Development of polyester and polyamide conductive fibre

Conducting polyester PET and polyamide PA-6 fibre and fabrics were prepared by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerisation using super critical fluid assisted process. The fibre materials and cloths produced were characterized by means of FTIR, WAXD, SEM, and DSC and two-probe resistivity. The samples were studied also by means of washing them several times. Homogeneous treated fibre materials with sustainable properties were produced. Melt spun fibre material of inherently conducting polymer blends have been reported earlier. Reasonable mechanical and electrical properties (resistance of 10⁵…10⁷ Ω/cm) are typical for blend of polypropylene and polyaniline. With bi-component extrusion technology the fibre as good as 10³…10⁵ Ω/cm is reachable.     

The evolution of perspective view in WalkMap

A wearable computer is a potential platform for map applications: it is mobile in nature, and is often equipped with a head-worn display capable of displaying maps of the surrounding area in graphical form. In this paper, we present a map application, called WalkMap, developed for wearable computers. We concentrate on the visual presentation of the map, and propose a visualisation method that is based on the perspective distortion of a regular two-dimensional bird's-eye view map. We also describe the results of a field study, and compare the distorted view to a regular two-dimensional view. The results show that while a perspective visualisation is good for some navigational tasks, for some other tasks a regular map is preferred. We then continue by developing the visualisation further, and present a fully adjustable three-dimensional version of the map application, called WalkMap3D. WalkMap3D can display the map area in three dimensions, but is also capable of displaying both traditional two-dimensional and perspective map views.Abbreviations GLU OpenGL Graphics System Utility Library - HWD Head Worn Display - LOD Level of Detail - VRML Virtual Reality Modelling Language - YAH You Are Here     

Subjective preferences for the red color of stop signs: Implications for the design of high-intensity-discharge headlamps

High-intensity-discharge (HID) headlamps, in comparison to tungsten–halogen headlamps, emit proportionally less energy in the long-wavelength end of the visible spectrum—precisely in the region where retroreflective red stop signs are most reflective. A likely consequence of the use of HID headlamps is a colorimetric shift of stop signs. This study was designed to examine the consequences of colorimetric shifts of red sign materials in different colorimetric directions. Subjects were shown individual small color samples under controlled lighting conditions. Their task was to indicate, on each trial, whether the sample color was acceptable for stop signs. At the end of each experimental session, subjects were asked to select a single most appropriate color for stop signs from among 16 simultaneously presented color samples. There are two main findings. First, there is an overwhelming agreement among observers concerning the most appropriate red color for stop signs out of the 16 colors presented. Second, observers were relatively sensitive to hue shifts towards orange, while relatively insensitive to saturation shifts towards pink. Consequently, designers of HID headlamps should try to minimize the extent of colorimetric shifts of red sign materials towards orange.     

Experiences in developing mobile applications using the Apricot Agent Platform

The trend of increasing mobile services has set a new challenge for service providers: how to develop more advanced and user-friendly, context-aware and personalized mobile services for the users. Apricot Agent Platform is an agent-based software platform designed for developing context-aware and personalized mobile services. Apricot Agent Platform supports the development of user-friendly mobile services by providing tools for combining various mobile and Internet-based services. Apricot agent architecture consists of an agent platform, agents and agent containers. For the developers of mobile services, it provides built-in functionality and communication mechanism. Furthermore, this paper describes four demonstrators that are built up on the Apricot Agent Platform to evaluate the usability and efficiency of the platform in the processes of building mobile services. The outcome of the evaluation indicates relatively promising results and the further target for development is revealed.     

Acoustic emission of rolling bearings lubricated with contaminated grease

In elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), an extreme smoothness of the contacting surfaces is essential for the formation of a thin lubricant film, which separates the moving surfaces from each other. Sharp asperities, in particular, are very detrimental for the sliding surfaces. Because of the limited thickness of the lubricating film, the contact zone is very vulnerable if the lubricant contains contaminants, especially if hard particles are present in the lubricant.The present paper focuses on the acoustic emission (AE) measurement method for the monitoring of the lubrication situation in a grease lubricated rolling bearing. The aim of the investigation was to clarify how the contaminants in the grease influence the acoustic emission of the rolling bearing. In the paper, the results of tests with clean greases and with deliberately contaminated greases, and the influence of the cleaning and re-greasing of the bearing are discussed. The results showed that the AE measurement indicated very clearly the lowest contaminant concentration included in the study that was as low as 0.02 weight-%. Small size contaminant particles generated a higher AE pulse count level than large size particles. The AE time signal analysis method proved to be a suitable method to indicate the hardness of the contaminant particles. Cleaning the bearing of contaminants and re-greasing with a clean grease reduced the AE level of the bearing.     

Molecular dynamics studies on the thermostability of family 11 xylanases

Twelve members of the family 11 xylanases, including both mesophilic and thermophilic proteins, were studied using molecular dynamics (MD). Simulations of xylanases were carried out in an explicit water environment at four different temperatures, 300, 400, 500 and 600 K. A difference in thermotolerance between mesophilic and thermophilic xylanases became clear: thermophilic xylanases endured heat in higher simulation temperatures better than mesophilic ones. The unfolding pathways seemed to be similar for all simulations regardless of the protein. The unfolding initiates at the N-terminal region or alternatively from the alpha-helix region and proceeds to the 'finger region'. Unfolding of these regions led to denaturated structures within the 4.5 ns simulation at 600 K. The results are in agreement with experimental mutant studies. The results show clearly that the stability of the protein is not evenly distributed over the whole structure. The MD analysis suggests regions in the protein structure which are more unstable and thus potential targets for mutation experiments to improve thermostability.     

A novel cost-optimizing demand response control for a heat pump heated residential building

The present article describes the integration of a data-driven predictive demand response control for residential buildings with heat pump and on-site energy generation. The data driven control approach schedules the heating system of the building. In each day, the next 24 hours heating demand of buildings, including space heating and domestic hot water consumption, are predicted by means of a hybrid wavelet transformation and a dynamic neural network. Linear programming is implemented to define a cost-optimal schedule for the heat pump operation. Moreover, the study discusses the impact of heat demand prediction error on performance of demand response control. In addition, the option of energy trading with the electrical grid is considered in order to evaluate the possibility of increasing the profit for private householders through on-site energy generation. The results highlight that the application of the proposed predictive control could reduce the heating energy cost up to 12% in the cold Finnish climate. Furthermore, on-site energy generation declines the total energy cost and consumption about 43% and 24% respectively. The application of a data-driven control for the demand prediction brings efficiency to demand response control.     

Predicting effects of exploitation rate on weight-at-age, population dynamics, and bioaccumulation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in herring (Clupea harengus L.) in the Northern Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea ecosystem and fish stocks contain high concentrations of environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This study forecasts how changes in fishing or natural mortality would probably influence concentrations of PCDD/F and PCB in the Bothnian Sea (Northern Baltic) herring (Clupea harengus L.). An age-structured simulation model was developed to forecast herring stock dynamics, catches, and weight-at-age under different assumptions about exploitation and natural mortality. The simulated herring weight-at-age estimates were employed in a bioenergetics model capable of simultaneous estimation of bioaccumulation of 17 PCDD/F and 37 PCB congeners. Although the natural variability in recruitment greatly influences the stock dynamics, considerable changes in weight-at-age would ensue changes in exploitation rate or in natural mortality rate. If exploitation rates increase, growth rates would be higher and herring in the weight categories of commercial fisheries would be younger and contain less PCDD/F and PCB. Hence, the average toxicant concentrations in catches would also decline. However, it is likely that only fairly small changes would occur in toxicant concentrations-at-age. On the other hand, a drastic decrease in herring fishing would substantially increase PCDD/F and PCB concentrations in herring. The study indicated that, in spite of the clear influences of fishing on the toxicant concentrations, fishing alone cannot resolve the problems associated with a high concentration of toxicants in herring; further decreases in loading are still required.