Tunable Hydrogen Storage in Magnesium - Transition Metal Compounds

Magnesium dihydride (\mgh) stores 7.7 weight % hydrogen, but it suffers from a high thermodynamic stability and slow (de)hydrogenation kinetics. Alloying Mg with lightweight transition metals (TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr) aims at improving the thermodynamic and kinetic properties. We study the structure and stability of Mg$_x$TM$_{1-x}$H$_2$ compounds, $x=[0$-1], by first-principles calculations at the level of density functional theory. We find that the experimentally observed sharp decrease in hydrogenation rates for $x\gtrsim0.8$ correlates with a phase transition of Mg$_x$TM$_{1-x}$H$_2$ from a fluorite to a rutile phase. The stability of these compounds decreases along the series Sc, Ti, V, Cr. Varying the transition metal (TM) and the composition $x$, the formation enthalpy of Mg$_x$TM$_{1-x}$H$_2$ can be tuned over the substantial range 0-2 eV/f.u. Assuming however that the alloy Mg$_x$TM$_{1-x}$ does not decompose upon dehydrogenation, the enthalpy associated with reversible hydrogenation of compounds with a high magnesium content ($x=0.75$) is close to that of pure Mg.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

A Study of Clinico-social Profile of Animal Bite Patients Attending the Antirabies Clinic of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur

Background: Rabies is one of zoonotic viral disease, estimated to cause 59000 human deaths annually in over 150 countries, of which 20,000 are from India alone; about 40% of which are in children under the age of 15. Rabies though 100% fatal is preventable with post-exposure prophylaxis which includes wound washing, anti-rabies vaccination and rabies immunoglobulin. Objective: To describe the clinico-social profile of animal bite patients attending the anti-rabies clinic of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the anti-rabies clinic of Nehru hospital, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur from January 2022 to May 2022. Study participants were interviewed by using a pre-phrased, pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. Data regarding socio-demographic and clinical profile of the study participants following animal bite exposure was collected. Results: The total number of animal bite victims were 250, in which majority of them were males (76.77%) and highest percentage was of adult population (20-59 years). Maximum number of victims were from rural area (78.70%). 19.35% were working and 39.35% were students. 77.43% were category III bites and in 50.96% cases lower limb was the site of bite and dogs were responsible for 89.67% of the bites. 60.64% victims did not wash the wound properly before reaching the anti-rabies clinic. Conclusion: This study concludes that as majority of the animal bite victims were students and majority of victims were unaware about the importance of wound care, therefore a step can be taken to create awareness in various schools

A study of sequelae of acute encephalitis syndrome in district Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Each year more than 2000 AES cases are admitted in BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India with about 20-25 per cent mortality. Out of the survivors many develop neurological sequel after discharge. There is little information on the extent of disabilities, and no published literature on the subsequent follow-up of the survivors especially children after discharge. Objectives were to study the status of neurological sequelae and other complications, if any, in patients with JE and non-JE AES in the past three years.Methods: All the cases of acute encephalitis syndrome belonging to Gorakhpur District who were discharged after treatment at BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur from Jan 2008 to Dec 2010 was taken. Sample size – Study was conducted in 171 subjects. Out of 19 blocks in Gorakhpur district, three blocks were randomly chosen by simple random sampling method and it was decided to study all available cases in these blocks. Liverpool outcome score, was used as an assessment tool to determine practical level of disability and the likelihood that a child will be able to live independently after illness.Results: Out of 171 cases studied, 21 (12.3%), 48 (28.1%), 56 (32.7%) and 22 (12.9%) had full recovery, mild sequelae, moderate sequelae and severe sequelae respectively. The sequelae were more in forms of behavioural problems (77.6%), low intellect in school or routine task (57.2%), poor speech (20.4%), hearing (14.3%), motor and locomotion (8.9%).Conclusions: Mental & behavioural problems were more frequently encountered sequel in patients with JE and non-JE AES

On the heat waves over India and their future projections under different SSP scenarios from CMIP6 models

Thirteen Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) models were employed to simulate mean, maximum, and minimum temperature across 7 homogenous temperature regions of India for both annual and summer season (June, July, and August (JJA)). The model fidelity was assessed by comparing them with observed Climate Research Unit temperature dataset. The JJA multi‐model ensemble for the present (1981–2014) suggests large warm biases in the temperature. Although the models could simulate the spatial variability of the mean and maximum temperature over most of the homogeneous regions, they do not compare well for representing the temporal variability. We also found, that although different individual models have strengths and weaknesses in representing spatial and temporal temperature characteristics over India, a few of the models perform better than the others. For example, CNRM‐CM6 could better represent the spatial temperature patterns however they struggle in capturing the temporal variability. HadGEM3‐GC31‐LL, KACE‐1‐0G, and UKESM1‐0‐LL are comparably the best‐performing models for temporal temperature features over India. The annual maximum temperature during far future period is projected to increase by 1.5°C, 2.3°C, and 4.1°C for Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) SSP1‐2.6, SSP2‐4.5, and SSP5‐8.5 respectively. At regional scales, JJA mean temperature for SSP5‐8.5 revealed significant increases in Interior Peninsula (3.8°C), Western Himalaya (5.6°C), Northwest (3.9°C), West Coast (3.6°C), East Coast (3.6°C), Northeast (3.6°C), and North Central (3.8°C), highlighting the Western Himalaya's heightened sensitivity. Further, heat wave frequency is projected to rise, with the northern territories (NW, NC, NE, and part of IP) most affected, anticipating week‐long heat waves affecting around 50% of India's population under stronger SSPs. Such unprecedented impacts seem to be less profound in case of abatement scenarios such as the SSP1‐2.6. Our findings support the urgent need for more ambitious mitigation and adaptation strategies to alleviate the public health impacts of climate change

Projected changes in heatwaves and its impact on human discomfort over India due to global warming under the CORDEX-CORE framework

Due to climate change, rapid warming and its further intensification over different parts of the globe have been recently reported. This has a direct impact on human health, agriculture, water availability, power generation, various ecosystems, and socioeconomic conditions of the exposed population. The current study thus investigates the frequency and duration of heatwaves, human discomfort, and exposure of the human population to these extremes using the high-resolution regional climate model experiments under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6, RCP8.5) over India. We find that more than 90% of India will be exposed to uncomfortable warm nights by the end of the 21st century with the highest rise over western India, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab, and the Haryana region. States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, eastern parts of MP and UP, and some parts of J&K will be the worst hit by the intense and frequent heatwaves and human discomfort followed by the densely populated Indo-Gangetic plains under RCP8.5. Strict enforcement of the stringent policies on stabilization of population growth, improvement of local adaptive capacities, and economic status of the vulnerable population along with enforcing effective measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions are important to reduce human exposure to future heat stress. We demonstrate that a proper mitigation-based development (RCP2.6) instead of a business-as-usual scenario (RCP8.5) may help to reduce 50–200 heatwave days, 3–10 heatwave spells, and 10–35% warm nights over the Indian region. Consequently, this can avoid the exposure of 135–143 million population to severe discomfort due to extreme heat conditions by the end of the 21st century

Proceedings of Abstracts, School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science Research Conference 2022

© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For further details please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Plenary by Prof. Timothy Foat, ‘Indoor dispersion at Dstl and its recent application to COVID-19 transmission’ is © Crown copyright (2022), Dstl. This material is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] present proceedings record the abstracts submitted and accepted for presentation at SPECS 2022, the second edition of the School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science Research Conference that took place online, the 12th April 2022

Post-pinch-off relaxation of two-dimensional droplets in a Hele-Shaw cell

International audienceWe report on the shape relaxation of 2D droplets, formed right after the spontaneous pinch-off of a capillary bridge-droplet confined within a Hele-Shaw cell. An array of bridge-droplets confined within a microchip device first undergo neck thinning due to the evaporation driven volume change. Subsequently, an abrupt topological change transforms each bridge-droplet into a small central satellite droplet and the twin-droplets pinned at the edges of the cell. We monitor the shape relaxation with high temporal resolution optical microscopy. Capillary action drives the 2D shape relaxation, while the viscous dissipation in the film retards it. As a result, the tip of the twin-droplets exhibit a self-similar parabolic shape evolution. Based on these observations, the lubrication-approximation model accurately predicts the internal pressure evolution and the droplet tip displacement. The geometrical confinement substantially slows down the dynamics, facilitating visualization of the capillary-viscous regime, even for low viscosity liquids. The characteristic relaxation timescale shows an explicit dependence on the confinement ratio (width/gap) and the capillary-velocity of liquid. We verify the broad applicability of the model using different liquids

Dynamical Observation of Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Bubbles in Water Using a Single Laser Source for Probing and Sensing

We report on dynamical observations of femtosecond-laser-generated bubbles in water using a single-laser-source pump/probe setup combined with stroboscopic imaging. With this simple setup, we accurately measure the transmission of a probe beam and simultaneously record images giving the size and lifetime of single-pulse-generated bubbles. Our experiments indicate that stable bubble nucleation can be obtained with pulses repetition rate up to 142 kHz, which offers promising perspectives for high-throughput jetting