High power amplifier for piezo dampers

Cedrat Technologies SA
A new high power linear amplifier has been developed for piezoelectric dampers. The new technology used in the prototype permits to multiply by 10 the available electrical power of standard power supplies available on the market and dedicated to piezoelectric actuators and dampers. The direct consequence is a larger bandwidth for the active vibration and noise control of structures. The second one is the possibility to supply larger piezoelectric actuators or several actuators in parallel. Know-how and the technology are now available at Cedrat Technologies for the industrialisation of a new product, which will permit to access to a new market. It will also directly increase the sell of standard piezoelectric actuators.

Phonetically sorted Greek and Swedish speech therapy libraries

Kungl Tekniska Hogskolan
Library of Greek and Swedish phonemes, words and sentences to be used for speech therapy. The aim of speech therapy is to teach new speech patterns, increase the intelligibility of speech, and establish automaticity and to transfer skills to untrained situations. The OLP word-list (library) was needed to adequately sample the full range of expected expressions and to allow for automatic evaluation support and therapy design for the client groups. When constructing the library two aspects were considered. The material had to be quite large to represent the language as much as possible. On the other hand the spoken material should not be too long especially in the case of clients with speech difficulties. Therefore the use of the same word for different phonemes and for different positions was used in order to reduce the number of words. The Greek and Swedish libraries were constructed in such a way to fully cover all possible deviations made. This means that the libraries are language-dependent, systematically constructed and based on the phonetics and phonology of the Greek and Swedish language respectively. Selection criteria for the construction of the Greek and Swedish libraries were that all vowels should occur in mono- and polysyllabic words and that all consonants should occur in all possible positions (initial, medial, final), followed by both rounded and unrounded vowels (if applicable) At least three examples of each condition were included. Content of the Greek library to be used for speech therapy: - Isolated speech sounds (26 consonants, 5 vowels) - CV, CCV and VC, VCC syllables (128) - 2-syllable words with the target phoneme in initial position (129) - 3-syllable words with the target phoneme in initial position (128) - 2-syllable words with the target phoneme in medial position (142) - 3-syllable words with the target phoneme in medial position (119) - 2-syllable words with the target phoneme in final position (35) - 3-syllable words with the target phoneme in final position (35) - Clusters in initial position (92) - Phrases (91) - Sentences (50) Content of the Swedish library to be used for speech therapy: - Isolated speech sounds (18 consonants, 22 long and short vowels) - CV, CCV and VC, VCC syllables (339) - Rate drills repeating the same consonant (18) - Rate drills repeating alternating consonant (12) - Monosyllabic words and clusters in initial and final position (947) - Polysyllabic words: 2 syllables and 3-4 syllables (247, 257) - Phrases and short sentences (109)

Simulation methods

Swerea SICOMP AB
The filling process of moulds is simulated, which are carrying fibre and textile reinforcements for the produced components. Methods to model non-Newtonian fluid flow through fibre beds. A two-phase continuum constitutive model has been developed and FE-implemented for simulation of the HTex process, which involves simultaneous impregnation and forming A new method to determine thermal contact conductance between metal tooling and composite has been developed. Using the method a set of thermal contact conductance data has been generated. The thermal contact conductance is of importance both for JETex and HTex process simulations. A thermo-chemo-mechanical process model has been developed for the JETex process and implemented in the FE-program ANSYS. The model includes both thermal and mechanical part-tool interaction.

Use of chemical and biological additives with grass containing high levels of WSC (< 20-25% WSC/g DM) for effective conservation of WSC in ensiled (grass and grass : legume mixtures) forage

Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences
The overall objective of the project was to provide sound scientific evidence for the advantages (production and environment) of using novel ryegrasses bred for their high water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content (using conventional plant breeding programmes) in grassland-based, sustainable ruminant production systems. Previous proof of principle work funded nationally in the UK demonstrated significant production responses and beneficial alteration in N-partitioning (improved nitrogen use efficiency; NUE) in zero-grazed dairy and beef cattle, and in grazing lambs offered an experimental ryegrass bred to express relatively high concentrations of WSC. The SweetGrass project examined this phenomenon in more detail using commercially available (AberDart: NIAB-certificated) high-WSC forage and more realistic grazing and conservation settings. The results can be summarised as follows: - Ability of grasses high in WSC to alter N-utilisation efficiency and reduce N-pollution from faeces and urine, - Ability to conserve WSC in silage made from grass high in WSC. Each areas corresponds to an exploitable result and this section provides a summary of the work behind the exploitation of area 2 (area 1 is covered in analogous parts of the etip) The concentration of WSC in forage for ensilage is important to ensure that the crop is acidified rapidly by lactic acid producing bacteria thereby conserving nutrients, reducing losses and providing effective preservation of the ensiled herbage on long-term (over-wintering) storage of the ensiled herbage. Lack of availability of WSC or an inappropriate epiphytic microbial population on the crop often results in the production of silages of poor nutritional and hygienic quality and reduced aerobic stability and this can have a profoundly negative effect on the productivity of silage-fed livestock. Enhancing the WSC in forage grasses through conventional plant breeding provides for the opportunity to improve silage quality, particularly where the conservation process is managed take maximal advantage of the additional WSC in the herbage. Management strategies include (a)wilting procedures after harvest but prior to ensilage to ensure that WSC levels are concentrated in the herbage and(b) the application of appropriate acidifying chemical additives or homofermentative lactic acid bacteria to herbage during harvest to rapidly acidify (conserve) the crop. While both of these strategies can result in dramatic improvements silage quality, where WSC concentration in herbage are high enough to exceed that required for optimal conservation, it is conceivable that WSC can be conserved and made available subsequently, upon feed-out, as a rapidly fermentable energy source for the rumen microbial population. A major objective within this project was to devise and demonstrate improved conservation strategies which take advantage of elevated levels of WSC in grass and grass-legume mixture. Improvements in silage quality were measured in terms of (a)nutritional quality, (b)hygienic status, (c)aerobic stability and (d)the ability to conserve WSC in silage for subsequent utilisation by the rumen microbial population. From the research conducted the following conclusions were drawn: - Fast efficient wilting with a minimum of losses in the field due to respiration or leaching was shown to be the most important pre-condition for successful ensiling of grasses with high WSC content. - If, due to inclement weather, wilting was not an option, chemical additives, either acid based or combinations of ingredients active against clostridia, were the most effective treatments for improving high WSC, wetter silages. Where making silage when no additive is used (the case for most EU farmers) using a grass of elevated WSC will greatly enhance the probability of achieving good preservation. This is particularly evident with wetter forages (results confirm this). - In silages of high DM content, biological inoculants usually contributed to lower fermentation losses and ammonia concentrations, although they also increased the tendency for aerobic spoilage in the resultant higher quality silages. - Co-ensiling mixtures containing up to 50% legume (red clover or lucerne were studied) enhanced silage quality and aerobic stability and reduced fermentation losses. In terms of the impact of these results on grassland-based, livestock agriculture, it is concluded that the farming community will derive considerable economic benefit by ensuring that high WSC grasses are used for re-seeding swards and by adopting some/all of the management strategies advocated above. In addition to financial reward, it is also considered that these improved conservation practises will lead to reduced waste and more hygienic conserved crops, thus having a positive impact on the environment, on animal welfare and on the quality of life of livestock producers and consumers.

Baseline data analysis report

Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan
Anamnestic variables: All ultrasonic variables have been investigated. Analyses have been performed without and with adjustment for confounders. Results: Ultrasonic variables are significantly greater in men than in women and greater in north than in south Europe; Age, Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse pressure are strong determinants of ultrasonic variables; Diastolic Blood pressure (DBP) is a determinant of bulb-IMTmean, ICA-IMTmean and IMTmean; Height, Hip, Waist/Hip ratio and heart-rate are not independent determinants of carotid IMT; Weight is a determinant of CC-IMTmean and ICA-IMTmean; BMI and Waist are determinants of CC-IMTmean; Sonographers and readers are associated to IMT, thus they have been considered as confounders in all the analyses; Smoking status, Pack-years, smoke duration, N° of cigarettes smoked per day and Years elapsed since smoking cessation (YEARSQU) are strong and independent determinants of carotid IMT; AGE-smoking-start is not a determinant of carotid IMT. All smoking results were confirmed also by trend analyses. Nutrition: Wine, beer and spirit are not associated with carotid IMTs; whereas the total amount of alcohol consumed (irrespective of derived from wine, beer or spirit) is a determinant of bulb-IMTmax, IMTmax and bulb-IMTmean; Meat, fish, Eggs, Fruit, Milk and tea consumption are not associated to carotid IMTs; Coffee consumption is an independent determinant of ICA-IMTmax, and IMTmean; Years of diet is an independent determinant of CC-IMTmax, and CC-IMTmean. Blood count: Leucocytes are strong determinants of carotid IMT, whereas Monocyte, Erythrocytes, Haemoglobin, Haematocrit, MCH, MCHC, MCV, Platelets, Neutrophils, Eosinophils and Basophils are not; HDL-C is an independent determinant of CC-IMTmean, ICA-IMTmean and IMTmean; LDL-C is an independent determinant of ICA-IMTmean and IMTmean; Creatinine is an independent determinant of ICA-IMTmax, IMTmax and IMTmean-max.; After adjustment for confounders C Reactive Protein is an independent determinant of almost all ultrasonic variables. Blood glucose, Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides and Uric acid are not independent determinants of carotid atherosclerosis. Physical activity: In the whole group Physical Activity is not an independent determinant of carotid atherosclerosis. Before the adjustment for confounders the relationship between Physical Activity and IMTs was surprisingly positive (the higher the physical activity the higher the atherosclerosis). This trend is probably due to an effect of confounders, in fact, after data adjustment for confounders, even if not significant, the relationship follow the expected direction. Physical activity stratified by center: In the Milan group the analyses adjusted for age, gender, sonographer, reader and smoking habits show an association between Physical Activity and IMTmax (not confirmed in the analyses for trend) and for ICA-IMTmean (just in the analyses for trends); Physical Activity was also associated with bulb-IMT (both mean and max) in the group of Kuopio (CR3) and with CC-IMTmax and bulb-IMTmean in the group of Perugia (CR6); No association was found when the second group of Kuopio (CR2), or the groups of Stockholm (CR4), Groeningen (CR5) and Paris (CR7) were considered. Carotid IMT and personal history of disease: The status of Asthma, Respiratory Diseases, Cardiac Diseases, Ulcer, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Gout, Endocrine/Metabolic-diseases, Renal disease, Genital/Urinary disease, Ocular/Ophthalmic diseases, Immunological diseases, Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoartrosis, Inflammatory disease, Cutaneous disease Hypothyroidism is not an independent determinant of carotid atherosclerosis; Gallstones was associated with ICA-IMTmax and ICA-IMTmean; Tuberculosis is associated with ICA-IMTmax, CC-IMTmean and IMTmean; The status of Neurological disease is associated with IMTmax, IMTmean and IMTmean-max; The status of Hypersensitivity/Allergy is associated with CC-IMTmax and IMTmean-max. Carotid IMT and personal history of a number of diseases: Family history of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hemoragic stroke, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia and obesity is not associated to carotid IMT. In fact, although associated with several IMT variables in the unadjusted analyses, all statistical significances disappeared when analyses were adjusted for confounders. In the adjusted analyses the unique variables maintaining a statistical significance as determinants of carotid atherosclerosis were: Family history of cerebrovascular diseases (associated with ICA-IMTmean), Family history of peripheral vascular diseases (associated with ICA-IMTmean and ICA-IMTmax) and Family history of hypertension (associated with Bulb-IMTmax, Bulb-IMTmean and IMTmax).

Ocean model protocol document

LSCE/IPSL, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement
A protocol has been developed for use by all ocean modellers involved in this project to make standard simulations of inter-annual to decadal variability. This protocol stipulates i) forcing with NCEP reanalysed atmospheric data (1948-2001), ii) model code, and iii) output routines. The protocol document has been published on the NOCES project web site (http://www.ipsl.jussieu.fr/projets/NOCES). This protocol is also likely to be adopted by those taking on similar ocean simulations in the future. By doing so, modellers will be able to compare their new results to those obtained in this international comparison.

« Раньше