Measurement of the attenuation characteristics of nonlinear hearing protective devices using the auditory brain stem response

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using the auditory brain stem response (ABR) as a method of measuring the attenuation characteristics of nonlinear hearing protective devices. Sound field ABRs were recorded from seven normal hearing subjects with and without hearing protection. Three hearing protectors (two nonlinear and one linear) were evaluated. Test stimuli, consisting of 4000-Hz tone pips, were presented in a sound field. Linearity and the amount of attenuation for each hearing protector were derived by comparing the protected and unprotected latency-intensity functions for wave I of the ABR. Results indicate that the ABR may be used effectively to measure the attenuation characteristics of linear and nonlinear hearing protectors for high-frequency impulse-type stimuli.     

"Whole cell"--matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry, an emerging technique for efficient screening of biocombinatorial libraries of natural compounds-present state of research

Whole Cell-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is an emerging sensitive technique for rapid typing of microorganisms, efficient screening of biocombinatorial libraries of natural compounds and the analysis of complex biological samples, as whole cells, subcellular particles, cell extracts and culture filtrates. It is unique to detect metabolites in-situ without the need to isolate and purify the investigated compounds. In favourite cases it enables in-situ structure analysis on the basis of the fragment pattern generated by postsource MALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry. The state of research of this methodology which has mainly been obtained by investigation of lipopeptides from bacilli and the large spectrum of bioactive peptides produced by cyanobacteria is reviewed. The potential of this innovative technique is demonstrated for the lipopeptides produced by various Bacillus subtilis strains.     

Experimental evidence for impulsive energy transfer in electronically adiabatic low-energy collison of Na+ with CF4

Time-of-flight measurement of the inelastic scattering of Na⁺ ions from CF₄ reveal two energy-loss mechanisms which have been observed at center-of-mass collison energies between 4 and 24 eV. At small angles θ_1ab?20° a single energy transfer peak is observed and attributed to normal mode excitation. At larger angles an additional sharp peak is observed out to θ_lab = 70° with nearly double the energy transfer. the final velocities and angular dependence agree with an impulsive interaction involving only one of the F atoms with an effective mass which approaches that of the F atoms with increasing collison energy. This is the first evidence for an impulsive mechanism in inelastic collisons at energies below the threshold for electonic excitation.     

Multivariable monotonic optimization over multivalued logics and rectangular design lattices

A minimum dichotomous direct search procedure is given for finding the optimum combination of N variables, each having M(n) possible values, when a certain monotonicity condition is satisfied. The least upper bound on the number of objective function evaluations is 1 + Σ^N_n=1Q(n), where Q(n) is defined by 2^Q(n)-1<M(n) < 2^Q(n), whereas the total number of possibilities is Π^N_R=1M(n). An example shows where the procedure applies to restricted problems in multivalued logic and engineering design.     

Matroids with given restrictions and contractions

If M is a matroid on a set S and if X is a subset of S, then there are two matroids on X induced by M: namely, the restriction and the contraction of M onto X. Necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for two matroids on the same set to be of this form and an analogous result is obtained when (X₁,…, X_t) is a partition of S. The corresponding results when all the matroids are binary are also obtained.     

Competitive Destabilization/Stabilization of β‐Lactoglobulin Foam by PEO‐PPO‐PEO Polymeric Surfactants

The effect on β‐lactoglobulin foamability and foam stability of the poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(propylene oxide) block copolymers F127 (PEO₉₉‐PPO₆₅‐PEO₉₉), molecular weight 12500 g/mol, and P85 (PEO₂₆‐PPO₃₉‐PEO₂₆), molecular weight 4600 g/mol, has been investigated at constant protein concentration, 10 µM (0.2 mg/L), and varying block copolymer concentrations, ranging from 0.02 to 1600 µM. Foam was generated by means of air sparging and the foam volume and liquid volume of the foam were measured for one hour. It was found that foam stabilized by F127 or P85 in the concentration range 20–1600 µM contained a larger liquid volume initially than pure β‐lactoglobulin foam. Furthermore, β‐lactoglobulin foamability was only marginally affected by the presence of F127, while it was reduced in an interval of low P85 concentrations. The protein foam stability was retained in the presence of the larger polymer F127, whereas P85 largely reduced the stability, indicating that the size of the polymeric surfactant is important. The results are discussed in relation to surface rheological properties and forces acting across foam films. Steric repulsion generated between the surfaces of foam films is suggested to be the main stabilizing factor in dry foam containing F127. The instability of the mixed β‐lactoglobulin/P85 system is suggested to be caused by two effects. First, there are incompatible stabilization mechanisms of block copolymer and protein, as supported by previous surface rheological data. Second, there is a reduced importance of long‐range steric repulsion when P85 is added, compared to the case where F127 and β‐lactoglobulin are mixed.