High area nickel and cobalt surfaces were assembled using modified Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) templates. Rod-shaped TMV templates (300 x 18 nm) engineered to encode unique cysteine residues were self-assembled onto gold patterned surfaces in a vertically oriented fashion, producing a >10-fold increase in surface area. Electroless deposition of ionic metals onto surface-assembled virus templates produced uniform metal coatings up to 40 nm in thickness. Within a nickel-zinc battery system, the incorporation of virus-assembled electrode surfaces more than doubled the total electrode capacity. When combined, these findings demonstrate that surface-assembled virus templates provide a robust platform for the fabrication of oriented high surface area materials.

The electrochemical properties of a solid polymer electrolyte consisting of a diblock copolymer and lithium bis͑oxalato͒borate, LiBC 4 O 8 ͑LiBOB͒ salt, is reported. The spherical microphase-separated diblock copolymer is composed of a majority poly͑eth-ylene oxide͒ ͑PEO͒ block and a minority random copolymer block of methyl methacrylate ͑MMA͒ and lithium salt of methacrylic acid ͑MAALi͒, PEO-b-͑PMMA-ran-PMAALi͒. Salt-optimized electrolyte membranes of the diblock copolymer and LiBOB salt exhibited an average lithium-ion transference number ͑T Li +͒ value of 0.9 at room temperature ͑21-23°C͒. The solid-state flexible, translucent polymer electrolyte shows a wide electrochemical stability window and excellent interface properties with the lithium metal electrode. The combination of these properties makes these block copolymer membranes viable electrolyte candidates for flexible lithium-ion batteries.The widespread use of high energy density lithium-ion-based batteries has been constrained by the safety concerns of its reactive components. Thus, the need to design, synthesize, and optimize polymer structures for improved energy storage is of critical importance. Also, advances in lithium cathode chemistries have led to the development of batteries that are capable of delivering a high discharge potential ͑Ͼ4.5 V͒, 1-3 driving the need for electrolyte materials that are capable of withstanding such high voltage conditions. Unlike traditional liquid electrolytes, solid-state polymer electrolytes possess the high electrochemical stability window required for application in high voltage battery setups. Electrolyte membranes incorporating poly͑ethylene oxide͒ ͑PEO͒ with a lithium salt have long been proposed as a viable candidate. 4-6 However, such materials have poor room-temperature ionic conductivity due to the semicrystalline nature of PEO. In addition, PEO-based electrolytes have the intrinsic disadvantage of possessing a low lithium-ion transference number ͑T Li +͒, exhibiting a value between 0.2 and 0.5. 7-10 These polymer-lithium salt systems behave more like an aniontransporting medium, resulting in a charge gradient across the medium. This increases the polarization across the polymer film, leading to loss of power drawn from the battery. 11-13 Studies done by Doyle et al. showed that better performance is exhibited by polymer materials with T Li + = 1.0 than those possessing an order of magnitude greater conductivity but a poorer T Li + value. 11 Hence, the interest is to develop a conductive polymer with high ionic conductivity as well as high lithium-ion transference number.Numerous electrolytes have been reported that possess single-ion transport properties with lithium-ion transference numbers approaching unity. Single-ion polyelectrolyte systems have been successfully developed where the anion or the counterion is effectively tethered to the polymer matrix. 14-16 Further, the use of various anion trappers has been shown to effectively boost the cation transference number. 17-20 These approaches, however,...

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is used to control visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in India, but it is poorly quality assured. Quality assurance was performed in eight VL endemic districts in Bihar State, India, in 2014. Residual dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was sampled from walls using Bostik tape discs, and DDT concentrations [grams of active ingredient per square meter (g ai/m 2 )] were determined using HPLC. Pre-IRS surveys were performed in three districts, and post-IRS surveys were performed in eight districts. A 20% threshold above and below the target spray of 1.0 g ai/m 2 was defined as "in range." The entomological assessments were made in four districts in IRS and non-IRS villages. Vector densities were measured: pre-IRS and 1 and 3 mo post-IRS. Insecticide susceptibility to 4% DDT and 0.05% deltamethrin WHO-impregnated papers was determined with wild-caught sand flies. The majority (329 of 360, 91.3%) of pre-IRS samples had residual DDT concentrations of <0.1 g ai/m 2 . The mean residual concentration of DDT post-IRS was 0.37 g ai/m 2 ; 84.9% of walls were undersprayed, 7.4% were sprayed in range, and 7.6% were oversprayed. The abundance of sand flies in IRS and non-IRS villages was significantly different at 1 mo post-IRS only. Sand flies were highly resistant to DDT but susceptible to deltamethrin. The Stockholm Convention, ratified by India in 2006, calls for the complete phasing out of DDT as soon as practical, with limited use in the interim where no viable IRS alternatives exist. Given the poor quality of the DDT-based IRS, ready availability of pyrethroids, and susceptibility profile of Indian sand flies, the continued use of DDT in this IRS program is questionable.leishmaniasis | elimination |