Coastal environment: EC‐cost 48 bioconversion projects and economic aspects

Seaweed has proved to be both a potential resource and a problem for coastal areas. In the framework of the European Communities, a scientific commission was created some 8 years ago, in order to address the matter of seaweed bioconversion in Europe. A book, recently published, represents a fair review and survey of seaweed as a resource in Europe. The matter of seaweed problems and expanded use is now under study in a new programme.

This paper traces back the development and growth of this inter‐European effort and also provides an overview of achievements.     

Lexicographic Decomposition of k-Valued Transducers

We give a new, and hopefully more easily understandable, structural proof of the decomposition of a k-valued transducer into k unambiguous functional ones, a result established by A. Weber in 1996. Our construction is based on a lexicographic ordering of computations of automata and on two coverings that can be build by means of this ordering. The complexity of the construction, measured as the number of states of the transducers involved in the decomposition, improves the original one by one exponential.     

Dynamic viscosity of olive oil as a function of composition and temperature: A first approach

Knowledge of the viscosity of virgin olive oils (VOOs) is of great importance for the design of pilot plants, to determine the time required for the settling of particles at the end of the production chain and from a sensory view point. The dynamic viscosities of French VOOs from four different cultivars (‘Aglandau’, ‘Bouteillan’, ‘Salonenque’ and ‘Tanche’) were studied as a function of their fatty acid and TAG compositions and of the temperature [10–50°C]. These four VOOs had different TAG and fatty acid compositions representative of the range of compositional variations in the main French oils. Their viscosities were similar, although small but measurable differences that depended on their compositions were apparent. All the VOO samples exhibited the same dynamic viscosity pattern over temperature. For a given temperature, the viscosity difference was the greatest between Aglandau and Salonenque oils, Aglandau being the oil with the highest viscosity. The correlation between temperature and viscosity was highlighted by an Arrhenius model for this Newtonian fluid. The Arrhenius activation energy was correlated (R² = 0.993) with the percentage of triolein, the main TAG in olive oil.     

Unique and common mechanisms of change across cognitive and dynamic psychotherapies.

The goal of this article was to examine theoretically important mechanisms of change in psychotherapy outcome across different types of treatment. Specifically, the role of gains in self-understanding, acquisition of compensatory skills, and improvements in views of the self were examined. A pooled study database collected at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Psychotherapy Research, which includes studies conducted from 1995 to 2002 evaluating the efficacy of cognitive and psychodynamic therapies for a variety of disorders, was used. Patient samples included major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, borderline personality disorder, and adolescent anxiety disorders. A common assessment battery of mechanism and outcome measures was given at treatment intake, termination, and 6-month follow-up for all 184 patients. Improvements in self-understanding, compensatory skills, and views of the self were all associated with symptom change across the diverse psychotherapies. Changes in self-understanding and compensatory skills across treatment were predictive of follow-up symptom course. Changes in self-understanding demonstrated specificity of change to dynamic psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A self-adaptive universal receiver

In this paper we describe a new Self-Adaptive Re-Configurable Terminal, based on blind recognition of the system in use. This new terminal is operates thanks to a new radio interface receiver concept comprising two functional phases. These two phases are mapped on a specific architecture previously presented in [1]. The first one is devoted to a Wide Band Analysis (Wba) of the received signal in order to find which standard is being used. The second one being the demodulation itself. In this paper we focus on thisWba. It includes an iterative process in order to find the right bandwidth which has to be compatible with the Signal Processing techniques we use. During the last step of the process, blind standard recognition is performed by means of Radial Basis Function Neural Networks, which allow making full use of the analogy between our problem and conventional pattern recognition problems. Extensive simulation with true data of signals received in our lab has been performed and confirms the interest and efficiency of this type of recognition.     

A system for automatic measurement of circadian activity deviations in telemedicine

A system for the automatic measurement of the circadian activity deviations in telemedicine has been developed within the framework of a "Health Integrated Smart Home Information System" (HIS2). HIS2 is an experimental platform for the evaluation and the development of technologies in order to ensure the security and quality of life for patients who need home based medical monitoring. Location sensors are placed in each room of the HIS2, allowing the monitoring of patient's successive activity phases within the patient's home environment. We proceeded with a sampling in an hourly schedule to detect weak rhythmic variations. Based on numerous measurements, we established a mean value with confidence limits. These also allowed us to define a zone within which the patient's activity is qualified to be "predictable." Alerts are set off if the patient's activity deviates from this zone.     

A comparative study of the removal of trivalent chromium from aqueous solutions by bentonite and expanded perlite

Local bentonite and expanded perlite (Morocco) have been characterised and used for the removal of trivalent chromium from aqueous solutions. The kinetic study had showed that the uptake of Cr(III) by bentonite is very rapid compared to expanded perlite. To calculate the sorption capacities of the two sorbents, at different pH, the experimental data points have been fitted to the Freundlich and Langmuir models, respectively, for bentonite and expanded perlite. For both sorbents the sorption capacity increases with increasing the pH of the suspensions. The removal efficiency has been calculated for both sorbents resulting that bentonite (96% of Cr(III) was removed) is more effective in removing trivalent chromium from aqueous solution than expanded perlite (40% of Cr(III) was removed). In the absence of Cr(III) ions, both bentonite and expanded perlite samples yield negative zeta potential in the pH range of 2-11. The changes of expanded perlite charge, from negative to positive, observed after contact with trivalent chromium(III) solutions was related to Cr(III) sorption on the surface of the solid. Thus, it was concluded that surface complexation plays an important role in the sorption of Cr(III) species on expanded perlite. In the case of bentonite, cation-exchange is the predominate mechanism for sorption of trivalent chromium ions, wherefore no net changes of zeta potential was observed after Cr(III) sorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, at different pH values, were also made to corroborate the zeta potential results.     

pH-metric study of the setting reaction of monocalcium phosphate monohydrate/calcium oxide-based cements

Hydraulic calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) that are used as osseous substitutes, set by an acid–base reaction between an acid calcium phosphate and a basic calcium salt (often a phosphate). In order to gain a better understanding of the setting of the monocalcium phosphate monohydrate–calcium oxide cement that we developed and in the aim to improve its mechanical properties, the setting reaction was studied by pH-metry. The two methods described in the literature were used. In the first, cement samples were prepared then crushed after different storage periods at 37 °C, 100% RH. The powder was then immersed in pure water with stirring and the pH was measured after equilibration. In the second technique, the starting materials were poured into water while stirring and the pH were followed over time. The two methods gave different results. The first procedure provided information concerning the pH of the surrounding liquid following the partial dissolution of the cement components, rather than any information about pH changes during setting. The second method is more appropriate to follow the pH variations during setting. In this second procedure, the effects of different parameters such as crushing time, stirring rate, liquid-to-powder (L/P) ratio and temperature were investigated. These parameters may impact substantially on the shape and position of the pH=f(t) curves. One or three pH jumps were observed during the setting depending on the composition of the liquid phase. The time at which these pH jumps occurred depended on the pH of the liquid phase, the concentration of the buffer, the crushing of starting materials, the L/P ratio and the temperature. Good linear correlations were obtained (i) between the time of the pH jumps and the L/P ratio and the temperature and (ii) between the time of the first pH jump and the compressive strength and the final setting time of the cements prepared with different liquid phases. It may be assumed in view of these correlations that the results obtained in dilute solution may be extrapolated to the conditions of cement sample preparation and that the mechanical properties of the cement are directly related to the phenomena that occur at the first pH jump which corresponds to precipitation of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate.