Evaluation of alternative thermochemical cycles,Part I: The methodology

The Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI) of the U.S. Department of Energy′s Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology is supporting an effort to reevaluate thermochemical cycles reported in the literature as having both promising efficiencies and proof-of-concept results. Recognizing that the calculation of efficiencies was not always consistently done or well defined in the literature, we first developed a consistent methodology for reevaluating the candidate thermochemical cycles. This methodology was defined for three levels of maturity in process knowledge. Argonne National Laboratory and a group of universities recalculated the efficiency for each level and identified the most critical R&D necessary to further assess the cycles' potential. This methodology is illustrated with the Cu–Cl in Part I of this series of three papers. Current results of the analyses for all of the cycles are summarized in Part II. Part III contains a more detailed Level 3 analysis for the Cu–Cl cycle.     

Perceived shrinkage of motion paths.

We show that human observers strongly underestimate a linear or circular trajectory that a luminous spot follows in the dark. At slow speeds, observers are relatively accurate, but, as the speed increases, the size of the path is progressively underestimated, by up to 35%. The underestimation imposes little memory load and does not require tracking of the trajectory. Most importantly, we found that underestimation occurred only when successive motion vectors changed in direction. This suggests a perceptual rather than representational origin of the illusion, related to vector-sum integration over time of neural motion signals in different directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic Mediation for Standard-Based B2B Interoperability

The authors discuss a semantic-mediation architecture to advance traditional approaches for standards-based business-to-business (B2B) interoperability. The architecture is supported by the Athena Knowledge Representation and Semantics Mediation tool suite. Initial experimentations with the architecture and the toolset offer discussions of key architectural and functional aspects and suggest directions for future tools enhancements.     

A voltage controlled CMOS current divider with linear characteristic

A compact voltage controlled CMOS current divider is presented. Differently from previous implementations, exploiting the MOSFET translinear characteristics in subthreshold region, the proposed circuit is based on devices operating from moderate to strong inversion. An input current linearity range of nearly a decade is obtained by compensating for the deviations from the ideal drain current square-law approximation through an original empirical approach. The circuit is suitable for use as a building block in analog multipliers and for transconductor continuous tuning. The effectiveness of the proposed configuration is demonstrated by means of electrical simulations, performed on a prototype designed with a commercial process. The robustness of the linearization algorithm with respect to temperature variations is proven.     

On time-reversal and space-time harmonic processes for Markovian quantum channels

The time reversal of a completely-positive, nonequilibrium discrete-time quantum Markov evolution is derived in a general framework via a suitable adjointness relation. Space-time harmonic processes are then introduced for the forward and reverse-time transition mechanisms, and their role in the study of quantum dynamics is illustrated by discussing (operator and scalar) relative entropy dynamics.     

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016: purification and characterization of a cystathionine gamma-lyase and use as adjunct starter in cheesemaking

A homo-tetrameric approximately 160-kDa cystathionine gamma-lyase was purified to homogeneity from Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016 by four chromatographic steps. The activity was pyridoxal-5'-phosphate dependent and the enzyme catalyzed the alpha,gamma-elimination reaction of L-cystathionine, producing L-cysteine, ammonia and alpha-ketobutyrate. The enzyme was active towards a range of amino acids and amino acid derivatives, including methionine. The pH and temperature optima were found to be 8.0 and 35 degrees C. respectively. Isoelectric pH (pI) was approximately 5.0 as determined by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Sensitivity to chemical inhibitors was typical of lactococcal cystathionine gamma- and beta-lyases, except it was inhibited by sulphydryl reagents. The N-terminal sequence was MKFNTQLIHGGNSED, which had 100% homology with cystathionine beta-lyase of Lb. reuteri 104R (Accession Number (CAC05298). Lb. reuteri DSM 20016. together with 10 other strains of non-starter lactic acid bacteria, was used as adjunct starter in the production of miniature ('anestrato Pugliese-like cheeses. After 40 d ripening, the water-soluble extract of the cheeses with added Lactobacillus fermentum DT41 and Lb. reuteri DSM 20016 contained the highest enzyme activities on cystathionine and methionine substrates. Determinations of methanethiol, dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide and dimethyl trisulphide in the miniature cheeses confirmed the findings of enzyme activities.     

Fiber-optic confocal reflectance microscope with miniature objective for in vivo imaging of human tissues

We have built a fiber-optic confocal reflectance microscope capable of imaging human tissues in near real time. Miniaturization of the objective lens and the mechanical components for positioning and axially scanning the objective enables the device to be used in inner organs of the human body. The lateral resolution is 2 micrometers and axial resolution is 10 micrometers. Confocal images of fixed tissue biopsies and the human lip in vivo have been obtained at 15 frames/s without any fluorescent stains. Both cell morphology and tissue architecture can be appreciated from images obtained with this microscope.     

Statistical analysis of process capability indices with measurement errors

Process capability indices (PCIs) have been widely used in manufacturing industries to provide a quantitative measure of process potential and performance. While some efforts have been dedicated in the literature to the statistical properties of PCIs estimators, scarce attention has been given to the evaluation of these properties when sample data are affected by measurement errors. In this work we deal with the problem of measurement‐error effects on the performance of PCIs. The analysis is illustrated with reference to and , i.e. the two most common measures suggested to evaluate process capability. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attraction in context: Acquisition and blocking of person-directed action.

Two experiments with 72 undergraduates investigated attraction to a stranger, which has been previously shown to depend on the social context within which that directed action is acquired. In both experiments, a confederate stranger agreed with the S 100% of the time. Attraction to the stranger, however, was blocked if the stranger agreed with the S while in the presence of someone the S already found attractive. Based on these findings, the present authors employed N. E. Miller's (1959) "extension of liberalized stimulus–response theory" in developing a reinforcement-context theory to predict acquisition and blocking effects in attraction. Additional novel predictions addressing contextual phenomena are generated from the theory. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism.

The constructs of horizontal (H) and vertical (V) individualism (I) and collectivism (C) were theoretically defined and empirically supported. Study 1 confirmed, via factor analysis, that the 4 constructs, HI, V1, HC, and VC, which were previously found in the United States, which has an individualist culture, also were found in Korea which has a collectivist culture. Study 2 investigated multimethod-multitrait matrices measuring the constructs and generally supported their convergent and divergent validity. Study 3 showed how these 4 constructs relate to previously identified components by H. C. Triandis and colleagues. Study 4 showed the relationships of the measurement of the 4 constructs to some of the measures used by other researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)