Infants' reactions to perceptual paradox during mother–infant interaction.

36 3-mo-old infants interacted with their mothers under conditions in which they could see and hear their mothers (correlated auditory plus visual information: A?+?V), see but not hear their mothers (V), and hear but not see their mothers (A); the latter 2 conditions are termed perceptual paradox. The interactions were videotaped, and the Ss' behavior was judged by naive observers who used a subjective 7-point rating scale of infant affect. For 2 groups of Ss, 3 1-min presentations of the A?+?V condition were alternated with 3 1-min presentations of either A (Group 1) or V (Group 2) conditions. In both groups, Ss were judged as being more distressed during unimodal presentations than during bimodal presentations. In a 3rd group, unimodal (A) presentations were alternated with unimodal (V) presentations. Ss in this group were significantly more distressed when they could hear but not see their mothers than when they could see but not hear their mothers. Results demonstrate the suitability of global subjective ratings of affective state in studies of infant perception. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemical dosimetry system for criticality accidents

Ruder Boskovi? Institute (RBI) criticality dosimetry system consists of a chemical dosimetry system for measuring the total (neutron + gamma) dose, and a thermoluminescent (TL) dosimetry system for a separate determination of the gamma ray component. The use of the chemical dosemeter solution chlorobenzene-ethanol-trimethylpentane (CET) is based on the radiolytic formation of hydrochloric acid, which protonates a pH indicator, thymolsulphonphthalein. The high molar absorptivity of its red form at 552 nm is responsible for a high sensitivity of the system: doses in the range 0.2-15 Gy can be measured. The dosemeter has been designed as a glass ampoule filled with the CET solution and inserted into a pen-shaped plastic holder. For dose determinations, a newly constructed optoelectronic reader has been used. The RBI team took part in the International Intercomparison of Criticality Accident Dosimetry Systems at the SILENE Reactor, Valduc, June 2002, with the CET dosimetry system. For gamma ray dose determination TLD-700 TL detectors were used. The results obtained with CET dosemeter show very good agreement with the reference values.     

Crossover invariant subsets of the search space for evolutionary algorithms

This paper addresses the relationship between schemata and crossover operators. In Appendix A a general mathematical framework is developed which reveals an interesting correspondence between the families of reproduction transformations and the corresponding collections of invariant subsets of the search space. On the basis of this mathematical apparatus it is proved that the family of masked crossovers is, for all practical purposes, the largest family of transformations whose corresponding collection of invariant subsets is the family of Antonisse's schemata. In the process, a number of other interesting facts are shown. It is proved that the full dynastic span of a given subset of the search space under either one of the traditional families of crossover transformations (one-point crossovers or masked crossovers) is obtained after [log2n] iterations where n is the dimension of the search space. The generalized notion of invariance introduced in the current paper unifies Radcliffe's notions of "respect" and "gene transmission". Besides providing basic tools for the theoretical analysis carried out in the current paper, the general facts established in Appendix A provide a way to extend Radcliffe's notion of "genetic representation function" to compare various evolutionary computation techniques via their representation.     

Computation of steady and time-dependent temperature distribution for building elements: A general three-dimensional solution

A computational method of temperature distribution calculation for building elements in two- and three-dimensional time-dependent heat flow problems is developed with a general approximate solution using, as a numerical approach, the finite difference method. An analytical evaluation method of the accuracy of calculations is developed. The method described was compared with experimental values and good correspondence was obtained. The time-dependent study which is presented includes thermal resistance and inertia (heat capacity) of the components' materials and different geometric compositions.     

Transformations of mercury in the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber (Crustacea)

The biological cycle of mercury in the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber was investigated. Testing the possibility of in vivo Hg(2+) methylation was divided into two methodologically different parts. Firstly, concentrations of total mercury and MeHg in isopods P. scaber and their environment from a Hg-unpolluted area were measured by the use of validated methods (CV AAS, CV AFS). The data obtained show that the percentage of MeHg in leaves, soil and faeces was less than 1%. In contrast, the percentage of MeHg in gut and hepatopancreas was increased to 14 and 77%, respectively, indicating methylation of Hg(2+) in the gut and its further accumulation in glands. To confirm this assumption, the second methodology was applied-a radiotracer technique with 203Hg(2+) of high specific activity. There are few radiotracer techniques for Hg-methylation assays; for our work we chose the method of Czuba et al. which includes alkaline leaching of Hg species, their extraction into dithizone-toluene, followed by specific separation of Hg dithizonates by thin-layer chromatography and gamma counting. All steps of the analytical protocol were checked and optimised by the use of aqueous solutions of 203Hg(2+) and Me(203)Hg(+). The most important finding was that cleaning-up the extract through a florisil column is not appropriate, because the column retains different percentages of Hg(2+) and MeHg(+) and consequently affects the accuracy of the final result. This optimised protocol was then applied to Hg transformation studies in the terrestrial isopod P. scaber. Leaching Hg species from P. scaber fed with 203Hg(2+) or Me(203)Hg(+) dosed food was completely efficient only at elevated temperatures. Preliminary results of methylation/demethlytion studies are rather variable but they show that both processes (Hg(2+)<-->MeHg(+)) take place in the isopod P. scaber. Additionally, an assessment of the mass balance of Hg in isopods P. scaber exposed to 203Hg(2+) indicates that volatile Hg species are also formed.     

Development and optimization of a mid-infrared hollow waveguide gas sensor combined with a supported capillary membrane sampler

A gas sensor for application in water analysis was developed by combination of a mid-infrared (MIR) hollow waveguide with a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer and coupling of the hollow waveguide gas sensor module to a supported capillary membrane sampler (SCMS) for continuous liquid-gas extraction. Different hollow waveguides have been characterized in this study for developing an optimized optical configuration. Analysis of industrially relevant compounds has been performed, investigating chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs), such as dichloromethane and chloroform, representing highly volatile analytes, and 1,4-dioxane as an example of target compounds with low volatility. The suitability of this spectroscopic IR sensing system for industrial applications is demonstrated under simulated real-world conditions with limits of detection in the ppb (v/v) and ppm (v/v) concentration range for CHCs and 1,4-dioxane, respectively.     

New frontiers for mid-infrared sensors: towards deep sea monitoring with a submarine FT-IR sensor system

A sub-sea deployable fiber-optic sensor system for the continuous determination of a range of environmentally relevant volatile organic compounds in seawater has been developed. The prototype of a robust, miniaturized Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer for in situ underwater pollution monitoring was designed, developed, and built in our research group. The assembled instrument is enclosed in a sealed aluminium pressure vessel and is capable of maintenance-free operation in an oceanic environment down to depths of at least 300 m. The whole system can be incorporated either in a tow frame or a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). A suitable fiber-optic sensor head was developed, optimized in terms of sensitivity and hydrodynamics, and connected to the underwater FT-IR spectrometer. Due to a modular system design, various other sensor head configurations could be realized and tested, ensuring facile adaptation of the instrument to future tasks. The sensor system was characterized in a series of laboratory and simulated field tests. The sensor proved to be capable of quantitatively detecting a range of chlorinated hydrocarbons and monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater down to the low ppb (microg/L) concentration range, including mixtures of up to 6 components. It has been demonstrated that varying amounts of salinity, turbidity, or humic acids, as well as interfering seawater pollutants, such as aliphatic hydrocarbons or phenols, do not significantly influence the sensor characteristics. In addition, the sensor exhibits sufficient long-time stability and a low susceptibility to sensor fouling.     

Application of mid-infrared spectroscopy: measuring hydrogen peroxide concentrations in bleaching baths

The presented work applies mid-infrared attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy to the measurment of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous matrices. The performance of different ATR crystals mounted in flow cells was investigated in the presence of aqueous hydrogen peroxide solutions. Quantitative determination has been achieved by evaluation of specific OH stretching and deformation vibrations with linear correlation between peak areas or peak heights and hydrogen peroxide concentration in the range of 1-10% (weight in water). Important aspects such as chemical stability of the waveguide material and influences of pH and ionic strength on the performance are discussed. Feasibility for the investigation of real world samples is demonstrated by measuring industrial bleaching solutions with known concentrations of hydrogen peroxide fitting well with calibration graphs established with neat hydrogen peroxide solutions. The presented sensor system is capable of determining hydrogen peroxide within complex matrices and clearly corroborates the potential of providing an in situ measurement concept for on-line hydrogen peroxide detection.     

A 5.8 GHz Low Noise Amplifier for Wireless LAN Applications in Silicon Bipolar Technology

A monolithic integrated low-noise amplifier for operation in the 5.8-GHzband is described. Two different versions have been implemented where the biasing wasadapted to allow operation over a different range of supply voltage. At 5-V, theamplifiers gain is about 17-dB, with a noise figure of 4.2-dB and 1-dB compressionpoint at –15-dBm input power. The circuits have been designed utilizing a0.6-micron silicon bipolar production technology, featuring npn transistors with and of about20-GHz.