Worker control: A reply to Ronan.

Argues that W. W. Ronan (1980) presents a one-sided picture of "work force control" by the "entrepreneur–capitalist–management group" and discredits the contributions of many psychologists to workers' well-being. Ronan's contentions that (1) psychological concepts are applied to programs that are motivated by management's desire to avoid unionization, (2) psychological experiments and interventions are unilaterally imposed on workers by management, and (3) economic benefits of psychological interventions should be shared equally with workers are discussed. It is concluded that psychologists have every reason to be proud of their colleagues' contributions to making companies more profitable while improving the work environment for employees. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguishing video quality through differential matrices

Multicast multi-layered communications must implement efficient control algorithms to address undesirable network behaviors. This paper proposes two multi-metric algorithms for computing the rates of the video layers and improve the global video quality of a multicast session. In fact, we show that a single-metric approach may degrade some network parameters without obtaining any substantial improvements. Our first algorithm combines three metrics and a set of weights in such a way that one metric can be prioritized. This leads to an improved quality of multicast sessions, as we show through a number of experiments. In networks where the available resources are highly variable, however, the stability of the video quality is compromised if absolute values of the metrics are adopted. We then propose a second algorithm that uses the relative values of the metrics on a per-entry basis. Computation of the global quality of the multicast session is based on a differential matrix that stores the metrics for each receiver. This scheme takes into account the dynamics of the available resources and the heterogeneity of receivers. The great benefit of this approach is that the global video quality is always improved for every loop of the algorithm.     

A 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator as a tool for planetary and impact physics research

Investigating the dynamical and physical properties of cosmic dust can reveal a great deal of information about both the dust and its many sources. Over recent years, several spacecraft (e.g., Cassini, Stardust, Galileo, and Ulysses) have successfully characterised interstellar, interplanetary, and circumplanetary dust using a variety of techniques, including in situ analyses and sample return. Charge, mass, and velocity measurements of the dust are performed either directly (induced charge signals) or indirectly (mass and velocity from impact ionisation signals or crater morphology) and constrain the dynamical parameters of the dust grains. Dust compositional information may be obtained via either time-of-flight mass spectrometry of the impact plasma or direct sample return. The accurate and reliable interpretation of collected spacecraft data requires a comprehensive programme of terrestrial instrument calibration. This process involves accelerating suitable solar system analogue dust particles to hypervelocity speeds in the laboratory, an activity performed at the Max Planck Institut fu?r Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. Here, a 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator electrostatically accelerates charged micron and submicron-sized dust particles to speeds up to 80 km s(-1). Recent advances in dust production and processing have allowed solar system analogue dust particles (silicates and other minerals) to be coated with a thin conductive shell, enabling them to be charged and accelerated. Refinements and upgrades to the beam line instrumentation and electronics now allow for the reliable selection of particles at velocities of 1-80 km s(-1) and with diameters of between 0.05 μm and 5 μm. This ability to select particles for subsequent impact studies based on their charges, masses, or velocities is provided by a particle selection unit (PSU). The PSU contains a field programmable gate array, capable of monitoring in real time the particles' speeds and charges, and is controlled remotely by a custom, platform independent, software package. The new control instrumentation and electronics, together with the wide range of accelerable particle types, allow the controlled investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena across a hitherto unobtainable range of impact parameters.     

Quantitative detection of gold nanoparticles on individual, unstained cancer cells by scanning electron microscopy

Gold nanoparticles are rapidly emerging for use in biomedical applications. Characterization of the interaction and delivery of nanoparticles to cells through microscopy is important. Scanning electron microscopes have the intrinsic resolution to visualize gold nanoparticles on cells. A novel sample preparation protocol was developed to enable imaging of cells and gold nanoparticles with a conventional below lens scanning electron microscopes. The negative influence of 'charging' on the quality of scanning electron microscopes' images could be limited by deposition of biological cells on a conductive (gold) surface. The novel protocol enabled high-resolution scanning electron microscopes' imaging of small clusters and individual gold nanoparticles on uncoated cell surfaces. Gold nanoparticles could be counted on cancer cells with automated routines.     

Experimental-numerical study and optimization of sound insulation of a finite composite cylinder

The aircraft fuselage is idealized as a composite cylinder, its vibroacoustic properties are studied both experimentally and numerically, and a minimization of the inner pressure of a composite cylinder is conducted with the genetic algorithm (GA). In the optimization, the Acoustic Transfer Vector (ATV), which comes from the boundary element method, builds the relationship between the structural surface velocity and the sound pressure at the specific filed points. Results show that the noise reduction obtained by the experimental and numerical methods have a good agreement; the optimization method which combines GA and ATV show high efficiency and robustness; increase of the bending stiffness of the cylinder can improve the noise reduction at low frequencies; both the reduction of weight and the increase of noise insulation can be achieved by the optimization of the layup at different regions of the cylinder individually.     

Arduino-based slider setup for gas–liquid mass transfer investigations: Experiments and CFD simulations

The implementation of traditional sensors is a drawback when investigating mass transfer phenomena within microstructured devices, since they disturb the flow and reactor characteristics. An Arduino based slider setup is developed, which is equipped with a computer-vision system to track gas–liquid slug flow. This setup is combined with an optical analytical method allowing to compare experimental results against CFD simulations and investigate the entire lifetime of a single liquid slug with high spatial and temporal resolution. Volumetric mass transfer coefficients are measured and compared with data from literature and the mass transfer contribution of the liquid film is discussed.     

Financial and Ecological Evaluation of Hydrogen Production Processes on Large Scale

Hydrogen is widely seen as energy carrier of the future. Different technologies are under development to produce hydrogen at competitive cost but with significantly reduced carbon footprint. Two conventional technologies, namely, methane steam reforming and coal gasification, are compared based on product cost and carbon footprint with four new technologies, i.e., metal‐oxide cycle, water electrolysis, biomass gasification, and methane pyrolysis. To evaluate the carbon footprint for methane pyrolysis, system extension and differential methods are applied. For the boundary conditions selected here, methane pyrolysis yields very good values for product cost and carbon footprint. Therefore, a cross industry technology development of methane pyrolysis was initiated.     

The effectiveness of coincidence site lattice criteria in predicting creep cavitation resistance

The coincidence site lattice (CSL) concept is often used in microstructural characterization by researchers studying grain boundary engineering as a method for improving the performance of polycrystalline materials. It is assumed that a high degree of shared lattice sites in the boundary between two grains will result in improved mechanical properties. For practical application of the CSL concept to experimental results, a maximum deviation from ideal CSL orientation relationships must be defined to distinguish potential CSL boundaries from random boundaries that are not likely to exhibit “special” properties. Several different maximum deviation criteria have been proposed in the literature. In this study, four of these criteria are investigated for their effectiveness in predicting the creep cavitation resistance of boundaries of different CSL character in three model alloys: pure Cu, Cu-Bi, and Cu-Sb. Bi and Sb strongly segregate to Cu grain boundaries and are detrimental to creep life. The experimental observations are compared to simulation results for a non-textured polycrystal. It is observed that only boundaries related to cubic annealing twins (Σ3 and Σ9) exhibit special resistance to creep cavitation, that boundaries with Σ > 3 are affected by the presence of segregants, and that the fraction of non-Σ(3,9) boundaries tracks closely with what would be expected from a random polycrystal. It is shown that more restrictive criteria result in more reliable characterization of the fraction of cavitation-resistant boundaries only because they exclude more non-Σ(3,9) boundaries from the analysis.     

A large-scale investigation of lateralization in cortical anatomy and word reading: Are there sex differences?

The authors report findings of a large-scale, multitask investigation of sex differences in both structural asymmetries and lateralization of word reading. Two hundred participants were tested in eight divided visual field lexical tasks, and each received a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. The authors examined whether there was evidence for sex differences in overall measures of neuroanatomical and behavioral lateralization, in specific language tasks and brain regions, and in variation in asymmetry within and across tasks and brain regions. There was very little evidence for sex differences on any behavioral measure. The few indications of sex differences in the current report accounted for 2% or less of the individual variation in asymmetry and could not be replicated in independent subsamples. No sex differences were observed in the asymmetry of structures in Broca's and Wernicke's areas such as pars triangularis, pars opercularis, the planum temporale, planum parietale, or Heschl's gyrus. There were also no sex differences in the variability of neuroanatomical asymmetries within or between brain regions. However, a significant relationship between planum temporale and behavioral asymmetry was restricted to men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)