Attentional modulation of the mere exposure effect.

The mere exposure effect refers to the phenomenon where previous exposures to stimuli increase participants’ subsequent affective preference for those stimuli. This study explored the effect of selective attention on the mere exposure effect. The experiments manipulated the to-be-attended drawings in the exposure period (either red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 2; both red and green polygons in Experiments 3 and 4) and black to-be-evaluated drawings in the affective judgment period (morphologically identical to the red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 4; morphologically identical to the composite drawings in Experiments 2 and 3). The results showed a significant mere exposure effect only for the target shapes involved in attentional selection, even when the participants could recognize the nontarget shapes. This indicates that selective attention modulated the mere exposure effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation of Morphology‐Controlled Plate‐Like Sodium Niobate Particles by Hydrothermal Synthesis

Sodium niobate (NaNbO₃) particles with plate‐like morphology and hexagonal unit cells were prepared by the hydrothermal method. The result of SEM showed that the hexagonal NaNbO₃ were characterized by plate‐like morphology with a diameter of 5–15 μm and a thickness of 1–2 μm. The crucial influences on the morphology and crystal phase of the NaNbO₃, such as concentration of [OH^?], surfactant, and K⁺:Na⁺ ratio, were established. By further calcination treatment, the plate‐like hexagonal NaNbO₃ particles could be completely transformed into perovskite structure without morphology change. The XRD and EBSD results indicate that the major face of the calcined particles is parallel to the crystallographic (001)_pc (pseudo cubic index) plane. Compared with the traditional high‐temperature molten salt method, this work provides a simpler way to prepare the template for fabricating textured ceramics.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(lactic acid)/recycled polypropylene blends with and without the coupling agent,n-(6-aminohexyl)aminomethyltriethoxysilane

Blends of polylactide (PLA) and recycled polypropylene (rPP) were prepared by melt-processing using a corotating twin-screw extruder and subsequent pelletizing of the extrudates for injection molding. The PLA/rPP blends were characterized by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), rheometer (MCR-102), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), tensile tests, and impact measurements. The results indicate that the PLA/rPP blend is immiscible and has a two-phase structure. TGA revealed enhancement of the thermal stability of the blends upon addition of rPP. The storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity of the blends increased with rPP concentration. Mechanical studies showed that introduction of rPP results in a decrease in tensile strength and modulus and enhancement of the impact strength of PLA in the blends. The effects of a silane coupling agent on the morphology and on the tensile and impact properties of the rPP blends of silane-modified PLA were also examined. SEM studies suggest that silane is an effective interfacial modifier. Thus, better interfacial adhesion was observed with silane-modified blends as compared with unmodified blends. Silane also improved the mechanical properties of the modified blends. The blends reached maximum tensile strength at 1.5 wt.% silane (relative to modified PLA content), and impact strength increased with increasing silane concentration. These results confirm the enhancing effect of silane on modified PLA/rPP blends.     

Minimum void ratio characteristic of soils containing non-plastic fines

The minimum void ratio is an index widely used to indicate the contraction characteristics and the densest state of soils. The minimum void ratio obtained by the traditional test method has been utilized to represent the density of soils irrespective of their fines content despite the restriction (FC ≤ 5%). By considering the effect of the blow count, pore water, and their primary properties, the applicability of the minimum void ratio to soils containing fines was examined with an automatic tapping machine. It was confirmed that the blow count of the traditional method is not sufficient for soils with a high fines content. Furthermore, the presence of pore water had a significant effect on the minimum void ratio of soils containing fines. The characteristics of the cyclic minimum void ratio, which indicates the minimum void ratio obtained throughout the repetition of liquefaction and drainage, were also examined.     

Characterization of the Oxide Scale Formed on T12 Water Wall Tube After Long-term Service in Supercritical Power Plant

Oxidation of Metals - Oxide scale control is one of the critical maintenance issues in fossil fuel power plant. Hence, the water treatment of the feed water has been changed from all-volatile...     

Synthesis of anatase TiO_2 with exposed {001} and {101} facets and photocatalytic activity

Anatase titanium(Ⅳ) oxide(TiO_2) particles with exposed {001} and {101} facets were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of amorphous TiO_2 with H_2O_2-NH_3 solution. Crystal phase, shape, and size of TiO_2 particles are found to be greatly dependent on the ratio of H_2O_2-NH_3 solution. The prepared TiO_2 particles with specific exposed crystal faces show higher photocatalytic activity for acetaldehyde decomposition than commercial spherical TiO_2 particles. This result implies that recombination is prevented by spatial separation of redox sites in the particles because of selective migration of electrons and positive holes to specific exposed crystal faces and/or different reactivity of electrons and positive holes on the specific exposed crystal face.     

High-melt-strength polypropylene with electron beam irradiation in the presence of polyfunctional monomers

High-melt-strength polypropylene (PP) was achieved with irradiation by an electron beam generated from an accelerator in the presence of polyfunctional monomers (PFM). Among 16 PFMs, the relatively shorter molecular chain bifunctional monomers such as 1,4-butanediol diacrylate (BDDA) and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) were the most effective for enhancing the melt strength of PP. The concentration and dose of the HDDA to obtain the high melt strength PP in irradiation under nitrogen gas atmosphere were 1.5 mmol/100 g PP and 1 kGy, respectively. DSC measurement and dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the thermal behavior of the high-melt-strength PP was different from that of the original PP. Crystallinity and crystallization temperature during cooling after heating were lower and higher in high melt strength PP than original PP, respectively. Elongational viscosity at 180°C of the high-melt-strength PP showed a remarkable increase at a certain elongational time with constant strain rate, demonstrating the typical property of high-melt-strength samples. This implies that a few higher molecular chains of PP, formed by intermolecular combination of its chain by HDDA in irradiation, give higher melt strength to induce entanglement of molecular chains. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Some experiments on the micro-indentation of digital audio tape

The durability of digital audio tape is a function of the elastic and plastic properties of the magnetic layer and substrate. In this work a micro-indentation method has been used to estimate these properties. The loading part of the compliance curve (load against indentor penetration) is analysed to obtain magnetic layer hardness. The unloading part is used to determine the reduced elastic modulus. Indentations at various depths have been recorded and an extrapolation technique used to predict layer properties. Rate dependence of the magnetic layer has been studied through constant loading rate tests. Results are presented isochronally, to indicate any viscous elastic–plastic non-linearities.     

Effect of Storage Conditions on 2–Acetyl-1–pyrroline Content in Aromatic Rice Variety, Khao Dawk Mali 105

ABSTRACT: The effect of package and temperature on 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline content in milled aromatic rice during storage was investigated. 2 -Acetyl-1 -pyrroline content was decreased faster at higher storage temperature. However, fat acidity of rice was increased during storage and inversely correlated with 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline content at an early stage of storage. The difference in 2–acetyl-1 -pyrroline recovery from the samples, which were extracted with ethanol at 40 °C and 75 °C, revealed that the starch bound and free forms of 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline may occur in aromatic rice. These results suggested that the biosynthesis of 2–acetyl-1 -pyrroline before starch structure formation in rice kernel could play a key role in the aroma quality of aromatic rice.     

Relationship between local structure and stability in hen egg white lysozyme mutant with alanine substituted for glycine

We prepared five mutant lysozymes in which glycines whose dihedralangles are located in the region of the left-handed helix, Gly49,Gly67, Gly71, Gly102 and Gly117, were mutated to an alanineresidue. From analyses of their thermal stabilities using differentialscanning calorimetry, most of them were more destabilized thanthe native lysozyme, except for the G102A mutant, which hasa stability similar to that of the native lysozyme at pH 2.7.As for the destabilized mutant lysozymes, their X-ray crystallographicanalyses showed that their global structures did not changebut that the local structures changed slightly. By examiningthe dihedral angles at the mutation sites based on X-ray crystallographicresults, it was found that the dihedral angles at these mutationsites tended to adopt favorable values in a Ramachandran plotand that the extent and direction of their shifts from the originalvalue had similar tendencies. Therefore, the change in dihedralangles may be the cause of the slight local structural changesaround the mutation site. On the other hand, regarding the mutationof G102A, the global structure was almost identical with thatof the native structure but the local structure was drasticallychanged. Therefore, it was suggested that the drastic localconformational change might be effective in releasing the unfavorableinteraction of the native state at the mutation site.