Preliminary results of a non-spherical aerosol method for the retrieval of the atmospheric aerosol optical properties

There is experimental evidence that the non-sphericity of certain atmospheric particles can cause scattering properties different from those predicted by standard Mie theory. Numerous studies indicate the need to consider the presence of non-spherical particles in modeling the optical properties of atmospheric aerosols. On the other hand, natural aerosols show a great variety of shapes, making difficult a realistic choice of a particle shape (or shape mixture) model. In this paper, we test a parameterization of the particle shape in the retrieval of size distribution, phase function, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter from direct and sky-radiance measurements. For this purpose we have substituted the Kernel based on the Mie theory included in the model SKYRAD.PACK by one derived for non-spherical particles. The method is applied under different atmospheric conditions, including Saharan dust outbreak, polluted and local mineral episodes. We compare the results with those obtained by the well known spheroids algorithm used in the AERONET network.     

On the complexity of suboptimal decoding for list and decision feedback schemes

We consider bounded distance list decoding, such that the decoder calculates the list of all codewords within a sphere around the received vector. We analyze the performance and the complexity of this suboptimum list decoding scheme for the binary symmetric channel. The reliability function of the list decoding scheme is equivalent to the sphere-packing bound, where the decoding complexity is asymptotically bounded by 2^nR(1-R). Furthermore, we investigate a decision feedback strategy that is based on bounded distance list decoding. Here, any output with zero or many codewords will call for a repeated transmission. In this case the decoding complexity will be of the order 2^nR(1-C), where C denotes the channel capacity. The reliability function is close to Forney's feedback exponent.     

On irreversibility of von Neumann additive cellular automata on grids

The von Neumann cellular automaton appears in many different settings in Operations Research varying from applications in Formal Languages to Biology. One of the major questions related to it is to find a general condition for irreversibility of a class of two-dimensional cellular automata on square grids (σ⁺-automata). This question is partially answered here with the proposal of a sufficient condition for the irreversibility of σ⁺-automata.     

The Role of a Specific Response of Media in the Vavilov-Cherenkov Effect

It is shown that the condition υ > υ_p (ω), which is necessary in order to trigger the Vavilov-Cherenkov effect, determines the interval of radiated frequencies and it alone cannot establish a strong restriction to the velocity of the particle. It is exhibited that it is possible to define a general lower bound for the velocity of the particle, which does not depend on the frequency when both, a specific response of the medium is taken into account and the mentioned condition is considered. The minimum value of the phase velocity of light in the medium determines the existence of such general lower bound.     

Assessment of thermal expansion coefficient of methylsilsesquioxane thin film

For the methylsilsesquioxane film whose optical birefringence is almost zero, it was recently reported that its vertical thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) was approximately one order of magnitude larger than the lateral CTE. Though the birefringence is not an absolute predictor of anisotropic behavior, the discrepancy in both the CTEs was so remarkable that it was essential to investigate whether the anisotropy was intrinsic property or not. If the effect of Poisson's ratio is considered in the calculation of the vertical CTE and when elastic modulus measured by surface acoustic wave spectroscopy is used in the assessment of the lateral CTE, both the CTEs are coincident with each other. Therefore, it can be concluded that the discrepancy in the CTEs can be attributed to a higher in‐plane polymer chain orientation but it can also arise from the misleadingly assumed modulus and Poisson's ratio. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3109–3120, 2006     

A method for molecular ionization potentials

A new method for one-electron propagator calculations of molecular inization potentials is proposed, using a large matrix technique The results of some trial calculations on molecular nitrogen are given.     

Optimum experimental conditions of the brittle fracture technique for homogenisation of biological materials

Optimum experimental conditions for the brittle fracture technique applied in trace metal analysis of biological material are described. The efficiency of the technique was tested by sieve and radio-tracer experiments. Numerical results are presented for human placenta submitted to eight different grinding procedures.     

The effect of linguistic entropy on speech perception in noise in young and elderly listeners.

The rationale for a method to quantify the information content of linguistic stimuli, i.e., the linguistic entropy, is developed. The method is an adapted version of the letter-guessing procedure originally devised by Shannon [Bell Syst. Tech. J. 30, 50-64 (1951)]. It is applied to sentences included in a widely used test to measure speech-reception thresholds and originally selected to be approximately equally redundant. Results of a first experiment reveal that this method enables one to detect subtle differences between sentences and sentence lists with respect to linguistic entropy. Results of a second experiment show that (1) in young listeners and with the sentences employed, manipulating linguistic entropy can result in an effect on SRT of approximately 4 dB in terms of signal-to-noise ratio; (2) the range of this effect is approximately the same in elderly listeners.     

Speech deterioration in postlingually deafened adults

Postlinngually deafened adults reading the Rainbow Passage differed from hearing-control subjects in producing greater pitch variability and mean pitch on stressed and unstressed vowels, greater fluctuations in pitch within sentences, less correlation of intrinsic pitch with vowel height and slower temporal parameters. When reading the Phonetic Inventory Sentences, they revealed less differentiation of place of articulation in fricative and plosive consonants. The present findings, taken together with those of longitudinal and implant studies, are applied to constraining models of the role of self hearing in the elaboration of speech.