Ferromagnetic shape memory flapper

A new method for propulsion using a Ni₂MnGa ferromagnetic shape memory flapper is introduced. We optically examine the magnetic field induced strain of pure shear by means of a state of the art generator that provides alternating magnetic fields of 7000 Oe at frequencies of up to 100 Hz. Preliminary measurements show local shear deformation of about 5%, which open new frontiers in propulsion mechanisms.     

Molecularly imprinted Au nanoparticles composites on Au surfaces for the surface plasmon resonance detection of pentaerythritol tetranitrate, nitroglycerin, and ethylene glycol dinitrate

Molecularly imprinted Au nanoparticles (NPs) composites are generated on Au-coated glass surfaces. The imprinting process involves the electropolymerization of thioaniline-functionalized Au NPs (3.5 nm) on a thioaniline monolayer-modified Au surface in the presence of a carboxylic acid, acting as a template analogue for the respective explosive. The exclusion of the imprinting template from the Au NPs matrix yields the respective imprinted composites. The binding of the analyte explosives to the Au NPs matrixes is probed by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, SPR, where the electronic coupling between the localized plasmon of the Au NPs and the surface plasmon wave leads to the amplification of the SPR responses originating from the dielectric changes of the matrixes upon binding of the different explosive materials. The resulting imprinted matrixes reveal high affinities and selectivity toward the imprinted explosives. Using citric acid as an imprinting template, Au NPs matrixes for the specific analysis of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) or of nitroglycerin (NG) were prepared, leading to detection limits of 200 fM and 20 pM, respectively. Similarly, using maleic acid or fumaric acid as imprinting templates, high-affinity sensing composites for ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN) were synthesized, leading to a detection limit of 400 fM for both matrixes.     

Normalization schemes in a neural network image compression algorithm

Recently multilayer neural networks have been used for still picture compression. In these networks it is necessary to normalize the gray levels in the input picture before they are fed into the neural network. In this paper we investigate six different normalization functions, of which four are new and appear for the first time in this paper. We show that the compression efficiency of a neural network depends on the normalization function used and that the new normalization functions consistently outperform the traditional normalization functions.     

Chemical interactions in the system anodized aluminum—primer—adhesive

Chemical interactions in the primed aluminium/adhesive interphase were examined using IR reflectance spectroscopy. For the case of epoxy primers and polyurethane adhesives, a new absorption was detected and was attributed to an isocyanate group, formed by reaction between the epoxide primer and the polyurethane adhesive. When polyurethane adhesive was applied on a polyurethane primer, such a primer-adhesive interaction was not noticed.     

Spurious consensus and opinion revision: Why might people be more confident in their less accurate judgments?

In the interest of improving their decision making, individuals revise their opinions on the basis of samples of opinions obtained from others. However, such a revision process may lead decision makers to experience greater confidence in their less accurate judgments. The authors theorize that people tend to underestimate the informative value of independently drawn opinions, if these appear to conflict with one another, yet place some confidence even in the spurious consensus, which may arise when opinions are sampled interdependently. The experimental task involved people's revision of their opinions (caloric estimates of foods) on the basis of advice. The method of sampling the advisory opinions (independent or interdependent) was the main factor. The results reveal a dissociation between confidence and accuracy. A theoretical underlying mechanism is suggested whereby people attend to consensus (consistency) cues at the expense of information on interdependence. Implications for belief updating and for individual and group decisions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ROBUST LTV FEEDBACK SYNTHESIS FOR SISO NON-LINEAR PLANTS

Given a feedback system with uncertain nonlinear plant, it is required that the plant's output, to a set of command inputs, will satisfy certain specifications, i.e., will be bounded between a maximum response β(t) and a minimum response α(t). A rigorous synthesis technique to solve this problem using an LTV controller is developed. A design example is included, and it is shown that the LTV design has much lower bandwidth as compared to LTI designs. All design steps utilize the well-established QFT technique for LTI SISO uncertain systems. The methodology also suits rejection of disturbances at the plant's input or output, and for output specifications for nonzero initial conditions. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The sequence of mini-max subproblems procedures for the solution of symmetric eigenvalue problems

A sequence of three variables mini-max problems is introduced and implemented for numerically solving standard symmetric eigenvalue problems. The procedure is shown to possess considerable advantages over similar procedures introduced by the authors of this paper in the past. Finally, a general strategy for handling large scale symmetric eigenvalue problems is presented and implemented together with the new numerical solution procedure.     

Second-viscosity phenomena in dilute solutions of3He in superfluid4He

A theory of second-viscosity phenomena in dilute solutions of³He in superfluid⁴He is presented. The theory considers only phonon and³He quasiparticle excitations and is therefore valid at temperatures below about 0.6 K. It is shown, by an exact calculation, that within the framework of the Landau-Pomeranchuck model for the³He quasiparticle excitation energy, the four second-viscosity coefficients are related to one another and that only one of them is actually an independent kinetic coefficient. The relations between the second-viscosity coefficients are applied to analyze the expressions for the dissipative function and the first- and the second-sound attenuation coefficients. It is shown that the second-viscosity contribution to the second-sound attenuation is smaller by an order of magnitude than its contribution to the first-sound attenuation.