Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes and their Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review

Thermally conductive polymer composites offer new possibilities for replacing metal parts in several applications, including power electronics, electric motors and generators, heat exchangers, etc., thanks to the polymer advantages such as light weight, corrosion resistance and ease of processing. Current interest to improve the thermal conductivity of polymers is focused on the selective addition of nanofillers with high thermal conductivity. Unusually high thermal conductivity makes carbon nanotube (CNT) the best promising candidate material for thermally conductive composites. However, the thermal conductivities of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are relatively low compared with expectations from the intrinsic thermal conductivity of CNTs. The challenge primarily comes from the large interfacial thermal resistance between the CNT and the surrounding polymer matrix, which hinders the transfer of phonon dominating heat conduction in polymer and CNT. This article reviews the status of worldwide research in the thermal conductivity of CNTs and their polymer nanocomposites. The dependence of thermal conductivity of nanotubes on the atomic structure, the tube size, the morphology, the defect and the purification is reviewed. The roles of particle/polymer and particle/particle interfaces on the thermal conductivity of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are discussed in detail, as well as the relationship between the thermal conductivity and the micro- and nano-structure of the composite

A General Approach for Predicting the Filtration of Soft and Permeable Colloids: The Milk Example

Membrane filtration operations (ultra-, microfiltration) are now extensively used for concentrating or separating an ever-growing variety of colloidal dispersions. However, the phenomena that determine the efficiency of these operations are not yet fully understood. This is especially the case when dealing with colloids that are soft, deformable, and permeable. In this paper, we propose a methodology for building a model that is able to predict the performance (flux, concentration profiles) of the filtration of such objects in relation with the operating conditions. This is done by focusing on the case of milk filtration, all experiments being performed with dispersions of milk casein micelles, which are sort of ″natural″ colloidal microgels. Using this example, we develop the general idea that a filtration model can always be built for a given colloidal dispersion as long as this dispersion has been characterized in terms of osmotic pressure Π and hydraulic permeability k. For soft and permeable colloids, the major issue is that the permeability k cannot be assessed in a trivial way like in the case for hard-sphere colloids. To get around this difficulty, we follow two distinct approaches to actually measure k: a direct approach, involving osmotic stress experiments, and a reverse-calculation approach, that consists of estimating k through well-controlled filtration experiments. The resulting filtration model is then validated against experimental measurements obtained from combined milk filtration/SAXS experiments. We also give precise examples of how the model can be used, as well as a brief discussion on the possible universality of the approach presented here

Indico Workshop 3.5

At CTBTO, we have implemented an Elastic Search plugin, derived from the CERN Citadel plugin. As we are using Elastic Search in many areas, but we do not have a need for the Citadel middleware, this solution works great for us. SuperEvent is an event platform and a mobile app that we use for our SnT conference. We have created a LiveSync agent plugin to interface with SuperEvent API. As SuperEvent also needs to be alerted when the registration information changes, we have enhanced Indico's LiveSync plugin to include registration information

Les médicaments biosimilaires : enjeux et leviers pour leur développement dans le marché de ville en France

When the patents protecting a biological drug expire, other laboratories can market so-called "biosimilar" drugs. Biosimilars are safe medicines that are comparable to their reference biologics in terms of quality, safety and efficacy. As with generic drugs, their introduction into the market stimulates competition, offering significant cost-savings potential for our healthcare system. The market for biosimilar drugs is currently booming. However, they are still struggling to develop, especially in the French retail pharmacy market. Numerous levers and experiments are being set up in France, both in the hospital market and the out-of-hospital market, to improve the use of biosimilar drugs and increase their penetration rate in their reference market. A new mission for the dispensing pharmacist goes in this direction: the substitution of biologics. It is essential that the entire profession focus on patient information and therapeutic education if this mission is to succeed. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that biosimilar drugs are comparable to their reference biologic in terms of quality, safety and efficacy, in order to reassure healthcare professionals and patients alike. It also provides an analysis of the market for these drugs, and presents the various experiments underway to facilitate their deployment in France.Lorsque les brevets protégeant un médicament biologique arrivent à échéance, d'autres laboratoires peuvent commercialiser des médicaments appelés "biosimilaires". Ces derniers sont des médicaments sûrs et comparables à leurs médicaments biologiques de référence en termes de qualité, de sécurité et d'efficacité. A l'instar des médicaments génériques, leur mise sur le marché permet de stimuler la concurrence, offrant un potentiel d'économie non négligeable pour notre système de santé. Actuellement, le marché des médicaments biosimilaires est en plein expansion. Cependant, ils peinent encore à se développer, surtout dans le marché de ville français. De nombreux leviers et expérimentations sont mis en place sur notre territoire, que ce soit sur le marché hospitalier et le marché de ville, afin d'améliorer le recours aux médicaments biosimilaires, et augmenter le taux de pénétration sur leur marché de référence. Une nouvelle mission pour le pharmacien d'officine va dans ce sens : la substitution des médicaments biologiques. Il est impératif que toute la profession se mobilise sur l'information et l'éducation thérapeutique du patient pour réussir au mieux cette mission. Cette thèse a pour but de démontrer que les médicaments biosimilaires sont comparables d'un point de vue qualité, sécurité et efficacité par rapport à leur médicament biologique de référence afin de rassurer les professionnels de santé et les patients. Elle fait également une analyse du marché de ces médicaments pour dresser un état des lieux et elle présente les différentes expérimentations en cours pour faciliter leur déploiement sur notre territoire

Le débriefing postsimulation en santé. Que nous apprend-il et comment ?

International audienceAims Debriefing is a fundamental part of simulation training in health care, but remains a complex and difficult process to put in place. The aim of this article is to define the postsimulation debriefing, to clarify objectives and identify the main principles of debriefing with regard to the current literature. Results Several definitions of postsimulation debriefing exist in the literature, and have in common the reflexive practice with respect to action performed by the participants. This guided or facilitated analysis is carried out in a context of social interaction within an experiential learning cycle. The purpose of debriefing is to understand the student’s reaction and reasoning based on observations (from actions and results of the simulation), so as to validate or rebuild them. Debriefing is typically carried out in three phases: reaction–description, analysis, and summary–transposition, all of which need to be adapted to account for multiple variables. In 2011, Raemer et al. proposed that a debriefing takes place using the 5 “W” principles: Who, What, When, Where, and Why, which forms the basis of our analysis. Conclusion Debriefing is one of the principal parts of a fullscale medical simulation. It is a complex multiple-level process. The completion of a debriefing remains a difficult exercise for trainers. Beyond the broad principles discussed in this article, many questions remain unanswered

Micromechanics of soft particles

Materials that contain soft, deformable particles exhibit a rich range of macroscopic mechanical properties. Experimental access to the mechanics at the scale of a single particle is the basis for studying and understanding the macroscopic mechanics of these materials. In this paper, we discuss experimental methods that can be used to characterize the mechanics of microscopic soft particles. We focus on the recently developed capillary micromechanics method, which yields the full linear elastic behavior of a single particle. We validate the method by comparing results for the compressive modulus to osmotic compression measurements, which provide the most direct and unambiguous measure of compressibility. We find good agreement between the two methods on a system of deformable and compressible poly-N-isopropylacrylamide microgel particles. Our results thus support the validity of the capillary micromechanics method and suggest that it could be applied to a wide range of materials that consist of deformable soft objects