Receiving beam patterns in the horizontal plane of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

Receiving beam patterns of a harbor porpoise were measured in the horizontal plane, using narrow-band frequency modulated signals with center frequencies of 16, 64, and 100 kHz. Total signal duration was 1000 ms, including a 200 ms rise time and 300 ms fall time. The harbor porpoise was trained to participate in a psychophysical test and stationed itself horizontally in a specific direction in the center of a 16-m-diameter circle consisting of 16 equally-spaced underwater transducers. The animal's head and the transducers were in the same horizontal plane, 1.5 m below the water surface. The go/no-go response paradigm was used; the animal left the listening station when it heard a sound signal. The method of constants was applied. For each transducer the 50% detection threshold amplitude was determined in 16 trials per amplitude, for each of the three frequencies. The beam patterns were not symmetrical with respect to the midline of the animal's body, but had a deflection of 3-7 degrees to the right. The receiving beam pattern narrowed with increasing frequency. Assuming that the pattern is rotation-symmetrical according to an average of the horizontal beam pattern halves, the receiving directivity indices are 4.3 at 16 kHz, 6.0 at 64 kHz, and 11.7 dB at 100 kHz. The receiving directivity indices of the porpoise were lower than those measured for bottlenose dolphins. This means that harbor porpoises have wider receiving beam patterns than bottlenose dolphins for the same frequencies. Directivity of hearing improves the signal-to-noise ratio and thus is a tool for a better detection of certain signals in a given ambient noise condition.     

Implementing solenoid microcoils for wide-line solid-state NMR

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probeheads using solenoid microcoils with an inner diameter of 300-400 microm are developed for the study of mass-limited solid samples. Some attention is paid to the mechanical ruggedness of the probes allowing sample changing. The performance, in terms of sensitivity and RF-characteristics, of these probeheads is studied for (1)H, (31)P, and (27)Al in different model compounds in view of the feasibility of specific applications. The results show that the sensitivity is high enough to detect approximately 10(14) spins/sqrt Hz with a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 in a single scan. A specific advantage of microcoils for solid-state NMR applications is that they can generate extremely high RF-fields if implemented in appropriate circuits. Using RF-powers in the hundreds of Watts range, RF-fields well in excess of 1MHz can be made. This allows the excitation of spectra of nuclei whose resonance lines are dispersed of several megahertz. This is particularly useful for quadrupolar nuclei experiencing large quadrupolar interactions as is demonstrated for (27)Al in single crystal and powdered minerals.     

Photoproduction of πmesons from nuclei

Photoproduction of neutral pions from nuclei (carbon, calcium, niobium, lead) has been studied for incident-photon energies from 200 MeV to 800 MeV with the TAPS detector using the Glasgow photon tagging spectrometer at the Mainz MAMI accelerator. Data were obtained for the inclusive photoproduction of neutral pions and the partial channels of quasifree single- , double- , and photoproduction. They have been analyzed in terms of the in-medium behavior of nucleon resonances and the pion-nucleus interaction. They are compared to earlier measurements from the deuteron and to the predictions of a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) transport model for photon-induced pion production from nuclei.PACS: 13.60.Le Meson production - 25.20.Lj Photoproduction reactions     

Improvement of the hydrothermal stability of SAPO-34

Hydrothermal stability of SAPO-34 is greatly improved by the treatment of the acidic form of the SAPO-34 with NH3.     

The rotating particles probe: A new technique to measure interactions between particles and a substrate

We demonstrate a new probing technique to measure physicochemical interactions between particles and a substrate in a fluid. The technique is based on the measurement of field-induced rotation of individual magnetic particles in contact with the substrate. The parallel measurement of many particles with single-particle resolution gives reliable statistics in a short time. Using this technique, the interaction between streptavidin-coated magnetic particles and a glass substrate is measured for various buffer conditions. Increased binding is quantified for increasing ionic strength and decreasing pH. The results are found to be in agreement with calculations of electrostatic interactions. We also apply the technique to study how binding is reduced by blocking the substrate with albumin.     

Ample fields as a basis for possibilistic processes

Ample fields play an important role in possibility theory. These fields of subsets of a universe, which are additionally closed under arbitrary unions, act as the natural domains for possibility measures. A set provided with an ample field is then called an ample space. In this paper we generalise Wang's notions of product ample field and product ample space. We make a topological study of ample spaces and their products, and introduce ample subspaces, extensions and one-point extensions of ample spaces. In this way, a first step towards a mathematical theory of possibilistic processes is made.     

Hot-film anemometry for measuring lateral line stimuli

A hot-film anemometer system has been calibrated and evaluated for the measurement of sinusoidal water motions used in stimulating the mechanosensory lateral line system of a teleost fish. The response of the anemometer system to water motions created by a vibrating sphere was measured over a wide range of frequencies, intensities, and distances from the sphere. The amplitude response of the system to signals along the axis of sphere vibration was found to be linear over a 50-dB range for frequencies from 10-200 Hz, with the lowest end of the dynamic range (between 10(-8) and 10(-9) m) corresponding to physiological measures of best sensitivity in the lateral line system of the mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi. The measured attenuation of the signal with distance was also linear over this frequency range out to distances of six times the radius ( = 3 mm) of the sphere and followed the predicted falloff rate for a dipolar source. The linear response of the anemometer system over a wide dynamic range encompassing the detection range of the lateral line system, and the match between predicted and measured motions at varying distances from a dipolar source, indicates that hot-film anemometry is a useful technique for measuring low-level, low-frequency signals likely to stimulate the lateral line system and other hydrodynamic detectors.