Defect Chemical Modeling of (La, Sr)(Co, Fe)O3 − δ

Different defect chemical models for calculation of ionic and electronic defect concentrations are discussed regarding their applicability to transition metal perovskite-type oxides (ABO_{3 –} ) with large ranges of oxygen non-stoichiometry. A point defect model, which allows simultaneous consideration of three different B-site species concentrations as a function of the oxygen partial pressure is compared to a simple point defect model, considering only two different B-site species. Additionally, a model assuming electrons/holes as negative resp. positive electronic charge carriers is presented. Further, models involving association of point defects in different complexes are discussed. Examples are given for fits of experimental data of La_{1 – x}Sr_xBO_{3 –} (x = 0.6, B = Fe, Co) to selected models in the temperature range 700–900_C and oxygen partial pressures 10^{– 5} < pO₂/atm < 1.     

Values: The enfant terrible of psychotherapy.

Cites clinical examples, personal experience, and empirical research demonstrating that the values of psychotherapists affect diagnoses, as well as the process and goals of therapy. Some therapists believe that values should not influence therapy. Thus, indirect ways of dissemination of values may be used as shown by clinical illustrations. The author holds a value-determined image of psychotherapy, in which therapeutic schools are viewed as "perceptual houses" to which the client is being converted. The advantages of making the public aware of the role of values in psychotherapy are briefly discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commingled yarns of surface nanostructured glass and polypropylene filaments for effective composite properties

Developing commingled yarn technologies and understanding the fundamental interface nanostructures of reinforcement and thermoplastic filaments are of significant current interest. Previous research on commingled yarns was mainly focused on the air-jet texturing process, while the mechanical properties of the composites are strongly influenced by the impregnation homogeneity, the polymer sizing properties and consolidation process. Here, we report a unique melt spinning equipment for E-glass fiber which is compatibly combined with a melt spinning extruder to manufacture commingled yarns. The in-situ commingling enables to combine homogeneously both glass and polypropylene filament arrays in one processing step and without fiber damage compared to commingling by air texturing. Variation of processing conditions are investigated, i.e. sizings, diameter ratios, and arrangements of sizing/finish application related to intermingling of filament arrays. A rapid processing is achieved because of good intermingling and the low flow paths. We found that the sizing enables a good strand integrity with the polypropylene yarn. The interfacial adhesion can be improved with a sizing for glass fibers consisting of aminosilane and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene film former, which results in both improved transverse tensile strength and compression shear strength. We also found that a very small amount of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in the sizing provides significantly improved interfacial adhesion strength. This is attributed to the change in fracture behavior of the nano-structured interface and morphology of the model single-fiber composites.     

Investigation on adhesion, interphases, and failure behaviour of cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT)/glass fiber composites

Interphases exist in hybrid materials and significantly influence their mechanical performance. To find a bridge between the microscopic and macroscopic mechanical properties, this work investigates the microscopic nature of glass fiber surfaces and glass/CBT interphases in terms of topography, fractography, and adhesion properties. The variations in glass fiber surface properties result from the different sizings. Using the single fiber pull-out test, AFM, and ζ potential tests, it is shown that the interfacial bond strengths in CBT resin composites can vary depending on the kind of sizing formulation and properties. The greatest adhesion strength is achieved by aminosilane sizings with epoxy resin film former. The surface roughness of the fibers can be varied by sizings with different content and ζ potential values, which has no significant contribution to interphase adhesion strength from ‘mechanical interlocking’. For the systems with film formers, cohesive failure occurs and similar values of both interfacial adhesion strength, τ_d, and fracture energy release rate, G_ic, are obtained, in which τ_d approaches the shear yield strength of CBT matrix. A further enhancement of interfacial adhesion is limited by the mechanical properties and the non-homogeneous microstructure of CBT resin due to the less-than-perfect CBT polymerization.     

The relative power of logspace and polynomial time reductions

There exist many different formalisms to model the notion of resource bounded truth-table reduction. Most papers in which truthtable reductions appear refer to the seminal paper of Ladner, Lynch and Selman for a definition. The definition of truth-table reductions given there however, pertains to only one of the possible incarnations of the notion. For larger resource bounds, this definition often coincides with other-often implicitly used-definitions of the notion. In this paper we focus our attention on resource bounds for which the various definitions probably donot pertain to the same notion. In particular, we show that coincidence of different notions implies coincidence of complexity classes likeNC ₁,LOG, andP, which are widely believed to be different.     

Sterols and Stanols in Foods and Dietary Supplements Containing Added Phytosterols: A Collaborative Study

An international, multilaboratory collaborative study was carried out to evaluate the performance of Official Method Ce 12‐16 of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) for the determination of plant sterols and stanols, collectively referred to as phytosterols, in foods and dietary supplements containing added phytosterols and in the phytosterol food additive concentrates used to prepare such products. AOCS Official Method Ce 12‐16 involves the extraction of free sterols/stanols and saponified steryl/stanol esters followed by the gas chromatographic separation and flame ionization detection of phytosterol trimethylsilyl ether derivatives. A total of 14 laboratories from six countries successfully completed the analysis of collaborative samples of foods (e.g., baked goods, beverages, margarines; n = 9), dietary supplements (n = 5), and phytosterol concentrates (n = 4). Study results for the contents of total phytosterols (weight/weight) were 0.19–8.4% for foods, 8.7–49% for dietary supplements, and 57–97% for concentrates. AOCS Official Method Ce 12‐16 showed acceptable performance for total and individual phytosterols, indicating that this method was suitable for the determination of added phytosterols in a wide variety of market products and concentrates. AOCS Official Method Ce 12‐16 is appropriate for the determination of the five major phytosterols (i.e., campesterol, stigmasterol, β‐sitosterol, campestanol, and sitostanol) that are the subject of the United States Food and Drug Administration's health claim for phytosterols and the reduced risk of coronary heart disease.     

Measuring mental workload with the NASA-TLX needs to examine each dimension rather than relying on the global score: an example with driving

The distinction between several components of mental workload is often made in the ergonomics literature. However, measurements used are often established from a global score, notably with several questionnaires that originally reflect several dimensions. The present study tested the effect of driving situation complexity, experience and subjective levels of tension and alertness on each dimension of the NASA-TLX questionnaire of workload, in order to highlight the potential influence of intrinsic, extraneous and germane load factors. The results showed that, in complex situation, mental, temporal and physical demand (load dimensions) increased, and that novice drivers presented high physical demand when subjective tension was low on performance. Moreover, increase of mental and physical demand increased effort. It thus, appears essential to distinguish the different components of mental workload used in the NASA-TLX questionnaire.

Practitioner Summary: Currently, global score of NASA-TLX questionnaire is used to measure mental workload. Here, we considered independently each dimension of NASA-TLX, and results showed that mental load factors (driving situation complexity, experience, subjective tension and alertness) had a different effect on dimensions, questioning global score use to evaluate workload.