Application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to enhance anodic performance of an Enterobacter cloacae-based fuel cell

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) modification of anodes and the optimisation of relevant parameters thereof for application in an Enterobacter cloacae microbial fuel cell were examined. The H – type microbial fuel cells were used for the fundamental studies, with a carbon sheet as a control anode and platinum coated carbon sheets as the cathode. Anodes were correspondingly modified with MWCNTs dispersed in either 0.1% chitosan or 1% Nafion®. Maximum power output wasobserved four hours after inoculation of the anode chamber with the microorganism. A 252.6% increase in power output of the fuel cell was observed at an anode modified with 10 mg MWCNTs/ml dispersed in0.1% chitosan compared to unmodified anodes (13.8 ìW). MWCNTs dispersed in chitosan yielded nearly 50% greater power outputs than when dispersed in Nafion®; attributed to increased aggregation in the latter as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy imaging. When NafionTM 117 membrane was used as a proton exchanger it generally resulted in higher power outputs than the CMI 7000S membrane. These studies also showed that the time-consuming carboxylic acid functionalisation of MWCNT for such applications is not a necessary requirement for enhancing power outputs. The studies thus illustrate the utility of a MWCNT modified anode as a support matrix for E. cloacae in a microbial fuel cell and provide clarity on parameters which can be applied to other such studies in the emergingarea of nanostructured material utilisation in alternative energy generation

Testing the carbohydrate insulin model in mice : Erroneous critique does not alter previous conclusion

We are grateful to Dr Kevin Hall of the NIH for comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and Dr Stephan Guyenet for his informative blog posts on the CIM. Our study of mouse diets was funded by the strategic research program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB13030100).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Piezoelectric and optical setup to measure an electrical field: Application to the longitudinal near-field generated by a tapered coax

We propose a new setup to measure an electrical field in one direction. This setup is made of a piezoelectric sintered lead zinconate titanate film and an optical interferometric probe. We used this setup to investigate how the shape of the extremity of a coaxial cable influences the longitudinal electrical near-field generated by it. For this application, we designed our setup to have a spatial resolution of 100 um in the direction of the electrical field. Simulations and experiments are presented

Fragmentation cross sections of Fe^{26+}, Si^{14+} and C^{6+} ions of 0.3-10 A GeV on CR39, polyethylene and aluminum targets

New measurements of the total and partial fragmentation cross sections in the energy range 0.3-10 A GeV of Fe^{26+}, Si^{14+} and C^{6+} beams on polyethylene, CR39 and aluminum targets are presented. The exposures were made at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), USA, and Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. The CR39 nuclear track detectors were used to identify the incident and survived beams and their fragments. The total fragmentation cross sections for all targets are almost energy independent while they depend on the target mass. The measured partial fragmentation cross sections are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures. Talk given at the 24th International Conference on Nuclear Tracks in Solids, Bologna, Italy, 1-5 September 200

Fragmentation of very high energy heavy ions

A stack of CR39 (C12H18O7)n nuclear track detectors with a Cu target was exposed to a 158 A GeV lead ion beam at the CERN-SPS, in order to study the fragmentation properties of lead nuclei. Measurements of the total, break-up and pick-up charge-changing cross sections of ultrarelativistic Pb ions on Cu and CR39 targets are presented and discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 EPS figures included with epsf, uses article.sty Talk presented by M. Giorgini at the Int. Conf. on Structure of the Nucleus at the Dawn of the Century, Bologna (Italy), May 29-June 3, 200

Nuclear Track Detectors. Searches for Exotic Particles

We used Nuclear Track Detectors (NTD) CR39 and Makrofol for many purposes: i) Exposures at the SPS and at lower energy accelerator heavy ion beams for calibration purposes and for fragmentation studies. ii) Searches for GUT and Intermediate Mass Magnetic Monopoles (IMM), nuclearites, Q-balls and strangelets in the cosmic radiation. The MACRO experiment in the Gran Sasso underground lab, with ~1000 m^2 of CR39 detectors (plus scintillators and streamer tubes), established an upper limit for superheavy GUT poles at the level of 1.4x10^-16 cm^-2 s^-1 sr^-1 for 4x10^-5 <beta<1. The SLIM experiment at the high altitude Chacaltaya lab (5230 m a.s.l.), using 427 m^2 of CR39 detectors exposed for 4.22 y, gave an upper limit for IMMs of ~1.3x10^-15 cm^-2 s^-1 sr^-1. The experiments yielded interesting upper limits also on the fluxes of the other mentioned exotic particles. iii) Environmental studies, radiation monitoring, neutron dosimetry.Comment: Talk given at "New Trends In High-Energy Physics" (experiment, phenomenology, theory) Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine, September 27-October 4, 200