Stabilization of minerals by reaction with phosphoric acid - Evolution of model compounds

International audienceThe mechanisms of heavy metal stabilization from mineral residues were investigated. The reaction of phosphoric acid with municipal waste incinerator fly ashes and some of its major constituents was assessed. The reaction was monitored by analysis of soluble phosphate contents as a function of time, as well as by pH and temperature variations. Evolution of the solids was followed by X-ray diffraction. Various phosphoric acid concentrations were used and yielded different end products for the case of little and limestone. Silica and calcium sulphate were found to remain inert, while alumina consumed part of the soluble phosphate. Melilite showed it complex process of dissolution and precipitation of amorphous aluminium phosphates. These results help on understanding the phosphate reaction used to stabilize a mineral matrix like fly ash and demonstrate that insoluble minerals are formed such as calcium phosphates which may effectively trap heavy metal ions

Paramater estimation for the McKean-Vlasov stochastic differential equation

We consider the problem of parameter estimation for a stochastic McKean-Vlasov equation, and the associated system of weakly interacting particles. We first establish consistency and asymptotic normality of the offline maximum likelihood estimator for the interacting particle system in the limit as the number of particles $N\rightarrow\infty$. We then propose an online estimator for the parameters of the McKean-Vlasov SDE, which evolves according to a continuous-time stochastic gradient descent algorithm on the asymptotic log-likelihood of the interacting particle system. We prove that this estimator converges in $\mathbb{L}^1$ to the stationary points of the asymptotic log-likelihood of the McKean-Vlasov SDE in the joint limit as $N\rightarrow\infty$ and $t\rightarrow\infty$, under suitable assumptions which guarantee ergodicity and uniform-in-time propagation of chaos. We then demonstrate, under the additional assumption of global strong concavity, that our estimator converges in $\mathbb{L}^2$ to the unique maximiser of this asymptotic log-likelihood function, and establish an $\mathbb{L}^2$ convergence rate. We also obtain analogous results under the assumption that, rather than observing multiple trajectories of the interacting particle system, we instead observe multiple independent replicates of the McKean-Vlasov SDE itself or, less realistically, a single sample path of the McKean-Vlasov SDE and its law. Our theoretical results are demonstrated via two numerical examples, a linear mean field model and a stochastic opinion dynamics model

Reaction of calcium phosphate with textile dyes for purification of wastewaters

International audienceWhen unsintered hydroxyapatite (HA) is dissolved in acidic solution (pH less than 3), the calcium salt dissolves readily and may be re-precipitated at neutral pH values by neutralization with base. Maturation of this precipitate eventually leads to the neo-formation of calcium phosphates similar to HA. HA is a stable solid under neutral or basic conditions and has interesting adsorption properties. Particularly, textile dyes can be adsorbed on HA particles. Thermal treatment below 800 degrees C degrades adsorbed organic matter and generates mineral HA. Such HA can be recovered and reused by re-dissolution in acidic water. We have experimented with such recycled HA the co-precipitation of textile dyes and found that HA can be reused several times. For most textile dyes, a very high level of color removal was observed (above 98%), with a small loss of HA during the recycling process (12%). This makes the treatment of textile dye polluted waters by HA co-precipitation feasible and sustainable

Setting a research agenda for progressive multiple sclerosis: The International Collaborative on Progressive MS

Despite significant progress in the development of therapies for relapsing MS, progressive MS remains comparatively disappointing. Our objective, in this paper, is to review the current challenges in developing therapies for progressive MS and identify key priority areas for research. A collaborative was convened by volunteer and staff leaders from several MS societies with the mission to expedite the development of effective disease-modifying and symptom management therapies for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. Through a series of scientific and strategic planning meetings, the collaborative identified and developed new perspectives on five key priority areas for research: experimental models, identification and validation of targets and repurposing opportunities, proof-of-concept clinical trial strategies, clinical outcome measures, and symptom management and rehabilitation. Our conclusions, tackling the impediments in developing therapies for progressive MS will require an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to enable effective translation of research into therapies for progressive MS. Engagement of the MS research community through an international effort is needed to address and fund these research priorities with the ultimate goal of expediting the development of disease-modifying and symptom-relief treatments for progressive MS

On the poverty of a priorism: technology, surveillance in the workplace and employee responses

Many debates about surveillance at work are framed by a set of a priori assumptions about the nature of the employment relationship that inhibits efforts to understand the complexity of employee responses to the spread of new technology at work. In particular, the debate about the prevalence of resistance is hamstrung from the outset by the assumption that all apparently non-compliant acts, whether intentional or not, are to be counted as acts of resistance. Against this background this paper seeks to redress the balance by reviewing results from an ethnographic study of surveillance-capable technologies in a number of British workplaces. It argues for greater attention to be paid to the empirical character of the social relations at work in and through which technologies are deployed and in the context of which employee responses are played out

Comparing and contrasting threat assessments of plant species at the global and sub-global level

Evidence-based assessments of extinction risk are established tools used to inform the conservation of plant species, and form the basis of key targets within the framework of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). An overall picture of plants threat assessments is challenging due to the use of a variety of methodologies and range in scope from global to subnational. In this study, we quantify the state of progress in assessing the extinction risk of all land plants, determine the key geographic and taxonomic gaps with respect to our understanding of plant extinction risk, and evaluate the impact of different sources and methodologies on the utility of plant assessments. To this end, we have analyzed a cleaned dataset compiled from IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Regional Red Lists. We reveal that there are assessments available for 89,810 distinct species or 25% of all accepted land plant species. However unlike with other major organismal lineages the bulk of the plant species assessments are derived from Regional Red Lists, and not the Global IUCN Red List. We demonstrate that this bias towards regional assessments results in distinct taxonomic and geographic strengths and weaknesses, and we identify substantial taxonomic and geographic gaps in the assessment coverage. With species that have been assessed in common at both global and regional levels, we explore the implications of combining threat assessments from different sources. We find that half of global and regional assessments do not agree on the exact category of extinction risk for a species. Regional assessments assign a higher risk of extinction; or underestimate extinction risk with almost equal frequency. We conclude with recommended interventions, but support the suggestion that all threat assessments should be pooled to provide more data and broaden the scope of threat assessments for monitoring progress towards GSPC targets

The Claims Culture: A Taxonomy of Industry Attitudes

This paper presents an analysis of a familiar aspect of construction industry culture that we have dubbed 'the claims culture'. This is a culture of contract administration that lays a strong emphasis on the planning and management of claims. The principal elements of the analysis are two sets of distinctions. The first comprises economic and occupational orders, referring to two kinds of control that are exercised over the construction process; predicated respectively on economic ownership and occupational competence. The second refers to contrasting attitudes towards relationships and problem solving within these orders: respectively 'distributive' and 'integrative'. The concepts of economic and occupational order entail further sub-categories. The various attitudes associated with these categories and sub-categories are described. They are assessed as to their consequences for change initiatives in the industry