Speeding up extreme fast charging capability in lithium-ion batteries

Researchers show that inherent lithium ions in bioderived borate polymer enhance 'extreme fast charging' capability in graphite anodes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAPAN ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: IN AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES, A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS FROM JAPAN ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SYNTHESIZED A LITHIUM BORATE-TYPE AQUEOUS POLYELECTROLYTE BINDER FOR GRAPHITE ANODES. THEIR NEW BINDER HELPED IMPROVE LI-ION DIFFUSION AND LOWER IMPEDANCE COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL BATTERIES. view more 

CREDIT: NORIYOSHI MATSUMI FROM JAIST.

Ishikawa, Japan -- Current society is transitioning en masse from fossil fuels to renewable resources and electric batteries. Despite the urgency to switch to greener methods, core challenges related to efficiency and sustainability pose a hurdle to overcome. For instance, the mass market adoption of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for use in electric vehicles is being hindered by their slow charging speeds. “Extreme” fast charging (wherein 80% of the battery is charged within 10 min), high energy density, and cycle life are the “holy grail” of features that the automobile industry seeks out in batteries.

In order to enable the fast-charging ability in batteries, researchers have long attempted to enhance the mass transfer of electrolytes and charge transfer in electrodes, with extensive research carried out on the former compared to the latter. Now, a study by a team of researchers, led by Professor Noriyoshi Matsumi from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), showcases a new approach to facilitate fast charging using a binder material which promotes Li-ion intercalation of active material. The binder material leads to improved diffusion of desolvated Li ions across the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) and within the anode material and yields high conductivity, low impedance, and good stability.

The team comprised Former Senior Lecturer Rajashekar Badam, Postdoctoral Research Fellow Anusha Pradhan, Former Graduate Student Ryoya Miyairi, and Doctoral Course Student Noriyuki Takamori from JAIST. Their findings have been published in the journal ACS Materials Letters.

“Our current strategy of using a bio-derived lithium borate polymer as aqueous polyelectrolyte binder to enhance charge transfer within electrodes such as graphite anodes exhibits fast charging capability,” state corresponding authors Profs. Matsumi and Badam of JAIST.

While most research on batteries is focused on the design of active materials and improved mass transfer of electrolytes, the current study provides a different approach via the design of specific binder material which promotes lithium-ion intercalation of the active material. “The binder material includes highly dissociable lithium borate, which improves lithium-ion diffusion in the anode matrices. Further, this binder can form an organoboron SEI, which shows very low interfacial resistance when compared with ordinary battery cells,” explains Prof. Matsumi.

The role of boron compounds (such as the tetracordinate boron in the binder and the boron-rich SEI) is to aid in the desolvation of Li+ ions by decreasing the activation energy of desolvation of Li+ from the solvent sheath at the SEI. Also, with high diffusion and low impedance, the overpotential related to charge transfer at the interface is reduced. “This is one of the important determining factors for extreme fast charging,” explains Dr. Anusha Pradhan of JAIST, who is the first author of the paper.

Generally, when charging surpasses rate of intercalation, Li plating occurs on graphite electrodes. It is an undesired process leading to reduced battery life and limiting fast charge capability. In this study, the improved diffusion of ions across the SEI and within the electrodes limits the concentration polarization of Li+ ions - leading to the absence of plating on graphite.

In their study, not only do the researchers present a novel strategy for extremely high-rate chargeable batteries and reduced interfacial resistance, but they also used a biopolymer derived from caffeic acid. A plant-based organic compound, caffeic acid is a sustainable and environmentally safe source of material. Thus, while the market for these batteries grows tremendously, the use of bio-based resources in these batteries will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Highlighting the key abilities of the structure used in this study, Prof. Matsumi adds, “In future studies, our binder can also be combined with high-rate chargeable active materials to enable further synergistic effect in enhancing performance.”

With increasing research into battery performance, one can soon look forward to greener options in the way we use energy, especially in the transportation sector. “Through the high-rate chargeable battery technology, people will enjoy electric vehicles and convenient mobile devices. As the use of renewable resources will maintain availability of products for long, irrespective of availability of fossil resources and influences by high social situations,” concludes Prof. Matsumi.

 

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Reference

Title of original paper:	Extreme Fast Charging Capability in Graphite Anode via a Lithium Borate Type Biobased Polymer as Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Binder
Author:	Anusha Pradhan, Rajashekar Badam*, Ryoya Miyairi, Noriyuki Takamori and Noriyoshi Matsumi*
Journal:	ACS Materials Letters
DOI:	10.1021/acsmaterialslett.2c00999

 

 

About Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Founded in 1990 in Ishikawa prefecture, the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) was the first independent national graduate school in Japan. Now, after 30 years of steady progress, JAIST has become one of Japan’s top-ranking universities. JAIST counts with multiple satellite campuses and strives to foster capable leaders with a state-of-the-art education system where diversity is key; about 40% of its alumni are international students. The university has a unique style of graduate education based on a carefully designed coursework-oriented curriculum to ensure that its students have a solid foundation on which to carry out cutting-edge research. JAIST also works closely both with local and overseas communities by promoting industry–academia collaborative research.  

 

About Professor Noriyoshi Matsumi from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Noriyoshi Matsumi is a Professor in the School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST). He is also the Dean of the School of Transdisciplinary Science, JAIST. He obtained his doctoral degree in engineering from Kyoto University in 2000, and worked as an assistant professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and associate professor at Nagoya University in 2006. From 2010, he has been working at JAIST.

His research interests include the creation of energy related materials, lithium-ion secondary batteries, metal-air batteries, electrocatalysis (oxygen reduction, photo-electrochemical water splitting), solid polymer electrolytes, ionic liquids, and organoboron compounds/materials. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Polymer Bulletin (Springer).

 

Funding information

This work was supported by the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) Technologies for Smart Bio-Industry and Agriculture, Japan.

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JOURNAL

ACS Materials Letters

DOI

10.1021/acsmaterialslett.2c00999 

ARTICLE TITLE

Extreme Fast Charging Capability in Graphite Anode via a Lithium Borate Type Biobased Polymer as Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Binder

High downward surface solar radiation conducive to ozone pollution more frequent under global warming

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

IMAGE: HIGH DOWNWARD SURFACE SOLAR RADIATION CONDUCIVE TO OZONE POLLUTION MORE FREQUENT UNDER GLOBAL WARMING view more 

CREDIT: ©SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

Elevated near-surface ozone pollutes many parts of the world, exerting consequential impacts on human health in ozone-prone regions, including southeastern China, the southeastern United States, and Europe. Key meteorological conditions, such as downward surface shortwave radiation, intensify ozone pollution, yet how these meteorological conditions or associated mechanisms respond to global warming remains unknown.

“Taking advantage of 5-year-long daily observations in China over the 2015-2019 period, we first identify an extraordinary ozone increase in fall 2019 over the broad eastern China, with the highest intensity in the Pearl River Delta, China,” said Miss Wenbin Kou, PhD student at Ocean University of China.

“The primary mechanism lies in that stronger downward surface solar radiation induces extra biogenic emissions that could trigger several folds of increase in long-lasting ozone events,” said Dr. Yang Gao, professor at Ocean University of China.

“World Health Organization global air quality guidelines released in 2021 have added a standard for peak-season ozone, which strengthened the ozone standard,” said Dr. Huiwang Gao, professor at Ocean University of China. “Our analysis shows that the substantial ozone increase in fall 2019 is a crucial element contributing to an exceedance to Target 1 peak-season ozone standard of the World Health Organization”.

A previous study (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.160256311) attributed an abnormally ozone increase in fall 2010 in the southeastern United States to an increase in isoprene emissions due to an increased vapor pressure deficit,” said Dr. Steven Davis, professor at University of California, Ivine. “Based on the observed data, our reassessment indicates that substantially high ozone anomalies in fall 2010 in the southeastern U.S. are linked to a strikingly higher-than-normal downward surface solar radiation, likely another key meteorological condition that helps trigger an increase in biogenic emissions.”

 “Our high-resolution community earth system model simulates improved spatial distribution of surface solar radiation globally relative to multi-model ensemble of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and 6,” said Dr. Shaoqing Zhang, professor at Ocean University of China.

“Our daily meteorological index measuring conducive conditions for occurrences of ozone pollution indicates that such conducive conditions are projected to occur more frequently in future over the major regions prone to ozone pollution over the world in both fall and summer,” said Dr. Wenju Cai, chief research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.

 “Our result points to a potentially large ozone enhancement triggered by a future increase in downward solar radiation and the associated enhancement of biogenic emissions in a warming climate”, said Dr. Lixin Wu, professor at Ocean University of China. “High ozone pollution in ozone-prone regions is likely to occur more often under greenhouse warming.”

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JOURNAL

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2023.01.022 

Putting out “the fire in the brain”

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITÄT LEIPZIG

 

IMAGE: STRUCTURE OF THE FUSION CONSTRUCT THAT IS USED AGAINST AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS. DOMAINS OF THE NMDA RECEPTOR ARE STAINED IN BLUE AND YELLOW. view more 

CREDIT: STEFAN HALLERMANN, LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY

In autoimmune encephalitis, a rare but serious and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the central nervous system, the body’s own defences are directed against the central nervous system. This disease was first identified in 2007, and the most common type is Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. In this autoimmune disease, a protein that plays an important role in signal transmission in the brain is disrupted: the NMDA-type glutamate receptor, or NMDA receptor for short. Researchers from Braunschweig, Jena, Leipzig and Berlin have developed a new potential treatment for this disease.

In anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, antibodies interfere with signal transmission in the brain. The receptors which the neurotransmitters glutamate and glycine bind to are internalised by the cells through antibody binding. This causes reduced signal transmission to neurons in the central nervous system. Those affected experience a wide variety of symptoms from epileptic seizures and psychoses such as hallucinations to loss of consciousness and coma. Patients describe the disease symptoms to be like a “fire in the brain” that they can’t control. The interdisciplinary DFG research unit SYNABS, consisting of researchers from several locations, is dedicated to the study of this disease.

“It is our goal to better understand the disease mechanisms and to develop new and target-specific therapeutic approaches using modern biotechnology,” said the group’s spokesperson, Professor Christian Geis from Jena University Hospital. With their translational research approach, the group has been able to discover a potential therapeutic agent. The molecule consists of a part of an NMDA receptor and a fragment of a human antibody. The pathogenic antibodies then bind to this fusion construct rather than to the NMDA receptors.

“To investigate whether the newly developed molecule can neutralise the antibodies, we used biochemical and microscopic methods on cultured nerve cells from mice and humans,” said Toni Kirmann, a doctoral researcher who is part of the SYNABS consortium in the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University. “We plan to try to apply this therapeutic approach to other forms of autoimmune encephalitis. In the long term, we hope that basic neuroscience research will help improve treatment options in neurology and psychiatry,” said Professor Stefan Hallermann of the Carl Ludwig Institute of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University.

In this project, the TU Braunschweig developed the fusion construct and analysed it biochemically. The partners at Jena University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University initiated the DFG research unit and have analysed neurons and conducted in vivo studies. The partners at Charité and Freie Universität in Berlin have identified the affected autoimmune antibodies in patients.

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JOURNAL

Brain

DOI

10.1093/brain/awac497 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

NMDA-receptor-Fc-fusion constructs neutralize anti-NMDA receptor antibodies

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

3-Mar-2023

The dual face of photoreceptors during seed germination

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GREGOR MENDEL INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR PLANT BIOLOGY

 

IMAGE: AETHIONEMA ARABICUM. © ZSUZSANNA MÉRAI / GMI. view more 

CREDIT: © ZSUZSANNA MÉRAI / GMI

Seed germination depends on light in many plants. But not always: Aethionema arabicum, a plant adapted to challenging environmental conditions, does it its own way. Here, the phytochromes, the receptors for red and far-red light, play an unexpected role in seed germination and time this process to the optimal season. These findings, now published in “Plant Physiology”, are a compelling example of the evolutionary rewiring of signaling modules that help plants adapt to their habitats. The study was led by researchers at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

 

While some plant seeds require light to germinate, other seeds are insensitive to or even inhibited by light. Most insights into light’s role during seed germination stem from studies using the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana, where light is required to initiate germination. In contrast, light is a strong inhibitor of germination in other plants, but the molecular basis of this effect has remained largely unknown. A team of researchers, led by Dr. Zsuzsanna Mérai at the Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), now used the plant Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae) to investigate the molecular mechanism of light-inhibited seed germination.

Aethionema arabicum originates from open and dry habitats where seed germination on the surface during bright, long, and hot days would reduce the chances of seedling survival. Light inhibition of germination is interpreted as a trait to restrict germination to cooler seasons or to seeds located underground.

In their study, Mérai and her colleagues demonstrated that phytochromes, the light receptors for red and far-red wavelengths, play a dual role in the response to light in Aethionema; they can stimulate but also inhibit germination. By measuring the light intensity and duration through phytochromes, the seeds acquire information about the day length and by that, about the season.

A Cypriot variant helps in understanding light inhibition

Mérai and her colleagues use seeds of one Aethionema variant originating from Cyprus (CYP) that do not germinate upon exposure to white light. In its natural habitat, the CYP variant only germinates in early spring when days are relatively short, and temperatures are cool. This allows the plant to complete its life cycle before the dry summer season. Mérai sought to investigate the mechanism of light inhibition in Aethionema CYP by creating a collection of mutagenized seeds which they screened for mutants that could germinate also in white light, in contrast to the original line. Now, the researchers characterized one mutant at the molecular level. They called it “koy-1”, after Koyash, the god of the sun in Turkic mythology. They demonstrated that its mutation affected HEME OXYGENASE 1, a key gene required for the biosynthesis of chromophores, the light-detecting molecules of phytochromes. This mutation limits the amount of the chromophore protein and is responsible for the altered light responsiveness of koy-1.

The dual role of phytochromes enables environmental adaptation

The koy-1 mutant allowed Mérai and her colleagues to uncover further mechanistic details. “By varying light intensity, wavelength, and duration, we were able to dissect complex light response patterns linked to phytochromes in Aethionema,” says Mérai. “The low residual amount of functional phytochromes in koy-1 allowed us to unravel a surprising dual role in Aethionema seed germination.” Their experiments demonstrated that high light intensity and duration strongly inhibited germination, whereas short exposure favored germination. These two opposite responses to light result from different proportions between two key hormones: the germination-inhibitory abscisic acid (ABA) versus the germination-inducing gibberellic acid (GA). “We already knew that light exposure in Arabidopsis resulted in high GA and low ABA levels. Now, we also know that Aethionema CYP responds similarly under very limited light. However, with increasing irradiance, the hormone levels go literally upside down, resulting in germination inhibition,” says Mérai. “The opposite responses to light intensity and duration have a genetic basis and are an adaptation to the plants’ natural environment, allowing Aethionema CYP to germinate in early spring, but not later.”

Evolution works with rewiring modules

By unraveling that the same molecular players could mediate diametrically opposed effects, the team documents how evolution may have “rewired” existing modules to respond adequately to environmental requirements. With such combinatorial variations, documented in multiple organisms, evolution can attain “quick” changes without the need for new players to evolve from scratch. “Our findings pave the way for a better understanding of molecular processes in nature and biodiversity by studying non-model organisms and non-crop plants. The scientific knowledge gained from Arabidopsis is essential, but not always representative of all plants. Here, we demonstrate that we could even uncover completely opposite molecular mechanisms in nature,” concludes Mérai, whose work establishes Aethionema as a new model for studying the effects of light on seed germination.

 

Original publication:

Mérai Z. et al. “Phytochromes mediate germination inhibition under red, far-red, and white light in Aethionema arabicum”. Plant Physiology, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad138

About GMI:

The Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) conducts cutting-edge research in molecular plant biology. The institute is owned and funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Research topics include basic mechanisms of epigenetics, cell biology, plant-pathogen interactions, developmental biology, and population genetics. GMI is located at the Vienna BioCenter, one of the leading life science sites in Europe. https://www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/

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JOURNAL

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

DOI

10.1093/plphys/kiad138 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Phytochromes mediate germination inhibition under red, far-red, and white light in Aethionema arabicum

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Mar-2023

Additive to make slurry more climate-friendly

Study by the University of Bonn confirms reduction of the greenhouse gas methane by 99 percent

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BONN

 

IMAGE: PIG FARMING PRODUCES A LOT OF EXCREMENT, WHICH IS STORED AS SLURRY. METHANE IS RELEASED FROM THIS THROUGH DECOMPOSITION PROCESSES. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: VERONIKA OVERMEYER / UNIVERSITY OF BONN

Greenhouse gases act like a layer of window glass in the atmosphere: They prevent heat from being radiated from the Earth's surface into space. Methane does that 28 times as effectively as carbon dioxide - it is (to stay in the picture) a kind of invisible double glazing.

Over the past 200 years, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled. This is mainly due to human meat consumption: For one thing, cows and other ruminants produce methane during digestion. Another important source is the excrement of the animals. "One-third of the world's man-made methane comes from livestock," explains Felix Holtkamp, who is completing his doctorate at the INRES Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation at the University of Bonn. "It's estimated that up to 50 percent of it originates from fermentation processes in the slurry."

Researchers around the globe are therefore looking for ways to suppress these processes. Holtkamp, his scientific supervisor Dr. Manfred Trimborn from the Institute for Agricultural Engineering at the University of Bonn, and Dr. Joachim Clemens from the fertilizer manufacturer SF-Soepenberg GmbH have now presented a promising solution to the problem. "We combined slurry from a farm in the lab with calcium cyanamide, a chemical that has been used as a fertilizer in agriculture for more than 100 years," Holtkamp says. "This brought methane production to an almost complete halt."

Emissions fell by 99 percent

Overall, emissions fell by 99 percent. This effect started barely an hour after the addition and persisted until the end of the experiment half a year later. The long effectiveness is important, because slurry is not simply discarded. Rather, it is stored until the beginning of the following growing season and then spread on the fields as a valuable fertilizer. Months of storage are therefore quite common.

During this time, the slurry is transformed by bacteria and fungi: They break down undigested organic material into smaller and smaller molecules. Methane is produced at the end of these processes. "Calcium cyanamide breaks this chain of chemical transformations, and does so simultaneously at different points, as we were able to see in the chemical analysis of the slurry treated accordingly," Holtkamp explains. "The substance suppresses the microbial degradation of short-chain fatty acids, an intermediate in the chain, and their conversion to methane. Exactly how this happens is still unknown."

But the substance has other advantages as well: It enriches the slurry with nitrogen and thus improves its fertilizing effect. It also prevents the formation of so-called floating layers - these are deposits of organic matter that form a solid crust on the slurry and hinder gas exchange. This crust usually needs to be regularly broken up and stirred in.

The process also has advantages for the animals themselves: They are often kept on so-called slatted floors. Their excrement falls through openings in the floor into a large container. Microbial conversion allows the fecal-urine mixture to foam up over time and rise back up through the gaps. "The animals are then standing in their own excrement," Holtkamp says. "Calcium cyanamide stops this foaming." The costs are also manageable - they are around 0.3 to 0.5 cents per liter of milk for cattle farming.

Slurry "purity law" currently prevents use

It is still unclear how the method affects the release of ammonia from the slurry. Ammonia is a toxic gas that, while not harmful to the climate itself, can be converted to dangerous greenhouse gases. "We have initial indications that the amount of ammonia is also reduced in the long term," says Dr. Manfred Trimborn of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Bonn. "We can't say for sure at this point, though."

In Germany, an environmental law currently prevents the addition of calcium cyanamide: A strict purity requirement applies to conventionally stored slurry at present.

Participating institutions:

In addition to the University of Bonn, SF-Soepenberg GmbH in Hünxe was involved in the study.

In his doctoral thesis, Felix Holtkamp from the University of Bonn investigated processes that can be used to reduce methane emissions from slurry.

CREDIT

Photo: Felix Holtkamp / University of Bonn

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JOURNAL

Waste Management

DOI

10.1016/j.wasman.2023.02.018 

ARTICLE TITLE

Calcium cyanamide reduces methane and other trace gases during long-term storage of dairy cattle and fattening pig slurry

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Mar-2023

When ‘good genes’ go bad: how sexual conflict can cause population collapse

Peer-Reviewed Publication

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Males of a species evolving traits for sexual conflict can cause problems for females, and, ultimately, the whole population.

A new model by Imperial College London and University of Lausanne researchers, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how so-called ‘good genes’ can sometimes cause a population to collapse.

Males of any species may compete for females, either by fighting other males for access or impressing females to win their approval. In both cases, males expressing the most competitive traits – such as the best ornaments, like peacock feathers, or the best weapons, like big body size – access more females.

To have the best traits the males must be in good condition, for example to be in better shape or carry less disease. Over time, as better-condition males mate with more females, the prevalence of ‘good genes’ increases throughout the population of the animal, leading to the population as a whole to improve in condition.

However, it can also backfire. Traits than improve a male’s competitive prowess can also damage females. For example, some insect males have evolved penises that tear the females’ insides, and in many species, including mammals, males have evolved to harass females to induce mating. These behaviours reduce female fecundity or may even kill them.

The team’s model tested theories of sexual competition where males harm females, and compared the results with data for various population experiments. Previous experiments have shown conflicting accounts as to whether sexual selection is positive or negative for the population as a whole. The new model provides an explanation for why some experiments show male condition improving, without female fitness or population viability improving alongside.

First author Dr Ewan Flintham, from Imperial College London and the University of Lausanne, said: “Where males evolve selfish traits that help them individually win, they can actually end up causing the population to crash – it’s a form of evolutionary suicide. Even when females evolve to counter male harm and prevent population collapse, the population still decreases significantly, reducing its viability.”

Sexual interactions like these are an important component of understanding population demographics and conservation. For example, where there are more males, sexual competition intensifies, meaning harm towards females is more likely. This is also true in human-managed populations, for example domestic carp, where males and females must be isolated during spawning season.

Dr Flintham completed the research as part of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantitative and Modelling Skills in Ecology and Evolution at Imperial. His project supervisor and study co-author Professor Vincent Savolainen, Director of the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet at Imperial, said: “Male harm evolved in nature as something that was supposed to be good, but is detrimental to females and the whole population. Questions like how and why this happens can only be answered with quantitative methods – data and mathematical models – which can be just as important as field studies.”

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JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2211668120 

ARTICLE TITLE

Male harm offsets the demographic benefits of good genes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Mar-2023

Tree rings and strontium point researchers to the provenance of 400-year-old timber

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

 

IMAGE: SAMPLE FROM A HOUSE IN THE TOWN OF HORSENS IN DENMARK. THE ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT THE WOOD ORIGINALLY CAME FROM SWEDEN. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: AOFIE DALY, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN

Tree-ring analysis – so-called dendrochronological analysis – has been part of archaeology for many years and has made it possible for archaeologists to date old wooden objects with great precision. And in many cases, they have also been able to determine the provenance of the wood.

But it has proven difficult for researchers to determine timber’s place of origin when the historic timber was imported into Denmark from further afield to serve as building material.

In a new study in the journal PLOS ONE, Associate Professor Aoife Daly and Dr Alicia Van Ham-Meert from the University of Copenhagen show that combining analyses of strontium and tree rings in timber can provide a more detailed picture of the origin of timber.

“Dendrochronology is a powerful tool for identifying the region of origin of historic timber. One of the potential biases in the method is the use of a dataset that in itself has a history of transport and re-use. This phenomenon is clear, for example, when timber particularly from urban centres are from varying sources. This is where strontium enters the picture,” says Aoife Daly and adds: 

"Specifically, we have taken timber samples from three old houses in the Danish towns of Aalborg and Horsens. A good example is a sample from a house in Horsens, where the dendrochronological analysis mistakenly showed that the wood was Danish; the strontium signature, however, precisely matched a location in southern Sweden, which indicates that the timber had been transported from southern Sweden to Horsens and used to build the house there. This is not surprising in as much as Sweden was part of the Kingdom of Denmark at the time, but it is important for us to be able to distinguish between places of origin of the objects we find.”

Busy timber trade along the south coast of Sweden
Gothenburg used to be regarded as the central shipping port for the timber trade during this period. However, the new results suggest that other ports also played a role in the very lively timber trade in the region: 

"The fact that some of the samples have been found to originate from southern Sweden is important because it tells us that the timber trade was spread out over a much larger area than we have previously believed. And the strontium signatures point to an area around the Göta River, which must have been an important transport route for the timber traders,” concludes Aoife Daly.

Dendrochronology 
Dendrochronology, also called tree-ring analysis, is the scientific discipline concerned with dating and interpreting past events based on the analysis of tree rings. The rings are counted and measured, and the sequence of rings is correlated with sequences from other trees.    

 

Strontium 
Strontium is a chemical element found in the Earth's crust, but its prevalence varies depending on the geology of each region. Humans, animals and plants absorb strontium through water and food. In this way, strontium works a bit like a satnav: by analysing the strontium isotopes in archaeological artefacts, you can determine where in the world they originate from, because their strontium isotope signature will reflect the region the artefacts come from.   

 

The article "Provenancing 16th and 17th century CE building timbers in Denmark – combining dendroprovenance and Sr isotopic analysis" has just been published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The study is part of the TIMBER research project, which is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

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JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0278513 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Provenancing 16th and 17th century CE building timbers in Denmark–combining dendroprovenance and Sr isotopic analysis

Association of structural fires in New York City with inequities in safe heating for immigrant communities

JAMA Network Open

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: This study found that the frequency of heating complaints was significantly associated with the frequency of structural fires in New York City. Importantly, this association varied across community districts, with more fires occurring in districts with greater proportions of Black and Latinx residents. 

Authors: Clifford C. Sheckter, M.D., of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California, is the corresponding author. 

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

Skilled nursing facilities continued to provide high quality care for those hospitalized during the pandemic

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HEBREW SENIORLIFE HINDA AND ARTHUR MARCUS INSTITUTE FOR AGING RESEARCH

Older adults who entered skilled nursing facilities (SNF) for care after hospitalizations after the pandemic received rehabilitation care comparable to the levels of care that were provided pre-pandemic, according to research published in the JAMA Health Forum.

Despite exceptional challenges during the pandemic, SNFs provided post-acute rehabilitation with only a modest decline in intensity, said the researchers. This suggests that SNFs were largely able to adapt and provide post-acute care rehabilitation to older adults.

“During the pandemic we knew that fewer people went to skilled nursing facilities after hospitalizations, and it seemed like the ones that went were overall sicker, with more cognitive impairment and higher risk overall,” said Sandra M. Shi, MD, MPH.  “This study helps to demonstrate that despite caring for a sicker population with scarce resources, SNFs were still largely able to provide post-acute rehabilitation for patients.”

“Our goal was to characterize changes in rehabilitation services provided by SNFs during COVID-19”, said Sarah Berry, MD, MPH.  “Rehabilitation services overall decreased, but only by about a half day on average.”

The article, “Post-Acute Care Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes in Skilled Nursing Facilities Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, was published in the JAMA Health Forum and was authored by Sandra M. Shi, MD, MPH, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife; Cyrus M. Kosar, PhD, Brown School of Public Health; Natalia Gouskovia, PhD, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife; and Sarah Berry, MD, MPH, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, was founded in 1903 and today is a national leader dedicated to empowering seniors to live their best lives. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Hebrew SeniorLife also trains more than 1,000 future health care professionals each year, and conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a robust research portfolio whose NIH funding in 2021 places it in the top 10% of NIH-funded institutions. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

 

About the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
Scientists at the Marcus Institute seek to transform the human experience of aging by conducting research that will ensure a life of health, dignity, and productivity into advanced age. The Marcus Institute carries out rigorous studies that discover the mechanisms of age-related disease and disability; lead to the prevention, treatment, and cure of disease; advance the standard of care for older people; and inform public decision-making.

 

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JOURNAL

JAMA Health Forum

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Post-Acute Care Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes in Skilled Nursing Facilities Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

3-Mar-2023

COI STATEMENT

Drs Shi and Kosar reported grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Gouskova reported grants from NIH during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

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