The limits to language in doing systems design

We employ a conversational genre of performative research in order to explore foundational issues of language and design in information system practice. Initially, Sir Geoffrey Vickers (?2004), C. West Churchman (?1999), Hans-Georg Gadamer (?1982) and Jurgen Habermas are portrayed as engaging in a roundtable discussion on the topic: “Are there Limits to Language in Doing System Design?” We employ an updated, AI-enhanced version of Memex, an intelligent agent originally described by Vannevar Bush at the end of WWII, to serve as a plausible digital platform for enabling a discussion among intelligent agents, both living and dead. The Memex system conducts a spirited conversation among the four scholars and later brings Pierre Bourdieu (?2002) and Bruno Latour into the discussion in order to enrich the unfolding conversation. After the roundtable, Jurgen Habermas and Sir Geoffrey Vickers synthesize the learning from their perspectives.     

Triacylglycerols of winter butterfat containing configurational isomers of monoenoic fatty acyl residues. II. Saturated dimonoenoic triacylglycerols

Triacylglycerols of Finnish winter butterfat containing one saturated and two monoenoic fatty acyl residues were studied. With silver ion high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), molecules were separated according to the difference in the configuration of one fatty acyl moiety. The distribution of the saturatedcis,trans-dimonoenoic and saturatedcis,cis-dimonoenoic triacylglycerols according to their acyl carbon numbers was compared by means of reversed-phase HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry. Furthermore, two examples of the fatty acid composition of a specified molecular weight species were shown. The fatty acid compositions of corresponding saturatedcis,trans-dimonoenoic and saturatedcis,cis-dimonoenoic triacylglycerols were similar; however, there may be differences in the proportions of different fatty acid combinations or in the distribution of fatty acids between primary and secondary glycerol positions.     

The regiospecific position of 18∶1 cis and trans monoenoic fatty acids in milk fat triacylglycerols

TAG of butterfat were fractionated according to the type and degree of unsaturation into six fractions by silver-ion HPLC. The fractions containing TAG with either cis-or trans-monoenoic FA were collected and fractionated further by reversed-phase HPLC to obtain fractions containing cis TAG of ACN:DB (acyl carbon number:double bonds) 48∶1, 50∶1, and 52∶1 as well as trans 48∶1, 50∶1, and 52∶1. The FA compositions of these fractions were elucidated by GC. The MW distribution of each fraction was determined by ammonia negative-ion CI-MS. Each of the [M-H]⁻ parent ions was fractionated further by collision-induced dissociation with argon, which gave information on the location of cis-and trans-FA between the primary and secondary positions of TAG. The results suggest that the sn-positions of the monoenoic cis-and trans-FA depend on the two other FA present in the molecule. With 14∶0 FA in the TAG molecule, the 18∶1 FA in the sn-2 position are mostly present as cis-isomers. When there is no 14∶0 in the TAG molecule, the trans-18∶1 isomers seem to be more common in the sn-2 position. Also when other long-chain FA are present, the trans-isomers are more likely to be located in the secondary (sn-2) position.     

Generalised Epipolar Constraints

In this paper we will discuss structure and motion problems for curved surfaces. These will be studied using the silhouettes or apparent contours in the images. The problem of determining camera motion from the apparent contours of curved three-dimensional surfaces, is studied. It will be shown how special points, called epipolar tangency points or frontier points, can be used to solve this problem. A generalised epipolar constraint is introduced, which applies to points, curves, as well as to apparent contours of surfaces. The theory is developed for both continuous and discrete motion, known and unknown orientation, calibrated and uncalibrated, perspective, weak perspective and orthographic cameras. Results of an iterative scheme to recover the epipolar line structure from real image sequences using only the outlines of curved surfaces, is presented. A statistical evaluation is performed to estimate the stability of the solution. It is also shown how the motion of the camera from a sequence of images can be obtained from the relative motion between image pairs.     

On the relative significance of bacteria for the distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in Arctic Ocean surface waters

This study presents the first field observations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in bacteria in oceanic waters. To contribute to the limited knowledge of what role bacteria play in the dynamics of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in surface seawater, PCB concentrations were measured in bacteria (0.2-2 microm) collected at seven stations in the northern Barents Sea marginal ice zone (MIZ) and the central Arctic Ocean. Concentrations of individual PCB congeners in bacteria were 0.5-5 ng/g oc (organic carbon), which was as high as or higher than PCB concentrations in bulk particulate organic carbon (POC, "phytoplankton"; > 0.7 microm). Considering the relative biomasses of phytoplankton and bacteria, the amount of PCB in bacteria was generally 5-20% of that in phytoplankton, but at two stations the bacterial biomass contained more PCBs than the phytoplankton pool. This study further showed that efficient PCB uptake in bacteria may be described by an apparent equilibrium partitioning model with linear regressions between the organic-carbon-normalized partition coefficient and the octanol-water partition coefficient (log K(bact-oc)-log K(ow)).     

Can we learn more from the data underlying the statistical α-β model with respect to the dynamical behavior of avalanches?

Hazard and risk assessment in avalanche-prone areas involves estimation of runout distances of potential avalanches. Methods for determination of the runout may be divided into two categories: 1) methods based on statistical approaches such as the well known α-β model or 2) methods based on numerical avalanche models such as the PCM-model or VS-type models (just to name the more traditional ones). Methods in the second group have the advantage that besides the runout distance, velocity and impact pressure distributions along the avalanche track can also be obtained, this being a requisite for meaningful risk assessments. However, the predictive power of dynamical models depends on the use of appropriate rheological models and their parameters.In the statistical α-β model, the maximum runout distance is solely a function of topography. The runout distance equations were found by regression analysis, correlating the longest registered runout distance of several hundred avalanche paths with a selection of topographic parameters.In this paper, we re-evaluate Norwegian and Austrian avalanche data, which served as basis for the α-β model in the respective countries, and additional avalanche data with respect to dynamical measures. As most of those avalanche data originate more or less from extreme events (i.e. avalanches with return periods of the order of 100 years), the dynamical measures may give hints about an appropriate rheology for dynamical models suitable for extreme avalanche events.The analysis raises reasonable doubt whether the classical ansatz for the retarding acceleration of snow avalanches with additive terms involving Coulomb-friction and a velocity-squared dependency, which is used in many avalanche models, is adequate for a physically-based model. Back-calculations of runout distances using a simple block model show a discrepancy between commonly proposed parameter values (and of the underlying rheological models) and the observations.     

Malolactic fermentation in four varieties of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.)

Malolactic fermentation (MLF) used in winemaking was applied to four varieties of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.). Sensory properties and chemical components of fermented and unfermented juices were studied in order to see whether the MLF can have an effect on sensory quality of sea buckthorn and if there are differences between varieties. The juices were inoculated with unadapted Oenococcus oeni at a cell density of 10⁹ CFU/mL and the fermentation was performed over 18 h at 28 °C. The fermentation decreased sourness and astringency in the samples, and fruity flavor as well as fermented flavor were increased. However, the ML reaction was different between the varieties. The size of the reaction was not proportional to the initial pH or malic acid content of the juice. Larger the ML reaction, more changes were observed in the sensory properties.     

Composition and antioxidative activities of supercritical CO2-extracted oils from seeds and soft parts of northern berries

The present study investigated the composition and the antioxidative activities of oils from the seeds and the soft parts of a range of northern berries extracted by supercritical CO₂. The seed oils of the species of Rubus, Vaccinium, Empetrum, Fragaria and Hippophaë were rich in linoleic (18:2n-6, 34-55% of total fatty acids) and ??-linolenic (18:3n-3, 29-45% of total) acids with n-6:n-3 ratios of 1:1-1:2. The seed oils of the species Ribes contained, in addition to linoleic and ??-linolenic acids, ??-linolenic (18:3n-6) and stearidonic (18:3n-4) acids. In seed oils from European rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and snowball berry (Viburnum opulus L.), linoleic and oleic (18:1n-9) acids together exceeded 90% of the total fatty acids. The sea buckthorn (SB) pulp oil had palmitoleic (16:1n-7), palmitic (16:0) and oleic acids as the major fatty acids. The SB pulp oil and snowball berry seed oil were rich in ??-tocopherol (120 and 110 mg/100 g oil, respectively), whereas raspberry seed oil contained a high level of ??-tocopherol (320 mg/100 g oil). Seed oils of cranberry (180 mg/100 g oil), Arctic cranberry (190 mg/100 g oil) and lingonberry (120 mg/100 g oil) are rich sources of ??-tocotrienol. The berry seed oils and the SB pulp oil showed varying peroxyl radical scavenging efficacies (300-2300 ??mol ??-tocopherol equivalent per 100 g oil) and inhibitory effects on perioxidation of microsomal lipids (250-1200 ??mol trolox equivalent per 100 g oil) in vitro. The peroxyl radical scavenging activity positively correlated with the total content of tocopherols and tocotrienols of the oils (r = 0.875, P = 0.001). The SB seed oil and pulp oil were active in scavenging superoxide anions produced by xanthine-xanthine oxidase system and inhibited Cu²⁺-induced LDL oxidation in vitro. The SB oils also protected purified DNA and rat liver homogenate from UV-induced DNA oxidation in vitro. The current research suggests potential of supercritical CO₂-extracted oils from northern berries as nutraceuticals and ingredients of functional foods.     

Distribution of microbes in supercritical CO2 extraction of sea buckthorn (Hippopha? rhamnoides) oils

 The distribution of vegetative microbial cells and their spores in a supercritical CO₂ extraction process was studied. The seed and flesh/skin fractions of the press residue of sea buckthorn berries (Hippopha? rhamnoides) from a juice factory were used as raw materials. A pilot-scale extraction plant was operated at 30 MPa at temperatures of 40 and 60°C. The number of yeasts, moulds and bacteria in the pulp/skin fraction, in the extraction residues, in the extracted oils as well as in the water phases separated from the extracted oils was estimated by the spread plate technique. The microbial content of the flesh/skin material was increased in some extractions by the addition of bacterial spores. In general, the extraction process led to a decrease in the bacterial count of the extracted material, whereas no microbial growth was detected in the oils extracted or in the water phases separated from them. Neither yeasts nor moulds were found in any samples after the extraction process. The microbial status of seed oil and flesh/skin oil obtained by industrial-scale CO₂ extraction at 40°C and at 30 MPa before and after gelatine encapsulation remained unchanged. This proves that supercritical CO₂ can be used to manufacture edible oil products free of living micro-organisms and their spores. Received: 14 May 1996     

Influence of High-Temperature Heat Treatment on Barrier and Functional Properties of Polyolefin-Coated Papers

In this study, the effect of heat treatment on barrier and functionality of polyolefin-coated papers was investigated. The aim was to find the optimal improvements on barrier without losing the applicability of the materials due to physical damages. The results of the study proved considerable improvement in barrier characteristics of the structures. Both water vapor and oxygen transmission rates of LDPE-coatings decreased linearly following the set-temperature until 200°C. At this point, the treatment caused a continuing decrease in oxygen transmission achieving 10 × lower transmission levels than the untreated structure, whereas moisture transport faced corresponding but lower increase. This was considered to be caused by the difference in diameter of the H₂O and O₂ molecules; the smaller water molecules are able to penetrate between spherulites, whose size increased due to higher treatment temperature followed by cooling.