Sexual Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior in male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

In 3 studies, a localized visual stimulus presented immediately prior to access to a female conspecific stimulated approach behavior in male Japanese quail after several conditioning trials. Development of this conditioned approach behavior was observed with 2 types of signal lights, 10- and 30-sec signal durations, large and small experimental chambers, and with male Ss housed continually in the conditioning chambers or only placed in the chamber for brief daily sessions. Conditioning also resulted in shorter latencies to initiate copulation in males given access to a female following the signal light, in comparison with males that received access to a female unannounced by the light. Although some aspects of the conditioning experience were retained over a 6-wk interval, some loss of the behavior was also observed. The conditioned behavior also decreased with repeated extinction trials, during which the signal light was presented in the absence of access to a female conspecific. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support for the bereaved: Recipients' and providers' perspectives on what is helpful.

Interviewed 40 people (mean age 44 yrs) who had lost a spouse and 54 people (mean age 42 yrs) who had lost a child in a motor vehicle accident 4–7 yrs earlier to gather information concerning support attempts from others that were helpful and unhelpful. Support attempts most frequently mentioned as helpful were contact with a similar other and opportunity to express feelings; those most frequently mentioned as unhelpful were giving advice and encouraging recovery. To understand better the unhelpful support attempts, comparisons were made with 100 control Ss' reports of what they would do or say to help a bereaved person. The possibility that unhelpful support attempts occur because people do not know what to say to bereaved persons seems implausible in view of the enlightened responses given by controls. The close correspondence between bereaved Ss' reports of how recovered they felt and control respondents' estimates of how recovered the bereaved would be suggests that unhelpful support attempts are not based on misconceptions about recovery. These findings indicate that factors inherent in the transaction between the bereaved and potential supporters should be addressed in future research concerned with understanding support attempts that fail. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substructured formulations of nonlinear structure problems – influence of the interface condition

We investigate the use of non‐overlapping domain decomposition (DD) methods for nonlinear structure problems. The classic techniques would combine a global Newton solver with a linear DD solver for the tangent systems. We propose a framework where we can swap Newton and DD so that we solve independent nonlinear problems for each substructure and linear condensed interface problems. The objective is to decrease the number of communications between subdomains and to improve parallelism. Depending on the interface condition, we derive several formulations that are not equivalent, contrarily to the linear case. Primal, dual and mixed variants are described and assessed on a simple plasticity problem. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reusable knowledge in security requirements engineering: a systematic mapping study

Security is a concern that must be taken into consideration starting from the early stages of system development. Over the last two decades, researchers and engineers have developed a considerable number of methods for security requirements engineering. Some of them rely on the (re)use of security knowledge. Despite some existing surveys about security requirements engineering, there is not yet any reference for researchers and practitioners that presents in a systematic way the existing proposals, techniques, and tools related to security knowledge reuse in security requirements engineering. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by looking into drawing a picture of the literature on knowledge and reuse in security requirements engineering. The questions we address are related to methods, techniques, modeling frameworks, and tools for and by reuse in security requirements engineering. We address these questions through a systematic mapping study. The mapping study was a literature review conducted with the goal of identifying, analyzing, and categorizing state-of-the-art research on our topic. This mapping study analyzes more than thirty approaches, covering 20 years of research in security requirements engineering. The contributions can be summarized as follows: (1) A framework was defined for analyzing and comparing the different proposals as well as categorizing future contributions related to knowledge reuse and security requirements engineering; (2) the different forms of knowledge representation and reuse were identified; and (3) previous surveys were updated. We conclude that most methods should introduce more reusable knowledge to manage security requirements.     

The Multivalent Effect in Glycosidase Inhibition: Probing the Influence of Valency,Peripheral Ligand Structure,and Topology with Cyclodextrin‐Based Iminosugar Click Clusters

In view of recent reports of a strong multivalent effect in glycosidase inhibition, a library of β‐CD‐based multivalent iminosugars has been efficiently synthesized by way of Cu^I‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). In combination with the first application of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments to the study of multivalent iminosugar–enzyme interactions, the inhibition properties of these click clusters were evaluated on a panel of glycosidases. The structural parameters that were varied include valency, peripheral ligand structure, and topology. The inhibition results obtained with the iminosugar clusters further highlight the importance of multivalency in the inhibition of α‐mannosidase. Generally, the evaluated multivalent iminosugars displayed comparable thermodynamic signatures of binding towards α‐mannosidase (Jack bean): that is, large negative enthalpies of complexation coupled with small entropies of either sign. In addition, the enthalpy–entropy compensation observed in all tested cases may be attributed to a common mechanism of dissociation for the enzyme–multivalent iminosugar interactions. The measured binding stoichiometries indicated that each iminosugar cluster interacts with no more than one protein molecule.     

Comparison of the behaviour of various geotextiles used in the filtration of clayey sludge: An experimental study

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of various geotextiles used to filter clayey sludge. The use of geotextiles to filter clayey sludge or suspensions of fine particles in water is more complex than that for filtering suspensions of granular soils. In practice, such applications generally use flocculants to postpone the formation of a low-permeability filter cake. The objective of the present study, which does not use flocculants, is to determine how geotextile characteristics affect the capacity of the geotextile to filter clayey sludge. Three key questions are addressed: (1) What are the main differences between vertical and horizontal filtration? (2) How do geotextile characteristics (nature, opening size, permeability, etc.) affect its capacity to filter clayey sludge (3) How do clayey sludge characteristics (i.e., grain size distribution and concentration)? and the type of flow (i.e., constant head or constant flow) affect the filtering capacity of geotextiles? To evaluate the capacity of a geotextile to filter clayey sludge, we propose three relevant criteria and analyse two filtration phases induced by different cake-formation processes (controlled by the geotextile and controlled by the filter cake). To determine the main differences between vertical and horizontal filtration, the settling of fines in the testing device and its influence on the results are analysed and discussed. This study shows that, for the various clayey sludge tested, the geotextiles (needle-punched nonwoven and thermally bonded nonwoven) with the smallest opening sizes (O₉₀?≤?60?μm) give the most promising results for filtering fines without the use of flocculants. Of these geotextiles, the thermally bonded nonwoven structure seems to offer the best filtration performance for the largest range of fines concentration in the sludge.     

Identification of the Main Degradation Products of Patulin Generated Through Heat Detoxication Treatments

The chemical stability of patulin (PAT) was studied in model aqueous media at different temperatures and pH values in the presence and absence of sulfites. At pH 6, 50% was degraded within one hour at 100°C. At lower pH the detoxication efficiency was strongly reduced. The compound 3‐keto‐5‐hydroxy‐pentanal was shown to be the main degradation product of patulin. As the hemiacetal function has to be transformed into an aldehyde before retroaldolization and lactone hydrolysis, sulfites, as expected, improved detoxication, especially at high pH. At pH 7 in the presence of 50 ppm sulfite, PAT was completely degraded within 3 h at 25°C.     

Potential of near infrared spectroscopy to assess hot-water-soluble extractive content and decay resistance of a tropical hardwood

The ability to identify both low- and high-durability samples in a population of naturally durable samples would allow more rational use of these materials, for example, using samples in the lower ranges of durability in non-soil contact. One possible method for rapidly assessing differences in heartwood characteristics related to durability is near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) coupled with multivariate statistical methods. A number of recent studies suggest that NIR can be related to a variety of wood properties, including extractive content. There are, however, few data on the ability of this technique to assess decay resistance, especially in hardwoods or species with high natural durability. In this report, the ability of NIR to predict both extractive content and resistance to fungal attack in Goncalo alves (Astronium graveolens) was assessed. NIR spectra accurately predicted hot-water-soluble extractive content of A. graveolens and its susceptibility to the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor. A. graveolens was very resistant to attack by the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum and NIR spectra were not useful predictors of weight loss. NIR spectroscopy may be a useful tool for rapidly assessing the extractive content and decay resistance of naturally durable wood.     

The synthesis and characterization of copper-based metal–organic framework/graphite oxide composites

New composites of a copper-based metal–organic framework and graphite oxide were synthesized with different ratios of HKUST-1 (also called MOF-199) and graphite oxide. These compounds, as well as the parent materials, were characterized by X-ray diffraction, sorption of nitrogen, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and sorption of hydrogen. The composites exhibit features similar to HKUST-1 as well as an increased porosity compared to the parent materials. The formation of new small pores is demonstrated by an increase in the hydrogen uptake. The results suggest that the building process of the composites occurs via the reaction/binding of the copper dimers from the HKUST-1 with/to the functional groups in graphite oxide (epoxy, carboxylic, hydroxylic, sulfonic).     

Adapting the French nuclear fleet to integrate variable renewable energies via the production of hydrogen: Towards massive production of low carbon hydrogen?

Producing low-carbon hydrogen at a competitive rate is becoming a new challenge with respect to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We examine this issue in the French context, which is characterised by a high nuclear share and the target to increase variable renewables by 2050. The goal is to evaluate the extent to which excess nuclear power could contribute to producing low-carbon hydrogen.Our approach involves designing scenarios for nuclear and renewables, modelling and evaluating the potential nuclear hydrogen production volumes and costs, examining the latter through the scope of hydrogen market attractiveness and evaluating the potential of CO₂ mitigation.This article shows that as renewable shares increase, along with the hydrogen market expected growth driven by mobility uses, opportunities are created for the nuclear operator. If nuclear capacities are maintained, nuclear hydrogen production could correspond to the demand by 2030. If not, possibilities could still exist by 2050.