The composing process in technical communication

The theory and application of the composing process in technical communications is addressed. The composing process of engineers, some implications for composing research for the teaching and research of technical communication, and an interpretation of the processes as creative experience are also discussed. Two areas of technical communications summarized concern: the rhetorical features of technical communications, and the theoretical background for a process-based view, a problem-solving approach to technical writing

No-tillage and conservation tillage : economic considerations (1997)

In this guide, complete corn and soybean budgets, including details of production activities, inputs and prices, are used to examine the economic consequences of moving from conservation tillage to no tillage production. Special care is taken to distinguish between those expected cost changes that involve cash and those that don't. Some discussion centers on the specific circumstances necessary to recognize particular savings from adopting no-tillage. A section on leasing discusses the changes that might occur as tenants adopt no-tillage production.Revised 12/97/7M

A mutual information approach to automate identification of neuronal clusters in Drosophila brain images.

Mapping neural circuits can be accomplished by labeling a small number of neural structures per brain, and then combining these structures across multiple brains. This sparse labeling method has been particularly effective in Drosophila melanogaster, where clonally related clusters of neurons derived from the same neural stem cell (neuroblast clones) are functionally related and morphologically highly stereotyped across animals. However identifying these neuroblast clones (approximately 180 per central brain hemisphere) manually remains challenging and time consuming. Here, we take advantage of the stereotyped nature of neural circuits in Drosophila to identify clones automatically, requiring manual annotation of only an initial, smaller set of images. Our procedure depends on registration of all images to a common template in conjunction with an image processing pipeline that accentuates and segments neural projections and cell bodies. We then measure how much information the presence of a cell body or projection at a particular location provides about the presence of each clone. This allows us to select a highly informative set of neuronal features as a template that can be used to detect the presence of clones in novel images. The approach is not limited to a specific labeling strategy and can be used to identify partial (e.g., individual neurons) as well as complete matches. Furthermore this approach could be generalized to studies of neural circuits in other organisms

CO2 laser beam welding of AM60 magnesium-based alloy

The authors are grateful to FONDERIE MESSIER HONSEL group that provided the as-cast magnesium alloy workpieces. The authors would like also to acknowledge the technical support of Dr. Moraru of the LSIS Laboratory-Arts et Métiers ParisTech-Aix En Provence-France.Magnesium alloys have a 33% lower density than aluminum alloys, whereas they exhibit the same mechanical characteristics. Their application increases in many economic sectors, in particular, in aeronautic and automotive industries. Nevertheless, their assembly with welding techniques still remains to be developed. In this paper, we present a CO2 laser welding investigation of AM60 magnesium-based alloy. Welding parameters range is determinate for the joining of 3 mm thickness sheets. The effects of process parameters including beam power, welding speed, focusing position, and shielding gas flow are studied. Experimental results show that the main parameters that determine the weld quality are the laser beam power, the welding speed, and the shielding gas flow. The focal point position has a minor effect on weld quality, however, it has an influence on melting zone width. For optimized welding parameters, metallurgical observations show that after laser welding of AM60 alloy dendritic microstructure is observed on melting zone after high solidification rate. A small heat affected zone is also detected. Finally, hardness tests indicate that microhardness of the weld is higher than that of base metal

Dynamique des compartiments du carbone et de l'azote dans le sol cultivé en niébé et sorgho dans le système zaï en zone Nord soudanienne du Burkina Faso

La gestion appropriée des sols cultivés peut permettre un stockage de carbone, en plus de l’avantage supplémentaire du maintien du niveau de fertilité qui en résulte. L’objectif de cette étude est d’appréhender l’influence réelle de pratiques culturales sous niébé ou sorgho dans le système zaï, sur l’évolution et  l’organisation des teneurs de carbone (C) et d’azote (N) du sol à l’échelle de la parcelle. Un dispositif factoriel en blocs de Fisher a été utilisé. Les traitements comprenant des apports de fumier seul ou associé au burkina phosphate avec exportation des résidus de cultures ont été testés. Le fractionnement  granulométrique de la matière organique du sol a été utilisé, séparant trois fractions. Les résultats révèlent que la répartition de C et N dans les fractions  granulométriques n’a pas été affectée par les espèces cultivées. Quelle que soit la culture, le carbone et l’azote se trouvent  essentiellement sous forme de  matière organique stable dans la fraction 0-20 μm, soit respectivement 64% et 73% pour C et N. L’apport du fumier seul ou combiné au phosphate, entraîne une  augmentation de la matière organique labile ; 38% de C et 31% de N sont stockés dans la fraction 50-2000 μm. La dynamique de la matière organique du sol à  l’échelle de la parcelle est plus influencée par les amendements que par les espèces cultivées.Mot clés : Matière organique, sols dégradés, légumineuse, céréale, fumier, burkina phosphate

The influence of position in overlap joints of Mg and Al alloys on microstructure and hardness of laser welds

Structure and properties of laser beam welding zone of dissimilar materials, AZ31 magnesium alloy and A5754 Aluminum alloy, are investigated. The microstructure and quality of the Mg/Al weld were studied by metallography, microhardness and optical microscopy. Differences in physical and mechanical properties of both materials, magnesium and aluminum, affect weldability and resistance of this combination, and lead to the formation of intermetallic compounds in the welded metal

Valorisation de substrats organiques divers dans l'agriculture péri-urbaine de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) pour l'amendement et la fertilisation des sols : acteurs et pratiques

Organic substrates recycling in the sub-urban agriculture of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for soils fertilization: description of the different actors and their practices. This study aimed to establish an overview of the main actors of the sub-urban agriculture of Ouagadougou, their practices and expectations, and to characterize the used organic substrates (OS). For that, a farm survey was carried out on the most representative sites with 64 persons (cereal farmers, truckers and nurserymen) randomly chosen. OS were sampled with each actor, when available. Thus, 27 samples were taken and characterized through chemical analyses and laboratory incubations to follow organic carbon mineralization. The results highlighted that 35% of cereal farmers, 69% of truckers and 95% of nurserymen were 20 to 40 years old, that a large proportion of cereal farmers and truckers were not sent to school while 70% of nurserymen had at least primary education. Sub-urban agriculture was the only activity for 43% of farmers, 83% of truckers and 91% of nurserymen. Moreover, 71% of cereal farmers and 73% of nurserymen used municipal wastes as source of organic matter against only 17% of truckers, the majority of them using animal manures. The main criterion of choice of OS was their availability without any other consideration. Even if a large majority of the actors think that composts of OS were better than brut OS, a minority of them used currently composts. The best ways for an adoption and utilization of OS composts were to facilitate their accessibility and to promote these composts, composting techniques and their interests through advertising in mass media. Chemical analyses and laboratory incubations showed a great variability of the SUW, both in the same group and actors' groups. However, in case of total organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorous contents, the following tendencies were observed: Contenttruckers > Contentfarmers > Contentnurserymen. For the sum of major elements Ca, K, Mg, Na (SME), it was observed that SMEtruckers ≈ SMEfarmers > SMEnurserymen. In addition, except a few atypical substrates, OS used by nurserymen were largely stabilized compared to those of cereal farmers and truckers

Exploring the cause of conduction delays in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot

Aim Cardiac dyssynchrony in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rToF) has been attributed to right bundle branch block (RBBB), fibrosis and/or the patches that are inserted during repair surgery. We aimed to investigate the basis of abnormal activation in rToF patients by mapping the electrical activation sequence during sinus rhythm (SR) and right ventricular (RV) pacing.Methods and Results A total of 17 patients were studied [13 with rToF, 2 with left bundle branch block (LBBB), and 2 without RBBB or LBBB (non-BBB)] during medically indicated cardiac surgery. During SR and RV pacing, measurements were performed using 112-electrode RV endocardial balloons (rToF only) and biventricular epicardial sock arrays (four of the rToF and all non-rToF patients). During SR, functional lines of block occurred in five rToF patients, while RV pacing caused functional blocks in four rToF patients. The line of block persisted during both SR and RV pacing in only 2 out of 13 rToF patients. Compared to SR, RV pacing increased dispersion of septal activation, but not dispersion of endocardial and epicardial activation of the RV free wall. During pacing, RV and left ventricular activation dispersion in rToF patients were comparable to that of the non-rToF patients.Conclusion The results of the present study indicate that the delayed activation in the right ventricle of rToF patients is predominantly due to block(s) in the Purkinje system and that conduction in RV tissue is fairly normal