Detector physics and simulation of resistive plate chambers

We present a simulation model suited to study efficiency, timing and pulse-height spectra of Resistive Plate Chambers. After discussing the details of primary ionisation, avalanche multiplication, signal induction and frontend electronics, we apply the model to timing RPCs with time resolution down to 50 ps and trigger RPCs with time resolution of about 1 ns.     

Knowledge and Belief: Some Clarifications

The notions of knowledge and belief play an important role in philosophy. Unfortunately, the literature is not very consistent about defining these notions. Is belief more fundamental than knowledge or is it the other way around? Many accounts rely on the widely accepted strategy of appealing to the intuition of the reader. Such an argumentative methodology is fundamentally flawed because it lets the problems of common sense reasoning in through the front door. Instead, I suggest that philosophical arguments should be based on formal-computational models to (a) reduce the ambiguities and uncertainties that come with intuitive arguments and reasoning, and (b) capture the dynamic nature of many philosophical concepts. I present a model of knowledge and belief that lends itself to being implemented on computers. Its purpose is to resolve terminological confusion in favor of a more transparent account. The position I defend is an antirealist naturalized one: knowledge is best conceived as arising from experience, and is fundamental to belief.     

Detection of UF resin on wood particles and in particleboards: potential of selected methods for practice-oriented offline detection

In the wood-based panel industry, controlling the manufacturing process is crucial for ensuring product quality, using resources efficiently and cutting production costs. One major aspect for the final quality of particleboards is the distribution of resin on particles within a board. This study deals with the comparison of techniques that can be used for a practice-oriented detection of urea formaldehyde resin within an industrial environment. Resin detection was carried out by staining the resin with visible and fluorescent dyes as well as by near infrared spectroscopic (NIR) in combination with CHN elemental analysis. Using the fluorescent dye Brilliant Sulphaflavine, resin as well as single resin droplets could be detected best. NIR measurements did not lead to coherent results and should be further improved, especially because of its potential for online detection.     

Photocatalytic activity of oxide coatings on fired clay substrates

The coating of fired clay substrates with various metal oxides, such as anatase, rutile, zinc oxide and tin oxide was achieved using a simple spraying technique followed by a thermal treatment. The photocatalytic activity of the layer was characterized through measurement of the absorption spectrum, in the range 400–800 nm, of methylene blue deposited on top of the coating. Results show that the presence of anatase enhances the degradation of methylene blue when it is exposed to ultraviolet light. Thermal treatment at 1050 °C transforms anatase crystals into thermodynamically stable rutile. This results in a decrease of the photocatalytic activity, which can be explained by increase of the grain size and by a difference in the crystal structure. Measurements of the photocatalytic activity of ZnO and SnO₂ show that these two oxides also exhibit photocatalytic properties. In particular, ZnO is a promising alternative material to anatase.     

Gemeinsame österreichisch-ungarische Sedimentforschung im Rahmen des EFRE-Projektes SEDDON

The multiple uses of the Danube River for navigation, hydropower production and as a drinking water supply influence its ecological quality. Flow restrictions due to regulation as well as impacts on the sediment regime such as retention in the catchment area and interruption of the sediment continuum result in changes of the hydromorphological structures and can produce major problems in the context of sediment management. In light of these facts, cross-border investigations of sediment transport at the Danube River are called for. As there are no uniform research approaches shared by Austria and Hungary, the EU-funded project SEDDON (Sediment Research and Management at the Danube River) aims to compare different monitoring and modeling techniques used to determine sediment transport, and to develop mutual solutions. Further, the laboratory equipment currently used for hydraulic model experiments is evaluated and a research channel with a free flowing discharge of up to 10 m³/s without pumping will be constructed, allowing large-scale joint laboratory tests concerning sediment to be performed.     

Flux density distribution in low-κ type II superconductors

Measurements of the flux density distribution recorded directly with several microfield probes are reported. For weakly hysteretic samples marked differences of the profiles in increasing and decreasing fields are observed and attributed to the influence of the reversible magnetization. The evaluation of bulk pinning forces shows a shift of the maximum toward higher inductions with increasing defect concentration and a scaling of the field dependence with temperature. The disappearance of pinning forces well belowH _Hc2 is analyzed in terms of the threshold criterion. An evaluation of the basic pinning forces shows that elasticity effects of the flux line lattice may not be neglected, although large precipitates (2 µm) are the main pinning sites. An identification of the basic pinning mechanism is complicated by the presence of dislocations around the precipitates.     

Generation effects in free recall: Further support for a three-factor theory.

A framework is presented that helps explain and predict generation effects in free recall (for between-Ss manipulations of generating vs reading). When the targets share common features and when that shared information is salient to Ss, Ss will exploit that information to help generate the target items. This produces more relational processing among the targets (relative to reading), enhancing free recall. Consistent with this idea, when shared information (among targets) was salient, generation effects in free recall were found under encoding conditions that can disrupt generation effects in cued recall (e.g., pairing targets with unrelated cues). Further, within the same list, generation effects emerged in free recall for targets that were processed after shared information became evident but not for targets processed prior to the availability of the shared information. In recognition, generation effects were found for targets regardless of when they were processed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)