The Problem of Prevention

prevention ; accidents ; Volunteer's Dilemma; learning; career concerns

Electrophoretic impregnation of porous anodic aluminum oxide film by silica nanoparticles

In this paper, it is proposed to study the deposition of nanoparticles by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) inside a porous anodic aluminum oxide film. Despite the presence of a highly resistive barrier layer at the metal-anodic film interface, porous anodic films on AA 1050A were successfully filled by 16-nm, surface modified silica particles. During this study it was shown that both the colloidal suspension conductivity and the applied electric field drive the penetration into the porous film. FEG-SEM observations showed that large (130-nm diameter), linear pores of 10 μm in length can be completely filled in 1 min. These results attest that porous anodic films can be efficiently filled with nanoparticles by EPD despite the presence of the barrier layer

CONVERSION OF A LAMB PRODUCTION SYSTEM TO ORGANIC FARMING: HOW TO MANAGE, FOR WHICH RESULTS?

Two sheep flocks were managed organically (for two years from conversion onwards) under different lambing strategies (1 lambing/year vs. 3 lambings every two years). The second system was tested as there was a producer’s interest in high productivity that is a guarantee of good economic results in conventional. Reproduction, feeding, lamb production, carcass quality, health (particularly internal parasitism), economic return of the flock, grass production, and pasture biodiversity were evaluated. The lambs were bred under low therapeutic input. The economical advantage of increasing lambing frequency was not demonstrated, whereas this strategy complexified management and resulted in higher internal parasitic infection of the lambs, and finally showed a lower stability. There were difficulties in establishing a very high feed self-sufficiency in both systems, especially the more intensive system (4 points lower), due to harsh climatic conditions; following this five-year experiment, we are changing our strategy to provide nitrogen in the systems

Electrochemical oxidation of oxalic acid and hydrazinium nitrate on platinum in nitric acid media

Several studies in the literature have investigated the electrochemical effects of oxalic acid and hydrazine on various materials in neutral (pH buffered to 7), basic or weakly acidic media (pH 6). The present work proposes electrochemical techniques that allow for the study of the electrochemical behavior, on a Pt electrode, of oxalic acid and hydrazinium nitrate to better understand their oxidation mechanisms in a nitric acid medium at a pH below 1; in addition, some experiments were carried out to define an electrochemical method that would allow for the simultaneous detection of these species when present within process effluent in very acidic solutions. Some physical data regarding oxalic acid and hydrazinium nitrate were also determined: anodic oxidation of hydrazinium nitrate and oxalic acid were observed at 0.2 V and 0.7 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively. The diffusion coefficients of hydrazinium nitrate and oxalic acid were found to be 5.2 × 10−6 and 2.9 × 10−7 cm2 s−1, respectively. An experimental design approach demonstrated the influence of nitric acid concentrations on the diffusion coefficients of these species

CONVERSION OF A LAMB PRODUCTION SYSTEM TO ORGANIC FARMING: HOW TO MANAGE, FOR WHAT RESULTS?

Two sheep flocks were managed organically for two years from conversion under different lambing strategies (1 lambing/year vs. 3 lambings every two years). The second system was tested because pf a producer’s interest in high productivity, which is a guarantee of good economic results in conventional production.. Reproduction, feeding, lamb production, carcass quality, health (particularly internal parasitism), economic return of the flock, grass production, and pasture biodiversity were evaluated. The lambs were bred with low therapeutic inputs. No economic advantage of increasing lambing frequency was demonstrated, whereas this strategy complicated management and resulted in higher internal parasitic infection of the lambs, and finally showed lower stability. There were difficulties in establishing a very high feed self-sufficiency in both systems, especially the more intensive system (4 points lower), due to harsh climatic conditions. Following this five-year experiment, we are changing our strategy to provide nitrogen in the systems

Quaternary faulting in the central Paris basin: Evidence for coseismic rupture and liquefaction

International audienceWe describe new evidence of Quaternary faulting observable in large outcrop exposures (trenches and carries) near Romilly-sur-Seine in the centre of Paris basin. Coeval normal or reverse faults affect sand, marl and gravel units that also expose liquefaction features. Quaternary units with thicknesses ranging from decimetre to metre are sealed by non-deformed deposits. The coexistence of soft and brittle tectonics with ~1 m vertical offset in a single cross-section, affecting different stratigraphic levels, reflects their diachronic nature and attest for their coseismic origin. The faulting of young deposits visible in the paleoseismic sites belong to the major regional tectonic structures, i.e. the Omey and Vittel fault system that affects the late Quaternary units of the east Paris basin. Their activity known locally as Ypresian polyphased seismites, seems to have continued until the late Quaternary. The Quaternary ruptures and coseismic nature of the fault system call for a realistic seismic hazard assessment in this intraplate tectonic environment

Introducing Simulation and Model Animation in the MDE Topcased Toolkit

International audienceThe Topcased project aims at developing a modular and generic CASE environment for model driven development of safety critical systems. Model validation is a key feature in this project and model simulation is a major way for validation. The purpose of this paper is to present the current Topcased process for building model simulators and animators. After introducing the functional requirements for model simulation and animation, it is explained how simulation is currently being integrated in the Topcased environment, presenting the main components of a simulator: a model animator, a scenario builder and a simulation engine. The approach is illustrated by the presentation of the first simulation experiment conducted in the project: the UML 2 StateMachines case study