Search results for: tandem solar cells

Authors: Fl. Loury, P. Sablonière

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In this paper a stochastic scenario-based model predictive control applied to molten salt storage systems in concentrated solar tower power plant is presented. The main goal of this study is to build up a tool to analyze current and expected future resources for evaluating the weekly power to be advertised on electricity secondary market. This tool will allow plant operator to maximize profits while hedging the impact on the system of stochastic variables such as resources or sunlight shortage.

Solving the problem first requires a mixed logic dynamic modeling of the plant. The two stochastic variables, respectively the sunlight incoming energy and electricity demands from secondary market, are modeled by least square regression. Robustness is achieved by drawing a certain number of random variables realizations and applying the most restrictive one to the system. This scenario approach control technique provides the plant operator a confidence interval containing a given percentage of possible stochastic variable realizations in such a way that robust control is always achieved within its bounds. The results obtained from many trajectory simulations show the existence of a ‘’reliable’’ interval, which experimentally confirms the algorithm robustness.

Keywords: Molten Salt Storage System, Concentrated Solar Tower Power Plant, Robust Stochastic Model Predictive Control.

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Authors: F. Kashanian, M. M. Masoudi, A. Akbari, A. Shamloo, M. R. Zand, S. S. Salehi

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Nano-sized materials present new opportunities in biology and medicine and they are used as biomedical tools for investigation, separation of molecules and cells. To achieve more effective cancer therapy, it is essential to select cancer cells exactly. This research suggests that using the antibody-functionalized nontoxic Arginine-doped magnetic nanoparticles (A-MNPs), has been prosperous in detection, capture, and magnetic separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in tumor tissue. In this study, A-MNPs were synthesized via a simple precipitation reaction and directly immobilized Ep-CAM EBA-1 antibodies over superparamagnetic A-MNPs for Mucin BCA-225 in breast cancer cell. The samples were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), FT-IR spectroscopy, Tunneling Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These antibody-functionalized nontoxic A-MNPs were used to capture breast cancer cell. Through employing a strong permanent magnet, the magnetic separation was achieved within a few seconds. Antibody-Conjugated nontoxic Arginine-doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have the potential for the future study to capture CTCs which are released from tumor tissue and for drug delivery, and these results demonstrate that the antibody-conjugated A-MNPs can be used in magnetic hyperthermia techniques for cancer treatment.

Keywords: Tumor tissue, antibody, magnetic nanoparticle, CTCs capturing.

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Authors: Avadhesh Yadav, Manoj Kumar, Balram

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A solar powered air heating system using parabolic trough collector was experimentally investigated. In this experimental setup, the reflected solar radiations were focused on absorber tube which was placed at focal length of the parabolic trough. In this setup, air was used as working fluid which collects the heat from absorber tube. To enhance the performance of parabolic trough, collector with different type of reflectors were used. It was observed For Aluminum sheet maximum temperature is 52.3ºC, which 24.22% more than steel sheet as reflector and 8.5% more than Aluminum foil as reflector, also efficiency by using Aluminum sheet as reflector compared to steel sheet as reflector is 61.18% more. Efficiency by using Aluminum sheet as reflector compared to Aluminum foil as reflector is 18.98% more.

Keywords: Parabolic trough collector, Reflectors, Air flow rates.

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Authors: Amado, M. P., Amado, A., Poggi, F., Correia de Freitas, J.

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Today is widely understood that global energy consumption patterns are directly related to the urban expansion and development process. This expansion is based on the natural growth of human activities and has left most urban areas totally dependent on fossil fuel derived external energy inputs. This status-quo of production, transportation, storage and consumption of energy has become inefficient and is set to become even more so when the continuous increases in energy demand are factored in. The territorial management of land use and related activities is a central component in the search for more efficient models of energy use, models that can meet current and future regional, national and European goals.

In this paper a methodology is developed and discussed with the aim of improving energy efficiency at the municipal level. The development of this methodology is based on the monitoring of energy consumption and its use patterns resulting from the natural dynamism of human activities in the territory and can be utilized to assess sustainability at the local scale. A set of parameters and indicators are defined with the objective of constructing a systemic model based on the optimization, adaptation and innovation of the current energy framework and the associated energy consumption patterns. The use of the model will enable local governments to strike the necessary balance between human activities and economic development and the local and global environment while safeguarding fairness in the energy sector.

Keywords: Solar urban planning, solar smart city, urban development, energy efficiency.

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Authors: Andrew Jester, Ross Lee, Pritpal Singh

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As the world transitions to a more sustainable energy economy, the deployment of energy storage technologies is expected to increase to develop a more resilient grid system. However, current technologies are associated with various environmental and safety issues throughout their entire lifecycle; therefore, a new battery technology is desirable for grid applications to curtail these risks. Biological cells, such as human neurons and electrocytes in the electric eel, can serve as a more sustainable design template for a new bio-inspired (i.e., biomimetic) battery. Within biological cells, an electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane forms the membrane potential, which serves as the driving force for ion transport into/out of the cell akin to the charging/discharging of a battery cell. This work serves as the first step for developing such a biomimetic battery cell, starting with the fabrication and characterization of ion-selective membranes to facilitate ion transport through the cell. Performance characteristics (e.g., cell voltage, power density, specific energy, roundtrip efficiency) for the cell under investigation are compared to incumbent battery technologies and biological cells to assess the readiness level for this emerging technology. Using a Na+-Form Nafion-117 membrane, the cell in this work successfully demonstrated behavior like human neurons; these findings will inform how cell components can be re-engineered to enhance device performance.

Keywords: Battery, biomimetic, electrocytes, human neurons, ion-selective membranes, membrane potential.

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Authors: Jong Ho Hwang, Dae Hwan Kang, Young-IL Jeong

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Since hyaluronic acid (HA) receptor such as CD44 is over-expressed at sites of cancer cells, HA can be used as a targeting vehicles for anti-cancer drugs. The aim of this study is to synthesize block copolymer composed of hyaluronic acid and poly(ε-caprolactone) (HAPCL) and to fabricate polymeric micelles for anticancer drug targeting against CD44 receptor of tumor cells. Chemical composition of HAPCL was confirmed using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Doxorubicin (DOX) was incorporated into polymeric micelles of HAPCL. The diameters of HAPHS polymeric micelles were changed around 80nm and have spherical shapes. Targeting potential was investigated using CD44-overexpressing. When DOX-incorporated polymeric micelles was added to KB cells, they revealed strong red fluorescence color while blocking of CD44 receptor by pretreatment of free HA resulted in reduced intensity, indicating that HAPCL polymeric micelles have targetability against CD44 receptor.

Keywords: Hyaluronic acid, CD44 receptor, biorecognizable nanoparticles, block copolymer.

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Authors: Zhichao Jiao, Craig Farnham, Jihui Yuan, Kazuo Emura

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It is common to use the outdoor design weather data to select the air-conditioning capacity in the building design stage. The meteorological elements of outdoor design weather data are usually selected based on their excess frequency separately while the dependency between the elements is not well considered. It means that the simultaneous occurrence probability of these elements is smaller than the original excess frequency which may cause an overestimation of selecting air-conditioning capacity. Therefore, the copula approach which can capture the dependency between multivariate data was used to model the joint distributions of the meteorological elements, like air temperature and global solar radiation. We suggest a method based on the specific simultaneous occurrence probability of these two elements of selecting more credible outdoor design conditions. The hourly weather data at 12 noon from 2001 to 2010 in Tokyo, Japan are used to analyze the dependency structure and joint distribution, the Gaussian copula represents the dependence of data best. According to calculating the air temperature and global solar radiation in specific simultaneous occurrence probability and the common exceeding, the results show that both the air temperature and global solar radiation based on simultaneous occurrence probability are lower than these based on the conventional method in the same probability.

Keywords: Copula approach, Design weather database, energy conservation, HVAC.

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Authors: D. Vainauska, S. Kozireva, A. Karpovs, M. Chistyakovs, M. Baryshev

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Liposomal magnetofection is a simple, highly efficient technology for cell transfection, demonstrating better outcome than a number of other common gene delivery methods. However, aggregate complexes distribution over the cell surface is non-uniform due to the gradient of the permanent magnetic field. The aim of this study was to estimate the efficiency of liposomal magnetofection for prostate carcinoma PC3 cell line using newly designed device, “DynaFECTOR", ensuring magnetofection in a dynamic gradient magnetic field. Liposomal magnetofection in a dynamic gradient magnetic field demonstrated the highest transfection efficiency for PC3 cells – it increased for 21% in comparison with liposomal magnetofection and for 42% in comparison with lipofection alone. The optimal incubation time under dynamic magnetic field for PC3 cell line was 5 minutes and the optimal rotation frequency of magnets – 5 rpm. The new approach also revealed lower cytotoxic effect to cells than liposomal magnetofection.

Keywords: Dynamic gradient magnetic field, gene delivery, liposomal magnetofection, prostate cancer cell line

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Authors: Chien-Min Chu, Bor-Wen Tsai, Kang-Tsung Chang

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Landslide susceptibility map delineates the potential zones for landslide occurrence. Previous works have applied multivariate methods and neural networks for mapping landslide susceptibility. This study proposed a new approach to integrate decision tree model and spatial cluster statistic for assessing landslide susceptibility spatially. A total of 2057 landslide cells were digitized for developing the landslide decision tree model. The relationships of landslides and instability factors were explicitly represented by using tree graphs in the model. The local Getis-Ord statistics were used to cluster cells with high landslide probability. The analytic result from the local Getis-Ord statistics was classed to create a map of landslide susceptibility zones. The map was validated using new landslide data with 482 cells. Results of validation show an accuracy rate of 86.1% in predicting new landslide occurrence. This indicates that the proposed approach is useful for improving landslide susceptibility mapping.

Keywords: Landslide susceptibility Zonation, Decision treemodel, Spatial cluster, Local Getis-Ord statistics.

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Authors: Brajesh Kumar Jha, Neeru Adlakha, M. N. Mehta

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Mathematical and computational modeling of calcium signalling in nerve cells has produced considerable insights into how the cells contracts with other cells under the variation of biophysical and physiological parameters. The modeling of calcium signaling in astrocytes has become more sophisticated. The modeling effort has provided insight to understand the cell contraction. Main objective of this work is to study the effect of voltage gated (Operated) calcium channel (VOC) on calcium profile in the form of advection diffusion equation. A mathematical model is developed in the form of advection diffusion equation for the calcium profile. The model incorporates the important physiological parameter like diffusion coefficient etc. Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed. Finite volume method is employed to solve the problem. A program has been developed using in MATLAB 7.5 for the entire problem and simulated on an AMD-Turion 32-bite machine to compute the numerical results.

Keywords: Ca2+ Profile, Advection Diffusion, VOC, FVM.

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Authors: A. Maria G. Melero, A. M. Senna, J. A. Domingues, M. A. Hausen, E. Aparecida R. Duek, V. R. Botaro

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A hydrogel from cellulose acetate cross linked with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (HAC-EDTA) was synthesized by our research group, and submitted to characterization and biological tests. Cytocompatibility analysis was performed by confocal microscopy using human adipocyte derived stem cells (ASCs). The FTIR analysis showed characteristic bands of cellulose acetate and hydroxyl groups and the tensile tests evidence that HAC-EDTA present a Young’s modulus of 643.7 MPa. The confocal analysis revealed that there was cell growth at the surface of HAC-EDTA. After one day of culture the cells presented spherical morphology, which may be caused by stress of the sequestration of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions at the cell medium by HAC-EDTA, as demonstrated by ICP-MS. However, after seven days and 14 days of culture, the cells present fibroblastoid morphology, phenotype expected by this cellular type. The results give efforts to indicate this new material as a potential biomaterial for tissue engineering, in the future in vivo approach.

Keywords: Cellulose acetate, hydrogel, biomaterial, cellular growth.

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Authors: Chun-Yen Sung, Chung-Yao Yang, Tzu-Chun Liao, Wen-Shiang Chen, Chao-Min Cheng, J. Andrew Yeh

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The study describes chitosan membrane platform modified with nanostructure pattern which using nanotechnology to fabricate. The cell-substrate interaction between neuro-2a neuroblasts cell lines and chitosan membrane (flat, nanostructure and nanostructure pattern types) was investigated. The adhered morphology of neuro-2a cells depends on the topography of chitosan surface. We have found that neuro-2a showed different morphogenesis when cells adhered on flat and nanostructure chitosan membrane. The cell projected area of neuro-2a on flat chitosan membrane is larger than on nanostructure chitosan membrane. In addition, neuro-2a cells preferred to adhere on flat chitosan surface region than on nanostructure chitosan membrane to immobilize and differentiation. The experiment suggests surface topography can be used as a critical mechanism to isolate group of neuro-2a to a particular rectangle area on chitosan membrane. Our finding will provide a platform to take patch clamp to record electrophysiological behavior about neurons in vitro in the future.

Keywords: Chitosan membrane, neuro-2a, wet chemical etching, solvent casting.

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Authors: S. Jungsuttiwong, R. Tarsang, S. Pansay, T. Yakhantip, V. Promarak, T. Sudyoadsuk, T. Kaewin, S. Saengsuwan, S. Namuangrak

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In this paper, four carbazole-based D-D-π-A organic dyes code as CCT2A, CCT3A, CCT1PA and CCT2PA were reported. A series of these organic dyes containing identical donor and acceptor group but different π-system. The effect of replacing of thiophene by phenyl thiophene as π-system on the physical properties has been focused. The structural, energetic properties and absorption spectra were theoretically investigated by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT). The results show that nonplanar conformation due to steric hindrance in donor part (cabazolecarbazole unit) of dye molecule can prevent unfavorable dye aggregation. By means of the TD-DFT method, the absorption spectra were calculated by B3LYP and BHandHLYP to study the affect of hybrid functional on the excitation energy (Eg). The results revealed the increasing of thiophene units not only resulted in decreasing of Eg, but also found the shifting of absorption spectra to higher wavelength. TD-DFT/BHandHLYP calculated results are more strongly agreed with the experimental data than B3LYP functions. Furthermore, the adsorptions of CCT2A and CCT3A on the TiO2 anatase (101) surface were carried out by mean of the chemical periodic calculation. The result exhibit the strong adsorption energy. The calculated results provide our new organic dyes can be effectively used as dye for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC).

Keywords: Dye-Sensitized Solar cell, Carbarzole, TD-DFT, D-D-π-A organic dye

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Authors: Christian Castro Samaniego, Daniel Icaza Alvarez, Juan Portoviejo Brito

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For this research work, hybrid wind-photovoltaic (SHEF) systems were considered as renewable energy sources that take advantage of wind energy and solar radiation to transform into electrical energy. In the present research work, the feasibility of a wind-photovoltaic hybrid generation system was analyzed for the La Tranca tourist viewpoint of the Chordeleg canton in Ecuador. The research process consisted of the collection of data on solar radiation, temperature, wind speed among others by means of a meteorological station. Simulations were carried out in MATLAB/Simulink based on a mathematical model. In the end, we compared the theoretical radiation-power curves and the measurements made at the site.

Keywords: Hybrid system, wind turbine, modeling, simulation, validation, experimental data, panel, Ecuador.

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Authors: Noraziah A. Y., Mashitah M. D., Subhash Bhatia

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Fructooligosaccharides derived from microbial enzyme especially from fungal sources has been received particular attention due to its beneficial effects as prebiotics and mass production. However, fungal fermentation is always cumbersome due to its broth rheology problem that will eventually affect the production of FOS. This study investigated the efficiency of immobilized cell system using rotating fibrous bed bioreactor (RFBB) in producing fructooligosaccharides (FOS). A comparative picture with respect to conventional stirred tank bioreactor (CSTB) and RFBB has been presented. To demonstrate the effect of agitation intensity and aeration rate, a laboratory-scale bioreactor 2.5 L was operated in three phases (high, medium, low) for 48 hours. Agitation speed has a great influence on P. simplicissimum fermentation for FOS production, where the volumetric FOS productivity using RFBB is increased with almost 4 fold compared to the FOS productivity in CSTB that only 0.319 g/L/h. Rate of FOS production increased up to 1.2 fold when immobilized cells system was employed at aeration rate similar to the freely suspended cells at 2.0 vvm.

Keywords: Fructooligosaccharides, immobilized, productivity, prebiotics.

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Authors: M. Maleki, M. Latifi, M. Amani-Tehran

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Nano fibers produced by electrospinning are of industrial and scientific attention due to their special characteristics such as long length, small diameter and high surface area. Applications of electrospun structures in nanotechnology are included tissue scaffolds, fibers for drug delivery, composite reinforcement, chemical sensing, enzyme immobilization, membrane-based filtration, protective clothing, catalysis, solar cells, electronic devices and others. Many polymer and ceramic precursor nano fibers have been successfully electrospun with diameters in the range from 1 nm to several microns. The process is complex so that fiber diameter is influenced by various material, design and operating parameters. The objective of this work is to apply genetic algorithm on the parameters of electrospinning which have the most significant effect on the nano fiber diameter to determine the optimum parameter values before doing experimental set up. Effective factors including initial polymer concentration, initial jet radius, electrical potential, relaxation time, initial elongation, viscosity and distance between nozzle and collector are considered to determine finest diameter which is selected by user.

Keywords: Electrospinning, genetic algorithm, nano fiber diameter, optimization.

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Authors: Lu-Chen Yeh‚ Jui-Ming Yeh

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In this manuscript, we produced neat electrospun poly(o-methoxyaniline) (POMA) fibers and utilized it for applying the growth of neural stem cells. The transparency and morphology of as-prepared POMA fibers was characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. It was found to have no adverse effects on the long-term proliferation of the neural stem cells (NSCs), retained the ability to self-renew, and exhibit multipotentiality. Results of immunofluorescence staining studies confirmed that POMA electrospun fibers could provide a great environment for NSCs and enhance its differentiation.

Keywords: Electrospun, polyaniline, neural stem cell, differentiation.

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Authors: K. Nikovics, D. Riccobono, M. Oger, H. Morin, L. Barbier, T. Poyot, X. Holy, A. Bendahmane, M. Drouet, A. L. Favier

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Muscle regeneration after injury (as irradiation) is of great importance. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms are still unclear. Cytokines are believed to play fundamental role in the different stages of muscle regeneration. They are secreted by many cell populations, but the predominant producers are macrophages and helper T cells. On the other hand, it has been shown that adipose tissue derived stromal/stem cell (ASC) injection could improve muscle regeneration. Stem cells probably induce the coordinated modulations of gene expression in different macrophage cells. Therefore, we investigated the patterns and timing of changes in gene expression of different cytokines occurring upon stem cells loading. Muscle regeneration was studied in an irradiated muscle of minipig animal model in presence or absence of ASC treatment (irradiated and treated with ASCs, IRR+ASC; irradiated not-treated with ASCs, IRR; and non-irradiated no-IRR). We characterized macrophage populations by immunolabeling in the different conditions. In our study, we found mostly M2 and a few M1 macrophages in the IRR+ASC samples. However, only few M2b macrophages were noticed in the IRR muscles. In addition, we found intensive fibrosis in the IRR samples. With in situ hybridization and immunolabeling, we analyzed the cytokine expression of the different macrophages and we showed that M2d macrophage are the most abundant in the IRR+ASC samples. By in situ hybridization, strong expression of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) was observed in the IRR+ASC but very week in the IRR samples. But when we analyzed TGF-β level with immunolabeling the expression was very different: many M2 macrophages showed week expression in IRR+ASC and few cells expressing stronger level in IRR muscles. Therefore, we investigated the MMP expressions in the different muscles. Our data showed that the M2 macrophages of the IRR+ASC muscle expressed MMP2 proteins. Our working hypothesis is that MMP2 expression of the M2 macrophages can decrease fibrosis in the IRR+ASC muscle by capturing TGF-β.

Keywords: Adipose tissue derived stromal/stem cell, cytokine, macrophage, muscle regeneration.

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Authors: Roman Major, Klaudia Trembecka-Wojciga, Juergen Markus Lackner, Boguslaw Major

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The future and the development of science is therefore seen in interdisciplinary areas such as biomedical engineering. Selfassembled structures, similar to stem cell niches would inhibit fast division process and subsequently capture the stem cells from the blood flow. By means of surface topography and the stiffness as well as microstructure progenitor cells should be differentiated towards the formation of endothelial cells monolayer which effectively will inhibit activation of the coagulation cascade. The idea of the material surface development met the interest of the clinical institutions, which support the development of science in this area and are waiting for scientific solutions that could contribute to the development of heart assist systems. This would improve the efficiency of the treatment of patients with myocardial failure, supported with artificial heart assist systems. Innovative materials would enable the redesign, in the post project activity, construction of ventricular heart assist.

Keywords: Bio-inspired materials, electron microscopy, haemocompatibility, niche-like structures, thin coatings.

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Authors: T. Patcharawit, C. Kansomket, N. Wongnaree, W. Kritsrikan, T. Yingnakorn, S. Khumkoa

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Recovery of pure copper and silver from end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) panels was investigated in this paper using an effective hybrid pyro-hydrometallurgical process. In the first step of waste treatment, solar panel waste was first dismantled to obtain a PV sheet to be cut and calcined at 500 °C, to separate out PV ribbon from glass cullet, ash, and volatile while the silicon wafer containing silver finger was collected for recovery. In the second step of metal recovery, copper recovery from PV ribbon was via 1-3 M HCl leaching with SnCl₂ and H₂O₂ additions in order to remove the tin-lead coating on the ribbon. The leached copper band was cleaned and subsequently melted as an anode for the next step of electrorefining. Stainless steel was set as the cathode with CuSO₄ as an electrolyte, and at a potential of 0.2 V, high purity copper of 99.93% was obtained at 96.11% recovery after 24 hours. For silver recovery, the silicon wafer containing silver finger was leached using HNO₃ at 1-4 M in an ultrasonic bath. In the next step of precipitation, silver chloride was then obtained and subsequently reduced by sucrose and NaOH to give silver powder prior to oxy-acetylene melting to finally obtain pure silver metal. The integrated recycling process is considered to be economical, providing effective recovery of high purity metals such as copper and silver while other materials such as aluminum, copper wire, glass cullet can also be recovered to be reused commercially. Compounds such as PbCl₂ and SnO₂ obtained can also be recovered to enter the market.

Keywords: Electrorefining, leaching, calcination, PV ribbon, silver finger, solar panel.

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Authors: Meichen Lee, Michael K. H. Leung

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In recent years, visible-light activated photocatalysis has become a major field of intense researches for the higher efficiency of solar energy utilizations. Many attempts have been made on the modification of wide band gap semiconductors, while more and more efforts emphasize on cost-effective synthesis of visible-light activated catalysts. In this work, BiOBr nanoplates with band gap of visible-light range are synthesized through a promising microwave solvothermal method. The treatment time period and temperature dependent BiOBr nanosheets of various particle sizes are investigated through SEM. BiOBr synthesized under the condition of 160°C for 60 mins shows the most uniform particle sizes around 311 nm and the highest surface-to-volume ratio on account of its smallest average particle sizes compared with others. It exhibits the best photocatalytic behavior among all samples in RhB degradation.

Keywords: Microwave solvothermal process, nanoplates, solar energy, visible-light photocatalysis.

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Authors: Z. X. Chen, Z. Fang, X. P. Wang, G. -Q. Lo, D. -L. Kwong, Y. H. Wu

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This paper presents a study of Ni-silicides as the bottom electrode of HfO₂-based RRAM. Various silicidation conditions were used to obtain different Ni concentrations within the Ni-silicide bottom electrode, namely Ni₂Si, NiSi, and NiSi₂. A 10nm HfO₂ switching material and 50nm TiN top electrode was then deposited and etched into 500nm by 500nm square RRAM cells. Cell performance of the Ni₂Si and NiSi cells were good, while the NiSi₂ cell could not switch reliably, indicating that the presence of Ni in the bottom electrode is important for good switching.

Keywords: HfO2-based, Ni-silicide, NiSi, resistive RAM (RRAM).

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Authors: B. Kahouadji, L. Guerbous, L. Lamiri, A. Mendoud

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Recently, nanomaterials are developed in the form of nano-films, nano-crystals and nano-pores. Lanthanide phosphates as a material find extensive application as laser, ceramic, sensor, phosphor, and also in optoelectronics, medical and biological labels, solar cells and light sources. Among the different kinds of rare-earth orthophosphates, yttrium orthophosphate has been shown to be an efficient host lattice for rare earth activator ions, which have become a research focus because of their important role in the field of light display systems, lasers, and optoelectronic devices. It is in this context that the 4fⁿ- « 4f^n-1 5d transitions of rare earth in insulating materials, lying in the UV and VUV, are the aim of large number of studies .Though there has been a few reports on Eu³⁺, Nd³⁺, Pr³⁺,Er³⁺, Ce³⁺, Tm³⁺ doped YPO₄. The 4fⁿ- « 4f^n-1 5d transitions of the rare earth dependent to the host-matrix, several matrices ions were used to study these transitions, in this work we are suggesting to study on a very specific class of inorganic material that are orthophosphate doped with rare earth ions. This study focused on the effect of Ce³⁺ concentration on the structural and optical properties of Ce³⁺ doped YPO₄ yttrium orthophosphate with powder form prepared by the Sol Gel method.

Keywords: YPO4, Ce3+, 4fn- <->4fn-1 5d transitions, scintillator.

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Authors: Abhay Kumar Singh

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Structural and UV/Visible optical properties can be useful to describe a material for the CIGS solar cell active layer, therefore, this work demonstrates the properties like surface morphology, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) bonding energy (EB) core level spectra, UV/Visible absorption spectra, refractive index (n), optical energy band (Eg), reflection spectra for the Cu25 (In16Ga9) Se40Te10 (CIGST-1) and Cu20 (In14Ga9) Se45Te12 (CIGST-2) chalcogenide compositions. Materials have been exhibited homogenous surface morphologies, broading /-or diffusion of bonding energy peaks relative elemental values and a high UV/Visible absorption tendency in the wave length range 400 nm- 850 nm range with the optical energy band gaps 1.37 and 1.42 respectively. Subsequently, UV/Visible reflectivity property in the wave length range 250 nm to 320 nm for these materials has also been discussed.

Keywords: Chalcogen, Optical energy band gap, UV/Visible spectra, XPS spectra.

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Authors: Mohamed Gar Alalm, Ahmed Tawfik

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In this study, photocatalytic degradation of phenol by  titanium dioxide (TiO2) in aqueous solution was evaluated. The UV  energy of solar light was utilized by compound parabolic collectors  (CPCs) technology. The effect of irradiation time, initial pH, and  dosage of TiO2 were investigated. Aromatic intermediates (catechol,  benzoquinone, and hydroquinone) were quantified during the reaction  to study the pathways of the oxidation process. 94.5% degradation  efficiency of phenol was achieved after 150 minutes of irradiation  when the initial concentration was 100 mg/L. The dosage of TiO2  significantly affected the degradation efficiency of phenol. The  observed optimum pH for the reaction was 5.2. Phenol photocatalytic  degradation fitted to the pseudo-first order kinetic according to  Langmuir–Hinshelwood model.

 

Keywords: Compound parabolic collectors, phenol, photocatalytic, titanium dioxide.

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Authors: Ekaterina Y. Lukianova-Hleb, Dmitri O. Lapotko

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Cell processing techniques for gene and cell therapies use several separate procedures for gene transfer and cell separation or elimination, because no current technology can offer simultaneous multi-functional processing of specific cell sub-sets in heterogeneous cell systems. Using our novel on-demand nonstationary intracellular events instead of permanent materials, plasmonic nanobubbles, generated with a short laser pulse only in target cells, we achieved simultaneous multifunctional cell-specific processing with the rate up to 50 million cells per minute.

Keywords: Delivery, cell separation, graft, laser, plasmonic nanobubble, cell therapy, gold nanoparticle.

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Authors: Jong-Bae Lee, Seongsoo Lee

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This paper proposes an adaptive discharge time control method to balance cell voltages in alternating battery cell discharging method. In the alternating battery cell discharging method, battery cells are periodically discharged in turn. Recovery effect increases battery output voltage while the given battery cell rests without discharging, thus battery operation time of target system increases. However, voltage mismatch between cells leads two problems. First, voltage difference between cells induces inter-cell current with wasted power. Second, it degrades battery operation time, since system stops when any cell reaches to the minimum system operation voltage. To solve this problem, the proposed method adaptively controls cell discharge time to equalize both cell voltages. In the proposed method, battery operation time increases about 19%, while alternating battery cell discharging method shows about 7% improvement.

Keywords: Battery, Recovery Effect, Low-Power, Alternating Battery Cell Discharging, Adaptive Discharge Time Control.

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Authors: George Karkavitsas, Maria Rangoussi

Abstract:

We present a genetic algorithm application to the problem of object registration (i.e., object detection, localization and recognition) in a class of medical images containing various types of blood cells. The genetic algorithm approach taken here is seen to be most appropriate for this type of image, due to the characteristics of the objects. Successful cell registration results on real life microscope images of blood cells show the potential of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Genetic algorithms, object registration, pattern recognition, blood cell microscope images.

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Authors: Amira E. Derbalah, Doaa M. Zaghloul

Abstract:

10 clinically healthy hemal nodes were collected from male bulls aged 2-3 years. Light microscopy revealed a capsule of connective tissue consisted mainly of collagen fiber surrounding hemal node, numerous erythrocytes were found in wide subcapsular sinus under the capsule. The parenchyma of the hemal node was divided into cortex and medulla. Diffused lymphocytes, and lymphoid follicles, having germinal centers were the main components of the cortex, while in the medulla there was wide medullary sinus, diffused lymphocytes and few lymphoid nodules. The area occupied with lymph nodules was larger than that occupied with non-nodular structure of lymphoid cords and blood sinusoids. Electron microscopy revealed the cellular components of hemal node including elements of circulating erythrocytes intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells, mast cells, reticular cells, macrophages, megakaryocytes and endothelial cells lining the blood sinuses. The lymphocytes were somewhat triangular in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent erythrocytes. Nuclei were triangular to oval in shape, lightly stained with clear nuclear membrane indentation and clear nucleoli. The reticular cells were elongated in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent lymphocytes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and few lysosomes were seen in their cytoplasm. Nucleus was elongated in shape with less condensed chromatin. Plasma cells were oval to irregular in shape with numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum containing electron lucent material occupying the whole cytoplasm and few mitochondria were found. Nuclei were centrally located and oval in shape with heterochromatin emarginated and often clumped near the nuclear membrane. Occasionally megakaryocytes and mast cells were seen among lymphocytes. Megakaryocytes had multilobulated nucleus and free ribosomes often appearing as small aggregates in their cytoplasm, while mast cell had their characteristic electron dense granule in the cytoplasm, few electron lucent granules were found also, we conclude that, the main function of the hemal node of cattle is proliferation of lymphocytes. No role for plasma cell in erythrophagocytosis could be suggested.

Keywords: Cattle, Electron microscopy, Hemal node, Histology, Immune system.

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Authors: N. V. Enwuru, B. Nkeki, E. A. Adekoya, O. A. Adebesin, B. O. Ojo, R. F. Peters, V. A. Aikhomu, U. E. Mendie, O. Akinloye

Abstract:

Awareness about probiotic health benefits is increasing tremendously. However, cell viability is often low due to harsh conditions exposed during processing, handling, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. Thus, encapsulation is a promising technique that increases cell viability. The study aims to encapsulate the probiotic, evaluate its viability and cytotoxic activity of its postbiotic on the Michigan Cancer Foundation (MCF)-7 breast cancer cell line. Human and animal raw milk was sampled for lactic acid bacteria. Isolated bacteria were identified using conventional and VITEK 2 systems. The identified bacteria were encapsulated using the spray-drying method. The free and encapsulated probiotic cells were exposed to simulated gastric intestinal (SGI) fluid conditions and different storage conditions for their viability. The properties of the formed probiotic granules, their disintegration time, and the weight uniformity of the microcapsules were tested. Furthermore, the postbiotic of the free cells was extracted, and its cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was tested through [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay. The bacteria isolated were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum. The size of the formed probiotic granules ranges within 0.71-1.00 mm in diameter, and disintegration time ranges from 2.14 ± 0.045 to 2.91 ± 0.293 minutes, while the average weight is 502.1 mg. The viability of encapsulated cells stored at refrigerated condition (4oC) was higher than that of cells stored at room temperature (25 oC). The encapsulated probiotic cells exhibited better viability after exposure to SGI solution at different pH levels than free cells. The Postbiotic Metabolites (PM) of L. plantarum produced a cytotoxic effect that shows significant activity similar to 5FU, a standard antineoplastic agent. The inhibition concentration of 50% growth (IC50) of postbiotic metabolite was consistent with the IC50 of the positive control (Cisplatin). Lactobacillus plantarum postbiotic exhibited a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and could be used as combined adjuvant therapy in breast cancer management. The microencapsulation technique protects the probiotics and maintains their viability.

Keywords: Cytotoxicity effect, encapsulation, postbiotic, probiotic.

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