An agile model for the eco-design of electric vehicle Li-ion batteries

Numerous design choices need to be made at several levels when designing high-tech products: technology, processes, architecture, components, materials… and these choices need to be made in relation to the product life cycle with the corresponding experts for each stage of the life cycle. At the same time, to ensure product sustainability, a specific focus on the future potential environmental impacts is highly recommended. In this research, an agile model is proposed to help designers make decisions while monitoring environmental performance indicators of high-tech solutions. The concept of Critical Product Life Cycle Parameters had to be introduced to facilitate the eco-design of the final product. The approach is illustrated by the Electric Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries case study.     

Utility of scintigraphic methods in patients with fever of unknown origin

BACKGROUND: We assessed the utility of scintigraphy with indium 111-labeled polyclonal human IgG scintigraphy in patients with fever of unknown origin that fulfilled the criteria of temperature of 38.3 degrees C or more for at least 3 weeks and no diagnosis during 1 week of hospital admission. We compared the utility of this technique with results of scintigraphic techniques reported in the literature. METHODS: Data for all patients seen at our university hospital in whom 111In-IgG scanning was performed were analyzed and checked for the criteria for fever of unknown origin. The literature on the utility of scintigraphic techniques in patients with fever of unknown origin was reviewed. RESULTS: We studied 24 patients with fever of unknown origin. In 13 patients, focal 111In-IgG accumulation was observed. In nine (38%) of those, the positive 111In-IgG scintigram led to the final diagnosis; in the other four patients (17%), the scintigraphic findings were not helpful. In the 11 patients with negative 111In-IgG scans, extensive diagnostic workup produced no infection as the final diagnosis in nine patients (38%), one had an abscess in a renal cyst that was detected several months later, and in the other the cause of fever was an infected intravenous line. The overall sensitivity and specificity of 111In-IgG scintigraphy were 81% and 69%, respectively. The positive predictive value was 69% and the negative predictive value was 82%. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that 111In-IgG scintigraphy significantly contributed to the diagnostic process in patients with fever of unknown origin. A positive scan increased the likelihood of finding the cause of the fever, and a negative scan ruled out an inflammatory component with a high degree of certainty. These data compare favorably with data in the literature concerning other radiopharmaceuticals; a larger prospective evaluation of this technique is indicated.     

Cassava retting: Optimisation of a traditional fermentation by an experimental research methodology

Retting, a spontaneous and traditional fermentation of cassava roots in Central Africa, was optimised in terms of time and the quality of the end-product. Optimal conditions were achieved by using an experimental research methodology. Temperature is the most influential factor, with an optimum of 34°C for quicker retting. The roots should be peeled and soaked in water immediately after harvesting to increase the quality of cassava foods. Inoculation of water with juice from a prior retting helps in cassava detoxification but has no influence on the time or the quality of foo-foo. Foo-foo samples had the most favourable organoleptic quality when an incubation temperature of between 28 and 37°C was used. Using optimal conditions, retting time was reduced 3-fold, and foo-foo of high and constant quality could be processed.     

Mlcrolasers based on silica microspheres

Light can be confined efficiently in the high-Q, small-volume whispering-gallery-modes observed in silica microspheres. By coupling these microspheres to eroded optical fibers and fiber tips, direct mapping of the whispering-gallery modes has been achieved and the mode numbers have been assessed. The properties of these modes have allowed us to obtain laser action with very low thresholds in Nd-doped silica microspheres. Further projects in the field of non-linear optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics are described.     

Internal Reduction of Chromium-Doped α-Alumina

(Al,Cr)₂O₃ single crystals and polycrystals were internally reduced at 1873 K in an Al/Al₂O₃ buffer for periods of time ranging from 1 to 100 h. The growth kinetics of the reduction scale were measured. The microstructure of the reduction scale was investigated by SEM and TEM. As a result of the reduction, two types of discrete chromium precipitates developed inside the alumina matrix (inside the single crystal or the polycrystalline grains), each one being characterized by a particular morphology (needle or spheroid) and a low-energy orientation relationship with respect to the alumina matrix. In addition, larger precipitates without special orientation relationship developed along the grain boundaries and at the triple junctions of the polycrystais. In the first part of this paper, the precipitate morphology and size are described in terms of the crystallography of the interface between the two crystal structures in relation to the reduction mechanism. In the second part, the global reduction scale growth is analyzed in terms of point defect fluxes across the reduction scale.     

An investigation of carbon nanotube jet grinding

Since their observation in 1976 and 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have generated much interest due to their properties and potential applications. CNTs are tubular carbon molecules with remarkable mechanical, electrical, chemical and thermal properties, which make them useful in various applications. Industries producing CNTs via the fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition technique face challenges related to the size of CNT bundles. The two main challenges are agglomeration and agglomerate size distribution control. A solution to these challenges involves the use of jet mills to grind the CNT agglomerates. The goal of this study was to determine whether the nanotubes could be ground with air jets using a commercial jet mill and apply a two-parameter model to describe the grinding process. The present study has indicated that air-jet grinding of CNTs is feasible with a typical commercial jet mill. This paper presents the effect of operational parameters on the arithmetic mean diameter of the ground product. Sonic velocity through the grinding nozzles was required to obtain reasonable grinding rates and relatively narrow particle size distributions. This occurs at high air to solids feedrate ratios. Additionally, a simple attrition model can describe the grinding process in the spiral jet mill.     

Does social dominance generate prejudice? Integrating individual and contextual determinants of intergroup cognitions.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) has been proposed as an important variable in the explanation of prejudice. We distinguish between three conceptualizations of SDO: SDO as a personality trait (personality model), SDO as a moderator of the effects of situational variables (Person X Situation model), and SDO as a mediator of the effect of social position on prejudice (group socialization model [GSM]). Four studies (N = 1,657) looking at the relations between social positions, SDO, and prejudice in a natural setting and in a laboratory setting provide strong support for the GSM. In contrast to previous correlational findings, there is evidence of a cause (dominant social position), an effect (prejudice increases), and a mediator (SDO). These results suggest new perspectives on the integration of individual and contextual determinants of prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of soaking of whole, dehulled and ground millet and soybean seeds on phytate degradation and Phy/Fe and Phy/Zn molar ratios

The degradation and leaching of phytates, phytase activity and iron and zinc concentrations have been studied after soaking of whole seeds, dehulled seeds and flours of millet and soybean, in order to investigate the efficiency of soaking on reducing Phy/Fe and Phy/Zn molar ratios. When using millet grains, dehulling and milling before soaking facilitated the leaching of phytates and phytases in the aqueous medium and hence phytate degradation. Dehulling of soybean seeds led to a marked increase in phytate content, whereas milling favoured reactions between phytases and phytates. The Phy/Fe and Phy/Zn molar ratios decreased only slightly during soaking. The highest decreases for millet were obtained after soaking of flour for 8 h (Phy/Fe: 10.8–7.7 and Phy/Zn: 20.3–15.1), and after soaking of whole seeds for 24 h for soybean (Phy/Fe: 10.4–9.4 and Phy/Zn: 23.8–19.1). Cooking of flours with water used for soaking did not increase phytate degradation.     

Sol—Gel Synthesis of Strontium-Doped Lanthanum Manganite

Strontium-doped lanthanum manganite powders were prepared using a peroxide acetate salt based solution. The stable sol was peptized by reacting ammonium hydroxide with the precursor solution. The amorphous dried gel powders exhibit a high energy level, due to their high cations coordination and small particles, to develop the perovskite phase. This crystalline phase development from powders containing monocarboxylate ligands was characterized by thermal analysis (TG, DTG, DTA), X-ray diffraction, and IR spectroscopy. The transformation from amorphous powders into a crystallized homogeneous oxycarbonate phase in a first stage corresponds to an exothermal DTA peak at 270°C. X-ray diffraction patterns and IR spectra showed similar behavior of the powders after complete organic removal, during the conversion into perovskite phase starting at approximately 630°C and achieved about 700°C and achieved about 700°C, as well as during the sintering process.     

Blocage par injection de modes sous- harmoniques d’un oscillateur utilisant une ligne à retard à ondes de surface

A nonlinear regeneration pulsed oscillator driven by a monochromatic source has been built. Subharmonics of the resonance carrier/modulation are measured with an accuracy of 10^-10 thanks to the use of a double beats measurement set-up. The multiscale analysis of frequency readings reveals a rich fine structure which is in agreement with the nonlinear topological approach of synchronized states.