A gPC-based approach to uncertain transonic aerodynamics

The present paper focus on the stochastic response of a two-dimensional transonic airfoil to parametric uncertainties. Both the freestream Mach number and the angle of attack are considered as random parameters and the generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) theory is coupled with standard deterministic numerical simulations through a spectral collocation projection methodology. The results allow for a better understanding of the flow sensitivity to such uncertainties and underline the coupling process between the stochastic parameters. Two kinds of non-linearities are critical with respect to the skin-friction uncertainties: on one hand, the leeward shock movement characteristic of the supercritical profile and on the other hand, the boundary-layer separation on the aft part of the airfoil downstream the shock. The sensitivity analysis, thanks to the Sobol’ decomposition, shows that a strong non-linear coupling exists between the uncertain parameters. Comparisons with the one-dimensional cases demonstrate that the multi-dimensional parametric study is required to get the correct shape and magnitude of the standard deviation distributions of the flow quantities such as pressure and skin-friction.     

界之眼 日本丰田通商株式会社办公室

作为DURA Sambient品牌服饰全日本门店的设计方sinato，一直以来颇受设计界关注。随着公司的发展，以店铺设计见长的sinato，渐渐开始尝试多元的设计，这次为丰田通商株式会社设计的办公室，可能只是他们在办公设计领域的小试牛刀，但展现出来的非凡实力，让人惊艳。同时，也告诉世人，仅用几何线条表达的简约设计，不但完美表现了办公空间所需的克制内敛，亦让空间极具识别性，一种点到即止的夸张，让整个设计带有浓厚的个性标识。     

Visual representation of malleable and rigid objects that deform as they rotate.

Most studies and theories of object recognition have addressed the perception of rigid objects. Yet, physical objects may also move in a nonrigid manner. A series of priming studies examined the conditions under which observers can recognize novel views of objects moving nonrigidly. Observers were primed with 2 views of a rotating object that were linked by apparent motion or presented statically. The apparent malleability of the rotating prime object varied such that the object appeared to be either malleable or rigid. Novel deformed views of malleable objects were primed when falling within the object's motion path. Priming patterns were significantly more restricted for deformed views of rigid objects. These results suggest that moving malleable objects may be represented as continuous events, whereas rigid objects may not. That is, object representations may be "dynamically remapped" during the analysis.of the object's motion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude strength and social acceptability of cormorant control programs on Lake Champlain

Federal and state wildlife managers have endeavored to reduce populations of cormorants on Lake Champlain since 1999. These efforts have relied on the presumption of a nuisance species attitude toward cormorants shared among the public. We employed the concept of attitude strength to explore beliefs, sentiments, and intentions that different recreational groups hold toward cormorants, and to gauge the social acceptability of population control on Lake Champlain. Results confirmed that people generally agreed with the nuisance species label. Overall attitudes toward cormorants leaned toward the negative side, and respondents tended to support hazing of nesting birds, egg oiling, and even state-sponsored shooting as population control measures. Strongest objections to cormorants came from anglers and lakeshore homeowners, whereas boaters and conservation group members were more ambivalent about cormorants and population control measures. Moreover, when analyzing attitude strength dimensions, results showed that overall ambivalence about cormorants was prevalent, negative attitudes may be based in cultural differences and social class, and those with the strongest negative attitudes may be fitting knowledge to attitudes.     

An auditing methodology for safety management of the Greek process industry

Process Risk Management Audit (PRIMA), a methodology aiming at assessing the impact on safety of the management system in a plant is outlined. The methodology has been applied in two plants in Greece within the framework of a cross-national application and results concerning both the methodology and the Greek plants are reported and discussed.     

An examination of the mechanisms for stable foam formation in activated sludge systems

Screening pure cultures of 65 mycolic acid producing bacteria (Mycolata) isolated mainly from activated sludge with a laboratory based foaming test revealed that not all foamed under the conditions used. However, for most, the data were generally consistent with the flotation theory as an explanation for foaming. Thus a stable foam required three components, air bubbles, surfactants and hydrophobic cells. With non-hydrophobic cells, an unstable foam was generated, and in the absence of surfactants, cells formed a greasy surface scum. Addition of surfactant converted a scumming population into one forming a stable foam. The ability to generate a foam depended on a threshold cell number, which varied between individual isolates and reduced markedly in the presence of surfactant. Consequently, the concept of a universal threshold applicable to all foaming Mycolata is not supported by these data. The role of surfactants in foaming is poorly understood, but evidence is presented for the first time that surfactin synthesised by Bacillus subtilis may be important.     

Mammalian Golgi apparatus UDP-N-acetylglucosamine transporter: molecular cloning by phenotypic correction of a yeast mutant

Transporters in the Golgi apparatus membrane translocate nucleotide sugars from the cytosol into the Golgi lumen before these can be substrates for the glycosylation of proteins, lipids, and proteoglycans. We have cloned the mammalian Golgi membrane transporter for uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine by phenotypic correction with cDNA from MDCK cells of a recently characterized Kluyveromyces lactis mutant deficient in Golgi transport of the above nucleotide sugar. Phenotypically corrected transformants were separated from mutants in a fluorescent-activated cell sorter after labeling of K. lactis cells with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated to Griffonia simplicifolia II lectin, which binds terminal N-acetylglucosamine. A 2-kb DNA fragment was found to restore the wild-type cell lectin binding phenotype, which reverted to the mutant one upon loss of the plasmid. The DNA fragment contained an ORF encoding a hydrophobic, multitransmembrane spanning protein of 326 aa that had only 22% amino acid sequence identity with the corresponding transporter from K. lactis but showed 53% amino acid sequence identity to the mammalian UDP-galactose transporters and 40% to the CMP-sialic acid transporter. Golgi vesicles from the transformant regained their ability to transport UDP-GlcNAc in an assay in vitro. The above results demonstrate that the mammalian Golgi UDP-GlcNAc transporter gene has all of the necessary information for the protein to be expressed and targeted functionally to the Golgi apparatus of yeast and that two proteins with very different amino acid sequences may transport the same solute within the same Golgi membrane.