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The Michaelis–Menten equation (MME) has been extensively used in biochemical reactions, but it is not appropriate when the reaction product inhibits the enzyme. Under these circumstances, each determined initial velocity, v0, is one experimental point that actually belongs to a different MME because enzymatic product inhibition occurs as the reaction starts. Furthermore, the inhibition effect is not constant, since the concentration of the product inhibitor rises as time increases. To unveil the hidden enzyme inhibition and to simultaneously demonstrate the superiority of an integrated Michaelis–Menten equation (IMME), the same range of data points, assuming product inhibition and the presence of a second different inhibitor, was used for kinetic analysis with both methodologies. This study highlights the superiority of the IMME methodology for when the enzyme is inhibited by the reaction product, giving a more coherent inhibition model and more accurate kinetic constants than the classical MME methodology.

We study diffusing particles in a confined liquid whose diffusion coefficient periodically varies across the sample. The limiting substrates may adsorb-desorb particles when memory effects are also considered. We show how the bulk modulation (amplitude and number of turns) affects bulk and surface distributions. The diffusing regimes are also studied in terms of the physical parameters governing the system, and we show that, by controlling the modulation (amplitude and frequency) in such limited system, might lead to superdiffusive, usual, or subdiffusive regimes. In other words, increasing the number of turns and the amplitude of modulation changes how the mean square displacement changes over time. Fewer turns with large negative amplitude favors faster diffusion whereas higher number of turns and large positive amplitudes favor slower diffusion. This simple model might help understanding diffusing behavior in modulated and crowded systems such as in cholesteric and smectic liquid crystals and other lamellar systems.

The 6061 Al–Mg–Si alloy is used in nuclear fuel plates of nuclear research reactors which are fed with fuel in plate shapes. The production of these plates is based on the picture frame technique (PFT). The picture frame technique (PFT) is a manufacturing process for the fabrication of nuclear fuel plates where the nuclear fuel is encapsulated by Al alloy plates and thermomechanically processed to generate a set with reduced thickness. The effects of PFT on the corrosion resistance of the 6061 aluminum alloy were evaluated in this study by immersion and electrochemical tests in 0.005 mol L−1 NaCl solution. The results showed that the PFT fabrication process increases the corrosion resistance of the 6061 alloy in relation to the conventional 6061-T6, due phase dissolution and lower content of β’’ phase. Also, corrosion propagation gradually changes, with an increasing number of processing steps, from intergranular to intragranular corrosion attack.

International audience; Scenario analysis constitutes a useful approach to synthesize knowledge and derive hypotheses in the case of complex systems that are documented with mainly qualitative or very diverse information. In this article, a framework for scenario analysis is designed and then, applied to global wheat health within a timeframe from today to 2050. Scenario analysis entails the choice of settings, the definition of scenarios of change, and the analysis of outcomes of these scenarios in the chosen settings. Three idealized agrosystems, representing a large fraction of the global diversity of wheat-based agrosystems, are considered, which represent the settings of the analysis. Several components of global changes are considered in their consequences on global wheat health: climate change and climate variability, nitrogen fertilizer use, tillage, crop rotation, pesticide use, and the deployment of host plant resistances. Each idealized agrosystem is associated with a scenario of change that considers first, a production situation and its dynamics, and second, the impacts of the evolving production situation on the evolution of crop health. Crop health is represented by six functional groups of wheat pathogens: the pathogens associated with Fusarium head blight; biotrophic fungi, Septoria-like fungi, necrotrophic fungi, soilborne pathogens, and insect-transmitted viruses. The analysis of scenario outcomes is conducted along a risk-analytical pattern, which involves risk probabilities represented by categorized probability levels of disease epidemics, and risk magnitudes represented by categorized levels of crop losses resulting from these levels of epidemics within each production situation. The results from this scenario analysis suggest an overall increase of risk probabilities and magnitudes in the three idealized agrosystems. Changes in risk probability or magnitude however vary with the agrosystem and the functional groups of pathogens. We discuss the effects of global changes on the six functional groups, in terms of their epidemiology and of the crop losses they cause. Scenario analysis enables qualitative analysis of complex systems, such as plant pathosystems that are evolving in response to global changes, including climate change and technology shifts. It also provides a useful framework for quantitative simulation modeling analysis for plant disease epidemiology.

Neste trabalho, teve-se como objetivo desenvolver um software de análise de imagens para a área de engenharia de materiais, especificamente para análise de corrosão em ligas de alumínio 1050 e 6061. Para tanto, foram utilizadas técnicas de processamento de imagens. Os experimentos realizados mostraram que os métodos empregados podem ser utilizados para a aplicação investigada neste estudo, uma vez que os resultados foram satisfatórios. Não obstante, testes realizados com o software desenvolvido mostraram sua facilidade de utilização que era uma importante premissa a ser atendida.

Rare earths (RE) have been used to increase high temperature oxidation resistance of chromium dioxide and alumina forming alloys. The RE can be added as elements (or oxides) to the alloys or applied as an oxide coating to the alloy surface. RE oxide gels, obtained by the sol-gel technique, were used to coat Fe-20Cr specimens prior to cyclic oxidation tests in the temperature range RT-900 °C. The cyclic oxidation resistance of the alloy increased with time required to reach a specific chromium dioxide layer thickness, and this was influenced by RE ion radius, the coating morphology and coverage. Extended cyclic oxidation tests from peak temperatures of 900, 1000 and 1100 °C at cooling rates of 330 and 1000 °C/s revealed the marked influence of La2O3 coatings. The role of RE in increasing overall oxidation resistance of chromium dioxide forming alloys is discussed.

Rare earths (RE) have been used to increase high temperature oxidation resistance of chromia and alumina forming alloys. The RE can be added as elements (or oxides) to the alloys or applied as oxide coatings to the alloy surface. This paper presents the effect of different RE oxide coatings and lanthanum chromite coatings on the high temperature oxidation behavior of Fe20Cr and Fe20Cr4Al alloys. The oxidation resistance of the Fe20Cr alloy increased with increase in ionic radius of the RE element in the coating. The RE oxides decreased chromia growth rate more than alumina growth rate. In extended cyclic oxidation tests that were carried out from peak temperatures of 900 °C, 1,000 °C and 1,100 °C to room temperature at cooling rates of 300 °C/s and 1,000 °C/s, the La2O3 coating increased cyclic oxidation resistance of the Fe20Cr alloy significantly more than the Pr2O3 coating. The role of RE in increasing overall oxidation resistance of chromia forming alloys is discussed.

Pitting corrosion of the aluminium cladding of spent nuclear fuels stored in light water pools has been observed. To prevent this, coating of the Al cladding with hydrotalcite (HTC) was proposed. This paper presents the effect of chemical bath and processing parameters on microstructure and corrosion behavior of HTC coatings on alloy AA 6061 specimens. The HTC coating from the high temperature nitrate bath was homogeneous, thicker and consisted of well-defined intersecting platelets than that formed from the room temperature carbonate bath. Electrochemical polarization tests carried out with HTC coated AA 6061 specimens in 0.01 M NaCl revealed that specimens coated with HTC from the nitrate bath and further treated in a cerium salt solution were the most resistant to corrosion. Field tests in which un-coated and coated AA 6061 alloy coupons as well as full-size plates were exposed to the IEA-R1 reactor's spent fuel basin for duration of up to 14 months further corroborated the high corrosion resistance imparted by the high temperature HTC + Ce coating. The mechanism by which the HTC coating and cerium protect the Al alloy is discussed.

This paper discusses the influence of coatings of praseodymium, dysprosium, and yttrium oxide gels on the oxidation behaviour of Fe–20Cr alloys. The morphology of the coatings was found to vary with the rare earth (RE) element used. The oxidation rates of Fe–20Cr specimens with all three RE oxide coatings were significantly lower than that of the uncoated alloy. The extent of influence on oxidation rate decreased in the following order: Pr, Dy, Y. The scale formed in the presence of RE oxides was a very thin, adherent chromia scale. Micrographic evidence of RE oxides in the chromia scales was found, further confirming the mechanism of scale growth in the presence of REs. Chromium ion diffusion is hindered by RE oxide coatings, making oxygen ion diffusion dominant. A direct correlation between RE ion radius and the extent of influence on chromia growth at 1000°C has been found.

The high temperature oxidation and erosion-oxidation (E-O) behavior of steels AISI 1020, 304, 310, and 410 were determined. These steels were selected to evaluate the effect of chromium content on its E-O resistance. The oxidation behavior was determined in a thermogravimetric analyzer. A test rig in which a specimen assembly was rotated through a fluidized bed of erodent particles was used to determine the E-O behavior. Alumina powder (200 µm) was used as the erodent. The E-O tests were carried out in the temperature range 25-600 °C, with average particle impact velocities of 3.5 and 15 ms-1 and impact angle of 90°. The oxidation resistance of the steels increased with chromium content. The E-O behavior of the steels was determined as wastage. The E-O wastage of the steels exposed to particle impact at low velocity was low but increased with temperature above 300 °C. The E-O wastage of the different steels exposed to particle impact at high velocity was quite similar. The wastage increased with increase in temperature above 500 °C. The increases in E-O wastage of the steels observed at temperatures above 300, 400 or 500 °C, depending on the steel, were due mainly to a transition in the dominant wastage process, from 'erosion' to 'erosion-oxidation'.

The addition of small quantities of reactive elements such as rare earths (RE) to chromia or alumina forming alloys improves the high temperature oxidation resistance. Traditionally, these elements are alloying additions or are added as oxides to form a dispersion. The alloys can also be coated with RE oxides. Several methods can be used to coat alloy substrates with RE oxides and the sol-gel process is considered to be quite efficient, as it generates the very small oxide particles. This paper presents the influence of surface coatings of Ce, La, Pr, and Y oxide gels on the oxidation behavior of an Fe-20Cr alloy at 1000 °C. The morphology of the rare earth (RE) oxide coatings varied with the nature of RE. The oxidation rate of RE oxide coated Fe-20Cr was significantly less than that of the uncoated alloy. The extent of influence the RE oxide coating exercised on the oxidation rate decreased in the following order: La, Ce, Pr, Y. The scale formed in the presence of RE oxide was very thin, fine grained and adherent chromia. A direct correlation between rare earth ion radius and the extent of influence on chromia growth rate at 1000 °C was observed.