Extended cooperative networks games

We present here a pricing model which is an extension of the Cooperative Game concept and which includes a notion of Price-Dependent Demand. We present some existence results as well as some algorithms, and conclude by discussing a specific problem related to Network Pricing.     

Study on ultrasonically assisted emulsification and recovery of copper(II) from wastewater using an emulsion liquid membrane process

The aim of this work was to study the emulsification assisted by ultrasonic probe (22.5 kHz) and investigate the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solution using water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion liquid membrane process (ELM). The membrane was prepared by dissolving the extractant bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and the hydrophobic surfactant sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) in hexane (diluent). The internal phase consisted of an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. Effects of operating parameters such as emulsification time, ultrasonic power, probe position, stirring speed, carrier (D2EHPA) and surfactant (Span 80) concentrations volume ratios of organic phase to internal striping phase and of external aqueous phase to membrane (W/O) phase, internal phase concentration and choice of diluent on the membrane stability were studied. With ultrasound, the W/O emulsion lifetime were much higher than those reported previously by mechanical agitation. The effect of carrier and Cu(II) initial concentration on the extraction kinetics was also investigated. Nearly all of the Cu(II) ions present in the continuous phase was extracted within a few minutes. Additionally, the influence of H₂SO₄ concentration on the stripping efficiency was examined.     

A numerical and analytical study on calcite dissolution and gypsum precipitation

This paper presents a simple model for the study of the dissolution of calcite and precipitation of gypsum in acidic solutions. The numerical predictions of calcium and hydroxyl ion concentration have been used to develop approximate analytical expressions for the growth rate of calcium in solution, and the hydroxyl ions concentration. These expressions have been used in turn to determine the evolution of the kinetic rate constants, and to make predictions that show good agreement with experimental data.     

Criteria determination to choose piezoelectric materials for BAW resonator applications via colored picosecond acoustics

A great number of piezoelectric materials which could be used in the fabrication of BAW resonators were investigated via colored picosecond acoustics technique in order to study the required parameters for designing and fabricating improved devices. These parameters concerns acoustic longitudinal velocity, v_L, elastic stiffness constant, C^D₃₃, intrinsic mechanical loss, tanδ, and electromechanical coupling coefficient, k²_t. We first quantify the effect of the ratio between the wavelength pulse of a femtosecond laser and the period of Brillouin oscillations, λ_p/T. It is found that C^D₃₃ depends linearly on λ_p/T. Then, we deduced novel relations for stiffness constant and mechanical coupling coefficient. Moreover, the determination of different parameters (density, refractive index and v_L) of piezoelectric film is achieved, with good agreement with literature. The optimized conditions for the parameter choice of BAW resonators are found to be: 300?GPa?<?C^D₃₃?<?500?GPa and 1.7?GPa?<?e²₃₃/ε^s₃₃?<?28.5?GPa with λ_p/T?>?37 10³?m/s where e₃₃ and ε^s₃₃ are the piezoelectric constant and the materials permittivity in the direction 3, respectively.     

Light-induced layer by layer thickening in photosensitive liquid crystal membranes

Photosensitive smectic membranes of pure liquid crystal (LC) were studied under white light illumination. A thickness increase is observed in the illuminated film area. Appropriate light and thermal conditions lead to a thickening layer by layer process. This unusual phenomenon is opposite to the well-known step-by-step thinning transitions under heating. We give a phenomenological interpretation for thickening based on layer transport of LC matter towards the illuminated area.     

Intraspecific variability of carbon isotope discrimination and its correlation with grain yield in safflower: prospects for selection in a Mediterranean climate

The goals of the present study were to obtain a first estimate of intraspecific variability of carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in safflower, a thistle-like herbaceous plant, and to determine the statistical relationship between Δ and grain yield as well as its components in a collection of 45 accessions of different origins. Grain yield and aboveground biomass, harvest index, average grain weight, and Δ (measured on the bulk leaf organic matter) were investigated in experimental field conditions. A large variability was noted for all traits but a principal component analysis (PCA) allowed to identify several homogeneous groups of accessions. Average grain yield per plant varied between 1 and 39 g. Δ varied between 21.3 and 25.2?‰, i.e. a large variation of 3.9?‰. In our experiment, the variation of Δ was not significantly related to that of grain yield in the whole accession sample. However, we found contrasting trends for this relation within accession groups. These initial results motivate further experiments to assess more in depth correlation between Δ and yield in safflower and are encouraging regarding the possibility of using Δ as an effective selection index in safflower to obtain genotypes that efficiently consume water. This study also highlighted one accession that combines the two characters required in the Mediterranean regions, i.e. high yield performance and high water-use efficiency.     

Nonlinear effects in chiral nihility metamaterial

In this paper, the characteristics of chiral nihility nonlinearities have been investigated theoretically. In the case of this medium, permittivity and permeability are equal to zero, regardless of the existence of nonlinear effects, which is due to the presence of cross-susceptibilities in chiral medium. We have made a study of hyperbolic secant (sech) pulse to define the influence of nonlinear chiral parameter on the propagation of an electromagnetic wave in chiral nihility media. Numerical results are given and discussed to confirm the characteristics investigated theoretically.     

Numerical and theoretical calculation of breakdown voltage in the electrical discharge for rare gases

This work has been devoted to a numerical and analytical calculus of the voltage breakdown in electrical discharge for several rare gases such as argon, krypton, neon, xenon and helium. It was performed using a fluid model 2D, which is based on the numerical solution of the two Boltzmann equations (equation of continuity and momentum), coupled to Poisson's equation to measure the breakdown voltage according to the product of the electrode spacing and the pressure. This study allowed a better comprehension of the physical phenomena occurring in the discharges. We, thus, developed a calculation, based on the empirically Paschen's law, allowing the determination of the breakdown voltage, which describes the transition from insulating gas to the conductive state. Paschen's curves of the different gases are plotted and a comparison between numerical and experimental as well as analytical results is also presented and analyzed.     

Prédiction des processus à temps continu autorégressifs via les espaces à noyau reproduisantPrediction of autoregressive processes via the reproducing kernel spaces

We study the statistical prediction of a continuous time stochastic process admitting a functional autoregressive representation. We construct an approximation of Parzen's optimal predictor in reproducing kernel spaces framework. To cite this article: F. Mokhtari, T. Mourid, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 334 (2002) 65–70