Search

Degradation of insulation paper is a key contributor to the failure of power transformers. Insulation degradation accelerates at elevated temperatures, which highlights the potential for better thermal management to prolong life. While several studies have analyzed the benefits of high thermal conductivity oil for reducing temperatures inside a transformer, this study is an initial assessment of the benefits of high thermal conductivity paper on transformer life. Blending particulates with cellulosic fibers offers a pathway for high thermal conductivity paper (with good dielectric properties), which can reduce internal temperatures. Presently, life extensions that can be achieved by the use of such thermally conducting papers were estimated, with the thermal conductivity of the paper being the key parameter under study. The analytical-numerical thermal model used in this study was validated against experimental measurements in a distribution transformer, adding confidence to the utility of the model. This model was then used to provide estimates of hot-spot temperature reduction resulting from the use of papers with higher thermal conductivity than baseline. Transformer life was predicted conventionally by tracking the degree of polymerization of paper over time, based on an Arrhenius model. Results indicate that increasing the thermal conductivity of paper from 0.2 W/mK (baseline) to 1 W/mK reduces the hot spot temperature by 10 °C. While degradation significantly depends on the moisture and oxygen content, the model shows that such a temperature reduction can increase life for all conditions, by as much as a factor of three.

This research provides an in-depth assessment of two paper yarn variants, examining their structural, functional, and performance characteristics. These yarns demonstrated favorable properties, including suitable linear density, twist, typical cellulosic functional groups as confirmed by Infrared spectroscopy, minimal hairiness, moisture transfer, and creditable mechanical strength. These yarns have flat layered cross-sections and grooved longitudinal surfaces. In addition, a low hairiness index (1.3–1.33) further acknowledged their smooth surface. Their remarkable evenness (15.86% and 7.08%) supported their effective wicking properties. Despite average breaking strength (0.77 cN/dTex and 1.05 cN/dTex) and moderate elongation, these yarns exhibited exceptional water-washing resistance and retained over 89% breaking strength after 15 washes. This study ranks these paper yarns as highly suitable for durable clothing fabrics, providing promising sustainable alternatives in the textile industry.

There is a growing need for easy-to-use, low cost and portable quantitative assays to determine active pharmaceutical ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry. Here, we developed a batch spectrophotometric method and a method employing a paper-based microfluidic device for the estimation of Amoxicillin (AMX) in pure solution and pharmaceutical preparations. The detection depends on the coupling reaction of Amoxicillin with diazotized sulfadimidine (DSDM) in an alkaline medium. The yellow azo dye reaction product was measured at λmax 425 nm and linearity was observed from 2 to 30 mg L−1 with a detection limit of 0.32 mg L−1 and a quantification limit of 1.2 mg L−1 was found. The reaction was then transferred onto the paper-based microfluidic device and a plateau change in color intensity was found above 10 mg L−1. Thus, the paper-based microfluidic device can be applied for the semi-quantitative determination of Amoxicillin in pure solution and commercial pharmaceutical products for rapid screening.

The objective of this work is to produce an ecologically friendly material for use in Ivory Coast's construction sector in the future. These materials should have good thermal qualities and be flame resistant in addition to helping to achieve interior comfort. The fundamental components under consideration are freely accessible in Ivory Coast and include clay mortar as a fire retardant, potato starch as a binder, and recycled paper granules as a filler. The suggested ecologically friendly material's manufacturing process is fully described in detail. After conditioning, the team created multiple samples, taking into account that each test that the materials are put through requires various probe sizes for the thermal conductivity test, the reaction to fire test, and the flexural strength test. The best result regarding thermal conductivity of composites was obtained when 10 % clay is added in the mixture, namely between 0.057 … 0.068 W/(mK). During the ignitability tests the flame did not propagate to a height greater than 15 cm throughout the 60 s test time, so it can be concluded that the materials match minimally in the class E of reaction to fire. The flexural strength of tested materials was under 0.8 MPa.

Wireless devices have become extremely inexpensive and popular in recent years. The two most significant advantages of wireless devices over wired ones are convenience and flexibility. Considering this, a wireless mouse pad prototype for access has been developed in this study. A capacitive sensors-based mouse pad with basic operations and conventional features has been developed using sensing arrays on paper. A facile, do-it-yourself fabrication process was utilized to develop a cost-effective, thin, wearable, and cleanroom-free wireless mouse cursor control (MCC) pad. The ablation process was used to cut the traces of conductive tape and paste them onto the paper to develop the MCC pad. The pad was connected with Espressif Systems (ESP)32 to wirelessly control the cursor of mobile and laptop. The capacitive touch sensor array-based pad is easy to reproduce and recycle. This pad can contribute to future advancements in thin human-machine interfaces, soft robotics, and medical and healthcare applications.

The fabrication of highly efficient yet stable noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalysts that can simultaneously catalyse both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains challenging. Herein, we employ the heterostructure coupling strategy, showcasing an aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) aided synthetic approach for the in-situ growth of cobalt molybdenum sulphide nanocomposites on carbon paper (CoMoS@CP) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst. The AACVD allows the rational incorporation of Co in the Mo–S binary structure, which modulates the morphology of CoMoS@CP, resulting in enhanced HER activity (ŋ10 = 171 mV in acidic and ŋ10 = 177 mV in alkaline conditions). Furthermore, the CoS2 species in the CoMoS@CP ternary structure extends the OER capability, yielding an ŋ100 of 455 mV in 1 M KOH. Lastly, we found that the synergistic effect of the Co–Mo–S interface elevates the bifunctional performance beyond binary counterparts, achieving a low cell voltage (1.70 V at 10 mA cm−2) in overall water splitting test and outstanding catalytic stability (∼90 % performance retention after 50-/30-h continuous operation at 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively). This work has opened up a new methodology for the controllable synthesis of self-supported transition metal-based electrocatalysts for applications in overall water splitting.

Despite a growing body of evidence for the effectiveness of prehabilitation, the uptake of prehabilitation in Europe remains low. Contributing factors range from limited awareness and understanding of prehabilitation to a lack of supporting infrastructure and reimbursement challenges. In this position paper, the authors propose a new comprehensive definition of prehabilitation and identify differentiated thyroid cancer as a type of cancer particularly well-suited for prehabilitation. To support clinicians with the implementation of prehabilitation programs in their clinics, the authors discuss the following practical solutions: a) find the most appropriate prehabilitation program for each patient; b) raise awareness among peers; c) develop evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of prehabilitation; d) expand the interdisciplinary team; e) expand your network and make use of existing assets; f) utilize learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic.