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Dielectric spectroscopy study of thermally-aged extruded model power cables
“Model” extruded power cables, having a much reduced geometry but using the same extrusion techniques and materials as full-sized cables, have been examined using dielectric spectroscopy techniques to study their thermal ageing effects. Cables insulated with homo-polymer XLPE and co-polymer of XLPE with micron-sized ethylene-butyl-acrylate (EBA) islands were studied by both frequency-domain and time-domain dielectric spectroscopy techniques after accelerated thermal ageing under 135°C for 60 days. In the frequency domain, a frequency response analyzer (FRA) was used to measure the frequency range from 10-4Hz to 1Hz at temperatures from 20°C to 80°C. In the time domain, a special charging/discharging current measurement system was developed to measure the frequencies from 10-1Hz to 102Hz. These techniques were chosen to cope with the extremely low dielectric losses of the model cables. The results are compared with those from new model power cables that were degassed at 80°C for 5 days. Thermal ageing was found to increase the low-frequency conductivity, permittivity and the discharging current. Both homo- and co-polymer cables have substantial increase of dielectric loss after ageing
Structure of the Local-field factor of the 2-D electron fluid. Possible evidence for correlated scattering of electron pairs
The static local-field factor (LFF) of the 2-D electron fluid is calculated
{\it nonperturbatively} using a mapping to a classical Coulomb fluid
Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 87}, 206. The LFF for the paramagnetic
fluid {\it differs markedly} from perturbation theory where a maximum near
2 is expected. Our LFF has a quasi-linear small-k region leading to a
maximum close to 3, in agreent with currently available quantum Monte
Carlo data. The structure in the LFF and its dependence on the density and
temperature are interpretted as a signature of correlated scattering of
electron pairs of opposite spin.The lack of structure at implies
weakened Friedel oscillations, Kohn anomalies etc.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, version 2 of condmat/0304034, see
http://nrcphy1.phy.nrc.ca/ims/qp/chandre/chnc/ Changs in the text, figure 2
and updated reference
Neurofilament high molecular weight-green fluorescent protein fusion is normally expressed in neurons and transported in axons: a neuronal marker to investigate the biology of neurofilaments
The carboxy-terminal side arm of the neurofilament high subunit consists of a highly phosphorylated domain and a negatively charged region. Multiple evidences suggested that these domains are essential for the axonal phosphorylation and transport of neurofilaments and play a role in their abnormal accumulation following chemical intoxication or during neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In order to investigate the consequences of altering this side arm of neurofilament high subunit we used a fusion protein (neurofilament high subunit-green fluorescent protein) between the mouse neurofilament high subunit missing a major part of the C-terminal domain and the reporter green fluorescent protein. In cell culture and in transgenic mice this fusion protein co-assembles and co-distributes with the endogenous intermediate filament network. Conditions known to disturb the cytoskeleton were also found to alter the distribution of the fusion protein in cell cultures. In transgenic mice the expression of the transgene evaluated by its fluorescent properties was found to be restricted to neurons, where the neurofilament high subunit-green fluorescent protein fusion protein is axonally transported. Biochemical approaches showed that the fusion protein is phosphorylated and co-purified with neurofilaments. Despite the presence of such an neurofilament high subunit-green fluorescent protein fusion protein, the axonal cytoskeletal density and the axonal caliber were not altered. Together these data show that removal of this portion of neurofilament high subunit does not affect the capacity of neurofilament high subunit to assemble and to be transported into axons, suggesting that this sequence is involved in another function. Moreover, the fluorescent properties of this fusion protein represent a useful marker
Assessment of the diffusion coefficient of nanocarriers with the fluorescence recovery technique in gastrointestinal mucus
Dedicated and industrial robotic arms used as force feedback telerobots at the AREVA-La Hague recycling plant
ISBN: 978-1-4244-6635-1/10International audienceCEA LIST and AREVA have been developing remote operations devices, also called telerobotics for 15 years. These tools were designed for interventions in the AREVA nuclear spent fuel facilities hot cells. From these 15 years of joint research and development, several technological bricks have been industrialized and used at the AREVA La Hague facilities. This article presents some of these bricks and their industrial developments. The “TAO2000” CEA LIST telerobotics generic software controller will be first discussed. This controller has been used to teleoperate dedicated slave arms like the MT200 TAO (an evolution of the conventional wall-transmission mechanical telemanipulator (MSM)) as well as industrial robotic arms like the Stäubli RX robots. Both the MT200 TAO and Stäubli RX TAO telerobotics systems provide force-feedback and are now ready to be used as telemaintenance tools at the AREVA La Hague facilities. Two recent maintenance operations using these tools will be detailed at the end of this pape
The 2-D electron gas at arbitrary spin polarizations and arbitrary coupling strengths: Exchange-correlation energies, distribution functions and spin-polarized phases
We use a recent approach [Phys. Rev. Letters, {\bf 84}, 959 (2000)] for
including Coulomb interactions in quantum systems via a classical mapping of
the pair-distribution functions (PDFs) for a study of the 2-D electron gas. As
in the 3-D case, the ``quantum temperature'' T_q of a classical 2-D Coulomb
fluid which has the same correlation energy as the quantum fluid is determined
as a function of the density parameter r_s. Spin-dependent exchange-correlation
energies are reported. Comparisons of the spin-dependent pair-distributions and
other calculated properties with any available 2-D quantum Monte Carlo (QMC)
results show excellent agreement, strongly favouring more recent QMC data. The
interesting novel physics brought to light by this study are: (a) the
independently determined quantum-temperatures for 3-D and 2-D are found to be
approximately the same, (i.e, universal) function of the classical coupling
constant Gamma. (b) the coupling constant Gamma increases rapidly with r_s in
2-D, making it comparatively more coupled than in 3-D; the stronger coupling in
2-D requires bridge corrections to the hyper- netted-chain method which is
adequate in 3-D; (c) the Helmholtz free energy of spin-polarized and
unpolarized phases have been calculated. The existence of a spin-polarized 2-D
liquid near r_s = 30, is found to be a marginal possibility. These results
pertain to clean uniform 2-D electron systems.Comment: This paper replaces the cond-mat/0109228 submision; the new version
include s more accurate numerical evaluation of the Helmholtz energies of the
para- and ferromagentic 2D fluides at finite temperatures. (Paper accepted
for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett.
High-temperature oxidation evaluation usingcrystal microbalance
High-temperature oxidising environments are frequently encountered but the limited number of in
situ techniques that can be implemented has hindered the monitoring possibilities and a better
comprehension of the oxidation phenomenon. In this paper, the high-temperature oxidation
behaviours of three alloys (AISI 316L, AISI 310 and HAYNES\uae HR-120\uae) were studied by using crystal
microbalances. Two types of crystal were tested: quartz or gallium orthophosphate crystals. First
the behaviour of thin sputtered deposited alloys on quartz slides was studied at 400 and 700\ub0C
under air oxidising conditions and compared to bulk samples. Kinetics measurements were
performed on the three alloy films deposited on the resonators at 400 or 700\ub0C: it was possible to
measure very small mass variations associated with thin oxide formation between 5 and 180 nm of
thickness. The crystal microbalance technique gives promising perspectives in understanding the
high-temperature corrosion and scaling mechanisms and also for in situ monitoring
Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography: a new tool for non-invasive differential diagnosis of pustular skin disorders
Background The spectrum of pustular skin disorders (PSD) is large and particularly challenging, including inflammatory, infectious and amicrobial diseases. Moreover, although pustules represent the unifying clinical feature, they can be absent or not fully developed in the early stage of the disease. The line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) is a recently developed imaging technique able to perform a non-invasive, in vivo, examination of the epidermis and upper dermis, reaching very high image resolution and virtual histology. Objectives We aimed to investigate the potentialities of LC-OCT in the non-invasive differential diagnosis of a series of 11 PSD with different aetiology, microscopic features, body location and incidence rates. Materials and Methods Complete LC-OCT imaging (i.e. 2D/3D frames, videos) was performed on a total of 19 patients (10 females and 9 males) aged between 35 and 79 years. Images were blindly evaluated and compared with corresponding histopathologic findings. Results The LC-OCT imaging was able to detect with high accuracy the pustule structure including shape, margins, morphology and cellular content, along with peculiar epidermal and adnexal alterations in each condition, including: Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis, Generalized pustular psoriasis, Generalized pustular figurate erythema, Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis, Intraepidermal IgA pustulosis, Palmoplantar pustulosis, Palmoplantar pustular psoriasis. Herpetic whitlow, Acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau, Vesicopustular Sweet syndrome and Vesicopustular Eosinophilic cellulitis, with pustular appearance, were also compared. Conclusions The new LC-OCT can represent a rapid, non-invasive and painless tool which can help differentiating among PSD of different aetiology and microscopic morphology in clinical mimickers in daily practice
The Path Integral Monte Carlo Calculation of Electronic Forces
We describe a method to evaluate electronic forces by Path Integral Monte
Carlo (PIMC). Electronic correlations, as well as thermal effects, are included
naturally in this method. For fermions, a restricted approach is used to avoid
the ``sign'' problem. The PIMC force estimator is local and has a finite
variance. We applied this method to determine the bond length of H and the
chemical reaction barrier of H+HH+H. At low
temperature, good agreement is obtained with ground state calculations. We
studied the proton-proton interaction in an electron gas as a simple model for
hydrogen impurities in metals. We calculated the force between the two protons
at two electronic densities corresponding to Na () and Al
() using a supercell with 38 electrons. The result is compared to
previous calculations. We also studied the effect of temperature on the
proton-proton interaction. At very high temperature, our result agrees with the
Debye screening of electrons. As temperature decreases, the Debye theory fails
both because of the strong degeneracy of electrons and most importantly, the
formation of electronic bound states around the protons.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
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