Enhancement of hydrogen storage properties of metal-organic framework-5 by substitution (Zn,Cd and Mg) and decoration (Li,Be and Na)

Two strategies of decoration by three elements Z = Li, Be and Na in cyclic site, and substitution of Zn by Mg and Cd in unit cell were used in the framework of functional density theory to tune the hydrogen storage properties of metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5) based on Zn whose decomposition temperature and initial gravimetric capacity are 300 K and 1.57 wt% respectively.Based on the adsorption of hydrogen molecules in the crystal surface at three different adsorption sites with three orientations of H₂, we show that our system may reach a maximum gravimetric storage capacity of 4.09 wt% for multiple hydrogen molecules. Moreover, the functionalization of Z combined to the substitution, shows an exceptional improvement of hydrogen storage properties. For example, Mg-MOF-5 decorated with Li₂ has a capacity up to 5.41 wt% and 513 K as desorption temperature.     

Hydrogen storage in lithium,sodium and magnesium-decorated on tetragonal silicon carbide

Motivated by the widespread application and fascinating properties of various silicon-carbon nanomaterials, we have extensively investigated the properties of tetragonal silicon carbides (t-SiC) monolayer as a novel 2D material for hydrogen storage.Using calculations of the density functional theory comprising van der Waals interactions of type vdW-DF2-C09_x, the structural stability, electronic properties and hydrogen molecules adsorption energies on the surface of pure t-SiC were investigated.The results show that adsorption energies of H₂ molecules in this system are stronger than that of graphene. We also found that the decoration with alkali (Li, Na) and alkaline-earth (Mg) metals atoms increases the stability of hydrogen compared to the pure system. The studied system decorated with 8 elements of Li/Na/Mg is able to adsorb up 24 molecules of hydrogen and reaches a gravimetric capacity of 6.50, 5.54 and 5.48 wt%, respectively. The desorption temperatures found are significantly high compared to other 2D systems.     

Evaluation of scaffolding,inflammatory response,and wound healing support of a reverse thermal gel for myelomeningocele patching

A reverse thermal gel (RTG) is a promising patching material for in utero, minimally invasive coverage of myelomeningocele (MMC) defects. The injectable properties of the RTG brings the potential for significantly reduced surgical risks to the mother and fetus when compared to current open prenatal repair procedures. MMC patching materials require structural and wound healing support for tissue growth over the MMC defect area to allow a watertight seal to form and prevent further neural tissue exposure to the amniotic environment. Here, the previously described RTG is evaluated for the first time as a scaffold for skin cells, for long-term inflammation effects in neonatal mice, and for wound healing capability. Results show that the RTG can support the growth and survival of keratinocytes, dermal fibroblasts, and neuronal cells in vitro. Injections into neonatal mice demonstrate a regressing inflammatory response and support of normal wound healing. Together, these results demonstrate that the RTG has the necessary scaffolding and wound healing support necessary for MMC patching applications.     

Artificial Enzymes for Diels-Alder Reactions

The Diels-Alder (DA) reaction is a cycloaddition of a conjugated diene and an alkene (dienophile) leading to the formation of a cyclohexene derivative through a concerted mechanism. As DA reactions generally proceed with a high degree of regio- and stereoselectivity, they are widely used in synthetic organic chemistry. Considering eco-conscious public and governmental movements, efforts are now directed towards the development of synthetic processes that meet environmental concerns. Artificial enzymes, which can be developed to catalyze abiotic reactions, appear to be important synthetic tools in the synthetic biology field. This review describes the different strategies used to develop protein-based artificial enzymes for DA reactions, including for in cellulo approaches.     

Magnesium vacancies and hydrogen doping in MgH2 for improving gravimetric capacity and desorption temperature

Performing an ab initio analysis, we inspect the effect of magnesium vacancies and hydrogen doping on the magnesium hydride (MgH₂). The Korringa – Kohn – Rostoker method integrated with the coherent potential approximation is used to perform our calculations. In particular, we find that the gravimetric capacity of MgH₂ increases from 7.658 to 9.816 wt% when the concentrations of magnesium vacancies and hydrogen dopant atoms increase from 0 to 10%. Concretely, the results reveal that the magnesium vacancies and the hydrogen doping have a beneficial effect on the hydrogen storage properties of the hydride by decreasing its desorption temperature and stability. This decrease can be explained on the one hand by the diminution of the number of Mg atoms that establish strong bonds with H atoms, and on the other hand by using the density of states, which indicates that when the concentrations increase, the Mg and H states shift to the conduction band. We also obtain that the value of the desorption temperature can be controlled by varying the concentrations of magnesium vacancies and hydrogen dopant atoms from 4.2 to 5.8% in order to reach the optimum range 289–393 K for the practical use of fuel cell vehicles.     

Traffic-aware auto-configuration protocol for service oriented low-power and lossy networks in IoT

Wireless Networks - Many diversified services can be offered by smart objects, referred to herein by nodes, in low-power and lossy networks (LLNs) contributing to the Internet of Things (IoT). A...     

Exploiting cognitive radios for reliable satellite communications

Satellite transmissions are prone to both unintentional and intentional RF interference. Such interference has significant impact on the reliability of packet transmissions. In this paper, we make preliminary steps at exploiting the sensing capabilities of cognitive radios for reliable satellite communications. We propose the use of dynamically adjusted frequency hopping (FH) sequences for satellite transmissions. Such sequences are more robust against targeted interference than fixed FH sequences. In our design, the FH sequence is adjusted according to the outcome of out‐of‐band proactive sensing, carried out by a cognitive radio module that resides in the receiver of the satellite link. Our design, called out‐of‐band sensing‐based dynamic FH, is first analyzed using a discrete‐time Markov chain (DTMC) framework. The transition probabilities of the DTMC are then used to measure the ‘channel stability’, a metric that reflects the freshness of sensed channel interference. Next, out‐of‐band sensing‐based dynamic FH is analyzed following a continuous‐time Markov chain model, and a numerical procedure for determining the ‘optimal’ total sensing time that minimizes the probability of ‘black holes’ is provided. DTMC is appropriate for systems with continuously adjustable power levels; otherwise, continuous‐time Markov chain is the suitable model. We use simulations to study the effects of different system parameters on the performance of our proposed design. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Living-related liver transplantation in Africa

Liver transplantation is an effective therapy for end stage liver disease. Nevertheless in many areas of the world organ availability remains a major problem. We report here the success of the first living-related liver transplantation in Africa. The left lateral lobe of the mother was transplanted orthotopically to her 6 year old child suffering from liver cirrhosis complicating glycogen storage disease. The social and medical problems encountered are discussed. Living-related liver transplantation is a viable option in countries where cadaveric organ donation is either illegal or socially unacceptable.     

Optimal asynchronous agreement and leader election algorithm for complete networks with Byzantine faulty links

Summary.  We consider agreement and leader election on asynchronous complete networks when the processors are reliable, but some of the channels are subject to failure. Fischer, Lynch, and Paterson have already shown that no deterministic algorithm can solve the agreement problem on asynchronous networks if any processor fails during the execution of the algorithm. Therefore, we consider only channel failures. The type of channel failure we consider in this paper is Byzantine failure, that is, channels fail by altering messages, sending false information, forging messages, losing messages at will, and so on. There are no restrictions on the behavior of a faulty channel. Therefore, a faulty channel may act as an adversary who forges messages on purpose to prevent the successful completion of the algorithm. Because we assume an asynchronous network, the channel delays are arbitrary. Thus, the faulty channels may not be detectable unless, for example, the faulty channels cause garbage to be sent. We present the first known agreement and leader election algorithm for asynchronous complete networks in which the processors are reliable but some channels may be Byzantine faulty. The algorithm can tolerate up to [n−22] faulty channels, where n is the number of processors in the network. We show that the bound on the number of faulty channels is optimal. When the processors terminate their corresponding algorithms, all the processors in the network will have the same correct vector, where the vector contains the private values of all the processors. Received: May 1994/Accepted: July 1995     

A passivity-based method for induction motor control

The control of an induction motor is a difficult problem, since the dynamics of the induction motor are nonlinear, the rotor electrical state variables (i.e., rotor fluxes or currents) are usually unavailable for measurement, and the motor parameters can vary significantly from their nominal values. The main purpose of this paper is to develop a control algorithm that forces the induction motor to track time-varying speed, position, and flux trajectories without knowledge of the rotor electrical state variables. To achieve this, a passivity-based method is developed. The key point with this method is the identification of terms, known as workless forces, which appear in the dynamic equations of the induction motor but do not have any effect on the energy balance equation of the induction motor. These terms do not influence the stability properties of the induction motor and, hence, there is no need to cancel them with feedback control. This leads to a simpler control structure and enhances the robustness of the control system. Experimental results show that the passivity-based method provides close tracking of time-varying speed, position, and flux trajectories without knowledge of the rotor electrical state variables