The spatial focus of attention is controlled at perceptual and cognitive levels.

Selective attention has been hypothesized to reduce distractor interference at both perceptual and postperceptual levels (Lavie, 2005), respectively, by focusing perceptual resources on the attended location and by blocking at postperceptual levels distractors that survive perceptual selection. This study measured the impact of load on these selection mechanisms using a flanker paradigm (Eriksen & St. James, 1986) and indexing distractor interference as a function of separation. It distinguished changes in the extent of focus of the distractor-interference function of separation (reflecting perceptual selection) from changes in the amplitude of distractor interference not accompanied by changes in focus (reflecting postperceptual selection). It showed that: (1) the spatial profile of perceptual resources is shaped like a “Mexican hat” (Müller et al., 2005); (2) increasing perceptual load focuses perceptual resources (Caparos & Linnell, 2009); (3) increasing cognitive load defocuses perceptual resources; and (4) participants with reduced working-memory span show reduced postperceptual blocking of distractors. While these findings are consistent with two levels of selective attention, they show that the first perceptual level is affected not only by perceptual but also by cognitive-control mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Excess enthalpy data for the ternary system methane—ethylene—carbon dioxide by flow calorimetry

Excess enthalpy data for the ternary system methane – ethylene – carbon dioxide was obtained utilizing an isothermal flow calorimeter. The measurements were made at three temperatures: 293.15, 305.15 and 313.15 K and pressures of 1.114, 1.520 and 3.445 MPa (11, 15 and 34 atm). The determination of excess enthalpies for the binary systems methane—ethylene, ethylene—carbon dioxide and methane—carbon dioxide has been reported in three preceeding articles, respectively: Gagné et al., 1985; Ba et al., 1979 and Barry et al., 1982a. The binary interaction coefficients k_ij obtained for these systems have been utilized as initial values for the optimization procedure leading to the k_ij for the ternary system. For the case of the ternary system studied in this investigation, two types of binary interaction coefficients k_ij have been determined from experimental data: k_ij independent of temperature and pressure and k_ij adjusted as function of temperature and pressure. Experimental data were compared with the predictions from Benedict—Webb—Rubin and Redlich—Kwong equations of state. In both cases, the coefficients k_ij dependent on temperature and pressure led to better prediction of excess enthalpies.     

An investigation of carbon nanotube jet grinding

Since their observation in 1976 and 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have generated much interest due to their properties and potential applications. CNTs are tubular carbon molecules with remarkable mechanical, electrical, chemical and thermal properties, which make them useful in various applications. Industries producing CNTs via the fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition technique face challenges related to the size of CNT bundles. The two main challenges are agglomeration and agglomerate size distribution control. A solution to these challenges involves the use of jet mills to grind the CNT agglomerates. The goal of this study was to determine whether the nanotubes could be ground with air jets using a commercial jet mill and apply a two-parameter model to describe the grinding process. The present study has indicated that air-jet grinding of CNTs is feasible with a typical commercial jet mill. This paper presents the effect of operational parameters on the arithmetic mean diameter of the ground product. Sonic velocity through the grinding nozzles was required to obtain reasonable grinding rates and relatively narrow particle size distributions. This occurs at high air to solids feedrate ratios. Additionally, a simple attrition model can describe the grinding process in the spiral jet mill.     

Quantification of two decades of shallow-water coral reef habitat decline in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary using Landsat data (1984–2002)

The loss of coral reef habitats has been witnessed at a global scale including in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. In addition to field surveys that can be spatially limited, remote sensing can provide a synoptic view of the changes occurring on coral reef habitats. Here, we utilize an 18-year time series of Landsat 5/TM and 7/ETM+ images to assess changes in eight coral reef sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, namely Carysfort Reef, Grecian Rocks, Molasses Reef, Conch Reef, Sombrero Reef, Looe Key Reef, Western Sambo and Sand Key Reef. Twenty-eight Landsat images (1984–2002) were used, with imagery gathered every 2 years during spring, and every 6 years during fall. The image dataset was georectified, calibrated to remote sensing reflectance and corrected for atmospheric and water-column effects. A Mahalanobis distance classification was trained for four habitat classes (‘coral’, ‘sand’, ‘bare hardbottom’ and ‘covered hardbottom’) using in situ ground-truthing data collected in 2003–2004 and using the spectral statistics from a 2002 image. The red band was considered useful only for benthic habitats in depths less than 6 m. Overall mean coral habitat loss for all sites classified by Landsat was 61% (3.4%/year), from a percentage habitat cover of 19% (1984) down to 7.6% (2002). The classification results for the eight different sites were critically reviewed. A detailed pixel by pixel examination of the spatial patterns across time suggests that the results range from ecologically plausible to unreliable due to spatial inconsistencies and/or improbable ecological successions. In situ monitoring data acquired by the Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP) for the eight reef sites between 1996 and 2002 showed a loss in coral cover of 52% (8.7%/year), whereas the Landsat-derived coral habitat areas decreased by 37% (6.2%/year). A direct trend comparison between the entire CREMP percent coral cover data set (1996–2004) and the entire Landsat-derived coral habitat areas showed no significant difference between the two time series (ANCOVA; F-test, p = 0.303, n = 32), despite the different scales of measurements.     

Response of the Rhône deltaic margin to loading and subsidence during the last climatic cycle

Passive continental margin subsidence is initiated by the synrift mechanical stretching of the lithospheric upper brittle layer and continues during the postrift phase; the thermal cooling and contraction of the upwelled asthenosphere forces the margin to subside in addition to the overloads from sea water and sediments. Therefore, the total subsidence in stretched basins includes fault-controlled initial sinking, thermal subsidence and flexural isostatic compensations. Decoupling and estimating the different components of this subsidence from stratigraphic analysis and restricted geophysical and sedimentological databases remains problematic. In particular, backstripping the sediment layers requires a well-constrained geological framework. A method is proposed here to investigate the subsidence history of a margin based on forward stratigraphic modelling. Using the Sedflux model, several experiments are done using generally agreed upon assumptions on the parameters describing lithospheric rheology and isostatic behaviour of a margin. The stratigraphic modelling of the Rhône deltaic margin during the last climatic cycle (125 kyr) provides an assessment of these parameter estimates and their influence on geohistory (tectonic/thermal subsidence and sediment loading). The model results confirm the important impact of water loading on vertical deflection along the platform between glacial low sea-level and interglacial high sea-level. Based on Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) observations, a conceptual method that uses the stratigraphic simulations is produced in order to evaluate the different components of the total subsidence of a margin, and, in particular, the relative impact of tectonic subsidence and sediment load.