Improved cathode/electrolyte interface of SOFC

The electrochemical performance of porous La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3 − δ (LSCF) cathodes is improved by inserting a dense LSCF layer. A 200 nm thin layer is deposited on the electrolyte substrate by pulsed laser deposition, prior to the screen printing process. This procedure enhances the adherence of the porous cathode layer to the electrolyte and allows a lower sintering temperature, which reduces grain growth during sintering. In air a decrease in polarization resistance with a factor of 3 is observed for electrodes sintered at 1100 °C. The apparent electrolyte resistance is also reduced with the dense PLD layer. A remarkable change in Po₂ dependence is observed for the Gerischer parameters that describe part of the electrode impedance, indicating a possible change in the oxygen transfer mechanism.     

Mechanical, structural, and spectroscopic properties of C70 fullerite phases produced under high pressure and shear

X-ray diffraction patterns, Raman spectra, and the hardness of C₇₀ fullerite subjected to a high pressure with shear are investigated. It is shown that these conditions favor the phase transformation of molecular fullerite into the hard amorphous phase. The hardness of a specimen removed from a diamond anvil cell loaded up to 26 GPa under shear deformation applied is found to be equal to 30 GPa.     

Design of a 3-MW 140-GHz gyrotron with a coaxial cavity

A design for a 3-MW 140-GHz gyrotron based on the use of a coaxial cavity is given. The cavity mode is TE_21,13, chosen so that the ohmic heating on both the inner and outer conductors would be low enough for CW operation. The mode selection process, nonlinear, multimode and time-dependent modeling of the beam wave interaction, and gun design are discussed in detail. An inverted magnetron injection gun (MIG) is used to accommodate the inner conductor. The radiation is coupled out via a quasi-optical mode converter, consisting of an irregular cylindrical waveguide section followed by a step-cut launching aperture and a single near-parabolic mirror. The design of these components is also described     

Investigation of Mercury(I) Dimedonate as a Reference Sample for Atomic-Absorption Spectrometry

It is shown that mercury(I) dimedonate meets the requirements imposed on the certified materials: it is homogenous and stable and the absolute value of the error of determination of mercury in a sample at P = 0.95 is 0.22%. A procedure is developed for the atomic-absorption determination of mercury in river water using the new reverence material.     

Excited state hydrogen bond dynamics: coumarin 102 in acetonitrile-water binary mixtures

The time dependent change in the intermolecular response of solvent molecules following photoexcitation of Coumarin 102 (C102) has been measured in acetonitrile-water binary mixtures. Experiments were performed on mixtures of composition x(CH3CN) = 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00. At low water concentrations (x(H2O) < or = 0.25) the solvent response is consistent with previous measurements probing dipolar solvation. With increasing water concentration (x(H2O) > or = 0.50) an additional response is found subsequent to dipolar solvation, exhibited as a rapid gain in the solvent's polarizability on a approximately 250 fs time scale. Monte Carlo simulations of the C102:binary mixture system were performed to quantify the number of hydrogen-bonding interactions between C102 and water. These simulations indicate that the probability of the C102 solute being hydrogen bound with two water molecules, both as donors at the carbonyl site, increases in a correlated fashion with the amplitude of the additional response in the measurements. We conclude that excitation of C102 simultaneously weakens and strengthens hydrogen bonding in complexes with two inequivalently bound waters.     

Phage display-derived inhibitor of the essential cell wall biosynthesis enzyme MurF

Background  

To develop antibacterial agents having novel modes of action against bacterial cell wall biosynthesis, we targeted the essential MurF enzyme of the antibiotic resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. MurF catalyzes the formation of a peptide bond between D-Alanyl-D-Alanine (D-Ala-D-Ala) and the cell wall precursor uridine 5'-diphosphoryl N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (UDP-MurNAc-Ala-Glu-meso-A2pm) with the concomitant hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and inorganic phosphate, yielding UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide. As MurF acts on a dipeptide, we exploited a phage display approach to identify peptide ligands having high binding affinities for the enzyme.     

Robustness of virus removal by protein A chromatography is independent of media lifetime

The robustness of virus clearance with respect to protein A media reuse was demonstrated using media with four matrix chemistries: Protein A immobilized ProSep A, Poros A50, Protein A ceramic Hyper DF and MabSelect SuRe, an alkali resistant protein A ligand. Endogenous retrovirus clearance, step yield, impurity clearance and other performance parameters were evaluated periodically in media cycled up to 300 times. Media lifetime was generally limited by either declining step yield or media fouling. However, clearance of endogenous retrovirus remained in an acceptable range, either increasing or remaining constant. Multiply cycled media were tested for clearance of three viruses (SV40, X-MuLV, and MMV); clearance was comparable to na?ve media. Overall, virus clearance by protein A chromatography appears to be extremely robust with respect to media age.     

Comparison ofβ-decay and Charge-exchange Reactions in Mirror T =2 Nuclei and Isospin Mixing

We have carried out β decay studies of proton rich nuclei in the fp shell at different laboratories.Here we present our recent results on the decay of Tz =-2 nuclei performed at GANIL and compare them with the Charge Exchange reactions on their stable, mirror-partner targets, performed at RCNP. In one of the cases, the 56Zn - 56Fe pair, a strong isospin mixing has been observed. The results are well reproduced in the framework of Shell Model calculations