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Development in high-rate electrode materials capable of storing vast amounts of charge in a short duration to decrease charging time and increase power in lithium-ion batteries is an important challenge to address. Here, we introduce a synthesis strategy with a series of composition-controlled NMC cathodes, including LiNi0.2Mn0.6Co0.2O2(NMC262), LiNi0.3Mn0.5Co0.2O2(NMC352), and LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2(NMC442). A very high-rate performance was achieved for Mn-rich LiNi0.2Mn0.6Co0.2O2 (NMC262). It has a very high initial discharge capacity of 285 mAh g−1 when charged to 4.7 V at a current of 20 mA g−1 and retains the capacity of 201 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. It also exhibits an excellent rate capability of 138, and 114 mAh g−1 even at rates of 10 and 15 C (1 C = 240 mA g−1). The high discharge capacities and excellent rate capabilities of Mn-rich LiNi0.2Mn0.6Co0.2O2 cathodes could be ascribed to their structural stability, controlled particle size, high surface area, and suppressed phase transformation from layered to spinel phases, due to low cation mixing and the higher oxidation state of manganese. The cathodic and anodic diffusion coefficient of the NMC262 electrode was determined to be around 4.76 × 10−10 cm2 s−1 and 2.1 × 10−10 cm2 s−1, respectively.

Bio-inspired Topographically Mediated Surfaces (TMSs) based on high aspect ratio nanostructures have recently been attracting significant attention due to their pronounced antimicrobial properties by mechanically disrupting cellular processes. However, scalability of such surfaces is often greatly limited, as most of them rely on micro/nanoscale fabrication techniques. In this report, a cost-effective, scalable, and versatile approach of utilizing diamond nanotechnology for producing TMSs, and using them for limiting the spread of emerging infectious diseases, is introduced. Specifically, diamond-based nanostructured coatings are synthesized in a single-step fabrication process with a densely packed, needle- or spike-like morphology. The antimicrobial proprieties of the diamond nanospike surface are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed and compared to other surfaces including copper, silicon, and even other diamond surfaces without the nanostructuring. This surface is found to have superior biocidal activity, which is confirmed via scanning electron microscopy images showing definite and widespread destruction of E. coli cells on the diamond nanospike surface. Consistent antimicrobial behavior is also observed on a sample prepared seven years prior to testing date. Graphical Abstract

In explainable AI, many explanation methods generate similar yet diverging explanations for machine learning (ML) models. How fair is it then to explain ML model behaviour by such explanations? Arguably, one needs to judge whether those explanations are good at explaining ML model input/output behaviour. We here attempt to formalise ways to judge goodness of such explanations in terms of their correctness. For assessing correctness, one needs to have desirable properties of explanation correctness in mind, as well as was to measure satisfaction of those properties. We submit two high-level properties of soundness and completeness for assessing explanation correctness: explaining is sound if the model behaves the way the explanations say; explaining is complete if explanations can be given for model’s outputs on any inputs. We formulate soundness and completeness properties for three forms of explanations: feature importance, counterfactuals and rules. We further formalise multiple general metrics, at least one for each property and form of explanation, for quantitatively measuring satisfaction of soundness and completeness. We argue that explanations are correct in as much as various aspects of the different forms of explanations are met as quantified by those metrics. We hope that being able to assess correctness of ML model input/output behaviour explanations against formal properties and metrics is a substantial step towards fairly explaining ML-based inference.

Apium graveolens L belonging to the family \"Umbelliferae\" an unadventurous vegetable and also known to be beneficial in the treatment of a number of diseases was obtained in the month of May-July, from its natural habitat as wild species and the Apium graveolens seeds (Celery) from three different markets of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e. Peshawar, Swat and DI Khan. During this study, the wild plant as well as the market celery is investigated for bioassays. The crude Hexane extract was screened for their lethality bioassay. The research work revealed that Hexane extract showed no brine shrimp lethality while the extract exhibited negative insecticidal activity. The result indicated that the crude Hexane extract showed strong inhibitory activity against Trichphyton longifuss (80%) andMicrosporum canis (80%). Antifungal bioassay of Hexane crude extract displayed some promising results.

In the late twentieth century, the only cost-effective opportunity for waste removal cost at least several thousand dollars, but nowadays, a lot of improvement has occurred. The biomass and waste generation problems attracted concerned authorities to identify and provide environmentally friendly sustainable solutions that possess environmental and economic benefits. The present study emphasises the valorisation of biomass and waste produced by domestic and industrial sectors. Therefore, substantial research is ongoing to replace the traditional treatment methods that potentially acquire less detrimental effects. Synthetic biology can be a unique platform that invites all the relevant characters for designing and assembling an efficient program that could be useful to handle the increasing threat for human beings. In the future, these engineered methods will not only revolutionise our lives but practically lead us to get cheaper biofuels, producing bioenergy, pharmaceutics, and various biochemicals. The bioaugmentation approach concomitant with microbial fuel cells (MFC) is an example that is used to produce electricity from municipal waste, which is directly associated with the loading of waste. Beyond the traditional opportunities, herein, we have spotlighted the new advances in pertinent technology closely related to production and reduction approaches. Various integrated modern techniques and aspects related to the industrial sector are also discussed with suitable examples, including green energy and other industrially relevant products. However, many problems persist in present-day technology that requires essential efforts to handle thoroughly because significant valorisation of biomass and waste involves integrated methods for timely detection, classification, and separation. We reviewed and proposed the anticipated dispensation methods to overcome the growing stream of biomass and waste at a distinct and organisational scale.

Owing to the broad applications of quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), we present the synthesis of benzimidazolium-based analogues with variation in the alkyl and alkoxy group at N-1 and N-3 positions. All the compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and found stable to air and moisture both in the solid and solution state. Moreover, molecular structures were established through single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The crystal packing of the compounds was stabilized by numerous intermolecular interactions explored by Hirshfeld surface analysis. The enrichment ratio was calculated for the pairs of chemical species to acquire the highest propensity to form contacts. Void analysis was carried out to check the mechanical response of the compounds. Furthermore, theoretical investigations were also performed to explore the optoelectronic properties of compounds. Natural population analysis (NPA) has been conducted to evaluate the distribution of charges on the synthesized compounds, whereas high band gaps of the synthesized compounds by frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis indicated their stability. Nonlinear optical (NLO) analysis revealed that the synthesized QAS demonstrates significantly improved NLO behaviour than the standard urea.

This paper presents the concept of a new hybrid model called spherical fuzzy N-soft expert sets, which is an extension of spherical fuzzy soft expert sets. The proposed model is highly suitable to describe the multinary data evaluation in terms of spherical fuzzy soft information considering multiple experts’ opinions. Some fundamental properties, including subset, weak complement, spherical fuzzy complement, spherical fuzzy weak complement, union, intersection, AND operation, and OR operation, are discussed. Our proposed concepts are explained with detailed examples. An efficient algorithm is developed to solve multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problems. Further, to guarantee the high applicability scope and flexibility of our initiated framework, two real-world MAGDM problems, that is, predicting local election results using survey ratings before the election and ranking credibility of the smartphones using customer feedback, are solved. Finally, to endorse the accuracy and advantages of the proposed technique, a comprehensive comparative analysis of the presented approach with existing models such as spherical fuzzy soft expert sets and N-soft sets is provided.

Cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Co3O4-Nps) have many applications and now a days the green methods of synthesis of these NPs are preferred over other methods because of associated benefits. In this study, Co3O4-Nps were synthesized by using leaves extract of Populus ciliata (safaida) and cobalt nitrate hexa hydrate as a source of cobalt. The synthesized NPs were analyzed by different techniques such as fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Antibacterial activities of the synthesized Co3O4-Nps were evaluated against gram negative and gram positive bacteria and found active against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebseilla pneumonia (K. pneumonia), Bacillus subtillus (B.subtillus) and Bacillus lichenifermia (B. lichenifermia). The activity results were analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA, with 'Dunnett's Multiple Comparison Test'. The maximum mean activity (21.8 0.7) was found for B. subtilis and minimum mean activity (14.0 0.6) was observed for E. coli.

This study investigates the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) equity indices with conventional indices in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) individually and across all BRICS countries to better understand regional economic cooperation. Accordingly, we look at daily returns from 13 July 2013 to 28 February 2018 for the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG indices and MSCI composite indices of the respective countries. To analyze the integration between the ESG equity indices of the sampled countries with their regional and across regional conventional counterparts, the Johansen Co-integration test is employed in this study. Further, the vector error correction model (VECM) is applied to test the causality between the sampled time-series. The impulse response function analysis further explains the impulse responses of each country’s MSCI ESG returns to one standard deviation of innovations to MSCI composite returns of the same country and across countries. Finally, the extent of the MSCI composite returns’ impact on the MSCI ESG returns in the same country indices, and cross-regional indices is examined with variance decomposition analysis. The results suggest that all ESG equity indices are integrated with conventional indices in all BRICS countries. Furthermore, there is a short-or long-run causality between MSCI ESG and MSCI composite equity indices of China and South Africa. Moreover, the study finds only short-run causality between conventional and non-conventional equity indices of Brazil and Russia, whereas we find only long-run causality between India’s non-conventional and conventional equity indices. Finally, the study finds that the all-individual country MSCI ESG equity indices shows a long-run causality with MSCI composite equity indices of all other BRICS countries. The findings also confirm the economic and financial cooperation between the BRICS countries.

The quantification of long-term performance of mechanically/chemically treated problematic soils is still under discussion. Likewise, exploring the availability and use of eco-friendly and sustainable stabilizing admixtures is a parallel area of contemporary research. This paper presents the laboratory results of a highly plastic soil strengthened with xanthan gum (XG) biopolymer to determine its suitability as a suitable subgrade for pavements. The XG content varied from 0 to 5 percent, and the specimens were tested at different aging periods (0‒60 days). The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil strengthened with 1.5% XG content showed a considerable enhancement in strength by 314 percent, strength improvement ratio (SRI) increased by 8.3 times, and energy absorption capacity (Ev) by 1.4 times, resulting in a hard-quality subgrade for pavement construction. The compression (Cc) and rebound (Cs) indices were greatly reduced by 78 percent, as well as the swell potential parameters (percent swell (Sw) and swell pressure (Sp)) were decreased by 85 percent on average. The hydraulic conductivity of treated soil as well as the moisture-mass losses in freeze–thaw durability test was also found to be greatly enhanced with increased XG content. Aging time also plays a pivotal role in enhancing the strength and anti-deformation characteristics of stabilized soil up to 60 days. SEM coupled with EDX analysis proved the aggregation of soil particles by hydro-gelling effect of biopolymer, which helps in the improvement of strength and durability. Therefore, XG biopolymer has a promising potential as an alternative admixture for treating widespread fat subgrade soils.