Lignin from Annual Plants as Raw Material Source for Flavors and Basic Chemicals

The enzymatic conversion of lignins, possibly in combination with electrochemical oxidation, makes aromatics such as syringol, guaiacol, vanillin and catechol available in the qualities required by the fragrance industry. The lignins were obtained by soda digestion from wheat straw and Miscanthus, characterized and then converted with laccases. The overall yield amounted up to 9 wt % with a product spectrum confined to four substances. Catechol was the major product, with a fraction of ≈75 %. It can easily be isolated by extraction with acetone.     

Effect of nitrogen and nickel on the stability of an Fe-12Cr-23Mn austenitic steel

The effect of nitrogen and nickel on the austenite stability and the structural changes as a result of cold work of an Fe-12Cr-23Mn alloy steel has been examined by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray analysis. Prestrain was performed either at room temperature or at 200° C. Final strain was carried out at liquid nitrogen temperature. The volume fraction of strain-induced martensite decreased by 40% and 12% due to the addition of 2.43% Ni and 0.11% N, respectively, despite whether prestrain was performed or not. The mechanisms are discussed in terms of the phase, stacking faults, dislocation cells and dislocation tangles induced by prestrain and final strain.     

Stability and work hardening of an Fe-12Cr-23Mn austenitic steel

The effect of pre-strain on the strain-induced martensitic transformation of an Fe-12Cr-23Mn austenitic steel has been investigated through transmission electron microscopy and X-ray analysis. Pre-strain was performed either at room temperature or at 200° C. Final strain was carried out at liquid-nitrogen temperature. The phase was shown to form on {1 1 1} planes of the austenite matrix predominantly by overlapping of stacking faults. The martensite transformation sequence was . Nucleation of the phase mainly occurred at intersections of bands. Austenite stability was shown to increase by pre-strain at 25° C or 200° C. Pre-strain at 200° C has a greater effect on austenite stability than does pre-strain at 25° C. The mechanism was discussed in terms of martensite transformation rate and various substructures introduced during straining. Work hardening was shown to depend on the degree of pre-strain and final strain. The correlation between work hardening and substructures introduced during straining was examined.     

Efficient tracking of the dominant eigenspace of a normalized kernel matrix

Various machine learning problems rely on kernel-based methods. The power of these methods resides in the ability to solve highly nonlinear problems by reformulating them in a linear context. The dominant eigenspace of a (normalized) kernel matrix is often required. Unfortunately, the computational requirements of the existing kernel methods are such that the applicability is restricted to relatively small data sets. This letter therefore focuses on a kernel-based method for large data sets. More specifically, a numerically stable tracking algorithm for the dominant eigenspace of a normalized kernel matrix is proposed, which proceeds by an updating (the addition of a new data point) followed by a downdating (the exclusion of an old data point) of the kernel matrix. Testing the algorithm on some representative case studies reveals that a very good approximation of the dominant eigenspace is obtained, while only a minimal amount of operations and memory space per iteration step is required.     

Beyond the fascination of online-games: Probing addictive behavior and depression in the world of online-gaming

This study examined problematic gaming behavior and depressive tendencies among people who play different types of online-games. Other game-related variables were investigated to determine if other differences between three game types could be established. Participants in the current research (n = 468) can be classified into three independent groups. Subjected users either solely played massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) or they preferred online-ego-shooters (OES) or real-time-strategy games (RTS). Results indicate that MMORPG users show more often problematic gaming behavior, depressive tendencies and lower self-esteem compared to users playing other online-games. MMORPG users reported to playing significantly more often in order to escape from real-life problems, which might be a valuable coping strategy but might also lead to problematic gaming behavior.     

Effect of pre-existing substructures on the fatigue properties of pure aluminium

Pure aluminium was thermomechanically treated (cold rolled to 80% reduction of thickness and annealed at 200° C for various lengths of time) in order to obtain different kinds of substructures. These aluminium specimens were then fatigued with a stress amplitude of 9×10³ psi or 90% of their ultimate tensile strength. The substructures of the specimens before and after fatigue were compared with each other and were then correlated to their fatigue property. The size and shape of substructure introduced by fatigue depend on the pre-existing substructure formed by thermomechanical treatment. The sub-boundaries of the fatigued specimen are not as well-defined as the pre-existing subgrain. The substructure size of the fatigued specimen increases initially with annealing time and then reaches a saturation value (2.32 m) when the annealing time is longer than 2 h. A peak value of fatigue life against the annealing time was found if the stress amplitude of fatigue is 90% of the ultimate tensile strength. The peak value also occurs at an annealing time of 2 h. The reason why the specimen annealed for 2 h possesses the optimum fatigue and property is discussed in terms of the substructures before and after fatigue.