Preliminary results of geothermal desalting operations at the East Mesa test site Imperial Valley, California

The Bureau of Reclamation has erected at its Geothermal Resource Development site two experimental test vehicles for the purpose of desalting hot fluids of geothermal origin. Both plants have as a feed source geothermal well Mesa 6-1 drilled to a total depth of 8,030 feet and having a bottom hole temperature of 400 F. Formation fluid collected at the surface contained 24,800 mg/1 total dissolved solids. The dissolved solids consist mainly of sodium chloride. A multistage distillation (3-stage) plant has been operated intermittently for one year with no operational problems. Functioning at steady-state conditions with a liquid feed rate of 70 g/m and a temperature of 221 F, the final brine blowdown temperature was 169 F. Product water was produced at a rate of about 2 g/m; average total dissolved solids content of the product was 170 mg/1. A product quality of 27.5 mg/1 at a pH of 9.5 was produced from the first stage

Purely excitonic lasing in ZnO microcrystals: Temperature-induced transition between exciton-exciton and exciton-electron scattering

Since the seminal observation of room-temperature laser emission from ZnO thin films and nanowires, numerous attempts have been carried out for detailed understanding of the lasing mechanism in ZnO. In spite of the extensive efforts performed over the last decades, the origin of optical gain at room temperature is still a matter of considerable discussion. In this work, we show that a ZnO film consisting of well-packed micrometer-sized ZnO crystals exhibits purely excitonic lasing at room temperature without showing any symptoms of electron-hole plasma emission, even under optical excitation more than 25 times above the excitonic lasing threshold. The lasing mechanism is shifted from the exciton-exciton scattering to the exciton-electron scattering with increasing temperature from 3 to 150 K. The exciton-electron scattering process continues to exist with further increasing temperature from 150 to 300 K. Thus, we present distinct experimental evidence that the room-temperature excitonic lasing is achieved not by exciton-exciton scattering, as has been generally believed, but by exciton-electron scattering. We also argue that the long carrier diffusion length and the low optical loss nature of the micrometer-sized ZnO crystals, as compared to those of ZnO nanostructures, plays a key role in showing room-temperature excitonic lasing

Autoformation d’un village à okinawa et changements de conscience collective: perspectives pour penser l’histoire de vie collective en formation

Dans cet article, l’auteur essaie d’approcher un des thèmes de l’éducation asiatique: la formation de l’individu qui vit dans la collectivité. Il le fait en analysant des changements de conscience collective au sein d’un lieu vécu en commun par les habitants d’un petit village au nord de l’île principale d’Okinawa après la seconde guerre mondiale. Ce village nommé « Village H » dans le cadre de cette étude est connu notamment à cause du projet national de construction des bases US qui a rendu nécessaire de remblayer les côtes de l’océan. Cela a provoqué des mouvements de résistance chez les populations locales des préfectures d’Okinawa qui durent encore aujourd’hui. Cependant la visée de l’étude n’est pas de traiter ce problème sur un pan politique mais de l’examiner à partir d’une perspective socio-culturelle et éducative. Les changements radicaux survenus dans le village H ont en effet un sens éducatif s’ils sont pensés comme le résultat d’une évolution des mœurs et des consciences collectives des villageois. Du point de vue de transactions proposées par Gaston Pineau et Marie-Michèle (1983) dans l’ouvrage “Produire sa vie. Autoformation et autobiographique”, la conscience collective d’un village est pensée comme une vie humaine dont le parcours peut être appréhendée de la même manière que celle d’une personne.Dans cet article, l’auteur essaie d’approcher un des thèmes de l’éducation asiatique: la formation de l’individu qui vit dans la collectivité. Il le fait en analysant des changements de conscience collective au sein d’un lieu vécu en commun par les habitants d’un petit village au nord de l’île principale d’Okinawa après la seconde guerre mondiale. Ce village nommé « Village H » dans le cadre de cette étude est connu notamment à cause du projet national de construction des bases US qui a rendu nécessaire de remblayer les côtes de l’océan. Cela a provoqué des mouvements de résistance chez les populations locales des préfectures d’Okinawa qui durent encore aujourd’hui. Cependant la visée de l’étude n’est pas de traiter ce problème sur un pan politique mais de l’examiner à partir d’une perspective socio-culturelle et éducative. Les changements radicaux survenus dans le village H ont en effet un sens éducatif s’ils sont pensés comme le résultat d’une évolution des mœurs et des consciences collectives des villageois. Du point de vue de transactions proposées par Gaston Pineau et Marie-Michèle (1983) dans l’ouvrage “Produire sa vie. Autoformation et autobiographique”, la conscience collective d’un village est pensée comme une vie humaine dont le parcours peut être appréhendée de la même manière que celle d’une personne

Development of French Social Education at the Present Day : Formation of the A.S.C. Notion

From the viewpoint of the research of comparative adult education, the author pays attention to the formation of the A.S.C. (Animation Socioculturelle) notion in France. At our time, we can take notice of a trend for the institutionalisation of this field: the professionalisation of the agent called "animateur" and the increase of A.S.C. institute. The enactment of the "Diplome d\u27Etat relatif aux Fonctions d\u27Animation (D.E.F.A.)" is one of the most important affaires in the history of French social education. And we can find out the principle of pluralism in this system which is based on the idea of educational liberty connected with the tradition of associationalism protected by the law in 1901 concerning the association. In this paper, the author presents three problems that are necessary to the further investigation for A.S.C. I) The problem about the creativity under the mass culture. II) The problem about the associatve movement. III) The problem on the non-directive pedagogy

Morphometric brain changes during aging: Results from a Brazilian necropsy sample.

The present study aimed to establish the morphometric brain changes during aging in a necropsy series from Brazil and determine whether sexual dimorphisms interfere in these changes. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted at the São Paulo Autopsy Service in Brazil where, after informed consent, data was gathered from next of kin interview with reference to clinical status prior to death. Brain weight, volume and density measurements were taken and then adjusted for head circumference. Descriptive statistics and tests of hypothesis and correlations were applied, considering a p-value of 0.05. Results:414 subjects, mostly men (60.4%), with a mean age of 67.1 years, were included. The mean brain weight of the sample was 1219.2g±140.9and mean volume was 1217mL±152.3. The mean brain density of the sample was 1.0g/mL±0.09. Values differed between males and females in terms of weight and volume. Brain weight decreased during aging by about 45g per decade (r= -0.300; p<0.01) and volume by about 43mL (r= -0.278; p<0.00). Mean density of the sample was 1.0 g/mL in both genders. Conclusions:Brain weight and volume (with or without corrections) decreased during aging, and these reductions were more pronounced in women. Density remained unchanged for both genders. Further studies are needed to investigate factors associated to these reductions