In Situ Imaging of Electrode Thickness Growth and Electrolyte Depletion in Single-Crystal vs. Polycrystalline LiNixMnyCozO2/Graphite Pouch Cells using Multi-Scale Computed Tomography

Single-crystal LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC) materials have recently garnered significant academic and commercial interest as they have been shown to provide exceptional long-term charge-discharge cycling stability in Li-ion cells. Understanding the degradation mechanisms occurring in conventional polycrystalline NMC materials in comparison to the more stable single-crystal equivalents has become a topic of significant interest. In this study, we demonstrate how multi-scale, in-situ computed tomography can be used to characterize important changes occurring in wound pouch cells containing polycrystalline or single-crystal NMC. These changes include cell-level phenomena (such as deformation of the jelly roll and electrolyte depletion) as well as electrode-scale phenomena (such as electrode thickness growth and electrode cracking). A set of twenty-one cells were scanned in total, consisting of three different electrodes: polycrystalline NMC622, single-crystal NMC811, and single-crystal NMC532. These studies were designed to characterize the effects of varying C-rate, depth of discharge, and duty cycle, so this work includes an analysis of these factors as they relate to physical changes taking place at the cell and electrode level.

Fortifikasi Agar Agar dan Ekstrak Kulit Buah Naga Merah (Hylocereous polyrhyzus) sebagai Pewarna Alami terhadap Karakteristik Fisik dan Sensoris Jelly Roll Candy

Penelitian ini bertjuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penambahan agar agar dan ekstrak kulit buah naga terhadap karakteristik fisik dan sensoris jelly roll candy, serta untuk mengetahui pengaruh interaksi antara penambahan ekstrak kulit buah naga merah dan agar agar terhadap karakteristik fisik dan sensoris jelly roll candy. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) faktorial yang terdiri dari 3 level dengan 2 kali ulangan. Adapun faktor yang diteliti adalah konsentrasi agar agar (A) terdiri dari 3 level yaitu A1 = 1,5%, A2 = 2% dan A3 = 2,5% dan penambahan ekstrak kulit buah naga (N) terdiri dari 3 level yaitu N1 =10%, N2 =20% dan N3 = 30%. Dengan demikian terdapat 9 kombinasi perlakuan dengan 2 kali ulangan, sehingga diperoleh 18 satuan percobaaan. Hasil penelitian menjelaskan bahwa penambahan agar agar (A) berpengaruh nyata (P 0,5) terhadap uji daya putus dan organoleptik tekstur dan tidak berpengaruh nyata (P 0,05) terhadap uji daya putus, organoleptik rasa dan aroma jelly roll kulit buah naga merah. Penambahan esktrak kulit buah naga (E) berpengaruh nyata (P 0,05) terhadap uji organoleptik warna dan tidak berpengaruh nyata (P 0,05) terhadap uji daya putus, organoleptik warna, rasa dan aroma jelly roll kulit buah naga merah. Penambahan agar agar dan ekstrak kulit buah naga tidak memberikan pengaruh yang nyata (P ≤ 0,05) terhadap uji daya putus, organoleptik warna, aroma, rasa dan tekstur jelly roll kulit buah naga merah. Perlakuan terbaik didapatkan dari perlakuan penambahan agar agar 2,5% dan ekstrak kulit buah naga merah 30% dengan nilai daya putus 22,7 cm, organoleptik warna 4,23 (suka), rasa 4,15 (suka), aroma 3,5 (biasa) dan tekstur 4,2 (suka).

Identification and structural analysis of a thermophilic β-1,3-glucanase from compost

Abstractβ-1,3-glucanase can specifically hydrolyze glucans to oligosaccharides and has potential applications in biotechnology. We used the metatranscriptomic technology to discover a thermophilic β-1,3-glucanase from compost. The phylogenetic study shows that it belongs to the family 16 glycoside hydrolase (GH16) and is most homologous with an enzyme from Streptomyces sioyaensis, an actinobacterium. It has the activity of 146.9 U/mg in the optimal reaction condition (75 °C and pH 5.5). Its catalytic domain was crystallized and diffracted to 1.14 Å resolution. The crystal structure shows a sandwich-like β-jelly-roll fold with two disulfide bonds. After analyzing the occurring frequencies of these cysteine residues, we designed two mutants (C160G and C180I) to study the role of these disulfide bonds. Both mutants have decreased their optimal temperature from 75 to 70 °C, which indicate that the disulfide bonds are important to maintain thermostability. Interestingly, the activity of C160G has increased ~ 17% to reach 171.4 U/mg. We speculate that the increased activity of C160G mutant is due to increased dynamics near the active site. Our studies give a good example of balancing the rigidity and flexibility for enzyme activity, which is helpful for protein engineering.

Phylogeny of the Varidnaviria Morphogenesis Module: Congruence and Incongruence With the Tree of Life and Viral Taxonomy

Double-stranded DNA viruses of the realm Varidnaviria (formerly PRD1-adenovirus lineage) are characterized by homologous major capsid proteins (MCPs) containing one (kingdom: Helvetiavirae) or two β-barrel domains (kingdom: Bamfordvirae) known as the jelly roll folds. Most of them also share homologous packaging ATPases (pATPases). Remarkably, Varidnaviria infect hosts from the three domains of life, suggesting that these viruses could be very ancient and share a common ancestor. Here, we analyzed the evolutionary history of Varidnaviria based on single and concatenated phylogenies of their MCPs and pATPases. We excluded Adenoviridae from our analysis as their MCPs and pATPases are too divergent. Sphaerolipoviridae, the only family in the kingdom Helvetiavirae, exhibit a complex history: their MCPs are very divergent from those of other Varidnaviria, as expected, but their pATPases groups them with Bamfordvirae. In single and concatenated trees, Bamfordvirae infecting archaea were grouped with those infecting bacteria, in contradiction with the cellular tree of life, whereas those infecting eukaryotes were organized into three monophyletic groups: the Nucleocytoviricota phylum, formerly known as the Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs), Lavidaviridae (virophages) and Polintoviruses. Although our analysis mostly supports the recent classification proposed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), it also raises questions, such as the validity of the Adenoviridae and Helvetiavirae ranking. Based on our phylogeny, we discuss current hypotheses on the origin and evolution of Varidnaviria and suggest new ones to reconcile the viral and cellular trees.

New Orleans Jazz

This chapter explores the emergence of jazz in New Orleans around the year 1900, and its first generation of performers. It examines the social and economic conditions in New Orleans, and the city’s rich musical traditions. The life and music of cornetist Buddy Bolden, often considered the first jazz musician, are examined in some depth, as are the contributions of other early jazz stars, including Freddie Keppard, Jelly Roll Morton, and King Oliver. The chapter concludes with an account of the early career of Louis Armstrong, which is continued in the next chapter.

R. Crumb

Robert Crumb: Literature, Autobiography, and the Quest for Self is the first monograph to explore the intersection between Crumb’s love of literature, his search for the meaning of life and the ways he connects his own autobiography with the themes of the writers he has admired. Crumb’s comics from the beginning reflected the fact that he was a voracious reader from childhood and perused a variety of authors including Charles Dickens, J.D. Salinger, and, during his adolescence, Beat writers like Jack Kerouac. He was profoundly influenced by music, especially the blues, and the ecstatic power of music appears in his artwork throughout his career. The first chapter explores the ways Robert Crumb illustrates works by William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Charles Bukowski. The book continues with individual chapters devoted to Crumb’s illustrations of biographies of blues musicians Jelly Roll Morton and Charley Patton; Philip K. Dick; Jean-Paul Sartre; Franz Kafka; and concludes with an exploration of Crumb’s illustrations to the book of Genesis. In all his drawings accompanying literary texts, Crumb returns to a number of key themes regarding his personal spiritual quest such as suffering and existential solitude; the search for romantic and sexual love; the impact of entheogens such as LSD on his quest for answers to his cosmic questions. We discover that Crumb gradually embraces a mysticism rooted in his studies of Gnosticism. In the final chapter on the book of Genesis, readers may observe the ways Crumb continues his critique of monotheistic religion in a variety of subtle ways. Robert Crumb: Literature, Autobiography, and the Quest for Self concludes with an Epilogue which discusses Crumb’s present-day life in France and the ways he has continued to engage with spiritual and philosophical themes in his later work.

Philip K. Dick

Chapter 3 discusses Crumb’s illustrations to the life and work of Philip K. Dick, beginning with an exploration of Crumb’s connections to the California counterculture and its fascination with occult and Gnostic philosophies. Crumb began to turn increasingly towards mysticism in his artwork, and this is exemplified in “The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick.” Crumb’s own experiences with LSD had opened him up to a visionary realm which also set him out on the quest for his “real self.” Crumb sees in Dick’s encounter with Gnosticism a reflection of his own spiritual search. In “The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick,” Crumb directly explores Gnostic ideas and as in his illustrations for Jelly Roll Morton, explores whether intense spiritual experiences such as those recorded by Dick are “real” or not. We can also see Gnostic ideas reflected in “Can You Stand Alone and Face up to the Universe?”, one of Crumb’s greatest works, as well as in his depiction of Christian iconography.

Jelly Roll Morton, Charley Patton

Chapter 2 begins with a review of Crumb’s fascination with music, especially the blues, and his efforts over the years in building a huge record collection of his favorite music. Allusions to jazz and blues appear in many of his works and his admiration for particular musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton is exemplified by his illustrations to a biography of Morton which Crumb titled “Jelly Roll Morton’s Voodoo Curse.” In exploring Morton’s life, Crumb explores Morton’s encounter with hoodoo and interrogates the question whether such supernatural experiences are “real” or not. This is a question which Crumb will pursue in many of his drawings because it is related to his own search for his inner self. The chapter then turns to Charley Patton and Crumb’s illustrations entitled “Patton.” Religious themes occur in this narrative as well and this chapter explores the theme of the gifted musician who sells his soul to the devil in order to attain virtuosic musical powers. The link between surrealism and the lyrics of some blues songs is also explored, as well as Crumb’s own relationship to African American culture and religion.