Developmental differences in ratings of meaningfulness, concreteness, and picturability.

Ratings of concreteness and picturability and production data for meaningfulness of 310 words were gathered from 207 6th-grade children and 265 college adults. Adults also provided ratings of imagery value. Correlations among the various stimulus attributes indicated that for adults, imagery, concreteness, and picturability were overlapping attributes. For children, however, the attributes of concreteness and picturability did not overlap as much. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Polynomial chaos for simulating random volatilities

In financial mathematics, the fair price of options can be achieved by solutions of parabolic differential equations. The volatility usually enters the model as a constant parameter. However, since this constant has to be estimated with respect to the underlying market, it makes sense to replace the volatility by an according random variable. Consequently, a differential equation with stochastic input occurs, whose solution determines the fair price in the refined model. Corresponding expected values and variances can be computed approximately via a Monte Carlo method. Alternatively, the generalised polynomial chaos yields an efficient approach for calculating the required data. Based on a parabolic equation modelling the fair price of Asian options, the technique is developed and corresponding numerical simulations are presented.     

Characterizing gaseous air cleaner performance in the field

As part of an ongoing effort to better understand the performance of indoor air cleaners in buildings, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has completed a series of gaseous air cleaner field tests and model simulations. This paper focuses on experiments to measure the removal of decane with a sorption-based in-duct gaseous air cleaner and a sorption-based portable air cleaner in a single-zone test house. Due to the lack of standardized gaseous air cleaner field testing protocols, a field test method was developed using semi-real-time concentration measurements and mass balance analysis. A total of 24 experiments were completed with directly measured single-pass removal efficiencies ranging from 24% to 56% and removal efficiencies based on a transient whole building mass balance ranging from 30% to 44%. Experimental results revealed important factors affecting field performance such as air cleaner contaminant loading for the in-duct air cleaner and room air mixing for the portable air cleaner. An additional six tests were conducted to evaluate the predictive capability of the indoor air quality model CONTAM.     

Effects of system tuning and RAM disk on the performance of a clinical laboratory information system

Improvements in the performance of a laboratory computer system do not necessarily require the replacement of major portions of the system and may not require the acquisition of any hardware at all. Major bottlenecks may exist in the ways that the operating system manages its resources and the algorithm used for timesharing decisions. Moreover, significant throughput improvements may be attainable by switching to a faster storage device if substantial disk activity is performed. In this study the fractions of time used for each of the types of tasks a laboratory computer system performs (e.g. applications programs, disk transfer, queue cycler) are defined and measured. Methods for reducing the time fractions of the various types of overhead are evaluated by doing before and after studies. The combined results of the three studies indicated that a 50% improvement could be gained through system tuning and faster storage without replacement of the computer itself     

HELLP syndrome in the 21st week of pregnancy in mosaic trisomy 9

We report for the first time the case of postabortional HELLP-syndrome in the 21st week of gestation. In this case mosaic trisomy 9 was confirmed by amniocentesis prior to induction. Pertinent history, clinical course and pathoanatomical morphology are described. We emphasize the early onset of the HELLP-syndrome in association with trisomy 9 after abortion. The possibility of interconnections between trisomy 9 and the occurrence of HELLP-syndrome (sparse blood, vessels in the villi, circulatory deficit on the fetal side of the placenta, increased production of e.g. vasopressive substances) is discussed.     

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure on the RS content of amaranth,quinoa and wheat starch

RS exerts a range of beneficial effects on human health. Therefore, ways to increase the RS content in processed food products are looked for. The effects of high hydrostatic pressure treatments on the RS content of wheat, quinoa and amaranth starch were analysed in this study. A 2³ factorial screening design of experiments was used. Experimental factors were pressure (100–600 MPa), temperature (40–60°C) and time (10–30 min). RS in wheat starch increased with increasing pressure by a factor of up to 10 to a value of 4%. In detail, RS content increased significantly at pressures higher than 100 MPa in wheat starch, whereas in quinoa starch significant changes occurred at pressures above 350 MPa (up to 3.3% RS compared to 0.2% in native quinoa starch). Contrary, in amaranth starch the RS content of all pressure treated samples (about 0.5%) was lower than that of the native starch (1.3%). Wheat starch granules swelled to a maximum of 3.67 times their original size and quinoa starch up to 3.36 times. The extent of swelling (2.90) was lowest in amaranth starch.