Environmentally Friendly Thermoelectric Materials: High Performance from Inorganic Components with Low Toxicity and Abundance in the Earth

This review article gives an overview of the recent research directions in eco-friendly, non-toxic, and earth-abundant thermoelectric materials. It covers materials such as sulfides, tetrahedrites, earth-abundant oxides, silicides, copper iodine, Half-Heusler intermetallic compounds, nitrides, and other environmentally friendly thermoelectrics. In all cases, their history, structure, general characteristics, thermoelectric properties, synthesis methods, and related thermoelectric applications are compiled. It is also shown that they are starting to be an excellent alternative for producing cost-effective, sustainable, and non-toxic thermoelectric generators. This review does not try to include all possible materials, but to show that there are high zT thermoelectric materials that are starting to be an excellent alternative for producing cost-effective, sustainable, and non-toxic thermoelectric generators.O.C.-C. and M.M.-G. would like to acknowledge financial support from MAT2017-86450-C4-3-R and the 2D_MESES project from CSIC, and J.R.A., from RTI2018-099794-B-I100

Correlation of banana productivity levels and soil morphological properties using regularized optimal scaling regression

Soil morphological properties described in the field, such as texture, consistence or structure, provide a valuable tool for the evaluation of soil productivity potential. In this study, we developed a regression model between the soil morphological variables of banana plantations and a crop Productivity Index (PI) previously developed for the same areas in Venezuela. For this, we implemented categorical regression, an optimal scaling procedure in which the morphological variables are transformed into a numerical scale, and can thus be entered in a multiple regression analysis. The model was developed from data from six plantations growing “Gran Nain” bananas, each with two productivity levels (high and low), in two 4-ha experimental plots, one for each productivity level. Sixty-three A horizons in thirty-six soils were described using 15 field morphological variables on a nominal scale for structure type, texture and hue, and an ordinal scale for the rest (structure grade, structure size, wet and dry consistence, stickiness, plasticity, moist value, chroma, root abundance, root size, biological activity and reaction to HCl). The optimum model selected included biological activity, texture, dry consistence, reaction to HCl and structure type variables. These variables explained the PI with an R2 of 0.599, an expected prediction error (EPE) of 0.645 and a standard error (SE) of 0.135 using bootstrapping, and EPE of 0.662 with a SE of 0.236 using 10-fold cross validation. Our study showed how soil quality is clearly related to productivity on commercial banana plantations, and developed a way to correlate soil quality indicators to yield by using indicators based on easily measured soil morphological parameters. The methodology used in this study might be further expanded to other banana-producing areas to help identify the soils most suitable for its cultivation, thereby enhancing its environmental sustainability and profitability

The impact of metal centers in the M-MOF-74 series on carbon dioxide and hydrogen separation

The series of metal–organic frameworks M-MOF-74 gained popularity in the field of capture and separation of CO2 due to the presence of numerous, highly reactive open-metal sites. The description of effective interactions between guest molecules and open-metal sites without accounting for polarization effects is challenging but it can significantly reduce the computational cost of simulations. In this study, we propose a non-polarizable force field for CO2, and H2 adsorption in M-MOF-74 (M = Ni, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn) by scaling the Coulombic interactions of M-MOF-74 atoms, and Lennard-Jones interaction potentials between the center of mass of H2 and the open-metal centers. The presented force field is based on UFF and DREIDING parameters, characterized by high transferability and efficiency. The quantum behavior of H2 at cryogenic temperatures is considered by incorporating Feynman–Hibbs quantum corrections. To validate the force field, the experimental isotherms of CO2 at 298 K and 10−1 – 102kPa, the isotherms of H2 at 77 K and 10−5 – 102kPa, the corresponding enthalpy of adsorption, and the binding geometries in the M-MOF-74 series were reproduced using Monte Carlo simulations in the grand-canonical ensemble. The computed loadings, heats of CO2 and H2 adsorption, and binding geometries in M-MOF-74 are in very good agreement with the experimental values. The temperature transferability of the force field from 77 K to 87 K, and 298 K was shown for adsorption of H2. The validated force field was used to study the adsorption and separation of CO2/H2 mixtures at 298 K. The adsorption of H2 practically does not occur when CO2 is present in the mixture. As indicated from simulated breakthrough curves, the breakthrough time of CO2 in M-MOF-74 follows the same order as the uptake and the heat of CO2 adsorption: Ni ¿ Co ¿ Fe ¿ Mn ¿ Zn ¿ Cu. Increasing the feed mole fraction of CO2 in the breakthrough simulations from 0.1 to 0.9 speeds up the saturation of the adsorbent, leading to a faster exit of CO2 with the column effluent. The application of the non-polarizable force field allows full investigation of the capture and separation of CO2 in M-MOF-74, and can be expanded to study multi-component mixtures or industrial reactions in future research.</p

Synthesis and luminescence properties of electrodeposited ZnO Films

ZnO films have been grown on gold (111) by electrodeposition using two different OH- sources, nitrate and peroxide, in order to obtain a comparative study between these films. The morphology, structural and optical characterization of the films were investigated depending on the solution used (nitrate and peroxide) and the applied potential. Scanning Electron Microscopy pictures show different morphologies in each case. X-Ray Diffraction confirms that the films are pure ZnO oriented along the (0002) direction. ZnO films have been studied by photoluminescence to identify the emission of defects in the visible range. A consistent model that explains the emissions for the different electrodeposited ZnO films is proposed. We have associated the green and yellow emissions to a transition from the donor OH- to the acceptor zinc vacancies (VZn-) and to interstitial oxygen (Oi0), respectively. The orange-red emission is probably due to transitions from the conducting band to Oi- and OZn 0 defects and the infrared emission to transition from these Oi -/2- and OZn 0/- defects to the valence band.Comment: 17 pages, 1 Table and 10 figure

Navegar contamina, también en Internet

El software es una pieza fundamental en la sociedad actual. Sin embargo, tenemos que ser conscientes de que su uso impacta en el medioambiente. Relacionado con esta preocupación, desde hace unos años, se está investigando en el área del Software Sostenible que persigue que el Software esté alineado con los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. Una de las dimensiones del Software Sostenible es el denominado Green Software, que aboga por el desarrollo de software que sea energéticamente eficiente. Este artículo se enmarca en esta línea de trabajo y presenta un estudio que hemos realizado para determinar qué combinación de navegador+buscador de internet es más eficiente desde el punto de vista energético. Para ello hemos medido el consumo de diferentes componentes hardware del ordenador en el que se ha llevado a cabo una búsqueda. Estas mediciones se han realizado con el instrumento de medición que hemos desarrollado. Como resultado hemos obtenido, para el escenario de prueba, que la combinación más eficiente es Firefox+Ecosia. El uso de esta combinación durante un minuto en vez de la más utilizada actualmente (Chrome+Google) permitiría, por ejemplo, recorrer más de 3900 km en un coche Tesla

On the gas-phase graphene nanosheet synthesis in atmospheric microwave plasma torch: Upscaling potential and graphene nanosheet‑copper nanocomposite oxidation resistance

Efficient gas-phase synthesis of few-layer graphene nanosheets (GNS) is based on the controlled formation of the high-temperature environment and the reaction pathway of gas-phase species formed by the decomposition of organic precursors. Such a process results in the formation of high-quality carbon nanomaterial and hydrogen while the concentration of other gaseous by-products is minimized. In this work, the main factors affecting the efficiency of such processes in the TIAGO microwave plasma torch were investigated using detailed material analysis and mass spectrometry of the gas-phase products during the synthesis process. The results showed a limiting effect of increasing the microwave power (MW) on both the product yield as well as material quality, as shown by Raman and x-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The change in the reaction pathway increased the formation of C2H4, resulting in the upper limit of the achievable nanopowder yield. The prepared material showed a decrease in its high oxidation resistance, with increasing the delivered MW power as determined by thermogravimetry analysis. This behavior was related to the formation of GNS-Cu nanoparticles composite due to the presence of copper nanoparticles originating from erosion of the electrode of the TIAGO torch during the synthesis process at high MW powers

The chaperone protein clusterin may serve as a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker for chronic spinal cord disorders in the dog

Chronic spinal cord dysfunction occurs in dogs as a consequence of diverse aetiologies, including long-standing spinal cord compression and insidious neurodegenerative conditions. One such neurodegenerative condition is canine degenerative myelopathy (DM), which clinically is a challenge to differentiate from other chronic spinal cord conditions. Although the clinical diagnosis of DM can be strengthened by the identification of the Sod1 mutations that are observed in affected dogs, genetic analysis alone is insufficient to provide a definitive diagnosis. There is a requirement to identify biomarkers that can differentiate conditions with a similar clinical presentation, thus facilitating patient diagnostic and management strategies. A comparison of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein gel electrophoresis profile between idiopathic epilepsy (IE) and DM identified a protein band that was more prominent in DM. This band was subsequently found to contain a multifunctional protein clusterin (apolipoprotein J) that is protective against endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis, oxidative stress, and also serves as an extracellular chaperone influencing protein aggregation. Western blot analysis of CSF clusterin confirmed elevated levels in DM compared to IE (p &#60; 0.05). Analysis of spinal cord tissue from DM and control material found that clusterin expression was evident in neurons and that the clusterin mRNA levels from tissue extracts were elevated in DM compared to the control. The plasma clusterin levels was comparable between these groups. However, a comparison of clusterin CSF levels in a number of neurological conditions found that clusterin was elevated in both DM and chronic intervertebral disc disease (cIVDD) but not in meningoencephalitis and IE. These findings indicate that clusterin may potentially serve as a marker for chronic spinal cord disease in the dog; however, additional markers are required to differentiate DM from a concurrent condition such as cIVDD

Drug-loaded PCL electrospun nanofibers as anti-pancreatic cancer drug delivery systems

Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide, being pancreatic cancer the second deadliest cancer in Western countries. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy form the basis of pancreatic cancer's current treatment. However, these techniques have several disadvantages, such as surgery complications, chemotherapy systemic side effects and cancer recurrence. Drug delivery systems can reduce side effects, increasing the effectivity of the treatment by a controlled release at the targeted tumor cells. In this context, coaxial electrospun fibers can increase the control on the release profile of the drug. The aim of this study was to encapsulate and release different anticancer drugs (5-Fluorouracil and Methotrexate) from a polymeric fiber mat. Different flows and ratios were used to test their effect on fiber morphology, FTIR spectrum, drug encapsulation and release. Good integration of the anticancer drugs was observed and the use of a desiccator for 24 h showed to be a key step to remove solvent remanence. Moreover, the results of this study demonstrated that the polymeric solution could be used to encapsulate and release different drugs to treat cancers. This makes coaxial electrospinning a promising alternative to deliver complex chemotherapies that involve more than one drug, such as FOLFIRINOX, used in pancreatic cancer treatment

TARTESSUS: A customized electrospun drug delivery system loaded with Irinotecan for Local and sustained chemotherapy release in pancreatic cancer

Post-surgical chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer has notorious side effects due to the high dose required. Multiple devices have been designed to tackle this aspect and achieve a delayed drug release. This study aimed to explore the controlled and sustained local delivery of a reduced drug dose from an irinotecan-loaded electrospun nanofiber membrane (named TARTESSUS) that can be placed on the patients' tissue after tumor resection surgery. The drug delivery system formulation was made of polycaprolactone (PCL). The mechanical properties and the release kinetics of the drug were adjusted by the electrospinning parameters and by the polymer ratio between 10 w.t.% and 14 w.t.% of PCL in formic acid:acetic acid:chloroform (47.5:47.5:5). The irinotecan release analysis was performed and three different release periods were obtained, depending on the concentration of the polymer in the dissolution. The TARTESSUS device was tested in 2D and 3D cell cultures and it demonstrated a decrease in cell viability in 2D culture between 72 h and day 7 from the start of treatment. In 3D culture, a decrease in viability was seen between 72 h, day 7 (p < 0.001), day 10 (p < 0.001), 14 (p < 0.001), and day 17 (p = 0.003) as well as a decrease in proliferation between 72 h and day 10 (p = 0.030) and a reduction in spheroid size during days 10 (p = 0.001), 14 (p < 0.001), and 17 (p < 0.001). In conclusion, TARTESSUS showed a successful encapsulation of a chemotherapeutic drug and a sustained and delayed release with an adjustable releasing period to optimize the therapeutic effect in pancreatic cancer treatment

Providing Personalized Guidance in Arithmetic Problem Solving

Supervising a student's resolution of an arithmetic word problem is a cumbersome task. Di erent students may use di erent lines of reasoning to reach the nal solution, and the assistance provided should be consistent with the resolution path that the student has in mind. In addition, further learning gains can be achieved if the previous student's background is also considered in the process. In this paper, we outline a relatively simple method to adapt the hints given by an Intelligent Tutoring System to the line of reasoning that the student is currently following. We also outline possible extensions to build a model of the student's most relevant skills, by tracking user's actions