Applications of Two-Dimensional 1H NMR Methods to Photo-Chemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation Spectroscopy

Photo-CIDNP is a useful technique to identify surface residues in proteins and to assign resonances in their ¹H NMR spectra by the spectral simplification that is obtained. In spite of this simplification, conventional photo-CIDNP spectra can be quite complex due to spectral overlap. For this reason two-dimensional (2D) methods are welcome. We present combinations of photo-CIDNP with 2D J-correlated spectroscopy (CIDNP-COSY) and with 2D NOE spectroscopy (CIDNP-NOESY). In these experiments we insert a saturation pulse sequence and a short laser-irradiation period at the beginning of the preparation period to generate CIDNP, leaving the remaining of the pulse scheme essentially unaltered. The CIDNP-COSY and CIDNP-NOESY spectra of a hen egg-white (HEW) lysozyme are presented. The CIDNP-NOESY spectrum of lysozyme is compared with the results from 1D cross-polarisation experiments on the same protein. CIDNP-NOESY spectra of lysozyme with and without inhibitor NAG are compared.     

Characterizing the deformation of cold-rolled copper sheet

An advanced x-ray diffraction technique allows the development of texture components to be monitored and provides supplementary information about the cold work and residual stresses in cold-rolled copper sheet. The new technique confirms the results of an ultrasonic test, except for the ultrasonic test’s sensitivity to grain size. The new x-ray diffraction technique could be adapted to provide in-process, nondestructive evaluation of thin copper sheet, even for material moving at high speeds.     

An impulse control approach to dike height optimization

This paper determines the optimal timing of dike heightenings as well as the corresponding optimal dike heightenings to protect against floods. To derive the optimal policy, we design an algorithm based on the Impulse Control Maximum Principle. In this way, this paper presents one of the first real-life applications of the Impulse Control Maximum Principle developed by Blaquière. We show that the proposed impulse control (IC) approach performs better than dynamic programming with respect to computational time. This is caused by the fact that IC does not need discretization in time.     

The ARCHIMEDES Network System: a system for searching and accessing information in multiple multimedia sources

The amount of information available to information workers recently has becomeoverwhelming. This confronts information workers with two majorproblems: finding the information needed, and accessing it; they arecalled the search problem and the access problem, respectively. Asthe main result of our research an architecture is specified of anautomated tool that provides integrated support for searching andaccessing multimedia documents that may be located at arbitraryplaces. The architecture contains a database with information aboutthe documents and with thesaurus-like information. The architecturealso contains a browse mechanism and a query mechanism for inspectingthe database. In the design process of the architecture, severalfundamental questions arose, like “What is a document?”and “ What is a medium kind?”. The developed answers tosome of these questions are considered to have a general characterand thus to be useful also outside the scope of the research at hand.The paper concludes with an overview of the current status of theproject and a discussion of future work.     

An overview of small-scale food fermentation technologies in developing countries with special reference to Thailand: scope for their improvement

Small-scale food fermentation technologies in developing countries have evolved through years of experience rather than through scientific breakthroughs. Many small-scale manufacturers are, therefore, reluctant to accept change and modify fermentation processes. Upgrading the quality and safety of fermented foods, while reducing their production cost and maintaining their authenticity and uniqueness, is of utmost importance. One strategic approach, which has been successfully implemented for the improvement of small-scale soy sauce fermentation in Thailand, is the consortium approach. This approach has allowed industry to work closely in sharing knowledge and common problems, which in turn has provided scientists with the research direction that would best benefit the industry. This consortium approach has brought about changes in the methodologies used in the production of soy sauce, by shortening processing times, introducing fiberglass tanks as bioreactors instead of the traditionally used small earthenware containers and introducing cost-effective waste management systems. One barrier to the application of starter cultures in the small-scale fermentation industry is the loss of uniqueness of fermented products. However, the advent of molecular biology techniques has allowed science to tailor starter cultures to the specific requirements of the manufacturer. Using the techniques of molecular biology, it has been shown that microflora of a specific product vary according to origin and sensory quality. A cell bank is being developed to serve as a resource base for Thai fermented pork sausage in order to facilitate the application of starter cultures in the manufacture of that product.     

Priming and authorship ascription: When nonconscious goals turn into conscious experiences of self-agency.

The conscious experience of self-agency (i.e., the feeling that one causes one’s own actions and their outcomes) is fundamental to human self-perception. Four experiments explored how experienced self-agency arises from a match between nonconsciously activated outcome representations and the subsequent production of the outcome and explored specifically how implicit motivation to produce the outcome may impinge on this process. Participants stopped a rapidly presented sequence of colors on a computer screen. Subsequently, they were presented with what could be the color on which they had stopped the sequence or a color that was randomly chosen by the computer. Agency ratings after each trial revealed that priming outcomes (a specific color) just before the outcome was produced enhanced experienced self-agency. Importantly, priming outcomes relatively far in advance also augmented self-agency, but only if the outcome was attached to positive affect and thus operating as a nonconscious goal maintaining the outcome representation active over time. As such, these studies show how the mechanisms underlying nonconscious goal pursuit promote experiences of self-agency, thus integrating 2 lines of research that so far have led separate lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strength Degradation and Failure Mechanisms of Electron-Beam Physical-Vapor-Deposited Thermal Barrier Coatings

Failure mechanisms were determined for electron-beam physical-vapor-deposited thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems from the degradation of mechanical properties and microstructural changes in a furnace cycle test. Bond strength degradation for TBCs resulted from the initiation and growth of interfacial delamination defects between the yttria-stabilized zirconia topcoat and the thermally grown alumina (TGO). It is proposed that defects started from concave depressions in the bondcoat surface created by the grit-blast-cleaning process and that defect growth was driven by the reduction in compressive strain in the TGO as the alumina deformed into and displaced the bondcoat during the cooling cycles. Inclusion of yttrium in the substrate resulted in a doubling of the furnace cycle life of the TBCs because of enhanced fracture toughness of the TGO-bondcoat interface.     

Why psychologists must change the way they analyze their data: The case of psi: Comment on Bem (2011).

Does psi exist? D. J. Bem (2011) conducted 9 studies with over 1,000 participants in an attempt to demonstrate that future events retroactively affect people's responses. Here we discuss several limitations of Bem's experiments on psi; in particular, we show that the data analysis was partly exploratory and that one-sided p values may overstate the statistical evidence against the null hypothesis. We reanalyze Bem's data with a default Bayesian t test and show that the evidence for psi is weak to nonexistent. We argue that in order to convince a skeptical audience of a controversial claim, one needs to conduct strictly confirmatory studies and analyze the results with statistical tests that are conservative rather than liberal. We conclude that Bem's p values do not indicate evidence in favor of precognition; instead, they indicate that experimental psychologists need to change the way they conduct their experiments and analyze their data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental analysis of the evolution of thermal shock damage using transit time measurement of ultrasonic waves

Thermal shock is a principal cause of catastrophic wear of the refractory lining of high temperature installations in metal making processes. To investigate thermal shock experimentally with realistic and reproducible heat transfer conditions, chamotte and corund refractory samples of ambient temperature were subjected to surface contact with molten aluminium followed by passive cooling in ambient air. The evolution of damage was characterized by measuring the transit time of ultrasonic longitudinal waves at various sample locations after each test cycle. The mechanical validity of transit time measurement was confirmed in independent experiments. The single test cycle performed with chamotte material indicated the reproducibility and reliability of the experimental set-up and damage characterization method. Multiple test cycles performed with corund material yielded a reliable set of data, to be used for model validation purposes. Both non-uniform damage due to temperature gradients as well as uniform damage due to exposure to a uniform temperature were determined experimentally. The interaction between both damage mechanisms requires further investigation as well as the possible shielding of heat transport by damage.