Andrena wilkella male bees discriminate between enantiomers of cephalic secretion components

Diastereomers of the spiroacetal, 2,8-dimethyl-1,7-dioxaspiro [5.5]undecane, represent main components of the cephalic secretion from males of the solitary bee,Andrena wilkella. The major compound proved to be of high enantiomeric purity, showing (2S,6R,8S) configuration. Only the naturally occurring enantiomer attracted patrolling males in the field; its antipode was behaviorally inactive and in a racemic mixture did not inhibit response. The (E,Z) diastereomers were also found to be almost inactive. EAG studies gave the same result as the behavioral tests. The biological function of the spiroacetal is discussed in view of the evolution of the mating behavior inA. wilkella.     

Emotions, defenses, coping mechanisms, and symptoms.

Used L. A. Gottschalk and G. C. Gleser's (1969) method of content analysis to examine 5-min samples of speech elicited from 6 different groups of Ss: 30 young normal men (mean age 25.7 yrs), 30 normative adults (aged 20–50 yrs), 30 normative schoolchildren (aged 6–26 yrs), 20 adults with psychoneuroses, 44 emotionally disturbed criminal offenders (mean age 25.6 yrs), and 22 acute schizophrenics (aged 21–55 yrs). Ss were given purposely ambiguous standardized instructions simulating the request to free-associate. Findings indicate that displacements and denials in mentally healthy individuals are more likely to function as coping mechanisms in contrast to their function as defenses or symptoms in mentally disordered people. No significant effects of sex, age, intelligence, or state of consciousness were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some Remarks on Performatives in the Law

This paper contains an analysis of performatives with special attention to performatives in the law. It deals with the possibility to recognise performativity by means of a grammatical-syntactic criterion, the self-verifying and norm-promulgating character of legal performatives, an analysis of the effects of performatives by means of causal logic, the different forms of performativity and a theory of promise-performatives.     

Leaching of rock fractures: Laboratory and field tests for borehole heat stores

The aim of this research project was to increase the hydraulic conductivity of fractured rock by pumping a leaching fluid (NaOH) through rock fractures. A 16-week field test was carried out in a borehole heat store consisting of 19 vertical boreholes to a depth of 15 m in gneissic rock. The leaching process was studied simultaneously in a laboratory test where rock samples from core drillings of the test site were used. The hypothesis that NaOH-solution would leach and thereby widen the fractuers, was not fulfilled. On the contrary, the fractures were sealed as the leaching test went on. The explanation for this is that the leaching rate was higher than expected, the leaching fluid was saturated and the dissolved minerals precipitated. In principle, the minerals were dissolved and moved from one part of the fractures to precipitate at another part, causing clogging. The effect of the leaching field test has been simulated by means of a numerical model. The conclusion is that a leaching of rock as described in this paper should be combined with a deposition tank for the clogging material in order to avoid precipitation in the rock fractures. The results of this project have demonstrated a way of sealing rock fractures that has many more applications in engineering geology.     

Imaging of membrane lipids in single cells by imprint-imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

A new method for identification and localization of organic molecules in biological samples is described. The method involves making an imprint of a biological sample on a silver (Ag) surface and subsequent analysis of the imprint by imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Using this method, detection of unfragmented, Ag cationized molecules at a spatial resolution of <0.5 microm is possible. We have used the method to study the spatial distribution of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol in blood cells adhering to a glass surface. The TOF-SIMS images show that cholesterol is preferentially located in the plasma membrane, whereas the phosphocholine shows highest concentration in the nuclear membrane. Scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy images show that the amount of transferred material during the imprinting process can be controlled by varying the imprinting pressure and pretreatment of the cell substrate prior to imprinting.     

Toxic gas clouds: effects and implications of dry deposition on concentration

The influence of the dry deposition process on concentration pertaining to toxic gas clouds was investigated by model calculations. Three main release scenarios were simulated, with nine micrometeorological cases considered for each. To compare and confirm the results, two model types, a stochastic particle model and a box-type model, were independently used to simulate many of the different cases. The results showed that the effects of dry deposition may be strong for releases at, or confined close to the ground, e.g. neutral or unstable stratification can cause higher concentrations than stable stratification after 10-15 km. Risk distances are in turn affected and may be substantially shortened, e.g. for a zero-height release like that from an evaporating pool, a 50% reduction in total airborne substance may occur within 500 m at a low wind velocity and neutral or stable stratification.     

Fast thermal cycling-enhanced electromigration in power metallization

Multilevel interconnects used in power ICs are susceptible to short circuit failure due to a combination of fast thermal cycling and electromigration stresses. In this paper, we present a study of electromigration-induced extrusion short-circuit failure in a standard two level metallization currently used in power ICs and in particular the effect of fast thermal cycling on the subsequent electromigration lifetime. A special test chip was designed, in which the electromigration test structure is integrated with a heating element and a diode as temperature sensor in order to generate fast temperature swings and to monitor them. Experimental results showed that with the introduction of fast thermal cycling as a preconditioning, the electromigration lifetime is significantly reduced. We observed that the reduction of the electromigration lifetime depends on the stress time, temperature range and the minimum temperature. Electromigration simulations using a two-dimensional simulator confirm the extrusion short circuit as failure mechanism.     

Reasons for drop in shell-and-tube condenser performance when replacing R22 with zeotropic mixtures. Part 2: investigation of mass transfer resistance effects

Detailed calculations of condensation outside a column of horizontal smooth tubes have been carried out in order to investigate the influence of mass transfer resistance for a zeotropic refrigerant mixture. Diffusive transport is calculated locally in both phases. Calculation results show that mass transfer resistance in the gas phase reduces heat transfer by 10–20% for a binary mixture with a glide similar to that of R407C.The decrease in heat transfer due to poor mixing in the condensate is from 15 to 65% for the conditions investigated; the lower the duty, the greater the decrease. Results show that if assuming mixing in the condensate by diffusion only, the degrees of mixing and the duty dependency are similar to results in earlier work where calculations were matched to experimental data. Diffusion is likely to be the dominant mixing mechanism in the condensate, and the mixing is poor under certain conditions, which might explain the drop in condenser performance for some heat pump applications.     

Perspective of webometrics

Since the mid-1990s has emerged a new research field, webometrics, investigating the nature and properties of the Web drawing on modern informetric methodologies. The article attempts to point to selected areas of webometric research that demonstrate interesting progress and space for development as well as to some currently less promising areas. Recent investigations of search engine coverage and performance are reviewed as a frame for selected quality and content analyses. Problems with measuring Web Impact Factors (Web-IF) are discussed. Concluding the article, new directions of webometrics are outlined for performing knowledge discovery and issue tracking on the Web, partly based on bibliometric methodologies used in bibliographic and citation databases. In this framework graph theoretic approaches, including path analysis, transversal links, weak ties and small-world phenomena are integrated.     

Silicon Nitride Colloidal Probe Measurements: Interparticle Forces and the Role of Surface-Segment Interactions in Poly(acrylic acid) Adsorption from Aqueous Solution

Direct measurements of forces between silicon nitride surfaces in the presence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) are presented. The force-distance curves were obtained at pH > pH_iep with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) colloidal-probe technique using a novel spherical silicon nitride probe attached to the AFM cantilever. We found that PAA adsorbs onto the negatively charged silicon nitride surface, which results in an increased repulsive surface potential. The steric contribution to the interparticle repulsion is small and the layer conformation remains flat even at high surface potentials or high ionic strength. The general features of the stabilization of ceramic powders with PAA are discussed; we suggest that PAA adsorbs onto silicon nitride by sequential adsorption of neighboring segments ("zipping"), which results in a flat conformation. In contrast, the long-range steric force found in the ZrO₂/PAA system at pH > pH_iep arises because the stretched equilibrium bulk conformation of the highly charged polymer is preserved via the formation of strong, irreversible surface-segment bonds on adsorption.