Metal Sulfides as Anode for Lithium Ion and Sodium Ion Battery

Abstract Nanomaterials have been studied intensively in the last decades due to their unique physical and chemical properties and their potential for applications in different domains. Among these applications, energy storage has become the center of focus by many research groups and companies to develop high efficiency and reliable energy devices such as the commercial lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, LIBs has not yet met the growing requirements of the high demand for increasing energy density. More efforts are requested to improve the performance of the batteries by designing better electrode materials and increasing the battery safety. Another type of batteries has emerged such as sodium ion batteries(SIBs) that tends to have bright future for large scale energy applications due to its low cost. In this thesis, different types of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) including Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) and (ZIF-67) and Materials from Institute Lavoisier (MIL-88) are synthesized. Meanwhile, the morphologies and structures of MIL-88 have been optimized and defined through adjusting the hydrothermal process and the effects of different parameters such as process time, and temperature, solvent type, reactant concentration, and additives on the physical and chemical characteristics are also been investigated. Furthermore, carbon coated cobalt sulfides derived from MOFs is studied for the application of anode in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium ion batteries (SIBs). This high surface area, high porosity and good electric conductivity material shows high specific capacity results as anode in LIBs and SIBs. Physical and chemical characterization is also conducted to investigate the materials’ properties. The material shows very high structure integrity during the synthesis process. Other metal sulfides such as are synthesized using MOFs templates and further studied for batteries applications. ZnS exhibited high performance as anode for LIBs and SIBs by delivering high specific capacity and stable cycling performanc

Prevalence and attitudes of smoking among secondary school teachers in Hadramout coastal districts, Yemen

A descriptive KAP study about smoking was conducted in all the ten secondary schools in Hadramout coastal districts during October 2004 – April 2005 and a total of 317 teachers were enrolled in the study (182 male, 135 female teachers). The findings revealed that about 8% of the teachers were smokers; all smokers were males (prevalence 14%). Only 10% of teachers had received training to limit smoking among students, and 27% had educational materials about harmful effects of smoking. The study concluded that low smoking prevalence, good knowledge and attitudes of teachers, especially female teachers, toward smoking may offer a chance for smoking prevention strategies in secondary schools

Assessment of the Recycled Concrete Aggregates Structural Suitability for Road Construction

In most aspects of modem life, there is a consensus among practitioners and decision makers of the importance of preserving the environment, and to find alternatives to the scarce natural materials. This can be accomplished by better utilization of the natural materials and/or recycling or reclaiming their waste, specially, if they are of finite resources. The recycled material could be an attractive alternative (both environmentally and economically) if its characteristics are proven to be close to those of the natural material. Utilizing recycled mineral aggregates in the construction field in general and in highway pavement in specific is somehow governed by its ability to meet its intended function as carrying component within the structure. In the area of pavement construction, the suitability of the recycled aggregates is primarily judged by its ability to carry the high traffic loads effectively. The primary objective of this thesis is to study the suitability of using the Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) for pavement construction or rehabilitation. The RCA is intended to replace the virgin material in one of the pavement layers, namely the subabse. The general characteristics of the RCA material (such as the grade distribution) are compared against the subbase material specifications. A testing model is built to quantify the RCA-layered pavement performance under various load levels, and to comparatively assess its behavior against the virgin mineral aggregates. The model dimensions are set large enough to replicate the pavement structures in reality to ensure accurate analysis. Several experimental settings are considered to account for the possible variability in the pavement loads (generated by the various vehicle types), material gradation, composition and thickness. The performance of the RCA material is captured through the resulting load-deflection relationships of the various settings. The results of these experiments indicated the good potential of the RCA as a subbase material. The resulting load-deflection relationships of both the RCA- and virgin-materials indicated the superiority of the RCA-material as a subbase material. In general the deflection results of the experiments indicated that the pavement deflection under load is generally lesser with the RCA material

Decentralized kalman filter approach for multi-sensor multi-target tracking problems

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Doğru pozisyon ve hedeflerin sayısı hava trafik kontrol ve füze savunması için çok önemli bilgilerdir. Bu çalışma, çoklu sensorlü çoklu hedef takibi sistemlerindeki veri füzyonu ve durum tahmini problemlerı için dağıtık Kalman Filtreleme Algoritması sunmaktadır. Problem, radar olarak her biri kendi veri işleme birimine sahip aktif sensörlerin hedef alanını gözlemlemesini esas almaktadır. Bu durumda her bir sistemin iz sayısı olacaktır. Çalışmada önerilen dağıtık Kalman Filtresi, başta füze sistemleri olmak üzere savunma sistemlerinde hareketli hedeflerin farklı sensörlerle izlerini kestirmek ve farklı hedefleri ayrıd etmek için kullanmaktır. Önerilen teknik, çoklu sensör sisteminden gelen verileri işleyen iki aşamalı veri işleme yaklaşımını içermektedir. İlk aşamada, her yerel işlemci kendi verilerini ve standart Kalman filtresi ise en iyi kestirimi yapmak için kullanılmaktadır. Sonraki aşamada bu kestirimler en iyi küresel bir kestirimi yapmak amacıyla dağıtık işlem modunda elde edilir. Bu çalışmada iki radar sistemi iki yerel Kalman filtresi ile uçakların pozisyonunu kestirmek amacıyla kullanılmakta, ardından bu kestirimler merkez işlemciye iletilmektedir. Merkez işlemci doğrulama maksadıyla bu bilgileri birleştirip küresel bir kestirim üretmektedir. Önerilen model uygulama olarak dört senaryo üzerinde test edildi. İlk senaryoda, tek bir hedef iki sensor tarafından izlenirken, ikincisinde, iki hedeften oluşan uzay herhangi bir sensor tarafından izlenmekte, üçüncüsünde, iki hedefin de herhangi bir sensor tarafından aynı anda izlenmesi, son olarak ise iki sensörden her birinin toplam üç hedeften herhangi ikisini izlediği senaryo göz önüne alınmıştır. Önerilen tekniğin performansı hata kovaryans matrisi kullanılarak değerlendirildi ve yüksek doğruluk ve optimal kestirim elde edildi. Uygulama sonuçları önerilen tekniğin yeteneğinin, yerel sensörlerce belirlenen ortak hedeflerin merkezi sistem tarafından ayırd edilebildiğini göstermiştir.For air traffic control and missile defense, the accurate position and the numbers of targets are the most important information needed. This thesis presents a decentralized kalman filtering algorithm (DKF) for data fusion and state estimation problems in multi-sensor multi-target tracking system. The problem arises when several sensors carry out surveillance over a certain area and each sensor has its own data processing system. In this situation, each system has a number of tracks. The DKF is used to estimate and separate the tracks from different sensors represent the targets, when the ability to track targets is essential in missile defense. The proposed technique is a two stage data processing technique which processes data from multi sensor system. In the first stage, each local processor uses its own data to make the best local estimation using standard kalman filter and then these estimations are then obtained in parallel processing mode to make best global estimation. In this work, two radar systems are used as sensors with two local Kalman filters to estimate the position of an aircraft and then they transmit these estimations to a central processor, which combines this information to produce a global estimation. The proposed model is tested on four scenarios, firstly, when there is one target and the two sensors are tracking the same target, secondly, when there are two targets and any sensor is tracking one of them, thirdly, when there are two targets and any sensor is tracking both of them and finally, when two sensors are used to track three targets and any sensor tracks any two of them. The performance of the proposed technique is evaluated using measures such as the error covariance matrix and it gave high accuracy and optimal estimation. The experimental results showed that the proposed method has the ability to separate the joint targets detected by the local sensors

EFFECTS OF EXERCISE AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION ON ELECTROMECHANICAL FUNCTION OF THE HEART IN THE GOTO-KAKIZAKI TYPE 2 DIABETIC RAT

Type 2 diabetes mellitus accounts for more than 90% of cases of diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular diseases are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. A variety of diastolic and systolic dysfunctions have been reported. The severity of the abnormalities depends on the patients’ age and diabetes duration. The aim of the study was to investigate the age-dependent, exercise and pharmacological intervention on electromechanical function of the heart in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) type 2 diabetic rat. mRNA expression was assessed in ventricular muscle with real-time RTPCR. Ventricular myocytes shortening, intracellular Ca2+ transport and L-type Ca2+ current were measured with video edge detection, fluorescence photometry and whole cell patch clamp techniques, respectively. In vivo biotelemetry was used to measure the electrocardiogram. In young GK (8-10 weeks) rat, mRNA expression of Atp1a3, Cacna1h, Scn1b and Hcn2 were upregulated and Slc9a1, Hcn4, Kcna2/4 and Kcnj2 were downregulated. Amplitude of ventricular myocyte shortening and intracellular Ca2+ transient were unaltered, time to peak shortening was prolonged and time to half decay of the Ca2+ transient was shortened in GK myocytes. Physical exercise is well established as a valuable form of non-pharmacological therapy. Experiments were performed in GK and control (10-11 months) following 2-3 months of treadmill exercise training. Expression of mRNA encoding Tpm2, Gja4, Atp1b1, Cacna1g, Cacnb2, Hcn2, Kcna3 and Kcne1 were upregulated and Gja1, Kcnj2 and Kcnk3 were downregulated in hearts of sedentary GK rats compared to sedentary controls. Gja1, Cav3 and Kcnk3 were upregulated and Hcn2 was down-regulated in hearts of exercise vii trained GK compared to sedentary GK controls. Amplitude of ventricular myocyte shortening, Ca2+ transients and L-type Ca2+ current were not significantly altered. The effects of the anti-diabetic drug Pioglitazone on ventricular myocyte shortening and Ca2+ transport in addition to electrocardiogram were also investigated. Pioglitazone (0.1-10) μM reduced the amplitude of shortening in ventricular myocytes from GK and control rats. Pioglitazone reduced the amplitude of the Ca2+ transient and modest reductions in L-type Ca2+ current in GK and control myocytes. Heart rate in GK rats was reduced. Although Pioglitazone reduced blood glucose in GK rats it had little effect on heart electrocardiogram