Synthesis,characterization, and enhanced formic acid electrooxidation activity of carbon supported MnOx promoted Pd nanoparticles

Formic acid (HCOOH) is one of the promising fuels for direct liquid fed fuel cells. However, CO poisoning is a major challenge for the development of effective catalytic system for formic acid electrooxidation (FAEO). Herein, a novel CO-resistive activated carbon supported Pd-MnO_x bimetallic catalyst (Pd-MnO_x/C) was presented for FAEO. Pd-MnO_x/C catalyst was prepared via simple and reproducible surfactant-free deposition-reduction technique. The characterization of this novel Pd-MnO_x/C catalyst was performed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), bright field transmission electron microscopy (BFTEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and scanning transmission electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX). The characterization results revealed that Pd and MnO_x nanoparticles (NPs) were well dispersed and separately nucleated with a mean diameter of 2.9?nm on the surface of active carbon. FAEO studies were performed on both Pd-MnO_x/C and Pd/C catalysts to comprehend the effect of separately formed MnO_x on the electrocatalytic activity of Pd NPs. The electrochemical measurements were carried out by using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Chronoamperometry (CA), CO-Strriping Voltammetry, Lineer Sweep Voltammetry (LSV), Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Electrochemical results revealed that FAEO was activated by the addition of MnOx. Pd_0.6-Mn_0.4 exhibited the optimum catalytic activity with 1.05?A/mg Pd current density. The sum of their results clearly points that the existence of MnO_x NPs enhances the electrocatalytic activity of Pd NPs by increasing their CO-resistivity and durability throughout the FAEO.     

Weighted backprojection approach to cone beam 3D projection reconstruction for truncated spherical detection geometry

A new analytical three-dimensional cone beam reconstruction algorithm is presented for truncated spherical detection geometry. The basic idea of the proposed algorithm is the formation of spatially invariant 3D blurred back-projected volumetric image by the use of the weighted backprojection of cone beam projection data and subsequent 3D filtering using an acceptance angle dependent rho filter. The backprojection weighting function is calculated on the basis of each given geometrical condition, i.e. detection geometry or degree of truncation, position of cone beam apex, and backprojection point. The proposed algorithm is derived analytically and is computationally efficient. Performance of the algorithm is evaluated by the reconstruction of 3D volumetric images using simulated data from arbitrarily truncated spherical detector geometries.     

Comprehensive Research on Past and Future Therapeutic Strategies Devoted to Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly debilitating fatal neurodegenerative disorder, causing muscle atrophy and weakness, which leads to paralysis and eventual death. ALS has a multifaceted nature affected by many pathological mechanisms, including oxidative stress (also via protein aggregation), mitochondrial dysfunction, glutamate-induced excitotoxicity, apoptosis, neuroinflammation, axonal degeneration, skeletal muscle deterioration and viruses. This complexity is a major obstacle in defeating ALS. At present, riluzole and edaravone are the only drugs that have passed clinical trials for the treatment of ALS, notwithstanding that they showed modest benefits in a limited population of ALS. A dextromethorphan hydrobromide and quinidine sulfate combination was also approved to treat pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in the course of ALS. Globally, there is a struggle to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of this neurodegenerative disease, including implementation of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), CRISPR-9/Cas technique, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) or ALS-on-a-chip technology. Additionally, researchers have synthesized and screened new compounds to be effective in ALS beyond the drug repurposing strategy. Despite all these efforts, ALS treatment is largely limited to palliative care, and there is a strong need for new therapeutics to be developed. This review focuses on and discusses which therapeutic strategies have been followed so far and what can be done in the future for the treatment of ALS.     

E-banking Overview: Concepts,Challenges and Solutions

Wireless Personal Communications - The expansion of information technology has led to a new form of banking. Traditional banking, based on the physical presence of the customer, is only a part of...     

A comparative study of electrochemical methods on Pt–Ru DMFC anode catalysts: The effect of Ru addition

In the present study comparative electrochemical study of methanol electro-oxidation reaction, the effect of ruthenium addition and experimental parameters on methanol electro-oxidation reaction at high performance carbon supported Pt and Pt–Ru catalysts have been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in H₂SO₄ (0.05–2.00 M) + CH₃OH (0.01–4.00 M) at 20–70 °C. Tafel plots for the methanol oxidation reaction on Pt and Pt–Ru catalysts show reasonably well-defined linear region with the slopes of 128–174 mV dec⁻¹(α = 0.34–0.46). The activation energies from Arrhenius plots have been found as 39.06–50.65 kJ mol⁻¹. As a result, methanol oxidation is enhanced by the addition of ruthenium. Furthermore, Pt–Ru (25:1) catalyst shows best electro–catalytic activity, higher resistance to CO, and better long term stability compared to Pt–Ru (3:1), Pt–Ru (1:1), and Pt. Finally, the EIS measurements on Pt–Ru (25:1) catalyst reveals that methanol electro-oxidation reaction consists of two process: methanol dehydrogenation step at low potentials (<700 mV) and the oxidation removal of CO_ads by OH_ads at higher potentials (>700 mV).     

New spherical PET design with fresnel aperture orientation

A new spherical PET using Fresnel aperture is being designed, and construction is in progress. In the new design, the original spherical geometry is modified to accommodate a more flexible gantry construction and data processing while preserving the focused geometry of the original design. The performance of this new Fresnel aperture-SPET (F-SPET) is expected to follow closely with that of the original S-PET design. An analysis of an F-SPET designed with nine modular layers, with each modular layer being four rings, was performed in terms of the counting statistics and solid angle and compared with the original S-PET as well as the conventional cylindrical PET. According to the simulation results, the sensitivity gain of the Fresnel aperture-SPET remains a factor of 2 over the equivalent cylindrical system and has nearly the same performance as the original S-PET, while offering a simpler means in construction and data handling for the image reconstruction.     

Unit helium requirements for superconductive energy applications in the USA

Estimates of the helium requirements for superconductive magnetic energy storage, magnetically confined fusion reactors, superconducting power transmission lines, magnetohydrodynamic units, superconducting motors and generators, and particle accelerators are presented. The approach entails surveying estimates from system studies, then developing simple scaling laws to calculate helium inventories. Helium loss rates are discussed and applied to estimate annual helium makeup.     

Removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions by electro-coagulation

The aim of this paper was to investigate the feasibility of the removal of phosphate from aqueous solution by electro-coagulation (EC). The current density (CD) between 2.5 and 10 mA cm(-2) and duration in the limits of 5-20 min were tried for different concentrations. In order to determine optimal operating conditions, the EC process used for the phosphate removal was examined in dependence with the CD, initial concentrations and time. The results of the experimental batch processing showed high effectiveness of the EC method in removing phosphate from aqueous solutions.