A study around the improvement of electrochemical activity of MnO2 as cathodic material in alkaline batteries

An optimized combination of reduction by methane and sulfuric acid digestion was developed to improve the electrochemical activity of manganese dioxide at a battery set. Chemical manganese dioxide, CMD, and electrolytic manganese dioxide, EMD, which have been destroyed after discharge cycling process in potential window of 900-1650 mV versus Hg/HgO, were reduced in a furnace with a flow of methane at 300 and 250 °C correspondingly. Thereafter, the reduced samples, CMDr and EMDr, were digested in a solution of sulfuric acid with optimized concentration and temperature. It was found that digested samples, CMDro and EMDro, typically show more stability in cycling, higher capacity and more reversible redox reaction. Alternatively, we reported about the effect of digestion temperature on electrochemical and structural properties of the samples. Digestion at temperatures 60 and 98 °C in 1.5 M sulfuric acid as superior concentration was preferred after comparative experiments in the range 40-98 °C. The samples which were digested in 60 °C (CMDro1 and EMDro1) showed superior electrochemical activity at the early stages of discharge cycling. By contrast, the samples which were obtained at 98 °C (CMDro2 and EMDro2) showed more stability and were superior to the former samples in final stages of discharge cycling process. Afterward, the electrochemical behavior of the pretreated samples was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry technique and discharge cumulative capacity profiles. Also X-ray diffraction was employed to verify the responses of voltammetric methods. In XRD patterns, peak at 2θ = 28.6° which is due to β-MnO₂ type was the strongest signal as temperature 98 °C was selected for digestion. After digestion at 60 °C, the characteristic peaks at 2θ = 38° and 42° were amplified which are attributed to formation of γ-MnO₂. Interestingly enough, the results according to the XRD patterns were in good agreement with the electrochemical approaches.     

A spatial kinetic model for simulating VVER-1000 start-up transient

An accurate prediction of reactor core behavior in transients depends on how much it could be possible to exactly determine the thermal feedbacks of the core elements such as fuel, clad and coolant. In short time transients, results of these feedbacks directly affect the reactor power and determine the reactor response. Such transients are commonly happened during the start-up process which makes it necessary to carefully evaluate the detail of process. Hence this research evaluates a short time transient occurring during the start up of VVER-1000 reactor. The reactor power was tracked using the point kinetic equations from HZP state (100 W) to 612 kW. Final power (612 kW) was achieved by withdrawing control rods and resultant excess reactivity was set into dynamic equations to calculate the reactor power. Since reactivity is the most important part in the point kinetic equations, using a Lumped Parameter (LP) approximation, energy balance equations were solved in different zones of the core. After determining temperature and total reactivity related to feedbacks in each time step, the exact value of reactivity is obtained and is inserted into point kinetic equations. In reactor core each zone has a specific temperature and its corresponding thermal feedback. To decrease the effects of point kinetic approximations, these partial feedbacks in different zones are superposed to show an accurate model of reactor core dynamics. In this manner the reactor point kinetic can be extended to the whole reactor core which means “Reactor spatial kinetic”. All required group constants in calculations are prepared using the WIMS code. In addition CITATION code was used to calculate the flux, power distribution and core reactivity inside the core. To update the last change in group constants and resultant reactivity in point kinetic equations, these neutronic codes were coupled with a developed dynamic program. This study is applied on a typical VVER-1000 reactor core to show the reactor response in short time transients caused during start-up procedure.     

Protective effects of Allium paradoxum against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice

Allium paradoxum (M.Bieb.) G. Don is a locally known vegetable and is utilized for preparation a variety of local foods in northern of Iran. This study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the recovery effects of A. paradoxum on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice. The curative effect of extracts from the aerial parts and bulbs of A. paradoxum against gentamicin-induced renotoxicity in mice was determined. Both extracts at the dose 200 mg kg(-1) day(-1) offered nephroprotective effect by change in the blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. No statistical difference could be obtained in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen of bulb-treated mice compared to normal mice. The result show that bulb extract at 200 mg kg(-1) day(-1) has better activity than aerial parts.     

An annual framework for clustering-based pricing for an electricity retailer

In the competitive environment, it is necessary for a retailer to increase his/her profit as much as possible. There are few researches focused on the subjects related to the retailer and the retail market. In addition, those researches have mostly focused on the participation of the retailer in the wholesale market. In order to determine the optimal selling price, the knowledge of how and when consumers use electricity is essential to the retailer. This type of information can be found in load profiles of customers. In this paper, an annual framework for optimal price offering by a retailer is proposed which is based on clustering technique. For this purpose, load profiles of customers are used as their consumption patterns. Also, a profit function is defined as the objective of optimization problem based on the load profile considering conditional value at risk (CVaR) for risk modeling. Also, a new acceptance function is proposed to overcome drawbacks of the traditional ones. The objective function is a mixed-integer nonlinear problem which is solved by GAMS software.     

Failure Analysis of a Cracked Gasoline Engine Cylinder Head

This article presents a failure analysis on a gasoline engine cylinder head made of aluminum alloy, which has been used in passenger cars. During an endurance test, a crack initiated from the interior wall of a hole in the center of the cylinder head and then propagated through the thickness of the cylinder head. The metallurgical examinations are conducted in the crack origin zone. The results show that there are many casting pores due to poor quality of casting in the failed cylinder head which has certainly played a crucial role in initiating the crack. Finite element analysis of the cylinder head is performed to identify the stress components. Modeling of a bolt for the hole shows that the plastic stresses are occurred. Moreover, the lower strength of the material due to high assembly stress caused the failure in the cylinder head.     

Dilute solution properties of wild sage (Salvia macrosiphon) seed gum

In this paper, the effect of salt type (sodium and calcium chlorides), salt concentration (0, 0.5, 20 and 50 mM) and temperature (20, 30 and 40 °C) on the properties of dilute sage seed gum (SSG) solutions were investigated. SSG was evaluated for intrinsic viscosity by various models i.e. Huggins, Kraemer, Higiro and Tanglertpaibul and Rao equations. The results showed that the Tanglertpaibul & Rao and Higiro equations were chosen as the best models for intrinsic viscosity determination of SSG at different temperatures and salts concentrations, respectively. The increase in ionic strength of the NaCl and CaCl₂ from 0 to 0.5 mM caused increase in intrinsic viscosity, but increasing the temperature from 20 to 40 °C and salts concentrations from 0.5 to 50 mM decreased the intrinsic viscosity. Divalent ions from CaCl₂ showed a more pronounced effect on the intrinsic viscosity compared with monovalent ions from NaCl. SSG solutions at all temperatures and salts concentrations were in the dilute domain. The weight-average molecular weight of sage seed gum was obtained as 1.5 × 10⁶ Da.     

A preclinical system prototype for focused microwave thermal therapy of the breast

A preclinical prototype of a transcutaneous thermal therapy system has been developed for the targeted treatment of breast cancer cells using focused microwaves as an adjuvant to radiation, chemotherapy, and high-intensity-focused ultrasound. The prototype system employs a 2-D array of tapered microstrip patch antennas operating at 915?MHz to focus continuous-wave microwave energy transcutaneously into the pendent breast suspended in a coupling medium. Prior imaging studies are used to ascertain the material properties of the breast tissue, and these data are incorporated into a multiphysics model. Time-reversal techniques are employed to find a solution (relative amplitudes and phase) for focusing at a given location. Modeling tests of this time-reversal focusing method have been performed, which demonstrate good targeting accuracy within heterogeneous breast tissue. Experimental results using the laboratory prototype to perform focused heating in tissue-mimicking gelatin phantoms have demonstrated 1.5-cm-diameter focal spot sizes and differential heating at the desired focus sufficient to achieve an antitumor effect confined to the target region.     

Evaluation of sex difference in tissue repair following acute carbon tetrachloride toxicity in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats

The formation of zinc protoporphyrin in response to lead or iron depletion has previously been investigated in erythroid systems. Because of its possible metabolic role in non-erythroid tissue, we investigated the formation of zinc protoporphyrin in cultured hepatocytes. The effects of lead and inhibitors of ferrochelatase, the iron insertion step of heme synthesis, on the conversion of 5-aminolevulinic acid to zinc protoporphyrin, protoporphyrin and heme were compared in rat and chick embryo hepatocyte cultures. In rat cultures, zinc protoporphyrin was synthesized enzymatically by ferrochelatase, since N-methylmesoporphyrin, an inhibitor of ferrochelatase. caused 40% or greater decreases in both heme and zinc protoporphyrin accumulation and markedly stimulated protoporphyrin accumulation. In addition, chelation of ferrous iron with 2,2'-dipyridyl decreased heme accumulation by 50%, but increased ZPP accumulation by 200%. Zinc protoporphyrin formation in chick embryo hepatocytes required the addition of zinc as well as 5-aminolevulinic acid and apparently was non-enzymatic, since it was not inhibited by N-methylmesoporphyrin nor increased by iron chelation. In the presence of 5-aminolevulinic acid, lead had no effect on zinc protoporphyrin, protoporphyrin or heme accumulation in chick hepatocytes, but decreased all three in rat hepatocytes, with the decrease in protoporphyrin being far greater than that of zinc protoporphyrin or heme. These findings indicate that, in contrast to the effect of lead in erythroid tissue, it did not specifically increase zinc protoporphyrin accumulation or alter iron availability in cultured hepatocytes.     

Rotation of water in the Morris water maze interferes with path integration mechanisms of place navigation

The idea that place navigation in the Morris water maze is implemented by path integration between locations determined by landmark sighting was investigated in a 200-cm-diameter pool in which circular (7.2 degrees/s) motion of water could be induced by tangentially arranged water jets. The rats were trained at 8 trials per day to navigate to an erectable platform which was raised after the rat had spent a criterion time in the target annulus (30 cm in diameter) in the midpoint of the NW quadrant. Asymptotic escape latency of 7 s was reached after 9 days in moving water (n = 8) and after 6 days in stationary water (n = 8). The group overtrained for 13 days in stable water performed well even after it was transferred to moving water. Changing the sense of rotation of water from counterclockwise to clockwise did not affect the asymptotic performance. The above findings show that overtrained rats rely on landmark sighting rather than on path integration. The influence of water movement reappeared when place navigation to a new target (SW) was examined in alternating 2-s periods of light (L) and darkness (D). On the first day, the latencies were 15.2 +/- 1.2 and 22.8 +/- 1.9 s in stable and moving water, respectively, but dropped to 10 s on the following day. The tracks generated in the L period were more tortuous than those generated in the D period and this difference was more pronounced in moving than in stable water. It is concluded that path integration mechanisms supporting navigation during intervals of darkness are impaired in moving water but that this impairment disappears in overtrained animals.