Experimental investigation of the mechanical micro structural and thermal properties of thin CrAIN layers deposited by PVD technique for various aluminum percentages

The thin film of chromium nitride and their derivatives obtained by the filing process physical vapor deposition attract more and more attention from industry given their high resistance to wear. This quality of these coatings may be linked to their good mechanical and tribological properties. Several experimental investigations have led to the development of CrAlN (Chronium Aluminum Nitride) hard coatings by varying the aluminum target bias voltage, in preference to the traditional CrN coating. The present work is based on the investigation of physical and mechanical properties of CrAlN coating deposited on a silicon substrate and the effect of the aluminum proportion on their variation. The results demonstrate that variation in aluminum proportion alters the resulting columnar morphology, porosity and the thermal properties. The correlation between aluminum proportions in CrAlN coatings and his thermal properties revealed that the conductivity and the diffusivity are influenced primarily by size and shape distribution of the pores and secondarily by decrease of the stitch parameter dimension

Unit Testing of Energy Consumption of Software Libraries

International audienceThe development of energy-efficient software has become a key requirement for a large number of devices, from smartphones to data centers. However, measuring accurately this consumption is a major challenge that state-of-the-art approaches have tried to tackle with a limited success. While monitoring applications' consumption offers a clear insight on where the energy is being spent, it does not help in understanding how the energy is consumed. In this paper, we therefore introduce Jalen Unit, a software framework that infers the energy consumption model of software libraries from execution traces. This model can then be used to diagnose application code for detecting energy bugs, understanding energy distribution, establishing energy profiles and classifications, and comparing software libraries against their energy consumption

Study of quenched impurities effect on order-disorder phase transition by Monte-Carlo method

We investigate the effect of quenched impurities on phase transition of layer particles. The study is done by means of Monte-Carlo technique on a fixed square lattice in the framework of the lattice gas model. The considered interactions are restricted to first neighboring particles and are of repulsive nature between diffusing particles. Attractive interactions between mobiles particles and impurities are considered. We focus on the behavior of the tracer diffusion coefficient, D*, and the mean square fluctuation of adsorbates particles number /. Our results show that the parameter controlling of phase transition are strongly influenced by the presence of the quenched impurities.We investigate the effect of quenched impurities on phase transition of layer particles. The study is done by means of Monte-Carlo technique on a fixed square lattice in the framework of the lattice gas model. The considered interactions are restricted to first neighboring particles and are of repulsive nature between diffusing particles. Attractive interactions between mobiles particles and impurities are considered. We focus on the behavior of the tracer diffusion coefficient, D*, and the mean square fluctuation of adsorbates particles number /. Our results show that the parameter controlling of phase transition are strongly influenced by the presence of the quenched impurities

Study Of Inertia And Stoichiometric Effect On Surface Diffusion By Monte Carlo Method

In this work, we investigate the inertia and stoichiometric effect on surface diffusion of adsorbates particles. The study is done by means of Monte-Carlo simulation in the framework of the lattice gas model. Only first neighboring repulsive pair interaction is considered. We concentrate on the behaviour of the tracer diffusion coefficient Dt(θ), as a function of surface coverage θ in the case where two type of particles A and B are adsorbed. A and B are only different by their mass. The results shows that θt ordering phenomenon is not strongly influenced. However the diffusion process is decreased by inclusion of heavy particles.w.In this work, we investigate the inertia and stoichiometric effect on surface diffusion of adsorbates particles. The study is done by means of Monte-Carlo simulation in the framework of the lattice gas model. Only first neighboring repulsive pair interaction is considered. We concentrate on the behaviour of the tracer diffusion coefficient Dt(θ), as a function of surface coverage θ in the case where two type of particles A and B are adsorbed. A and B are only different by their mass. The results shows that θt ordering phenomenon is not strongly influenced. However the diffusion process is decreased by inclusion of heavy particles.w

Phase-field modelling of dendritic growth behaviour towards the cooling / heating of pure nickel

We are interested in modelling the dendritic growth occurring during the solidification process of a pure material and especially to see the effect of the cooling / heating on the growth behaviour of this dendrite. For this purpose we use a phase-field model. The obtained partial differential equations are solved numerically by a finite difference method. In order to appreciate the shape of the resulting dendrites we expose some figures obtained from simulations in 2D.We are interested in modelling the dendritic growth occurring during the solidification process of a pure material and especially to see the effect of the cooling / heating on the growth behaviour of this dendrite. For this purpose we use a phase-field model. The obtained partial differential equations are solved numerically by a finite difference method. In order to appreciate the shape of the resulting dendrites we expose some figures obtained from simulations in 2D

Feature selection and categorization to design reliable fault detection systems.

International audienceIn this work, we will develop a fault detection system which is identified as a classification task. The classes are the nominal or malfunctioning state. To develop a decision system it is important to select among the data collected by the supervision system, only those carrying relevant information related to the decision task. There are two objectives presented in this paper, the first one is to use data mining techniques to improve fault detection tasks. For this purpose, feature selection algorithms are applied before a classifier to select which measures are needed for a fault detection system. The second objective is to use STRASS (STrong Relevant Algorithm of Subset Selection), which gives a useful feature categorization: strong relevant features, weak relevant and/or redundant ones. This feature categorization permits to design reliable fault detection system. The algorithm is tested on real benchmarks in medical diagnosis and fault detection. Our results indicate that a small number of measures can accomplish and perform the classification task and shown our algorithm ability to detect the correlated features. Furthermore, the proposed feature selection and categorization permits to design reliable and efficient fault detection system

Conserved roles of Osiris genes in insect development, polymorphism, and protection

Much of the variation among insects is derived from the different ways that chitin has been moulded to form rigid structures, both internal and external. In this study, we identify a highly conserved expression pattern in an insect-only gene family, the Osiris genes, that is essential for development, but also plays a significant role in phenotypic plasticity and in immunity/toxicity responses. The majority of Osiris genes exist in a highly syntenic cluster, and the cluster itself appears to have arisen very early in the evolution of insects. We used developmental gene expression in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, the bumble bee, Bombus terrestris, the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, and the wood ant, Formica exsecta, to compare patterns of Osiris gene expression both during development and between alternate caste phenotypes in the polymorphic social insects. Developmental gene expression of Osiris genes is highly conserved across species and correlated with gene location and evolutionary history. The social insect castes are highly divergent in pupal Osiris gene expression. Sets of co-expressed genes that include Osiris genes are enriched in gene ontology terms related to chitin/cuticle and peptidase activity. Osiris genes are essential for cuticle formation in both embryos and pupae, and genes co-expressed with Osiris genes affect wing development. Additionally, Osiris genes and those co-expressed seem to play a conserved role in insect toxicology defences and digestion. Given their role in development, plasticity, and protection, we propose that the Osiris genes play a central role in insect adaptive evolution.Peer reviewe

Tucumanin, a β-hydroxy-γ-lactone bistetrahydrofuranic acetogenin from Annona cherimolia, is a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I

A new β-hydroxy-γ-methyl-γ-lactone bistetrahydrofuranic acetogenin, tucumanin, with the infrequent symmetrical threo/trans/threo/trans/ threo relative configuration at the tetrahydrofuran rings was isolated from Annona cherimolia (Annonaceae) seeds. The inhibitory potency on the mitochondrial complex I of acetogenins with this relative configuration (tucumanin and asimicin) was compared with that shown by the corresponding pairs with an asymmetrical threo/trans/threo/trans/erythro relative configuration (laherradurin/rolliniastatin-2, and itrabin/molvizarin). All these compounds act as selective inhibitors of mitochondrial complex 1 in the 0.18 - 1.55 nM range.Fil: Barrachina, Isabel. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Neske, Adriana. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Granell, Susana. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Bermejo, Almudena. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Chahboune, Nadia. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: El Aouad, Noureddine. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Alvarez, Olga. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Bardon, Alicia del Valle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Zafra Polo, M. Carmen. Universidad de Valencia; Españ