Performance of a poly(2,5-benzimidazole)-based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

The performance of an ABPBI-based High Temperature H-2/O-2 PEMFC system was studied under different experimental conditions. Increasing the temperature from 130 to 170 degrees C improved the cell performance, even though further increase was not beneficial for the system. Humidification of the H-2 stream ameliorated this behaviour, even though operating above 170 degrees C is not advisable in terms of cell performance. A significant electrolyte dehydration seems to negatively affect the fuel cell performance, especially in the case of the anode. In the presence of 2% vol. CO in the H-2 stream, the temperature exerted a positive effect on the cell performance, reducing the strong adsorption of this poison on the platinum sites. Moreover, humidification of the H-2 + CO stream increased the maximum power densities of the cell, further alleviating the CO poisoning effects. Actual CO-O-2 fuel cell results confirmed the significant beneficial effect of the relative humidity on the kinetics of the CO oxidation process. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correlation analysis of the long latency auditory evoked potential N2 and cognitive P3 with the level of lead poisoning in children

Introduction: The effects of lead on children’s health have been widely studied. Aim: To analyze the correlation between the long latency auditory evoked potential N2 and cognitive P3 with the level of lead poisoning in Brazilian children. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 20 children ranging in age from 7 to 14 years at the time of audiological and electrophysiological evaluations. We performed periodic surveys of the lead concentration in the blood and basic audiological evaluations. Furthermore, we studied the auditory evoked potential long latency N2 and cognitive P3 by analyzing the absolute latency of the N2 and P3 potentials and the P3 amplitude recorded at Cz. At the time of audiological and electrophysiological evaluations, the average concentration of lead in the blood was less than 10 ug/dL. Results: In conventional audiologic evaluations, all children had hearing thresholds below 20 dBHL for the frequencies tested and normal tympanometry findings; the auditory evoked potential long latency N2 and cognitive P3 were present in 95% of children. No significant correlations were found between the blood lead concentration and latency (p = 0.821) or amplitude (p = 0.411) of the P3 potential. However, the latency of the N2 potential increased with the concentration of lead in the blood, with a significant correlation (p = 0.030). Conclusion: Among Brazilian children with low lead exposure, a significant correlation was found between blood lead levels and the average latency of the auditory evoked potential long latency N2; however, a significant correlation was not observed for the amplitude and latency of the cognitive potential P3