Hydrogen storage in Mg: A most promising material

Life expectancy in most countries has been increasing continually over the several few decades thanks to significant improvements in medicine, public health, as well as personal and environmental hygiene. However, increased life expectancy combined with falling birth rates are expected to engender a large aging demographic in the near future that would impose significant burdens on the socio-economic structure of these countries. Therefore, it is essential to develop cost-effective, easy-to-use systems for the sake of elderly healthcare and well-being. Remote health monitoring, based on non-invasive and wearable sensors, actuators and modern communication and information technologies offers an efficient and cost-effective solution that allows the elderly to continue to live in their comfortable home environment instead of expensive healthcare facilities. These systems will also allow healthcare personnel to monitor important physiological signs of their patients in real time, assess health conditions and provide feedback from distant facilities. In this paper, we have presented and compared several low-cost and non-invasive health and activity monitoring systems that were reported in recent years. A survey on textile-based sensors that can potentially be used in wearable systems is also presented. Finally, compatibility of several communication technologies as well as future perspectives and research challenges in remote monitoring systems will be discussed.

Wearable Sensors for Remote Health Monitoring.

One-dimensional coordination polymers: applications to material science

▪ Abstract Metal-hydrogen (M-H) systems are interesting from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. M-H systems are utilized for energy-storage systems, in sensor applications, and in catalysis. These systems are often exploited as models for studying basic material properties, especially when the size of these systems is small and nonbulk-like contributions become dominant. Surfaces, nanocrystals, vacancy- and dislocation-rich materials, thin films, multilayers, and clusters as systems of major interest are addressed in this review. We show that the hydrogen solubility of M-H systems is strongly affected by the morphology and microstructure of and the stress between regions of different hydrogen concentration. For small-sized systems, surface- or interface-related sites become important and change the overall solubility as well as the phase boundaries of M-H systems. In thin films deposited on stiff substrates, compressive stresses evolve during hydrogen loading because the films are effective...

HYDROGEN IN METALS: Microstructural Aspects

Hydrogen storage alloys are of particular interest as a novel group in functional materials owing to their potential and practical applications in Ni/MH rechargeable batteries. This review is devoted to the specific alloy families developed for high-energy and high-power Ni/MH batteries in the last decades, especially for EV, HEV and PHEV applications. The scope of the work encompasses principles of Ni/MH batteries, electrochemical hydrogen storage thermodynamics and kinetics, prerequisites for hydrogen storage electrode alloys and recent advances in hydrogen storage electrode alloys. Rare earth AB5-type alloys, Ti- and Zr-based AB2-type alloys, Mg-based amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys, rare earth-Mg–Ni-based alloys and Ti–V-based alloys are highlighted. Additionally, the challenges met in developing advanced hydrogen storage alloys for Ni/MH rechargeable batteries are pointed out and some research directions are suggested.

Advanced hydrogen storage alloys for Ni/MH rechargeable batteries

It is shown that thin layers of palladium coated magnesium lanthanide alloys reversibly go through an optical transition by variation of the hydrogen concentration, just as has recently been shown for pure lanthanides. With these layers optical switches can be constructed that exhibit three different optical states: a color-neutral transparent state at high hydrogen concentration, a nontransparent dark absorbing state at intermediate hydrogen pressures, and a highly reflective metallic state at low hydrogen pressures. The ratio in transmission between the transparent state and the reflecting state is more than 1000.

Optical switches based on magnesium lanthanide alloy hydrides

Due to the growing pace of life, stress became one of the major factors causing health problems. We have developed a framework for measuring stress in real-life conditions continuously and unobtrusively. In order to provide meaningful, useful and actionable information, we present stress information, derived from sensor measurements, in the context of person's activities. In this paper, we describe our framework, discuss how we address arising challenges and evaluate our approach on basis of the field studies we have conducted. The main results of the evaluation are that the results of long-term measurements of stress reveal people information about their behavioral patterns that they perceive as meaningful and useful, and trigger their ideas about behavioral changes necessary to achieve a better stress balance.

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Smart technologies for long-term stress monitoring at work

A treatment system ( 1600, 1900 ) is provided for traversing the alimentary tract. The system ( 1600, 1900 ) includes an ingestible capsule, which includes a gas pressurizing module ( 1602 )) providing a gas and at least one balloon ( 1604, 1901 ) in fluid communication with the gas pressurization module ( 1602 ). The capsule further includes an exhaust channel ( 1610 ) in fluid communication with a respective balloon of the at least one balloon ( 1604, 1901 ), and a depressurizing closure member ( 1608 ) for selectively controlling flow of gas between the balloon ( 1604, 1901 ) and the ambient surroundings of the capsule. The system further includes control circuitry ( 906 ) for controlling the depressurizing closure member ( 1608 ).

System and Method For Controlling Traversal of an Igested Capsule

High energy density strategies: from hydride-forming materials research to battery integration

A device (1) for determining a stress related condition of a person and providing feedback about this condition comprises body sensors (20) for detecting stress related body parameters, a stress assessing element (40), and a feedback device, wherein the stress assessing element (40) is designed for processing input provided by the body sensors (20) and for determining control parameters for controlling the feedback device, on the basis of the input provided by the body sensors (20). The body sensors (20) are integrated in a textile structure, so that the tested person does not sense the sensors (20), as a result of which there is no chance that the test results get influenced by an interaction between the device (1) and the person.

Martin Ouwerkerk

Papers

Optical switches based on magnesium lanthanide alloy hydrides

Smart technologies for long-term stress monitoring at work

System and Method For Controlling Traversal of an Igested Capsule

High energy density strategies: from hydride-forming materials research to battery integration

Device for determining a stress level of a person and providing feedback on the basis of the stress level as determined