Degradation rate quantification of solid oxide fuel cell performance with and without Al2TiO5 addition

Degradation rates of electrical current during constant voltage operation of SOFCs with anodes made using NiO precursor powders from two different manufacturers with and without the addition of aluminum titanate (ALT) added by either mechanical mixing or anode infiltration have been quantified using a novel MATLAB algorithm. Because the algorithm has been used to quantify degradation rates for many different SOFC tests, it is thought that the method can be applied to most measured SOFC data to quantify the instantaneous cell degradation rate as a function of time for the entire SOFC performance measurement. Degradation rates determined at different times have been plotted against varying concentrations of ALT addition, facilitating the estimation of optimum ALT concentration for SOFC anodes made with NiO from a specific manufacturer. The algorithm used to determine degradation rates is available upon request to the corresponding author.     

The multiobjective multidimensional knapsack problem: a survey and a new approach

The knapsack problem (KP) and its multidimensional version (MKP) are basic problems in combinatorial optimization. In this paper, we consider their multiobjective extension (MOKP and MOMKP), for which the aim is to obtain or approximate the set of efficient solutions. In the first step, we classify and briefly describe the existing works that are essentially based on the use of metaheuristics. In the second step, we propose the adaptation of the two‐phase Pareto local search (2PPLS) to the resolution of the MOMKP. With this aim, we use a very large scale neighborhood in the second phase of the method, that is the PLS. We compare our results with state‐of‐the‐art results and show that the results we obtained were never reached before by heuristics for biobjective instances. Finally, we consider the extension to three‐objective instances.     

Social Exclusion in Later Life: A Systematic Review of the Literature

In the last decade, there has been a growing awareness regarding social exclusion. Considering the ageing population and the likelihood of older people being socially excluded, the aims of this article are to: (1) review existing studies concerning social exclusion in later life; and (2) identify how environmental and life-course perspectives are presented in studies focusing on social exclusion in later life. A systematic review in seven scientific databases was conducted to explore the peer-reviewed evidence. In total, 26 articles were included and analysed. Findings describe the variety of methods, conceptualisation, dimensions and measures used in this recent area of research. Determinants of social exclusion in later life are discussed and life-course and environmental perspectives are examined. The discussion highlights the complex character of the concept and measurement of social exclusion, and the presence of general and age-specific dimensions of social exclusion in later life. The time and context relativity and the need for life-course and environmental perspectives on social exclusion in later life are discussed. Finally, future directions of research are discussed.     

Removal of estrogenicity in Swedish municipal sewage treatment plants

The human estrogen receptor alpha-test, hosted in a yeast strain, was used to quantify estrogenicity in three-week composite samples of untreated and treated effluents from 20 Swedish municipal sewage treatment plants. The treatment plants were selected to represent different treatment processes regarding chemical precipitation and microbial procedures. The discharge from Swedish domestic sewage treatment plants contained estrogenic compounds corresponding to <0.1-15 ng estradiol equivalents/L. Low levels of estrogenic activity were also found in a river receiving municipal effluents, 3.5-35 km downstream the outlet from a sewage treatment works. The range of estrogenicity in untreated, raw sewage effluents was found to be 1-30 ng estradiol equivalents/L. Generally, wastewater treatment reduced the estrogenicity and extended biological treatment was most effective in its removal. Activated sludge treatment tended to be more effective than trickling filters, whereas chemical precipitation using iron or aluminium salts without biological treatment showed little effectivity. The study showed that treatment methods in current use are able to eliminate or largely reduce estrogenicity in domestic wastewater.     

Hedgehog Signaling in Prostate Cancer and Its Therapeutic Implication

Activation of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is implicated in the development and progression of several tumor types, including prostate cancer, which is still the most common non-skin malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men in industrialized countries worldwide. Several studies have indicated that the Hh pathway plays a crucial role in the development as well as in the progression of this disease to more aggressive and even therapy-resistant disease states. Moreover, preclinical data have shown that inhibition of Hh signaling has the potential to reduce prostate cancer invasiveness and metastatic potential. Clinical trials investigating the benefit of Hh inhibitors in patients with prostate cancer have recently been initiated. However, acquired drug resistance has already been observed in other tumor types after long-term Hh inhibition. Therefore, combining Hh inhibitors with ionizing radiation, chemotherapy or other molecular targeted agents could represent an alternative therapeutic strategy. In this review, we will highlight the role of Hh signaling in the development and progression of prostate cancer and summarize the different therapeutic applications of Hedgehog inhibition.     

Selective adsorption of multivalent ions into TiC-derived nanoporous carbon

A TiC-derived carbon (TiC-CDC) was prepared, and the adsorption of large hexacyanocobaltate and tetrabutylammonium ions of approximately same size was examined on this carbon. While selectively absorbing these large ions, it rejects smaller chloride and ammonium ions in mixed electrolyte solutions. The result demonstrates the important role of electrostatic repulsive forces, space-efficient charge packing and hydrophobic ion interactions with the pore walls of TiC-CDC, similar to what is known for a variety of biological membranes.     

Students’ tool-use within a web enhanced course: Explanatory mechanisms of students’ tool-use pattern

The popularity of content management systems (CMSs) in today’s higher education is driven by the assumption that providing a rich toolset and leaving the use of this toolset under learner control will stimulate self-regulated and deeper learning. Current evidence on students’ tool-use within CMS supported courses however tackles this assumption and indicates that CMSs may empower students’ learning only under particular learner-related conditions. The current study addresses this concern and investigates how students’ tool-use within a CMS supported course can be explained in terms of (a) students’ conceptions on the tool functionalities, (b) self-efficacy beliefs for self-regulated learning and (c) goal orientation. Data were collected within a first year undergraduate course ‘Learning and Instruction’. Students’ (n = 182) tool-use within the course was logged throughout the course episode and the influencing variables were measured through questionnaires. K-means cluster analyses revealed four clusters that reflected differences in students’ tool-choice and tool-use throughout the course. Multinominal regression analyses revealed that these tool-use differences could be explained in terms of students’ goal orientation. The study provides thus perspectives in order to capture students’ academic motivation through unobtrusive, behavioral, measures. Furthermore, questions are raised regarding the parallel between students’ tool-use pattern and study strategy use.     

Speed-up techniques for solving large-scale biobjective TSP

In this paper, we present the Two-Phase Pareto Local Search (2PPLS) method with speed-up techniques for the heuristic resolution of the biobjective traveling salesman problem. The 2PPLS method is a state-of-the-art method for this problem. However, because of its running time that strongly grows with the instances size, the method can be hardly applied to instances with more than 200 cities. We thus adapt some speed-up techniques used in single-objective optimization to the biobjective case. The proposed method is able to solve instances with up to 1000 cities in a reasonable time with no, or very small, reduction of the quality of the generated approximations.     

On the relations between color,gloss, and surface texture in injection‐molded plastics

The relation between color and gloss of injection‐molded plastic specimens was evaluated by means of a 45°/0° geometry spectrophotometer and a glossmeter. The specimens were plaques having one smooth, glossy field and one rougher, textured region made of two different polymeric materials (acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene and polypropylene) in a range of colors. A significant influence of the lightness L* of the specimens on the measured gloss of the textured field, with a low gloss appearance, was found. This can probably be attributed to a contribution from bulk scattering, which is linked to the reflectance from within the specimen. The influence of texture on the measured color of the plaques was assessed by evaluating the color difference between the smooth field and the more textured area on the specimens. When the surface was textured, the color changed; in general it became lighter and less saturated. The magnitude of the change depended on the color of the material. The darker the material was, the larger was the increase in lightness L* as the surface became rougher. The shift in chroma C* was determined not only by the saturation but also by the lightness of the specimens. Darker specimens exhibited a larger decrease in chroma when the surface was textured. The change in the measured color caused by increasing the surface roughness could be predicted in a satisfactory manner using a model developed for xerographic printing paper. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 34, 291–298, 2009