Audio mixing in a tri-port nano-electro-mechanical device

We report on experiments performed on a cantilever-based tri-port nano-electro-mechanical (NEMS) device. Two ports are used for actuation and detection through the magnetomotive scheme, while the third port is a capacitively coupled gate electrode. By applying a low frequency voltage signal on the gate, we demonstrate mixing in the mechanical response of the device, even for {\it low magnetomotive drives, without resorting to conduction measurements through the NEMS}. The technique can thus be used in particular in the linear regime, as an alternative to nonlinear mixing, for normal conducting devices. An analytic theory is presented reproducing the data without free parameter

High prevalence of PRPH2 in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa in france and characterization of biochemical and clinical features.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of PRPH2 in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP), to report 6 novel mutations, to characterize the biochemical features of a recurrent novel mutation, and to study the clinical features of adRP patients. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical and molecular genetic study. METHODS: Clinical investigations included visual field testing, fundus examination, high-resolution spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus autofluorescence imaging, and electroretinogram (ERG) recording. PRPH2 was screened by Sanger sequencing in a cohort of 310 French families with adRP. Peripherin-2 protein was produced in yeast and analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: We identified 15 mutations, including 6 novel and 9 previously reported changes in 32 families, accounting for a prevalence of 10.3% in this adRP population. We showed that a new recurrent p.Leu254Gln mutation leads to protein aggregation, suggesting abnormal folding. The clinical severity of the disease in examined patients was moderate with 78% of the eyes having 1-0.5 of visual acuity and 52% of the eyes retaining more than 50% of the visual field. Some patients characteristically showed vitelliform deposits or macular involvement. In some families, pericentral RP or macular dystrophy were found in family members while widespread RP was present in other members of the same families. CONCLUSIONS: The mutations in PRPH2 account for 10.3% of adRP in the French population, which is higher than previously reported (0%-8%) This makes PRPH2 the second most frequent adRP gene after RHO in our series. PRPH2 mutations cause highly variable phenotypes and moderate forms of adRP, including mild cases, which could be underdiagnosed

TLR1/2 Activation during Heterologous Prime-Boost Vaccination (DNA-MVA) Enhances CD8+ T Cell Responses Providing Protection against Leishmania (Viannia)

Leishmania (Viannia) are the predominant agents of leishmaniasis in Latin America. Given the fact that leishmaniasis is a zoonosis, eradication is unlikely; a vaccine could provide effective prevention of disease. However, these parasites present a challenge and we do not fully understand what elements of the host immune defense prevent disease. We examined the ability of vaccination to protect against L. (Viannia) infection using the highly immunogenic heterologous prime-boost (DNA-modified vaccinia virus) modality and a single Leishmania antigen (TRYP). Although this mode of vaccination can induce protection against other leishmaniases (cutaneous, visceral), no protection was observed against L. (V.) panamensis. However, we found that if the vaccination was modified and the innate immune response was activated through Toll-like receptor1/2(TLR1/2) during the DNA priming, vaccinated mice were protected. Protection was dependent on CD8 T cells. Vaccinated mice had higher CD8 T cell responses and decreased levels of cytokines known to promote infection. Given the long-term persistence of CD8 T cell memory, these findings are encouraging for vaccine development. Further, these results suggest that modulation of TLR1/2 signaling could improve the efficacy of DNA-based vaccines, especially where CD8 T cell activation is critical, thereby contributing to effective and affordable anti parasitic vaccines

Cross-Border Mobility of Self-Initiated and Organizational Expatriates

Globalization in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has been marked by an increase in cross-border mobility of the highly skilled. Though self-initiated expatriation is a widespread phenomenon, it has received relatively little attention in the academic literature. Furthermore, large-scale studies that track self-initiated and organizational expatriates together, over time and across geographies, are noticeably absent from the literature. Consequently, our understanding of these two forms of mobility is relatively limited. This study, which is the first large-scale analysis of the trends in and patterns of the mobility of organization-initiated expatriates and self-initiated expatriates, attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the mobility patterns of 55,915 highly skilled individuals who made 76,660 cross-border moves between 1990 and 2006. Specifically, we analyze patterns of geographic mobility and then examine the rate, duration, and direction of self-initiated and organizational expatriation over time. Finally, we consider demographic differences in mobility between the two groups

Cranial ultrasound after forceful midpelvis vacuum extraction at term

Peer Reviewe

Inorganic Species Behaviour in Thermochemical Processes for Energy Biomass Valorisation Comportement des espèces inorganiques dans les procédés thermochimiques de valorisation énergétique de la biomasse

Inorganic species from biomass (wood or agricultural waste) exhibit large variations in compositions and amounts, depending on the origin of the biomass (nature, growing conditions and location). Different thermal conversion processes (combustion, pyrolysis, gasification or other) and various technologies (grate furnace, fixed or fluidized bed, entrained flow reactor) using biomass, provide a wide variety of operating conditions with differences in atmosphere, pressure and temperature. During any thermal process and mainly depending on initial composition of the biomass, process temperature and atmosphere, some of the inorganic species react and may form liquid or gas compounds, alone or combined with other species: they may either be trapped at different locations during the process or released in the gas. The potential interactions of inorganic species with reactor walls, bed materials (in fluidized bed reactors), transfer lines and downstream process units are not well understood for most species. Both technical and economic issues about inorganic species behaviour are probably growing to become important in a near future: pressure on timber markets is growing and prices have already been rising : one solution is to replace this noble and "clean" resource (wood) by ash richer feedstock, like straw, dedicated energetic cultures, agricultural or even municipal solid waste. Biogas production from waste deposits is a good example to show how waste can be valorised. Going further (thermochemical conversion) with such ash rich feedstock will increase the potential of their re-use but also the technical difficulties in a dramatic extent; soil enrichment for the agriculture currently largely depends on the re-use of biomass, completed with artificial fertilisers. The question how to re-use the inorganic material in biomass after thermo-chemical conversion is an important subject. The objective of this paper is to present a global review of the technological difficulties (corrosion, fouling, etc.): a detailed summary of the specific behaviour of the inorganic compounds in biomass thermal conversion facilities will be given, going from the description of inorganic species included in biomass up to the prevention and the solution, as far as possible. The following topics will therefore be developed: inventory of inorganic species in different biomasses; general review of the inorganic speciation during thermal conversion processes; technological barriers to overcome for economic and technological process improvements; specific aspects related to inorganic species behaviour investigated at CEA: inorganic species release and condensation; aerosol behaviour and deposits; hot particles filtration; slag formation and interactions with reactor wall. <br> Les espèces inorganiques de la biomasse (bois, déchets agricoles, déchets ménagers voire boues d’épuration) présentent un large spectre en compositions et quantités, dépendant de l’origine de la biomasse (nature, lieux et conditions de sa croissance, etc.). Les différents procédés de conversion (combustion, pyrolyse, gazéification, etc.) et les différentes technologies associées (fours à grille, lits fixes ou fluidisés, réacteurs à flux entraînés, etc.) utilisant l’énergie de la biomasse, fournissent des conditions opératoires très variées en atmosphère, température, pression, etc. Au cours de chacun de ces procédés thermiques de conversion, en fonction de la composition initiale de la biomasse, de l’atmosphère et la température du procédé (la pression est un paramètre de second ordre par rapport aux précédents), certaines espèces inorganiques réagissent pour former des composés liquides ou gazeux, seuls ou combinés à d’autres espèces : celles-ci peuvent être soit piégées à différents endroits dans le procédé, soit relâchées avec le gaz. Les interactions potentielles de ces espèces inorganiques avec les parois des réacteurs, les matériaux de lits (en réacteurs à lits fluidisés), les canalisations et l’aval du procédé ne sont pas toujours bien connues. Ces sujets concernant le comportement des espèces inorganiques et les conséquences technologiques et économiques vont probablement prendre de l’importance dans un futur proche en raison de : la tension sur le marché du bois qui augmente ainsi que les prix : une solution est de remplacer cette ressource « noble et propre » qu’est le bois par une ressource plus riche en cendres, comme la paille, les cultures énergétiques dédiées, ou les déchets agricoles voire ménagers. La production de biogaz depuis des décharges de déchets est une bonne illustration de la valorisation de déchets. Aller plus loin dans l’utilisation de ces ressources (conversion thermochimique) riches en cendres augmentera leur potentielle réutilisation mais également les difficultés techniques de manière importante! l’enrichissement des sols pour l’agriculture dépend aujourd’hui de la possibilité de réemploi des cendres de biomasse, auxquelles il faut ajouter des fertilisants artificiels. La question de comment réutiliser la matière inorganique de la biomasse après conversion thermochimique devient un sujet important. L’objectif est de présenter une synthèse des difficultés technologiques liées à la présence de ces espèces inorganiques (corrosion, bouchages, etc.) : un résumé détaillé du comportement des espèces inorganiques de la biomasse dans les procédés thermiques sera donné, allant des espèces relâchées pendant le traitement de la biomasse jusqu’à la prévention et les solutions quand c’est possible. Les sujets suivants seront développés : inventaires des espèces inorganiques de différentes ressources ; synthèse de la spéciation des espèces inorganiques dans les divers procédés de conversion thermiques ; barrières technologiques à franchir pour des raisons économiques et améliorations technologiques des procédés à réaliser ; aspects particuliers liés au comportement des espèces inorganiques étudiés au CEA : volatilisation et condensation des espèces inorganiques ; comportement des aérosols et dépôts ; filtration à chaud des particules ; formation de laitier et interaction avec les parois des réacteurs

Synthesis Gas Purification Purification des gaz de synthèse

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) based B-XTL processes are attractive alternatives for future energy production. These processes aim at converting lignocellulosic biomass possibly in co-processing with petcoke, coal, or vacuum residues into synthetic biofuels. A gasification step converts the feed into a synthesis gas (CO and H2 mixture) , which undergoes the Fischer-Tropsch reaction after H2/CO ratio adjustment and CO2 removal. However synthesis gas also contains various impurities that must be removed in order to prevent Fischer-Tropsch catalyst poisoning. Due to the large feedstocks variety that can be processed, significant variations of the composition of the synthesis gas are expected. Especially, this affects the nature of the impurities that are present (element, speciation), as well as their relative contents. Moreover, due to high FT catalyst sensitivity, severe syngas specifications regarding its purity are required. For these reasons, synthesis gas purification constitutes a major challenge for the development of B-XTL processes. In this article, we focus on these major hurdles that have to be overcome. The different kinds of syngas impurities are presented. The influence of the nature of feedstocks, gasification technology and operating conditions on the type and content of impurities is discussed. Highlight is given on the fate of sulfur compounds, nitrogen compounds, halides, transition and heavy metals. Main synthesis gas purification technologies (based on adsorption, absorption, catalytic reactions, etc.) are finally described, as well as the related challenges. <br> Les procédés de synthèse de biocarburants par voie Fischer-Tropsch (FT), voies B-XTL, représentent des alternatives prometteuses pour la production d’énergie. Ces procédés permettent la conversion en carburants de synthèse de biomasse lignocellulosique, éventuellement mise en oeuvre en mélange avec des charges fossiles telles que petcoke, charbons ou résidus sous vide. Pour ce faire, une étape de gazéification convertit la charge carbonée en un gaz de synthèse (mélange de CO et H2), lequel, après ajustement du ratio H2/CO et élimination du CO2, subit ensuite la réaction de FischerTropsch. Les gaz de synthèse contiennent cependant de nombreuses impuretés qui nécessitent d’être éliminées afin d’éviter l’empoisonnement des catalyseurs Fischer-Tropsch. En raison de la grande variété de charges pouvant être mises en oeuvre, la composition des gaz de synthèse est susceptible de subir d’importantes variations, en particulier de part la nature des impuretés (éléments, spéciation) présentes ainsi que leurs teneurs relatives. La composition des gaz de synthèse est également soumise à des spécifications extrêmement sévères en terme de pureté liées à l’importante sensibilité aux poisons des catalyseurs FT. Pour ces raisons, la purification des gaz de synthèse constitue un défi majeur pour le développement des procédés B-XTL. Dans cet article, nous présentons les principaux enjeux liés à la purification des gaz de synthèse. Les différents types d’impuretés pouvant être présentes dans les gaz de synthèse sont présentées. L’influence de la nature de la charge, des technologies de gazéification ainsi que des conditions opératoires associées sur la nature des impuretés et leurs teneurs relatives est discutée. Une attention particulière est portée au devenir des composés soufrés, azotés, des halogènes, métaux lourds et métaux de transition. Les principales technologies de purification des gaz de synthèse (adsorption, absorption, réactions catalytiques, etc.) sont finalement décrites, ainsi que les défis associés