A proposed industrial method for the removal of mercury from fish

An economically-feasible technique for the substantial reduction of the total mercury content of slices of tuna fish is described. Extraction at room temperature of the fish slices with 0.5 % cysteine hydrochloride solution is followed by rinsing and washing with sodium bicarbonate solution. The optimal conditions and recycling of the extraction solution are described. The organoleptic properties, protein quality and shelf life of the canned treated fish were satisfactory.     

Multichain Polyproline Coated with Histidyl and Glutamyl Residues — A Potent Synthetic Immunogen

A new, water soluble multichain polypeptide coated with short peptides containing histidyl and glutamyl residues was prepared, using the 2,4-dinitro-phenyl group for masking the imidazole imino-nitrogen during synthesis. The polymer obtained after thiolytic deblockage (multi-poly(L-histidyl, L-glutamyl)-poly-L-prolyl – – poly-L-lysine) was shown to be a potent synthetic immunogen, capable of provoking a high titer of antibodies in mice already at the primary response, and useful for studying the genetic control of the immune response.     

Vicissitudes of the impetus for growth and change among emerging adults.

The aim of this study was to understand why some emerging adults pursue their goals in effective ways while others become involved in projects or set goals that collapse after a period of time. In order to examine the inner processes which may explain this phenomenon, in-depth interviews were conducted with 70 emerging adults aged 21 to 26. The interviews revealed two main modes in the pursuit of goals among emerging adults. In the "doing-oriented" mode, individuals were extensively invested in a constant pursuit for its own sake, hardly thinking about what they do, and why. In contrast, in the "reflective-oriented" mode, emerging adults were highly reflective about their behaviors, motivations, and future projected plans. Integrating developmental and psychoanalytic thinking, our data propose new understandings of the inner processes through which emerging adults may experience and direct their lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distortion of Norway spruce timber Part 1. Variation of relevant wood properties Part 1. Variation of relevant wood properties

) trees from one fast-grown and one slow-grown stand in southern Sweden. From the trees 240 studs (45 × 70 × 2500 mm) were taken for measurement of distortion. Wood properties were measured on small specimens (13 × 13 × 200 mm) cut from the studs. Spiral grain angle was found to vary from approximately +3° (left-handed) close to pith to zero 150 mm from pith with a strong individual variation. The material from the fast-grown stand had a larger spiral grain angle compared with the slow-grown material. Spiral grain was poorly correlated to other parameters. Presence of knots had a substantial influence on longitudinal shrinkage (α_l) measurements. Specimens with large knots (KAR > 33%) had almost 100% higher longitudinal shrinkage than specimens without knots. It should be pointed out, however, that measuring shrinkage in small specimens containing even small knots can create a problem with regards to the obtained results, especially results of α_l. It was found that presence of compression wood in several growth rings more than doubled the longitudinal shrinkage. For the radial and tangential direction the presence of compression wood decreased shrinkage with about 30%. The ratio between tangential and longitudinal shrinkage was 49 for normal wood whereas for compression wood the ratio was 13. These results confirm the theory that the microfibril angle governs shrinkage. Longitudinal shrinkage decreased slightly with increased distance from pith whereas radial and tangential shrinkage did not display any substantial radial variation. The fast-grown material had generally a higher longitudinal shrinkage and lower transverse shrinkage than the material from the slow-grown stand. About 50% of the variation in longitudinal shrinkage was explained by radial position, density and ring width. Density and ring width did explain 60% of the variation in radial shrinkage but only 30% of the variation in tangential shrinkage.     

Design of Light-Induced Molecular Switcher for the Driver of the Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA) Based on the Transition through the Intramolecular Charge Transfer (ICT) Structure

The design of light-induced switcher for the molecular QCA driver was discussed. The driver-cell with two connected chromophores was proposed as a basic model of the molecular light-induced trigger. One of the chromophores will conjugate with a left diagonal and the second chromophore will conjugate with a right diagonal. Some differences between two chromophores can allow selective controlling of the switch to the left or to the right. The following three-steps mechanism for QCA switcher was suggested – light-induced transition through ICT area (a), initiation of the driver‘s polarization (b) and the beginning of the signal transition to the other cells (c). The principal physical characteristics of the driver‘s trigger was proposed, and the corresponding chemical implementation was discussed. Three kinds of processes leading to ICT were discussed as mechanisms suggested for potential switchers: 1) Irradiation leading to the ICT excited state; 2) Chemical reaction with ICT transition state; 3) Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT). The common features of these processes are the non-radiative transition to the initial state after excitation, with the back transition going through the highly polar charge transfer (CT) area.     

Elastic–plastic multiplicative decomposition with a stressed intermediate configuration

This paper presents an extension to the elastic–plastic multiplicative decomposition to permit the origin, in stress space, to reside outside the closure of the elastic domain. In this work the classical assumption of a stress-free intermediate configuration is abandoned in favor of a new one where the intermediate configuration could be stressed. This stress is identified as the maximal unloading point in stress space, and denoted the plastic stress. To motivate the discussion, the infinitesimal plasticity model is considered first. A remarkable result is obtained, where, for the case of linear elastic response, the classical infinitesimal model is, after some reinterpretation, recovered. The fully nonlinear model is developed, and is shown to reduce to the classical one when the intermediate configuration is stress-free. The new framework is then applied to the case of J₂-plasticity, where it is shown that when coupled with neo-Hookean elasticity, as in the infinitesimal case, after some reinterpretation, the classical model is recovered (i.e., the total stress is independent of the plastic stress). Numerical simulations are used to illustrate the importance of properly modeling the hardening behavior even during (external) loading in cases where load redistribution may take place.     

Prey should hide more randomly when a predator attacks more persistently

When being searched for and then (if found) pursued by a predator, a prey animal has a choice between choosing very randomly among hiding locations so as to be hard to find or alternatively choosing a location from which it is more likely to successfully flee if found. That is, the prey can choose to be hard to find or hard to catch, if found. In our model, capture of prey requires both finding it and successfully pursuing it. We model this dilemma as a zero-sum repeated game between predator and prey, with the eventual capture probability as the pay-off to the predator. We find that the more random hiding strategy is better when the chances of repeated pursuit, which are known to be related to area topography, are high. Our results extend earlier results of Gal and Casas, where there was at most only a single pursuit. In that model, hiding randomly was preferred by the prey when the predator has only a few looks. Thus, our new multistage model shows that the effect of more potential looks is opposite. Our results can be viewed as a generalization of search games to the repeated game context and are in accordance with observed escape behaviour of different animals.     

On the relation between common and distinctive feature models.

Investigates the relationship between the classificatory structure of objects and the dissimilarity between them by discussing the common and distinctive features models. Data indicate that given a feature structure, the 2 models produce different orderings of dissimilarity between objects. However, if one model holds in some feature structure, then the other model also holds, albeit in a different feature structure. It is suggested that the choice of a model and the specification of the feature structure are not always determined by the observed dissimilarity. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingent weighting in judgment and choice.

Preference can be inferred from direct choice between options or from a matching procedure in which the decision maker adjusts one option to match another. Studies of preferences between two-dimensional options (e.g., public policies, job applicants, benefit plans) show that the more prominent dimension looms larger in choice than in matching. Thus, choice is more lexicographic than matching. This finding is viewed as an instance of a general principle of compatibility: The weighting of inputs is enhanced by their compatibility with the output. To account for such effects, we develop a hierarchy of models in which the trade-off between attributes is contingent on the nature of the response. The simplest theory of this type, called the contingent weighting model, is applied to the analysis of various compatibility effects, including the choice-matching discrepancy and the preference-reversal phenomenon. These results raise both conceptual and practical questions concerning the nature, the meaning and the assessment of preference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)