Item and order information in subject-performed tasks and experimenter-performed tasks.

This study investigated the enactment effect from the perspective of the item-order hypothesis (e.g., M. Serra & J. S. Naime, 1993). The authors assumed that in subject-performed tasks (SPTs), item encoding is improved but order encoding is disrupted compared with experimenter-performed tasks (EPTs), that order encoding of EPTs is only better in pure lists, and that the item-order hypothesis is confined to short lists. Item information was tested in recognition memory tests, order information in order reconstruction tasks, and both item and order information in free-recall tests. The results of 5 experiments using short (8 items) and long lists (24 items) in a design with list type (pure, mixed) and encoding condition (EPT, SPT) as factors supported the hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of thermocapillary driving forces in the development of striations during the spin coating process

The evolution of a temperature gradient at the free surface of a coating solution during the spin coating process is examined. Solvent evaporation causes localized cooling at the top that can result in thermocapillary instability within the coating solution, and thereby driving convective flows that may result in non-uniform coatings. We examine the evolution of these temperature gradients by using a one dimensional finite difference model that simultaneously describes the thinning behavior (both by flow and by evaporation) and the temperature evolution within the solution. The entire system is initially isothermal but is subject to evaporation-driven cooling at the free surface of the gradually thinning fluid. The model is then used to determine the magnitude of the thermocapillary effects during the spin coating process. As test systems we simulate the spin coating of several pure alcohol solutions having different volatilities and therefore different evaporative-cooling powers. As the fluid thins, we calculate the instantaneous Marangoni (Mn) number, which signifies the magnitude of thermocapillary-driven convection. We compare these Mn values against their relevant threshold values, determined from prior reports in the literature, in order to deduce the magnitude of the instabilities they represent. If the Mn value is super-critical, then the instability that it represents will be sufficient for the onset of convection cells within a stagnant fluid layer of corresponding thickness. Because the radial outflow is fully laminar under normal conditions, super-critical Mn values imply that similar instabilities would arise within a spinning solution. Super-critical Mn values were observed under numerous conditions suggesting that thermocapillary instability may be responsible for striation features that develop in coatings made by spin coating. Trends related to spin-speed, solvent volatility, and initial solution thickness are discussed with the goal of improving the flatness of coatings that are made by this process.     

Assignment and Allocation Optimization of Partially Multiskilled Workforce

Multiskilling is a workforce strategy that has been shown to reduce indirect labor costs, improve productivity, and reduce turnover. A multiskilled workforce is one in which the workers possess a range of skills that allow them to participate in more than one work process. In practice, they may work across craft boundaries. The success of multiskilling greatly relies on the foreman’s ability to assign workers to appropriate tasks and to compose crews effectively. The foreman assigns tasks to workers according to their knowledge, capabilities, and experience on former projects. This research investigated the mechanics of allocating a multiskilled workforce and developed a linear programming model to help optimize the multiskilled workforce assignment and allocation process in a construction project, or between the projects of one company. It is concluded that the model will be most useful in conditions where full employment does not exist; however, it is also useful for short term allocation decisions. By running the model for various simulated scenarios, additional observations were made. For example, it is concluded that, for a capital project, the benefits of multiskilling are marginal beyond approximately a 20% concentration of multiskilled workers in a project workforce. Benefits to workers themselves become marginal after acquiring competency in two or three crafts. These observations have been confirmed by field experience. Extension of this model to allocation of multifunctional resources, such as construction equipment, should also be possible.     

Modelling the spread of hepatitis C via commercial tattoo parlours: implications for public health interventions

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a serious infection caused by a blood-borne virus. It is a contagious disease spreading via a variety of transmission mechanisms including contaminated tattoo equipment. Effectively regulating commercial tattoo parlours can greatly reduce this risk. This paper models the cost-effectiveness and optimal timing of such interventions, and parameterises the model with data for Vienna, Austria. This dynamic model of the contagious spread of HCV via tattooing and other mechanisms accounts for secondary infections and shows that regulating tattoo parlours as done in Vienna, Austria in 2003, is a cost-saving intervention.     

Field-coupled computing in magnetic multilayers

This paper presents a computational study of ion-beam patterned cobalt-platinum multilayers, which could be used for field-coupled computing. We use micromagnetic simulations to reproduce measured hysteresis curves. This parameterized micromagnetic simulator then will be used for simulating interacting magnetic dots. We demonstrate how logic gates can be built from such coupled dots. We also show how electrical wires—placed beneath or above the magnetic dots—can provide a magnetic field, which propagates the magnetic signals.     

Al/Cl2 battery with slightly acidic NaCl electrolyte. II. Ti-Ti/Ru oxide chlorine cathodes

A new version of the Al/Cl₂ battery previously described was investigated. Instead of a graphite cylinder, a porous titanium plate was used as a chlorine electrode (cathode). The electrolyte used was a moderately acidic aqueous NaCl solution of pH 2 containing small amounts of In³⁺ and Hg²⁺ as additives. The cell had an open-circuit voltage of 2.6 V and delivered a maximum power of 19.8 W at 1.1 V with a Faradiac efficiency of 69%. The power density was 280 mW cm^–2. A module consiting of 4 submodules connected in series, where each submodule contained 4 double-unit cells connected in parallel, had an open-circuit voltage of 10.6 V, a maximum power of 200 W and an energy density of 110 Whl^–1.     

Digital Fluid Technologies for the Steel Industry

Digital fluid systems are controlled solely by on-off valves, in contrast to analogue fluid systems which use continuously adjustable valves. Many digital fluid systems have been in practical use for some decades. The steel industry relies on several fluid technologies. Apart from the handling of the liquid steel, several other fluid processes exist to fulfill indispensable functions; examples include cooling, motion control, torch cutting, descaling, and lubricating. Many of these processes need better control concerning precision, dynamics, resource demand, reliability, and environmental impact or must offer additional functionalities for use in factories of the future. In several cases digital fluid systems are the better solutions. In this paper this is demonstrated by four examples, ranging from proven simple solutions and concepts going currently into industrial application to promising concepts for the future.     

ESBL-producing E. coli in Austrian sewage sludge

The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of contamination of sewage sludge with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains and the effectiveness of different sewage sludge treatment methods.Monthly sewage sludge samples were collected between January and September 2009 in 5 different sewage treatment plants and tested for the presence of ESBL E. coli. In addition, the number of colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli and coliform bacteria before and after the different sludge treatment methods (aerobic/anaerobic digestion, lime stabilization, and thermal treatment) was investigated.Of the 72 sewage sludge samples investigated, ESBL-positive E. coli were found in 44 (61.1%) sewage sludge samples. The classification of β-lactamase groups was carried out in 15 strains resulting in the detection of 2 different groups (CTX-M and TEM) of bla genes. All 15 of them had a CTX-M gene and 4 of these strains furthermore carried a TEM gene.With regard to the CFU of E. coli and coliform bacteria, thermal treatment and lime stabilization following dehydration sufficiently reduced pathogen concentrations. The plants using merely stabilization and dehydration showed an increase of E. coli and coliform bacteria and thus also an increase in ESBL-producing E. coli.