ETK-an operational explosive testing kit

A chemical kit for field determination of traces of explosives on hands of suspects is described. The system involves three components: dry sampling devices (‘‘detection buttons''), and two tubes of chemical reagents. It detects virtually all the common military explosives, and there is also an option to detect home-made explosives based on inorganic fertilizers. Detection is based on two well known chemical reactions for which optimal conditions have been developed. In stage I polynitro aromatics are detected by the formation of colored Meisenheimer complexes. In stage II organic nitrates and nitramines are consequently detected by modified Griess test.     

Broadband Microwave Measurements of Overdoped Y0.9Ca0.1Ba2Cu3O7−δ Films Using Corbino Geometry

The surface impedance of Y_0.9Ca_0.1Ba₂Cu₃O_7?δ thin films was measured using the Corbino spectroscopy method. This special geometry, in which the sample dimensions are well defined by a ring pattern, is ideal for broadband high frequency reflection measurements. Using the complex reflected signal, S ₁₁, measured by a vector network analyzer, one can find the surface impedance of the thin film, from which the complex conductivity can be deduced. In the current work we present the three-standard approach for calibration of the Corbino method and demonstrate the benefits of this approach in measuring superconducting Y_0.9Ca_0.1Ba₂Cu₃O_7?δ thin films up to 20 GHz and down to 6 K. For the data analysis the well-known generalized two-fluid model was implemented, taking into account a film thickness which is much smaller than the normal state skin depth and superconducting penetration depth.     

Attachment and sense of presence in a virtual environment

This study is the first to investigate the connection between attachment categories and presence in Virtual Reality (VR) environments. Participants (99) completed an attachment questionnaire, experienced Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE) in a virtual airplane, and completed a presence questionnaire. Twenty-seven participants neglected to look at the virtual window, and reported lower levels of presence. A significant negative correlation between presence and avoidance was found. The correlation between presence and anxiety was not significant. Ethnicity (Jewish/non-Jewish) was found to be an intervening variable. A significant difference between levels of presence of attachment categories was found for participants who viewed the window: those in the Safe category reported the highest levels of presence, followed by the Anxious-Ambivalent group, the Dismissive-Avoidant group, and finally the Fearful-Avoidant group. Our results suggest there is a connection between one’s avoidance level and his/her attachment type and ability to experience the VRE as real and vivid.     

Reuse of treated municipal wastewater in irrigation: a case study from Lebanon and Jordan

In this study, we present the results of scenarios where secondary‐treated municipal wastewater was used for table grapes irrigation in the region of Ablah, Bekaa valley in Lebanon, and fodder crops irrigation (vetch and barley) in the region of Ramtha in Jordan. In Lebanon, we carried out experiments to assess the response of drip‐irrigated table grapes grown under two water quality regimes (Freshwater (FW) and treated wastewater (TW) and two water levels (100% of evapotranspiration (ETc) and 75% of ETc). While in Jordan, we carried out experiments to assess the response of drip‐irrigated fodder crops considering 4 irrigation levels (Q1: Rain fed; Q2: 80% of ETc; Q3: 100% of ETc; Q4: 120% of ETc) and three crop patterns (C1: Barley 100%; C2: Vetch 100%; C3: Mix 50% barley and 50% vetch). Based on the production and quality components, table grapes were successfully grown on plots that are supplied with TW. Fodder crops were successfully grown using TW with remarkable increase in biomass and grain yield production for the irrigated treatments.     

Genesys-Pro: innovations in test program generation for functional processor verification

Functional verification is widely recognized as the bottleneck of the hardware design cycle. With the ever-growing demand for greater performance and faster time to market, coupled with the exponential growth in hardware size, verification has become increasingly difficult. Although formal methods such as model checking and theorem proving have resulted in noticeable progress, these approaches apply only to the verification of relatively small design blocks or to very focused verification goals. Current industry practice is to use separate, automatic, random stimuli generators for processor- and multiprocessor-level verification. The generated stimuli, usually in the form of test programs, trigger architecture and microarchitecture events defined by a verification plan. MAC-based algorithms are well suited for the test program generation domain because they postpone heuristic decisions until after consideration of all architectural and testing-knowledge constraints. Geneysys-Pro is currently the main test generation tool for functional verification of IBM processors, including several complex processors. We've found that the new language considerably reduces the effort needed to define and maintain knowledge specific to an implementation and verification plan.     

Aframomum stipulatum (Gagnep) K. Schum and Aframomum giganteum (Oliv. & Hanb) K. Schum as Aroma Tincto Oleo Crops resources: essential oil,fatty acids,sterols, tocopherols,and tocotrienols composition of different fruit parts of Congo varieties

BACKGROUND: Today, few known plant species provide both an essential oil (EO) and a vegetable oil (VO). Seed and husk of two Aframomum species were investigated and compared in terms of EO, fatty acids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols. RESULTS: EO yield reaches 15.3 g kg⁻¹ in the seeds and 3.2 g kg⁻¹ in the husks, while VO yield is 180.0 g kg⁻¹ in the seeds and 25.0 g kg⁻¹ in the husks. β‐Pinene, 1,8‐cineol, α‐selinene, terpine‐4‐ol, linalool, myrtenal and β‐caryophyllene are the major compounds of seed and husk EO. Fatty acid analysis of two Aframomum species shows that oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids were the major compounds of VO. Total sterol contents reached 4.3 g kg⁻¹ in seed VO and 8.5 g kg⁻¹ in husk VO. An appreciable amount of tocopherols (0.52 g kg⁻¹) was found in seed VO. CONCLUSION: The seed and husk oil of A. stipulatum and A. giganteum fruits are rich sources of many bioactive constituents such as fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols and tocotrienols. These tropical wild fruits can be considered as new Aroma Tincto Oleo Crops (ATOC) resources that contain both EOs and VOs. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Étude Rétro-analytique du glissement du bord Nord de la mine à ciel ouvert de Kef Essenoun (Djebel Onk), Algérie

On September 8th 2007, a few minutes before sunrise, a spectacular event occurred in the phosphate kef Essenoun open pit mine related to the mining field of Jebel Onk, located in Northeastern part of Algeria. It is a major landslide by volume (7–8 million m³) which had completely filled the pit of the mine and led to the temporary cessation of mining work over an extended period. This paper, presents a retro-analysis of this phenomenon for which, we draw the morphological, geological, hydro-geological and geotechnical characteristics of the deposit and the principal factors liable to be the triggering factors of this landslide.     

New diethyl phosphonoalkyl acrylates and their reactivity in copolymerization

Summary Two new diester phosphonoalkyl acrylate monomers were synthesized and their reactivity in copolymerization was determined. The selective hydrolysis of diester homologues was performed. The polymerization of the diacid homologue produced a non soluble gel. On the contrary, the polymer of the monoacide/mono salt homologue was soluble in methanol.