Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of a free-standing oxide film

The corrosion of low carbon steel in natural sea-water is characterized by the formation and growth of compact and thick layers composed of oxides, insoluble salts and organic materials. These layers are the result of corrosion processes induced by local environmental conditions, water oxygen supply; ionic species; bacteria and organic matter. The exchange of various species (ions, molecules, gas) between sea-water and the rust layers or the metal depends both on the kinetics of the Faradaic reactions of the entities with either the oxides or the metal, as well as on their transport properties through the different strata of the rust layers. In this work, an impedance study was carried out using the 4-electrodes cell arrangement with corrosion products picked up on steel sheet piling immersed for 25 years and analyzed as free standing membranes. This new approach is a good way to reach the specific transport and transfer properties of the oxide without being blurred by the metal influence. The physical model developed in this work was based on a transmission line, and accurately described the experimental diagrams. The electronic resistivity of the oxide layer, its porosity, the mean pore size and the reaction kinetics parameters could be determined from the fittings.     

Quantitative measurement of a new synthetic hetrazepine derivative, BN50730, in human plasma and urine by combined liquid chromatography-negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry using a particle beam interface

A new simple and sensitive assay has been developed for the quantitative measurement of BN50730 at the picomole level in human plasma and urine. The drug and the internal standard (BN50765) were measured by combined liquid chromatography-negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry with methane as the reagent gas. A simple solid-liquid extraction procedure was used to isolate BN50730 from complex biological matrices. Mild operating conditions were required to assay the parent drug with a particle beam interface from Hewlett-Packard. The mass spectrometer was tuned to monitor the intense ion m/z 333, which was generated in the ion source by a dissociative capture process. This assay was performed with 1 ml of plasma or 0.1 ml of urine, and the quantification limit of the method was statistically calculated as 1 ng ml-1. The very low relative standard deviation and mean percentage of error calculated during the different within-day or between-day repeatability assays clearly demonstrate the ruggedness of the technique for the routine determination of BN50730 in the biological fluids. Some preliminary results on the pharmacokinetics of the drug are presented to illustrate the applicability of this new powerful LC-MS method.     

Observation of deep levels associated with dislocations in n-type Hg0.3Cd0.7Te

Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) has been used to study the traps associated with dislocations in n-type Hg_0.3Cd_0.7Te. Dislocations have been generated by ion implantation at high fluence. Two of the broadened lines (E1=E _c–0.22eV and E1=E _c–0.34eV), we have observed, show a logarithmic dependence with the filling pulse. They are characteristic of point defect clouds surrounding or generated by the dislocations. An unusual broadened line (E2=E _c–0.27eV) has also been observed, its amplitude decreases for filling pulses longer than 50 s. This can be explained by a configuration change of the defect leading to the appearance of a new DLTS line. In addition, an electron trap (EP4=E _c–0.22eV), which seems to behave like an isolated point defect, has also been found.     

Reliability versus performance for critical applications

Applications implemented on critical systems are subject to both safety critical and real-time constraints. Classically, applications are specified as precedence task graphs that must be scheduled onto a given target multiprocessor heterogeneous architecture. We propose a new method for simultaneously optimizing two objectives: the execution time and the reliability of the schedule. The problem is decomposed into two successive steps: a spatial allocation during which the reliability is maximized (randomized algorithm), and a scheduling during which the makespan is minimized (list scheduling algorithm). It allows us to produce several trade-off solutions, among which the user can choose the solution that best fits the application’s requirements. Reliability is increased by replicating adequate tasks onto well chosen processors. Our fault model assumes that processors are fail-silent, that they are subject to transient failures, and that the occurrences of failures follow a constant parameter Poisson law. We assess and validate our method by running extensive simulations on both random graphs and actual application graphs. They show that it is competitive, in terms of makespan, compared to existing reference scheduling methods for heterogeneous processors (HEFT), while providing a better reliability.     

Model reduction by the Modal Identification Method in forced convection: Application to a heated flow over a backward-facing step

This numerical study focuses on the use of the Modal Identification Method to build reduced models for problems of heat convection and diffusion. The principle is to minimize a cost function based on the difference between the outputs (velocity and/or temperature) of a detailed model and the outputs of a reduced one. The reduced model structure is defined from the partial differential equations governing fluid mechanics and heat transfer in the physical system. In this paper, an advection–diffusion problem is studied: forced heat convection is considered with an incompressible, stationary, laminar 2D flow. Physical properties of the fluid are temperature independent, hence velocity is independent of temperature. The system under consideration is a channel flow over a backward-facing step with a time-varying heat flux density applied upstream of the step. Three types of reduced models have been investigated: steady fluid mechanics only, unsteady heat transfer for a given constant Reynolds number, and unsteady heat transfer for any constant Reynolds number within the range [100:800]. In this last case, the thermal reduced model is weakly coupled to the fluid reduced one. Results show that reduced models fit very well with detailed ones, and allow a large decrease of computing time.     

Micro-emboli detection: an ultrasound Doppler signal processing viewpoint

Several studies have been carried out in the last twenty years on the characterization and detection of cerebral artery emboli. From the detection point of view, the existing methods are largely based on the classical Fourier analysis of which the well known limitations provide poor accuracy. This paper first recalls existing methods based on Fourier, Wigner-Ville and wavelet approaches. It then presents new emboli detection methods based on parametric signal processing approaches. The basic idea of these parametric methods is to compare the Doppler embolic signal to its autoregressive model. The detection principle consists in constructing a decision information which contains the signature of the micro-embolus being sought. The detection is finally evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Comparison between the new methods and classical approaches is performed using a realistic embolic signal simulation. Furthermore, to validate our theoretical study, we tested our new algorithms using in vivo signals. This comparison shows the significant inaccuracy of existing methods to detect micro-emboli.     

Endothelin induces a calcium-dependent phosphorylation of PEA-15 in intact astrocytes: identification of Ser104 and Ser116 phosphorylated, respectively, by protein kinase C and calcium/calmodulin kinase II in vitro

PEA-15 (phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes, Mr = 15,000) is an acidic serine-phosphorylated protein highly expressed in the CNS, where it can play a protective role against cytokine-induced apoptosis. PEA-15 is a major substrate for protein kinase C. Endothelins, which are known to exert pleiotropic effects on astrocytes, were used to analyze further the processes involved in PEA-15 phosphorylation. Endothelin-1 or endothelin-3 (0.1 microM) induced a robust phosphorylation of PEA-15 that was abolished by the removal of extracellular calcium, but only diminished by inhibitors of protein kinase C. Microsequencing of phosphopeptides generated by digestion of PEA-15 following endothelin-1 treatment identified two phosphorylated residues: Ser104, previously recognized as the protein kinase C site, and a novel phosphoserine, Ser116, located in a consensus motif for either protein kinase casein kinase II or calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Partly purified PEA-15 was a substrate in vitro for CaMKII, but not for casein kinase II. Two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping demonstrated that the site phosphorylated in vitro by CaMKII was also phosphorylated in intact astrocytes in response to endothelin. CaMKII phosphorylated selectively Ser116 and had no effect on Ser104, but in vitro phosphorylation by CaMKII appeared to facilitate further phosphorylation by protein kinase C. Treatment of intact astrocytes with okadaic acid enhanced the phosphorylation of the CaMKII site. These results demonstrate that PEA-15 is phosphorylated in astrocytes by CaMKII (or a related kinase) and by protein kinase C in response to endothelin.     

High resolution processing techniques for ultrasound doppler velocimetry in the presence of colored noise. Part I: Nonstationary methods

Real-time flow velocity measurement is a practical issue in industrial and biomedical applications. Because their good frequency resolution, parametric methods such as autoregressive (AR) modeling and time-frequency distributions (TFD) are generally preferred to Fourier analysis. However, these methods become highly inaccurate in the presence of colored noise. We review here the principal parametric and nonparametric techniques and show their limitations in the estimation of Doppler frequency in the presence of strong colored noise. Different solutions to overcome these limitations are then proposed and compared using synthetic Doppler signals with colored noise.     

High resolution processing techniques for ultrasound doppler velocimetry in the presence of colored noise. Part II: Multiplephase pipe-flow velocity measurement

For pt.I see ibid., vol.50, no.3, p.267-78 (2003). This paper presents an application of continuous wave ultrasound Doppler velocity measurements to two-phase flow in pipes. In many petroleum wells, the multiphase flow is separated into two phases: the first is a liquid phase and the second is a gas phase with small scatterers. The problem of multiphase velocity profile measurements has not been satisfactorily solved by classical approaches due to the multiphase nature of the fluid and the presence of colored noise, which introduces a significant bias in classical frequency estimators. We propose the use of resolution frequency techniques to overcome the classical limitations. Direct estimation of Doppler frequency then obtained using either time frequency maximum frequency or arguments of poles of the parametric model that identifies the Doppler part of the signal is discussed. The tests made with synthetic Doppler signals and two-phase flow have demonstrated the excellent performance of the high resolution techniques based on reassignment and parametric techniques.