109 research outputs found
The Hollande Presidency, 2012-14
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Modern & Contemporary France on 31/10/2014, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09639489.2014.95795
Isotopic and spin selectivity of H_2 adsorbed in bundles of carbon nanotubes
Due to its large surface area and strongly attractive potential, a bundle of
carbon nanotubes is an ideal substrate material for gas storage. In addition,
adsorption in nanotubes can be exploited in order to separate the components of
a mixture. In this paper, we investigate the preferential adsorption of D_2
versus H_2(isotope selectivity) and of ortho versus para(spin selectivity)
molecules confined in the one-dimensional grooves and interstitial channels of
carbon nanotube bundles. We perform selectivity calculations in the low
coverage regime, neglecting interactions between adsorbate molecules. We find
substantial spin selectivity for a range of temperatures up to 100 K, and even
greater isotope selectivity for an extended range of temperatures,up to 300 K.
This isotope selectivity is consistent with recent experimental data, which
exhibit a large difference between the isosteric heats of D_2 and H_2 adsorbed
in these bundles.Comment: Paper submitted to Phys.Rev. B; 17 pages, 2 tables, 6 figure
International registry of congenital porto-systemic shunts: a multi-centre, retrospective and prospective registry of neonates, children and adults with congenital porto-systemic shunts.
BACKGROUND
Congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) are rare vascular malformations associated with the risk of life-threatening systemic conditions, which remain underdiagnosed and often are identified after considerable diagnostic delay. CPSS are characterized by multiple signs and symptoms, often masquerading as other conditions, progressing over time if the shunt remains patent. Which patients will benefit from shunt closure remains to be clarified, as does the timing and method of closure. In addition, the etiology and pathophysiology of CPSS are both unknowns. This rare disorder needs the strength of numbers to answer these questions, which is the purpose of the international registry of CPSS (IRCPSS).
METHOD
A retrospective and prospective registry was designed using secuTrialÂź by the ISO certified Clinical Research Unit. Given that a significant number of cases entered in the registry are retrospective, participants have the opportunity to use a semi-structured minimal or complete data set to facilitate data entry. In addition, the design allows subjects to be entered into the IRCPSS according to clinically relevant events. Emphasis is on longitudinal follow-up of signs and symptoms, which is paramount to garner clinically relevant information to eventually orient patient management. The IRCPSS includes also three specific forms to capture essential radiological, surgical, and cardiopulmonary data as many times as relevant, which are completed by the specialists themselves. Finally, connecting the clinical data registry with a safe image repository, using state-of-the-art pseudonymization software, was another major focus of development. Data quality and stewardship is ensured by a steering committee. All centers participating in the IRCPSS have signed a memorandum of understanding and obtained their own ethical approval.
CONCLUSION
Through state-of-the-art management of data and imaging, we have developed a practical, user-friendly, international registry to study CPSS in neonates, children, and adults. Via this multicenter and international effort, we will be ready to answer meaningful and urgent questions regarding the management of patients with CPSS, a condition often ridden with significant diagnostic delay contributing to a severe clinical course
Les métamorphoses, entre fiction et notion
CentrĂ© sur la reprĂ©sentation des mĂ©tamorphoses naturelles, ce volume se propose dâĂ©tudier des Ă©changes croisĂ©s entre fiction et science, dans une perspective transsĂ©culaire et interdisciplinaire. Il dĂ©veloppe une rĂ©flexion sur les potentialitĂ©s Ă©pistĂ©mologiques et esthĂ©tiques de lâidĂ©e de mĂ©tamorphose, et cherche Ă mettre en lumiĂšre les enjeux idĂ©ologiques, philosophiques ou religieux, qui se rattachent Ă cette notion du xvie au xxie siĂšcle
International registry of congenital porto-systemic shunts: a multi-centre, retrospective and prospective registry of neonates, children and adults with congenital porto-systemic shunts
BACKGROUND: Congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) are rare vascular malformations associated with the risk of life-threatening systemic conditions, which remain underdiagnosed and often are identified after considerable diagnostic delay. CPSS are characterized by multiple signs and symptoms, often masquerading as other conditions, progressing over time if the shunt remains patent. Which patients will benefit from shunt closure remains to be clarified, as does the timing and method of closure. In addition, the etiology and pathophysiology of CPSS are both unknowns. This rare disorder needs the strength of numbers to answer these questions, which is the purpose of the international registry of CPSS (IRCPSS). METHOD: A retrospective and prospective registry was designed using secuTrialÂź by the ISO certified Clinical Research Unit. Given that a significant number of cases entered in the registry are retrospective, participants have the opportunity to use a semi-structured minimal or complete data set to facilitate data entry. In addition, the design allows subjects to be entered into the IRCPSS according to clinically relevant events. Emphasis is on longitudinal follow-up of signs and symptoms, which is paramount to garner clinically relevant information to eventually orient patient management. The IRCPSS includes also three specific forms to capture essential radiological, surgical, and cardiopulmonary data as many times as relevant, which are completed by the specialists themselves. Finally, connecting the clinical data registry with a safe image repository, using state-of-the-art pseudonymization software, was another major focus of development. Data quality and stewardship is ensured by a steering committee. All centers participating in the IRCPSS have signed a memorandum of understanding and obtained their own ethical approval. CONCLUSION: Through state-of-the-art management of data and imaging, we have developed a practical, user-friendly, international registry to study CPSS in neonates, children, and adults. Via this multicenter and international effort, we will be ready to answer meaningful and urgent questions regarding the management of patients with CPSS, a condition often ridden with significant diagnostic delay contributing to a severe clinical course
Large-scale unit commitment under uncertainty: an updated literature survey
The Unit Commitment problem in energy management aims at finding the optimal production schedule of a set of generation units, while meeting various system-wide constraints. It has always been a large-scale, non-convex, difficult problem, especially in view of the fact that, due to operational requirements, it has to be solved in an unreasonably small time for its size. Recently, growing renewable energy shares have strongly increased the level of uncertainty in the system, making the (ideal) Unit Commitment model a large-scale, non-convex and uncertain (stochastic, robust, chance-constrained) program. We provide a survey of the literature on methods for the Uncertain Unit Commitment problem, in all its variants. We start with a review of the main contributions on solution methods for the deterministic versions of the problem, focussing on those based on mathematical programming techniques that are more relevant for the uncertain versions of the problem. We then present and categorize the approaches to the latter, while providing entry points to the relevant literature on optimization under uncertainty. This is an updated version of the paper "Large-scale Unit Commitment under uncertainty: a literature survey" that appeared in 4OR 13(2), 115--171 (2015); this version has over 170 more citations, most of which appeared in the last three years, proving how fast the literature on uncertain Unit Commitment evolves, and therefore the interest in this subject
Perlecan (HSPG2) promotes structural, contractile, and metabolic development of human cardiomyocytes
Perlecan (HSPG2), a heparan sulfate proteoglycan similar to agrin, is key for extracellular matrix (ECM) maturation and stabilization. Although crucial for cardiac development, its role remains elusive. We show that perlecan expression increases as cardiomyocytes mature in vivo and during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation to cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs). Perlecan-haploinsuffient hPSCs (HSPG2+/â) differentiate efficiently, but late-stage CMs have structural, contractile, metabolic, and ECM gene dysregulation. In keeping with this, late-stage HSPG2+/â hPSC-CMs have immature features, including reduced âș-actinin expression and increased glycolytic metabolism and proliferation. Moreover, perlecan-haploinsuffient engineered heart tissues have reduced tissue thickness and force generation. Conversely, hPSC-CMs grown on a perlecan-peptide substrate are enlarged and display increased nucleation, typical of hypertrophic growth. Together, perlecan appears to play the opposite role of agrin, promoting cellular maturation rather than hyperplasia and proliferation. Perlecan signaling is likely mediated via its binding to the dystroglycan complex. Targeting perlecan-dependent signaling may help reverse the phenotypic switch common to heart failure
A self-learning TLBO based dynamic economic/environmental dispatch considering multiple plug-in electric vehicle loads
Crisscross Optimization with Comprehensive Vertical Crossover to Solve Combined Economic Emission Dispatch
This article implements Crisscross optimization technique with comprehensive vertical crossover
(CSCVC) to solve the combined economic and emission dispatch (CEED) problem. The optimization
problem considered here is multi-objective, as it involves both cost and emission to be minimized
simultaneously. This complex and challenging problem can be solved using specialized technique
which could thoroughly search the solution space and locate the best optimal set of solutions.
The proposed CSCVC technique generates good quality solutions by implementing three interacting
search operators, namely horizontal, vertical and Comprehensive crossover stages. To prove the
superiority of the proposed technique numerical simulations are performed on 6, 10, and 14 Units
test systems. The numerical results are compared with other existing methods in the literature
and it is shown that the proposed CSCVC technique outperforms the other methods in terms
producing minimum cost and emission
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