A connectionist account of asymmetric category learning in early infancy.

Young infants show unexplained asymmetries in the exclusivity of categories formed on the basis of visually presented stimuli. A connectionist model is described that shows similar exclusivity asymmetries when categorizing the same stimuli presented to infants. The asymmetries can be explained in terms of an associative learning mechanism, distributed internal representations, and the statistics of the feature distributions in the stimuli. The model was used to explore the robustness of this asymmetry. The model predicts that the asymmetry will persist when a category is acquired in the presence of mixed category exemplars. An experiment with 3–4-month-olds showed that asymmetric exclusivity persisted in the presence of mixed-exemplar familiarization, thereby confirming the model's prediction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thermoelastic Stress Analysis of a GRP Tee Joint

A detailed study of the stresses that are developed in a glass reinforced plastic (GRP) tee joint under service loads is described. The joints are fabricated by laminating a boundary angle over a radiused fillet on either side of the ‘tee’. Full-field stress characterisation data is provided by a thermoelastic analysis of the tee joint. Calibration procedures that allow the thermoelastic data to be compared with the results of a finite element analysis are detailed. The results of the thermoelastic analysis are compared with values obtained from the finite element analysis. The applicability of thermoelastic analysis as a validation tool for finite element models of composite materials is assessed.     

Cricket-based robots

This article describes the development of an autonomous hybrid microrobot that uses legs for propulsion and support of the rear half of the body and a pair of wheels for support of the front half. McKibben artificial muscles actuate the legs, and compressed air is generated by an onboard power plant. Control is also onboard in the form of a PIC microcontroller, from Microchip Technology Inc., that controls the actuators through four three-way valves that are each made up of a pair of microelectromechanical system devices. Its motion resembles that of a cricket.     

Towards a hydrodynamic modelling framework appropriate for applications in urban flood assessment and mitigation using heterogeneous computing

We present a new hydrodynamic modelling framework capable of fully exploiting modern graphics and central processing units (GPUs and CPUs) from any of the mainstream vendors, to be used in the design and assessment of sustainable drainage systems. A finite-volume Godunov-type scheme is combined with the HLLC Riemann solver to create a robust numerical model which correctly addresses wetting and drying and transient flow conditions, and is suitable for application to a wide range of flood simulations. The software is tested with a three day flood event in Carlisle during 2005, at resolutions from 25 m to 2 m. Run-times are significantly reduced without compromising numerical accuracy. Excellent agreement is found between the simulation results and a comprehensive post-event survey. Changes in sensitivity to Manning's n are examined at different resolutions, with changes to the floodplain found to have little influence at 2 m resolution.     

Immunochemical detection of ovalbumin in dairy-based foods

Commercially available antibodies were used for the detection and quantitation of ovalbumin in ice cream and cheese. Electrophoretic separation of protein components, followed by blotting and immunochemical recognition of ovalbumin allowed the detection of the addition of 50 g kg^-1 egg white to processed cheese and allowed detection of egg in ice cream. For quantitative purposes a competitive ELISA method was set up. Calibration curves for ovalbumin in various products were obtained. A marked matrix effect was evident in ice cream, cheese and yoghurt. Different types of cheese gave nearly identical matrix effects. Analytical application of the method should therefore be possible, at least within a given class of products. A study on the influence of thermal treatments on the ELISA response showed that melting of cheese at various temperatures modifies only slightly the ELISA response for ovalbumin.     

Non-prismatic sub-stiffening for stiffened panel plates—Stability behaviour and performance gains

Previous work has demonstrated the potential to introduce plate element sub-stiffening to increase the local stability and thus static strength performance of integrally machined aluminium alloy stiffened panels. The introduction of plate element prismatic sub-stiffening modifies local plate buckling behaviour and within realistic design constraints, may produce sizable performance gains with equivalent mass designs. This article examines through experimental and computational analysis the potential of non-prismatic sub-stiffening for tailoring local plate stability performance. Using non-prismatic sub-stiffening, the experimental work demonstrates potential initial buckling performance gains with equivalent mass designs (+185%), and computationally, potential mass savings with equivalent static strength performance designs (−9.4%).     

Fracture Toughness of Veneering Ceramics for Fused to Metal (PFM) and Zirconia Dental Restorative Materials

Veneering ceramics designed to be used with modern zirconia framework restorations have been reported to fracture occasionally in vivo. The fracture toughness of such veneering ceramics was measured and compared to that of conventional feldspathic porcelain veneering ceramics for metal framework restorations. The fracture toughness of the leucite free veneer was measured to be 0.73 MPa m ± 0.02 MPa m, which is less than that for the porcelain fused to metal (PFM) veneering ceramic: 1.10 MPa ± 0.2 MPa. (Uncertainties are one standard deviation unless otherwise noted.) The surface crack in flexure (SCF) method was suitable for both materials, but precrack identification was difficult for the leucite containing feldspathic porcelain PFM veneer.