High-aspect ratio metal tips attached to atomic force microscopy cantilevers with controlled angle, length, and radius for electrostatic force microscopy

We demonstrate a method to fabricate a high-aspect ratio metal tip attached to microfabricated cantilevers with controlled angle, length, and radius, for use in electrostatic force microscopy. A metal wire, after gluing it into a guiding slot that is cut into the cantilever, is shaped into a long, thin tip using a focused ion beam. The high-aspect ratio results in considerable reduction of the capacitive force between tip body and sample when compared to a metal coated pyramidal tip.     

Genetic programming for multibiometrics

Biometric systems suffer from some drawbacks: a biometric system can provide in general good performances except with some individuals as its performance depends highly on the quality of the capture… One solution to solve some of these problems is to use multibiometrics where different biometric systems are combined together (multiple captures of the same biometric modality, multiple feature extraction algorithms, multiple biometric modalities…). In this paper, we are interested in score level fusion functions application (i.e., we use a multibiometric authentication scheme which accept or deny the claimant for using an application). In the state of the art, the weighted sum of scores (which is a linear classifier) and the use of an SVM (which is a non linear classifier) provided by different biometric systems provide one of the best performances. We present a new method based on the use of genetic programming giving similar or better performances (depending on the complexity of the database). We derive a score fusion function by assembling some classical primitives functions (+, ∗, −, … ). We have validated the proposed method on three significant biometric benchmark datasets from the state of the art.     

Impact of variable frequency microwave and rapid thermal sintering on microstructure of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticles

The effect of thermal profile on microstructure is studied in the frame of thin films deposited by inkjet-printing technology. The role of sintering temperature and thermal ramp is particularly investigated. Fast heating ramps exhibit coarse grains and pores, especially when a hybrid microwave curing is performed. This enhanced growth is attributed to the quick activation of densifying sintering regimes without undergoing thermal energy loss at low temperature. Microstructural evolution of various sintered inkjet-printed films is correlated with electrical resistivity and with the Young’s modulus determined by nanoindentation. A strong link between those three parameters is highlighted during experiments giving credit to either a surface or a fully volumetric sintering, according to the process. Sintering is then mainly triggered by surface mass transfer or by grain boundary diffusion. Silver thin films with an electrical resistivity 4–5 times higher than the bulk, has been reached in a few minutes with a Young’s modulus of 38?GPa.     

Selective extraction,structural characterisation and antifungal activity assessment of napins from an industrial rapeseed meal

This article reports an extraction–purification of napins from an industrial rapeseed meal and the assessment of their antimicrobial activity against Fusarium langsethiae. The best extraction conditions are observed at pH 2, 12% (w/w) of rapeseed meal after 15 min of extraction in water at room temperature. Under these conditions the extraction is highly selective, allowing a simple purification process (ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by desalting size exclusion chromatography) to get purified napins. These napins possessed significant anti-Fusarium activity (IC₅₀ = 70 μM) and a compact secondary structure rich in α-helix, which may explain this bioactivity.     

Execution profiling blueprints

Although traditional approaches to code profiling help locate performance bottlenecks, they offer only limited support for removing these bottlenecks. The main reason is the lack of detailed visual runtime information to identify and eliminate computation redundancy. We provide three profiling blueprints that help identify and remove performance bottlenecks. The structural distribution blueprint graphically represents the CPU consumption share for each method and class of an application. The behavioral distribution blueprint depicts the distribution of CPU consumption along method invocations and hints at method candidates for caching optimizations. The behavioral evolution blueprint compares profiles of different versions of a software system and highlights performance‐critical changes in the system. These three blueprints helped us to significantly optimize Mondrian, an open source visualization engine. Our implementation is freely available for the Pharo development environment and has been evaluated in a number of different scenarios. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

BaTiO3 incorporation effect on the dielectric properties of polymer from aqueous emulsion: An enhanced dispersion technique

An economic and environment friendly process was adapted to synthesize new dielectric composite materials. Using ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/vinyl ester of versatic acid (VeoVa) terpolymer as an aqueous emulsion provides a homogenous dispersion of BaTiO₃ (BT) particles, due to the high viscosity and polarity of the vinyl resin (VR). Composites films were obtained from these dispersions by water evaporation. The evolution of the dielectric properties as a function of the BaTiO₃ content, was correctly fitted by a Maxwell‐Garnett model. This fitting of the experimental curve shows a good dispersion of filler in the vinyl resin and the particles separation by a layer of resin as expected for the preparation method used in this study. The VR/BT composites show good synergy between the dielectric properties of the different phases of the composites due to the formation of macrodipoles and to the strong interactions between polar EVA/VeoVa groups and the BaTiO₃ particles surface. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44333.     

Influence of Process Parameters on the Morphology of Spray‐Dried BaCl2 Powders

Spray‐drying is an effective method for producing powder aggregates with controlled size and morphology. Here, we report on a systematic study aimed at determining how spray‐drying parameters such as nozzle temperature, gas flow, salt concentration and solution feed rate, influence the characteristics of BaCl₂ granules prepared from aqueous solutions. We correlate the granule characteristics to these conditions through the use of processing maps and modeling. It is found that well‐dispersed, high density and spherical aggregates, which are favorable for subsequent powder compaction and sintering, can be obtained within a limited range of processing conditions.     

Novel nucleophilic/basic and acidic organocatalysts for reaction between poorly reactive diisocyanate and diols

Original basic or acidic organic compounds derived from guanidine or phenyl phosphonic acid were specifically designed and tested as new catalysts for the bulk synthesis of polyurethane prepolymers from a precursor system with particularly low reactivity (secondary alcohol + aliphatic isocyanate at low temperature). Both families showed interesting catalytic activities at 60–80 °C, but must nevertheless be used in much higher amounts (1 mol%, i.e. between 0.15 and 0.50 wt%) than traditional metal-based catalysts. The efficiency of guanidine derivatives seems to be related to their nucleophilicity, whereas that of phosphonic acid derivatives depends on their acidity. However, the solubility of the considered species in the reactive medium also plays a major role. The water/alcohol selectivity of the catalysts, especially at room temperature, was then examined as an additional criterion. Guanidines are not selective and favor the reaction of isocyanate groups with water as much as that with alcohols. Phenyl phosphonic acid derivatives are more selective, and particularly pentafluorophenyl phosphonic acid displays a remarkable catalytic activity together with an acceptable selectivity and could represent an interesting and safer alternative to toxic tin and mercury derivatives for many industrial polyurethanes.