Droplet imaging velocimeter and sizer: a two-dimensional technique to measure droplet size

This paper discusses the droplet imaging velocimeter and sizer (DIVAS), a two-dimensional technique to measure droplet size from very small droplets (a few microns) to very large drops (millimeters), as well as droplet velocity and concentration. DIVAS uses a particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) configuration; that is, pulsed lasers illuminate the droplets in the measurement plane and CCD cameras collect the off-axis scattered light, thus yielding a small measurement volume and correspondingly a high number density measurement capability. DIVAS is based on glare point imaging as described by van de Hulst and Wang (Appl Opt 30(33):4755–4763, 1991). By measuring the separation of cross-polarized glare points, DIVAS is capable of measuring droplet size down to a few microns with sub-pixel resolution. The measurement of large drops from the separation of glare points is straightforward. However, the paper discusses that large drops are often non-spherical and more advanced signal processing is required to retrieve their size. Both analytical studies and experiments are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique.     

Voice Parameters in Children With Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is the most frequent chromosomal disorder. Commonly, individuals with DS have difficulties with speech and show an unusual quality in the voice. Their phenotypic characteristics include general hypotonia and maxillary hypoplasia with relative macroglossia, and these contribute to particular acoustic alterations. Subjective perceptual and acoustic assessments of the voice (Praat-4.1 software) were performed in 66 children with DS, 36 boys and 30 girls, aged 3 to 8 years. These data were compared with those of an age-matched group of children from the general population. Perceptual evaluations showed significant differences in the group of children with DS. The voice of children with DS presented a lower fundamental frequency (F(0)) with elevated dispersion. The conjunction of frequencies for formants (F(1) and F(2)) revealed a decreased distinction between the vowels, reflecting the loss of articulatory processing. The DS vocalic anatomical functional ratio represents the main distinctive parameter between the two groups studied, and it may be useful in conducting assessments.     

Current performance gains from utilizing the GPU or the ASIC MDGRAPE‐3 within an enhanced Poisson Boltzmann approach

Scientific applications do frequently suffer from limited compute performance. In this article, we investigate the suitability of specialized computer chips to overcome this limitation. An enhanced Poisson Boltzmann program is ported to the graphics processing unit and the application specific integrated circuit MDGRAPE‐3 and resulting execution times are compared to the conventional performance obtained on a modern central processing unit. Speed Up factors are measured and an analysis of numerical accuracy is provided. On both specialized architectures the improvement is increasing with problem size and reaches up to a Speed Up factor of 39 × for the largest problem studied. This type of alternative high performance computing can significantly improve the performance of demanding scientific applications. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2009     

Die chemische Best?ndigkeit von Explosivstoffen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Synthesis and characterization of novel alternating fluorinated copolymers bearing oligo(ethylene oxide) side chains

The synthesis and characterization of novel poly(CTFE‐g‐oligoEO) graft copolymers [chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) and ethylene oxide (EO)] are presented. First, vinyl ether monomers bearing oligo(EO) were prepared by transetherification of ω‐hydroxyoligo(EO) with ethyl vinyl ether catalyzed by a palladium complex in 70–84% yields. Two vinyl ethers of different molecular weights (three and 10 EO units) were thus obtained. Then, radical copolymerization of the above vinyl ethers with CTFE led to alternating poly(CTFE‐alt‐VE) copolymers that bore oligo(OE) side chains in satisfactory yields (65%). These original poly(CTFE‐g‐oligoEO) graft copolymers were characterized by ¹H, ¹⁹F, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Their molecular weights reached 19,000 g mol^?1, and their thermal properties were investigated while their glass transition temperatures ranged between ?42 and ?36 °C. Their thermogravimetric analyses under air showed decomposition temperatures of 270 °C with 10% weight loss (T_d,10%). These novel copolymers are of potential interest as polymer electrolytes in lithium ion batteries, showing room temperature conductivities ranging from 4.49 × 10^?7 to 1.45 × 10^?6 S cm^?1 for unplasticized material. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013