Early visual tagging: Effects of target-distractor similarity and old age on search, subitization, and counting.

Three experiments examined the effects of target-distractor (T-D) similarity and old age on the efficiency of searching for single targets and enumerating multiple targets. Experiment 1 showed that increasing T-D similarity selectively reduced the efficiency of enumerating small (     

Fractionating the preview benefit in search: Dual-task decomposition of visual marking by timing and modality.

Providing participants with a preview of half the distractors in a visual search task facilitates performance. The present study examined the effects of secondary tasks on the preview benefit in search. Participants had to attend to a visual or an auditory stream of digits that began either (a) at the onset of the preview or (b) after the preview. Secondary tasks that onset with the preview disrupted the preview benefit irrespective of their modality. Only visual secondary tasks disrupted the benefit in the delayed condition. These selective interference effects suggest that the preview benefit can be fractionated into 2 components: an initialization component that involves modality-independent resources and a maintenance component that depends on visual resources. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical accounts of the preview benefit in search. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managing Risk Propagation in Extended Enterprise Networks

The weakest link in an information supply chain can lead to increased vulnerability for all partners in the network. Examining and controlling risk propagation from the network and supply-chain perspectives has become vital to overall network security.     

Dissolution Rate of BTEX Contaminants in Water

The BTEX group of contaminants consists of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and three isomers of xylene. The dissolution rate, solubility, slick area and mass transfer coefficient were examined for the BTEX. The release of BTEXs into the environment is influenced by their fate and transport mechanisms. Thus, the fate and transport mechanisms are affected by the contaminant characteristics, which vary with the different BTEX compounds. A comprehensive model has been developed to simulate the molecular dissolution rate of BTEX contaminants in a natural water stream. The developed model modifies the work of Cohen et al. (1980) by considering the physicochemical properties of the BTEX compounds and physical processes relevant to the spreading of contaminants in the sea. The model shows that Benzene with greater solubility in water and dissolution coefficient has the largest dissolution rate while o‐xylene with the biggest density has the lowest dissolution rate because of its low fraction. The benzene dissolution rate is about 2.6, 20.6 times that of Toluene, ethylbenzene, respectively, but with a varying proportion with the xylenes. The model has been validated against the theories of mass transfer rate at the surface at appropriate surface area. The developed model can be found useful in prediction and monitoring the dissolution rate of contaminants in soil and water systems.     

Solar energy breeders

An energy breeder can be defined as a device which creates capacity to generate useful energy without consuming energy stocks. Any solar conversion device (SCD) that delivers in its life-time more energy than needed to maintain and rebuild itself is a solar energy breeder, since some of the surplus energy can be used to build more such SCDs. A breeding SCD must necessarily produce energy of sufficiently high intrinsic quality (e.g. electricity) or high temperature to provide energy at the various temperatures needed for its fabrication and maintenance. Thus, the amount of energy produced by an SCD breeder at various temperatures must be examined, in addition to the simple energy quantity produced over a solar collector lifetime. Capacity breeding rates are calculated for both SCDs producing electricity intrinsically (e.g. photovoltaics) and for SCDs producing both electricity and a significant amount of thermal energy (e.g. total solar energy systems).     

In vitro degradation behavior of biodegradable 4-star micelles

Drug delivery vectors for sustained release include a variety of polymeric constituents, both natural and synthetic. Among synthetic polymers several linear block copolymer systems have been explored for use as drug delivery vectors. Release of the pharmaceutical agent is affected by the degradation characteristics and/or by the swelling of the polymer. The goal of this study is to evaluate the degradation behavior of branched polyethylene oxide polylactide polyether ester as a drug delivery vector. Three samples of a star polyethylene oxide/polylactide copolymer with differing polylactide chain lengths were evaluated by characterizing the thermal properties of the neat polymer and in vitro degradation behavior.The thermal and morphological properties were examined by DSC, TGA and XRD. The in vitro polymeric micelle samples were observed over time by UV-vis, TEM and fluorescence. The four star PEO-PLA polymers have exceptional amphiphilic characteristics, which enable their use for a variety of applications. The polymers are thermally stable at biological conditions. In addition, the star polymers have shorter degradation times as compared to previously reported linear PLA and PEG-PLA copolymers, suggesting use as a short-term drug release agent. The four star PEO/PLA copolymer may be an excellent candidate for drug delivery applications.     

An incremental algorithm to construct a lattice of set intersections

An incremental algorithm to construct a lattice from a collection of sets is derived, refined, analyzed, and related to a similar previously published algorithm for constructing concept lattices. The lattice constructed by the algorithm is the one obtained by closing the collection of sets with respect to set intersection. The analysis explains the empirical efficiency of the related concept lattice construction algorithm that had been observed in previous studies. The derivation highlights the effectiveness of a correctness-by-construction approach to algorithm development.     

A review of conductive polymer composites filled with low melting point metal alloys

Metal alloys with low melting temperatures may be blended into polymers to improve their electrical conductivity. We review the preparation, morphology, and electrical conductivity of polymer composites based on low melting point metal alloys, with or without additional filler particles. Since such alloys can be liquid under melt processing conditions, the composite morphology is determined by phenomena such as coalescence of liquid metal drops, orientation of the liquid metal phase, or selective wetting of a second filler by the liquid metal. None of these phenomena appear in conductive composites based on more common conductive fillers such as carbon black, carbon nanotubes, or metal particles. The published literature suggests that composites based on low melting metal alloys, with or without additional non‐melting filler particles, can have much higher percolation thresholds and much higher electrical conductivity (～1,000 S/m) than those based on fillers such as carbon black or carbon nanotubes. Changes in other properties such as rheological or mechanical properties are also discussed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1010–1019, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Correction to: Supplement intake in half-marathon, (ultra-)marathon and 10-km runners – results from the NURMI study (Step 2)

Although there is a plethora of information available regarding the impact of nutrition on exercise performance, many recommendations are based on male needs due to the dominance of male participation in the nutrition and exercise science literature. Female participation in sport and exercise is prevalent, making it vital for guidelines to address the sex-specific nutritional needs. Female hormonal levels, such as estrogen and progesterone, fluctuate throughout the mensural cycle and lifecycle requiring more attention for effective nutritional considerations. Sex-specific nutritional recommendations and guidelines for the active female and female athlete have been lacking to date and warrant further consideration. This review provides a practical overview of key physiological and nutritional considerations for the active female. Available literature regarding sex-specific nutrition and dietary supplement guidelines for women has been synthesized, offering evidenced-based practical information that can be incorporated into the daily lives of women to improve performance, body composition, and overall health.