Effects of Luminosity Contrast and Stimulus Duration on User Performance and Preference in a P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) have potential to provide a new channel of communication and control for people with severe motor disabilities. Although many empirical studies exist, few have specifically evaluated the impact of contributing factors on user performance and perception in BCI applications, especially for users with motor disabilities. This article reports the effects of luminosity contrast and stimulus duration on user performance and usage preference in a P300-based BCI application, P300 Speller. Ten participants with neuromuscular disabilities (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cerebral palsy) and 10 able-bodied participants were asked to spell six 10-character phrases in the P300 Speller. The overall accuracy was 76.5% for the able-bodied participants and 26.8% for participants with motor disabilities. The results showed that luminosity contrast and stimulus duration have significant effects on user performance. In addition, participants preferred high luminosity contrast with middle or short stimulus duration. However, these effects on user performance and preference varied for participants with and without motor disabilities. The results also indicated that although most participants with motor disabilities can establish BCI control, BCI illiteracy does exist. These results of the study should provide insights into the future research of the BCI systems, especially the real-world applicability of the BCI applications as a nonmuscular communication and control system for people with severe motor disabilities.     

Influence of mixing cycle on the degree of mixing of calcite‐filled polyethylene upon stretching

The mixing cycle‐dependent degree of dispersion and degree of mixing of a calcite (calcium carbonate) agglomerate in high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) matrices upon stretching was investigated using three different techniques: mechanical property, morphological behavior, and image analyzer analyses. The mechanical properties analyzed in terms of the tensile strength and maximum elongation resulted in that the second mixing was the best for giving a better property for all systems except the LDPE system, which exhibited no significant difference between the second and third mixings. The morphological behavior of the three compounds were different, but no distinctive difference was observed to differentiate the degree of mixing from system to system. The number‐, weight‐, and z + 1‐average diameters of the air hole and the aspect ratio upon the stretching and mixing cycle were calculated to analyze the degree of mixing of the calcite‐filled composites. As a consequence, no difference in the average diameter of the air hole was obtained among the three systems, but the aspect ratios of the air hole varied significantly. Thus, the degree of dispersion and the degree of mixing may be influenced by the average calcite agglomerate size, the average diameter of the air hole, and the aspect ratio upon stretching and mixing cycles. Those factors would be formed by the difference in chemical characteristics upon various microstructures of polyethylene and its molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 311–321, 2003     

Fuel properties and emissions of soybean oil esters as diesel fuel

The effects of using blends of methyl and isopropyl esters of soybean oil with No. 2 diesel fuel were studied at several steady-state operating conditions in a four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. Fuel blends that contained 20, 50, and 70% methyl soyate and 20 and 50% isopropyl soyate were tested. Fuel properties, such as cetane number, also were investigated. Both methyl and isopropyl esters provided significant reductions in particulate emissions compared with No. 2 diesel fuel. A blend of 50% methyl ester and 50% No. 2 diesel fuel provided a reduction of 37% in the carbon portion of the particulates and 25% in the total particulates. The 50% blend of isopropyl ester and 50% No. 2 diesel fuel gave a 55% reduction in carbon and a 28% reduction in total particulate emissions. Emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons also were reduced significantly. Oxides of nitrogen increased by 12%.     

Liquid Radial Dispersion in Liquid-solid Circulating Fluidized Beds with Viscous Liquid Medium

Liquid dispersion in the radial direction was investigated in the riser of a viscous liquid-solid fluidized bed 0.102 m in diameter and 3.5 m in height. Pressure fluctuations in the riser were also measured and analyzed to examine the behavior of fluidized particles. Effects of liquid velocity (0.15-0.45 m/s), solid circulation rate (2-8 kg/m²s), particle size (1-3 mm), and liquid viscosity (0.96-38 mPas) on pressure fluctuations and the liquid radial dispersion coefficient were determined. The infinite space model was employed to obtain the radial dispersion coefficient from the radial concentration profiles of the tracer. The pressure fluctuations were analyzed by means of autocorrelation coefficient as well as power spectral density function. The dominant frequency obtained from the autocorrelation coefficient or power spectral density function of pressure fluctuations decreases with increasing liquid viscosity or liquid velocity, but it increases with increasing particle size. The liquid radial dispersion coefficient decreases with increasing liquid velocity or viscosity, but it increases as the solid circulation rate or particle size increases. The liquid radial dispersion coefficient is related closely to the resultant behavior of fluidized particles. The radial dispersion coefficient has been well correlated with operating variables in terms of dimensionless groups.     

Interaction of CETP inhibitory peptide and lipoprotein substrates in cholesteryl ester transfer assay: relationship between association properties and inhibitory activities

In a previous study, CETP inhibitory peptide (3 kDa) was isolated from hog plasma. The peptide, synthesized chemically according to the amino acid sequence of the 3-kDa peptide (designated P₂₈), showed CETP inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo [Cho et al. (1998) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1391, 133–144]. We report herein further unique features of P₂₈ when it was associated with the cholesteryl ester (CE)-donor and-acceptor lipoproteins. Lipoprotein substrates with P₂₈ present in both HDL (as a CE-donor) and LDL (as a CE-acceptor) served as poor substrates, with CE-transfer activity decreased up to 60% compared to normal substrates without P₂₈. P₂₈ was found to be located in HDL fractions of hog plasma and showed the same electromobility as that visualized by PAGE on 7% polyacrylamide gel under nondenaturing conditions. Addition of apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-1) or apoB antibody to a normal CE-transfer mixture did not alter CE-transfer activity. However, addition of apoA-1 or −B antibody to a CETP-inhibition mixture decreased the inhibitory activity of P₂₈ by ca. 20%. Western blot analysis revealed that P₂₈ was associated only with human and hog HDL among several lipoproteins purified from human, hog, and rabbit. CFTP-inhibition assays with various lipoprotein substrates revealed that P₂₈ exhibited substrate-specific inhibitory activity. The inhibitory activity of P₂₈ was highly dependent on the type of lipoprotein substrate (whether CE-donor or-acceptor); P₂₈ inhibited CE transfer from HDL to LDL, but it did not inhibit CE transfer from HDL to HDL.     

Comparison of YAG: Eu phosphors synthesized by supercritical water in batch and continuous reactors

Luminescent yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG, Y₃Al₅O₁₂) nanoparticles doped with Eu (10 at%) were synthesized in batch-type and continuous-type supercritical water (SCW) reactors. In the case of the continuous-type SCW method, the particles of YAG: Eu phosphors were much smaller and demonstrated a uniform spherical-like shape. Inversely, in the case of the batch-type SCW method, a needle-like or elliptical-like shape was formed because a finite amount of time was required to reach SCW conditions from ambient conditions. However, the emission intensity of YAG: Eu phosphors synthesized by using the batch-type SCW method was stronger. Therefore, it is concluded that the continuous-type SCW method is superior to the batch-type SCW method from the viewpoint of the particle size and shape, but the luminescence property of phosphors in the continuous-type SCW method needs to be improved. In addition, a calcination process slightly improved the luminescence intensities of YAG: Eu phosphors generated by using either the batch-type or continuous-type SCW methods.     

Synthesis of liquid crystalline epoxy and its mechanical and electrical characteristics—curing reaction of LCE with diamines by DSC analysis

An aromatic liquid crystalline epoxy monomer based on biphenyl mesogen was synthesized and cured with three different aromatic diamines. The curing reaction characteristics were analyzed by DSC, and the data were introduced to the Kissinger equation to attain the kinetic parameters. Diglycidyl ether of 4,4′‐biphenyl (DGEBP)/4,4′‐diaminobiphenyl (DABP), and DGEBP/4,4′‐methylenediamine (MDA) systems showed an exotherm curing reaction after comelting of the monomers; the DGEBP/p‐phenylenediamine (PDA) system's curing reaction took place in the solid state without melting of monomers. The activation energy and preexponential factor for the DGEBP/DABP system were 55.6 kJ/mol and 4.0 × 10⁶ min^?1, respectively. Those values for DGEBP/MDA and DGEBP/PDA systems were 55.1 kJ/mol and 1.0 × 10⁶ min^?1 and 148.8 kJ/mol and 7.7 × 10¹⁹ min^?1, respectively. The rate constant at 100°C for DGEBP/PDA is 2 times higher than those for DGEBP/DABP and DGEBP/MDA, which have almost the same values. Strictly speaking, the rate constant of DGEBP/DABP is a little higher than that of DGEBP/MDA, and these results are in good agreement with the DSC curves. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2419–2425, 2002     

Memory effect of locally ordered α-phase in the melting and phase transformation behavior of β-isotactic polypropylene

Structural changes in β-isotactic polypropylene (β-iPP) during the heating were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and real-time in situ X-ray diffraction using a synchrotron source. Crystalline phase transformation and the memory effect caused by residual nuclei of α-iPP were observed during the heating of β-iPP. The memory effect observed in β-iPP during heating and crystallization is believed to be due to the existence of locally ordered α-from in the melt. The effect of local α-form order was probed by studying the behavior under heating of samples with a range of thermal histories. Samples were heated above the equilibrium melting temperature of iPP to remove all residual local order and the memory effect associated with this local order. The samples crystallized isothermally at different temperatures exhibited a significantly different melting and phase transformation behavior during heating. β-iPP is found to be an excellent material for the study of polymorphism, phase transformations, and characteristic memory effects in semicrystalline polymers.     

Methyl tert-butyl ether decomposition over heteropoly acid catalyst in a cellulose acetate membrane reactor

In this study the methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) decomposition over H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ was carried out in a cellulose acetate membrane reactor. The permeability of methanol through the cellulose acetate membrane was about 30 and 300 times higher than that of either isobutene or MTBE, respectively. The isobutene selectivity in the fixed bed reactor was only slightly higher than the methanol selectivity due to the side reaction. In the cellulose acetate membrane reactor, however, the isobutene selectivity in the rejected stream was 68% and the methanol selectivity in the permeated stream was up to 97%. The MTBE conversion in the membrane reactor was about 7% higher than that in the membrane-free fixed bed reactor under the same reaction conditions. The enhanced performance of the membrane reactor in this reversible reaction was mainly due to the selective permeation of methanol which resulted in a methanol-deficient condition suppressing MTBE synthesis reaction.     

Morphology-rheology relationship in hyaluronate/poly(vinyl alcohol)/borax polymer blends

In this work, we have prepared bioartificial polymer blends using hyaluronate (HA) as a biological component and poly(vinyl alcohol)-borax association (PVAs) as a synthetic component, and investigated the rheological properties as well as morphology of the blends. When plotted against the blend composition, the rheological properties showed both positive and negative deviation from the linear additive mixing rule depending on thermal history. The blend showed enhanced viscosity at the composition of 20 wt% of HA and 80 wt% of PVAs, when PVA was dissolved at high temperature. The viscosity enhancement was caused by the network formation of HA aggregates in the micrometer scale. In addition, the network structure of HA aggregates was found to be fractal with the fractal dimension of 1.7. As PVA system also forms a network structure in the nanometer scale between hydroxyl groups of PVA and borate anions, the blend system is unique in that it has network structures in both micrometer and nanometer scales in one material. On the contrary, HA formed aggregates but not any network structure in the blend of the same composition but of the negative deviation. In conclusion, we showed that HA/PVAs blend system may have diverse morphology as well as very broad spectrum of rheological properties, and could suggest that the rheology and morphology of HA/PVAs blends can be designed not only by controlling composition but also by controlling thermal and deformation history of the components.