AGRICULTURE

New method could significantly reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Nitrogen fertilization leads to emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) from agricultural soils, accounting for a significant portion of total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. It has long been assumed that these N₂O emissions are unavoidable.

However, an international team of researchers led by NMBU has discovered a method to reduce these emissions. They have identified bacteria that can "consume" nitrous oxide as it forms in the soil, preventing the gas from escaping into the atmosphere. The researchers believe that this method alone has the potential to reduce agricultural nitrous oxide emissions in Europe by one-third.

The N₂O problem

Plants need a lot of nitrogen to grow. A productive agriculture, therefore, requires an abundant supply of nitrogenous fertilizer. This was a bottleneck in agriculture until Fritz Haber pioneered technology for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizer from atmospheric nitrogen. This technology has contributed to the world's food production keeping pace with population growth for 120 years.

However, there are microorganisms in the soil that produce the greenhouse gas N₂O, and fertilization stimulates this production.

“This greenhouse gas has an effect that is about 300 times stronger than CO₂, and agriculture accounts for about three quarters of Europe’s N2O emissions,” explains Wilfried Winiwarter, one of the coauthors of the study and a senior researcher in the Pollution Management Research Group of the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program.

“Also, globally, agriculture is the primary source of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide emissions are primarily regulated by soil bacteria, making reduction efforts challenging due to their elusive nature,” he adds.

Bacteria can do the job

Researchers at NMBU have been conducting basic research for over 20 years on how microorganisms in the soil convert nitrogen. They have, among other things, thoroughly studied what happens when the microbes do not have access to enough oxygen, a condition called hypoxia.

When fertilization occurs (and during rainfall), some parts of the soil become hypoxic. Since the microbes then do not have access to oxygen, they are forced to find other ways to get energy. Many microbes can use nitrate instead of oxygen, and through a process called denitrification, they convert the nitrate into other gases. One of these is nitrous oxide, and in this way, the microorganisms contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

The researchers have made significant discoveries regarding the regulation of this process, and they have developed a unique way to study denitrification. They use, among other things, robotic solutions both in the laboratory and in the field, and have developed a special robot that can make real-time measurements of nitrous oxide emissions from the soil.

The solution to reduce N₂O emissions is to use a special type of bacteria that lacks the ability to produce nitrous oxide but can reduce nitrous oxide to harmless nitrogen gas (N₂).

"If we grow these microbes in organic waste used as fertilizer, we can reduce N₂O emissions. This could mean a solution to the problem of N₂O emissions from agriculture," says Lars Bakken, lead author of the study and a professor at NMBU.

"But it was not easy to find the right bacterium. It must be able to grow quickly in organic waste, function well in soil, and live long enough to reduce N₂O emissions through an entire growing season. It was also a challenge to go from testing this in the laboratory to trying it out in nature, and to ensure that it actually reduced N₂O emissions in the field,” Bakken adds.

The research team is now working to find more bacteria that consume nitrous oxide and to test these in different types of organic waste used as fertilizers worldwide. The goal is to find a wide range of bacteria that can function in different types of soil and with various fertilizer mixtures.

Adapted from a press release prepared by NMBU.

Reference:

Hiis, E., Vick, S., Molstad, L., Røsdal, K., Jonassen, K., Winiwarter, W., Bakken, L. (2024) Unlocking bacterial potential to reduce farmland N2O emissions Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07464-3

IIASA researcher contact:

Wilfried Winiwarter
Senior Research Scholar
Pollution Management Research Group
Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
winiwart@iiasa.ac.at

Press Officer
Bettina Greenwell
IIASA Press Office
Tel: +43 2236 807 282
greenwell@iiasa.ac.at

About IIASA:

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

 

 

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-024-07464-3 

ARTICLE TITLE

Unlocking bacterial potential to reduce farmland N2O emissions

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-May-2024

New method makes hydrogen from solar power and agricultural waste

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO

University of Illinois Chicago engineers have helped design a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production.

Hydrogen-based fuels are one of the most promising sources of clean energy. But producing pure hydrogen gas is an energy-intensive process that often requires coal or natural gas and large amounts of electricity.  

In a paper for Cell Reports Physical Science, a multi-institutional team led by UIC engineer Meenesh Singh unveils the new process for green hydrogen production. 

The method uses a carbon-rich substance called biochar to decrease the amount of electricity needed to convert water to hydrogen. By using renewable energy sources such as solar power or wind and capturing byproducts for other uses, the process can reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.

“We are the first group to show that you can produce hydrogen utilizing biomass at a fraction of a volt,” said Singh, associate professor in the department of chemical engineering. “This is a transformative technology.” 

Electrolysis, the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, requires an electric current. At an industrial scale, fossil fuels are typically required to generate this electricity. 

Recently, scientists have decreased the voltage required for water splitting by introducing a carbon source to the reaction. But this process also uses coal or expensive chemicals and releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct. 

Singh and colleagues modified this process to instead use biomass from common waste products. By mixing sulfuric acid with agricultural waste, animal waste or sewage, they create a slurry-like substance called biochar, which is rich in carbon. 

The team experimented with different kinds of biochar made from sugarcane husks, hemp waste, paper waste and cow manure. When added to the electrolysis chamber, all five biochar varieties reduced the power needed to convert water to hydrogen. The best performer, cow dung, decreased the electrical requirement sixfold to roughly a fifth of a volt. 

The energy requirements were low enough that the researchers could power the reaction with one standard silicon solar cell generating roughly 15 milliamps of current at 0.5 volt. That’s less than the amount of power produced by an AA battery. 

“It’s very efficient, with almost 35% conversion of the biochar and solar energy into hydrogen” said Rohit Chauhan, a co-author and postdoctoral scholar in Singh’s lab. “These are world record numbers; it’s the highest anyone has demonstrated.” 

To make the process net-zero, it must capture the carbon dioxide generated by the reaction. But Singh said this too could have environmental and economic benefits, such as producing pure carbon dioxide to carbonate beverages or converting it into ethylene and other chemicals used in plastic manufacturing. 

“It not only diversifies the utilization of biowaste but enables the clean production of different chemicals beyond hydrogen,” said UIC graduate Nishithan Kani, co-lead author on the paper. “This cheap way of making hydrogen could allow farmers to become self-sustainable for their energy needs or create new streams of revenue.” 

Orochem Technologies Inc., who sponsored the research, has filed for patents on their processes for producing biochar and hydrogen, and the UIC team plans to test the methods on a large scale. 

In addition to Singh, Kani and Chauhan, the paper was co-authored by UIC graduate student Rajan Bhawnani. Other co-authors come from Stanford University, Texas Tech University, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Korea University and Orochem Technologies Inc.

Written by Rob Mitchum

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JOURNAL

Cell Reports Physical Science

DOI

10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102013 

ARTICLE TITLE

Sub-volt conversion of activated biochar and water for H2 production near equilibrium via biochar-assisted water electrolysis

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-May-2024

 

Physical and chemical properties of boiled oil: A traditional method of extracting oil from boiled olive fruits

This article by Dr. Sana Janakat and colleagues is published in the journal, The Open Agriculture Journal

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

In certain towns in Northern Jordan, ranchers bubble some portion of their olive natural product gathered before oil extraction to expand the amount of oil, . They perceive it as a way to get a beneficial mixed bag, as they guarantee, and to get extra medical advantages. Local peoples call this oil Bubbled oil (BO), and its cost is around 20% higher than virgin olive oil (VOO) created by a similar rancher.

The speculation was thatpractice revolves around the belief that bubbling olive natural products might influence the nature of the created oil. Hence, ourResearchers from the Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology review expected to decide theconducted a study BO substance and profiled the actual attributes of bubbled oil in correlation with VOO and the impact of capacity of the two sorts of oils for one year.

Absolute phenolic compounds, ferric-diminishing cell reinforcement power measure (FRAP), and extremist searching movement (RSA) were assessed by the research team. In addition, the quality records of BO and VOO were likewise assessed.

Absolute phenolic compounds diminished fundamentally (p <0.05) from 8.7 mg GAE/100g in VOO to 2.47 mg GAE/100g in BO. The cell reinforcement movement estimated utilizing FRAP measure likewise diminished fundamentally (p <0.05) from 962 to 379 micromole/kg.

Half-most extreme inhibitory fixation (IC50) of the RSA was altogether higher (p <0.05) in BO tests (414 mg/ml) in examination with VOO tests (38.9 mg/ml). Besides, there was a huge increment (p <0.05) in corrosive worth in BO tests (0.943%) in examination with VOO tests (0.518%). Nonetheless, the expansion in corrosive worth following one year of capacity was higher in VOO than in BO. The peroxide esteem likewise expanded altogether in bubbled oil (500 meq/kg) in correlation with VOO (19 meq/kg). Furthermore, a huge expansion in bright retention was seen in BO at k232 and k270 (3.5), which is thought of as unsatisfactory for human utilization contrasted and VOO (2.43).

All in all, these outcomes showed that bubbling olive organic products before oil extraction decays oil quality true to form, and shoppers ought to be taught that this sort of oil is perilous to human wellbeing and is a misuse of exertion and cash.

Read the research here; https://bit.ly/3QzqWGW

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JOURNAL

The Open Agriculture Journal

DOI

10.2174/0118743315309329240403061920 

ARTICLE TITLE

Physical and Chemical Properties of Boiled Oil: A Traditional Method of Extracting Oil from Boiled Olive Fruits

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

31-May-2024

 

Food Safety and Quality review summarizes sustainable seafood preservation techniques to minimize wastes and losses

Researchers from Italy comprehensively detail innovative physical and chemical preservation techniques to tackle wastes in the seafood processing industry

ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY

 

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CONVENTIONAL SEAFOOD PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES GENERATE TREMENDOUS WASTE AND ALTER THE TEXTURE AND FLAVOR OF SEAFOOD. IN THIS FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY ARTICLE, RESEARCHERS HAVE NOW DESCRIBED INNOVATIVE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL APPROACHES WHICH CAN IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY, ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY, AND EFFICIENCY OF SEAFOOD PROCESSING

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CREDIT: FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY

Seafood is widely savored worldwide and a staple in many regions. However, the seafood processing industry struggles with significant waste generation, causing financial and socioecological issues. A Food Safety and Quality review describes emerging chemical and physical preservation techniques that can overcome the challenges associated with conventional preservation approaches. The review highlights innovative techniques which can significantly improve the shelf life of seafood and retain their sensory attributes, in an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective manner.

Seafood is in high demand across several regions of the world. Moreover, this demand for seafood is expected to surge by a whopping 56% by 2050. Given the high moisture content and susceptibility of seafood to microbial and biochemical decay, it often requires heavy processing and preservation to retain freshness, unique composition, and flavors. Despite this, however, the seafood processing industry generates enormous amounts of waste products that sometimes even exceed the amount of actual edible produce. Improper waste disposal and spoilage of seafood can further have serious environmental, financial, and health consequences. Sustainable processing and preservation methods are therefore needed to ensure the maintenance of prolonged quality of seafood, while minimizing the environmental and economic impact from the generated wastes.

Often, traditional methods are employed for the purpose of seafood preservation. These include drying, salting, canning, fermentation, pickling, sugaring, sun-drying, traditional fermentation, potting, refrigeration, and freezing storage. While these methods help improve the shelf life of seafood, they may end up altering the taste, texture, and flavors of seafoods, hampering their edibility. Moreover, using these methods also requires stringent measures to maintain hygiene and efficiency, which can incur additional costs. Recently, however, several innovative physical and chemical methods have come to the fore, possessing the ability to reshape seafood processing into an economically and environmentally sustainable process.

Now, in a review article (doi: 10.1093/fqsafe/fyae017) published in Food Quality and Safety, researchers shed light on some of these recent pioneering physical and chemical advanced techniques that can effectively mitigate seafood wastage and improve productivity. The review was co-authored by Dr. Luisa Diomede, Dr. Andrea Conz, Dr. Enrico Davoli, and Dr. Carlotta Franchi from Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy, as part of the Project "ON Foods-Retwork of Research and Innovation on Sustainability, Food Safety and Nutrition-Working ON Foods" funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP), of the European Union-NextGenerationEU (Project Code PE000003, Decree of Concession no. 1550 of 20 October 2022, adopted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, CUP D93C22000890001).

Translated with DeepL.com (free version). Elaborating further on the rationale behind undertaking this study, Dr. Diomede, the corresponding author of the review, says, “The seafood preservation industry, driven by a mission to extend seafood’s shelf life, maintain its quality, reduce waste, and minimize environmental consequences, is looking towards innovative methods for this purpose. In this review, we sought to evaluate whether the proposed innovations address the intricacies of seafood preservation to meet the surge in demand for seafood, consciously and sustainably.”

The researchers conducted a detailed literature survey and identified 49 studies across 23 countries, that focus on the physical and chemical fish preservation techniques. The chemical methods evaluated by them include the use of organic acids and preservatives derived from biological sources, such as microorganisms, plants, or animals. Weak organic acids, such as acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, and ascorbic acid along with their sodium salts help delay lipid and nitrogen metabolism and inhibit microbial growth in seafood products. This contributes to the improvement of shelf life. Additionally, utilizing a combination of acids can help counteract changes in sensory attributes, smell, and taste associated with specific acids. Considering the species-specific characteristics, unique composition, and the concentration and type of acid can optimize seafood preservation.

Additionally, preservatives derived from microbial, plant, or animal-derived metabolites are gaining popularity, given their safety and potential to retain sensory and nutritional attributes of processed seafoods. Among various metabolites, bacteriocins and chitosans, which are Generally Recognized As Safe, have demonstrated potent bio-preservative effects owing to their ability to enhance the shelf life and stability of seafoods.

Next, the researchers focus on physical methods that rely on non-thermal approaches by circumventing the need for temperature maintenance, which is often energy- and cost-intensive. Unlike conventional approaches that require the maintenance of a cold chain or heating, cold plasma (CP), high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), and UV-C irradiation, can operate effectively at ambient temperatures. CP, an ionized gas distinct from the solid, liquid, and gaseous states, and dielectric barrier discharge-high-voltage cold atmospheric plasma (DBDHVCAP) has demonstrated the ability to inhibit bacterial growth and impede metabolic processes that lead to spoilage, without compromising the quality of seafood. HHP is another heat-free approach that destroys spoilage-causing microbes and enzymes. Optimizing temperature and pressure conditions can further enhance the effects of this approach. UV-C irradiation serves as another simple and effective decontamination technique, independent of temperature or pH conditions. However, physical methods can accelerate lipid oxidation, necessitating the optimization of treatment conditions.

In a nutshell, this review highlights findings from diverse studies spanning various preservation techniques and fish species. It also focuses on the advantages and challenges associated with each approach. Even as new and advanced approaches are in the wake of development, the need of the hour is to strike an equilibrium between improving shelf life, ensuring consumer safety and satisfaction, economic feasibility and sustainability, while retaining the nutritional value and flavor of the product.

Sharing her concluding thoughts, Dr. Diomede says, “Even as the industry grows and progresses in the future, addressing challenges and optimizing fish preservation methods for a sustainable, high-quality seafood supply will remain crucial.”

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References

DOI

10.1093/fqsafe/fyae017

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/fqsafe/fyae017

About Food Quality and Safety (FQS)

Food Quality and Safety (FQS) is an open access, international, peer-reviewed journal providing a platform to highlight emerging and innovative science and technology in the agro-food field, publishing up-to-date research in the areas of food quality, food safety, food nutrition and human health. It is covered by SCI-E and the 2022 Impact Factor (IF)=5.6, 5-yr IF=6.2.

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JOURNAL

Food Quality and Safety

DOI

10.1093/fqsafe/fyae017 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Seafood loss prevention and waste reduction

Improving the safety and reliability of self-driving cars

SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

SMU ASSISTANT PROFESSOR XIE XIAOFEI AIMS TO HELP DEVELOP SINGAPORE’S SMART CITY CAPABILITIES.

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CREDIT: SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

By Stuart Pallister

SMU Office of Research – Autonomous driving systems (ADSs) are complex as they consist of modules such as perception, localisation, prediction, motion planning and control. Each module performs specific tasks which can enable self-driving cars to operate safely and efficiently.

For Xie Xiaofei, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Singapore Management University, the perception module is of paramount importance as it effectively serves as the ‘eyes’ of the ADS as it allows the self-driving vehicle to perceive and understand its surroundings. 

In their grant application proposal, Professor Xie and his collaborator, Dr Liu Yang of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), state that the perception module serves as a ‘vital link between the vehicle and its environment.’

The research project, funded by a Ministry of Education Academic Research Funding (AcRF) Tier 2 grant, is due to start in August 2024 and is expected to last three years. It aims to assess the reliability and robustness of the perception module, which relies on various sensors including cameras, radar, and light detection (LiDAR) sensors to interpret road and traffic conditions.  

The objective of the project, the grant proposal states, will be to develop new technologies that ‘assess the quality and reliability of the perception module in an ADS with respect to vehicle motion and understand the impact of perception errors on other modules of ADSs such as decision-making.’ 

“Like human beings, self-driving vehicles need to understand the road conditions, the traffic, whether there are other vehicles or obstacles,” Professor Xie told the Office of Research. “So this is the first stage and now the driving system has some basic understanding of the environment. Then you have the planning module. Based on the traffic situation, I need to plan a route to get to my destination. And finally comes the control module, turning left or right based on the perception and plan.”

Understanding ADS

However, software and module issues can have an impact on the robustness of the overall system. Professor Xie points out that, while most studies have focused on the robustness of the perception module, these often overlook the broader impact of perception errors on the entire ADS. 

“So, in this project we will test the perception module but at the same time we will also consider the other modules like planning and control.

“You can make some errors with the perception module but in planning we can mitigate them. However, there are some perception errors that have a significant influence on planning and on the whole system, so we need to understand the relationships and influence of the different modules. That’s our focus.”

According to the grant proposal, the researchers aim to develop advanced error prediction methods to ‘enable proactive mitigation strategies … and enhance the quality of reliability of perception modules in ADSs.’ 

“This is complex. Our focus is the perception module as this is very important, but we will also consider the influence of this module on the others. This is a key difference between our project and other existing projects.” 

The project is expected to yield a series of top-tier journal and conference papers but Professor Xie, whose research has previously focused on software quality assurance, hopes they will also be able to “develop a software system to automatically test self-driving systems.”

Driving the Smart City

He hopes this project ‘will help to advance’ the Singapore Government’s Smart Urban Mobility Project, which seeks to enhance the country’s public transport systems.

“Our long-term goal is to contribute to the Singapore smart city.”

Initially, the project will deploy simulator-based software systems. After that, the plan is to move on to conducting tests on a small, unmanned vehicle, before seeking to evaluate the system on a self-driving car provided by the industry collaborators.

“Once we have such a system, we can use it to test the autonomous driving car and then report on potential issues.”

“A lot of companies are developing self-driving systems, but how can you ensure your system is robust and safe? This is our objective as we’ll be developing software to test and evaluate these systems.”

“We won’t distinguish between perception errors, planning or control errors. We just say this is a black box system and, in this project, we will open the black box.”

Fast charging electric vehicles with stable high-energy density lithium-ion batteries

A KERI team led by Dr. Choi Jeong Hee developed an aluminum oxide-based surface coating for anode materials. A simple process for treating the surface, rather than the materials inside the electrode, prevents irreversible lithium loss.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: 

KERI DR. CHOI JEONG HEE IS HOLDING AN ALUMINUM OXIDE DISPERSION (LEFT) AND THE ANODE FOR A LITHIUM-ION BATTERY COATING IT ON THE ANODE.

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CREDIT: KOREA ELECTROTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE(KERI)

A research team led by Dr. Choi Jeong Hee at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Battery Materials and Process Research Center, in cooperation with a Hanyang University team mentored by Professor Lee Jong-Won and a Kyunghee University team mentored by Professor Park Min-Sik, developed a core technology to ensure the charging/discharging stability and long-life of lithium-ion batteries under fast-charging conditions.

A crucial prerequisite for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the enhancement of lithium-ion battery performance in terms of driving range and safety. Fast charging is also essential for user convenience. However, increasing the energy density of lithium-ion batteries necessitates thicker electrodes, which can lead to battery degradation and performance deterioration during rapid charging.

To address this issue, the KERI team discovered a solution by partially coating the surface of the anode of the lithium-ion battery with aluminum oxide (Al2O3) particles smaller than 1 micrometer (㎛). While many researchers worldwide have concentrated on the materials within the electrode, such as introducing functional nanotechnology into anode materials like graphite, Dr. Choi's team employed a straightforward processing technique to coat the electrode's surface with aluminum oxide.

Low in cost, excellent in electrical insulation and heat resistance, chemically stable, and possessing good mechanical properties, aluminum oxide is widely used in various ceramics. The KERI researchers found that aluminum oxide particles effectively control the interface between the anode and the electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries, forming an interfacial highway for efficient Li+ transport. This prevents the electrodeposition of lithium (an irreversible change that makes the lithium unavailable for additional charging and discharging) during fast charging, thereby ensuring the stability and lifespan of the lithium-ion battery during charging and discharging.

Another advantage of this technology is that it enables an increase in the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. Introducing other functional materials into the electrode's interior to improve performance and stability often complicates the synthesis process and reduces the amount of reversible lithium (initial coulombic efficiency). It also increases the electrode thickness, leading to performance deterioration under fast charging conditions. However, the KERI technology involves surface treatment of the graphite anode, rather than modifying the interior active graphite materials. This approach achieves stable performance even under fast charging conditions for high-energy-density thick-film electrodes without a loss in the amount of reversible lithium.

Through various tests, the team confirmed that the high-energy-density anode coated with aluminum oxide (4.4 mAh/cm²) exhibits world-class performance, maintaining more than 83.4% of its capacity (residual capacity ratio) even after 500 cycles of rapid charging. They have verified this performance with pouch cells of up to 500mAh. The team is now planning to scale up the technology to make it applicable to large-area, medium- to large-capacity cells.

"Convenient fast charging and the energy density of lithium-ion batteries have long been considered a trade-off, which has hindered the widespread adoption of electric vehicles," said Dr. Choi. "Our work will help develop stable, high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries capable of fast charging. This advancement will contribute to the wider adoption of EVs and support the achievement of national carbon neutrality."

The excellence of this work has been demonstrated by patent registrations in both Korea and the United States. The findings were also published in a recent edition of Advanced Functional Materials, an internationally renowned journal in the field of materials engineering (JCR Impact Factor 19, top 3.7%).

KERI is a government-funded research institute under the National Research Council of the Ministry of Science and ICT. This research was funded by the Samsung Future Technology Project and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Industrial Technology Innovation Project (high-power battery and charging system technology for EVs). <KERI>

KERI researchers are partially coating aluminum oxide on the surface of the anode of a lithium-ion battery.

The cross-sectional SEM images of the cycled bare anode and Al2O3-coated anode for lithium ion battery. (left)

Phenomenon of irreversible lithium plating occurring in lithium-ion batteries with conventional anodes after fast charged cycling test, (right) Al2O3-coated KERI anode for lithium-ion batteries that suppresses the irreversible lithium plating even after fast charged cycling test.

Aluminum oxide dispersion (left) and anode for lithium ion battery coating it on.

CREDIT

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute(KERI)

JOURNAL

Advanced Functional Materials

DOI

10.1002/adfm.202400414 

ARTICLE TITLE

Multi-Interface Strategy for Electrode Tailoring Toward Fast-Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

 

Relieving a fear of public speaking

SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

 

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INSPIRED BY HER OWN EXPERIENCE, SMU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR KYONG JIN SHIM IS LEADING A RESEARCH PROJECT THAT INTEGRATES VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY AND AI TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS IN STUDENTS.

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CREDIT: SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

By Alistair Jones

SMU Office of Research - If you dread public speaking you are not alone. It is a leading social phobia, one that can cause a state of anxiety that reduces otherwise articulate people to nervous incoherence. 

A strong fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia. Academic studies estimate it affects 20 per cent of the population, but depending on the sample and methodology, the figure could be as high as 40 per cent. 

As American writer and humourist Mark Twain said, "There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.”

But help may be on the way. Kyong Jin Shim, an Associate Professor of Information Systems at Singapore Management University (SMU), is leading a research project that explores the integration of virtual reality (VR) technology and AI to improve public speaking skills in students. 

And while the research specifically focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of utilising this technology for the development of public speaking skills for university students, the methodology could have wider applications. The project has been awarded an MOE Tertiary Education Research Fund (TRF) grant and the proposed solution is called PresentationPro.

"[Through headsets], presenters will see a three-dimensional virtual environment that mimics a real-world presentation setting, complete with a crowd of AI-driven avatars representing an audience," Professor Shim says. 

"These avatars will display behaviours typical of a live audience, such as nodding, making eye contact, showing various expressions and providing real-time feedback to the presenter," Professor Shim says.

In a high-tech update on practice makes perfect, PresentationPro aims to provide a way for presenters to hone their public speaking skills without the logistical challenges of assembling a live audience for every student.

The team is collaborating with SMU’s Centre for English Communication (CEC) to translate their “presentation” know-how and best practices into a digital platform, and eventually to scale CEC’s communication coaching.

Avatar triggers

The VR content, including the audience avatars, is generated through a combination of advanced computer graphics and AI algorithms. To make the avatars responsive in real time is no small task.

"This is achieved through sophisticated AI programming that includes natural language processing (NLP) and behaviour modelling. The system uses machine learning to analyse the presenter’s speech and body language, allowing avatars to respond realistically in real time to both verbal and non-verbal cues," Professor Shim says.

By working with SMU’s Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Professor Shim’s faculty team tapped into CTE’s expertise in classroom management and wealth of knowledge in different kinds of behaviour that can manifest in classroom “presentation” scenarios. The behaviours of students and faculty/instructors play a crucial role in engineering PresentationPro’s “audience avatar” behaviours using AI.

But can the avatars interrupt the presenter?

"Yes, avatars can interrupt and ask questions, simulating a dynamic interaction typical of real audiences. This capability is enabled by integrating NLP and speech recognition technologies, allowing avatars to process spoken language and respond appropriately," Professor Shim says.

The physical cues of presenters will also be monitored.

"In addition to heart rate tracking with Fitbits, the system uses VR headsets such as Meta Quest equipped with head and gaze tracking technology to monitor where the presenter is looking, such as whether they are avoiding eye contact by staring at their feet. Gesture tracking is also employed to catch other physical behaviours like fidgeting," Professor Shim says.

Verbal triggers for the avatars are set up using a combination of speech recognition and sentiment analysis technologies. 

"These triggers are calibrated to recognise various speech patterns and anomalies such as tics, stutters, or deviations from the script, which then cue the avatars to react in specific ways that mimic a real audience's response," Professor Shim says.

Behavioural changes

The researchers have generated digital twins, which are highly detailed digital replicas of human behaviours and interactions – much like individuals – ensuring a diverse and realistic audience simulation reflective of a typical SMU classroom.

"Using different avatars helps to avoid repetition and predictability in audience reactions, enhancing the realism of the virtual environment and mimicking a typical seminar or classroom setting," Professor Shim says.

"VR and AI can simulate realistic social interactions, which can help individuals practise and improve their public speaking skills in a low-risk environment. Repeated exposure and positive reinforcement through VR can reduce anxiety, build confidence and lead to behavioural changes.

"Improvements will be measured through both subjective evaluations (participant and instructor feedback) and objective metrics (performance data collected during VR sessions and traditional in-person assessments). Comparisons will be drawn between control and experimental groups to assess the efficacy of VR training," Professor Shim says.

Transformative tool

Interestingly, for a project that is about behavioural change, no psychologists were among the project's expert investigators when it began.

"The research team primarily consists of specialists in education technology, AI, and public speaking, focusing on the technological and instructional design aspects of the project," Professor Shim says. 

"Although psychologists play a crucial role in understanding and addressing anxiety, our project's current scope concentrates on developing and integrating AI-driven solutions for public speaking training. Nevertheless, we recognise the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and are very open to partnering with experts in the social sciences to enhance our understanding of anxiety management. 

"Such collaborations could lead to further refinements in our VR system, ultimately enriching the learner's experience by more effectively addressing public speaking anxiety."

Professor Shim has since added SMU Assistant Professor of Psychology Andree Hartanto to the team to explore:

• Psychological mechanisms through which VR may reduce glossophobia;
• Long-term impacts of VR training on public speaking anxiety; and
• Differential effects of VR training across diverse demographic groups

Professor Shim's journey into VR applications began in 2021 with a prototype designed to train new lecturers at SMU. 

"My personal experiences as a faculty member, grappling with the challenges of adapting to a new cultural and academic environment, deeply influenced this initiative. During my early years at SMU, I found lecturing to a seminar-style classroom of 45 students from diverse backgrounds to be particularly daunting," she says.

"As I transitioned into a mentorship role for newer faculty members, I realised how beneficial immersive technologies like VR could be in accelerating the on-boarding process for new lecturers. This technology allows them to practice lecturing in their own time and space, repeat sessions as needed, and eliminates the logistical challenges of scheduling real seminar rooms and audiences. 

"Inspired by the potential of this initial application, we set out to develop a similar VR system to enhance public speaking skills for students. This project not only leverages my teaching-related research in collaboration with CTE, but also builds upon our foundational work in VR, aiming to provide a transformative educational tool for a wider audience," Professor Shim says.

 

Lighting up the brain: What happens when our ‘serotonin center’ is triggered?

By studying how activating the brain’s serotonin center affects awake animals for the first time, scientists show that serotonin activates brain areas influencing behavior and motivation.

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

USING LIGHT STIMULATION AND MRI, SCIENTISTS COMPARED THE EFFECTS OF STIMULATING THE BRAIN’S SEROTONIN CENTER IN AWAKE AND ANESTHETIZED MICE, SHOWING A CLEAR DIFFERENCE IN ACTIVATION LEVELS BETWEEN THE TWO STATES.

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CREDIT: HAMADA ET AL., 2024

Our brains are made of tens of billions of nerve cells called neurons. These cells communicate with each other through biomolecules called neurotransmitters. Serotonin, a type of neurotransmitter, is produced by serotonin neurons in our brains and influences many of our behavioral and cognitive functions such as memory, sleep, and mood. 

Using mice, scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and their collaborators from Keio University School of Medicine have studied the main source of serotonin in the brain – the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). By studying how activating the brain’s ‘serotonin center’ affects awake animals for the first time, they found that serotonin from the DRN activates brain areas that affect behavior and motivation.  

“Learning about the brain’s serotonin system can help us understand how we adapt our behaviors and how mood therapy medication works. But it was hard to study how serotonin from the DRN affects the entire brain. First, because electric stimulation of the DRN can also activate neurons that don’t use serotonin to communicate with each other, and second, using drugs can affect other serotonin in the brain,” explained Dr. Hiroaki Hamada, a former PhD student at OIST’s Neural Computation Unit and lead author of a paper on this study published in the journal Nature Communications.  

Previous studies by researchers at the Neural Computation Unit have shown that serotonin neurons in the DRN promote adaptive behaviors in mice associated with future rewards. Dr. Hamada and his collaborators wanted to understand the mechanisms in the brain that cause these adaptive behaviors.  

“We knew that DRN serotonin activation has strong effects on behavior, but we didn’t know how this serotonin activation affects different parts of the brain,” Prof. Kenji Doya, leader of the Neural Computation Unit, stated. 

 

Observing the entire brain’s response to DRN serotonin activation

 

The researchers used a novel technique called opto-functional MRI to address this question. They used a method called optogenetics to selectively activate serotonin neurons in the DRN with light and observed the entire brain’s response using functional MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). They utilized the latest MRI scanner with a strong magnetic field to achieve the high resolution needed to study the small brains of mice. The mice were put in the MRI scanner and serotonin neurons were stimulated at regular intervals to see how this affected the whole brain. 

They found that DRN serotonin stimulation causes activation of the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia, brain areas involved in many cognitive functions. This result was very different from a previous study performed under anesthesia. Additionally, the brain's response to serotonin stimulation is strongly linked to the distribution of serotonin receptors (proteins activated by serotonin) and the connection patterns of DRN serotonin neurons. 

“We clearly see from the high-field MRI images which areas in the brain are activated and deactivated during the awake state and under anesthesia when we activate serotonin neurons in the DRN,” Dr. Hamada said. “A previous study showed that the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia were mostly deactivated under anesthesia, which we also observed, however, in awake states these areas are significantly activated.”  

The cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia are parts of the brain critical for many cognitive processes, including motor activity and behaviors to gain rewards such as food and water. Activation of DNR serotonin neurons can therefore lead to changes in motivation and behavior. 

 

Patience and stimulating your own serotonin

 

Combining the new technique of high field MRI and optogenetics presented many obstacles that Dr. Hamada had to overcome. “We introduced and adapted a method previously used by our collaborators and established many new procedures at OIST. For me, the main challenge was using the new MRI machine at the time, so I needed to have patience and stimulate my own serotonin. I started doing a lot of exercise after that,” he laughed.  

Seeing activations in the DRN for the first time was a standout moment for Dr. Hamada. In the beginning, he used the same light intensity that his collaborators used, but this was too weak to see the brain responses in the MRI. He then used bigger optical fibers and increased the intensity to stimulate the DRNs.   

Prof. Doya noted that the next important milestone to achieve is understanding exactly how this brain-wide activation of serotonin occurs: “It’s important to find out what is the actual molecular mechanism allowing this activation in our brain. People who would like to get better at adjusting their behavior and thinking in different situations could also find it helpful to learn more about how serotonin helps control our moods.” 

To read more about research on the effects of serotonin from Prof. Doya’s unit, please see here. 

Activation of the brain when the DRN is stimulated in awake states

In awake states, when serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) are stimulated by light, specific areas of the brain are activated at different levels of intensity. 

CREDIT

Hamada et al., 2024

The high-field MRI scanner located at OIST was a key instrument in this study.

CREDIT

OIST

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-48489-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Optogenetic activation of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons induces brain-wide activation