Cytomegalovirus infection in pediatric rheumatic diseases: a review

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is familiar to pediatric rheumatologists mainly as a cause of opportunistic disease in pharmacologically immune suppressed patients. However, HCMV also has a variety of immuno-modulatory effects, through which it may influence the course of rheumatic conditions. In this article we discuss the interplay between HCMV and the immune system, and review the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of HCMV infection in children with rheumatic disease

Effect of Nd3+ Ion Concentration on the Corrosion Resistance of API X70 Steel in Chloride-Rich Environments

In this study, the effect of the addition of Nd3+ ions as a corrosion inhibitor of the API X70 steel in a medium rich in chlorides was evaluated. The performance of the Nd3+ ions was evaluated by means of electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization curves, open circuit potential measurements, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, as well as by means of scanning electron microscopy and EDS measurements. The results showed that Nd3+ ions reduce the corrosion rate of steel at concentrations as low as 0.001 M Nd3+. At higher concentrations, the inhibition efficiency was only slightly affected although the concentration of chloride ions was increased by the addition of the inhibitor. The adsorption of the Nd3+ ions promotes the formation of a protective layer of oxides/hydroxides on the metal surface, thereby reducing the exchange rate of electrons. Nd3+ ions act as a mixed inhibitor with a strong predominant cathodic effect

High Temperature Corrosion of Nickel in NaVO3-V2O5 Melts

Many alloys used at high temperature in industrial processes are Ni-based and many others contain it in appreciable quantities, so it is of interest to evaluate the performance of pure nickel in order to determine the behavior of its alloys once the elements responsible for their protection have been depleted due to accelerated corrosion processes in the presence of vanadium-rich molten salts. Due to this, this work presents the study of Ni behavior in NaVO3-V2O5 mixtures at different temperatures. The behavior of pure nickel was determined by both electrochemical and mass loss measurements. The results show that the aggressiveness of the vanadium salts is increased by increasing both the V2O5 content and temperature. V2O5 addition considerably increases the current densities of the anodic and cathodic reactions. The corrosion process of Ni is modified due to the presence of its corrosion products, and its presence increases the activation energy by at least one order of magnitude. Although nickel shows a high reactivity in vanadium-rich salts, its reaction products are highly stable and protect it from the corrosive medium because the corrosion reactions trap the vanadium and block the migration of nickel ions

Synthesis by Hydrothermal Treatment of ZnO-Based Varistors Doped with Rare Earth Oxides and Their Characterization by Impedance Spectroscopy

ZnO-based ceramic varistors have shown excellent electrical and dielectric properties due to their characteristics microstructures represented by the arrangement of their grains and grain boundaries that allow the absorption and flow of energy when subjected to an electrical surge. Their properties and characteristics depend on their chemical compositions and processing routes. Typical processing routes involve several stages of grinding and precalcination—which are time consuming processes. Because of this, this study proposes a simpler and cheaper alternative route for processing ceramic varistors. The alternative process proposed is the mixing of the precursor oxides by means of a hydrothermal treatment. The characteristics and properties of the synthesized ceramic varistors were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and impedance spectroscopy, considering the effect of the addition of rare earth oxides (La2O3, CeO2 and Nd2O3). The results showed that the mixing of the oxides through hydrothermal treatment produces ceramic varistors with characteristics and properties similar to those obtained by other processing routes. Furthermore, it was observed that the addition of rare earth oxides affects the characteristics and properties of the ceramic varistor depending on the type of rare earth oxide added, its concentration and ionic radius

Effect of Noble Metal Addition on the Disorder Dynamics of Ni3Al by Means of Monte Carlo Simulation

In this work, the effect of the addition of noble metals on the order–order disorder process of the L12 structure corresponding to the intermetallic Ni3Al is analyzed. Stoichiometric, nonstoichiometric, and quasi-binary compositions doped with noble metals such as Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt (1 at%) were analyzed. It was observed that depending on the composition, there is a modification in the activation energies calculated from the two time constants that characterize the disorder process. The statistic of atomic jumps was typified based on the configuration of the window to be crossed and, with this, it was identified that the origin of the negative activation energy of the long disorder process is due to an increase in the corresponding energy of the AlAl-Ni jump through unnatural windows