I like it because I said that I like it: Evaluative conditioning effects can be based on stimulus-response learning.

Evaluative conditioning (EC) effects are often assumed to be based on a learned mental link between the CS (conditioned stimulus) and the US (unconditioned stimulus). We demonstrate that this link is not the only one that can underlie EC effects, but that if evaluative responses are actually given during the learning phase also a direct link between the CS and an evaluative response—a CS-ER link—can be learned and lead to EC effects. In Experiment 1, CSs were paired with USs and participants were asked to evaluate the pairs during the conditioning phase. Resulting EC effects were unaffected by a later revaluation of the USs, suggesting that these EC effects can be attributed to CS-ER learning rather than to CS-US learning. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 with the difference that no evaluative responses were given during the learning phase. EC effects in this study were influenced by US revaluation, suggesting that these EC effects are mainly based on CS-US learning. In Experiment 3, it was shown that EC effects can be found even if the USs are entirely removed from the procedure and the CSs are only paired with enforced evaluative responses. Together the experiments show that the valence of a stimulus can change because of a contingency with an evaluative response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Advancing membrane electrodes and optical ion sensors

While potentiometric sensors experienced a golden age in the 1970s that drove innovation and implementation in the clinical laboratory as sensors of choice, it has been only fairly recently that a theoretical understanding coupled with modern materials approaches transformed the area of membrane electrodes from a playful, yet empirical field to one firmly rooted in scientific understanding. This paper summarizes key progress in the field during the past two decades, emphasizing that the key impulses at the time originated from the emerging field of optical ion sensors. This simplified and transformed the underlying theory of their potentiometric membrane electrode counterparts, where subsequently substantial progress was made, including the realization of ultra-trace detection limits. The better understanding of zero-current ion fluxes and transport processes in turn allowed the development of approaches utilizing dynamic electrochemistry principles, thereby drastically expanding the field of membrane electrodes and making available a range of new methodologies that would have been difficult to predict only a few years ago. These significant developments are now starting to come back and influence the field of optical sensors, where the control and triggering of dynamic processes, away from simpler equilibrium principles, are becoming a highly promising field of research.     

Über die Korrelation der ödometrischen und der “dynamischen” Steifigkeit nichtbindiger Böden

On the correlation of the oedometric and the “dynamic” stiffness of non‐cohesive soils. The “dynamic” shear modulus G_dyn of the soil, i.e. the secant stiffness of the shear stress – shear strain – hysteresis at very small strain amplitudes is often estimated my means of a diagram correlating the dynamic constrained elastic modulus E_s,dyn with the oedometric stiffness E_s for first loading. However, the assumptions and limits of this correlation are not clear. In the context of this paper the correlation E_s ↔ E_s,dyn is checked for four sands with different grain size distribution curves. For this purpose tests with oedometric compression and measurements of the compression wave velocity in a triaxial cell were performed. Partially, significant deviations of the measured data from the correlation approach actually used were obtained. On the basis of the wave velocity measurements and supplementing resonant column tests this paper also discusses the “dynamic” Poisson's ratio ν and presents a modified correlation E_s ↔ G_dyn.     

Development of an expert system for preliminary risk assessment of existing concrete dams

The paper presents an expert system to assist in the field inspection of existing concrete dams within the context of a preliminary risk assessment. The paper describes the engineering knowledge and reasoning required to conduct a deterministic field evaluation of the structural stability of the dam. The symptoms and failure modes identified by the expert system along with the required knowledge and procedures are organized in a structured knowledge tree. The instantiation of the frames and firing of the rules for each consultation traces part of the inference tree contained in the structured knowledge tree. Interaction between nearly decomposable problems are executed with metaknowledge procedures, shared rule groups, and active values. Examples are provided.     

Accumulation and desorption of free radicals in emulsion copolymerization

The emulsion copolymerization of styrene with acrylonitrile, seeded on a polybutadiene support and initiated either potassium persulfate or γ-rays has been studied. The original technique of support activation consists of two steps: the start of the copolymerization in the presence of a small fraction of monomers, followed by the addition of the rest of monomers, which leads to a great increase in the reaction rate. The experimental data provide evidence for a new mechanism that takes into account the desorption–reentry of the free oligoradicals into another particle, their transfer to the polybutadiene support, which results in the accumulation of trapped free radicals. As a consequence of free radicals' accumulation, the overall copolymerization rate increases. The accumulation as well as the desorption processes place this type of copolymerization far from Smith–Ewart theory case II.     

Application of the Colorado River Simulation System Model to Evaluate Water Shortage Conditions in the Central Arizona Project

Central Arizona Project (CAP) is currently enhancing its water resources modeling capabilities to improve water resources management and planning activities and to better understand the inherent complexities of the Colorado River Basin system. CAP modeling activities in the Colorado River Basin extensively utilize the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) model. CRSS is a sophisticated object-oriented surface water model developed under the RiverWare modeling environment and maintained by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). CRSS incorporates important aspects of the Colorado River Basin: main stem, reservoirs along the river, water inflows to the river, and points of water deliveries. By using the object-oriented and rule-based capabilities of RiverWare, CRSS has embedded the rules of the Law of the River. These set of rules guide the operation and management of the Colorado River Basin’s surface water supply. This analysis executes CRSS short term simulations to evaluate the vulnerability of water deliveries to CAP from the Colorado River under different extreme hydrological and policy conditions. In the future, this type of analysis will provide key input for other CAP models, aimed to improve a quantitative understanding of the impacts of different uncertain and complex scenarios: drought conditions, future user demand behavior, reservoir operation, and optimize water recovery as a part of Arizona Water Bank Authority (AWBA), among others.     

Non reciprocal single mode conversion in multilayer magnetooptical waveguides

Multilayer structures are of great interest in the fabrication of single mode devices for Integrated Optics. this work it is shown that a multilayer structure allows not only single-mode behaviour but it enhaces the non-reci procity of the quide.     

3D Electrophoresis‐Assisted Lithography (3DEAL): 3D Molecular Printing to Create Functional Patterns and Anisotropic Hydrogels

The ability to easily generate anisotropic hydrogel environments made from functional molecules with microscale resolution is an exciting possibility for the biomaterials community. This study reports a novel 3D electrophoresis‐assisted lithography (3DEAL) platform that combines elements from proteomics, biotechnology, and microfabrication to print well‐defined 3D molecular patterns within hydrogels. The potential of the 3DEAL platform is assessed by patterning immunoglobulin G, fibronectin, and elastin within nine widely used hydrogels and characterizing pattern depth, resolution, and aspect ratio. Furthermore, the technique's versatility is demonstrated by fabricating complex patterns including parallel and perpendicular columns, curved lines, gradients of molecular composition, and patterns of multiple proteins ranging from tens of micrometers to centimeters in size and depth. The functionality of the printed molecules is assessed by culturing NIH‐3T3 cells on a fibronectin‐patterned polyacrylamide‐collagen hydrogel and selectively supporting cell growth. 3DEAL is a simple, accessible, and versatile hydrogel‐patterning platform based on controlled molecular printing that may enable the development of tunable, chemically anisotropic, and hierarchical 3D environments.     

Observation of Unconventional Dynamics of Domain Walls in Uniaxial Ferroelectric Lead Germanate

Application of scanning probe microscopy techniques such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) opens the possibility to re‐visit the ferroelectrics previously studied by the macroscopic electrical testing methods and establish a link between their local nanoscale characteristics and integral response. The nanoscale PFM studies and phase field modeling of the static and dynamic behavior of the domain structure in the well‐known ferroelectric material lead germanate, Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁, are reported. Several unusual phenomena are revealed: 1) domain formation during the paraelectric‐to‐ferroelectric phase transition, which exhibits an atypical cooling rate dependence; 2) unexpected electrically induced formation of the oblate domains due to the preferential domain walls motion in the directions perpendicular to the polar axis, contrary to the typical domain growth behavior observed so far; 3) absence of the bound charges at the 180° head‐to‐head (H–H) and tail‐totail (T–T) domain walls, which typically exhibit a significant charge density in other ferroelectrics due to the polarization discontinuity. This strikingly different behavior is rationalized by the phase field modeling of the dynamics of uncharged H–H and T–T domain walls. The results provide a new insight into the emergent physics of the ferroelectric domain boundaries, revealing unusual properties not exhibited by conventional Ising‐type walls.