Improved Delta Sigma Modulators for High Speed Applications

International audienceThis article presents a new Low-Pass Delta Sigma Modulators (LPDS) architecture to improve the noise shaping for high frequency applications. The errors resulting from approximations made by calculating with 1/2N coefficients are compensated. Simulations with extracted parasitics of the layout are made and give a SNDR of 111 dB, 3.8 mW power consumption at 4 GHz in 65 nm CMOS technology for UMTS standard

Economic optimization of heat exchangers for corrosive environments

Heat exchangers play a key role in power generation and many industrial processes. In various applications, the construction material is however exposed to a corrosive environment. This requires the device to be made from expensive corrosion resistant materials, causing the cost of the heat exchanger to increase significantly. One alternative could be to use more readily available metals (e.g. carbon steel). Although it might have to be replaced several times over its lifetime, the material cost of the heat exchanger would be more economical. In order to investigate if this is a viable alternative, a model was made. This model calculates the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a heat exchanger, taking into account the investment costs, maintenance costs and operational costs. A corrosion model is implemented allowing to specify the behaviour of a certain material in the fluid it is exposed to. Furthermore, the model allows to optimize the design to achieve a minimal TCO for a specific case. As a demonstration, the model is applied to the design and selection of an 5 MW heat exchanger for a binary geothermal power plant in Belgium, where the (corrosive) geothermal brine is used to heat water for a district heating network and an organic Rankine cycle

Design of an experimental set-up to determine the influence of corrosion on heat transfer

In the exploitation of geothermal energy, heat exchangers are essential to distribute heat to energy conversion systems (e.g. organic Rankine cycles) or district heating networks. The geothermal brine found in Belgium however has a high temperature and a high salinity which makes it extremely corrosive. In such environments, the classic solution is to construct a heat exchanger with a highly corrosion resistant metal such as titanium or nickel. However, since these metals are very expensive, alternatives are investigated. One such alternative is using heat exchangers made of less corrosion resistant materials, but where detailed information about the corrosion process is available. This information is then used during design and for predictive maintenance. An experimental set-up to determine the corrosion rate and the influence of corrosion on the heat transfer is designed.Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .International centre for heat and mass transfer.American society of thermal and fluids engineers

Corrosion in heat exchangers in geothermal power plants

In geothermal power plants that use low to medium temperature geothermal reservoirs, electricity is generated using an organic Rankine cycle or heat is provided to district heating networks. The energy in the geothermal fluid is recovered with a heat exchanger. Since the temperatures and pressures are relative high (100-150°C, 40 bar), metallic heat exchangers are preferred. These are however susceptible to corrosion in the aggressive geothermal environment, so highly corrosion resistant materials should be used or suitable coatings should be applied. This has an adverse impact on the financial viability of the project. Therefore, this research investigates the possibility to use cheaper materials that come in contact with the brine. First, a model is described to determine the total cost of ownership of the heat exchanger and to determine an optimal design. Additionally, an experimental setup is described. This setup will allow to calibrate the corrosion parameters implemented in the model, to determine the influence of corrosion on the performance of the heat exchanger and to assess the influence of the flowing conditions on the corrosion process. In this paper, the methodology and expected outcome are described

Corrosion and corrosion prevention in heat exchangers

In many industries and processes, heat exchangers are of vital importance as they are used to transfer heat from one fluid to another. These fluids can be corrosive to heat exchangers, which are usually made of metallic materials. This paper illustrates that corrosion is an important problem in the operation of heat exchangers in many environments, for which no straightforward answer exists. Corrosion failures of heat exchangers are common, and corrosion often involves high maintenance or repair costs. In this review, an overview is given of what is known on corrosion in heat exchangers. The different types of corrosion encountered in heat exchangers and the susceptible places in the devices are discussed first. This is combined with an overview of failure analyses for each type of corrosion. Next, the effect of heat transfer on corrosion and the influence of corrosion on the thermohydraulic performances are discussed. Finally, the prevention and control of corrosion is tackled. Prevention goes from general design considerations and operation guidelines to the use of cathodic and anodic protection

Genetic profiling of Mycobacterium bovis strains from slaughtered cattle in Eritrea

<div><p><i>Mycobacterium bovis</i> (<i>M</i>.<i>bovis</i>) is the main causative agent for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and can also be the cause of zoonotic tuberculosis in humans. In view of its zoonotic nature, slaughterhouse surveillance, potentially resulting in total or partial condemnation of the carcasses and organs, is conducted routinely. Spoligotyping, VNTR profiling, and whole genome sequencing (WGS) of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> isolated from tissues with tuberculosis-like lesions collected from 14 cattle at Eritrea’s largest slaughterhouse in the capital Asmara, were conducted.The 14 <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> isolates were classified into three different spoligotype patterns (SB0120, SB0134 and SB0948) and six VNTR profiles. WGS results matched those of the conventional genotyping methods and further discriminated the six VNTR profiles into 14 strains. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of the <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> isolates suggests two independent introductions of BTB into Eritrea possibly evolving from a common ancestral strain in Europe.This molecular study revealed the most important strains of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> in Eritrea and their (dis)similarities with the strains generally present in East Africa and Europe, as well as potential routes of introduction of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i>. Though the sample size is small, the current study provides important information as well as platform for future in-depth molecular studies on isolates from both the dairy and the traditional livestock sectors in Eritrea and the region. This study provides information onthe origin of some of the <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> strains in Eritrea, its genetic diversity, evolution and patterns of spread between dairy herds. Such information is essential in the development and implementation of future BTB control strategy for Eritrea.</p></div

Table ronde. Le Nouveau Roman : passé, présent, futur

Les absents ont toujours tort et Jean Ricardou a dû en faire la douloureuse expérience à la suite de ce colloque-bilan intitulé « Three Decades of the French New Novel » qu’organise Tom Bishop avec Lois Oppenheim à l’université de New York du 30 septembre au 2 octobre 1982. Quoique physiquement absent, Ricardou se trouve pourtant au cœur de maints échanges pendant l’une des deux tables rondes de clôture qui réunit les romanciers Robert Pinget, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute, Monique W..

AMBER : a near infrared focal instrument for the VLTI

10 pagesInternational audienceAMBER is the General User near-infrared focal instrument of the Very Large Telescope interferometer. Its specifications are based on three key programs on Young Stellar Objects, Active Galactic Nuclei central regions, masses and spectra of hot Extra Solar Planets. It has an imaging capacity because it combines up to three beams and very high accuracy measurement are expected from the spatial filtering of beams by single mode fibers and the comparison of measurements made simultaneously in different spectral channels

Utilisation of Mucin Glycans by the Human Gut Symbiont Ruminococcus gnavus Is Strain-Dependent

Commensal bacteria often have an especially rich source of glycan-degrading enzymes which allow them to utilize undigested carbohydrates from the food or the host. The species Ruminococcus gnavus is present in the digestive tract of ≥90% of humans and has been implicated in gut-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Here we analysed the ability of two R. gnavus human strains, E1 and ATCC 29149, to utilize host glycans. We showed that although both strains could assimilate mucin monosaccharides, only R. gnavus ATCC 29149 was able to grow on mucin as a sole carbon source. Comparative genomic analysis of the two R. gnavus strains highlighted potential clusters and glycoside hydrolases (GHs) responsible for the breakdown and utilization of mucin-derived glycans. Transcriptomic and functional activity assays confirmed the importance of specific GH33 sialidase, and GH29 and GH95 fucosidases in the mucin utilisation pathway. Notably, we uncovered a novel pathway by which R. gnavus ATCC 29149 utilises sialic acid from sialylated substrates. Our results also demonstrated the ability of R. gnavus ATCC 29149 to produce propanol and propionate as the end products of metabolism when grown on mucin and fucosylated glycans. These new findings provide molecular insights into the strain-specificity of R. gnavus adaptation to the gut environment advancing our understanding of the role of gut commensals in health and disease

Molecular and Evolutionary Bases of Within-Patient Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity in Escherichia coli Extraintestinal Infections

Although polymicrobial infections, caused by combinations of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, are being recognised with increasing frequency, little is known about the occurrence of within-species diversity in bacterial infections and the molecular and evolutionary bases of this diversity. We used multiple approaches to study the genomic and phenotypic diversity among 226 Escherichia coli isolates from deep and closed visceral infections occurring in 19 patients. We observed genomic variability among isolates from the same site within 11 patients. This diversity was of two types, as patients were infected either by several distinct E. coli clones (4 patients) or by members of a single clone that exhibit micro-heterogeneity (11 patients); both types of diversity were present in 4 patients. A surprisingly wide continuum of antibiotic resistance, outer membrane permeability, growth rate, stress resistance, red dry and rough morphotype characteristics and virulence properties were present within the isolates of single clones in 8 of the 11 patients showing genomic micro-heterogeneity. Many of the observed phenotypic differences within clones affected the trade-off between self-preservation and nutritional competence (SPANC). We showed in 3 patients that this phenotypic variability was associated with distinct levels of RpoS in co-existing isolates. Genome mutational analysis and global proteomic comparisons in isolates from a patient revealed a star-like relationship of changes amongst clonally diverging isolates. A mathematical model demonstrated that multiple genotypes with distinct RpoS levels can co-exist as a result of the SPANC trade-off. In the cases involving infection by a single clone, we present several lines of evidence to suggest diversification during the infectious process rather than an infection by multiple isolates exhibiting a micro-heterogeneity. Our results suggest that bacteria are subject to trade-offs during an infectious process and that the observed diversity resembled results obtained in experimental evolution studies. Whatever the mechanisms leading to diversity, our results have strong medical implications in terms of the need for more extensive isolate testing before deciding on antibiotic therapies