Recovery of gold cyanide using inherently conducting polymers

Removal of gold from basic solutions containing [Au(CN)₂]^? has been demonstrated using the inherently conducting polymer polypyrrole. Polymers containing sulfonated aromatic dopants have been found to display a significant ability to remove gold from such solutions. Experiments performed in solutions containing both gold and copper cyanide complexes indicate that the recovery process is not highly selective. However, the polypyrroles used display significantly faster rates of gold recovery than activated carbon. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Optimised anaerobic treatment of house-sorted biodegradable waste and slaughterhouse waste in a high loaded half technical scale digester.

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic wastes from households, slaughterhouses and meat processing industries was optimised in a half technical scale plant. The plant was operated for 130 days using two different substrates under organic loading rates of 10 and 12 kgCOD.m(-3).d(-1). Since the substrates were rich in fat and protein components (TKN: 12 g.kg(-1) the treatment was challenging. The process was monitored on-line and in the laboratory. It was demonstrated that an intensive and stable co-digestion of partly hydrolysed organic waste and protein rich slaughterhouse waste can be achieved in the balance of inconsistent pH and buffering NH4-N. In the first experimental period the reduction of the substrate COD was almost complete in an overall stable process (COD reduction >82%). In the second period methane productivity increased, but certain intermediate products accumulated constantly. Process design options for a second digestion phase for advanced degradation were investigated. Potential causes for slow and reduced propionic and valeric acid degradation were assessed. Recommendations for full-scale process implementation can be made from the experimental results reported. The highly loaded and stable codigestion of these substrates may be a good technical and economic treatment alternative.     

Perspectives on Design and Innovation

A series of studies of top European and other firms has revealed patterns of design management associated with commercial success. Firms that invest resources and professional expertise in product and industrial design in traditional and new industries have been commercially more successful than firms that pay less attention to these aspects of design. As an industry matures there is a shift in emphasis from design associated with technological innovation, to designs supporting technical improvements, and then to supporting user needs, fashion and product variants. These issues are illustrated through the history of the evolution of the bicycle.     

Review of Constructing the subject: Historical origins of psychological research.

Reviews the book, Constructing the subject: Historical origins of psychological research by Kurt Danziger (1990). Kurt Danziger's Constructing the Subject: Historical Origins of Psychological Research is a book of singular importance because it provides such a penetrating analysis, and does so in a manner that is cause for considerable reflection. In brief, Danziger provides a history lesson that not only situates the names and the projects of experimental psychology in the first part of this century, but also aims to clarify the project of knowledge generation both past and present. Indeed, shades of Quine, Kuhn, and Hesse permeate this book in a way that demands psychologists examine their own investigative practices and logics of justification. Through Wundt, through Galton, through Ebbinghaus and others, Danziger illuminates the development of experimental psychology along with the historical and philosophical vicissitudes that have given rise to numerous psychological knowledge claims. If it is true that we must understand our history in order to understand our present, then Danziger's book should be required reading in all research laboratories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Study of a BGO calorimeter using electron and hadron beams from 1 to 50 GeV

A calorimeter of 25 bismuth germanate (BGO) crystals equipped with silicon photodiode readout has been tested at the CERN SPS in the energy range 1–50 GeV. The response for electrons has been shown to be linear in this energy range and the rms resolution obtained ( ) is approximately 1%, for E > 4 GeV. The electron/pion separation was found to be better than 1:500 in the energy range 1–20 GeV. Data on lateral and longitudinal shower development were compared with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation using the SLAC-EGS program and found to be in good agreement.     

RF Susceptibility of an EEG and Considerations for Attenuating RFI in Hospitals

This paper discusses the testing accomplished to determine the radio frequency (RF) susceptibility of a typical electroencephalograph (EEG) and to determine the effectiveness of lead X-ray shielding as an RF shield. New data are presented on threshold field strengths and frequencies which just begin to cause interference on a typical EEG brain scan. Results are combined with data from other studies to show that a typical EEG machine would be immune to the RF environment expected in the vicinity of most hospitals. Therefore, expensive RF shielding in a hospital EEG suite is usually not required. Finally, an inexpensive shielding system utilizing X-ray shielding which was developed by the U.S. Veterans Administration is presented.     

Fast Full-Band Device Simulator for Wurtzite and Zincblende GaN MESFET Using a Cellular Monte Carlo Method

A fast full-band device simulator for wurtzite and zincblende GaN using a Cellular Monte Carlo (CMC) approach is reported for wurtzite and zincblende GaN. The full-phonon dispersion relationship including anisotropic polar-optical phonon scattering is taken into account for the wurtzite GaN calculation. In the bulk simulation, the CMC model is about 30–100 times faster than the conventional Ensemble Monte Carlo model at high electric field region. This CMC model is applied to the simulator of MESFET devices, and the calculation speed is significantly improved.     

Understanding the role of impulsivity and externalizing psychopathology in alcohol abuse: Application of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale.

The present study explores the relation among 4 personality traits associated with impulsive behavior and alcohol abuse. Personality traits were measured using the 4 subscales of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS: S. P. Whiteside & D. R. Lynam. 2001). The UPPS and measures of psychopathology were administered to clinical samples of alcohol abusers high in antisocial personality traits (AAPD), alcohol abusers low in antisocial personality traits (AA), and a control group (total N = 60). Separate analyses of variance indicated that AAPDs had significant elevations on all 4 UPPS scales, whereas the AAs and controls differed only on the Urgency subscale. However, when controlling for psychopathology, group differences on the UPPS scales disappeared. The results suggest that personality traits related to impulsive behavior are not directly related to alcohol abuse but rather are associated with the elevated levels of psychopathology found in a subtype of alcohol abusers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

April in Paris: signs of artificial life along the Seine

What if every public space and surface were transformed into an interactive experience - capturing our movements, gestures, sounds and actions and using these to produce new sounds, images, text and actions? Bus stops could come alive and talk back, advertisements could look back at you and talk to you and public park robotic devices could play games with you. Will public places eventually become our social barometer as well as director? Will billboards display the populace's discourse? The author look at some special streets in France where the city is literally alive with art and explores what it might mean for us to live in a world of artistic interactivity.