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The reasonable geometry design of non-thermal plasma (NTP) reactor is significant for its performance. However, optimizing the reactor structure has received insufficient attention in the studies on removing volatile organic compounds by NTP. Several dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors with various barrier thicknesses and discharge gaps were designed, and their discharge characteristics and toluene degradation performance were explored comprehensively. The number and intensity of current pulses, discharge power, emission spectrum intensity and gas temperature of the DBD reactors increased as barrier thickness decreased. The toluene removal efficiency and mineralization rate increased from 23.2-87.1% and 5.3-27.9% to 81.7-100% and 15.9-51.3%, respectively, when the barrier thickness reduced from 3 to 1 mm. With the increase of discharge gap, the breakdown voltage, discharge power, gas temperature and residence time increased, while the discharge intensity decreased. The reactor with the smallest discharge gap (3.5 mm) exhibited the highest toluene removal efficiency (78.4-100%), mineralization rate (15.6-40.9%) and energy yield (8.4-18.7 g/kWh). Finally, the toluene degradation pathways were proposed based on the detected organic intermediates. The findings can provide critical guidance for designing and optimizing of DBD reactor structures., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A double dielectric barrier discharge (DDBD) reactor was established to decompose toluene with high energy efficiency. Differences in discharge characteristics including visual images, voltage-current waveforms, Lissajous figures, and temperature variation, were determined between the DDBD and SDBD reactors. Removal efficiency, mineralization rate, CO 2 selectivity, and energy yield were used to evaluate the toluene abatement performance of the two reactors. Compared to the SDBD reactor, the DDBD reactor exhibited more uniform and stable discharges due to a change in discharge mode. In addition, the DDBD reactor's dissipated power and reactor temperature (including the gas, barrier and ground electrode) were significantly lower than those in the SDBD reactor. At 22-24 kV, the DDBD reactor showed a higher toluene removal efficiency and mineralization rate, while at 14-16 kV, the SDBD reactor exhibited higher respective value. The energy efficiency of the DDBD was 2.5-3 times that of the SDBD reactor, and the overall energy constant k overall of the DDBD reactor (1.47 mL/J) was significantly higher than that of the SDBD reactor (0.367 mL/J) as revealed by the kinetics study. Lastly, a plausible toluene degradation mechanism in the DDBD and SDBD reactors was proposed based on organic intermediates that formed during toluene decomposition., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To analyze the associations between frequency of prosthesis cleaning with the discharge characteristics and the tear film in subjects with anophthalmic socket post evisceration with dermis fat graft., Subjects and Methods: This study is an analytic observational with cross sectional design study with control. The subjects of the study were unilateral acquired anophthalmic socket after evisceration with dermis fat graft at University of Sumatera Utara General Hospital which amounts to 30 subjects or 60 eyes (30 unilateral anophthalmic sockets, 30 contralateral eyes). Data was obtained from April 2018 to May 2018., Result: There is significant association between frequency of prosthesis cleaning and the frequency of discharge (P = 0.001) and tear film quantity (P = 0.024). There is also significant association between the tear film quantity and the frequency of discharge (P = 0.024)., Conclusion: There was a significant association between frequency of prosthesis cleaning with the frequency of discharge and the tear film in subjects with Acquired Unilateral anophthalmic socket post-evisceration with dermis fat graft.

Large Li 2 O 2 aggregations can produce high-capacity of lithium oxygen (Li-O 2 ) batteries, but the larger ones usually lead to less-efficient contact between Li 2 O 2 and electrode materials. Herein, a hierarchical cathode architecture based on different discharge characteristics of α-MnO 2 and Co 3 O 4 is constructed, which can enable the embedded growth of large Li 2 O 2 aggregations to solve this problem. Through experimental observations and first-principle calculations, it is found that α-MnO 2 nanorod tends to form uniform Li 2 O 2 particles due to its preferential Li + adsorption and similar LiO 2 adsorption energies of different crystal faces, whereas Co 3 O 4 nanosheet tends to simultaneously generate Li 2 O 2 film and Li 2 O 2 nanosheets due to its preferential O 2 adsorption and different LiO 2 adsorption energies of varied crystal faces. Thus, the composite cathode architecture in which Co 3 O 4 nanosheets are grown on α-MnO 2 nanorods can exhibit extraordinary synergetic effects, i.e., α-MnO 2 nanorods provide the initial nucleation sites for Li 2 O 2 deposition while Co 3 O 4 nanosheets provide dissolved LiO 2 to promote the subsequent growth of Li 2 O 2 . Consequently, the composite cathode achieves the embedded growth of large Li 2 O 2 aggregations and thus exhibits significantly improved specific capacity, rate capability, and cyclic stability compared with the single metal oxide electrode.

The purpose of the study was to compare the discharge characteristics of single motor units during sustained isometric contractions that required either force or position control in left-handed individuals. The target force for the two sustained contractions (24.9 ± 10.5% maximal force) was identical for each biceps brachii motor unit (n = 32) and set at 4.7 ± 2.0% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force above its recruitment threshold (range: 0.5-41.2% MVC force). The contractions were not sustained to task failure, but the duration (range: 60-330 s) was identical for each motor unit and the decline in MVC force immediately after the sustained contractions was similar for the two tasks (force: 11.1% ± 13.7%; position: 11.6% ± 9.9%). Despite a greater increase in the rating of perceived exertion during the position task (task × time interaction, P < 0.006), the amplitude of the surface-recorded electromyogram for the agonist and antagonist muscles increased similarly during the two tasks. Nonetheless, mean discharge rate of the biceps brachii motor units declined more during the position task (task × time interaction, P < 0.01) and the variability in discharge times (coefficient of variation for interspike interval) increased only during the position task (task × time interaction, P < 0.008). When combined with the results of an identical study on right-handers (Mottram CJ, Jakobi JM, Semmler JG, Enoka RM. J Neurophysiol 93: 1381-1392, 2005), the findings indicate that handedness does not influence the adjustments in biceps brachii motor unit activity during sustained submaximal contractions requiring either force or position control., (Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.)