To buy or not to buy-evaluating commercial AI solutions in radiology (the ECLAIR guidelines).

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made impressive progress over the past few years, including many applications in medical imaging. Numerous commercial solutions based on AI techniques are now available for sale, forcing radiology practices to learn how to properly assess these tools. While several guidelines describing good practices for conducting and reporting AI-based research in medicine and radiology have been published, fewer efforts have focused on recommendations addressing the key questions to consider when critically assessing AI solutions before purchase. Commercial AI solutions are typically complicated software products, for the evaluation of which many factors are to be considered. In this work, authors from academia and industry have joined efforts to propose a practical framework that will help stakeholders evaluate commercial AI solutions in radiology (the ECLAIR guidelines) and reach an informed decision. Topics to consider in the evaluation include the relevance of the solution from the point of view of each stakeholder, issues regarding performance and validation, usability and integration, regulatory and legal aspects, and financial and support services. KEY POINTS: • Numerous commercial solutions based on artificial intelligence techniques are now available for sale, and radiology practices have to learn how to properly assess these tools. • We propose a framework focusing on practical points to consider when assessing an AI solution in medical imaging, allowing all stakeholders to conduct relevant discussions with manufacturers and reach an informed decision as to whether to purchase an AI commercial solution for imaging applications. • Topics to consider in the evaluation include the relevance of the solution from the point of view of each stakeholder, issues regarding performance and validation, usability and integration, regulatory and legal aspects, and financial and support services

Adherence measurements and corrosion resistance in primer/hot-dip galvanized steel systems

This paper focuses on the adherence during ageing of a primer (made of polyester resins crosslinked with melamine) applied onto hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel for coil coating application and its influence on corrosion protection. A chromium-free surface treatment, composed of fluorotitanic acid, phosphoric acid, manganese phosphate, and vinylphenol was applied on the HDG steel to obtain high corrosion resistance and high adherence of a polyester and melamine primer. The influence of the manganese phosphate on the corrosion and adherence was investigated. To measure the adherence between the metal and the primer, a three-point flexure test was set up. The adherence was then linked with corrosion resistance during ageing, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Two images of Nantes as a ‘Green Model’ of Urban Planning and Governance: The ‘Collaborative City’ Versus the ‘Slow City’

This article examines how the city of Nantes, European Green Capital in 2013, came to promote plans for a new international airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Deploying poststructuralist discourse theory, it analyses how the highly politicised struggle against the airport reveals the limits of the Nantes model of urban sustainability and collaboration, giving rise to a counter model, which we provisionally characterise as the ‘slow city’. While the struggle against the airport can be understood as a rural social movement, we show how its ideals and logics have been progressively displaced to Nantes itself, disclosing new images and possibilities of urban governance

Rubber-toughened epoxy loaded with carbon nanotubes: structure-property relationships

The paper reports on the preparation, structure and properties of ternary thermosetting blends, based on DGEBA epoxy, cured with 3,3′-DDS and modified by the addition of CTBN reactive liquid rubber and/or 0.3wt% of commercial multi- walled carbon nanotubes. The toughening effect of the phase-separated rubber particles is enhanced by the presence of the nanotubes, through a change in the morphology. In the absence of the rubber, the nanotubes alone produce a minimal effect upon the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the resin. However, the electrical conductivity of the cured resin samples is found to increase by five orders of magnitude, up to 3.6×10-3 S/m in the ternary bl

Effects of organic and inorganic treatment agents on the formation of conversion layer on hot-dip galvanized steel: An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

International audienceThe formation of a Cr-free conversion layer on hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel involves various interfacial processes which radically influence the composition of the coating and thus its performance. Here, we investigate the role of the main constituents contained in the treatment bath, the polymeric compounds and manganese phosphate species, by using derivative versions from the standard solution. A detailed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis allowed distinction between oxygen originating from polymeric compounds and oxygen of inorganic nature in oxides/hydroxides or phosphate species. Our results revealed that manganese phosphate present in the treatment bath promotes the polymer adsorption on HDG substrate. Angle-resolved XPS and depth profile showed the presence of TiO2 layer on the outer part of the conversion layer, when polymeric compounds are not detected

Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins in Liposomes

International audienc

Study of a chromium-free treatment on Hot-Dip Galvanized steel: Electrochemical behaviour and performance in a saline medium

Times Cited: 0 Article English Cited References Count: 29 659bpThis paper focuses on the physicochemical characterization and on the electrochemical behaviour of a Cr-free treatment applied on Hot-Dip Galvanized (HDG) steel. The treatment is composed of fluorotitanic acid, manganese phosphate, phosphoric acid and an organic compound Effects of the two major constituents of the solution e the organic phase and manganese phosphate) on the homogeneity, defects, electrochemical behaviour and composition of the conversion layer were investigated For this purpose, electrochemical tests were performed in a 3 5% NaCl medium for HDG samples treated with the standard version of the Cr-free treatment or with derivative versions without either manganese phosphate or the organic compound The conversion coating obtained with the standard Cr-free solution leads to a significant decrease in the corrosion current density (I-corr). On the basis of polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses, it was shown that it also limits oxygen diffusion to the HDG substrate. In the absence of either manganese phosphate or the organic compound, the surface morphology is noticeably different. Depth profiling analyses using Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GDOES) indicate the formation of thinner layers when compared with the standard-treated sample. As a consequence, the performance of the conversion layer is significantly affected. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserve