Flow dynamics or ‘quaking’ in gravity discharge from silos

This paper reviews the characteristics of pulsating or cyclic flow of bulk solids during gravity discharge in bins and silos. The dynamic load phenomenon is often referred to as “silo quaking” and is influenced by various factors related to the type of flow pattern developed in the bin and the flow properties of the bulk material. Of particular relevance is the influence of ‘slip-stick’ during shear flow, and the velocity at critical sections in the silo during discharge. An overview of recent and current research on this subject is presented.     

When is the shape of a scene unique given its light-field: a fundamental theorem of 3D vision?

The complete set of measurements that could ever be used by a passive 3D vision algorithm is the plenoptic function or light-field. We give a concise characterization of when the light-field of a Lambertian scene uniquely determines its shape and, conversely, when the shape is inherently ambiguous. In particular, we show that stereo computed from the light-field is ambiguous if and only if the scene is radiating light of a constant intensity (and color, etc.) over an extended region.     

Psychosocial characteristics of adolescents who refuse cancer treatment.

Examined psychosocial variables by comparing 10 13–17 yr old adolescents (and their mothers) who had refused cancer treatment with a group of 10 consenting adolescents who were matched on age and demographic and illness variables. Adolescents completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and measures of family characteristics, locus of control, religion, hopelessness, impact of event, and satisfaction with physician. Mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and measures of coping and religion. Adolescent refusers scored lower on state anxiety and subjective distress but scored higher on trait anxiety, religiosity, and external locus of control. Their mothers also scored higher than did the consenting-group mothers on religiosity and trait anxiety. It is suggested that refusers are prone to anxiety and cope with their present distress by maintaining the belief that their lives are determined by fate or religious convictions. An intervention approach that fosters mastery over the cancer experience is advocated. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An LP-based heuristic procedure for the generalized assignment problem with special ordered sets

The generalized assignment problem with special ordered sets (GAPS2), is the problem of allocating n tasks to m time-periods, where each task must be assigned to a time-period, or shared between two consecutive time-periods. For reasonably large values of m and n the NP-hard combinatorial problem GAPS2 becomes intractable for standard mathematical programming software, hence there is a need for heuristic algorithms to solve such problems. It will be shown how an LP-based heuristic developed previously for the well-established generalized assignment problem can be modified and extended to solve GAPS2. Encouraging results, in terms of speed and accuracy, in particular when compared to an existing heuristic for GAPS2, are described.     

Development and characterization of magnetorheological polymer gels

Magnetorheological materials have been used in many applications in recent years. To develop new materials, polyurethane and silicone polymer gels were investigated. Rheology is qualitatively controlled for each system by controlling the concentration of reactants and diluents. The resulting polymers have solid, gel, or liquid states, depending on the crosslinking and dilution. The gels were characterized through kinetic analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used with analysis methods to find the kinetic properties for diluted and undiluted polyurethane systems. Heat of reaction, order of reaction, preexponential constant, and activation energy were obtained from the experimental DSC data. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2733–2742, 2002     

SOLUBILISATION OF NITROGENOUS CONSTITUENTS OF BREWERS' SPENT GRAIN

The extraction of nitrogenous material from Brewers' spent grain (BSG) by solvents (water, sodium chloride solution, aqueous alcohol, acidic and alkaline solutions) commonly used to extract cereal proteins, resulted in the relatively low (0·2 to 8·5%) recovery of the total nitrogen. The recovery of nitrogenous material by the use of aqueous alkaline solutions was increased from 3–4% to 41% when the BSG was subjected to cellulase incubation prior to extraction. Approximately 75% of the nitrogen was solubilized with trifluoracetic acid. Detergent solutions (acid, neutral) solubilized more than 80% of the total nitrogen of the BSG. The low solubility of the nitrogenous constituents by conventional protein solvents could be the result of association between cellulosic material and protein.     

Measurement of the temperature field induced by dynamic crack growth in Beta-C titanium

The temperature increase at the tip of a dynamically propagating crack may have a significant effect on a material's mechanical properties, and hence on its dynamic fracture toughness. In order to start to understand this phenomena, measurements of the temperature field at the tip of a dynamically growing crack in Beta-C titanium alloy were performed using a linear array of high speed infrared detectors. The results show that a maximum temperature of 450°C is reached at the crack tip. In addition, the dynamic fracture toughness was measured for crack speeds from 0 to 500 m/s. In this speed range, the toughness appears to be constant. Estimates of the crack tip energy release rate and plastic strain rate are made using analysis of the experimental data.     

Majority and minority influence: Source-position imbalance as a determinant of message scrutiny.

Two experiments addressed the issue of whether endorsement of a position by a numerical majority or a minority leads to greater scrutiny of the information presented in a persuasive message. In Exp 1, a counterattitudinal position was endorsed by a majority or a minority and was supported by strong or weak arguments. Argument quality had a larger impact on attitudes with majority than with minority endorsement. In Exp 2, a proattitudinal or a counterattitudinal message was endorsed by a majority or a minority and was supported by strong or weak arguments. When the source and message position were unexpected (i.e., majority-counter and minority-pro messages), argument quality had a larger impact on attitudes than when the source and message position were expected (i.e., majority-pro and minority-counter messages). Thus, either majority or minority endorsement can enhance message scrutiny if the source-position pairing is surprising. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of pretreatments and freezing rate on the firmness of potato tissue after a freeze–thaw cycle

The texture of potato tissue after a freeze–thaw process using different freezing rates and different pretreatments was analysed, in order to select the best strategy for optimum preservation of the textural characteristics of pre‐frozen potato. Ten blanching conditions were tested and a two‐step blanching process with calcium chloride (0.07 g mL^?1) proved the most effective in protecting the tissue after a freeze–thaw process (maximum load force around 10–55% of the raw tissue, depending on potato batch, for air‐blast freezing and 20–60% for immersion freezing). Vacuum impregnation at 100 and 400 mbar, even when followed by different pre‐drying treatments to remove excess water, was very detrimental to resistance to a freeze–thaw process (maximum load force below 10% of the raw tissue for air‐blast freezing and below 20% for immersion freezing). Microstructure analysis confirmed better tissue integrity retention with ethyleneglycol immersion freezing instead of air‐freezing. Differences were found between batches with a 6‐month difference in storage time, indicating that the fresher batch was more suitable for freezing.