La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ nanofiber cathode for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells by water-based sol-gel electrospinning: Synthesis and electrochemical behaviour

Water-based sol-gel electrospinning is employed to manufacture perovskite oxide La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LSCF) nanofiber cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. LSCF fibrous scaffolds are synthesized through electrospinning of a sol-gel solution employing water as the only solvent. Morphological characterizations demonstrate that the LSCF fibers have highly crystalline structure with uniform elemental distribution. After heat treatment, the average fiber diameter is 250 nm and the porosity of the nanofiber tissue is 37.5 %. The heat treated LSCF nanofibers are applied directly onto a Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 (CGO) electrolyte disk to form a symmetrical cell. Electrochemical characterization is carried out through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in the temperature range 550?°C–950?°C, and reproducibility of the electrochemical performance for a series of cells is demonstrated. At 650?°C, the average measured polarization resistance R_p is 1.0 Ω cm². Measured performance decay is 1 % during the first 33?h of operation at 750?°C, followed by an additional 0.7 % over the subsequent 70?h.     

FEM model of the ohmic resistance of IP-SOFCs

In the present work, the ohmic resistance of an integrated planar-SOFC (IP-SOFC) has been evaluated by developing a model whose equations have been solved numerically through an FEM method. The model allows to estimate the distribution of voltage and current density in the cell. A comparison between simulated and experimental data of area specific resistance is reported, which shows satisfactory agreement. The mathematical model has also been used to carry out some parametric studies for optimisation purposes. Indeed, a reduction in cell pitch length and an increase in electrode thickness are predicted to lead to a reduction in ohmic losses in IP-SOFCs.     

Tuning the redox properties of Co-N4 macrocyclic complexes for the catalytic electrooxidation of glucose

Graphite electrodes modified with four different cobalt N4 macrocyclics, namely Co tetrapentapyridinophthalocyanine, (CoTPenPyrPc), Co tetrapyridinoporphyrazine (CoTPyPz), Co octa(hydroxyethylthio)phthalocyanine (CoOEHTPc) and Co tetranitrophthalocyanine (CoTNPc) exhibit catalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose in alkaline media. The purpose of this work is to establish correlations between the catalytic activity of these complexes and their redox potential. The activity of the different modified electrodes was tested by linear voltammetry under hydrodynamic conditions using the rotating disk technique. Tafel plots constructed from mass-transport corrected currents give slopes ranging from 0.080 to 0.160 V/decade for the different catalysts which suggests that a first one-electron step is rate controlling with the symmetry of the energy barrier depending on the nature of the ligand of the Co complex. A plot of log I versus the Co(II)/(I) formal potential gives a volcano curve that also includes catalysts studied previously. This illustrates the concept that the formal potential of the catalyst needs to be tuned to a certain value for achieving maximum activity. A theoretical interpretation of these results is given in terms of Langmuir isotherms for the adsorption of glucose on the Co sites of the surface-confined metal complexes.     

A suboptimal approach to channel equalization based on the nearestneighbor rule

Applications of clustering and neural network techniques to channel equalization have revealed the classification nature of this problem. This paper illustrates an implementation of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) receiver in which channel equalization and demodulation are realized by means of the nearest neighbor (NN) classifier algorithm. The most important advantage in using such techniques is the significant reduction in terms of the computational complexity compared with the maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) equalizer. The proposed approach involves symbol-by-symbol interpretation and the knowledge of the channel is embedded in the mapping process of the received symbols over the symbols of the training sequence. This means that no explicit channel estimation need be carried out, either with correlative blocks or using neural networks thus speeding up the entire process. The performance of the proposed receiver, evaluated through a channel simulator for mobile radio communications, is compared with the results obtained by means of a 16-state Viterbi algorithm and other suboptimal receivers. It is shown that the presented algorithm increases the bit error rate (BER) compared with the MLSE demodulator, but the performance degradation, despite the simplicity of the receiver, is kept within the limits imposed by the GSM specifications     

Chronic pancreatitis prevalence in liver cirrhosis. Morphological and functional study

In the present study we have examined the ability of the beta-amyloid peptide (A beta(25-35)) to modulate the respiratory burst activity of human monocytes in vitro. Incubation of the cells for 24 h with A beta(25-35) as well as with A beta(1-42) resulted in an enhanced production of reactive oxygen radicals (ROI) in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Such effect was additively increased by coincubation with interferon-gamma (IFN gamma), and was paralleled by modulation of gene and protein expression of some components of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase system. Since the effects of A beta(25-35) were also reproduced in primary rat microglia, our findings indicate that A beta(25-35) can potentiate the ability of mononuclear phagocytes to produce ROI, and add further insights into its biological effects.     

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Degradation Mechanisms by Particle Coarsening in SOFC Electrodes

Performance degradation data obtained from single solid oxide fuel cells, tested at 850 °C with air and humidified H₂ and using Ni‐YSZ anode supported cells, are presented here. Microscopic investigation is carried out on both anode and cathode to quantify variations in the morphology at different operation times. The comparison between the measurements on the cells and the SEM image analysis allows to conclude that there is no relationship between the initial cell activation and microstructural modifications of the electrodes. On the other hand, it was found that cell degradation is strictly related to the coarsening of Ni particles occurring in the anode. A theoretical analysis based on an electrode micromodel has been performed in order to compare the variation in performance, expected from particle size change, with the observed data. The model confirmed the conclusions of the experimental results.     

Transcutaneous ethanol injection in hepatocarcinoma: problems in analgesia and sedation

Therapeutic ethanol injection into primitive or secondary hepatic tumours if performed in "one shot" causes a great deal of pain. For this reason an analgesic/sedation protocol was devised. This relies on the administration of ketorolac-propofol-nitrogen oxide mixture that has been used to treat patients with neoplastic hepatic diseases. A 20 patient series is described. Analgesic protocol was very effective and the only drawbacks were a residual sleepiness than in part is probably dependent on ethanol emigration into the bloodstream and consequently to the central nervous system depression.     

Comparative LCA of methanol-fuelled SOFCs as auxiliary power systems on-board ships

Fuel cells own the potential for significant environmental improvements both in terms of air quality and climate protection. Through the use of renewable primary energies, local pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly minimized over the full life cycle of the electricity generation process, so that marine industry accounts renewable energy as its future energy source. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of methanol in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), as auxiliary power systems for commercial vessels, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA methodology allows the assessment of the potential environmental impact along the whole life cycle of the process. The unit considered is a 20 kWel fuel cell system. In a first part of the study different fuel options have been compared (methanol, bio-methanol, natural gas, hydrogen from cracking, electrolysis and reforming), then the operation of the cell fed with methanol has been compared with the traditional auxiliary power system, i.e. a diesel engine. The environmental benefits of the use of fuel cells have been assessed considering different impact categories. The results of the analysis show that fuel production phase has a strong influence on the life cycle impacts and highlight that feeding with bio-methanol represents a highly attractive solution from a life cycle point of view. The comparison with the conventional auxiliary power system shows extremely lower impacts for SOFCs.     

SCREENING FOR EXTRACELLULAR ACID PROTEASE(S) PRODUCTION BY WINE YEASTS*

Ninety-four Saccharomyces wine yeasts were screened for their ability to produce extracellular acid protease(s) under simulated vinification conditions. Seventeen strains were selected on the basis of their higher proteolytic activity on haemoglobin and casein. These strains showed maximum activity after 20 days of fermentation on haemoglobin and 25 days on casein. Wines obtained from grape juice fermented by the above 17 strains showed significative differences in the residual protein content.     

Numerical conformal transformation of three-magnetic-wallstructures

Methods are presented to transform general two-conductor, three-magnetic-wall line structures into less complicated geometries using conformal transformations. These geometries can be solved or have been solved previously by numerical techniques