Water Uptake by NaCl Particles Prior to Deliquescence and the Phase Rule

Using an environmental transmission electron microscope (ETEM), we show that a significant amount of water, far exceeding the multilayers caused by surface adsorption, is reversibly associated prior to deliquescence with substrate-supported NaCl particles (dry diameters of ～ 40 nm to 1.5 μ m; ～ 18°C). We hypothesize that the water is present as an aqueous solution containing dissolved Na and Cl ions. Water uptake occurs at relative humidities (RH) as low as 70%, and the resulting liquid layer coating the particles is stable over extended times if the RH is held constant. We exposed CaSO ₄ and CaSO ₄ · 2H ₂ O particles to elevated RH values in the ETEM to show that chemically nonspecific condensation of gas-phase water on the TEM substrate does not explain our observations. Furthermore, damage to the NaCl surface induced by the electron beam and small fluctuations in RH do not seem to contribute to or otherwise affect water uptake. We have similar observations of water association for other alkali halide particles, including NaBr and CsCl, prior to deliquescence. To explain the observations, we derive the phase rule for this geometry and show that it allows for the coexistence of liquid, solid, and vapor for the binary NaCl/H ₂ O system across a range of RH values. The derivation includes the effects of heterogeneous pressure because of the Laplace-Young relations for the subsystems. Furthermore, in view of the lever rule and the absence of similar observations for free-floating pure NaCl aerosol particles, we hypothesize that the surface energy necessary to support these effects is provided by sample-substrate interactions. Thus, the results of this study may be relevant to atmospheric systems in which soluble compounds are associated with insoluble materials.     

A micromechanically motivated finite element approach to the fracture toughness of silicon nitride

Silicon nitride is often used, when high fracture toughness and strength is needed. For a safe and economic structural design with this material, a prediction of its resistance against thermal and mechanical loads is important. The finite element method together with a continuum damage mechanics model allows for such calculations. The parameters of the suggested model have been adjusted to three-dimensional micromechanical finite element simulations, which include models for the microstructure, the thermoelasticity and the fracture. The material model is used for four-point bend test simulations. The results are compared to recent experiments.     

The inherently integrative approach of positive psychotherapy.

Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) is a therapeutic metatheory and approach that was developed in 1968 by Dr. Nossrat Peseschkian. His contribution to psychotherapy is not to be confused with what is being called PPT and is an outgrowth of Positive Psychology begun by Dr. Martin Seligman in the U.S. Peseschkian's approach to therapy is inherently and systematically integrative, along the lines of being cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, therapeutically, and psychologically intertheoretic. This article presents some basic premises of PPT: the use of stories; having a positive starting point; basic and actual capacities; five-stage therapeutic model; as well as mentioning other aspects of PPT and a case study. PPT is well suited to therapists advocating integrative psychotherapy as demonstrated by empirical research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

双路输出降压型控制器可产生准确、高效和可靠的高电流轨-设计要点478

引言LTC(R)3855能够以上佳的准确度和效率来产生高电流轨,旨在满足当今最先时的网络、电信和服务器应用极其苛刻的要求.     

From Sultaniyeh to Tashkent Scrolls: Euclidean Constructions of Two Nine- and Twelve-Pointed Interlocking Star Polygon Designs

In this paper we will explore two nine- and twelvepointed Islamic star polygon patterns consisting of ??nearly regular?? nine-pointed, regular twelve-pointed and irregularly-shaped pentagonal star polygons. The two designs are similar in that they may both be classified mathematically as being p6m patterns with the major star polygons placed in identical locations within each layout; however, the structure of the major stars is quite different. Both of the patterns considered here are of Persian origin. The first design may be found as a repeat unit sketch of the Tashkent Scrolls, and exists as a Timurid-style stone inlay and mosaic tiling in India. The second pattern may be found as Plate 120 of Bourgoin??s Arabic Geometrical Pattern and Design and exists as a stucco/plasterwork ceiling in the Mausoleum of Sultan Oljaytu in Sultaniyeh, Iran, as well as numerous other locations across the Islamic world. Both patterns may be recreated via plausible Euclidean ??point-joining?? constructions (that is, using only the methods available to medieval artisans) in an attempt to ascertain how the original designers of these patterns may have determined the proportion and placement of the stars.     

Learning Photometric Invariance for Object Detection

Color is a powerful visual cue in many computer vision applications such as image segmentation and object recognition. However, most of the existing color models depend on the imaging conditions that negatively affect the performance of the task at hand. Often, a reflection model (e.g., Lambertian or dichromatic reflectance) is used to derive color invariant models. However, this approach may be too restricted to model real-world scenes in which different reflectance mechanisms can hold simultaneously.     

A Parallelization Approach for Hard Real-Time Systems and Its Application on Two Industrial Programs

Applications in industry often have grown and improved over many years. Since their performance demands increase, they also need to benefit from the availability of multi-core processors. However, a reimplementation from scratch and even a restructuring of these industrial applications is very expensive, often due to high certification efforts. Therefore, a strategy for a systematic parallelization of legacy code is needed. We present a parallelization approach for hard real-time systems, which ensures a high reusage of legacy code and preserves timing analysability. To show its applicability, we apply it on the core algorithm of an avionics application as well as on the control program of a large construction machine. We create models of the legacy programs showing the potential of parallelism, optimize them and change the source codes accordingly. The parallelized applications are placed on a predictable multi-core processor with up to 18 cores. For evaluation, we compare the worst case execution times and their speedups. Furthermore, we analyse limitations coming up at the parallelization process.     

Innovations in Individual Feature History Management—The Significance of Feature-based Temporal Model

A feature relies on three dimensions (space, theme, and time) for its representation. Even though spatiotemporal models have been proposed, they have principally focused on the spatial changes of a feature. In this paper, a feature-based temporal model is proposed to represent the changes of both space and theme independently. The proposed model modifies the ISO’s temporal schema and adds new explicit temporal relationship structure that stores temporal topological relationship with the ISO’s temporal primitives of a feature in order to keep track feature history. The explicit temporal relationship can enhance query performance on feature history by removing topological comparison during query process. Further, a prototype system has been developed to test a proposed feature-based temporal model by querying land parcel history in Athens, Georgia. The result of temporal query on individual feature history shows the efficiency of the explicit temporal relationship structure.

A Wireless Instructor System for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Requiring Immersive Presence (CSCLIP)

The Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Requiring Immersive Presence (CSCLIP) concept has been established with the objective of extending and enhancing thee-learning experience of distance education, especially for classes that involve laboratory (lab) experiments. The CSCLIP concept defines immersive presence as an inherent requirement that enables cognitive, affective, and most importantly psychomotor learning objectives to integrate into designs and concepts for next generation e-learning systems (Sharda et~al., 2003). Within the CSCLIP architectural framework, the Wireless Instructor (WI) system has been conceptualized and developed as an essential device to effectively support teaching while roaming instructional features for both local and distance students. The WI system provides cost effective means to establish a real-time immersive presence for the distance learning (DL) student and his/her lab group peers. The technical design and system architecture to create a WI system are introduced in this paper. The objective of the WI system is to make the learning experience more vivid and interactive by enabling the DL students, as well as the local students that are not in the same room with the instructor(s) at the same time, to be able to flexibly interact with the instructor(s) in real-time. With this system the students can experience real-time or non-real-time virtual tours with the instructor(s), enabling the students to visit places that may not be easily accessible due to distance, limited space and/or time, cost, or possible danger. The WI system consists of two major sub-components. First is a wireless audio and video (AV) system, which transfers real-time AV signals to and from the instructor(s) to all students. Second is the wireless instructor locator & data assistant system. These two systems can be combined into one WI unit, but as the applied development technologies are somewhat distinct, their features and architectural designs will be described separately throughout this paper. Integration of the two systems will enable further capabilities.This revised version was published online in March 2005 with corrections to the cover dateThis project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) award no. P116Z020042 project titled Telecommunications Virtual Laboratory Development.     

Spatial-temporal dual-actor CNN for human interaction prediction in video

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Predicting the interaction between two humans, when viewed as a part of video is one of the most challenging issues in the field of computer vision, due to its...