A Genetic Dissociation of Learning and Recall in Caenorhabditis elegans.

A learning event can be dissociated into 3 components: acquisition, storage, and recall. When the laboratory wild-type strain of Caenorhabditis elegans (N2 strain) is exposed to benzaldehyde in the absence of food, the worms display a reduction of their attractive response to this volatile odorant. This results from the association between benzaldehyde and a nutrient-deficient environment. Another wild-type isolate, the CB4856 strain, fails to display this decreased response to benzaldehyde after exposure to benzaldehyde in the absence of food. However, like the N2 strain, when tested to isoamyl alcohol after benzaldehyde conditioning, the CB4856 strain displays a decreased isoamyl alcohol response. Therefore, the CB4856 strain does not have an acquisition deficit, but it suffers from a recall deficit specific to benzaldehyde. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Non-point sources and the waste discharge charge system.

The development of a waste discharge charge system (WDCS) in South Africa has been proposed to promote waste reduction and water conservation. The WDCS is based on the polluter pays principle and is designed such that the management of waste discharges achieves resource quality objectives (RQOs) at the minimum total cost to the catchment. Two charges are distinguished: first a charge for optimising use of the resource (incentive charge); and secondly, a charge for development and operation of mitigation measures in the resource (mitigation charge). The WDCS is applied to both point sources and non-point sources (NPS) of contamination. In the inclusion of NPS, the charge system distinguishes between registered and non-registered NPS, with the charge applied to the former group only, in the first instance. This paper introduces the WDCS by describing the principles and the theoretical basis of the WDCS, highlighting the link to RQOs as the benchmark of acceptable externalities. The paper explores the inclusion of NPS in the WDCS, describing: first, the principles of NPS inclusion in the WDCS; secondly, the types of NPS included in the present version of the WDCS; thirdly, the methodology for charge estimation; and finally, non-registered NPS and their potential inclusion in future editions of the WDCS. The paper concludes with remarks and challenges facing the first edition of the WDCS.     

Investigation of bounds on particle packing in pebble-bed high temperature reactors

Models and methods are presented for determining practical limits of the packing density of TRISO particles in fuel pebbles for a pebble-bed reactor (PBR). These models are devised for designing and interpreting fuel testing experiments. Two processes for particle failure are accounted for: failure of touching particles at the pressing stage in the pebble manufacturing process and failure due to inner pressure buildup during irradiation. The second process gains importance with increasing fuel temperature, which limits the particle packing density and the corresponding fuel enrichment. Suggestions for improvements to the models are presented.     

Upgrading coal-derived liquids to diesel fuel

Distilled fractions of a coal-derived liquid from the H-Coal process were upgraded to diesel fuel by catalytic hydrotreatment. The total hydrotreated products were distilled into naphtha (<180°C) and diesel fuel fractions (>180°C) and the diesel fractions were analysed for hydrocarbon-type composition, hydrogen content and some diesel fuel properties. GC—MS-analyses were carried out on the hydrocarbon-type fractions to identify individual chemical compounds. To investigate the effect of different distillation cut points on diesel fuel yield and properties, cut points for one hydrotreated product were varied. The diesel fuel cetane numbers were correlated with percentage hydrogen, total aromatics and saturates. Cetane numbers above 40 were obtained for diesel fuels containing (i) more than 75% saturates, (ii) less than 15% total aromatics and (iii) a hydrogen content above 12.8%. Compounds identified by GC—MS-analyses (in the diesel fractions) were typical aromatic and cycloparaffin compounds. Normal-and iso-paraffin compounds were not detected. By varying the distillation cut point from 135 to 180°C, the cetane number of the residual diesel fraction improved from 37 to 44. This increase is ascribed to the removal of aromatic compounds in the 135–180°C boiling point range.     

Model checker aided design of a controller for a wafer scanner

For a case-study of a wafer scanner from the semiconductor industry it is shown how model checking techniques can be used to compute (1) a simple yet optimal deadlock avoidance policy, and (2) an infinite schedule that optimizes throughput. in the absence of errors. Deadlock avoidance is studied based on a simple finite state model using Smv, and for throughput analysis a more detailed timed automaton model has been constructed and analyzed using the Uppaal tool. The Smv and Uppaal models are formally related through the notion of a stuttering bisimulation. The results were obtained within 2 weeks, which confirms once more that model checking techniques may help to improve the design process of realistic, industrial systems. Methodologically, the case study is interesting since two models were used to obtain results that could not have been obtained using only a single model. Supported by the European Community Project IST-2001-35304 (Ametist), http://ametist.cs.utwente.nl/.