Pitch of amplitude-modulated irregular-rate stimuli in acoustic and electric hearing

The pitch of stimuli was studied under conditions where place-of-excitation was held constant, and where pitch was therefore derived from "purely temporal" cues. In experiment 1, the acoustical and electrical pulse trains consisted of pulses whose amplitudes alternated between a high and a low value, and whose interpulse intervals alternated between 4 and 6 ms. The attenuated pulses occurred after the 4-ms intervals in condition A, and after the 6-ms intervals in condition B. For both normal-hearing subjects and cochlear implantees, the period of an isochronous pulse train equal in pitch to this "4-6" stimulus increased from near 6 ms at the smallest modulation depth to nearly 10 ms at the largest depth. Additionally, the modulated pulse trains in condition A were perceived as being lower in pitch than those in condition B. Data are interpreted in terms of increased refractoriness in condition A, where the larger pulses are more closely followed by the smaller ones than in condition B. Consistent with this conclusion, the A-B difference was reduced at longer interpulse intervals. These findings provide a measure of supra-threshold effects of refractoriness on pitch perception, and increase our understanding of coding of temporal information in cochlear implant speech processing schemes.     

Multiple imaging axis microscopy improves resolution for thick-sample applications

The multiple imaging axis microscope (MIAM) is a wide-field optical microscope that observes a sample simultaneously from multiple directions without requiring the sample to be rotated or tilted. The prototype is capable of high-resolution imaging of the interior of a 300-microm-diameter sample consisting of fluorescent microbeads suspended in an agarose gel. Compared with a single-axis system, the MIAM can achieve a reduction of the axial point-spread function elongation by a factor of 5.8 and a 3.5-fold improvement in volume resolution by simple linear image combination techniques.     

Sol-Gel Nanometrology: Gated Sampling Can Reveal Initial Sol Formation Kinetics

This report describes a gated sampling approach for studying the initial formation of sol-gel glasses prepared from sodium silicate solution (water glass) and sulphuric acid. Previously described were how changes in particle size and subsequently how sol-gel formation dynamics can be tracked using time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy, by labeling growing silica nanoparticles with suitable fluorescence probes. One limiting factor of this approach was the 2 minute measurement time, which limits this technique for studying the initial sol formation dynamics and limits the measurement precision. Using a continuous flow system and delaying sol flow through different tubing lengths overcomes this problem and allows monitoring of the very early stages of sol formation, second by second after sol preparation, irrespective of the anisotropy measurement time. This technique was applied to studying the initial formation dynamics, within the first 30 seconds, of a 12.01% SiO₂ (w/w), pH 0.66 sol-gel, finding that silica particles of 1.5 nm mean radius are formed within 10 seconds of mixing the sol-gel.     

Modeling for quantitative non-destructive evaluation

A quantitative approach to non-destructive evaluation (NDE) must be based on models of the measurement processes. A model's purpose is to predict, from first principles, the measurement system's response to material properties and anomalies in a material or structure. For the ultrasonic case a measurement model should include modeling of the generation, propagation and reception of ultrasonic signals, and the ultrasonic interactions that generate the system's response function. A measurement model has many benefits, which are discussed in the paper. Three examples of the productive use of quantitative modeling in conjunction with measured data are presented: the detection and sizing of fatigue cracks which emanate from weep holes in the risers of wing panels in the interior of an aircraft wing by the use of ultrasound generated on the exterior surface of the wing, the determination of the elastic constants of anisotropic thin films deposited on a substrate, and the detection and sizing of surface-breaking cracks by the use of the laser-source scanning technique for laser generated and detected ultrasound.     

Synthesis and structural study of 2′‐ and 2′,6′‐positioned methyl‐ and nitro‐substituted 3‐(arylhydrazono)pentane‐2,4‐diones

A systematic series of ortho‐methyl‐ and nitro‐substituted arylhydrazones 2–6 formed by Japp–Klingemann reaction between pentane‐2,4‐dione and the respective aryldiazonium salts have been synthesized and studied by X‐ray crystal structure analysis, with added quantum chemical calculations. The optimized molecular geometries based on DFT calculations, enabling determination of relevant rotational barriers, and the calculated bond and ring critical points, using the method of ‘atoms in molecules’, were found to correspond with the experimental data, involving specific molecular conformations and hydrogen‐bonded ring structure dependent on the ortho‐substitution, thus making possible reliable structural prediction of this compound class. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring of ethanol during fermentation using a microbial biosensor with enhanced selectivity

The present study is concerning the construction of ferricyanide-mediated Gluconobacter oxydans cell ethanol biosensor. The size exclusion effect of a cellulose acetate membrane was used for elimination of glucose interferences during ethanol assays in real samples. A typical response time of the biosensor was 13 s with a high sensitivity of 3.5 microA mM(-1). The microbial biosensor exhibits a very low detection limit of 0.85 microM and a wide linear range from 2 to 270 microM. The operational stability was excellent. During 8.5 h of repetitive ethanol assays, no decrease in the sensor sensitivity was observed. The biosensor was successfully used in the off-line monitoring of ethanol fermentation with a good agreement with HPLC measurements (R(2)=0.998).     

On distribution of molecular weight in anionic polymerizates of caprolactam

Measurement has been made of the dependence of the molecular weight distribution on the ratio of the catalytic system components and on the polymerization time for polycaprolactam obtained by anionic polymerization. A bimodal character of the curves was observed for products made using molar ratios of activator (N-benzoylcaprolactam) to initiator (sodium dihydro-bis(methoxyethoxy)aluminate) of 1:1 and 1:3, when the polymerization times were less than 1 hr. This course is explained by the influence of fast side-reactions, mainly condensations. For a ratio of 3:1 of the components of the catalytic system, smooth integral distribution curves are obtained, accounting for a very fast decrease in the strong base concentration in the initial stages of the polymerization.     

Secondary kinetic isotope effects: Deuterium abstraction by chlorine atoms from the CD3 group in CD3CH2Cl,CD3CHDCl,and CD3CD2Cl

The occurrence and magnitude of secondary kinetic isotope effects in the gas phase has been determined for deuterium abstraction from the CD₃ group in CD₃CH₂Cl, CD₃CHDCl, and CD₃CD₂Cl by photochemically generated ground-state chlorine atoms. Over the temperature range 10–94°C a discernible “inverse” kinetic isotope effect is observed. Both the pre-exponential factors and activation energies decrease with deuterium substitution in the vicinal chloromethyl group. The opposing trends result in a net effect close to unity.     

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with a rotating ball interface

A rotating ball interface for surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry was designed and tested. One side of the ball was exposed to atmospheric pressure and the other to the vacuum in a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer. Analytes (arginine, atenolol, reserpine, tofisopam, and chloropyramine) were applied using electrospray to a silicon substrate on the atmospheric side, the ball was rotated 180°, and the analyte was desorbed on the vacuum side using a pulsed, 200 Hz, 355 nm laser. In order to increase the desorption area, the laser focus was scanned over the substrate in a raster pattern repeated once every second. The design allows for rapid sample throughout with a sample turn‐around time as short as 5 s. Newly produced porous silicon substrates initially yielded very low ion signals, and they required several hundred laser shots to attain maximum sensitivity. In contrast, amorphous silicon did not require such ‘activation’. Quantitative analysis showed a sample‐to‐sample reproducibility of about 10%. The sensitivities with model analytes were in the 1000 to 10 000 ions/fmole range and detection limits in the low fg range. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.