Synthesis of nanocrystals by discharges in liquid nitrogen from Si-Sn sintered electrode

International audienceThe synthesis feasibility of silicon-tin nanocrystals by discharges in liquid nitrogen is studied using a Si-10 at % Sn sintered electrode. Time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy shows that silicon and tin melt almost simultaneously. The presence of both vapours does not lead to the synthesis of alloyed nanocrystals but to the synthesis of separate nanocrystals of silicon and tin with average sizes of 10 nm. These nanocrystals are transformed into amorphous silicon oxide (am-SiO2) and beta-SnO2 by air oxidation, after evaporation of the liquid nitrogen. The synthesis of an am-Si0.95Sn0.05 phase around large silicon crystals (similar to 500 nm) decorated by beta-Sn spheroids is achieved if the current flowing through electrodes is high enough. When the sintered electrode is hit by powerful discharges, some grains are heated and tin diffuses in the large silicon crystals. Next, these grains are shelled and fall into the dielectric liquid

Towards Software-Defined Protection, Automation, and Control in Power Systems: Concepts, State of the Art, and Future Challenges

Nowadays, power systems’ Protection, Automation, and Control (PAC) functionalities are often deployed in different constrained devices (Intelligent Electronic Devices) following a coupled hardware/software design. However, with the increase in distributed energy resources, more customized controllers will be required. These devices have high operational and deployment costs with long development, testing, and complex upgrade cycles. Addressing these challenges requires that a ’revolution’ in power system PAC design takes place. Decoupling from hardware-dependent implementations by virtualizing the functionalities facilitates the transition from a traditional power grid into a software-defined smart grid. This article presents a survey of recent literature on software-defined PAC for power systems, covering the concepts, main academic works, industrial proof of concepts, and the latest standardization efforts in this rising area. Finally, we summarize the expected future technical, industrial, and standardization challenges and open research problems. It was observed that software-defined PAC systems have a promising potential that can be leveraged for future PAC and smart grid developments. Moreover, standardizations in virtual IED software development and deployments, configuration tools, performance benchmarking, and compliance testing using a dynamic, agile approach assuring interoperability are critical enablers. © 2022 by the authors

Emtricitabine/rilpivirine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults

Summary: This paper reviews the current literature and information on the combination drug Complera™ (rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2011.PubMed, Cochrane and Embase (2001–2014) were searched for primary and review articles on rilpivirine, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, individually or in combination. Data from drug manufacturer and product label was also used. Clinical trial reports were selected, extracted and analyzed to include relevant and recent ones. Selected English-language trials were limited to those with human subjects and included both safety and efficacy outcomes. Results from two phase 3 randomized double blind trials (ECHO and THRIVE) showed that rilpivirine is non-inferior to efavirenz in suppressing viral load below 50 copies/mL in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) naïve human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. In addition, psychiatric disturbances, rash and increase in lipid levels occurred less frequently with rilpivirine when compared to efavirenz. However, virological failure and drug resistance were higher with rilpivirine in patients with baseline viral load >100,000 copies/mL. Rilpivirine showed cross resistance to efavirenz and etravirine. Efavirenz, on the other hand, did not demonstrate cross resistance to rilpivirine and etravirine, leaving the latter drugs as options for use in case of virological failure with efavirenz. Complera™ remains an acceptable alternative treatment to Atripla™ in ART naïve patients who have a pre-ART plasma HIV RNA 200 cells/mm3 with non-inferior efficacy and better safety and tolerability. Keywords: Emtricitabine, Rilpivirine, Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, Complera, HI

Analysis of Zn I emission lines observed during a spark discharge in liquid nitrogen for zinc nanosheet synthesis

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Synthesis of copper and zinc nanostructures by discharges in liquid nitrogen

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Synthesis of Cu@ZnO core–shell nanoparticles by spark discharges in liquid nitrogen

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