IBM's Linux watch, the challenge of miniaturization

Nearly four years in development, the IBM Linux watch contains a complete computer system that runs Linux, displays X11 graphics, and has wireless connectivity. The system fits in a case that could pass as a slightly unusual analog timepiece with a somewhat odd shape and an extraordinarily brilliant face. The developers have created two versions of the watch, one with an organic light-emitting diode display and the other with a liquid crystal display. Still considered a research prototype, the watch already runs some personal information management applications, and it can communicate with PCs, PDAs, and other wireless-enabled devices, viewing condensed e-mail and directly receiving pager-like messages. Eventually, users will be able to access various Internet-based services, such as up-to-the-minute information about weather, traffic conditions, the stock market, and sports     

The Application of Ozone for Water Treatment In The United Kingdom — Current Practive and Recent Research

Only two water works in the UK apply ozone at present as part of their treatment, onefor taste and odor control and theother forcolor removal. Forthetwo applicationus ozone was the most economical option at thetime theplants were installed andozone has been successful for the purpose for which it was designed.     

Hybrid gas-to-particle conversion and chemical vapor deposition for the production of porous alumina films

Porous alumina films can be found in a wide variety of materials, including filters, thermal insulation components, dielectrics, biomedical and catalyst supports, coatings and adsorbents. Production methods for these films are as equally diverse as their applications. In this work, a hybrid process based upon chemical vapor deposition and gas-to-particle conversion is presented as an alternative technique for producing porous alumina films, with the main advantages of solvent-free, low substrate-temperature operation. In this process, nanoparticles were produced in the vapor phase by reaction of aluminum acetylacetonate in the presence of oxygen. Downstream of this reaction zone, these nanoparticles were collected via thermophoresis onto a cooled substrate, forming a porous film. Some deposited films were subjected to post-processing in the form of annealing in air. Fourier-transform infrared spectra and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirmed the production of alumina at processing temperatures above 973 K. X-Ray diffraction revealed that the films were amorphous. Film thickness, ranging from 30 to 250 μm, and the average deposition rate were determined from scanning electron microscopy results. From transmission electron microscopy, the average primary particle size was determined to be approximately 18 nm and the formation of nanoparticle aggregates was evident. Annealing of the films at temperatures ranging from 523 to 1173 K in the presence of air did not have an effect on particle size. The specific surface area of the powder composing the films ranged from 10 to 185 m² g⁻¹, as determined from nitrogen gas adsorption by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method.     

Features of the photoconductivity of iodine-doped cotton fibers illuminated in the fundamental absorption range

The photoelectric properties of cotton fibers treated with iodine were studied in the fundamental absorption range. The samples exhibit a sublinear illumination-current characteristic and a long-term relaxation of photoconductivity (PC) after UV irradiation (hν=5 eV) of the iodine-doped fibers. A PC mechanism is proposed which explains both the nonlinear variation of photocurrent with illumination intensity and the PC decay according to a bimolecular recombination law after UV irradiation of the iodine-doped fiber in the fundamental absorption range.     

A RKHS interpolator-based graph matching algorithm

We present an algorithm for performing attributed graph matching. This algorithm is derived from a generalized framework for describing functionally expanded interpolators which is based on the theory of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS). The algorithm incorporates a general approach to a wide class of graph matching problems based on attributed graphs, allowing the structure of the graphs to be based on multiple sets of attributes. No assumption is made about the adjacency structure of the graphs to be matched     

Signed line intercept count

Elements of surfaces that bound a phase (β) in a two phase mixture (α+β) may be classified as: (a) convex (++) if both principal curvatures are positive; (b) concave (? ?) if both are negative; and (c) saddle (+ ?) if one is positive and the other negative. This classification excludes the limiting cases for which one or both of the principal curvatures is zero. The traces of these surfaces that form the boundaries of the β areas on a representative two dimensional section may also be: (a) convex (+) if the local curvature is positive; or (b) concave (?) if it is negative. Line intercepts may be tabulated separately for intersections with convex (+) and concave (?) segments of boundary. This paper presents a derivation of fundamental stereological formulae that relate these counting measurements to three-dimensional geometric properties of the structure they sample.     

Colloidal silica removal in coagulation processes for wastewater reuse in a high-tech industrial park.

Four experiments of coagulation and flocculation were conducted to investigate the characteristics of colloidal silica removal in a high-tech industrial wastewater treatment plant for reclamation and reuse of the effluent. Experimental results illustrated that poly-aluminium chloride (PACl) showed higher performances on colloidal silica removal than alum. Interestingly, the two coagulants demonstrated the same capacity on silica removal. The specific silica removal capacity was approximately 0.135 mg SiO2/mg Al2O3 when the dosage of coagulants was in the range 30-150 mg/L Al2O3. In addition, the silica was reduced significantly at the condition of pH above 8. Experimental data implied that precipitation of aluminium flocs was the major mechanism for colloid silica removal in PACl and alum coagulation, besides, charge adsorption was also important for improving removal efficiency. Moreover, the addition of polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a flocculant could slightly advance silica removal in the PACl coagulation. The combined PACl/PAA/flocs coagulation was effective for the removal of colloidal silica, soluble COD, and turbidity and also suitable as a pretreatment unit in wastewater reclamation and reuse processes.     

Nonconscious control mimics a purposeful strategy: Strength of Stroop-like interference is automatically modulated by proportion of compatible trials.

The magnitude of the Stroop effect is known to be modulated by the proportion of trials on which the irrelevant word and relevant ink color correspond. This has often been attributed to a conscious strategy of increased (or decreased) reliance on the irrelevant words when these are more likely (or less likely) to correspond to the ink colors. However, the present data from a Stroop-like task involving successively presented arrows indicate instead that this type of modulation can be automatic because it can occur even if the irrelevant stimuli are not phenomenally visible. In this case participants cannot determine the proportion of compatible trials to direct their strategy. An automatic, item-specific associative interpretation can account for these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An orthogonal basis for the hyperbolic hybrid polynomial space

Motivated by the wide usage of the Tchebyshev basis and Legendre basis in the algebra polynomial space, we construct an orthogonal basis with the properties of the H-Bézier basis in the hyperbolic hybrid polynomial space, which is similar to the Legendre basis and holds remarkable properties. Moreover, we derive the transformation matrices that map the H-Bézier basis and the orthogonal basis forms into each other. An example for approximating the degree reduction of the H- Bézier curves is sketched to illustrate the utility of the orthogonal basis.