Ergonomic contribution of ABLE exoskeleton in automotive industry

In PSA Peugeot Citroen factories, high precision requirements of workstations make them being manual. One of the main goal of the car manufacturer is to minimize the pain of workers while maintaining high efficiency of production lines. Consequently, assisting operators with an exoskeleton is a potential solution for improving ergonomics of painful workstations while respecting industrial constraints. To determine ergonomic performances of an exoskeleton, human joint angles and torques, ground reaction forces, and duration of operations are analysed for eight subjects performing a representative screwing task. Experiments were performed using ABLE upper-limb exoskeleton, developed by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), which has the functionality to compensate arm and tools loads. Results show a clear reduction of the sum of the joints torques, up to 38.9%, given by ABLE supply and invite to make concrete the use of exoskeletons in car assembly lines.     

Tissue variation in hydrocarbon composition in the rabbit

This study, which deals with the distribution of hydrocarbons in seven types of rabbit tissues, was done for the purpose of providing information that might help shed light on the biological relevance of the hydrocarbons in mammalian metabolism. Liver, kidneys, brain, spleen, skeletal muscle, perinephric adipose, and a sample of blood serum were collected from a single animal for analysis of their hydrocarbon composition. The analytical methodology consisted of solvent extraction, saponification (adipose), elution chromatography on hydrated alumina, and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hydrocarbons were detected in all of the tissues examined at concentrations estimated to range from 0.1 to 0.01% of the total lipid extracted. Three quite distinct distribution modes were recognized. The bulk of the identified components consisted of normal, saturated, nonterpenoid hydrocarbons in the C₁₆ to C₃₃ range. Squalene, phytene, phytadiene, and pristane were the only terpenoids detected. Nonterepenoid branched (iso andanteiso) hydrocarbons were identified unequivocally and in significant amounts in the muscle only. The adipose was the only tissue which was relatively rich in monoalkenes, and its overall hydrocarbon composition closely resembled that of the feed. The results of the study are not consistent with metabolic inertness. The observed qualitative and quantitative differences might reflect function and metabolic activities of the individual organs in a way yet to be elucidated. Presented in part at the AOCS Spring Meeting, New Orleans, April, 1976.     

Structures and morphologies of cast and plastically strained polyamide 6 films as evidenced by confocal Raman microspectroscopy and atomic force microscopy

Both confocal Raman microspectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been undertaken to study the crystalline and the morphological aspects of cast PA 6 films at a sub-microscopic scale. The percentages of the different crystalline structures present within PA 6 cast films, i.e. the monoclinic α, the pseudo-hexagonal β, and the monoclinic γ, have been measured by confocal Raman microspectroscopy. In cast films, the prevailing structure is the β one. AFM has been used to characterize the morphology of the PA 6 films. Simultaneously, the deformed state has been considered as well. Our main interest has been to follow the evolution of the percentage of each crystalline structure as a function of the plastic deformation mechanisms which are responsible of the yielding of PA 6 films: shear banding for temperatures T lower than 160 °C and formation of fibrils for      

Fractal characterization of the fissures occuring during polymerization of low-profile unsaturated polyester resins

Blends of unsaturated polyester resin and polyvinylacetate (PVAc) were cured between two glass slides. In this case, the low-profile effect arises by fissuring with a fractal geometry. This paper shows how the fractal dimension of the fissures depends on the PVAc amount and on the cure temperature. These results are discussed with the present knowledge about the polyester network morphology in two phases more or less co-continuous.     

Heterogeneous asymmetric reactions. 23. Enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate over cinchonine- and α-isocinchonine-modified platinum catalysts

The enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate to (S)-ethyl lactate over cinchonine- and -isocinchonine-modified Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts was studied as a function of modifier concentration and reaction temperature. The maximum enantioselectivities obtained under the applied mild conditions were 89% ee using cinchonine (0.014 mmoldm^–3, 1 bar H₂, 23°C, 6% AcOH in toluene), and 76% ee in the case of -isocinchonine (0.14 mmoldm^–3, 1 bar H₂, –10°C, 6% AcOH in toluene). Since -isocinchonine of rigid structure exists only in anti-open conformation these data provide additional experimental evidence to support the former suggestion concerning the dominating role of anti-open conformation in these cinchona-modified enantioselective hydrogenations.     

The fatty acid composition of purified fractions of cold-pressed peanut oil

Cold-pressed peanut oil was separated into chromatographically homogeneous fractions by column chromatography. The fatty acid composition of the major fractions was determined by gas chromatography. The phosphatides, and especially the cephalins, had a higher palmitate content than did the triglycerides. Palmitate was the dominant fatty acid in the phosphatidyl-serines.     

Silane functionalization of perfluoroether oligomers for reaction management and morphology control of two‐phase epoxy networks

Mixtures of an epoxy resin, hardener, and acid functionalized perfluoroether oligomers will readily undergo phase separation during curing. However, the conditions to bring about the growth of nuclei into microscopic particles have hitherto been found only for systems cured with anhydrides. In the present study perfluoroether oligomers were functionalized by established procedures to introduce both carboxylic acid groups and alkoxysilane groups in sites within the chain extended segments. The presence of alkoxysilane groups together with the prereaction step with an excess epoxy resin, prior to the addition of the aromatic amine hardener, induced phase separation by a nucleation‐and‐growth mechanism. The dual functionality in the perfluoroether oligomer was even more beneficial when the alkoxysilane groups were hydrolyzed prior to the addition of the amine hardener. Under such circumstances the precipitation of the perfluoroether oligomer occurred quantitatively, as indicated by the complete absence of any plasticization effects in the epoxy matrix. From electron microscopy examinations, thermal analysis, and measurements of mechanical properties it was possible to deduce a plausible mechanism for the formation of the typical core‐shell aggregates within the precipitated particles for these systems, which could also be applied to other systems, such as those using carboxylic‐acid‐terminated butadiene acrylonitrile oligomers. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 1036–1049, 2005     

MPaaS: Mobility prediction as a service in telecom cloud

Mobile applications and services relying on mobility prediction have recently spurred lots of interest. In this paper, we propose mobility prediction based on cellular traces as an infrastructural level service of telecom cloud. Mobility Prediction as a Service (MPaaS) embeds mobility mining and forecasting algorithms into a cloud-based user location tracking framework. By empowering MPaaS, the hosted 3rd-party and value-added services can benefit from online mobility prediction. Particularly we took Mobility-aware Personalization and Predictive Resource Allocation as key features to elaborate how MPaaS drives new fashion of mobile cloud applications. Due to the randomness of human mobility patterns, mobility predicting remains a very challenging task in MPaaS research. Our preliminary study observed collective behavioral patterns (CBP) in mobility of crowds, and proposed a CBP-based mobility predictor. MPaaS system equips a hybrid predictor fusing both CBP-based scheme and Markov-based predictor to provide telecom cloud with large-scale mobility prediction capacity.     

Improved activity and thermostability of Candida antarctica lipase B by DNA family shuffling

DNA family shuffling was used to create chimeric lipase B proteins with improved activity toward the hydrolysis of diethyl 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)glutarate (DDG). Three homologous lipases from Candida antarctica ATCC 32657, Hyphozyma sp. CBS 648.91 and Crytococcus tsukubaensis ATCC 24555 were cloned and shuffled to generate a diverse gene library. A high-throughput screening assay was developed and used successfully to identify chimeric lipase B proteins having a 20-fold higher activity toward DDG than lipase B from C.antarctica ATCC 32657 and a 13-fold higher activity than the most active parent derived from C.tsukubaensis ATCC 24555. In addition, the stability characteristics of several highly active chimeric proteins were also improved as a result of family shuffling. For example, the half-life at 45 degrees C and melting point (T(m)) of one chimera exceeded those of lipase B from C.antarctica ATCC 32657 by 11-fold and 6.4 degrees C, respectively, which closely approached the stability characteristics of the most thermostable parent derived from Hyphozyma sp. CBS 648.91.     

Viscoelastic effects on the scratch resistance of polymers: relationship between mechanical properties and scratch properties at various temperatures

Scratch durability of polymer surfaces and coatings is becoming critical for the increasing use of these materials in new applications, replacing other materials with harder surfaces.

Scratch resistance of polymers has been the subject of numerous studies, which have led to specific definitions for plastic deformation characterization and fracture resistance during scratch testing. Viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior during a scratch process have been related to dynamic mechanical properties that can be measured via dynamic nano-indentation testing. Yet, the understanding of the origin of the fracture process of a polymer during scratch remains approximate. Parameters like tip shape and size, scratch velocity and loading rate, applied strain and strain rates, have been considered critical parameters for the fracture process, but no correlation has been clearly established.

The goal of this work is to define and analyze scratch parameters that relate to mechanical properties. The evolution of scratch resistance parameters as a function of temperature and strain rate, compared to the evolution of dynamic mechanical properties obtained from indentation and uniaxial tensile tests over a range of temperature for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) helped in identifying a correlation between the tensile stress–strain behavior and scratch fracture toughness.

This correlation brings a new understanding of the origin of the fracture mechanisms during a scratch process. In particular, it is demonstrated that the characteristic strain applied by the indenter is a most relevant parameter to describe the fracture resistance during a scratch process, independently of the indenter geometry.