Recovery of gold cyanide using inherently conducting polymers

Removal of gold from basic solutions containing [Au(CN)₂]^? has been demonstrated using the inherently conducting polymer polypyrrole. Polymers containing sulfonated aromatic dopants have been found to display a significant ability to remove gold from such solutions. Experiments performed in solutions containing both gold and copper cyanide complexes indicate that the recovery process is not highly selective. However, the polypyrroles used display significantly faster rates of gold recovery than activated carbon. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Contractor Prebid Planning Principles

Planning is an essential function of project management. Yet, many small- and medium-sized contractors do a relatively poor job of operational planning. Better prebid plans will reduce costs, shorten schedules, and improve labor productivity. Unfortunately, the published literature offers little guidance for smaller contractors on what constitutes effective planning. Most papers describe planning as a macrolevel process for owners. Most emphasize scope definition for industrial projects. This paper describes a microlevel planning process for contractors. It consists of eight steps which are: (1) assess contract risks; (2) develop a preliminary execution plan; (3) develop site layout plans; (4) identify the sequences that are essential-to-success; (5) develop detailed operational plans; (6) develop proactive strategies to assure construction input into design; (7) revise the preliminary plan; and (8) communicate and enforce the plan. The entire process is illustrated with a case study project and is fully illustrated with figures which show how to integrate the work of multiple contractors, keep key resources (crews or equipment) fully engaged with no downtime, provide time buffers so the work of follow on crews can be efficiently done, expedite the schedule using multiple work stations and concurrent work, ways to communicate the work plan to the superintendent and foremen, and how to assess the feasibility of various work methods. The steps are easy to understand and implement. They will yield immediate positive results.     

Has risk associated with smoking increased? Results from the Copenhagen Center for Prospective Population Studies

BACKGROUND: Two recent much cited publications have raised the concern that risk associated with cigarette smoking has so far been underestimated. In this study we wish to determine whether excess all-cause mortality associated with smoking has increased during the last 20-30 years in a study population representative of the general Danish population and whether any such changes relate to changes in smoking behaviour. METHODS: Pooled data from three prospective population studies conducted in Copenhagen with detailed information on smoking habits. A total of 31,194 subjects, 17,669 males and 13,525 females, initially examined between 1964 and 1992 with examinations repeated at intervals from 1-10 years, were followed until 1995 for all-cause mortality. Relative mortality risk in smokers versus never-smokers was calculated within periods of five calendar years and compared throughout the study period. RESULTS: Male smokers' exposure did not change during the study period whereas female smokers' exposure to tobacco increased in terms of age at smoking onset, quantity smoked and depth of inhalation. During follow-up 5744 males and 2900 females died. In males, death rate ratios (comparing continuous smokers with never-smokers) did not change in the study period. In females, ratios increased from 1964-1978 to 1979-1994 by a factor of 1.3 (95% confidence interval 1.0-1.8). CONCLUSIONS: In agreement with the observed changes in smoking habits, excess mortality in male smokers did not increase whereas excess mortality in female smokers increased slightly.     

Schäden durch kerbinduzierte Schwingbrüche

Failures by notch induced fatigue fractures Notches produce local stress concentrations and promote the formation of fatigue cracks. Characteristic types of notches as a result of design, manufacturing and operation are presented and remedial measures are discussed. Examples demonstrate the effect of different kinds of notches on various components.     

Speed reduction on through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The paper describes a program of experiments for speed reduction on 28 through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen. In the process, different measures of construction, design, and traffic control were examined to determine their usefulness to reduce speed and to improve road safety. The need for systematic evaluation of a catalogue of measures partly resulted in unsatisfactory design conceptions for the through roads. The evaluation of the effects of the program has been carried out by use of before-and-after-studies of large extent. The speed measurements show that a distinct speed reduction can be obtained only from selected physical improvements. Measures based on optical effects and traffic signs were found to have very little effect on vehicle speeds. Furthermore, in light of the relatively small number of accidents that occur on the selected facilities, it was not possible to establish the beneficial impact of each specific control measure with statistical certainty. However, the results of the experiment have had an influence on the current definition of new design standards for main urban streets in Germany.     

Effects of luminance,wavelength and purity on the color attributes: Brief review with new data and perspectives

A color stimulus may be characterized by three psychophysical dimensions (luminance, dominant wavelength, and purity), whose corresponding color attributes are lightness, hue, and chroma/colorfulness. The 3 × 3 matrix gives nine basic effects of the psychophysical dimensions on the color attributes (e.g. the effect of luminance on hue), but there are 49 possible combinations as more complex effects (e.g. the effect of luminance on hue and chroma, i.e. on chromaticity). Researching and quantifying such effects enables modelling of the underlying neural mechanisms and of color appearance. Using a simple nomenclature to identify the effects (e.g. Ph denotes the effect of Purity on hue), this paper briefly reviews and interrelates 15 of the commonest effects, giving new data or new graphical perspectives to clarify or fill gaps in the literature. Contrast and no‐contrast effects (stimuli viewed simultaneously or singly, respectively) are differentiated. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 208–222, 2007     

Properties of feedback solitons in a single-mirror experiment

We report on the observation of localized states (LSs) in a single-mirror feedback system using sodium vapor as the nonlinear medium. By combining experimental results with simulations based on a microscopic model and with results of a linear stability analysis of the homogeneous state, we discuss the properties of the LSs, the mechanism of their formation, their domain of existence in parameter space, their interaction with the amplitude and phase gradient in the Gaussian beam of the driving laser, and the formation of "molecules" and "clusters" of LSs. We elucidate the dominant role of diffraction in the interaction of the LSs and discuss relations between the clusters of LSs and extended patterns.     

Assessment of the Rescorla-Wagner model.

The Rescorla-Wagner model has been the most influential theory of associative learning to emerge from the study of animal behavior over the last 25 years. Recently, equivalence to this model has become a benchmark in assessing connectionist models, with such equivalence often achieved by incorporating the Widrow-Hoff delta rule. This article presents the Rescorla-Wagner model's basic assumptions, reviews some of the model's predictive successes and failures, relates the failures to the model's assumptions, and discusses the model's heuristic value. It is concluded that the model has had a positive influence on the study of simple associative learning by stimulating research and contributing to new model development. However, this benefit should neither lead to the model being regarded as inherently "correct" nor imply that its predictions can be profitably used to assess other models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beiträge zur Charakterisierung der schwefelhaltigen Glucoside des Rapssamens — Thermospray-Technik/Massenspektrometrie

About Sulfur Containing Glycosides of Rape Seeds – Analysis by Thermospray Technique/Mass Spectrometry The HPLC is the method of choise for the estimation of glucosinolates occurring in rape seeds. But in comparison to GC a disadvantage is that the HPLC fractions can't be analyzed by MS directly. Such possibility is opened now with the thermospray technique. It allows to introduce the HPLC fractions immediately into the mass spectrometer system. Based on the first application of this technique to glucosinolates published by Mellon et al. (1987) the fundamentals of the thermospray technique/mass spectrometry are presented, the experimental details are explained and the characteristic ions of the thermospray mass spectra of 12 glucosinolates (desulfo derivatives) are discussed. The analytical performance of the method is examined also.