Syngas production at intermediate temperature through H2O and CO2 electrolysis with a Cu-based solid oxide electrolyzer cell

Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOECs) are promising energy devices for the production of syngas (H₂/CO) by H₂O and/or CO₂ electrolysis. Here we developed a Cu–Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_2−δ/Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_2−δ/Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ-Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_2−δ cell and performed H₂O and CO₂ electrolysis experiments in the intermediate temperature range (600°C–700 °C). As a baseline, the cell was first tested in fuel cell operation mode; the sample shows a maximum power density peak of 104 mW cm⁻² at 700 °C under pure hydrogen and air. H₂O electrolysis testing revealed a steady production of hydrogen with a Faraday's efficiency of 32% at 700 °C at an imposed current density of −78 mA cm⁻². CO production was observed during CO₂ electrolysis but higher cell voltages were required. A lower efficiency of about 4% was obtained at 700 °C at an imposed current density of −660 mA cm⁻². These results confirm that syngas production is feasible by water and carbon dioxide electrolysis but further improvements from both the manufacturing and the electrocatalytic aspects are needed to reach higher yields and efficiencies.     

Ageing in the LHCb outer tracker: Aromatic hydrocarbons and wire cleaning

The LHCb Outer Tracker straw tubes have shown to suffer from gain loss after irradiation in the laboratory at moderate intensities. Under irradiation an insulating layer is formed on the anode wire. The ageing is caused by contamination of the counting gas due to outgassing of the plastifier di-isopropyl-naphthalene in araldite AY103-1 used at construction. This paper presents irradiation results with and without the plastifier, together with the mass spectra of the glue samples. In addition, the effects of wire heating and large currents are presented.     

Evaluation in Music Information Retrieval

The field of Music Information Retrieval has always acknowledged the need for rigorous scientific evaluations, and several efforts have set out to develop and provide the infrastructure, technology and methodologies needed to carry out these evaluations. The community has enormously gained from these evaluation forums, but we have reached a point where we are stuck with evaluation frameworks that do not allow us to improve as much and as well as we want. The community recently acknowledged this problem and showed interest in addressing it, though it is not clear what to do to improve the situation. We argue that a good place to start is again the Text IR field. Based on a formalization of the evaluation process, this paper presents a survey of past evaluation work in the context of Text IR, from the point of view of validity, reliability and efficiency of the experiments. We show the problems that our community currently has in terms of evaluation, point to several lines of research to improve it and make various proposals in that line.     

Optimization of ODHE membrane reactor based on mixed ionic electronic conductor using soft computing techniques

This work presents the optimization of the operating conditions of a membrane reactor for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. The catalytic membrane reactor is based on a mixed ionic–electronic conducting material, i.e. Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_δ−3, which presents high oxygen flux above 750 °C under sufficient chemical potential gradient. Specifically, diluted ethane is fed into the reactor chamber and air (or diluted air) is flushed to the other side of the membrane. A framework based on Soft Computing techniques has been used to maximize the ethylene yield by simultaneously varying five operation variables: nominal reactor temperature (Temp); gas flow in the reaction compartment (QHC); gas flow in the oxygen-rich compartment (QAir); ethane concentration in the reaction compartment (%C₂H₆); and oxygen concentration in oxygen-rich compartment (%O₂). The optimization tool combines a genetic algorithm guided by a neural network model. This shows how the neural network model for this particular problem is obtained and the analysis of its behavior along the optimization process. The optimization process is analyzed in terms of: (1) catalytic figures of merit, i.e., evolution of yield and selectivity towards different products and (2) framework behavior and variable significance. The two experimental areas maximizing the ethylene yield are explored and analyzed. The highest yield reached in the optimization process exceeded 87%.     

Non‐digestible carbohydrates in Brazilian soybean seeds [Glycine max (L.) Merril]

Non‐digestible carbohydrate fraction (NDCF) consists of a range of bioactive compounds that escape digestion in the small intestine. NDCF is mainly composed of dietary fibre (DF) and non‐digestible oligosaccharides (NDO). The objective of this work was to analyse directly and compare the NDCF in two Brazilian cultivars of soybean seed with commercial flour. Brazil is the second major soybean producer in the world. The seed cultivars showed on average a NDCF value of 32.80 g per 100 g dry weight (dw). Regarding DF, insoluble DF (IDF) was the main fraction amounting on average to 98%. Uronic acids were significantly higher than neutral sugar (NS) in IDF and soluble DF (SDF) fractions. There was a considerable amount of Klason lignin – on average 84.14% of DF. Regarding NS profile, mannose was the most important sugar in SDF, whereas galactose and arabinose were predominant in IDF. Stachyose was the main oligosaccharide in NDO. DF and NDO were in the same proportion (94.2:5.8) in tested cultivars. No differences in swelling, water retention, or oil retention capacities between seed cultivars were detected. This study on non‐digestible carbohydrate components in soybean seed gives a different approach to the current nutritional knowledge on protein and oil constituents.     

Photophysical properties of Eu supported on silica gel functionalized with propyl β-diketonates

New luminescent materials consisting of Eu³⁺ supported on silica gel functionalized with acetylacetone (EuAPG) and benzoyltrifiuoroacetone (EuBPG) showed a much more intense emission than Eu³⁺ supported either on silica gel (EuSG) or on silica gel functionalized with imidazole (EuIPG). The lifetimes of the Eu³⁺⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition in the samples were determined. All the silica contained about 0.2–0.3 wt.% of Eu³⁺.     

Retractor with mobile endoscope

I have designed two retractors with mobile endoscopes that allow an assistant to lift up the flap and the endoscope. By doing this, the assistant maintains the optical cavity open while the surgeon dissects. There are two models, one with 180-degree lateral swing and the other with motion in all directions (vertical and lateral).     

Cerium-based phosphors: blue luminescent properties for applications in optical displays

In this paper, we describe the blue photoluminescence (PL) observed in the multi-component oxosalt phosphor GdVO₄:Ce³⁺. Different doping concentrations (0.25–1 mol%) and heat treatment (900–1100 °C) were used to evaluate which conditions would lead to the most suitable blue phosphor for optimal display performance. The cerium doping concentration influences the profile of the emission spectrum (broad peak at 412 nm under UV excitation at 330 nm), as reflected on the values of chromaticity coordinates. On the basis of luminescent properties, we can conclude that, among the phosphors prepared in this work the most adequate for a blue display is the one obtained via the combustion method using glycine as fuel, a 0.50 mol% cerium doping concentration, and heat treatment at 1000 °C.     

The effect of dexamethasone treatment on the expression of the regulatory genes of ketogenesis in intestine and liver of suckling rats

The influence of the injection of dexamethasone on ketogenesis in 12 day old suckling rats was studied in intestine and liver by determining mRNA levels and enzyme activity of the two genes responsible for regulation of ketogenesis: carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (CPT I) and mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase. Dexamethasone produced a 2 fold increase in mRNA and activity of CPT I in intestine, but led to a decrease in mit. HMG-CoA synthase. In liver the mRNA levels and activity of both CPT I and mit. HMG-CoA synthase decreased. Comparison of these values with the ketogenic rate of both tissues following dexamethasone treatment suggests that mit. HMG-CoA synthase could be the main gene responsible for the regulation of ketogenesis in suckling rats. The changes produced in serum ketone bodies by dexamethasone, with a profile that is more similar to the ketogenic rate in the liver than that in the intestine, indicate that liver contributes more to ketone body synthesis in suckling rats. Two day treatment with dexamethasone produced no change in mRNA or activity levels for CPT I in liver or intestine. While mRNA levels for mit. HMG-CoA synthase changed little, the enzyme activity is decreased in both tissues.     

Stone recurrence after shockwave lithotripsy: possible enhanced crystal deposition in traumatized tissue in rabbit model

The authors present a review of the anatomy of the major bursae around the shoulder joint and discuss the use of the different imaging modalities which demonstrate their radiologic features. The calcified subacromial-subdeltoid bursa has a characteristic appearance on plain radiographs. When inflamed it can be visualized by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Calcific bursitis may involve the subcoracoid bursa. This bursa may mimic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder or complete rotator cuff tear when injected inadvertently during shoulder arthrography. Less well known are three coracoclavicular ligament bursae. These are also subject to calcific bursitis and have a typical radiologic appearance.