Hydrogen production by photoreforming of formic acid in aqueous copper/TiO2 suspensions under UV-simulated solar radiation at room temperature

A new photocatalytic system consisting of two subsystems – Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr and Cu^II/H⁺/TiO₂/formic acid/UV_ssr – is proposed as a tool to produce hydrogen by reforming an organic species. Formic acid is used as hole scavenger during the experimental runs. An experimental campaign is carried out to demonstrate that the systems can generate hydrogen and to assess how the generation rate depends upon experimental conditions such as copper and TiO₂ loads, chloride and proton ions, and formic acid concentrations. A strong dependence of the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem reactivity upon copper load, chloride concentration and pH is observed. The investigation on the complete system, starting from zero-valent copper, indicates that the addition of TiO₂ and formic acid to the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem does not result into any gain in terms of hydrogen produced and, renders the system totally unreactive under some conditions. On the other hand, when a complete system, starting from cupric ions, is adopted, hydrogen production is observed also for prolonged reaction times with a surplus of hydrogen production with respect to that generated by the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem with the same Cu⁰ starting load and in absence of TiO₂ and sacrificial agent.     

Multivariable predictive control of a pressurized tank using neural networks

The behavior of a multivariable predictive control scheme based on neural networks applied to a model of a nonlinear multivariable real process, consisting of a pressurized tank is investigated in this paper. The neural scheme consists of three neural networks; the first is meant for the identification of plant parameters (identifier), the second one is for the prediction of future control errors (predictor) and the third one, based on the two previous, compute the control input to be applied to the plant (controller). The weights of the neural networks are updated on-line, using standard and dynamic backpropagation. The model of the nonlinear process is driven to an operation point and it is then controlled with the proposed neural control scheme, analyzing the maximum range over the neural control works properly.     

An android for enhancing social skills and emotion recognition in people with autism.

It is well documented that the processing of social and emotional information is impaired in people with autism. Recent studies have shown that individuals, particularly those with high functioning autism, can learn to cope with common social situations if they are made to enact possible scenarios they may encounter in real life during therapy. The main aim of this work is to describe an interactive life-like facial display (FACE) and a supporting therapeutic protocol that will enable us to verify if the system can help children with autism to learn, identify, interpret, and use emotional information and extend these skills in a socially appropriate, flexible, and adaptive context. The therapeutic setup consists of a specially equipped room in which the subject, under the supervision of a therapist, can interact with FACE. The android display and associated control system has automatic facial tracking, expression recognition, and eye tracking. The treatment scheme is based on a series of therapist-guided sessions in which a patient communicates with FACE through an interactive console. Preliminary data regarding the exposure to FACE of two children are reported.     

Analysis and online realization of the CCA approach for blind source separation.

A critical analysis of the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) approach in blind source separation (BSS) is provided. It is proved that by maximizing the autocorrelation functions of the recovered signals we can separate the source signals successfully. It is further shown that the CCA approach represents the same class of generalized eigenvalue decomposition (GEVD) problems as the matrix pencil method. Finally, online realizations of the CCA approach are discussed with a linear-predictor-based algorithm studied as an example.     

Strain sensing fabric for hand posture and gesture monitoring.

In this paper, we report on a new technology used to implement strain sensors to be integrated in usual garments. A particular conductive mixture based on commercial products is realized and directly spread over a piece of fabric, which shows, after the treatment, piezoresistive properties, i.e., a change in resistance when it is strained. This property is exploited to realize sensorized garments such as gloves, leotards, and seat covers capable of reconstructing and monitoring body shape, posture, and gesture. In general, this technology is a good candidate for adherent wearable systems with excellent mechanical coupling with body surface. Here, we mainly focused on a sensorized glove able to detect posture and movements of the fingers. It could be used in several fields of application. We report on experimental results of a sensorized glove used as movements recorder for rehabilitation therapies and medicine. Furthermore, we describe a dedicated methodology used to read the output sensors which allowed to avoid using metallic wires for the connections. The price to be paid for all these advantages is a nonlinear electric response of the fabric sensor and a too long settling time, that in principle, make these sensors not suitable for real-time applications. Here we propose a hardware and computational solution to overcome this limitation.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Aurivillius Phases in the Bi–Ag–Ti–O System

New Aurivillius phases in the Bi–Ag–Ti–O system were investigated by means of a solid-state reaction and X-ray diffraction. We found that the oxygen partial pressure has a significant influence on the synthesis of the Aurivillius phases. The mixed-layer Aurivillius phase Ag_0.5Bi_8.5Ti₇O₂₇ was observed after firing in an O₂ flow, but a single-phase material is difficult to obtain. A single-phase compound of the four-layer Aurivillius phase Ag_0.5Bi_4.5Ti₄O₁₅ was obtained on firing in an oxygen partial pressure of 10 bar (1 × 10⁶ Pa). The dielectric properties (at 1 MHz) of the Ag_0.5Bi_4.5Ti₄O₁₅ compound were as follows: T _max=687°C, ɛ _r =166 (∼20°C), and tan δ=0.004 (∼20°C).     

Development of spoilage microbiota in beef stored in nisin activated packaging

The aim of this study was to assess the microbial populations causing the spoilage of chilled beef during storage and to evaluate the effect of the use of an antimicrobial packaging for the meat storage. A nisin activated antimicrobial packaging was developed by using a nisin, HCL and EDTA solution and used for the storage of beef cuts at 1 °C. The common spoilage related microbial groups were monitored during the storage of beef in activated and non activated plastic bags by using selective media. The use of the antimicrobial packaging caused an overall significant reduction of viable counts of Gram positive bacteria such as carnobacteria, lactic acid bacteria and Brochotrix thermosphacta whose development was inhibited for at least 11 days of storage compared to the control. Moreover, a 1–3 log cycles reduction of enterobacteria was also registered between 22 and 32 days of storage. The microbiota was assessed at species level by using Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis of 16S rRNA gene of DNA extracted directly from meat and from bulk cells from selective media plates and showed that the species occurring within the targeted microbial groups did not change according to storage conditions. In conclusion, the use of the nisin activated packaging reduced the number of spoilage populations but did not affect the species diversity. Improved antimicrobial packaging is needed, possibly coupled with vacuum storage, to possibly achieve a simultaneous inhibition of more spoilage microbial groups and to preserve the microbiological quality of beef during chilled storage.     

Electroactive carbon nanotube actuators: Soft-lithographic fabrication and electro-chemical modelling

Carbon nanotube (NT) actuators were fabricated using the micromolding method. In order to prevent the nanotubes from aggregating, they were enclosed in a partially cross-linked polyvinylalcohol–polyallylamine matrix. A unimorph matrix bender in the form of a small multi-layered strip, 5 mm × 15 mm was fabricated. The resulting composite system: NT/PVA, solid polymer electrolyte and metal contact, was characterised using impedance analysis and cyclic voltammetry. Initial measurements on electro-mechanical transduction show a conversion efficiency of 0.2 μm/mV. An electrochemical model of the impedance of the system was then developed, with which the experimental results agree fairly well.     

Extensive N‐methylation of chitosan: evaluating the effects of the reaction conditions by using response surface methodology

The effects of reaction time, concentration of aqueous sodium hydroxide and molar ratio iodomethane/chitosan on the yield of the reaction of chitosan with iodomethane in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) at 25.0 ± 0.1 °C, as well as on the characteristics of the resulting N,N,N‐trimethylchitosan (TMCh), were evaluated by using full‐factorial 2³ design analysis and response surface methodology. This study also aimed to determine the reaction conditions allowing the production of water‐soluble TMCh presenting a high average degree of quaternization and intrinsic viscosity at high reaction yield. ¹H NMR spectroscopy was employed for structural characterization, including the determination of average degrees of acetylation () and quaternization (), while capillary viscometry was used to determine intrinsic viscosity [η]. The results show that when the extensive N‐methylation is carried out for 24 h in NMP/15% NaOH (w/v) employing a lower excess of iodomethane (CH₃I/Ch = 9), water‐soluble highly substituted ( = 46.0%) TMCh ([η] = 213.0 mL g^?1) can be produced in high yield (81.8%). The highly significant mathematical models resulting from this study describe the dependence of the experimental responses on the reaction conditions and allow the characteristics and properties of the resulting TMCh to be defined by properly choosing the reaction conditions. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry