Contribution of listeners' approaching motion to auditory distance perception.

Of the several sources of acoustic information for distance perception, those arising from motion of the listener or sound source have received little attention. This motion-related information (recently called acoustic tau) is described, and experiments evaluating its utilization are presented. Accuracy and consistency at walking to the locations of briefly presented sounds were better when people listened while walking than while standing still. Manipulations of the sound to simulate shorter or longer target distances produced appropriate undershooting but not overshooting. The results indicate that people use motion-related acoustic information about distance to guide their locomotor actions, although they do not take full advantage of this information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crystal orientation of β-phase isotactic polypropylene induced by magnetic orientation of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide

Melt crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP), containing crystallites of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide (DCNDCA) as a nucleating agent of the the β-phase iPP crystal, is carried out under a magnetic field (6 T) to obtain the alignment of the iPP crystal induced by magnetic alignment of DCNDCA. In a previous paper, DCNDCA was reported to undergo magnetic alignment in a liquid suspension. The obtained iPP sample exhibits alignment of the β-phase crystal with the c-axis aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field. The comparison of this alignment of iPP with the reported magnetic alignment of DCNDCA indicates that the β-phase crystal grows epitaxially on the DCNDCA crystal. The (330)_β plane of the iPP crystal lies on the bc-plane of the DCNDCA crystal in which the direction of the c-axis of the iPP coincides with the direction of the b-axis of the DCNDCA crystal.     

An ESR study of the film formation steps of vapor deposition polymerization of polyamic acid

A film of polyamic acid is formed by vapor deposition polymerization of pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (ODA). We have taken ESR spectrum during the polymerization process and compared it with the ESR spectrum of films obtained from solution polymerization. In the intermediate polymers during vapor deposition polymerization, the amide bond (? CONH? ) is coplanar with the benzene ring and two protons in the PMDA molecule. This intermediate polymer has one unpaired electron that interacts with the two nitrogen nuclei equally. On the other hand, in the polymer obtained by solution polymerization, the amide bond and the benzene ring of PMDA are not coplanar. In this polymer, too, some of the molecules have an unpaired electron that seems to have almost no coupling with NH groups. These results imply that the polymer formation via vapor deposition proceeds through different intermediates and different molecular configurations from that via the solution process.     

Diffusion with simultaneous immobilization in polymer–dye systems. I. Diffusion of the cationic dye anilana red BL in the anionically modified polyester fiber dilana

The diffusion coefficient of the cationic dye Anilana Red BL in the anionically modified polyester fiber Dilana has been calculated regarding a general diffusion-immobilization model. In the model the mobile species are distinguished from the immobilized ones. In computations of Sand's equation and experimentally determined sorption isotherm of the dye in the fiber, the rate-of-dyeing curve and the concentration profiles of the dye in the same fiber were employed. The diffusion coefficient of the mobile species of Anilana Red BL in the fiber is two orders of magnitude higher than the average diffusion coefficient obtained from Hill's equation and the apparent diffusion coefficient calculated by the Boltzmann–Matano method.     

Water quality assessment of a recently refilled reservoir: The case of Bütgenbach Reservoir, Belgium

Bütgenbach Reservoir is situated in the High Ardennes plateau in eastern Belgium (50°25′N; 6°13′E). It is used principally for flood control and for production of hydroelectric energy. It has been subjected to a previous series of studies because of its eutrophication problems and their impacts on the local economy. Bütgenbach Reservoir was emptied during spring 2004 for dam restoration, being refilled in mid‐September of the same year. Selected physicochemical and biological parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, inorganic and organic nutrients, chlorophyll‐a) were measured fortnightly during the lake's productive season (mid‐April to mid‐October 2005) at three sampling sites throughout the water column. The water quality conditions after refilling of the lake were compared to previous studies accomplished at the same sampling sites (prior to emptying the lake). The actual trophic status was mesotrophic to eutrophic, based on the combination of total phosphorous and chlorophyll‐a concentrations, as well as water transparency. Bütgenbach Reservoir generally exhibits good water quality, based on the French water quality system SEQ‐eau. A longitudinal decrease in water quality was observed from upstream to downstream, because mainly of the differences in lake bottom morphology and water residence time, and their impacts on nutrient distribution in the lake.     

Direct Methods Optimised for Solving Crystal Structure by Powder Diffraction Data: Limits,Strategies, and Prospects

The ab-initio crystal structure solution by powder diffraction data requires great efforts because of the collapse of the experimental information onto the one dimensional 2θ axis of the pattern. Different strategies will be described aiming at improving the process of extraction of the integrated intensities from the experimental pattern in order to make more straightforward the structure solution process by direct methods. Particular attention will be devoted to the EXPO program. Some of its performance will be analysed and results will be shown.