Mixed self-assembled lipopolymers with spacer lipids enhancing sensitivity of lipid-derivative QCMs for odor sensors

An odor sensing system using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor array and pattern recognition technique has been for years a main research topic in our group. For the general field of artificial olfaction using acoustic-wave based sensors such as QCMs it is vital to search for novel sensing materials. Here we present recent results of our ongoing study on application of pegylated lipids as coatings for QCM odor-sensors. The method presented herein is based on self-assembling of lipids and lipid-derivatives on the QCM surfaces. The disulphide-terminated lipids and lipopolymers are co-chemisorbed onto gold electrodes of QCM sensors by simple immersion in ethanolic solutions. This creates porous supports onto which additional layers of lipopolymers are physisorbed. The method allows for fabrication of lipopolymeric QCM odor-sensors with enhanced sensitivity to odorants, capable of very good discrimination among odorant samples—according to the functional group of an odorant.     

Subatomic Natural Deduction for a Naturalistic First-Order Language with Non-Primitive Identity

A first-order language with a defined identity predicate is proposed whose apparatus for atomic predication is sensitive to grammatical categories of natural language (e.g., common nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, modifiers). Subatomic natural deduction systems are defined for this naturalistic first-order language. These systems contain subatomic systems which govern the inferential relations which obtain between naturalistic atomic sentences and between their possibly composite components. As a main result it is shown that normal derivations in the defined systems enjoy the subexpression property which subsumes the subformula property with respect to atomic and identity formulae as a special case. The systems admit a proof-theoretic semantics which does not only apply to logically compound but also to atomic and identity formulae—as well as to their components. The potential of the defined systems for a meticulous first-order analysis of natural inferences whose validity crucially depends on expressions of some of the aforementioned categories is demonstrated.     

The COCA quality model for user documentation

According to Pedraz-Delhaes, users evaluate both the product and the vendor on the basis of provided documentation. Thus, a question arises as to what quality characteristics should be taken into account when making a decision about accepting a given user manual. There are some proposals (e.g., ISO Std. 26513 and 26514), but they contain too many quality characteristics and lack orthogonality. The goal of this paper is to propose a simple quality model for user documentation, along with acceptance methods based on it. The model is to be orthogonal and complete. As a result, the COCA quality model is presented, which comprises four orthogonal quality characteristics: Completeness, Operability, Correctness, and Appearance. To check completeness, the proposed quality model has been compared with many other quality models that are directly or indirectly concerned with user documentation. Moreover, two acceptance methods are described in the paper: pure review based on ISO Std. 1028:2008, and documentation evaluation test (a type of browser evaluation test), which is aimed at assessing the operability of user documentation. Initial quality profiles have been empirically collected for both methods—they can be used when interpreting evaluation results obtained for a given user manual.     

A Chamber for Testing the Release of Volatile Substances Secreted by Animals,Especially Mammals,as Exemplified by Substances Released by Rats in Response to Stress

Abstract

The success of the testing of volatile organic compounds emitted by animals is dependent on the creation of appropriate conditions for air sampling subsequently used to assay and identify the compounds. These conditions play a particularly important role in the investigation of pheromones, which are secreted in extremely low concentrations. The authors have not come across any previous work which offers constructional solutions, which would allow avoidance of contamination of the air samples containing volatile substances secreted by animals.

A constructional solution was developed, which provides optimal conditions for their sampling and isolation. Its main advantages are as follows: the exposure chamber (the chamber in which the animal is studied) is filled with synthetic air; the exposure chamber is separated from the atmospheric air with a synthetic air “jacket”; the exposure chamber has been constructed using materials which do not release chemicals and absorb them in trace quantities.     

Security Policy Conflicts in Service-oriented Systems

This paper considers methods for knowledge exploitation in security policies for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) environments, discovering the modality conflicts in particular. Two algorithms for discovering SOA-specific modality conflicts are proposed. First, a trivial (ad-hoc) approach is presented and further extended by the improved algorithm which offers lower time complexity. The formal verification of the proposal is followed by experimental results confirming the expected supremacy of the improved algorithm.     

The unstable thermoelectric effect in non-stoichiometric Cu2Se during the non-equilibrium phase transition

Journal of Materials Science - The superionic α???β phase transition in Cu1.96Se thermoelectric material is investigated by means of thermal analysis (DSC) and...