A new lattice Boltzmann model for interface reactions between immiscible fluids

In this paper, we describe a lattice Boltzmann model to simulate chemical reactions taking place at the interface between two immiscible fluids. The phase-field approach is used to identify the interface and its orientation, the concentration of reactant at the interface is then calculated iteratively to impose the correct reactive flux condition. The main advantages of the model is that interfaces are considered part of the bulk dynamics with the corrective reactive flux introduced as a source/sink term in the collision step, and, as a consequence, the model’s implementation and performance is independent of the interface geometry and orientation. Results obtained with the proposed model are compared to analytical solution for three different benchmark tests (stationary flat boundary, moving flat boundary and dissolving droplet). We find an excellent agreement between analytical and numerical solutions in all cases. Finally, we present a simulation coupling the Shan Chen multiphase model and the interface reactive model to simulate the dissolution of a collection of immiscible droplets with different sizes rising by buoyancy in a stagnant fluid

EDACs and test integration strategies for NAND flash memories

Mission-critical applications usually presents several critical issues: the required level of dependability of the whole mission always implies to address different and contrasting dimensions and to evaluate the tradeoffs among them. A mass-memory device is always needed in all mission-critical applications: NAND flash-memories could be used for this goal. Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) techniques are needed to improve dependability of flash-memory devices. However also testing strategies need to be explored in order to provide highly dependable systems. Integrating these two main aspects results in providing a fault-tolerant mass-memory device, but no systematic approach has so far been proposed to consider them as a whole. As a consequence a novel strategy integrating a particular code-based design environment with newly selected testing strategies is presented in this pape

Contract agreements via logic

We relate two contract models: one based on event structures and game theory, and the other one based on logic. In particular, we show that the notions of agreement and winning strategies in the game-theoretic model are related to that of provability in the logical model.Comment: In Proceedings ICE 2013, arXiv:1310.401

Budget impact analysis of apixaban to treat and prevent venous thromboembolism in Italy

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a collective term for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a serious vascular condition associated to high economic and clinical burden. Apixaban, a Novel Oral Anticoagulant (NOAC) has shown non-inferiority efficacy versus the current standard of care (low molecular weight heparin [LMWH]/vitamin K antagonist [VKA]) in the acute treatment and prevention of VTE and a significant reduction in the risk of bleeding.AIM: Evaluate the economic impact of the use of apixaban for treatment and prevention of DVT and PE from the perspective of the Italian National Health System (NHS).METHODS: A budget impact model was adapted in order to compare clinical outcomes and economic consequences associated to apixaban vs. LMWH/VKA and others NOACs over a three-year time horizon in the Italian setting. In the analysis two scenario were compared: status quo scenario without apixaban and an alternative scenario with apixaban. Only direct healthcare costs have been considered.RESULTS: Assuming a population of patients receiving apixaban over the first 3 years equal to 20,957, the introduction of apixaban is associated to an incremental saving of € 821,748 in the first years, € 1,250,454 in the second year, and € 1,866,466 in the third year. The total net saving over the 3-year period is € 3,938,668, which is a 2.47% decrease from the total budget for the status quo scenario without apixaban. This saving is mainly due to reduced VTE events and bleeds by apixaban. Indeed apixaban is associated with less VTE events (both fatal and non-fatal), less major bleeding and less Clinical Relevant Non Major (CRNM) bleeding with a total of 52 fatal events avoided.CONCLUSIONS: The listing of apixaban for the treatment of VTE (both DVT and PE) and the prevention of recurrent VTE provides both significant clinical advantages, in terms of deaths and events avoided, and economical advantages, consisting in a reduction in the total expenditure on the Italian NHS

Application of T6 Heat Treatment on the AlSi9Cu3 (Fe) Casting Alloy and the Effect of Copper Content

AlSi9Cu3 (Fe) foundry alloy is commonly used to produce components by High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) for automotive and electrical industries. Mostly for cost reasons, the Cu content is held at the minimum of the compositional range foreseen by the standards. The strength of the metal is then quite low and therefore the components are used only in low or non-stressed applications. The experimental results of the present paper show that in the as cast temper, the percentage of Cu has little effect on strength. It is suggested that alternative alloys for HPDC with lower or no Cu content be adopted for non-stressed components. In the last 15 years, it has been demonstrated that Al-Si-Cu alloys for HPDC may successfully heat-treated by unconventional T6 without causing surface blistering or dimensional instability. Despite the new opportunities, there have been few industrial applications. Instead, the present authors believe possible new technological outcomes for unconventional T6, and have therefore experimented with the AlSi9Cu3 (Fe) alloy with different Cu contents. By using SEM-EDX microanalysis to get Cu composition maps in the alloy microstructure, a T6 heat treatment with lower solubilization temperature and shorter soaking time to avoiding blistering has been identified. Tensile test confirmed the effectiveness of unconventional T6 and showed a strong increase in the elastic limit of the material. The results also show that the best effect is obtained by increasing the Cu content as much as possible. It is therefore possible to produce components for highly stressed structural applications in T6 treated AlSi9Cu3 (Fe) alloy

Predict-AI-bility of how humans balance self-interest with the interest of others

Generative artificial intelligence holds enormous potential to revolutionize decision-making processes, from everyday to high-stake scenarios. However, as many decisions carry social implications, for AI to be a reliable assistant for decision-making it is crucial that it is able to capture the balance between self-interest and the interest of others. We investigate the ability of three of the most advanced chatbots to predict dictator game decisions across 78 experiments with human participants from 12 countries. We find that only GPT-4 (not Bard nor Bing) correctly captures qualitative behavioral patterns, identifying three major classes of behavior: self-interested, inequity-averse, and fully altruistic. Nonetheless, GPT-4 consistently overestimates other-regarding behavior, inflating the proportion of inequity-averse and fully altruistic participants. This bias has significant implications for AI developers and users

Le maître et le disciple envoyés à Israël et aux nations. Analyse rhétorique biblique de Mt 10,1-42

Introduction Il est incontestable que le chapitre 10 de Matthieu constitue une unité au sein du récit de l’Évangile. Il est cependant difficile de trouver une structure admise par les auteurs qui ont tenté d’en dégager la composition. Parmi eux on peut citer Ulrich Luz, William D. Davies – Dale C. Allison, Jean Radermakers, Donald Hagner, Massimo Grilli – Cordula Langner, Rinaldo Fabris, Schuyler Brown, Dorothy Jean Weaver, Joachim Gnilka, Craig S. Keener, Santi Grasso. Ces auteurs réagissent..