Suboptimal Exposure to Facial Expressions When Viewing Video Messages From a Small Screen: Effects on Emotion, Attention, and Memory.

The authors examined the effects of suboptimally presented facial expressions on emotional and attentional responses and memory among 39 young adults viewing video (business news) messages from a small screen. Facial electromyography (EMG) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were used as physiological measures of emotion and attention, respectively. Several congruency priming effects were found. In particular, happy facial primes prompted increased (a) pleasure ratings, (b) orbicularis oculi EMG activity, (c) perceived trustworthiness, and (d) recognition memory for video messages with a positive emotional tone. Emotional and other responses to video messages presented on a small screen can be modified with suboptimal affective primes, but even small differences in the emotional tone of the messages should be allowed for. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NMR imaging and differential scanning calorimetry study on drying of pine,birch, and reed pulps and their mixtures

Drying, water fractions, and water distribution were investigated for pine, birch, and reed pulps and pine–birch, pine–reed, and pine–birch–reed pulp mixtures. Gravimetrically determined drying times showed that the drying rates of the pulps decreased at two to four inflection points. Characterizations of the dried pulps by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed a faster removal of free water than freezing and nonfreezing bound waters; all decreased simultaneously, however. DSC also revealed the critical water contents at which the free water and freezing bound water disappeared. The gravimetrically determined inflection points of the drying curves corresponded with the critical points determined by DSC. NMR line widths and images produced by ¹H‐NMR imaging revealed the nature and regions of the pulp drying. The constant growth rate of the NMR line widths with decreasing water content appeared to change at two inflection points, which fell approximately in the same water content regions as the inflection points of the drying curves. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 937–945, 2006     

Efficacy of training procedures in implementing a legislated safety programme

This study examines the effect of training procedures, as measured by the results of a test, on the level of assimilation of a new safety programme in 80 Quebec companies. The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) was introduced in the province in 1989. The bipartite safety association representing the manufacturers of transportation equipment and machinery offered two types of WHMIS training services to their members: (a) 4 h employee training courses, and (b) two-day trainer training courses. Companies were free to choose from these and other services to comply with the WHMIS training requirements. A test was issued to a stratified sample of 862 employees approximately one year after the training. On average, the scores were best in plants having employees trained directly by experts from the safety association (type a). The training of internal trainers for companies produced slightly inferior learning results (type b).     

Hypoglycemic effects of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) autolysates

Fat, alkaloid and polyphenol contents of two clones of cocoa (UIT1 and PBC 140) were removed and the remaining powder was autolyzed at pH 3.5 and 5.2. Based on the results, autolysates of UIT produced at pH 3.5 exhibited the highest ability to inhibit α-amylase activity. However, no α-glucosidase inhibition activity was observed under the conditions specified. Autolysates produced under pH 3.5 caused the highest amount of insulin secretion. In streptozotocin-diabetic rats, all cocoa autolysates significantly decreased blood glucose at 4 h. To assure that the results from the assays were not due to the polyphenols of cocoa autolysates qualitative and quantitative tests were applied. According to their results cocoa autolysates were found to be free from polyphenols. Analysis of amino acid composition revealed that cocoa autolysates were abundant in hydrophobic amino acids. It can be suggested that besides other compounds of cocoa, its peptides and amino acids could contribute to its health benefits.     

Triboelectric charging of fungal spores during resuspension and rebound

The triboelectric charging of fungal spores was experimentally characterized during rebound and resuspension. A fungal spore source strength tester (FSSST) was used as a primary aerosol generator for spores of three fungal species and two powders (silicon carbide and silver). The critical velocity of rebound was determined using a variable nozzle area impactor (VNAI), and the charging state of particles after resuspension and rebound was measured using the FSSST, different impactor setups, electrometers, and optical particle counters. In the impactor setups and the FSSST, five different surface materials relevant for indoor environments were used (steel, glass, polystyrene, paper, and polytetrafluoroethylene). The critical velocity of rebound was determined to be 0.57 m/s for fungal spores, which is relatively low compared to silicon carbide and previous results for micron-sized aerosol particles. Based on the rebound impactor measurements, we were able to define the crucial parameters of charge transfer for different particle–surface material pairs. A contact charge parameter, which describes the triboelectric charging during rebound, was found to have a negative correlation with the charging state of the particles after the resuspension from an impactor. This connects the triboelectric charging during rebound and resuspension to each other. Based on the contact charge parameter values, quantified triboelectric series could be formed. The results of this work show that fungal spores can be charged both positively and negatively during rebound and resuspension depending on the fungal species and surface material.

Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Optical generation of focus wave modes

Localized wave solutions of free-space wave equation can be used in numerous applications where the localized transmission of electromagnetic energy is of major importance. However, an optical implementation of localized wave fields has not been accomplished yet, except for an ultrashort version of the Bessel beams or the so called Bessel-X pulses. We propose an approach to constructing realizable optical schemes for generation of localized wave fields. We show that wavelength dispersion of the cone angle of axicons and circular diffraction gratings can be used to generate good approximation to focus wave modes.     

Oxidation products of α-tocopherol formed in autoxidizing methyl linoleate

The oxidation products of¹⁴C-α-tocopherol formed by heating with methyl linoleate in an air atmosphere at 60 C or 100 C were investigated. The products included a dimer, trimer and dihydroxy dimer, α-tocopherol quinone and unidentified degradation compounds. The dimer and trimer constituted the major products present after heating for 70 hr at 60 C. After 70 hr at 100 C most of the¹⁴C-α-tocopherol had been converted to degradation products; part of the¹⁴C originallt present in the 5-methyl group was recovered as¹⁴CO₂ and¹⁴CH₃OH.     

Usability of low temperature waste heat for sea water desalination

Waste heat - energy that is cooled away from a process - appears at two very different temperature levels. The waste heat that is 50° C warmer than the ambience, can be utilized by a multi-effect-distillation process, and it is competitive to utilize it at least as thoroughly as the first-rate energy.At low temperatures, less than 20 °C above the ambient temperature, waste heat can be technically, and economically utilized, if the temperature difference is 7... 15 °C, depending on the pumping energy cost.