Artist Space 6: Generative computation and the arts

Cyberart incorporates interactive systems within artistic practices. The foundation for a theory of artistic production and creativity becomes expanded on the basis of a biological implication that is not dependent solely on aesthetic judgment. To communicate with computers and their high performance software stimulates artists’ imagination and there are types of interface or hardware that connect the natural system (especially the body) to the internal life of computers.     

A high density of vertically-oriented graphenes for use in electric double layer capacitors

The growth, capacitance and frequency response of vertically-oriented graphenes grown by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on nickel substrates and used as electrodes in electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are presented. The graphenes grown on the grain boundary of substrates show a faster growth rate, but less ordered structure than in the center of the nickel grain. At a few nanometers away from the grain boundaries the graphenes grow vertically at the rate of 70–80 nm per minute. The film height increased linearly with growth time from 700 nm (10 min sample) to 3.1 μm (40 min sample). Raman spectra show that the intensity ratio of the D band to G band gradually decreased with growth time to a value of 0.5, indicating that the crystalline order of the graphene increases with height. The specific capacitance of symmetric, parallel plate EDLC devices fabricated with these films was found to increase in a linear fashion with growth time up to values greater than 120 μF/cm² at 1 kHz. An impedance phase angle of ?45° was reached at 30 kHz. Specific capacitance normalized to growth height suggests that mechanisms other than double layer charge storage on planar surface area were operative.     

Simultaneous determination of acetoin and tetramethylpyrazine in traditional vinegars by HPLC method

A rapid and selective HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of acetoin (ACT) and tetramethylpyrazine (TMP). The chromatography was performed on a Zorbax SB-C18 column at 45 °C, with an aqueous mobile phase (1% acetic acid and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in water, pH 2.5)–(methanol) (45:55, v/v). The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min and UV detection wavelength was 297 nm. This method permits the simultaneous determination of ACT and TMP in fermentative foods with detection limits of 5.625 and 0.033 μg/mL, respectively. The recovery was 96.03% for ACT and 92.06% for TMP. Correlation coefficients were greater than 0.9999 for the two compounds. The linearity ranges for ACT and TMP were in the range of 0.02–20 mg/L and 0.12–80 μg/mL, respectively. The proposed method could be used for routine quality control of foods, beverages, natural products, or pharmaceuticals. Current data suggest that the content of TMP in vinegars is positively correlated with that of ACT.     

Molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging based on the anti-aging mechanism of calorie restriction

Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that oxidative stress underlies aging processes. Research provides consistent evidence that calorie restriction (CR) reduces age-related oxidative stress and has anti-inflammatory properties. However, information is lacking on the molecular mechanism that would better define the interrelation of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species and the pro-inflammatory states of the aging process. In this review, the biochemical and molecular bases of the inflammatory process in the aging process are analyzed to delineate the molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging. The key players involved in the proposed hypothesis are the age-related upregulation of NF-kappa B, IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNFalpha, cyclooxygenase-2, and inducible NO synthase, all of which are attenuated by CR. Furthermore, age-related NF kappa B activation is associated with phosphorylation by I kappa B kinase/NIK and MAPKs, while CR blocked these activation processes. The modulation of these factors provides molecular insights of the anti-inflammatory action of CR in relation to the aging process. Based on available finding and our recent supporting evidence, we prefer to use "molecular inflammation" to emphasize the importance of the molecular reaction mechanisms and their aberrance, predisposing to fully expressed chronic inflammatory phenomena. It was further proposed that CR's major force of the regulation of redox-sensitive inflammation may well be its life-prolonging action.     

Women's working wardrobes: a study using card sorts

Abstract: Picture sorts were used to investigate perceptions of women's office clothes, with a sample of ten male and ten female subjects who normally worked in an office environment. The pictures on the cards were taken from catalogues, and showed women's outfits which might be worn in an office. The subjects sorted the cards repeatedly and generated criteria and categories of their own choice. Some of the criteria and categories had not been previously reported in the clothing research literature. Over half of the male subjects, but none of the female subjects, used ‘married/unmarried woman’ as a sorting criterion, although only one of the images sorted showed a wedding ring. A significantly higher proportion of male than of female subjects used dichotomous categorization (i.e. sorting the cards into two piles for one or more of the criteria). The reasons for this are obscure, but do not appear to be a simple outcome of males not knowing much about female clothing. Previous research into clothing has tended to involve researcher‐centred approaches such as semiotics; the results from this study suggest that there would be advantages in wider use of subject‐centred approaches such as card sorts, both in this domain and elsewhere. It was concluded that card sorts were a useful method and should be more widely used.     

芝麻油掺伪通用检验方法研究

在系统调查国内流通领域几种主要油脂脂肪酸组成的基础上，对芝麻油掺入其它油品质后脂肪酸组成变化规律进行了详细研究，找出了芝麻油掺伪检验的定性定量依据。     

An Efficient Fixed Parameter Tractable Algorithm for 1-Sided Crossing Minimization

We give an O(^k · n²) fixed parameter tractable algorithm for the 1-Sided Crossing Minimization. The constant in the running time is the golden ratio = (1+5)/2 1.618. The constant k is the parameter of the problem: the number of allowed edge crossings.     

Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of o-phenols on copper-plated screen-printed electrodes

A novel and sensitive detection method based on photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of o-diphenols was demonstrated on a copper-plated screen-printed carbon electrode (designated CuSPE) in pH 8 phosphate buffer solution. The o-diphenols can be detected amperometrically through electrochemical oxidation at a low applied potential of -0.1 V versus Ag/AgCl, where the CuSPE is much less subject to interfering reactions. The mechanism that induces good selectivity of the CuSPE is explained in terms of the formation of a cyclic five-member complex intermediate (Cu(II)-o-quinolate). A prototype homemade flow through cell design is described for incorporating the photoelectrode and light source. Electrode irradiation results in a large increase in anodic current. The oxidative photocurrents produced by irradiation increase with light intensity presumably because of the formation of semiconductor Cu(2)O. The principle used in this study has an opportunity to extend into various research applications.     

Distributed leadership in the development of a knowledge sharing system

This paper studies leadership dynamics in the development of a knowledge sharing system. We apply the concept of distributed leadership, examining how leadership roles are distributed across different individuals in the organisation during developing and implementing a knowledge sharing system. The results of a case study demonstrate that the leadership was fulfilled by the interdependent and emergent roles played by several individuals: the spearheading and coordinating roles of a knowledgeable and persistent project leader, the supporting and steering roles carried by a group of perceptive and collaboration-inclined executives, and the knowledge sharing and momentum driving roles performed by knowledge champions. Each of these leadership influences was indispensable. None of the leaders could have accomplished this task individually, without the active involvement of the other types of leaders. This research makes its contribution to the understanding of the emergence and dynamics of distributed leadership in the information system environment, and demonstrates the importance of a full awareness of distributed leadership as tasks are carried out in developing a knowledge sharing system.