Material Constitutive Behavior Identification at High Strain Rates Using a Direct-Impact Hopkinson Device

Modern numerical simulation techniques allow nowadays obtaining accurate solutions of magnetic pulse and electrohydraulic forming/welding processes. However, one major difficulty persists: the identification of material constitutive equations behavior at levels of high strain rates reached by these processes, and which varies between 103 and 105 s-1. To address this challenge, a direct-impact Hopkinson system was developed at ECN. It permits to perform dynamic tests at very high strain rates exceeding the range of the traditional Split Hopkinson Pressure Bars and hence enable us to identify constitutive models for a wide range of strain rates. The alloy used to test this device was Ti-6Al-4V. Strain rates up to 2.5×103 s-1 were attained

Pressure Dependence of Fragile-to-Strong Transition and a Possible Second Critical Point in Supercooled Confined Water

By confining water in nano-pores of silica glass, we can bypass the crystallization and study the pressure effect on the dynamical behavior in deeply supercooled state using neutron scattering. We observe a clear evidence of a cusp-like fragile-to-strong (F-S) dynamic transition. Here we show that the transition temperature decreases steadily with an increasing pressure, until it intersects the homogenous nucleation temperature line of bulk water at a pressure of 1600 bar. Above this pressure, it is no longer possible to discern the characteristic feature of the F-S transition. Identification of this end point with the possible second critical point is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Hepatitis B testing and treatment in HIV patients in The Gambia - compliance with international guidelines and clinical outcomes

Background Compliance with WHO guidelines on HBV screening and treatment in HIV-coinfected patients is often challenging in resource limited countries and has been poorly assessed in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Between 2015 and 2016, we assessed physician’s compliance with WHO guidelines on HIV-HBV coinfection in the largest HIV clinic in The Gambia, and the hepatic outcomes in HIV-HBV coinfected patients as compared to randomly selected HIV-monoinfected controls. Results 870 HIV-infected patients regularly seen in this clinic agreed to participate in our study. Only 187 (21.5%, 95% CI 18.8–24.3) had previously been screened for HBsAg, 23 (12.3%, 95% CI 8.0–17.9) were positive of whom none had liver assessment and only 6 (26.1%) had received Tenofovir. Our HBV testing intervention was accepted by all participants and found 94/870 (10.8%, 95% CI 8.8–13.1) positive, 78 of whom underwent full liver assessment along with 40 HBsAg-negative controls. At the time of liver assessment, 61/78 (78.2%) HIV-HBV coinfected patients received ART with 7 (11.5%) on Tenofovir and 54 (88.5%) on Lamivudine alone. HIV-HBV coinfected patients had higher APRI score compared to controls (0.58 vs 0.42, p = 0.002). HBV DNA was detectable in 52/53 (98.1%) coinfected patients with 14/53 (26.4%) having HBV DNA >20,000 IU/L. 10/12 (83.3%) had at least one detectable 3TC-associated HBV resistance, which tended to be associated with increase in liver fibrosis after adjusting for age and sex (p = 0.05). Conclusions Compliance with HBV testing and treatment guidelines is poor in this Gambian HIV programme putting coinfected patients at risk of liver complications. However, the excellent uptake of HBV screening and linkage to care in our study suggests feasible improvements

Fortification des farines tropicales par l’introduction de proteines vegetales et de champignons comestibles

La fortification des aliments de base des populations constitue un moyen efficace pour contribuer à la lutte contre l’insécurité alimentaire. Le présent travail a consisté à incorporer les champignons comestibles, Pleurotus florida et la pâte de niébé dans la farine de mil. Pour y parvenir, les champignons sont produits sur des substrats à base de son de riz et de paille d’arachide. La méthode d’incorporation utilisée pour assurer le mélange est la cuisson-extrusion du type mono vis. Les farines obtenues avec ou sans ajout des champignons sont caractérisées sur le plan nutritionnel. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que les teneurs en protéines des farines varient de 13,27 % à 18,48 %, celles en minéraux de 4,68 % à 8,98 %, le fer de 92,28 % à 101,89 %, le magnésium de 3,10 % à 3,32 %, le zinc et la matière grasse de 10,75 % à 11,90 %. Au vu des résultats obtenus, la meilleure farine serait la farine composée qui présente une teneur en protéines comprise entre 15 et 22,6 %, valeur recommandée par le Codex Alimentarius pour ce type de complément alimentaire destiné aux enfants. Dans ce mélange, après extrusion, tous les minéraux ont augmenté de 5,76 mg/100g pour le fer, 101,89 mg/100g pour le magnésium, et de 3,32 mg/100g pour le zinc. Parallèlement, le taux de matière grasse est de 11,90 %, inférieur à la valeur normale (15,5 %) fixée par le Codex Alimentarius.Mots clés : Champignons comestibles, farine fortifiés, farine de mil, niéb

Measuring the Boltzmann constant by mid-infrared laser spectroscopy of ammonia

We report on our ongoing effort to measure the Boltzmann constant, $k_B,$ using the Doppler broadening technique on ammonia. This paper presents some of the improvements made to the mid-infrared spectrometer including the use of a phase-stabilized quantum cascade laser, a lineshape analysis based on a refined physical model and an improved fitting program 2 increasing the confidence in our estimates of the relevant molecular parameters, and a first evaluation of the saturation parameter and its impact on the measurement of k B. A summary of the systematic effects contributing to the measurement is given and the optimal experimental conditions for mitigating those effects in order to reach a competitive measurement of $k_B$ at a part per million accuracy level are outlined

Orbital dichotomy of Fermi liquid properties in Sr2_2RuO4_4 revealed by Raman spectroscopy

We report a polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy study of the orbital dependence of the quasiparticles properties in the prototypical multi-band Fermi liquid Sr\textsubscript{2}RuO\textsubscript{4}. We show that the quasiparticle scattering rate displays $\omega^{2}$ dependence as expected for a Fermi liquid. Besides, we observe a clear polarization-dependence in the energy and temperature dependence of the quasiparticle scattering rate and mass, with the $d_{xz/yz}$ orbital derived quasiparticles showing significantly more robust Fermi liquid properties than the $d_{xy}$ orbital derived ones. The observed orbital dichotomy of the quasiparticles is consistent with the picture of Sr\textsubscript{2}RuO\textsubscript{4} as a Hund's metal. Our study establishes Raman scattering as a powerful probe of Fermi liquid properties in correlated metals.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary Materials available at publisher sit