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The LiCoO 2 (LCO) cathode has been widely used in material markets, especially in conventional lithium ion batteries, due to its stable electrochemical performance. Increasing the working cutoff potential represents an efficient pathway to boost the capacity of LCO batteries; however, high working potentials usually induce severe Co 3+ dissolution and extensive growth of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, leading to rapid degradation of the electrochemical performance. In this work, a high voltage cathode is prepared by the encapsulation of aluminum (Al)-doped LiCoO 2 in a continuous Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO) layer using a high-speed solid-phase coating method. The chemical composition evolution of the coating layer during the cycling process was characterized and evaluated through in situ XRD, XPS, and XAS analyses. The precipitation of aluminum fluoride (AlF 3 ) at the defective sites of the LTO coating layer in the initial charge−discharge cycles effectively was found to fortify the structural integrity of the coating layer and prevent the etching of the LCO from undesirable side reactions with the liquid electrolyte. The modified LCO demonstrated an excellent capacity retention of 89.9% after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. The high-speed solid-phase coating method established in this study could be scaled up straightforwardly, providing a highly commercializable approach for large-scale production of stable high-voltage LCO cathode materials. KEYWORDS: high-voltage LiCoO 2 , Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , solid-phase coating, long-term stability, in situ XRD

In the era of e-commerce, the logistic distribution center is put in the center role of order picking for the sake of meeting the needs of different customer orders, hence, improving the automation and work capacity of distribution center becomes research priority in the fields of logistics and warehousing. The objective of this article is to solve the shortcomings of currently traditional distribution center picking system with high automation by introducing a new method of picking provided by Amazon's Kiva system, that is, mobile racking with goods is broke out to sorting table by Kiva mobile robots named AGVs (automated guided vehicles), which could not only reduce the walk time and labor cost, but improve efficiency. This article starts with the constitutive requirements of the Amazon KIVA robotic systems, and then some key problems of Kiva picking system and design optimization about task allocation and path planning of multi-robots are demonstrated respectively in this article. Finally, the content is summarized and the application of robotic system in is simply demonstrated and prospected.

BackgroundAlmonds are a healthy tree nut food with high nutrient density. Their consumption has been shown to ameliorate oxidative stress, inflammation, etc. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of almonds on elements of endurance exercise performance in trained athletes.MethodsA 10-week crossover, placebo controlled study was conducted. Eight trained male cyclists and two triathletes were randomly assigned to consume 75 g/d whole almonds (ALM) or isocaloric cookies (COK) with equal subject number. They consumed the assigned food for 4 wks and then the alternate food for another 4 wks. They underwent 3 performance tests including 125-min steady status exercise (SS) and 20-min time trial (TT) on an indoor stationary trainer at the start of the study (BL) and at the end of each intervention phase. Venous blood was collected in the morning prior to the performance test for biochemical measurements and finger blood during the test for glucose determination. Carbohydrate and fat oxidation, energy expenditure, and oxygen use were calculated using respiratory gas analysis.ResultsALM increased cycling distance during TT by 1.7 km as compared BL (21.9 vs. 20.2 km, P = 0.053) and COK increased 0.6 km (20.8 vs. 20.2 km, P > 0.05). ALM, but not COK, led to higher CHO and lower fat oxidation and less oxygen consumption during TT than BL (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in heart rate among BL, ALM and COK. ALM maintained higher blood glucose level after TT than COK (P < 0.05). ALM had higher vitamin E and haemoglobin and lower serum free fatty acid (P < 0.05), slightly elevated serum arginine and nitric oxide and plasma insulin (P > 0.05) than BL, and a higher total antioxidant capacity than COK (P < 0.05).ConclusionsWhole almonds improved cycling distance and the elements related to endurance performance more than isocaloric cookies in trained athletes as some nutrients in almonds may contribute to CHO reservation and utilization and effective oxygen utilization. The results suggest that almonds can be incorporated into diets of those who undertake exercise training for performance improvement.

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