Design of polyurethane fibers: Relation between the spinning technique and the resulting fiber topology

Properties or characteristics of fibers are affected by their topology. In fact, these topologies are found to have significant impacts in the functionalities of many applications. Hence, in this study, the relations between the spinning techniques and the topology of the resulting fibers are studied with the aim to provide a guideline for future reference where fibers with certain topology can be fabricated to suit specific applications. For this purpose, polyurethane is chosen to be the raw material to fabricate the fibers due to its versatility to be applied in various fields. The surface morphology, structures, and alignments of the fibers are studied. It is found that the polymer solution properties largely influence the mechanisms in the spinning process and can significantly affect the topology of the fibers. For instance, viscous solutions enable the spinning of coiled and smooth fibers, whereas conductive solutions encourage the splaying of the solution jet which results in the spinning of straight fibers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47706.     

On the detection of dominant points on digital curves

A parallel algorithm is presented for detecting dominant points on a digital closed curve. The procedure requires no input parameter and remains reliable even when features of multiple sizes are present on the digital curve. The procedure first determines the region of support for each point based on its local properties, then computes measures of relative significance (e.g. curvature) of each point, and finally detects dominant points by a process of nonmaximum suppression. This procedure leads to the observation that the performance of dominant points detection depends not only on the accuracy of the measure of significance, but also on the precise determination of the region of support. This solves the fundamental problem of scale factor selection encountered in various dominant point detection algorithms. The inherent nature of scale-space filtering in the procedure is addressed, and the performance of the procedure is compared to those of several other dominant point detection algorithms, using a number of examples     

Validity of the Wonderlic Personnel Test as a brief IQ measure in psychiatric patients.

100 male psychiatric inpatient referrals (mean age 41.18 yrs) for psychological testing were administered the Wonderlic Personnel Test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) in a counterbalanced order. In this clinical context, the Wonderlic proved not to be an acceptable alternative to the WAIS—R. The tests correlated only moderately (.75), differed in mean IQ level, and agreed in IQ classification in only 40% of the cases. Efforts to improve these results by devising new IQ correction factors resulted in only slight improvements. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal generating kernels for image pyramids by piecewise fitting

A novel class of generating kernels for image pyramids is introduced. When these kernels are convolved with intensity functions of images, continuous piecewise surfaces composed of polynomial tensor products are fitted to the intensity functions. The fittings are optimal in the sense that the mean square error between them and the original intensity functions is minimized. Two members of the class are introduced, and symmetry, normalization, unimodality, and equal contribution properties are proved. These kernels possess attractive properties such as small window size, fast inverse transformation, and minimum error. Experiments show that they compare favorably with existing ones in terms of mean square error     

Fabrication and characterization of Ti-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconducting films on LaAlO3 substrates

A multi-step process is used to fabricate Tl₂Ba₂Ca₁Cu₂O₈ films on (100) LaA10₃ substrates. Submicron thick precursor films of Ba-Ca-Cu-O are rf magnetron sputter deposited from a single target. Film stoichiometry is measured by ion beam backscattering spectroscopy. Deficiencies of the alkaline earths that are found in the precursor films are then compensated for by the addition of appropriate CaF₂ and/or BaF₂ films onto the surface of the precursor film. Post deposition annealing of the films is then done in an atmosphere of thallium oxide and oxygen in order to form the superconducting phases. The annealed films are examined using x-ray diffraction (XRD), an ac inductance technique, and critical current in an external magnetic field. XRD shows the c-axis length of the superconducting phase to increase as the overall film stoichiometry approaches 2212. The transition widths measured by inductive coupling weakly correlate with 77 K critical current measurements. Our best critical current results are 1.5*10⁶ amps/ cm² for a film measured at 4 K in an 8 T magnetic field (parallel to the films' c-axis).     

分子育种提高甜菜抗病性(续完)

通过国内外在分子育种水平上对甜菜多种病害抗病性研究的分析和总结，综述了国内外分子育种方面提高甜菜抗病性的研究进展。     

Measuring the impact of sessions in process€xperiential therapy of depression: The Session Impacts Scale.

The Session Impacts Scale (SIS) is a brief client-report measure of the experienced impacts of therapy sessions. Data were collected from depressed clients seen in short-term process-experiential treatment. Factor analyses were consistent with the expected hierarchical structure of the measure (Helpful Impacts and Hindering Impacts, with Helpful Impacts divided into Task Impacts and Relationship Impacts subscales). Internal reliabilities were excellent for the helpful impact scales, and the pattern of impacts was consistent with the treatment model. Helpful impact scales were most strongly correlated with client Session Evaluation Questionnaire Depth and Positivity scales and client global helpfulness ratings. A components of variance analysis suggested that client and therapist factors account for large amounts of variance in SIS ratings, some of which could be predicted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electro-optic properties of InGaAs/GaAs multiquantum wells for modulator applications

A study of the application of InGaAs/GaAs multiquantum wells for modulators using the electroabsorption ( Delta alpha ) and the electrofraction ( Delta n) effects is presented. The important parameters for these devices were measured directly in both waveguide and surface-normal configurations. The Delta n and Delta alpha spectra were shown to satisfy the Kramers-Kronig relations.<>