32 research outputs found
Hydrogen absorption properties of amorphous (Ni0.6Nb0.4−yTay)100−xZrx membranes
Ni based amorphous materials have great potential as hydrogen purification membranes. In the present work
the melt spun (Ni0.6Nb0.4−yTay)100−xZrx with y=0, 0.1 and x=20, 30 was studied. The result of X-ray diffraction
spectra of the ribbons showed an amorphous nature of the alloys. Heating these ribbons below T < 400 °C, even
in a hydrogen atmosphere (1−10 bar), the amorphous structure was retained. The crystallization process was
characterized by differential thermal analysis and the activation energy of such process was obtained. The
hydrogen absorption properties of the samples in their amorphous state were studied by the volumetric method,
and the results showed that the addition of Ta did not significantly influence the absorption properties, a clear
change of the hydrogen solubility was observed with the variation of the Zr content. The values of the
hydrogenation enthalpy changed from ~37 kJ/mol for x=30 to ~9 kJ/mol for x=20. The analysis of the
volumetric data provides the indications about the hydrogen occupation sites during hydrogenation, suggesting
that at the beginning of the absorption process the deepest energy levels are occupied, while only shallower
energy levels are available at higher hydrogen content, with the available interstitial sites forming a continuum
of energy levels
Probing ferroelectricity in highly conducting materials through their elastic response: persistence of ferroelectricity in metallic BaTiO3-d
The question whether ferroelectricity (FE) may coexist with a metallic or
highly conducting state, or rather it must be suppressed by the screening from
the free charges, is the focus of a rapidly increasing number of theoretical
studies and is finally receiving positive experimental responses. The issue is
closely related to the thermoelectric and multiferroic (also magnetic)
applications of FE materials, where the electrical conductivity is required or
spurious. In these circumstances, the traditional methods for probing
ferroelectricity are hampered or made totally ineffective by the free charges,
which screen the polar response to an external electric field. This fact may
explain why more than 40 years passed between the first proposals of FE metals
and the present experimental and theoretical activity. The measurement of the
elastic moduli, Young's modulus in the present case, versus temperature is an
effective method for studying the influence of doping on a FE transition
because the elastic properties are unaffected by electrical conductivity. In
this manner, it is shown that the FE transitions of BaTiO3-d are not suppressed
by electron doping through O vacancies; only the onset temperatures are
depressed, but the magnitudes of the softenings, and hence of the piezoelectric
activity, are initially even increased
Effect of doping and oxygen vacancies on the octahedral tilt transitions in the BaCeO3 perovskite
We present a systematic study of the effect of Y doping and hydration level
on the structural transformations of BaCeO3 based on anelastic spectroscopy
experiments. The temperature of the intermediate transformation between
rhombohedral and orthorhombic Imma phases rises with increasing the molar
fraction x of Y roughly as (500 K)x in the hydrated state, and is depressed of
more than twice that amount after complete dehydration. This is explained in
terms of the effect of doping on the average (Ce/Y)-O and Ba-O bond lengths,
and of lattice relaxation from O vacancies. The different behavior of the
transition to the lower temperature Pnma orthorhombic phase is tentatively
explained in terms of progressive flattening of the effective shape of the OH
ion and ordering of the O vacancies during cooling.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Co-opetition models for governing professional football
In recent years, models for co-creating value in a business-to-business context have
often been examined with the aim of studying the strategies implemented by and
among organisations for competitive and co-operative purposes. The traditional
concepts of competition and co-operation between businesses have now evolved,
both in terms of the sector in which the businesses operate and in terms of the type
of goods they produce.
Many researchers have, in recent times, investigated the determinants that can
influence the way in which the model of co-opetition can be applied to the football
world. Research interest lies in the particular features of what makes a good football.
In this paper, the aim is to conduct an analysis of the rules governing the “football
system”, while also looking at the determinants of the demand function within
football entertainment. This entails applying to football match management the
co-opetition model, a recognised model that combines competition and co-operation
with the view of creating and distributing value. It can, therefore, be said that, for a
spectator, watching sport is an experience of high suspense, and this suspense, in turn,
depends upon the degree of uncertainty in the outcome. It follows that the rules
ensuring that both these elements can be satisfied are a fertile ground for co-operation
between clubs, as it is in the interest of all stakeholders to offer increasingly more
attractive football, in comparison with other competing products. Our end purpose is
to understand how co-opetition can be achieved within professional football
Behavioral and psychological effects of coronavirus disease-19 quarantine in patients with dementia
Background: In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and several governments planned a national quarantine in order to control the virus spread. Acute psychological effects of quarantine in frail elderly subjects with special needs, such as patients with dementia, have been poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to assess modifications of neuropsychiatric symptoms during quarantine in patients with dementia and their caregivers. Methods: This is a sub-study of a multicenter nation-wide survey. A structured telephone interview was delivered to family caregivers of patients with diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and vascular dementia (VD), followed regularly at 87 Italian memory clinics. Variations in behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) were collected after 1 month since quarantine declaration and associations with disease type, severity, gender, and caregiver\u2019s stress burden were analyzed. Results: A total of 4,913 caregivers participated in the survey. Increased BPSD was reported in 59.6% of patients as worsening of preexisting symptoms (51.9%) or as new onset (26%), and requested drug modifications in 27.6% of these cases. Irritability, apathy, agitation, and anxiety were the most frequently reported worsening symptoms and sleep disorder and irritability the most frequent new symptoms. Profile of BPSD varied according to dementia type, disease severity, and patients\u2019 gender. Anxiety and depression were associated with a diagnosis of AD (OR 1.35, CI: 1.12\u20131.62), mild to moderate disease severity and female gender. DLB was significantly associated with a higher risk of worsening hallucinations (OR 5.29, CI 3.66\u20137.64) and sleep disorder (OR 1.69, CI 1.25\u20132.29), FTD with wandering (OR 1.62, CI 1.12\u20132.35), and change of appetite (OR 1.52, CI 1.03\u20132.25). Stress-related symptoms were experienced by two-thirds of caregivers and were associated with increased patients\u2019 neuropsychiatric burden (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Quarantine induces a rapid increase of BPSD in approximately 60% of patients and stress-related symptoms in two-thirds of caregivers. Health services need to plan a post-pandemic strategy in order to address these emerging needs
Anelastic relaxation from hydrogen and other defects in La-doped BaTiO3
We present anelastic spectroscopy measurements between 2 and 500 K in Ba1-xLaxTiO3 (0.10 <= x <= 0.20). The phase transitions of pure BaTiO3 are shifted to lower temperature by increasing the La doping and are completely suppressed starting from x = 0.15. The samples are expected to contain H impurities since sintering was performed in flowing H-2 to ensure electronic rather than cation vacancy compensation, and indeed at least three relaxation processes of the complex anelastic spectrum are strongly influenced by annealing the samples in CO or H-2 at 1450 K. A thermally activated anelastic peak around 250 K (f similar to 2 kHz) is ascribable to H hopping between different O atoms, while a possible indication of fast reorientation around a same O atom comes from a broad peak around 100 K. At least other three relaxation processes are present between 30 and 150 K, but the present data do not allow their nature to be ascertained; possible mechanisms involve polarons and hopping of Ti and possibly 12 among off-centre positions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved