Luminescence studies of polymer behaviour

Luminescence techniques can be used to study polymer systems both as an analytical tool and as a means of studying molecular behaviour. In the latter context, some very interesting information may be obtained on a variety of molecular and energy transport processes. Measurements of luminescence intensity and quenching can be used to observe electronic energy transfer processes (both along polymer chains and from polymer chains to additive molecules). These have a technical importance in that they are the photophysical processes which precede the chemical phenomena important in photodegradation or photostabilisation of polymers. The basic criteria for energy transfer are introduced and examples are given of “down-chain” energy migration coefficients for a number of polymers. Studies of the depolarisation of luminescence can be used as a measurement of rotation in the electronic excited state of the photoactive group. Fluorescence depolarisation is introduced and examples are given of processes with nanosecond relaxation times. The concept of phosphorescence depolarisation is also mentioned, and the first use of this to study processes with millisecond relaxation times is illustrated.     

On the constructive orbit problem

Symmetry reduction techniques aim to combat the state-space explosion problem for model checking by restricting search to representative states from equivalence classes with respect to a group of symmetries. The standard approach to representative computation involves converting a state to its minimal image under a permutation group G, before storing the state. This is known as the constructive orbit problem (COP), and is NP{\mathit{NP}} hard. It may be possible to solve the COP efficiently if G is known to have certain structural properties: in particular if G is isomorphic to a full symmetry group, or G is a disjoint/wreath product of subgroups. We extend existing results on solving the COP efficiently for fully symmetric groups, and investigate the problem of automatically classifying an arbitrary permutation group as a disjoint/wreath product of subgroups. We also present an approximate COP strategy based on local search, and some computational group-theoretic optimisations to improve the basic approach of solving the COP by symmetry group enumeration. Experimental results using the TopSPIN symmetry reduction package, which interfaces with the computational group-theoretic system GAP, illustrate the effectiveness of our techniques.     

Some Observations on the Role of Dopants in Phase Transitions in Zirconia from Atomistic Simulations

Attempts to calculate the free energy of the polymorphs of zirconia are reported. The results suggest a theoretical basis for the phase transitions in terms of the removal of lattice instabilities (evidenced by imaginary phonon frequencies). Dopant stabilization of the higher symmetry structures is seen to arise because of changes to the phonon frequencies due to the different mass and effective charge of the dopant.     

Rapid detection of oilfish and escolar in fish steaks: A tool to prevent keriorrhea episodes

The outbreak of keriorrhea caused by the wax ester-rich oilfish and escolar has become a frequent and worldwide concern. To help prevent such episodes, rapid detection of these fishes in the supply chain of the seafood industry and by food and health inspection agencies is essential. Through a combination of DNA, GC–MS and TLC analyses with reference to authentic samples, fish steaks of oilfish and escolar mislabeled as other species could be accurately identified. The TLC method developed is inexpensive and provides a reliable and importantly rapid identification within 30 min.     

Numerical investigation of DQMoM-IEM as a turbulent reaction closure

This paper investigates a mean reaction rate closure for turbulent reacting flows called the Direct Quadrature Method of Moments using the Interaction by Exchange with the Mean micromixing model (DQMoM-IEM). The method was first introduced for reacting flows by Fox (Computational Models for Turbulent Reacting Flows, Cambridge University Press, 2003). We present a systematic study that considers several important new aspects of the method. In particular we introduce a new analytic expression for the DQMoM-IEM source terms. We present a rigourous numerical investigation and discuss problems of boundedness and singularity in detail. We introduce a filter function to overcome these issues in the general case and present analytic integrals for special cases of specific terms. We extend the methodology to take advantage of these developments and show details of the implementation in a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. We present an extensive set of numerical experiments and validation. The method is proven for a problem known from the literature which includes an isothermal dimerisation process. Experimental and transported probability density function (PDF) data compare reasonably well. The method is discussed critically and areas for further research are suggested to make the method more practical.     

Using deprivation indices in regeneration: Does the response match the diagnosis?

The UK government’s framework for regeneration, “Transforming Places, Changing Lives”, seeks to shape the way regeneration is conducted in England. The emphasis on economic transformation should not be unexpected, considering the Index of Multiple Deprivation – a key measure used throughout the UK literature for several years – has an emphasis on economic dimensions of deprivation. The paper critically assesses the manner in which the ‘localism’ of regeneration policy implementation is being promoted in the literature, while simultaneously using a national metric as an evidence base for action.     

A Method for Computing the Optical Properties of a Smectic C∗ Liquid Crystal Cell with a Chevron Layer Structure

Abstract

In this paper a model developed previously for computing the director orientation in a cell containing chiral smectic C liquid crystal (SmC? LC) is extended to include a chevron layer structure in the relaxed (zero voltage) state. Results of the director orientation calculations are presented and used in a formalism developed elsewhere to compute the transmittance of a 7 μm thick cell for different azimuthal orientations of the cell between crossed polarisers. It is shown that the theoretical and measured orientations which give minimum transmittance are in good agreement over the entire voltage range considered (0–20 V). The computed average director tilt angle is found to be consistent with conoscopic measurements performed with a polarising microscope. Finally, on the basis of the computed director orientations, an explanation is given of why the zero-voltage minimum transmission orientation angle is so much smaller in thick (～7 μm) SmC? LC cells than it is in thin (～2 μm) cells.     

The irrelevant sound effect: Does speech play a special role?

Memory for order is markedly impaired by the presence of irrelevant sound, even though participants are instructed to ignore the sound. Although a great deal of research has disclosed some features of the task and of the sound that augment or reduce the degree of interference, one important issue of the irrelevant sound effect not yet resolved is whether speech has a special status. This study revealed, within a design of adequate power, that the same physical stimulus (sine wave speech), whether perceived as speech or as nonspeech sound, produces similar degrees of disruption and is less disruptive of serial recall than natural speech. This outcome suggests that the acoustic constituents of sound rather than its source are most influential in determining the impact of irrelevant material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)