An advanced prediction mechanism to analyse pore geometry shapes and identification of blocking effect in VRLA battery system

The aim of this investigation is to define a model of an alternating current impedance response that can identify the state of health of a porous electrode due to the blocked diffusion effect. To identify and simulate different pore geometries, an analytical differential equations system was studied. Standard and low performance battery products were simulated by the model and validated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experimental data. The correlation between pore structure geometries and the related battery efficiency is also addressed. This investigation may clarify the possible reasons for low performance batteries. Identifying the benchmark pore geometry, parameters may be useful for the battery producers to improve the efficiency of their products. Various recovery methods are also included in this investigation to disperse the build-up of lead sulphate crystal that limits the electrolysis process in the low performance batteries.     

Urethanes and polyurethanes based on oxypropylated cork: 1. Appraisal and reactivity of products

The reaction of various polyols derived from the oxypropylation of cork with aliphatic and aromatic mono‐ and diisocyanates was studied in solution at room temperature. In all instances, good second‐order kinetics were observed and the corresponding rate constant determined. The reactivity of the aromatic isocyanate was found to be much higher than that of aliphatic counterparts. The ensuing urethanes and polyurethanes were characterised by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy, DSC and sol/gel distribution. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Gender differences in research productivity: A bibliometric analysis of the Italian academic system

The literature dedicated to the analysis of the difference in research productivity between the sexes tends to agree in indicating better performance for men. Through bibliometric examination of the entire population of research personnel working in the scientific-technological disciplines of Italian university system, this study confirms the presence of significant differences in productivity between men and women. The differences are, however, smaller than reported in a large part of the literature, confirming an ongoing tendency towards decline, and are also seen as more noticeable for quantitative performance indicators than other indicators. The gap between the sexes shows significant sectorial differences. In spite of the generally better performance of men, there are scientific sectors in which the performance of women does not prove to be inferior.     

Scalable approach to uncertainty quantification and robust design of interconnected dynamical systems

Development of robust dynamical systems and networks such as autonomous aircraft systems capable of accomplishing complex missions faces challenges due to the dynamically evolving uncertainties coming from model uncertainties, necessity to operate in a hostile cluttered urban environment, and the distributed and dynamic nature of the communication and computation resources. Model-based robust design is difficult because of the complexity of the hybrid dynamic models including continuous vehicle dynamics, the discrete models of computations and communications, and the size of the problem. We will overview recent advances in methodology and tools to model, analyze, and design robust autonomous aerospace systems operating in uncertain environment, with stress on efficient uncertainty quantification and robust design using the case studies of the mission including model-based target tracking and search, and trajectory planning in uncertain urban environment. To show that the methodology is generally applicable to uncertain dynamical systems, we will also show examples of application of the new methods to efficient uncertainty quantification of energy usage in buildings, and stability assessment of interconnected power networks.     

Pulsed laser deposition of organic and biological materials

We report on the deposition of soft matter thin films by Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE). In particular, thin layers of biological material (Bovine Serum Albumin) and polymers (polyfluorene) for medical and optoelectronic applications, were realized by laser irradiating a frozen solution containing a low amount of material diluted in a laser absorbing volatile solvent. The depositions were carried out varying different parameters as solvent–solute concentration, solvent nature, laser fluencies, etc. The optical, morphological, structural and spectroscopical properties were detected by means of different analyses as FTIR, photoluminescence, AFM and SDS.     

Vinylene-linked pyridine-pyrrole donor–acceptor conjugated polymers

Vinylene-linked donor–acceptor–donor semiconducting polymers have been prepared by electropolymerization of the new monomers 2,6-bis[(E)-2-(1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)vinyl]pyridine and 2,5-bis[(E)-2-(1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)vinyl]pyridine. The monomers, consisting of two pyrrole donor units and a central pyridine acceptor ring spaced by vinylene links, differ by the substitution pattern around the central pyridine core (2,6 vs. 2,5-substitution). The electropolymerization process is more efficient on the 2,5-derivative. The new polymers show reversible electrochemistry dominated by a strong charge trapping effect. Poly(2,5-bis[(E)-2-(1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)vinyl]pyridine) energy levels closely match those of design rules for optimized polymers in combination with fullerene derivatives in bulk heterojunction solar cells.     

Formulation optimisation of vegetable flour–loaded functional bread. Part II: effect of the flour hydration on the bread quality

In this work, the hydration process of durum wheat–based functional bread loaded with yellow pepper flour was optimised. In particular, the investigated vegetable flour and durum wheat semolina were mixed after they were separately hydrated. Three different amounts of water added to the yellow pepper flour were studied for assessing the effect of vegetable flour hydration level on the dough development and overall quality of bread. The bread formulation investigated in a previous work, based on 25% of yellow pepper and 2% of guar seed as structuring agent where the vegetable flour was directly added to the hydrated durum wheat semolina dough, was chosen as control sample. Results highlighted that dough samples with yellow pepper flour hydrated at highest water content showed a rheological behaviour similar to the durum wheat dough. Moreover, creep analysis showed that the sample added with no‐hydrated yellow pepper flour recorded the greatest resistance to deformation. Same results were obtained for the dough tensile and bread compression tests. The use of the hydrated yellow pepper flour also improved all sensorial attributes.