Thermal prehistory,structure and high-temperature thermodynamic properties of Y2O3-CeO2 and Y2O3-ZrO2-CeO2 solid solutions

Ceria-based solid solutions are important materials for high- and medium-temperature electrochemical applications. However, the stabilities of both binary and ternary ceria-based solid solutions are insufficient at elevated temperatures, which limits their application as solid electrolytes or SOFC cathodes. Data on the high-temperature stability of ceria-based ceramics are unavailable in the literature. In the present study, we report a thermodynamic stability investigation of Y₂O₃-CeO₂ and Y₂O₃-ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions. The thermal prehistories of binary and ternary systems were investigated using STA, XRD, and ESCA techniques. The vaporization processes were investigated in the temperature range of 1577–2227°С via the Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry technique. Using data on the component activity in solid-phase thermodynamic properties of Y₂O₃-CeO₂ solid solutions, which is represented as the Gibbs energy, the excess Gibbs energy was calculated as a function of the ceria mol. %. It was shown that the reduction of Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ in Y₂O₃-CeO₂ and Y₂O₃-ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions corresponds to less-negative Gibbs energy compared to ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions.     

Continuous physical activity recognition for intelligent labour monitoring

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The paper addresses the problem of human activity recognition based on the data from wearable sensors. Human activity recognition depends on a wide context of...     

Cardioinotropic Effects in Subchronic Intoxication of Rats with Lead and/or Cadmium Oxide Nanoparticles

Subchronic intoxication was induced in outbred male rats by repeated intraperitoneal injections with lead oxide (PbO) and/or cadmium oxide (CdO) nanoparticles (NPs) 3 times a week during 6 weeks for the purpose of examining its effects on the contractile characteristics of isolated right ventricle trabeculae and papillary muscles in isometric and afterload contractions. Isolated and combined intoxication with these NPs was observed to reduce the mechanical work produced by both types of myocardial preparation. Using the in vitro motility assay, we showed that the sliding velocity of regulated thin filaments drops under both isolated and combined intoxication with CdO–NP and PbO–NP. These results correlate with a shift in the expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms towards slowly cycling β–MHC. The type of CdO–NP + PbO–NP combined cardiotoxicity depends on the effect of the toxic impact, the extent of this effect, the ratio of toxicant doses, and the degree of stretching of cardiomyocytes and muscle type studied. Some indices of combined Pb–NP and CdO–NP cardiotoxicity and general toxicity (genotoxicity included) became fully or partly normalized if intoxication developed against background administration of a bioprotective complex.     

Adaptive response of Listeria monocytogenes to heat and its impact on food safety

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food associated pathogen because of its relatively high heat resistance and ability to multiply in refrigeration temperatures. Its thermotolerance can be increased when its cells are subjected to heat shock. One- to eight-fold increase of D values of L. monocytogenes have been reported, depending on the heat shock duration, the temperature and the heating menstrum. This acquisition of heat tolerance is related to the induction of the synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSPs).The adaptive response of food pathogens has important consequences on the safety of thermally processed foods. It is believed that this is responsible for the frequent occurrence of deviations (tails and shoulders) during heat treatments that are observed in the exponential model of microbial inactivation. These deviations from log-linear kinetic especially encountered under mild heat treatments, mean that prediction of food safety can no longer rely upon D and z values. Adaptive response to heat must be considered when quantifying and modeling microbial inactivation during thermal processing in order to achieve microbiologically safe products without overly conservative heat processes. Therefore a more mechanistic approach is needed for more accurate predictions of thermal inactivation. Prerequisite to this model are thorough studies to understand how L. monocytogenes and other pathogens adapt their cellular physiology to overcome heat and other stresses.     

Sample Complexity for Computational Classification Problems

In a statistical setting of the classification (pattern recognition) problem the number of examples required to approximate an unknown labelling function is linear in the VC dimension of the target learning class. In this work we consider the question of whether such bounds exist if we restrict our attention to computable classification methods, assuming that the unknown labelling function is also computable. We find that in this case the number of examples required for a computable method to approximate the labelling function not only is not linear, but grows faster (in the VC dimension of the class) than any computable function. No time or space constraints are put on the predictors or target functions; the only resource we consider is the training examples. The task of classification is considered in conjunction with another learning problem - data compression. An impossibility result for the task of data compression allows us to estimate the sample complexity for pattern recognition.     

Stress and plastic deformation of MEA in running fuel cell

Numerical modelling of mechanical stresses in running fuel cell is provided. The evolution of stresses and plastic deformations in the membrane has been obtained during the turn-on phase. The operating conditions have been taken into account by imposing the heating sources and the humidity field. The results have been presented on two scales: the global scale reflects the stress evolution in the entire fuel cell and the local one corresponds to the tooth/channel structure. It has been shown that the stresses are strongly heterogeneous on the both scales and time dependent. From the mechanical point of view, the most sensible zone is under the GDL/seal joint interface. In the running fuel cell the heterogeneity decreases while it rises in the fuel cell just after the assembly. The stresses reach the maximum values during the humidification step, the magnitude of these stresses is sufficient for initiation of the plastic deformations in the Nafion membrane.     

Theoretical study of the effect of electrochemical cell inclination on the limiting diffusion current

The effect of inclination of electrochemical cell with plane-parallel electrodes in the gravitational field on the limiting current of electrochemical reaction is theoretically analyzed by the example of iodine-iodide system. The quantitative dependences of the limiting current on the angle α between the electrodes and the horizontal are obtained. It is shown that this effect is associated with the variation in the distributions of solution concentration and hydrodynamic velocity with α. It is found that the ratio between the electrode's length and the interelectrode distance is of great importance.     

Pressure support ventilation in adult respiratory distress syndrome: short-term effects of a servocontrolled mode

PURPOSE: To assess the short-term effects of pressure support ventilation in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we studied 17 patients with moderate to severe ARDS using mandatory rate ventilation (MRV), a servocontrolled mode of PSV having respiratory rate as the targeted parameter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on the duration of ARDS, the patients were divided into two groups: Group 1, early ARDS (duration up to 1 week), 10 patients; Group 2, intermediate ARDS (duration between 1 and 2 weeks). The patients were initially ventilated with assisted mechanical ventilation then with MRV, and finally with controlled mechanical ventilation. After a 20-minute period allowed for stabilization in each mode, ventilatory variables, gas exchange, hemodynamics, and patient's inspiratory effort were evaluated. RESULTS: During MRV blood gases, airway pressures and hemodynamic variables remained within acceptable limits in all patients. Compared with assisted mechanical ventilation, during MRV, patients of group 1 decreased their VT and V (from 0.64 +/- 0.04 to 0.42 +/- 0.03 L/sec) and increased their TI/TT (from 0.39 +/- 0.03 to 0.52 +/- 0.03). f did not change. PAO2 - PaO2 and QS/QT decreased (from 306 +/- 16 to 269 +/- 15 mm Hg, and from 20.2 +/- 1.4 to 17.5 +/- 1.1, respectively), while PaCO2 increased (from 44 +/- 3 to 50 +/- 3 mm Hg). On the contrary, patients of group 2 increased their VT (from 0.69 +/- 0.02 to 0.92 +/- 0.09 L), decreased their f (from 22.3 +/- 0.5 to 19.3 +/- 0.3 b/min), although they did not change their V and TI/TT. PAO2 - PaO2 and QS/QT remained stable. PaCO2 diminished (from 39 +/- 3 to 34 +/- 3 mm Hg). Pressure support level was higher in group 2 than in group 1 (29.4 +/- 3.0 v 19.8 +/- 2.9 cm H2O). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that (1) PSV delivered by MRV may adequately ventilate patients with moderate to severe ARDS, preserving gas exchange and hemodynamics, at least for the short period tested; (2) early and intermediate ARDS respond in a different manner to MRV in terms of breathing pattern, gas exchange, and level of pressure assistance; and (3) patients with early ARDS are those who have an improvement in intrapulmonary oxygenation probably due, at least in part, to alveolar recruitment augmented by active diaphragmatic contraction.     

Gold nanorods with a hematoporphyrin-loaded silica shell for dual-modality photodynamic and photothermal treatment of tumors in vivo

Nanocomposites （NCs） consisting of a gold nanorod core and a mesoporous silica shell doped with hematoporphyrin （HP） have been fabricated in order to improve the efficiency of cancer treatment by combining photothermal and photodynamic therapies （PDT ＋ PTT） in vivo. In addition to the long-wavelength plasmon resonance near 810-830 nm, the fabricated NCs exhibited a 400-nm absorbance peak corresponding to bound HP, generated singlet oxygen under 633-nm excitation near the 632.5-nm Q-band, and produced heat under a 808-nm near-infrared （NIR） laser irradiation. These modalities were used for a combined PDT ＋ PTT treatment of large （about 3 cm3） solid tumors in vivo with a xenorafted tumor rat model. NCs were directly injected into tumors and irradiated simultaneously with 633-nm and 808-nm lasers to stimulate the combined photodynamic and photothermal activities of NCs. The efficiency of the combined therapy was evaluated by optical coherence tomography, histological analysis, and by measurements of the tumor volume growth during a 21-day period. The NC-mediated PDT led to weak changes in tissue histology and to a moderate 20% decrease in the tumor volume. In contrast, the combined PDT ＋ PTT treatment resulted in the large-area tumor necrosis and led to dramatic decrease in the tumor volume.