A natural ∼1450-yr global Holocene climate periodicity underlies a portion of the present global warming trend. Calibrated basal radiocarbon dates from 71 paludified peatlands across the western interior of Canada demonstrate that this periodicity regulated western Canadian peatland initiation. Peatlands, the largest terrestrial carbon pool, and their carbon-budgets are sensitive to hydrological fluctuations. The global atmospheric carbon-budget experienced corresponding fluctuations, as recorded in the Holocene atmospheric CO2 record from Taylor Dome, Antarctica. While the climate changes following this ∼1450-yr periodicity were sufficient to affect the global carbon-budget, the resultant atmospheric CO2 fluctuations did not cause a runaway climate–CO2 feedback loop. This demonstrates that global carbon-budgets are sensitive to small climatic fluctuations; thus international agreements on greenhouse gasses need to take into account the natural carbon-budget imbalance of regions with large climatically sensitive carbon pools.

This study compared the longer-term effects of a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet on cognitive performance in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In total, 115 obese adults with T2D (sixty-six males, BMI: 34·6 (sd 4·3) kg/m2, age: 58 (sd 7) years, HbA1c: 7·3 (sd 1·1) %, diabetes duration: 8 (sd 6) years) were randomised to consume either an energy-restricted, very low-carbohydrate, low-saturated-fat (LC) diet or an energy-matched high unrefined carbohydrate, low-fat (HC) diet with supervised aerobic/resistance exercise (60 min, 3 d/week) for 52 weeks. Body weight, HbA1c and cognitive performance assessing perceptual speed, reasoning speed, reasoning ability, working memory, verbal fluency, processing speed, short-term memory, inhibition and memory scanning speed were assessed before and after intervention. No differences in the changes in cognitive test performance scores between the diet groups were observed for any of the cognitive function outcomes assessed (P≥0·24 time×diet). Percentage reduction in body weight correlated with improvements with perceptual speed performance. In obese adults with T2D, both LC and HC weight-loss diets combined with exercise training had similar effects on cognitive performance. This suggests that an LC diet integrated within a lifestyle modification programme can be used as a strategy for weight and diabetes management without the concern of negatively affecting cognitive function.

The effect of exciplex dynamics on the device characteristics of organic semiconductor bilayer structures is explored. Exciplex formation, dissociation, and relaxation to the ground state are incorporated into a physics-based device model. The model is applied to both organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells. In the examples, C60and tetracene parameters are used for the electron and hole transport layers, respectively.

The innovative Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process is a non-vacuum technique that is being investigated to enable next generation products in several application areas including high-temperature superconductors (HTS). In combination with the Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrate (RABiTS) technology, the CCVD process has significant promise to provide low-cost, high-quality lengths of YBCO coated conductor. The CCVD technology has been used to deposit both buffer layer coatings as well as YBCO superconducting layers. A buffer layer architecture of strontium titanate and ceria have been deposited by CCVD on textured nickel substrates and optimized to appropriate thicknesses and microstructures to provide templates for growing PLD YBCO with high critical current density values. The CCVD buffer layers have been scaled to meter plus lengths with good epitaxial uniformity along the length. A short sample cut from one of the lengths enabled high critical current density PLD YBCO. Films of CCVD YBCO superconductors have been grown on single crystal substrates with critical current densities over 1 MA/cm2. Work is currently in progress to combine both the buffer layer and superconductor technologies to produce high-quality coupons of HTS tape made entirely by the non-vacuum CCVD process.

The enormous technological potential of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) was realized immediately following their discovery in 1986, yet these materials largely remain laboratory curiosities as scientists struggle to scale from coupons to long lengths of practical coated conductor. Although both vacuum and non-vacuum processes are being investigated for commercial production, low-throughput vacuum techniques were the first to succeed in producing the buffer and superconducting layers necessary for superconducting tape with high critical currents. However, vacuum processes are not only expensive but impractical when addressing the needs for rapid production of kilometer lengths of wire. The innovative Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) method used with the Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS™) technology has shown significant promise in fabricating the multi-layer structures necessary for successful HTS tape while overcoming many of the shortcomings of traditional vacuum techniques. The key advantage of the CCVD technology is its ability to deposit high quality thin films in the open atmosphere using inexpensive precursor chemicals in solution. As a result, continuous, production-line manufacturing is possible with significantly reduced capital requirements and operating costs when compared to competing vacuum-based technologies. The current status of development for production of long lengths of high-temperature superconductors using CCVD will be discussed.