Permanent-magnet Hall-sensor measuring system for the study of the relative axial and radial displacements between concrete and reinforcing steel

Using the phenomenon of magnetic induction a method for measuring the relative axial and radial displacements between reinforcing steel and concrete has been developed. For this measuring system a Hall sensor is glued to the surface of the reinforcing steel to receive the variable magnetic induction caused by a permanent magnet placed within the concrete.     

Flow phenomena and local heat and mass transfer in corrugated passages

Flow phenomena, local heat and mass transfer and pressure drop of corrugated passages in process equipment are examined. Based on a method for measuring local heat and mass transfer, developed in previous investigations, a procedure has been formulated for the determination of local heat and mass transfer in corrugated passages. Using the analogy between heat and mass transfer, this technique allows the determination of heat transfer distributions in any structures with high local resolution. The corresponding pressure drop is presented together with the local and integral heat and mass transfer of different structures. It is shown that differences in heat and mass transfer as well as in pressure drop are due to different flow phenomena which also characterize mixing behaviour.     

Teaching Bayesian reasoning in less than two hours.

The authors present and test a new method of teaching Bayesian reasoning, something about which previous teaching studies reported little success. Based on G. Gigerenzer and U. Hoffrage's (1995) ecological framework, the authors wrote a computerized tutorial program to train people to construct frequency representations (representation training) rather than to insert probabilities into Bayes's rule (rule training). Bayesian computations are simpler to perform with natural frequencies than with probabilities, and there are evolutionary masons for assuming that cognitive algorithms have been developed to deal with natural frequencies. In 2 studies, the authors compared representation training with rule training; the criteria were an immediate learning effect, transfer to new problems, and long-term temporal stability. Rule training was as good in transfer as representation training, but representation training had a higher immediate learning effect and greater temporal stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of organic and colloidal fouling on the removal of sulphamethoxazole by nanofiltration membranes.

This study investigated the effects of organic and colloidal fouling on the removal of a representative micropollutant sulphamethoxazole by two commercially available NF membranes. Alginate, bovine serum albumin and colloidal silica were selected as model foulants to simulate hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic fractions, and colloidal matter that are often found in treated effluent and surface water. Membrane fouling was related to the membrane and foulant characteristics and subsequently the separation behaviour of the micropollutant sulphamethoxazole under different solution pH. On the basis of these results, it was confirmed that membrane fouling is strongly dependent on both the foulant and membrane characteristics. The complex relationship among retention mechanisms, fouling mechanisms and the effects of fouling on retention was systematically delineated. Of the three model foulants selected for this study, colloidal fouling resulted in the most significant reduction in retention of sulphamethoxazole as well as inorganic salts, while flux decline as a result of colloidal fouling was quite moderate. Reduction in retention caused by fouling was attributed to a phenomenon known as cake-enhance concentration polarisation, which was a predominant mechanism of colloidal fouling. In addition, the reported results suggested that the effect of fouling on retention is also membrane pore size dependent.     

Ethik-Konsultationsdienst nach dem Konzept von J.C. Fletcher an der University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

Zusammenfassung.   Es wird die Arbeitsweise der klinischen Ethik-Konsultation am Klinikum der Philipps-Universit?t Marburg anhand eines konkreten Falles dargestellt. Grundlegend für diese Vorgehensweise ist die Theorie und Praxis eines Ethik-Konsildienstes, wie sie am Medical Center der University of Virginia von J.C. Fletcher, F.G. Miller und J.J. Fins entwickelt wurde.      

Effect of grass vs. concentrate feeding on the fatty acid profile of different fat depots in lambs

The aim of this study was to produce high‐quality meat from lambs under different feeding conditions, as measured by the accumulation of n‐3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in muscle and subcutaneous fat. In total, 13 male crossbred lambs (Black Head×Gotland), each at 24 kg live weight, were divided into two feeding groups. Lambs were kept either on pasture (pasture grazing, n = 6) or in the stable (concentrate feeding, n = 7). The linolenic acid (C18:3n‐3) contained in the grass was absorbed and deposited into the different lipid classes of muscle and subcutaneous fat. The proportion of total n‐3 fatty acids in the different lipids of grazing lambs was significantly (p = 0.05) higher compared to that in concentrate‐fed lambs. The n‐6/n‐3 ratio (mean ± SEM) in muscle of grazing lambs was 1.2 ± 0.09 in contrast to 2.3 ± 0.09 (p = 0.05) of the animals kept in the stable. In subcutaneous fat, this ratio was 0.9 ± 0.2 in lambs kept on pasture versus 3.5 ± 0.2 (p = 0.05) after indoor keeping. The relative concentration of C18:1trans‐11 in total muscle lipids, phospholipids, triacylglycerols and subcutaneous fat was significantly increased by grass feeding compared to concentrate feeding. Significant influences of feeding were shown for saturated fatty acids. In concentrate‐fed lambs, a lower content of saturated fatty acids was detected. The proportion of CLAcis‐9,trans‐11 (1.9 ± 0.2% vs. 1.1 ± 0.1% in muscle, 2.5 ± 0.2% vs. 1.4 ± 0.2% in subcutaneous fat, 0.7 ± 0.04% vs. 0.4 ± 0.04% in phospholipids) in lambs was significantly (p = 0.05) higher after grazing than after concentrate feeding, respectively.     

The stability behaviour of hard material coatings on alloyed steel substrates

The stability behaviour of hard material coatings made by CVD on different alloyed and carbon steel substrates depends on the properties of both substrate and coating. SEM in-situ investigations on the tension loaded surface of bended samples may be used to observe crack nucleation and growth in brittle hard material coatings such as TiC, TiCN on low alloyed and carbon steels. From the crack distance distributions some important parameters of mechanical stability such as the threshold value of fracture σ_th, the Weibull-parameter β and the ratio of the strength distribution function F and a characteristic length D may be estimated. The threshold value for fracture in the coatings σ_th decreases with increasing coating thickness for all steel-coating combinations. The threshold value also decreases if a heat treatment is made on the steel-coating system. This is due to the relaxation of the internal stress in the coating. The mean strength of the TiC-coatings decreases and the strength variance (measured by the Weibull-parameter β) increases with increasing coating thickness and therefore the mechanical stability of coatings decreases with growing thickness. The ratio of the strength distribution function F and the characteristic distance between defects D as a measure of crack density depends on the deformation behaviour of the steel as well as on the strength and the defect structure of the coating.