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Introduction: Philipp Bozzini, a German army surgeon, in 1807 invented the Lichtleiter, the predecessor of the modern cystoscope. By the mid-1800s, several new instruments were created including one, a variation on Bozzini's instrument by Antoine Desormeaux in Paris. The William P. Didusch Museum of Urologic History acquired the Wales endoscope, a rare and unique cystoscope that was invented around the same time in the United States.Methods: We researched the life of Philip Wales and the description of his cystoscope as well as Horatio Kern, the instrument maker that produced Wales' instrument. We examined the Wales cystoscope acquired by the William P. Didusch Museum.Results: Philip Skinner Wales (1837-1906) was a surgeon who entered the United States Navy in 1856 and served throughout the Civil War. He organized and held charge of the Naval Hospital at New Orleans during the operations of Admiral Farragut's fleet in the Mississippi River. He was one of the first surgeons to attend President Garfield when he was shot. He was Surgeon General of the Navy (1879-1884) and founded the Museum of Naval Hygiene in Washington D.C. which later, combined with the naval laboratory and Department of Instruction, became the prototype of the Naval Medical School. In 1868 he published a series of papers in the Philadelphia Medical and Surgical Reporter on "Instrumental Diagnosis," with a paper entitled "Description of a New Endoscope." The instrument contained a metal shaft with an acute beak and used an ophthalmologic mirror to reflect light down the channel. The surgeon peered through the center hole to look into the bladder. Wales used his instrument multiple times in his private practice. Wales writes that the advantages of his cystoscope were that it was simple to produce and cheap compared to Desormeaux's endoscope. Furthermore it was light, weighing approximately 2 pounds. The main drawbacks of Wales' cystoscope were the inadequate illumination, as the light source was external and projected from the outside through a narrow channel into the bladder, and that without an optical system the image appeared relatively small. Horatio Kern, a well-known instrument maker in Philadelphia, that also supplied surgical sets and instruments for the U.S. Army during the Civil War, produced Wales' cystoscope. While he was Chief of the Bureau of Medicine, a subordinate embezzled Navy funds and Dr, Wales was court-martialed. Though he was eventually exonerated, he lived the rest of his life in disgrace in France.Conclusion: The Wales endoscope is unique in that it had an American inventor, was simple in design and cheap to produce. It is an important historical artifact and is one of the earliest and rarest cystoscopes developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Flow and rupture study of liquid film on corrugated plate wall are reviewed. • Chaotic analysis of film thickness series will be a prospect research direction. • Film rupture mechanism cannot be explained by surface wave disturbance model. • More study will be focused on rupture phenomenon at the corrugated plate corner. Steam generated by steam generator in a nuclear power plant must firstly be subjected to steam-water separation treatment before entering the turbine. The research on flow and rupture characteristics of the liquid film on the wall surface of corrugated plate has important and practical significance for improving the separation efficiency. Since the 1940s, researchers from the United States, France, Japan and other countries have carried out related researches. With the rapid development of steam-water separation technology, many scholars have carried out a large number of experiments, theoretical study and numerical calculations on this phenomenon. Based on the published papers, the research progress and significant achievements of the flow and rupture characteristics of the liquid film on corrugated plate wall are reviewed. Shortcomings of past research and prospects for future research are summarized and proposed, respectively, which provides a reference for improvement of separation efficiency of the corrugated plate dryer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ballast deterioration, under dynamic loads, remains an important issue on high-speed tracks that can lead to high maintenance costs. This ballast deterioration leads to settlements. Several studies have shown that these settlements were linked to high accelerations produced in the ballast by high-speed train (HST) passages. The solution with bituminous underlayment was used since 1980s in several countries like United States, Italy, Spain, especially on high-traffic and high-speed lines (HSL). In France, the interest in this technique is recent. Following the East European HSL satisfactory behavior, a layer of asphalt concrete was used under the ballast layer of the Bretagne-Pays de la Loire (BPL) HSL. It is intended, in addition to the schedule savings and the protection of the subgrade during the construction phase, to reduce acceleration amplitudes produced at the passage of HST, to ensure moisture stability in the subgrade and thereby to decrease the maintenance costs of the tracks. BPL HSL includes 105 km of innovative track with an asphalt concrete (GB) ballast sublayer, and 77 km with a granular layer under the ballast (UGM). Out of the instrumented sections of the BPL track, 3 sections are constructed with GB subballast layer and one with a layer of UGM as a subballast layer. A total of 127 sensors that includes accelerometers, anchored displacement sensors, temperature and humidity probes, and extensometers are used. Sensors are placed at various positions and depths in the track structures. Data were first acquired during a speed up test phase, under controlled conditions, with the same train passing at speeds ranging from 160 to 352 km/h. This paper presents the different sensors used for the instrumentation as well as the acquisition system installed to collect all measurements. Data treatment and processing is explained in details. Finally, results obtained for different speeds are presented, with a focus on accelerometer and anchored displacement sensor measurements, on two sections, allowing, among others, comparisons between the response of structures with and without asphalt concrete. The role of the GB, as a subballast layer, in damping the vertical displacement of the sub ballast structure and reducing the accelerations peaks in the ballast layer for ballasted tracks is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a wide range of organizations in developed countries have embarked on efforts to address the economic, environmental and social impacts of “food waste.” Based on more than 120 interviews and complementary observations in the United States and France, this paper examines how recent mobilizations impact the way surplus food is actually managed with respect to sustainable production and consumption. This analysis of multiple stakeholders' interests and motives complements a growing literature on food waste prevention and management focused on technical evaluations of “solutions.” Recent frameworks on food surplus and waste establish one hierarchy of preferable categories of solutions: first, prevention (reducing surplus at the source), then recovery (reusing for human consumption) and finally recycling (feeding animals, creating energy or compost). Fieldwork results show that actors with different interests in food commodity chains actually develop competing solutions, both within and between three hierarchies based on environmental, social and economic goals. In the long term, the solutions they promote may therefore not achieve “win-win-win” benefits for all actors and at all scales. Drawing on a distinction between “weak” and “strong” sustainability, this paper argues that “strong” prevention based on holistic changes in the food system is the most sustainable solution to food surplus and waste. It suggests that academics focus on strong food surplus prevention, but also that advocates encourage government and corporate actors to differentiate between weak and strong actions to diffuse strong sustainability across organizations and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) configurations, including the drawbacks of each variation that hindered the development into large scale rotor. A comprehensive timeline is given as a lineage chart. The variations are assessed on the performance, components and operational reliability. In addition, current development and future prospects of Darrieus VAWT are presented. The Darrieus VAWT patented in France in 1925 and in the US in 1931 had two configurations: (i) curved blades and (ii) straight blades configurations. Curved blades configuration (egg-beater or phi-rotor) has evolved from the conventional guy-wires support into fixed-on-tower and cantilevered versions. Straight blades configuration used to have variable-geometry (Musgrove-rotor), variable-pitch (Giromill), Diamond, Delta and V/Y rotor variations. They were stopped due to low economical value, i.e. high specific cost of energy (COE). Musgrove-rotor has evolved into fixed-pitch straight-bladed H-rotor (referred as H-rotor in this paper for simplicity). H-rotor, in turn, has evolved into several variations: Articulating, Tilted and Helical H-rotors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Proper understanding of the determinants of household CO2 emissions is essential for a shift to sustainable lifestyles. This paper explores the impacts of date of birth and income on household CO2 emissions in France and in the USA. Direct CO2 emissions of French and American households are computed from consumer budget surveys, over the 1980–2000 time period. Age Period Cohort estimators are used to isolate the generational effect on CO2 emissions — i.e. the specific effect of date of birth, independent of the age, the year and other control variables. The paper shows that French 1935–55 cohorts have a stronger tendency to emit CO2 than their predecessors and followers. The generational effect is explained by the fact that over their lifespan, French baby boomers are better off than other generations and live in energy and carbon inefficient dwellings. In the USA, the absence of a generational effect on CO2 emissions can be explained by the fact that intergenerational income inequalities are weaker than in France. Persistence of the generational effect once income and housing type is controlled for in France can be explained by the difficulty for French 1935–55 cohorts to adapt to sober energy consumption patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The joint paper presents a common view of fast reactor specific missions in the development of nuclear energy and a cross-analysis of merits and demerits of several Fast Reactors concepts studied worldwide and especially in the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF) framework. The paper provides the context for fast reactors development in the United States, France and Japan and focuses on the comparison on Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR), and Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), i.e. the three fast reactor concepts that have the potential to meet the nuclear fuel cycle sustainability goals. The information provided in the article permits the reader to understand each country''s objectives to see that not only the objectives searched for but also the technical orientations are converging. The authors underline that SFR technology evaluation relies significantly on the substantial base technology development programs within each country which is without comparison for the other two fast reactor technologies, e.g., SFR technology has already been developed to commercial or near commercial scale in each country whereas the performance of LFR and GFR technology is still uncertain. The main GFR merits are the potential for high temperatures and the easier possibilities for inspections and repairs. The main challenges are the fuel (fabrication, in-pile behavior), materials for high temperatures, and the implementation of mitigation means to manage severe core degradation. The main LFR merit is the lack of chemical reactivity of the lead coolant with air and water. The main challenges are the development of corrosion resistant structural and cladding materials, the implementation of mitigation means to manage severe core degradation, the density of the lead, and the comparably large core size. The selection of a reference fast reactor concept in view of possible industrialization is made on a national base, taking into account the each countries’ strategic objectives, existing technology base, the proven or expected technical performance, the R&D challenges and technical means to conduct that R&D, the possibility to share development costs and risks, etc. It is important to note that in different contexts, the U.S., French, and Japanese organizations have selected the SFR as their reference fast reactor concept. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects of globalization in the book market from the standpoint of linguistic diversity, as assessed by the number of books translated from and into different languages. While the core–periphery model accounts for the global flows of translation, it does not explain the variations within languages according to categories and genres. Using Bourdieu''s theory of the field of publishing, this paper compares the market of literary translation in the US and in France. Whereas the pole of large-scale production is dominated by the English language, the pole of small-scale production developed in both countries a strategy of resistance by translating literary works from an increasing number of languages, as a claim in favour of cultural diversity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The protective properties of organic coated galvanised steel for outdoor applications are generally evaluated by means of accelerated laboratory tests, including electrochemical techniques. An open question is how these accelerated tests can be correlated with natural exposure in different environments. It is well known that many papers did not found any significant correlation between the natural exposure and laboratory tests. In this paper we propose a different approach. The starting point is the consideration to define the natural weathering by monitoring a few different environmental parameters affecting the organic coatings properties (energy from UV radiation, wet time, temperature, etc.), and not just considering the time of exposure. We studied two different galvanised materials: Zn and Zn–Al coatings, three different primers and one top coat. The samples were exposed for 12 months in three different natural environments: Trento (Italy), alpine region, Marseille (France) by the Mediterranean sea and Daytona (USA), a humid tropical environment. At the same time all the meteorological parameters were collected. The coatings weathering was evaluated in the laboratory after some different accelerated tests (salt spray chamber, UV exposure, cyclic test) and after natural exposure. A correlation between the “natural stresses” and the “artificial stresses” was investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

What makes political life in the United States so different from political life in France, Hungary or Argentina? This paper considers why societies “do politics” differently. We draw on Pierre Bourdieu’s criticism of substantialist thinking in sociology and on his conceptualization of the social space to propose a new way of relating methodological to theoretical claims in comparative political sociology. We do this by exploring and constructing a “space of polities” based on data from the 2004 World Values Survey, using relational statistical techniques ( e.g. , geometric data analysis). The main insight is that any single form of political action ( e.g. , joining a voluntary association, or a demonstration, or a boycott) only takes its meaning in the context of its objective relationship to other forms of political action and non-action that have currency in each particular society. We explore the diversity of polity types that actually exist and discuss how they emerge from similar configurations in countries’ spaces of political practices. We suggest that the reason for such clustering lies in similar political–historical trajectories. We conclude by arguing for a comparative approach that is sensitive to differences in overall systems of relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: International policies regulating clinical ethics committees'' (CEC) roles are non-existent. Nonetheless, CECs have established themselves in several countries and there exist striking differences in the way these work. This international practice variation stems from the ways CECs developed, within particular legal, political, social and professional contexts. National guidelines and normative documents have been published in many countries regarding CECs. To better understand CECs'' evolution and differences in various countries, we reviewed guidelines, position statements and normative papers which describe and frame the development of CECs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and France. Systematic content analysis addressed guideline development, CECs'' roles, consultation methods and CEC members'' education requirements. Differing contexts informed the ways in which guidelines were developed. American CECs, established within a strongly litigious context are perceived to play strong decision-making roles, whereas British CECs, encouraged by clinicians, endorse a more supportive model. Canadian guidelines focus on the role of the ethicist, while the French model is interested in a theoretical interdisciplinary approach. This analysis shows important challenges facing the implementation of accountable CECs in different contexts and can help inform future policy development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: This paper presents the synthesis of findings from a literature review study of drinking cultures across five West European countries (France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK), examining the nature and features of drinking typologies before proposing a new dimensional approach. Study design: The study incorporated a systematic literature search covering the period 1980-2010 for literature from each of the five countries. Methods: Researchers reviewed abstracts and selected relevant material, leading to the inclusion of 203 articles from database searches plus 26 records from other sources. A summary of key findings are presented here. Intercoder reliability checks were performed to ensure consistency in inclusion in the review according to pre-ordained selection criteria. The review was further supplemented by the inclusion of gray literature including policy documents obtained from a range of sources. Results: It was found that sociocultural contexts have a major influence on drinking cultures, and this is an area in which there have been dramatic changes over the past 30 years. Differences were found between the countries in terms of drinking cultures, the way in which alcohol is viewed, and how alcohol-related policy and practice operates. However, there seems to be an increasing homogenization of drinking cultures across many countries, strongly influenced by Anglo-US cultural zeitgeist. Modern drinking patterns have emerged, offering a complex and often overlapping schema of drinking typologies. Conclusions: The study suggests that the wet--dry dichotomy is no longer relevant and that a revised version of a more recent dimensional approach featuring three dimensions -- hedonism, function and control -- may be better placed to describe and measure contemporary drinking cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper presents the status of research and development (R&D) magnet tasks that are being performed in support of the U.S. ITER Project Office (USIPO) commitment to provide a central solenoid assembly and toroidal field conductor for the ITER machine to be constructed in Cadarache, France. The following development tasks are presented: winding development, inlets and outlets development, internal and bus joints development and testing, insulation development and qualification, vacuum-pressure impregnation, bus supports, and intermodule structure and materials characterization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes how cultural classification has changed, during the period 1970–2007, in France, Germany and the United States for one particular case: fiction book bestseller lists. Drawing on recent studies in the material production (the publishing field) and symbolic production (the literary field) of literature, I examine the impact of the market logic and cultural consecration on the content of bestseller lists by (a) mapping trends, (b) comparing countries and (c) conducting multivariate analyses. To do so, I offer a nested, multilevel approach that attends to producers, authors and product types. The results show that, in all three countries, authors who have properties that signal the market logic become more dominant, while retrospectively consecrated authors less often make the lists. This trend is stronger for the US than for Germany and France. The differences between the latter two countries decline over time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Musical classifications involve symbolic distinctions that are often linked to social categories, including gender. This paper addresses the relationship between social and symbolic boundaries in the US, Germany, France, and the Netherlands by looking at the distribution of media attention to various music genres as well as to male and female actors in newspapers from each country between 1955 and 2005. While the increasing legitimacy of popular music, as indicated by its growing share of newspaper space, seems to signal a decline in traditional musical hierarchies, it does not appear to weaken social boundaries based on gender. Although women often receive more attention in popular music coverage than in classical music coverage, their inclusion appears to be limited to more peripheral genres. In other words, as certain popular genres climb the aesthetic hierarchy, the media attention they receive tends to become more male-dominated. Thus, as musical hierarchies shift and new genres gain legitimacy, social hierarchies based on gender remain intact over time and across the four countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The wind tunnel test of HART II (Higher Harmonic Control Aeroacoustic Rotor Test), performed in October 2001 in the Large Low-Speed Facility (LLF) of the German-Dutch Wind-tunnel (DNW), is part of an international cooperative program by the German DLR, French ONERA, DNW, NASA Langley and the US Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD). The main objective of the program is the investigation of rotor wake and its influence on rotor blade–vortex interaction (BVI) noise with and without higher harmonic pitch control (HHC). For blade position and deflection measurements the Stereo Pattern Recognition (SPR) technique was used for the first time. This technique is based on a 3-dimensional reconstruction of visible marker locations by using stereo camera images. An evaluation of these images leads to the spatial position of markers which are attached to each of the four blades and to the bottom of the fuselage and thus to the blade motion parameters in flap, lead-lag and torsion. In this paper the different analysis methods and post-processing of SPR data and the final results for all four rotor blades are presented and the advantages, drawbacks and the potential of this technology are shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the frame of ’OHANA project (phase II), IRCOM institute characterizes the 300-m long silica fibres which will link the Canada–France–Hawaii-Telescope and the Gemini telescope. In this paper, we report a method to compensate the differential chromatic dispersion between two 300-m long silica polarization-maintaining fibres. We experimentally show that the differential dispersion is not the same on each neutral axis of the fibre. Moreover, thanks to a channeled spectrum analysis, we are able to foresee the evolution of the contrast as a function of the wavelength and the spectral resolution over a given spectral band. Consequently, we are able to adjust the fibre lengths in order to maximize the contrast over J spectral window. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Applications of Bourdieu''s theory of taste have focused almost exclusively on French-American comparisons. This paper uses original data to identify the cultural repertoires, the level of cultural participation, and the personal qualities used in symbolic boundary formation for an international sample of young elites. The study found evidence for two domains of cultural stratification: arts activities and sports activities. Rates of participation in arts activities varied across world region but were consistently higher than arts participation found in the GSS national sample. Regional variations in personal qualities desired in friends cast new light on past comparisons; again, despite this variation, arts-related personal qualities were valued more by this sample of elites than by the GSS sample. Sports activities emerged as a major candidate for legitimate culture in the examples of upper-class cultural repertoires generated by respondents; American domination of sports culture was the only consistent regional pattern found. A major finding of this study is the disjuncture in findings among cultural repertoires, cultural participation, and symbolic boundaries, all of which have been assumed to be aspects of a single cultural stratification concept. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper proposes to discuss space research cooperation between France and the United States as it existed at the beginning of the 1960s.Among NASA's missions, when created in 1958, was to conduct a policy of international cooperation. Great Britain and Canada responded rapidly to the NASA's proposals.With France, however, the situation was quite different. At that time, Paris wanted to develop large scale space research activities of its own.For this purpose, in January 1959, the French government created the “Comite´ des Recherches Spatiales”, which had two missions: to organize the space research in France and to participate in international space affairs. Although French research at that time was sufficiently advanced in sounding rockets and military missiles to develop a program whose objective was to create a national launcher, France's scientists did not really have enough experience in satellite design, unlike most other countries involved in space research during this period.At this time, several cooperative programs were initiated between France and the United States, in fields such as rocket experiments, visual observation satellites and satellites tracking. However, the first major cooperative program between the two countries concerned the development of a scientific satellite—later known as FR-1— which was launched in December 1965. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia now often include cognitive assessments in addition to clinical ratings of symptoms. Recently, these trials have included cross-national assessments. It is not clear if translated psychological tests produce consistent results across different languages. This paper presents the results of a study of the comparability of the results of cognitive assessments in different English-speaking countries and a number of countries where tests were translated into other languages. Performance on tests of executive functioning, verbal and visuo-spatial learning and memory, language skills, psychomotor speed, and vigilance was compared across the first episode patients with schizophrenia (n=301) assessed in six different languages (English, French, Finnish, German, Hebrew, and Afrikaans), including two different countries where patients were assessed in English and other languages: Canada (French) and South Africa (Afrikaans). The variance in performance across the sites tested in English was as large as the variance between English and non-English speakers when all tests were considered. Performance differences across English and other languages were found only for executive functions, vigilance, and psychomotor speed, with executive functioning differences nonsignificant when education was considered. No differences were found between English and non-English speakers in Canada. These results suggest that the translation of tests of memory and verbal skills can lead to consistent results across translated versions of the tests. Differences between countries were greater than differences between languages, suggesting the need to consider representativeness of patient samples in terms of local educational attainment. In general, these data support the validity of cross-national neuropsychological assessments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Techniques for late spontaneous recovery from stuttering clustered into six strategies. • The strategies reflect components of established treatments and naïve explanations. • Causal attributions of recovery clustered into three implicit theories about recovery. • Knowledge about strategies and implicit theories may help to improve treatment. (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components. 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions. A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained). Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions. The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]