On the automorphisms group of the asymptotic pants complex of an infinite surface of genus zero

The braided Thompson group $\mathcal B$ is an asymptotic mapping class group of a sphere punctured along the standard Cantor set, endowed with a rigid structure. Inspired from the case of finite type surfaces we consider a Hatcher-Thurston cell complex whose vertices are asymptotically trivial pants decompositions. We prove that the automorphism group $\hat{\mathcal B^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ of this complex is also an asymptotic mapping class group in a weaker sense. Moreover $\hat{\mathcal B^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ is obtained by $\mathcal B$ by first adding new elements called half-twists and further completing it.Comment: revised version,17p., 13 figure

Analysis of large databases in vascular surgery

Large databases can be a rich source of clinical and administrative information on broad populations. These datasets are characterized by demographic and clinical data for over 1000 patients from multiple institutions. Since they are often collected and funded for other purposes, their use for secondary analysis increases their utility at relatively low costs. Advantages of large databases as a source include the very large numbers of available patients and their related medical information. Disadvantages include lack of detailed clinical information and absence of causal descriptions. Researchers working with large databases should also be mindful of data structure design and inherent limitations to large databases, such as treatment bias and systemic sampling errors. Withstanding these limitations, several important studies have been published in vascular care using large databases. They represent timely, “real-world” analyses of questions that may be too difficult or costly to address using prospective randomized methods. Large databases will be an increasingly important analytical resource as we focus on improving national health care efficacy in the setting of limited resources

”Dangerous fuels” for cars : a way to save the world

Flame or combustion gave humans healthy food, protection, heat, light, and so on. The combustion also gave the power for a car to move from point A to point B. Most of the vehicle in the world now are powered by the internal combustion engines. The engine converts the chemical energy stored in the reactant, i.e. mixture of fuel and air, into thermal and mechanical energy. Engines and fuel technology are scalable, cheap and compact. They are also can be produced in a sustainable way or in a carbon-neutral cycle. Therefore, internal combustion engines are still the main power source for the current and for future transport systems. Renewable methanol (or synthetic methanol) is a great fuel for internal combustion engines thanks to its interesting properties and high fuel production efficiency. Methanol is also considered as a hydrogen carrier fuel, which can be easily generated on-board using engine exhaust heat. The present work focuses on the thermochemical recuperation for methanol reforming to further improve the engine efficiency and reduce harmful emissions

Electrochemical behavior of indolone-N-oxides: Relationship to structure and antiplasmodial activity

Indolone-N-oxides exert high parasiticidal activity at the nanomolar level in vitro against Plasmodiumfalciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria. The bioreductive character of these molecules was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroelectrochemistry to examine the relationship between electrochemical behavior and antimalarial activity and to understand theirmechanisms of action. For all the compounds (37 compounds) studied, the voltammograms recorded in acetonitrile showed a well-defined and reversible redox couple followed by a second complicated electron transfer. The first reduction (−0.88 VbE1/2b−0.50 V vs. SCE) was attributed to the reduction of the N-oxide function to form a radical nitroxide anion. The second reduction (−1.65 VbE1/2b−1.14 V vs. SCE) was assigned to the reduction of the ketone function. By coupling electrochemistry with EPR spectroscopy, the EPR spectra confirmed the formation of the nitroxide anion radical.Moreover, the experiments demonstrated that a slowprotonation occurs at the carbon of the nitrone function and not at the NO function. A relationship between electrochemical behavior and indolone-N-oxide structure can be established for compounds with R1=―OCH3, R2=H, and electron-withdrawing substituents on the phenyl group at R3. The results help in the design of new molecules with more potent in vivo antimalarial activity

Exploring the potential of reformed-exhaust gas recirculation (R-EGR) for increased efficiency of methanol fueled SI engines

Methanol is a promising fuel for spark ignition engines because of its high octane number, high octane sensitivity, high heat of vaporization and high laminar flame speed. To further boost the efficiency of methanol engines, the use of waste heat for driving fuel reforming was considered. This study explores the possibility of the reformed-exhaust gas recirculation (R-EGR) concept for increased efficiency of methanol engines. A simple Otto cycle calculation and a more detailed gas dynamic engine simulation are used to evaluate that potential. Both methodologies point to an enhancement in engine efficiency with fuel reforming compared to conventional EGR but not as much as the increase in lower heating value of the reforming product would suggest. A gas dynamic engine simulation shows a shortening of the flame development period and the combustion duration in line with the expected behavior with the hydrogen-rich reformer product gas. However, the heat loss increases with the presence of hydrogen in the reactants. The improvement of brake thermal efficiency is mainly attributed to the reduction of pumping work. The R-EGR concept is also evaluated for ethanol and iso-octane. As the reforming fraction increases, the efficiency of ethanol and iso-octane fueled engines rises faster than for the methanol engines due to a higher enhancement of exergy in their reforming products. At high reforming fractions, the efficiency of the ethanol engine becomes higher than with methanol. However, if the impact of optimal compression ratio for different fuels are considered, the methanol engine is able to produce a higher efficiency than the ethanol engine