The effect of heavy tars (toluene and naphthalene) on the electrochemical performance of an anode-supported SOFC running on bio-syngas

The effect of heavy tar compounds on the performance of a Ni-YSZ anode supported solid oxide fuel cell was investigated. Both toluene and naphthalene were chosen as model compounds and tested separately with a simulated bio-syngas. Notably, the effect of naphthalene is almost negligible with pure H2 feed to the SOFC, whereas a severe degradation is observed when using a bio-syngas with an H2:CO = 1. The tar compound showed to have a remarkable effect on the inhibition of the WGS shift-reaction, possibly also on the CO direct electro-oxidation at the three-phase-boundary. An interaction through adsorption of naphthalene on nickel catalytic and electrocatalytic active sites is a plausible explanation for observed degradation and strong performance loss. Different sites seem to be involved for H2 and CO electro-oxidation and also with regard to catalytic water gas shift reaction. Finally, heavy tars (C>=10) must be regarded as a poison more than a fuel for SOFC applications, contrarily to lighter compounds such benzene or toluene that can directly reformed within the anode electrode. The presence of naphthalene strongly increases the risk of anode re-oxidation in a syngas stream as CO conversion to H2 is inhibited and also CH4 conversion is blocked

Como a cultura organizacional influência na atuação dos líderes

Este artigo objetivou analisar na literatura a influência que a cultura organizacional tem sobre a atuação dos líderes empresariais. Havendo como objetivos específicos: Realizar um levantamento da literatura sobre cultura organizacional e liderança; Comparar, em diferentes estudos científicos, a influência que a cultura organizacional tem sobre a liderança empresarial; Identificar as culturas organizacionais que mais contribuem para o sucesso dos líderes, liderados e consequentemente para as empresas. A metodologia foi um estudo exploratório e bibliográfico, realizado através de análise qualitativa e bibliometria. Os resultados demonstraram que cultura e liderança se confundem no contexto da literatura, visto que o impacto ocorre da cultura sobre a liderança e da liderança sobre a cultura. Além disso, não há uma liderança ou uma cultura que seja melhor ou pior de modo geral, apenas lideranças e culturas que melhor se adaptam ao contexto atual da organização e da necessidade do setor que a empresa atua.This article aimed to analyze the literature the influence that the organizational culture has on the performance of business leaders. Going on as specific objectives: Conduct a survey of the literature on organizational culture and leadership; Compare, in different scientific studies, the influence that the organizational culture has on the business leadership; Identify the organizational cultures that contribute most to the success of the leaders, led and consequently for companies. The methodology was a bibliographical and exploratory study, conducted through qualitative analysis and Bibliometrics. The results showed that culture and leadership are in the context of literature, as the impact of culture occurs about leadership and leadership over the culture. In addition, there is no leadership or a culture that is better or worse in General, only leaders and cultures that best fits the current organization context and the need of the sector the company operates

Atomic ordering in cu-al-mn studied by the Monte Carlo method

En este trabajo se estudian los procesos de ordenamiento atómico en la fase bcc del sistema ternario Cu-Al-Mn por medio de simulaciones de Monte Carlo. Se han utilizado dos enfoques diferentes: en primera instancia, se consideró que el ordenamiento atómico ocurre a causa de interacciones puramente químicas entre las tres especies atómicas. Posteriormente, se consideraron también interacciones de carácter magnético entre los átomos de Mn, y se analizó el modo en que éstas modifican las temperaturas de orden-desorden. Se muestra que, con una adecuada elección de los parámetros energéticos, el método reproduce las temperaturas de transición de orden de largo alcance determinadas experimentalmente en un amplio rango de composiciones.In this paper, the atomic ordering processes in the bcc phase of the Cu-Al-Mn ternary system are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Two different approaches were used: first, it was assumed that the atomic ordering is caused by purely chemical interactions between the three atomic species. Later, magnetic interactions between Mn atoms were also taken into account, and its influence on order-disorder temperatures was analyzed. It is shown that, provided an appropriate choice of the energetic parameters, the method reproduces the experimentally determined long-range order transition temperatures over a wide range of compositions.Fil: Alés, A.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica de Materiales; Argentina;Fil: Lanzini, Fernando Gabriel. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica de Materiales; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina;Fil: Romero, R.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina; Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica de Materiales; Argentina

Cholesterol nucleation time in gallbladder bile of patients with solitary or multiple cholesterol gallstones

Patients with multiple cholesterol gallbladder stones have been found to be at a higher risk for the recurrence of gallstones after successful nonsurgical treatment than those with a solitary stone. Cholesterol gallstone recurrence, like primary gallstone formation, probably involves a triple defect with supersaturation, abnormally rapid nucleation of cholesterol in bile and altered gallbladder motor function. We investigated whether the increased recurrence rate of patients with multiple stones might be caused by more rapid nucleation. Therefore the time required for cholesterol monohydrate crystals to appear in ultracentrifuged bile of patients with solitary (n = 71) or multiple (n = 42) cholesterol gallstones was determined. The cholesterol nucleation time was significantly (p 4 days) nucleation time. However, no difference in the cholesterol saturation index was found between the bile samples from patients with solitary stones and the bile samples from patients with multiple stones (1.55 ± 0.65 vs. 1.54 ± 0.59, mean ± S.D., respectively). The more rapid cholesterol nucleation in gallbladder bile may, therefore, be the major risk factor causing the higher percentage of stone recurrence in patients with multiple cholesterol stones as compared with patients with solitary cholesterol stones

Persistent intraepithelial lymphocytosis in celiac patients adhering to gluten-free diet is not abolished despite a gluten contamination elimination diet

The gluten-free diet (GFD) is the only validated treatment for celiac disease (CD), but despite strict adherence, complete mucosal recovery is rarely obtained. The aim of our study was to assess whether complete restitutio ad integrum could be achieved by adopting a restrictive diet (Gluten Contamination Elimination Diet, GCED) or may depend on time of exposure to GFD. Two cohorts of CD patients, with persisting Marsh II/Grade A lesion at duodenal biopsy after 12–18 months of GFD (early control) were identified. Patients in Cohort A were re-biopsied after a three-month GCED (GCED control) and patients in Cohort B were re-biopsied after a minimum of two years on a standard GFD subsequent to early control (late control). Ten patients in Cohort A and 19 in Cohort B completed the study protocol. There was no change in the classification of duodenal biopsies in both cohorts. The number of intraepithelial lymphocytes, TCR + (T-Cell Receptor gamma delta) T cell and eosinophils significantly decreased at GCED control (Cohort A) and at late control (Cohort B), compared to early control. Duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytosis persisting in CD patients during GFD is not eliminated by a GCED and is independent of the length of GFD. [NCT 02711696

Assessment of kinetic model for ceria oxidation for chemical-looping CO2 dissociation

Chemical looping technologies are identified as to have an excellent potential for CO2 capture and fuels synthesis. Oxygen carriers are the fundamental component of a chemical looping process, and the choice of stable and efficient carriers with fast redox kinetics is the key to the successful design of the process. Hence, understanding the reaction kinetics is of paramount importance for the selection of an appropriate oxygen carrier material. This work provides a method for kinetic model selection based on a statistical approach to identify the reaction mechanism. The study experimentally investigates the oxidation kinetics of CeO2-d by CO2 and applies a statistical method for the selection of the best-fitting kinetic model for the reaction. The kinetic study is performed in the temperature range of 700–1000¿°C with a CO2 concentration between 20 and 40¿vol% in the feed. The measured peak rates of CO production on ceria were influenced both by temperature and concentration of reactant. The total CO production was more influenced by the temperature than by CO2 concentration, with a maximum CO yield of 33.66¿ml/g at 1000¿°C and 40% CO2. The identification of the oxidation kinetic model is performed by fitting different reactions models to the measured reaction rates and statistically comparing them using the Residual sum of squares (RSS), Akaike information criterion (AICc) and the F-test for the selection of the best-fitting one. Models corresponding to the nucleation and grain growth reaction mechanism provided a good fit of the data, with the Sestak-Berggren (SB) model showing the best approximation of the measured rate of reaction with an evaluated activation energy of 79.1¿±¿6.5¿kJ/mol for the CO2 oxidation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Addicts with chronic hepatitis C: Difficult to reach, manage or treat?

AIM: To assess the acceptance, safety and efficacy of care and treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in drug addicts. METHODS: We designed a multidisciplinary, phase IV prospective cohort study. All illicit drug users (IDUs) visited a Territorial Addiction Service (SerT) in the District of Brescia, and hepatitis C antibody (HCVAb) testing positive were offered as part of a standardised hepatologic visit in our Gastroenterology Unit. Patients with confirmed CHC and without medical contraindications were administered peginterferon alfa-2b 1.5 μg/kg per week plus ribavirin (800-1400 mg/d) for 16-48 wk. All IDUs were unselected because of ongoing addiction and read and signed an informed consent form. Virologic responses at weeks 4 and 12 of therapy, at the end of treatment and 24 wk after the end of treatment were the main measures of efficacy. Adherence was estimated according to the 80/80/80 criteria. RESULTS: From November 2007 to December 2009, 162 HCVAb+ IDUs were identified. Sixty-seven patients (41% of the initial cohort) completed the diagnostic procedure, and CHC was diagnosed in 54 (33% of the total). Forty-nine patients were offered therapy, and 39 agreed (80% of acceptance rate). The prevalent HCV genotype was type 1, and the HCV RNA baseline level was over 5.6 log/mL in 61% of cases. Five patients dropped out, two because of severe adverse events (SAEs) and three without medical need. Twenty-three and 14 patients achieved end of treatment responses (ETRs; 59%) and sustained virologic responses (SVRs; 36%), respectively. Thirty-one patients were fully compliant with the study protocol (80% adherence). The prevalence of host and viral characteristics negatively affecting the treatment response was high: age over 40 years (54%), male gender (85%), overweight body type (36%), previous unsuccessful antiviral therapy (21%), HCV genotype and viral load (60% and 62%, respectively), earlier contact with HBV (40%) and steatosis and fibrosis (44% and 17%, respectively). In a univariate analysis, alcohol intake was associated with a non-response (P = 0.0018, 95%CI: 0.0058-0.4565). CONCLUSION: Drug addicts with CHC can be successfully treated in a multidisciplinary setting using standard antiviral combination therapy, despite several "difficult to reach, manage and treat" characteristics

Charging Ahead: A Survey-Based Study of Italian Consumer Readiness for Electric Vehicle Adoption

Climate change originating from anthropogenic activities is a key challenge of our time, with unsustainable mobility patterns representing one of the main contributors to polluting emissions in the atmosphere. The situation is particularly critical in urban areas, where traditional mobility paradigms based on private mobility and endothermic vehicles lead to road congestion, environmental degradation, health issues, and economic loss. Many policies are being implemented worldwide to support the envisaged transition to cleaner mobility paradigms, like the EU Fit for 55 Package, which is bound to ban sales of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035. In this context, electrification emerges as the most promising alternative, although battery electric vehicles represent a growing yet small niche, and the market is still expressing many concerns. Through a case study of Italy, a country with a strong automotive tradition and severe air pollution in urban centers, this research investigates consumer attitudes and barriers to electric vehicle adoption, providing crucial insights for future policy and market strategies. This study consists of a survey-based empirical investigation (N = 1533). The findings suggest that skepticism is still strong and requires a joint effort (carmakers, government, media) to frame sound communicational strategies and policies addressing market apprehensions about actual environmental performance, economic convenience, range anxiety, and availability of adequate charging infrastructures