The time course of plausibility effects on eye movements in reading: Evidence from noun-noun compounds.

Readers' eye movements were monitored as they read sentences containing noun-noun compounds that varied in frequency (e.g., elevator mechanic, mountain lion). The left constituent of the compound was either plausible or implausible as a head noun at the point at which it appeared, whereas the compound as a whole was always plausible. When the head noun analysis of the left constituent was implausible, reading times on this word were inflated, beginning with the first fixation. This finding is consistent with previous demonstrations of very rapid effects of plausibility on eye movements. Compound frequency did not modulate the plausibility effect, and all disruption was resolved by the time readers' eyes moved to the next word. These findings suggest (contra Kennison, 2005) that the parser initially analyzes a singular noun as a head instead of a modifier. In addition, the findings confirm that the very rapid effect of plausibility on eye movements is not due to strategic factors, because in the present experiment, unlike in previous demonstrations, this effect appeared in sentences that were globally plausible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modified determination of 2-thiobarbituric acid value in fats and oils

Several methods for the determination of TBA-value were compared with a new direct modification (omitting the previous distillation), using 1-butanol as the sole solvent. The absorbance is measured at 530 nm after heating to 95 degrees C for 120 min, and cooling. The effect of variables was tested by the Youdens ruggedness test (reaction time, temperature, cooling, concentration of sample, thiobarbituric acid, water, heavy metals, antioxidants, chelating agents, bubbling with oxygen or nitrogen). The Lambert-Beers law is valid in the absorbance range between 0.05 and 0.8. The repeatability is better than that of the Dzikowskis procedure and comparable with those of more complicated distillation methods. The standard deviation is in a linear relation with the absorbance (range 0.1-1.0). The method was found satisfactory for evaluating lard, cooking fat, soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed oils in the stage of beginning rancidity.     

Mechanical improvement of hydroxyapatite by TiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> nanoparticles deposition

Deposition of Ti was carried out by laser ablation onto hydroxyapatite porous discs in an Ar atmosphere. Ti nanoparticles were deposited onto HAp surface in order to modify its roughness and morphology as it is observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). A homogeneous distribution of Ti over the disc surface was corroborated by elemental mapping. A comparison of the hydroxyapatite hardness before and after deposition was performed using SPM nanoindentation. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed that the Ti nanoparticles obtained were covered by an oxygen shell. It is shown that surface modifications of the covered HAp by Ti result in better mechanical properties, reducing the possible damage to the HAp ceramic by friction or impacts as it often happens in meniscus, bone junctions and the inclusion of prosthesis for human treatments.     

On maximum norm contractivity of second order damped single step methods

In this paper we consider A(θ)-stable finite difference methods for numerical solutions of dissipative partial differential equations of parabolic type. Combining two rational approximation methods with different orders of accuracy, where the lower order method is applied n ₀ times (n ₀ fixed) at each time step, we prove the existence of a second order method which is contractive for all time steps. Moreover, we shed light on the conditions on the lower order method which are sufficient (and sometimes necessary) to obtain the optimal order of accuracy. For the one-dimensional heat equation we construct a family of numerical methods which are contractive in the maximum norm for all values of the discretization parameters. We also present numerical examples to illustrate our results. Received: May 2002 / Accepted: January 2003     

Kinetics of chlorination of tantalum pentoxide in mixture with sucrose carbon by chlorine gas

The mechanism and kinetics of β-Ta₂O₅ chlorination, mixed with sucrose carbon, have been studied by a thermogravimetric technique. The investigated temperature range was 500 °C to 850 °C. The reactants and reaction residues were analyzed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method for surface area (BET). The effect of various experimental parameters was studied, such as carbon percentage, temperature, chlorine partial pressure, and flow, use of the multiple sample method, and carbon previous oxidation. The carbon percentage and previous treatment have an effect on the system reactivity. The temperature has a marked effect on the reaction rate. In the 500 °C to 600 °C temperature interval, the apparent activation energy is 144 kJ/mol of oxide, while at higher temperatures, the activation energy decreases. With high chorine partial pressures, the order of reaction is near zero. The kinetic contractile plate model, X=kt, considering carbon oxidation as the controlling stage, is the one with the best fit to the experimental data. A probable mechanism for the carbochlorination of β-Ta₂O₅ is proposed: (1) activation of chlorine on the carbon surface, (2) chlorination of Ta₂O₅, (3) oxidation of carbon, and (4) recrystallization of β-Ta₂O₅.     

Glyconanoparticle-DNA interactions: an atomic force microscopy study.

Glyconanoparticles which present carbohydrate and amino groups motifs at their surface were produced. These particles were highly stable and soluble in aqueous solutions. The presence of the carbohydrate groups also allowed the inclusion of more strongly binding groups, without affecting solubility. The binding of a model DNA, plasmid by these nanoparticles was studied by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and gel electrophoresis. Significant differences between the nanoparticles based on their affinities for the DNA were found, with implications for their potential use as nonviral gene delivery agents.     

Development and evaluation of antimicrobial natamycin‐incorporated film in gorgonzola cheese conservation

Conservation of food products depends on product quality and packaging suitability. The objective of this work was to develop and evaluate the antimicrobial efficiency of natamycin‐incorporated film in the production process of Gorgonzola cheese. It aims to optimize the production process and increase shelf‐life and food safety for the consumer. Films with different concentrations of natamycin were produced and tested in Gorgonzola cheeses to evaluate its efficiency against Penicillium roqueforti on the cheese surface. Films with 2 and 4% natamycin presented satisfactory results for fungus inhibition and the amount of natamycin released to the cheese was below that allowed by the legislation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unconventional Charge Density Wave Arising from Electron–Phonon Interaction

We report of a theoretical study on quasi-one dimensional unconventional charge density wave (UCDW) driven by electron–phonon interaction. Within mean field theory, we find that the wavevector dependence of the coupling leads to a momentum dependent single particle gap on the Fermi surface. The presence of small energy single particle excitations around the gap nodes significantly changes the optical conductivity compared to the conventional CDW result. In addition to that, the collective phase excitation arising from fluctuation of the order parameter leads to further qualitative changes of the conductivity and results in an effective mass that is nonmonotonic in temperature.