Damage evolution in polymer due to exposure to high-pressure hydrogen gas

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is increasing exponentially, and the most economical way to store and transport hydrogen for fuel use is as a high-pressure gas. Polymers are widely used for hydrogen distribution and storage systems because they are chemically inert towards hydrogen. However, when exposed to high-pressure hydrogen, some hydrogen diffuses through polymers and occupies the preexisting cavities inside the material. Upon depressurization, the hydrogen trapped inside polymer cavities can cause blistering or cracking by expanding these cavities. A continuum mechanics–based deformation model was deployed to predict the stress distribution and damage propagation while the polymer undergoes depressurization after high-pressure hydrogen exposure. The effects of cavity size, cavity location, and pressure inside the cavity on damage initiation and evolution inside the polymer were studied. The stress and damage evolution in the presence of multiple cavities was also studied, because interaction among cavities alters the damage and stress field. It was found that all these factors significantly change the stress state in the polymer, resulting in different paths for damage propagation. The effect of adding carbon black filler particles and plasticizer on the damage was also studied. It was found that damage tolerance of the polymer increases drastically with the addition of carbon black fillers, but decreases with the addition of the plasticizer.     

Biohydrogen Production from Organic Waste – A Review

Hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels because of its energy content, clean nature, and fuel efficiency. However, it is not readily available. Most current producion processes are very energy intensive and emit carbon dioxide. Therefore, this article reviews technological options for hydrogen production that are eco-friendly and generate clean hydrogen fuel. Biological methods, such different fermentation processes and photolysis are discussed together with the required substrates and the process efficiency.     

Possible origin of ferromagnetism in antiferromagnetic orthorhombic-YFeO3: A first-principles study

Rare-earth orthoferrites (RFeO₃) are well-known for the antiferromagnetic ground state. However, some of the recent experimental results suggest that the few members of RFeO₃ family possess ferromagnetism. In the present investigation we report the possible origin of ferromagnetism in antiferromagnetic YFeO₃ using density functional theory. For this purpose, we have considered pure as well as self-doping in YFeO₃ i.e. by considering the point defect at Y, Fe and O sites. Our finding suggests that the point defects in YFeO₃ results in the mixed-valence state of Fe, which may result in ferromagnetism through Zener double exchange mechanism.     

Optimizing PSMA Radioligand Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of the review was to evaluate patient and treatment characteristics for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with PSMA radioligand therapy (PRLT) associated with above-average outcome. The systematic review and meta-analysis followed recommendations by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). We searched for publications in PubMed, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to 31 September 2020. Thirty-six publications and four duplicates reported 2346 patients. Nearly two-thirds of the patients had bone metastases. Median overall survival (OS) was 16 months. Asymptomatic patients and patients with only lymph node metastases lived longer than symptomatic patients and patients with more extensive metastases. Patients treated with an intensified schedule of ¹⁷⁷Lu PRLT lived longer than those treated with a conventional schedule. Half of the patients obtained a PSA decline ≥ 50% and these patients lived longer than those with less PSA decline. Approximately 10% of the patients developed hematologic toxicity with anemia grade 3 as the most severe adverse effect. Characteristics for patients, cancer, restaging, and PRLT predict above average overall survival following treatment with PRLT.     

Direct Observation of Worm‐Like Nanochannels and Emergent Magnon Motifs in Artificial Ferromagnetic Quasicrystals

Quasicrystalline structures and aperiodic metamaterials find applications ranging from established consumer gadgets to potential high‐tech photonic components owing to both complex arrangements of constituents and exotic rotational symmetries. Magnonics is an evolving branch of magnetism research where information is transported via magnetization oscillations (magnons). Their control and manipulation are so far best accomplished in periodic metamaterials which exhibit properties artificially modulated on the nanoscale. They give rise to functional components, such as band stop filters, magnonic transistors and nanograting couplers. Here, spin‐wave excitations in artificial ferromagnetic quasicrystals created via aperiodic arrangement of nanoholes are studied experimentally. Their ten‐fold rotational symmetry results in multiplexed magnonic nanochannels, suggesting a width down to 50 nm inside a so‐called Conway worm. Key elements of design are emergent magnon motifs and the worm‐like features which are scale‐invariant and not present in the periodic metamaterials. By imaging wavefronts in quasicrystals, insight is gained into how the discovered features materialize as a dense wavelength division multiplexer.     

Shock/expansion fan interaction with real gas effects for Earth and Mars atmospheric conditions

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the real gas effects on shock/expansion fan interaction. Initial perfect gas simulations at low enthalpy capture the flow structures efficiently and outcomes are found to have excellent agreement with the analytical calculations. Furthermore, the simulations with the real gas solver for different enthalpies showed that the variation in enthalpy significantly changes the flow structures. It is observed that an increase in enthalpy leads to a decrease and increase in the postshock and postexpansion fan Mach numbers, respectively. Another important observation is the decrement in the peak pressure ratio with an increment in the enthalpy. These effects are noted to be more pronounced for Mars's environment due to the higher dependency of specific heat on temperature.     

Nanocomposites based on transition metal oxides in polyvinyl alcohol for EMI shielding application

In the present work, the nanocomposites based on different transition metal oxides like iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), zinc oxide (ZnO), silicon dioxide (SiO₂), zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) in PVA matrix have been studied for their suitability as electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials in the frequency range of 4–8 GHz (C-band) and 8–12 GHz (X-band). The nanocomposites containing 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0 wt% of oxides in the matrix were synthesised by solvent casting method. The EMI attenuation studies in 4–12 GHz frequency range were carried out using the Vector Network Analyzer R & S: ZVA40 method by measuring the loss due to reflection. The minimum reflectivity values for the composites containing Fe₂O₃, ZnO, SiO_2, ZrO₂, and TiO₂ in PVA matrix at 10 wt% concentration level in the matrix were found to be ?38.85 dB (10.4 GHz), ?33.65 dB (10.4 GHz), ?41.90 dB (10.4 GHz), ?24.90 dB (11.0 GHz), and ?32.90 dB (9.76 GHz), respectively. Based on these results, the SiO₂- and Fe₂O₃-based composites, which also exhibit high thermal stability and mechanical strength, are found to be low-cost and efficient EMI shielding materials.     

Yield and Quality Characteristics of Rendered Chicken Oil for Biodiesel Production

Whole dead poultry birds obtained from commercial layer farms were assessed for fat in the whole carcass and then dry rendered in three different rendering regimens T₁, T₂ and T₃ (temperature = 120, 130 and 140 °C and shell pressure = 1, 2 and 3 kg/cm² respectively) and the effect on the yield and quality of the rendered chicken oil were studied. The overall fat percentage of the whole dead poultry carcass was 14.55 ± 0.17 % and the fat content of ‘greaves’ was 14.49 ± 0.38 %. In the dry batch rendering trials, the mean overall fat recovery was 24.46 ± 1.19, 26.78 ± 3.14 and 22.42 ± 2.32 % and the overall fat yield was 3.52 ± 1.72, 3.84 ± 0.44 and 3.22 ± 0.33 % of the carcass weight in T₁, T₂ and T₃ respectively. Solvent extraction of fat could recover 96.10 ± 0.14 % of fat from ‘greaves’ which was significantly higher than the mechanical centrifugation method. Among the quality characteristics of the rendered chicken oil (RCO), moisture content ranged from 0.61 % (T₂) to 1.09 % (T₁) and the mean specific gravity was 0.91 at 30 °C. The FFA values of RCO obtained from the T₃ rendering regimen were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the FFA values of T₂ and T₁. The mean acid value, iodine number, peroxide value, saponification value and unsaponifiable matter present in RCO showed no significant difference. The fatty acid profile and calorific values were studied. The RCO was converted to biodiesel by transesterification and the physico-chemical properties of the biodiesel were studied and compared with the Indian biodiesel specification.