COVID-19 Pandemic: Other Perspective. Saudi Arabia

The emerging COVID-19 pandemic has affected most aspects of life all over the world. In addition, it has promoted fear and uncertainty and initiated several ethical challenges. In this brief experience account, I will try to shed the light on the mediocre aspects of our circumstances and assert the protective measures for our wellbeing during current widespread contagion

A Delicate Balance between Copper Necessity and Toxicity

Recent human activities, such as urbanisation, industrialisation and agricultural intensification, have produced a concerning increase in the concentrations of trace metals in the aquatic environment. While metals such as copper are essential micro-nutrients to aqueous organisms, they become toxicants when surpassing a critical concentration threshold in the aquatic environment. The copper concentration of many natural water masses and tissue of aquatic organisms have been found to exceed essential levels. These elevated levels of copper lead to sub-lethal or toxic effects on adults or, more crucially, their larval stages, drastically impacting the diversity, health, structure and functioning of affected ecosystems. The detection, monitoring and assessment of copper concentrations are therefore key to the integrity of aquatic environments and are becoming increasingly important as a result of legislation and increasing public awareness

Pd/Ni Synergestic Activity for Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction in Alkaline Conditions

Abstract The investigation of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline conditions has been the subject of a wide interest in the past few years with the rise of alkaline membrane fuel cells (AMFCs). In particular, the quest for the lowest content of platinum group metals (PGMs) in the HOR catalyst is ongoing. In this article, we propose the use of a nanoscale Pd layer partially covering a Ni film to provide the most efficient use of the PGM in the HOR catalyst. The Pd/Ni electrodes were prepared by spontaneous and electrolytic deposition of Pd onto smooth polycrystalline Ni surfaces with different surface compositions. The electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy. Electrocatalytic activity in HOR of the Pd/Ni electrodes was measured in alkaline solution by rotating disc electrode method. In the manuscript, we demonstrate that a Pd coverage as low as 1.5% vs. Ni coverage is sufficient to provide a high current density compared to pure Ni. The current density linearly increases with the Pd coverage up to a Pd coverage of 17%; upon further increase in the Pd coverage, the current density reaches a plateau, i.e. the diffusion limit for the HOR process. The comparison with Pd supported on carbon shows the clear benefit for the bimetallic catalyst

Directed deposition of nickel nanoparticles using self-assembled organic template

Self-assembled organic monolayers are useful templates for nanofabrication. Ordered layer of long alkyl-chain molecules can direct the wet chemical deposition of metallic coatings on different substrates. Ordered structures of fatty acids and their motions on the phenyloctane/HOPG interface are observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Modification of self-assembled fatty acid patterns due to hydroxamic acid presence is also in the focus of the research. Fatty acid layer formation, the structure of the formed thin film on solid/liquid interface, and simultaneous nickel colloidal deposition have been investigated

Uniformity Of The 2000 Test Beam Module With The New Optimal Filtering Coefficients

An original method to reconstruct electron and pion signals in the Liquid ARGon barrel calorimeter (LARG) is applied to test beam data collected at the H8 line of the CERN North Area in July and August 2000. The method is based on the use of optimal filtering coefficients and takes into account the electrical description of the read-out electronics in the reconstruction of the physics pulses. Results on improvements in the LARG response and in particular on the energy uniformity of the calorimeter are shown

Uniformity of the 2000 test beam module with the new optimal filtering coefficients

An original method to reconstruct electron and pion signals in the Liquid ARGon barrel calorimeter (LARG) is applied to test beam data collected at the H8 line of the CERN North Area in July and August 2000. The method is based on the use of optimal filtering coefficients and takes into account the electrical description of the read-out electronics in the reconstruction of the physics pulses. Results on improvements in the LARG response and in particular on the energy uniformity of the calorimeter are shown