Periodic DFT Study of the Thermodynamic Properties and Stability of Schoepite and Metaschoepite Mineral Phases

The thermodynamic properties of schoepite and metaschoepite were obtained by means of theoretical solid-state methods as a function of temperature. Since the values of these properties for schoepite have not been measured experimentally, they were predicted. The computed thermodynamic functions of metaschoepite were in excellent agreement with the experimental information. These functions were used to obtain the thermodynamic properties of formation of these materials from the corresponding elements. The calculated Gibbs free energy of formation of metaschoepite was shown to be very reliable and differ from the experimental value at 800 K by only 2.0%. Besides, it extends the range of temperature in which this property is known to 0???1000 K. Then, these properties were combined with those of other important uranyl-containing materials to study the reactions of formation of schoepite and metaschoepite from uranium trioxide and the reactions of transformation of these materials into dehydrated schoepite, rutherfordine, and soddyite. Schoepite becomes unstable with respect to uranium trioxide for temperatures higher than 110 ??C (383 ?? 27 K) and its dehydration occurs at 64 ??C (337 ?? 44 K). The corresponding values of these temperatures for metaschoepite are 82 ??C (355 ?? 6 K) and 5 ??C (278 ?? 9 K), respectively. Under hydrogen peroxide free conditions, schoepite and metaschoepite were found to be less stable than rutherfordine and soddyite. The thermodynamic stability of schoepite with respect to metastudtite and studtite was then studied under different conditions of temperature and concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Schoepite and metaschoepite have very similar thermodynamic stabilities, the first being slightly more stable than the second one. The availability of the thermodynamic properties of these minerals allowed to determine their relative thermodynamic stability with respect to a rich subset of the most relevant secondary phases resulting from corrosion of spent nuclear fuel. Schoepite and metaschoepite were found to be the first and second most stable phases under intermediate hydrogen peroxide concentrations and the second and third most stable phases under high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, respectively

Analysis of alternative frequency control schemes for increasing renewable energy penetration in El Hierro Island power system

El Hierro, island declared as a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO in 2000, aims to become self-sufficient in energy and 100% free of greenhouse gas emissions. This isolated power system consists of diesel units and a hybrid Wind- Pump Storage Hydropower Plant (W-PSHP), equipped with Variable Speed Wind Turbines (VSWTs), Pelton turbines and a pump station with both fixed- and variable-speed pumps. During last years the annual average renewable energy participation is increasing, especially due to the improvements in the frequency control strategies in PSHP including the operation in short circuit mode. This performance involves an important reduction of the system efficiency but allows PSHP to regulate frequency deviations when available wind power is higher than power demand and the Diesel units are disabled. In this paper different alternative frequency control schemes are proposed so that Pelton units support to the frequency control can be substituted, avoiding energy losses owing to short-circuit operation. This way renewable energy participation would be increased. The control schemes are developed using pumping station regulation capacity, the proper kinetic energy of the VSWTs rotors and a new Flywheel Energy Storage System connected to the grid by means of power electronics. Nine different control cases have been presented, including hydraulic short circuit operating mode. Different simulations have been carried out and they confirm that proposed control schemes fulfil the initial research objectives and enable to improve the global energy efficiency of the system

The lithium systems of the IFMIF-DONES facility

IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility – DEMO Oriented Neutron Source) es una infraestructura internacional cuyo propósito es generar un flujo de neutrones de alta energía e intensidad mediante la interacción de un haz de deuterones con un target líquido de litio. Este flujo simula las condiciones de radiación que sufrirán los materiales en reactores de fusión como DEMO, permitiendo estudiar su rendimiento y durabilidad. El artículo describe los sistemas de litio diseñados para la instalación científica IFMIF-DONESEUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Grant Agreement No 101052200 — EUROfusion)

Targeted gene therapy into a safe harbor site in human hematopoietic progenitor cells

Directed gene therapy mediated by nucleases has become a new alternative to lead targeted integration of therapeutic genes in specific regions in the genome. In this work, we have compared the efficiency of two nuclease types, TALEN and meganucleases (MN), to introduce an EGFP reporter gene in a specific site in a safe harbor locus on chromosome 21 in an intergenic region, named here SH6. The efficiency of targeted integration mediated by SH6v5-MN and SH6-TALEN in HEK-293H cells was up to 16.3 and 15.0%. A stable expression was observed both in the pool of transfected cells and in established pseudoclones, with no detection of off-target integrations by Southern blot. In human hematopoietic stem and progenitor CD34+ cells, the nucleofection process preserved the viability and clonogenic capacity of nucleofected cells, reaching up to 3.1% of specific integration of the transgene in colony forming cells when the SH6-TALEN was used, although no expression of the transgene could be found in these cells. Our results show the possibility to specifically integrate genes at the SH6 locus in CD34+ progenitor cells, although further improvements in the efficacy of the procedure are required before this approach could be used for the gene editing of hematopoietic stem cells in patients with hematopoietic diseases

Architectural Optimization of Dynamic Inception Modules in Convolutional Neural Networks using the Coral Reef Optimization Algorithm

The rapid advancement of Deep Learning (DL) has led to increasingly complex neu- ral network architectures in Artificial Intelligence (AI), often increasing computational requirements and environmental impact. This master???s thesis presents a novel methodology for optimizing the architecture of Inception modules within Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that process data at multiple scales using the Coral Reef Optimization (CRO) algorithm, a bio-inspired evolutionary approach. Aligning with Green AI principles that emphasize efficiency and sustainability, we integrate a dynamic Inception module capable of adjusting branches, depths, and filter sizes with the CRO algorithm to effectively explore and exploit the architectural search space. To promote smaller, resource-efficient architectures, we introduce a custom evaluation metric that balances accuracy and model complexity by penalizing excessive parameters. Experimental results on the MNIST dataset demonstrate that the optimized models achieve competitive performance, reducing the number of parameters by up to 40% while maintaining accuracy comparable to standard models. This work contributes to the development of sustainable AI models and provides a foundation for future research in efficient neural architecture optimization

Measurement of the α-ratio and (n,γ) cross section of U-235 from 0.2 to 200 eV at n_TOF

We measured the neutron capture-to-fission cross-section ratio (alpha-ratio) and the capture cross section of U-235 between 0.2 and 200 eV at the n_TOF facility at CERN. The simultaneous measurement of neutron-induced capture and fission rates was performed by means of the n_TOF BaF2 Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC), used for detection of γ-rays, in combination with a set of micromegas detectors used as fission tagging detectors. The energy dependence of the capture cross section was obtained with help of the Li-6(n,t) standard reaction determining the n_TOF neutron fluence; the well-known integral of the U-235(n,f) cross section between 7.8 and 11 eV was then used for its absolute normalization. The alpha-ratio, obtained with slightly higher statistical fluctuations, was determined directly, without need for any reference cross section. To perform the analysis of this measurement we developed a new methodology to correct the experimentally observed effect that the probabilities of detecting a fission reaction in the TAC and the micromegas detectors are not independent. The results of this work have been used in a new evaluation of U-235 performed within the scope of the Collaborative International Evaluated Library Organisation (CIELO) Project, and are consistent with the ENDF/B-VIII.0 and JEFF-3.3 capture cross sections below 4 eV and above 100 eV. However, the measured capture cross section is on average 10% larger between 4 and 100 eV

New design methodology for the calculation of the feed sections into which the acceleration track of a hyperloop vehicle is divided

This paper presents the design methodology used to optimize the number of sections into which the acceleration track of a Hyperloop-type vehicle is divided. In these types of vehicles, a pre-acceleration system is necessary to reach a speed close to cruising speed before the main propulsion system can operate. For this purpose, a switched reluctance linear motor (LSRM), divided into what are called unitary machines (UMs) connected in series, is proposed along with a converter to control thrust force generated by the motor. The methodology is applied to a specific case (mission) where a mass of 250 kg needs to be accelerated over a distance of 60 m to reach a speed of 120 km/h. As a result of the proposed methodology, the number of sections into which the linear motor is divided, the number of UMs per section, and the optimal turn-on and turn-off angles of the LSRM phases are determined to achieve the target force profile.Proyecto de colaboración público-privada SCALE (SwitChed reluctAnce Linear motor for Electric ultra-high-speed) está financiado con fondos europeos NextGeneration (PROYECTOS DE COLABORACIÓN PÚBLICO-PRIVADA, 2021, Proyecto SCALE CPP2021-008332 financiado por MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/ PRTR

Agro-Food and Lignocellulosic UrbanWastes as Sugar-Rich Substrates for Multi-Product Oil-Based Biorefineries

The effective use of biowaste resources becomes crucial for the development of bioprocessing alternatives to current oil- and chemical-based value chains. Targeting the development of multi-product biorefinery approaches benefits the viability and profitability of these process schemes. Certain oleaginous microorganisms, such as oleaginous red yeast, can co-produce industrially relevant bio-based products. This work aims to explore the use of industrial and urban waste as cost-effective feedstock for producing microbial oil and carotenoids using Rhodosporidium toruloides. The soluble fraction, resulting after homogenization, crushing, and centrifugation of discarded vegetable waste, was used as substrate under a pulse-feeding strategy with a concentrated enzymatic hydrolysate from municipal forestry residue obtained after steam explosion pretreatment (190 ºC, 10 minutes and 40 mg H2SO4/g residue). Additionally, the initial nutrient content was investigated to enhance process productivity values. The promising results of these cultivation strategies yield a final cell concentration of 36.4-55.5 g/L dry cell weight (DCW), with an intracellular lipid content of up 42-45% (w/w) and 665-736 µg/g DCW of carotenoids. These results demonstrate the potential for optimizing the use of waste resources to provide effective alternative uses to current biowaste management practices, also contributing to the market of industrially relevant products with lower environmental impacts.This research was funded by MCIU/AEI/ (10.13039/501100011033, project BIOMIO+CAR, grant number PID2020-119403RB-C22)

Electroluminiscencias de modulos fotovoltaicos en diferentes estadios de su reparación

Se presentan las Electroluminiscencias de modulos fotovoltaicos que ha sido reparados en el marco del proyecto FOTOVOL3R.Incluyen las electroluminiscencias en diferentes estadios de la reparación de los modulos.Se presentan las Electroluminiscencias de modulos fotovoltaicos que ha sido reparados en el marco del proyecto FOTOVOL3R.Incluyen las electroluminiscencias en diferentes estadios de la reparación de los modulos.Trabajo financiado por la subvención PID2020-118417RB-C21 del MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Measurement of the Gd-154(n,γ) cross section and its astrophysical implications

The neutron capture cross section of Gd-154 was measured from 1 eV to 300 keV in the experimental area located 185 m from the CERN n_TOF neutron spallation source, using a metallic sample of gadolinium, enriched to 67% in Gd-154. The capture measurement, performed with four C6D6 scintillation detectors, has been complemented by a transmission measurement performed at the GELINA time-of-flight facility (JRC-Geel), thus minimising the uncertainty related to sample composition. An accurate Maxwellian averaged capture cross section (MACS) was deduced over the temperature range of interest for s process nucleosynthesis modelling. We report a value of 880(50) mb for the MACS at kT = 30 keV, significantly lower compared to values available in literature. The new adopted Gd-154(n,γ) cross section reduces the discrepancy between observed and calculated solar s-only isotopic abundances predicted by s-process nucleosynthesis models