Effects of viscosity on the bitterness and astringency of grape seed tannin

To examine the separate effects of viscosity and sweetness on astringency, aqueous solutions of grape seed tannin (GST) were thickened with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) from 2 to 45 cP (experiment 1) or sweetened with 0 to 1.8 g/L aspartame (experiment 2). Trained subjects continuously rated astringency and bitterness in duplicate. Subjects were categorized by the salivary flow induced by citric acid and ability to taste n-propyl thiouracil (PROP). In experiment 1, maximum intensity and total duration of astringency were significantly decreased as viscosity rose, although time to maximum intensity of astringency was not affected. Maximum intensity and total duration of bitterness were not significantly affected by increasing viscosity; however, the onset of bitterness was significantly delayed. In experiment 2, increasing sweetness had no affect on any astringency parameter, although maximum intensity of bitterness was significantly decreased. Neither PROP nor salivary flow-status had any effect on perception of bitterness or astringency in either experiment.     

When 3-year-olds pass the appearance–reality test.

68 3-yr-olds received a standard appearance–reality task along with either a trick task, in which the appearance question was placed in the context of a deceptive game, or a reduced information processing task, in which a dual object (e.g., a sponge-rock) was presented along with an object that matched the dual object's identity (a sponge) and one that matched the dual object's appearance (a rock). Children were more likely to pass either the trick or reduced information processing task and fail the standard than the reverse. Thus, 3-yr-olds can grasp the distinction between appearance and reality (a) when their goal is to trick someone, which may prime them to think about the other's mental state, and (b) when they do not need to hold conflicting object identities in mind at the same time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The hippocampus, objects, and their contexts.

Rats with hippocampal aspiration lesions and controls were trained on delayed nonmatching to sample with small complex goal boxes, presented trial uniquely. A series of experiments then used pairs of large or small boxes, presented repeatedly. The lesions impaired choice accuracy when the rats were tested with large empty boxes but not when small boxes containing 3-dimensional objects were used. There was a comparable impairment when the rats were tested with pairs of large complex boxes, which contained arrays of objects, identical to those used in the smaller boxes but necessarily spaced further apart. Subsequent experiments revealed that the lesion deficit with large boxes was reduced by insertion of a continuous line of distinctive objects and eliminated by trial-unique presentation of large boxes. The results are discussed in terms of (non) spatial accounts of hippocampal function and the compensatory effects of novel object cues. We conclude that, for hippocampal rats, spatial cues, although useless, can nonetheless be profoundly disruptive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Political orientation and modern versus aversive racism: Tests of Dovidio and Gaertner's (1998) integrated model.

According to J. F. Dovidio and S. L. Gaertner's (1998) integrated model of racism, politically liberal European Americans tend to express racism differently than conservative European Americans, with liberals demonstrating aversive racism and conservatives, symbolic or modern racism. In support of the model, in Experiment 1 liberals showed bias in favor of a twice-prosecuted African American relative to a European American in their judgment of double jeopardy, whereas conservatives did the reverse. Experiment 2 replicated these effects while eliminating a confound in the design of Experiment 1. Experiment 3 found evidence for the intrapsychic conflict hypothesized to underlie aversive racism. Specifically, only liberals displayed greater physiological arousal to the touch of an African American versus a European American experimenter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanism for the Peritectic Reaction and Growth of Aligned Grains in YBa2Cu3O6+x

It is experimentally observed that the peritectic reaction, 211 + liquid → 123, can be driven essentially to completion in 1 h at an undercooling of only ∽30°C. The kinetic data, together with the observed microstructures, are inconsistent with the normal mechanism of the peritectic reaction. It is proposed that the mechanism of the reaction involves dissolution of 211 particles into the liquid and precipitation of solid 123. The aligned grain structure is explained through sympathetic nucleation of new 123 grains on existing grains.     

50-nm Self-Aligned and “Standard” T-gate InP pHEMT Comparison: The Influence of Parasitics on Performance at the 50-nm Node

Continued research into the development of III-V high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), specifically the minimization of the device gate length, has yielded the fastest performance reported for any three terminal devices to date. In addition, more recent research has begun to focus on reducing the parasitic device elements such as access resistance and gate fringing capacitance, which become crucial for short gate length device performance maximization. Adopting a self-aligned T-gate architecture is one method used to reduce parasitic device access resistance, but at the cost of increasing parasitic gate fringing capacitances. As the device gate length is then reduced, the benefits of the self-aligned gate process come into question, as at these ultrashort-gate dimensions, the magnitude of the static fringing capacitances will have a greater impact on performance. To better understand the influence of these issues on the dc and RF performance of short gate length InP pHEMTs, the authors present a comparison between In_0.7Ga_0.3As channel 50-nm self-aligned and "standard" T-gate devices. Figures of merit for these devices include transconductance greater than 1.9 S/mm, drive current in the range 1.4 A/mm, and fT up to 490 GHz. Simulation of the parasitic capacitances associated with the self-aligned gate structure then leads a discussion concerning the realistic benefits of incorporating the self-aligned gate process into a sub-50-nm HEMT system     

Optimal Hybrid Control for Structures

A new method for integrated design of passive and active elements is presented. Rather than the existing qualitative selection of parameters for passive elements, a quantitative approach is proposed that finds optimal active and passive parameters with respect to an H₂/H_∞ performance requirement. This new approach automatically yields passive designs when the given performance limits are high enough and active (hybrid) designs when the given performance constraints are stringent. Furthermore, our algorithm finds the special performance requirement (the peak of the frequency response) that cannot be satisfied by any passive design. Hence this article shows how to determine when control is required rather than assuming a priori that it is or is not required. A simple design method given herein yields either passive, active, or hybrid designs depending only on the level of the performance constraints that are specified in the statement of the problem.     

Laser Induced Liquid Phase Reaction Synthesis Assisted Joining of Metal Matrix Composites

A Laser Induced Liquid Phase Reaction Synthesis Assisted Joining technique is employed for SiC-particulate/Al-alloy composite to produce joints. Joints in SiC/Al-alloy composite are produced by synthesis of suitable material product as a result of interaction between composite and Ti (or Ti-alloy) reactive filler material induced by laser energy in the joint region. Such reaction product minimizes or eliminates the formation of deleterious aluminum carbide phase in the joint region depending upon the type and nature of die interfacial reactive filler material and also the laser processing parameters. A laser beam is utilized to both synthesize the interfacial reactant mixture and to heat the base material adjacent to the joint region to minimize the thermal stresses. The technique along with suitable filler material, further can be extended to a variety of metal matrix composite systems including combinations of Gr/Al, B/Al, B₄C/Mg, Steel/Al, W/Al, Al₂ O₃ and Gr/Cu which are excellent for use in various automotive, aerospace and electronic applications. Preliminary observations describing the proof of concept of laser induced reaction joining of metal matrix composites are reported     

Contextual cues aid recovery from interruption: The role of associative activation.

A series of experiments introduced interruptions to the execution phase of simple Tower of London problems and found that the opportunity for preparation before the break in task reduced the time cost at resumption. Retrieval of the suspended goal was facilitated when participants were given the opportunity to encode retrieval cues during an "interruption lag" (the brief time before engaging in the interrupting task) but was impeded when these visual cues were subsequently altered following interruption. The results provide useful support for the goal-activation model (E. M. Altmann & G. J. Trafton, 2002), which assumes that context--at the points of both goal suspension and goal retrieval--is critical to efficient interruption recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)