Search results for "ELECTRICITY"
showing 10 items of 1225 documents
Baicalin and berberine ultradeformable vesicles as potential adjuvant in vitiligo therapy.
2018
0.5-1% of the world's population is affected by vitiligo, a disease characterized by a gradual depigmentation of the skin. Baicalin and berberine are natural compounds with beneficial activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and proliferative effects. These polyphenols could be useful for the treatment of vitiligo symptoms, and their efficacy can be improved by loading in suitable carriers. The aim of this work was to formulate and characterize baicalin or berberine loaded ultradeformable vesicles, and demonstrate their potential as adjuvants in the treatment of vitiligo. The vesicles were produced using a previously reported simple, scalable method. Their morphology, size distrib…
Sensitive magnetometry reveals inhomogeneities in charge storage and weak transient internal currents in Li-ion cells
2020
The ever-increasing demand for high-capacity rechargeable batteries highlights the need for sensitive and accurate diagnostic technology for determining the state of a cell, for identifying and localizing defects, and for sensing capacity loss mechanisms. Here, we leverage atomic magnetometry to map the weak induced magnetic fields around Li-ion battery cells in a magnetically shielded environment. The ability to rapidly measure cells nondestructively allows testing even commercial cells in their actual operating conditions, as a function of state of charge. These measurements provide maps of the magnetic susceptibility of the cell, which follow trends characteristic for the battery materia…
A sizing approach for stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic-wind-battery systems: A Sicilian case study
2018
Abstract Solar and wind energy are the two most available renewable energy resources in the world. In this paper, a high-resolution analysis that allows sizing a hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine-battery banks has been carried out. The analysis aims to minimize the annualized cost of the systems satisfying two reliability constraints. The solution has been obtained numerically by means of an iterative technique. The decision variables are the photovoltaic area, wind turbine radius, and battery capacity. A high-resolution model, based on fuzzy logic inference system, has been developed to evaluate the number of active occupants and the domestic electricity consumption. In order to allow a mor…
FRACTAL STRUCTURES IN SINGLE CRYSTALS OF FERROELECTRIC LITHIUM NIOBATE GROWN UNDER STRONGLY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS
2009
Atomic force microscopy studies of lithium niobate single crystals containing heterogeneously distributed lanthanide (Gd) admixture and a regular domain structure of 100 nm to 1 μm steps obtained under conditions of severe thermal instability have revealed fractal structures of the size of 10 to 100 nm within regions of the regular domain structures. A super-structure of clustered defects with 1–2 nm steps explaining results of Raman spectra analysis is supposed to exist in the cation sub-lattice and formation of periodic fractal structures of the size of ∼1 nm–100 μm is suggested to take place in lithium niobate single crystals containing lanthanide admixture.
Not excluding nuclear power: the dynamics and stability of nuclear power policy arrangements in Finland
2011
In this article, we aim at using the policy arrangement approach to explain the renewal of nuclear power policy in Finland from 1986 to 2010. From the point of view of national nuclear power decision making, we distinguish three different policy arrangement periods: (1) rejection (1986–1993), (2) revival (1994–2002) and (3) renewal (2003–2010). Within each period, the four dimensions which are, such as policy coalitions, ‘rules of the game’, policy discourses and resources are analysed. The three periods indicate that policy development has not been unilinear. In the rejection period, the ‘shock event’ of Chernobyl mixed up the policy arrangement. For example, the supporting coalition was t…
Energy and environmental life-cycle impacts of solar-assisted systems: The application of the tool “ELISA”
2020
Abstract Solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems can be relevant in the achievement of energy and climate European goals. The benefits of these technologies should be evaluated taking into account their life-cycle energy and environmental impacts, calculated by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The development of a complete LCA can be difficult and time-consuming particularly for non-experts in LCA, discouraging them in developing the life-cycle assessments. To overcome this issue, the paper presents “ELISA - Environmental Lifecycle Impacts of Solar Air-conditioning systems”, a user-friendly simplified tool for estimating the life-cycle energy and environmental benefits/impacts of s…
Synergistic behavior of poly(aspartic acid) and Pluronic F127 in aqueous solution as studied by viscometry and dynamic light scattering.
2012
Abstract Pluronic F127/poly(aspartic acid) mixtures were investigated in dilute solutions by viscometry and dynamic light scattering. The two polymers were chosen due to well known applications in biomedical field, taking into account the final purpose (the use of the complex structure as drug delivery systems). The central item was to identify the possibility of complexation between the poly(carboxylic acid) and a non-ionic polymer and to investigate the conditions of the interpolymer complex formation. The ability of Pluronic F127 to form micelle is well known. Poly(aspartic acid), as a polycarboxylic acid with resemblance with polyacrylic acid, can act as dispersant, antiscalant, superab…
In situ synthesis of lipopeptides as versatile receptors for the specific binding of nanoparticles and liposomes to solid-supported membranes.
2008
A detailed study of the in situ coupling of small peptides such as CGGH6 (H6) and CGWK8 (K8) to maleimide functionalized phospholipid bilayers is presented. Individually addressable microstructured membranes are employed to unequivocally probe the conjugation. The in situ coupling of peptides via a terminal cysteine moiety to maleimide functionalized phospholipids is shown to be a convenient and versatile way to selectively fabricate peptide-modified phospholipid bilayers serving as specific receptor platforms for functionalized vesicles and nanoparticles. Specific binding of functional vesicles to the peptide-modified bilayers is achieved by either histidine complexation with Ni-NTA-DOGS c…
Interaction of Quinine with Model Lipid Membranes of Different Compositions
2002
The binding of a drug such as Quinine with neutral and negatively charged small unilamellar lipid vesicles at pH 7 and 37 degrees C was investigated. Changes in the fluorescence properties of the drug after association with the liposomes were used to obtain binding isotherms over a range of phospholipid compositions at different ionic strengths. Under such conditions, the association was strongly enhanced by the negative net charge of the bilayer but diminished by the increasing presence of electrolytes in the aqueous media. Binding data were analyzed in terms of a surface partition equilibrium without and after correcting for electrostatic effects by means of the Gouy-Chapman theory. The i…
The Anti Nuclear Litany
2012
Can nuclear energy become a viable alternative to fossil fuels? Almost all of French electricity is generated in nuclear plants, as is half of the electricity in Ukraine, Sweden and Belgium, a third in Finland and South Korea and a fifth in many other countries, among them Spain, Germany, the UK and the USA.