Impact Fatigue Characteristics of Valve Leaves for Small Hermetic Reciprocating Compressors

This paper presents an investigation on the impact fatigue characteristics of valve leaves that are prevalently used in hermetic reciprocating compressors especially for the household type refrigerators. The investigation relates the impact fatigue lifetime of the valve leaves that is the heart of the compressor, with the working temperature, material type (carbon steel, stainless steel and improved stainless steel grade) and tumbling duration after the manufacturing process. The investigation provides a better understanding of the impact fatigue characteristics of valve leaves while designing a high performance compressor to decrease the energy consumption. \ud A unique automated impact fatigue test system was designed and produced, which enables to carry out impact fatigue tests of the compressor valve leaves under the desired impact velocities. In the test system, original valve plate and valve leaf couple was utilized through the experimentation in order to simulate the real behavior in the compressor. A fixture was designed to mount the valve plate. The main principle of the system is to create pulsating airflow through a high frequency solenoid valve. The impact fatigue life was determined for various impact velocities and at different operating temperatures

Chemical order and reactivity of AuPd(100) alloy surface : from vacuum to reaction conditions.

La compréhension des phénomènes de ségrégation superficielle induite par la présence de gaz est de première importance afin de modéliser "correctement" les propriétés catalytiques des catalyseurs bimétalliques. L'objectif principal de cette thèse a été de développer une méthodologie théorique capable de reproduire et de prédire le comportement de la ségrégation du Pd dans le système AuPd(100) en présence de CO. Cela a été réalisé grâce à la combinaison des calculs DFT et de la simulation Monte Carlo. Plus précisément, un modèle d’Ising basé sur un potentiel inter-atomique décrivant à la fois les interactions métal-métal, métal-gaz et gaz-gaz a été construit grâce à des calculs DFT. Ensuite, des simulations Monte Carlo ont été développées pour tracer les isothermes de ségrégation et pour obtenir des informations sur l'évolution de la concentration de Pd en surface et en volume en fonction du recouvrement en CO. Les résultats montrent une ségrégation inversée du Pd dès l’adsorption du gaz. Ainsi, la ségrégation de Pd induite par l'adsorption de CO a été simulée pour différentes températures et pression de CO. Les différents ordres chimiques de surface identifiés ont été analysés et leurs réactivités vis-à-vis de la réaction d’oxydation de CO ont été identifiées.The understanding of surface segregation phenomena induced by the presence of gas is of prior importance to “correctly” model the catalytic properties of bimetallic catalysts. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a theoretical methodology able to reproduce and predict the segregation behavior in Au-Pd system exposed to CO gas. This is achieved thanks to the combination of Density functional calculations (DFT) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Firstly a, DFT-based Ising model is considered to build inter-atomic potential that includes interactions between: (i) the metal atoms in the alloy; (ii) the metal atoms in the surface and the adsorbed molecules and (iii) the adsorbed molecules. Secondly, the Pd segregation isotherms and the evolution of the Pd surface concentration with the Pd bulk concentration as a function of the CO coverage are studied with Monte Carlo simulations. The results show a reversed segregation of Pd upon the adsorption of CO. Thus, adsorption-induced Pd segregation was analyzed through the calculation of segregation isotherms at different temperature and CO pressure. The different obtained chemical ordered phases are thoroughly analyzed and their reactivity toward CO oxidation reaction was investigated

The effects of lauromacrogol on thyroid tissue in rabbits. Is this a safe option for the treatment of nodular thyroid disease?

AIM: The effects of lauromacrogol as a sclerosing agent were evaluated on rabbit thyroid tissue

A Rare Case of Partial Unilateral Corpus Cavernosum Agenesis With Concomitant Multiple Genitourinary Anomalies

Congenital penile agenesis is a rare condition with an incidence of 1 in 30 million, while other congenital malformations of the cavernous bodies are much less common. In a few cases in the literature, it has been reported that the reason for consulting a physician with these conditions is the insufficient erection. As a first reported case, we present a 16-year-old male patient with partial unilateral corpus cavernosum agenesis accompanying genitourinary anomalies. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc

Identification of Durable and Non-Durable FeNx Sites in Fe-N-C Materials for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

While Fe-N-C materials are a promising alternative to platinum for catalyzing oxygen reduction in acidic polymer fuel cells, limited understanding of their operando degradation restricts rational approaches towards improved durability. Here we show that Fe-N-C catalysts initially comprising two distinct FeNx sites (S1 and S2) degrade via the transformation of S1 into iron oxides while the structure and number of S2 were unmodified. Structure-activity correlations drawn from end-of-test 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy reveal that both sites initially contribute to the ORR activity but only S2 significantly contributes after 50 h of operation. From in situ 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy in inert gas coupled to calculations of the Mössbauer signature of FeNx moieties in different electronic states, we identify S1 to be a high-spin FeN4C12 moiety and S2 a low- or intermediate spin FeN4C10 moiety. These insights lay the ground for rational approaches towards Fe-N-C cathodes with improved durability in acidic fuel cells.<br /

P-block single-metal-site tin/nitrogen-doped carbon fuel cell cathode catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

This contribution reports the discovery and analysis of a p-block Sn-based catalyst for the electroreduction of molecular oxygen in acidic conditions at fuel cell cathodes; the catalyst is free of platinum-group metals and contains single-metal-atom actives sites coordinated by nitrogen. The prepared SnNC catalysts meet and exceed state-of-the-art FeNC catalysts in terms of intrinsic catalytic turn-over frequency and hydrogen–air fuel cell power density. The SnNC-NH3 catalysts displayed a 40–50% higher current density than FeNC-NH3 at cell voltages below 0.7 V. Additional benefits include a highly favourable selectivity for the four-electron reduction pathway and a Fenton-inactive character of Sn. A range of analytical techniques combined with density functional theory calculations indicate that stannic Sn(iv)Nx single-metal sites with moderate oxygen chemisorption properties and low pyridinic N coordination numbers act as catalytically active moieties. The superior proton-exchange membrane fuel cell performance of SnNC cathode catalysts under realistic, hydrogen–air fuel cell conditions, particularly after NH3 activation treatment, makes them a promising alternative to today’s state-of-the-art Fe-based catalysts

Treatment delays and in-hospital outcomes in acute myocardial infarction during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide study

© 2020 by Turkish Society of Cardiology.Objective: Delayed admission of myocardial infarction (MI) patients is an important prognostic factor. In the present nationwide registry (TURKMI-2), we evaluated the treatment delays and outcomes of patients with acute MI during the Covid-19 pandemic and compaired with a recent pre-pandemic registry (TURKMI-1). Methods: The pandemic and pre-pandemic studies were conducted prospectively as 15-day snapshot registries in the same 48 centers. The inclusion criteria for both registries were aged ≥18 years and a final diagnosis of acute MI (AMI) with positive troponin levels. The only difference between the 2 registries was that the pre-pandemic (TURKMI-1) registry (n=1872) included only patients presenting within the first 48 hours after symptom-onset. TURKMI-2 enrolled all consecutive patients (n=1113) presenting with AMI during the pandemic period. Results: A comparison of the patients with acute MI presenting within the 48-hour of symptom-onset in the pre-pandemic and pandemic registries revealed an overall 47.1% decrease in acute MI admissions during the pandemic. Median time from symptom-onset to hospital-arrival increased from 150 min to 185 min in patients with ST elevation MI (STEMI) and 295 min to 419 min in patients presenting with non-STEMI (NSTEMI) (p-values <0.001). Door-to-balloon time was similar in the two periods (37 vs. 40 min, p=0.448). In the pandemic period, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) decreased, especially in the NSTEMI group (60.3% vs. 47.4% in NSTEMI, p<0.001; 94.8% vs. 91.1% in STEMI, p=0.013) but the decrease was not significant in STEMI patients admitted within 12 hours of symptom-onset (94.9% vs. 92.1%; p=0.075). In-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were significantly increased during the pandemic period [4.8% vs. 8.9%; p<0.001; age- and sex-adjusted Odds ratio (95% CI) 1.96 (1.20-3.22) for NSTEMI, p=0.007; and 2.08 (1.38-3.13) for STEMI, p<0.001]. Conclusion: The present comparison of 2 nationwide registries showed a significant delay in treatment of patients presenting with acute MI during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although PCI was performed in a timely fashion, an increase in treatment delay might be responsible for the increased risk of MACE. Public education and establishing COVID-free hospitals are necessary to overcome patients' fear of using healthcare services and mitigate the potential complications of AMI during the pandemic

Evaluation of Patients with Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease: Preliminary results from the Turk-UIP Study

OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is important among fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate the rate of IPF in patients with fibrotic ILD and to determine the clinical-laboratory features of patients with and without IPF that would provide the differential diagnosis of IPF