the first interlaboratory study of the analysis of supercapacitor electrochemistry data. We find that the use of incorrect formulae and researchers having different interpretations of key terminologies are major causes of variability in data reporting. Furthermore we highlight the more significant variation in reported results for electrochemical profiles showing non-ideal capacitive behaviour. From the insights gained through this study, we make additional recommendations to the community to help ensure consistent reporting of performance metrics moving forward.
- ItemCracking and associated volumetric expansion of NMC811 secondary particles(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2023) Shishvan, S.S.; Fleck, N.A.; McMeeking, R.M.; Deshpande, V.S.Secondary particles comprising a large number of nickel-rich single crystal primary particles are extensively used as storage particles in cathodes of lithium-ion batteries. It is well-established that crack formation in secondary particles is an important degradation mode that contributes to decline in battery performance. Recent X-ray tomographic observations suggest that, at very low C-rates, concentration gradients of lithium within an NMC811 secondary particle are negligible yet cracking still occurs. Additionally, during delithiation the primary particles shrink yet a volumetric expansion of the secondary particle occurs. These observations are explained by a numerical model of distributed cracking due to the extreme anisotropy of lithiation strain of primary particles. The incompatible deformation from grain to grain induces large self-stresses even in the absence of spatial gradients in the lithium concentration. The stress state is sufficient to drive a dynamic catastrophic fracture event, and the associated kinetic energy acquired by the primary particles moves them apart (akin to an explosive event) with the carbon and binder domain surrounding each secondary particle restricting the outward motion of the primary particles. It is predicted that a volume expansion of the secondary particles on the order of 20 % accompanies cracking, in agreement with recently reported observations.
- ItemEffect of cation size of binary cation ionic liquid mixtures on capacitive energy storage(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2023) Seltmann, Anna; Verkholyak, Taras; Gołowicz, Dariusz; Pameté, Emmanuel; Kuzmak, Andrij; Presser, Volker; Kondrat, SvyatoslavIonic liquid mixtures show promise as electrolytes for supercapacitors with nanoporous electrodes. Herein, we investigate theoretically and with experiments how binary electrolytes comprising a common anion and two types of differently-sized cations affect capacitive energy storage. We find that such electrolytes can enhance the capacitance of single nanopores and nanoporous electrodes under potential differences negative relative to the potential of zero charge. For a two-electrode cell, however, they are beneficial only at low and intermediate cell voltages, while a neat ionic liquid performs better at higher voltages. We reveal subtle effects of how the distribution of pores accessible to different types of ions correlates with charge storage and suggest approaches to increase capacitance and stored energy density with ionic liquid mixtures.
- ItemMatrix metalloproteinase-1 decorated polymersomes, a surface-active extracellular matrix therapeutic, potentiates collagen degradation and attenuates early liver fibrosis(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2021) Geervliet, Eline; Moreno, Silvia; Baiamonte, Luca; Booijink, Richell; Boye, Susanne; Wang, Peng; Voit, Brigitte; Lederer, Albena; Appelhans, Dietmar; Bansal, RuchiLiver fibrosis affects millions of people worldwide and is rising vastly over the past decades. With no viable therapies available, liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for advanced diseased patients. Excessive accumulation of aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, mostly collagens, produced by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), is a hallmark of liver fibrosis. Several studies have suggested an inverse correlation between collagen-I degrading matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) serum levels and liver fibrosis progression highlighting reduced MMP-1 levels are associated with poor disease prognosis in patients with liver fibrosis. We hypothesized that delivery of MMP-1 might potentiate collagen degradation and attenuate fibrosis development. In this study, we report a novel approach for the delivery of MMP-1 using MMP-1 decorated polymersomes (MMPsomes), as a surface-active vesicle-based ECM therapeutic, for the treatment of liver fibrosis. The storage-stable and enzymatically active MMPsomes were fabricated by a post-loading of Psomes with MMP-1. MMPsomes were extensively characterized for the physicochemical properties, MMP-1 surface localization, stability, enzymatic activity, and biological effects. Dose-dependent effects of MMP-1, and effects of MMPsomes versus MMP-1, empty polymersomes (Psomes) and MMP-1 + Psomes on gene and protein expression of collagen-I, MMP-1/TIMP-1 ratio, migration and cell viability were examined in TGFβ-activated human HSCs. Finally, the therapeutic effects of MMPsomes, compared to MMP-1, were evaluated in vivo in carbon-tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced early liver fibrosis mouse model. MMPsomes exhibited favorable physicochemical properties, MMP-1 surface localization and improved therapeutic efficacy in TGFβ-activated human HSCs in vitro. In CCl4-induced early liver fibrosis mouse model, MMPsomes inhibited intra-hepatic collagen-I (ECM marker, indicating early liver fibrosis) and F4/80 (marker for macrophages, indicating liver inflammation) expression. In conclusion, our results demonstrate an innovative approach of MMP-1 delivery, using surface-decorated MMPsomes, for alleviating liver fibrosis.
- ItemTowards efficient production of highly optically pure d-lactic acid from lignocellulosic hydrolysates using newly isolated lactic acid bacteria(New York, NY [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2022) Alexandri, Maria; Hübner, Dennis; Schneider, Roland; Fröhling, Antje; Venus, JoachimThis study presents the production of D-lactic acid with high enantiomeric purity using lignocellulosic hydrolysates from newly isolated lactic acid bacterial (LAB) strains. Six strains, 4 heterofermentative and 2 homofermentative, were investigated for their ability to grow and produce lactic acid on sugar beet pulp (SBP) hydrolysates, containing a mixture of hexose and pentose sugars. Among the strains tested, three were isolates designated as A250, A257 and A15, all of which belonged to the genus Leuconostoc. Only strain A250 could be reliably identified as Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides based on cluster analysis of Maldi-ToF spectra. All strains produced D-lactic acid in the presence of SBP hydrolysates, but with varying optical purities. The homofermentative strains achieved higher D-lactic acid optical purities, but without assimilating the pentose sugars. Co-cultivation of the homofermentative strain Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. torquens DSM 20005 together with the heterofermentative isolate A250 led to the production of 21.7 g/L D-lactic acid with 99.3 % optical purity. This strategy enabled the complete sugar utilization of the substrate. Nanofiltration of the SBP hydrolysate enhanced the enantiomeric purity of the D-lactic acid produced from the isolates A250 and A15 by about 5 %. The highest D-lactic acid concentration (40 g/L) was achieved in fed-batch cultures of A250 isolate with nanofiltered SBP, where optical purity was 99.4 %. The results of this study underline the feasibility of a novel isolate as an efficient D-lactic acid producer using lignocellulosic hydrolysates.