Do We Stand on Common Ground? A Threat Appraisal Model for Terror Alerts Issued by the Department of Homeland Security

The fabric and faces of threat, and the expediency and efficiency in the communication of threat, are examined with a threat appraisal model. This model is empirically tested on an ongoing communication challenge, the issuance of terror alerts by the United States' Department of Homeland Security (DHS), focusing on how threat is appraised by both the conservative and liberal audiences. Findings showed a shared view by the DHS and conservative audiences on the levels and nature of threats; liberal audiences thought otherwise. Though there appeared to be a consensus between the conservative and liberal audiences on the efficacy of threat communication, more internal consistency within DHS is needed to optimise its effectiveness.     

Using thermally stimulated currents to find defective capacitors

BaTiO₃ multilayer capacitors with a nominal capacitance of 3.5nF have been carefully measured using the thermally stimulated current (TSC) technique. When a 300V polarization voltage is applied at room temperature, a new TSC peak appeared in defective sample A after it has been immersed in water. No new peak was found in good-quality sample B after a similar treatment. The accelerated life test shows that sample A hasa much shorter life than sample B in terms of insulation resistance.     

纸张用有机硅抗水剂的制备

采用氨基硅油、十二烷基三甲氧基硅烷、甲基三乙氧基硅烷配成11种抗水剂,用于纸张的抗水处理.通过渗透法和接触角法测试发现,有机硅抗水剂对实验选择的9种纸张均有明显的抗水效果;其中采用氨基硅油配制的抗水剂效果最好,经其处理的生宣纸与空白样相比,接触角由完全润湿提高到125°,渗透时间由0提高到18 s.最佳应用工艺为:将氨基硅油配制成质量分数为2.041%的甲苯溶液,按照10g/m2的涂布量喷涂于纸张表面,自然晾干3～5天至恒定质量.     

保山气田新近系羊邑组二-三段沉积微相

保山盆地为滇西的一个具西断东超箕状断陷结构的新近系小型盆地。为搞清区内保山气田的沉积特征，指导该区油气勘探工作，结合沉积岩（物）与沉积环境之间的辩证关系，通过对沉积岩的岩性特征（颜色、岩石类型、岩石结构、黏土矿物、岩相组合）的分析研究，借助于沉积相在测井和地震剖面上的显著特征，研究并划分了保山气田新近系上新统羊邑组二-三段的沉积微相类型。结果表明，在该研究区主要发育了扇三角洲前缘亚相中的水下分流河道、分流河道间、前缘席状砂、河口坝等沉积微相类型，以及浅湖亚相中的浅湖泥和浅湖漫流席状砂沉积微相。剖析各类骨架微相的沉积特征后指出：水下分流河道、河口坝和前缘席状砂为该区最有利的储集砂体。     

Periodic surface modeling for computer aided nano design

Current solid and surface modeling methods based on Euclidean geometry in traditional computer aided design are not efficient in constructing a large number of atoms and particles. In this paper, we propose a periodic surface model for computer aided nano design such that geometry of atoms and molecules can be constructed parametrically. At the molecular scale, periodicity of the model allows thousands of particles to be built efficiently. At the meso scale, inherent porosity of the model represents natural morphology of polymer and macromolecule. Surface and volume operations are defined to support crystal and molecular model creation with loci and foci periodic surfaces. The ultimate goal is to enable computer assisted material and system design at atomic, molecular, and meso scales.     

En/Decoder for Spectral Phase-Coded OCDMA System Based on Amplitude Sampled FBG

A novel en/decoder for spectral phase-coded optical code-division multiple-access system based on amplitude sampled fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is proposed. Both equivalent chirp and equivalent phase shift are achieved by amplitude sampling. Compared with previous en/decoder based on step chirped FBG, it is easier to fabricate. The performance of the proposed en/decoder is verified by both numerical simulation and experimental demonstration.     

Lactic acid production from dining‐hall food waste by Lactobacillus plantarum using response surface methodology

BACKGROUND: Food waste generally has a high starch content and is rich in nutritional compounds, including lipids and proteins. It therefore represents a potential renewable resource. In this study, dining‐hall food waste was used as a substrate for lactic acid production, and response surface methodology was employed to optimise the fermentation conditions. RESULTS: Lactic acid biosynthesis was significantly affected by the interaction of protease and temperature. Protease, temperature and CaCO₃ had significant linear effects on lactic acid production, while α‐amylase and yeast extract had insignificant effects. The optimal conditions were found to be an α‐amylase activity of 13.86 U g^?1 dried food waste, a protease activity of 2.12 U g^?1 dried food waste, a temperature of 29.31 °C and a CaCO₃ concentration of 62.67 g L^?1, which resulted in a maximum lactic acid concentration of 98.51 g L^?1 (88.75% yield). An increase in inoculum size would be appropriate for accelerating the depletion of initial soluble carbohydrate to enhance the efficiency of α‐amylase in dining‐hall food waste fermentation. CONCLUSION: A suitable regression model for lactic acid production was developed based on the experimental results. Dining‐hall food waste was found to be a good substrate for lactic acid fermentation with high product yield and without nutrient supplementation. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of post‐treatments on the properties of porous poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

Porous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes were prepared by a phase‐inversion method. The influence of chemical crosslinking and heat treatments on the swelling degree, resistance to compaction, mechanical strength, and morphology of porous PVA membranes was extensively studied. The crosslinking degree and crystallinity of the membranes, calculated from IR spectra, increased with the treatment time. The porosity, calculated on the basis of swelling experiments, showed a decreasing trend for heat‐treated membranes but remained almost at a constant value for crosslinked membranes. Such a change was further proved with scanning electron microscopy pictures. The behavior was explained by the rearrangement of PVA chains during the heat‐treatment process, which led to morphological changes in the membranes. The mechanical properties of the porous membranes in dry and wet states were measured, and a great difference was observed between crosslinked and heat‐treated membranes in the dry and wet states. The crosslinked membranes showed good mechanical properties in the dry state but became fragile in the wet state. On the contrary, the heat‐treated membranes were more flexible in the wet state than in the dry state. This change was explained by the turnaround of inner stress in the systems during the swelling process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008