Four pioneers: Jany Thibault-Pénisson–Pierre Delavignette–Claude Goux–Jacques Lévy

In memory of four pioneers in the field of grain boundaries (GBs) and Interfaces, who recently expired: Jany Thibault-Pénisson (? 2011), Pierre Delavignette (? 2011), Claude Goux (? 2012) and Jacques Lévy (? 2012), I recall some of their major achievements. Jany Thibault-Pénisson was a pioneer in the use of High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. She studied dislocations in Germanium with Alain Bourret in Grenoble, then GBs in Ge and Si, their structures and their interactions with extrinsic dislocations under plastic deformation, and finally interfaces in metallic multilayers. Pierre Delavignette also was a marvellous electron microscopist who worked on dislocations in non-metallic multilayered structures with Severin Amelinckx in Mol (Belgium), and on GBs in hexagonal metals, for which he contributed to the extension of Ranganathan’s approach, together with George Bleris, Theodoros Karakostas, Gérard Nouet, Serge Hagège and others, in parallel with Hans Grimmer, David Warrington, Walter Bollmann, and Roland Bonnet. Claude Goux developed a school of processing, observation, and atomistic simulation of GBs in very pure metals, bringing to the École des Mines of Saint-Étienne what he had learnt in Vitry under Georges Chaudron in the late 1950s. He also had a strong taste for modelling, and his impulse culminated with the 1975 Conference on GBs in Metals held in Saint-Étienne. Jacques Lévy has been one of Goux’s first Ph.D. students. They probably made the first electron microscopic observations of high-angle GBs around 1966. Jacques Lévy rapidly exerted to assume important positions and became, for instance, the Director of the École des Mines of Paris. Despite all his responsibilities, he still attended IIB conferences many times.     

“In Vitro” Studies on Buccoadhesive Tablet Formulations of Hydrocortisone Hemisuccinate

Different bioadhesive and matrix-forming polymers were evaluated using “in-vitro” tests to identify a potentially convenient “in-vivo” formulation for the sustained delivery of hydrocortisone hemisuccinate to the oral cavity. The selected composition allows an erosion-diffusion mechanism coherent with the low hydrosolubility of the drug and with potential advantages for both the patient and the manufacturer.     

Guillermo Kahlo and Casasola

Abstract

The photographers Guillermo Kahlo and Agustín Víctor Casasola recorded the cultural artefacts and political events that shaped Mexican culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their photographic collections exemplify the initial uses of photography as both cultural and historical documents. In the case of Kahlo, his 25 albums, entitled Photographic Inventory cif Spanish Colonial Church Architecture in Mexico (1910),¹ were among the commemorative projects the Porfirian government sponsored to record national sights and monuments representative of Mexican cultural history for the centenary celebration of Mexican Independence (1810). Kahlo's photographic inventory was a significant government commission that documented the colonial architecture still standing in Mexico. In turn, Casasola established in 1912 the first Agenda Mexicana de Información Fotográfica that collected and produced photographs documenting the events of the Revolution. He presented the results of his endeavour in the 15-volume work, Álbum Histórico Gráfico (1921).     

Guides “bimorphes” d''ondes ultrasoniques “bimorph” ultrasonic wave guides”

An analysis of the dispersion of elastic waves is presented for two types of long ultrasonics wave-guides that we qualify of “bimorph”: (i) a “three-layer” guide made of two different materials and (ii) a “clad core” guide built up of a rectangular core surrounded by a cladding, the materials of the rod and cladding having different properties. An analytical model is proposed to describe the extensional, flexural and torsional motions in “bimorph” wave guides having two geometrical and material symmetry axes. The asymptotic behaviour of the model allows one to select the material properties which lead to modes guided essentially either in the central layer or in the core of the bimorph guide. Moreover, the dispersive properties of a “bimorph” can be controlled through the choice of geometrical and material parameters.     

“Low-Tech” Innovations

This paper is about an industrial sector which, according to the usual socio-scientific indicators, is referred to as “low-tech”, respectively as non-research intensive and which mostly comprises “traditional” industries. The interest in this sector is motivated by the contradictory situation that, on the one hand, the debate about the perspectives of modern societies focuses on the rapidly growing importance of technological innovations, knowledge and research-intensive economic sectors while, on the other hand, traditional industries make up a considerable fraction of employment and production, especially also in developed economies. On the basis of the results of extensive empirical research, this contribution tries to find answers to the basic question, whether one can speak of an innovation mode typical of the low-tech sector. The institutional based innovation systems approach forms the categorical basis of the analysis. In order to elucidate the specific features of low-tech innovations, they are, in conclusion, compared to the general characteristics of high-tech-based innovation processes.     

“Optimizing the Interaction Between the Food and Drug Administration and the Industry” The Need for Cooperation for the “Public Good”

It is a pleasure for me to be a speaker at this conference, to share the podium with a friend and former colleague, Merve Schumate, of the FDA and also to have the opportunity to appear for the first time with Dr. Parariello of Wyeth Laboratories. The title for this morning's session, “Optimizing the Interaction Between the Food and Drug Administration and the Industry”, is an interesting one. As I was preparing my remarks, I wondered if they would be different if I was giving this talk to an FDA seminar at the agency or at the Public Citizen Litigation Group, Nader's organization. If I was talking to Dr. Sidney Wolf of the Litigation Group, I m sure that his optimization plan between FDA and the Industry would be tied to the concept of having open files, everything in writing and memoranda for all meetings. I feel fairly certain that Dr. Wolf would wish to have the opportunity to have either himself or one of his colleagues attend any of the meetings that they thought worthy of their time and effort. Now if I was an FDA reviewer and was talking about optimizing the interaction, I would see Industry representatives submitting well researched NDA files and supplements. These Industry representives would quickly understand and appreciate the wisdom of my request for additional studies, more data for the NDA, and the use of certain terms and concepts in relationship to labeling and promotional activities. They would find my suggestion of a patient package insert to be extremely helpful. On the other hand, if I were to become one of Dr. Papariello's researchers, I'm sure that I would see optimization of the system occur when my explanation to the FDA reviewer was quickly understood, all my views on the relationship of the data to the study submitted were accepted without question, and the agency looked most favorably on everything that was submitted to support the application.     

Addition of “Living” Polymers onto C60.

Various “living” polymers were grafted onto C₆₀ The number of arms of the so obtained “star” molecules can be controlled by stoechiometry and/or by varying the reactivity of the carbanion on the “living” chain against a double bond on the C₆₀. Even the oxanion of “living” polyethylenoxide is able to add onto the reactive double bonds on C₆₀. In some conditions, the carbanions present on these alkaline salts of grafted fullerenes becomes able to initiate anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers. Using “living” poly(phenylvinylsulfoxide) as a precursor polymer for PA, polyacetylene chains could be attached to the fullerene.     

“The ‘De-materialisation’ Myth” and the Limits to Growth: a Commentary on Dr. Trainer's Paper

Dr. Ted Trainer's paper in this issue contends that “de-materialisation” (decreasing energy and material inputs per unit of output) is a “myth” that must now be dropped from arguments against the “limits to growth” thesis. His specific arguments against de-materialisation are questioned in this commentary. This paper goes on to argue that even if de-materialisation has not taken place, it does not follow that near-term “zero growth” becomes necessary. On the contrary, the “limits to growth” position rests on erroneous Malthusian projections, and if the scarcity and spillover effects of growth are appropriately priced, conservation and substitution will be induced. Economic growth will facilitate technological and economic solutions to pollution and depletion. Institutional arrangements that will structure incentives, such as making better use of markets to set appropriate prices, are at the heart of the sustainability problem.     

The rigour of EPO’s patentability criteria: An insight into the “induced withdrawals”

The EPO traditionally grants at least 60% of all patent applications, the rest being either withdrawn (30–35%) or refused (5%). This paper provides quantitative evidence suggesting that up to 54% of all patent withdrawals could be considered as induced by the work of EPO examiners, and hence may be taken as a more appropriate indicator of the rigour of the EPO. “Induced withdrawals” and refusals occur for up to 23% of all applications at the EPO. This share varies according to (1) the route chosen for an EPO filing; (2) the technological field that is considered; and (3) the country of residence of the assignee. The number of claims only slightly affects the share of withdrawals. However, on average, two additional claims induce an additional communication from the EPO, which in turn prolongs the procedural duration by an additional year.     

Rare events probabilities estimation by “ Russian Roulette and Splitting ” simulation technique

An advanced Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) technique—namely, “Russian Roulette and Splitting” (RR & S) technique is applied for the reliability assessment of mechanical systems under stochastic excitations. The basic features of the algorithm are described and discussed. As a numerical example the technique is used for the numerical solution of the first passage problem in the low probability range. Results are compared with available solutions, obtained by another variance reduction technique—“Double and Clump”(D & C) procedure.     

Regional report Europe: “heat pumps — status and trends”

By 1997 about 90 million heat pumps have been installed worldwide, only less than 5% are located in Europe, historically the cradle of this “thermodynamic heating and cooling process”. The majority of the approximately 4 million installed heat pumps are imported reversible air-to-air systems in southern Europe and only 30% represent the typical European-made heating only electric driven compression systems for space and water heating in buildings in central and northern Europe. The first and second oil crises has been the main cause for a first European heat pump “boom” at the end of the seventies. Consequently the following drop in energy prices negatively influenced the market in some countries. The new renaissance in Europe in the middle of the nineties was initiated by the understanding of sustainable development for a more efficient energy use and the related protection of the environment.     

“Connectivity” in urban rivers: Conflict and convergence between ecology and design

“Connectivity” is a key concept for riparian and landscape ecologists and hydrologists, who use it as a measure of natural integrity in a river ecosystem. Urban designers and politicians use the same term to promote human access to riverfronts. Effective riverfront restoration requires reconciliation of these opposing definitions. A solution is to draw upon abstract and symbolic sources, or “cognitive connectivity,” to raise awareness of the complexity of urban river ecosystems and to provide cues for appropriate use of those systems. Examples of effective cognitive connectivity include restoration plans with strong pedagogical components, water museums, and artistic interventions that reveal ecological processes (eco-revelatory design). The use of visual and conceptual connectivity offers hope for harnessing human creative energy in the interest of ecosystem integrity.     

Comparison of pure and “Latinized” centroidal Voronoi tessellation against various other statistical sampling methods

A recently developed centroidal Voronoi tessellation (CVT) sampling method is investigated here to assess its suitability for use in statistical sampling applications. CVT efficiently generates a highly uniform distribution of sample points over arbitrarily shaped M-dimensional parameter spaces. On several 2-D test problems CVT has recently been found to provide exceedingly effective and efficient point distributions for response surface generation. Additionally, for statistical function integration and estimation of response statistics associated with uniformly distributed random-variable inputs (uncorrelated), CVT has been found in initial investigations to provide superior points sets when compared against latin-hypercube and simple-random Monte Carlo methods and Halton and Hammersley quasi-random sequence methods. In this paper, the performance of all these sampling methods and a new variant (“Latinized” CVT) are further compared for non-uniform input distributions. Specifically, given uncorrelated normal inputs in a 2-D test problem, statistical sampling efficiencies are compared for resolving various statistics of response: mean, variance, and exceedence probabilities.     

The Aesthetics of Politics in the Hungarian Photobook From Our Lives

Lajos Kassák is best known outside of Hungary for his commitment to international dialogue among the avant‐gardes of the late 1910s and early twenties, as exemplified by his periodical Today (Ma). Within Hungary, however, he is also recognized for his politically driven activities during the late twenties and early thirties, and specifically, for his role in organizing and promoting the leftist activities of the Work Circle (Munka Kör). The present essay challenges this traditional characterization of Kassák's career trajectory. A careful investigation of the paragon Work Circle project – the photobook From Our Lives (A Mi Életünkbo?l) – demonstrates that Kassák's sustained interest and commitment are neither to purely aesthetic nor to purely political goals, but rather, to the very notion of art's aesthetic potential for political impact. Once we recognize that From Our Lives is a pedagogic project, we can properly understand its impact on the Hungarian worker photography movement: it was essentially an instruction manual for artists on how to construct a socially conscious image. As such, it should be distinguished from other more political works which did indeed serve as showcases for exemplary worker photographs – and even from the explicitly political messages presented in the eponymous exhibitions with which the Work Circle photobook is often mistakenly conflated. The broader applicability and implications for this sort of pedagogic analysis of a work's form and function are discussed.     

Spin-flip contribution to the “in-plane” conductivity of magnetic multilayers

The “in-plane” conductivity of magnetic multilayers is calculated within the semiclassical approximation. The band structure is obtained with a tight-binding Hubbard Hamiltonian solved in the Hartree-Fock approximation. Once self-consistency is reached, the spin-orbit coupling term is added and a further diagonalization is performed. As it is well-known, quantum well states appear in the band structure of superlattices. By calculating the conductivity as a function of the Fermi energy we find that there is a considerable influence of these quantum well states if their energy is close to the Fermi level when the spin-orbit coupling is taken into account.     

“No-background” maximum likelihood analysis in HBT interferometry

We present a new “no-background” procedure, based on the maximum likelihood method, for fitting the space-time size parameters of the particle production region in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. This procedure uses an approximation to avoid the necessity of constructing a mixed-event background before fitting the data.     

The history of science and medicine in the context of COVID-19

This spotlight issue encourages reflection on the current COVID-19 pandemic, not simply through comparisons with previous epidemics, but also by illustrating that epidemics deserve study within their broader cultural, political, scientific, and geographic contexts. Epidemics are not solely a function of pathogens; they are also a function of how society is structured, how political power is wielded in the name of public health, how quantitative data is collected, how diseases are categorised and modelled, and how histories of disease are narrated. Each of these activities has its own history. As historians of science and medicine have long pointed out, even the most basic methodologies that underpin scientific research—observation, trust in numbers, the use of models, even the experimental method itself—have a history. They should not be taken as a given, but understood as processes, or even strategies, that were negotiated, argued for and against, and developed within particular historical contexts and explanatory schemes. Knowing the history of something—whether of numbers, narratives, or disease—enables us to see a broader range of trajectories available to us. These varied histories also remind us that we are currently in the midst of a chaotic drama of uncertainty, within our own unstable and unfolding narrative.     

Conjunctions in Paris: Interactions between Rømer and Huygens

Christiaan Huygens (1692–1695) and Ole Rømer (1644–1710) closely interacted during the 1670s, when they were both in and around the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris. They were part of a small group with a shared interest in precision instruments. In the course of their interactions Rømer played a decisive role in two of Huygens renowned achievements: the wave theory of light and the design of a planetarium. Rømer's discovery of the finite speed of light, confirmed Huygens main supposition that light propagates at finite speed. The news of the discovery renewed his interest in the nature of light, resulting in 1677 in the formulation of the principle of wave propagation. Rømer's subsequent criticism of Huygens' theory induced him to seek experimental verification of his claims which he successfully did in 1679. Huygens' planetarium of 1682, in the meantime, was a direct response to the instrument Rømer presented at the Académie in 1680. According to Huygens, his instrument provided a more economic and more truthful mechanical representation of celestial motions. Despite their affinity in matters of ingenuity, Huygens and Rømer never became really close. After their departure from Paris, contact between them virtually ceased. This may be explained by the socio‐cultural differences between both savants.     

On the nature of “dynamic” strength of brittle bodies

The enhanced strength observed for bodies under dynamic loading has been attributed to fracturing duration, i.e. the time interval between the commencement of fracture at the most heavily loaded point of the body and the instant of completion of fracture which is recorded by a sensor. The “dynamic” strength of brittle bodies is shown to be related to the crack formation process.