bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Multi-agent Approach to Collaborative Design of Modular Products
Authors: Huang Chun-Che
Published: April 2004

Concurrent Engineering (CE) has become a very popular term while complex product markets are demanding the ability to deliver a high variety of customized products quickly and globally. One of the CE issues has been centered on the way in which the knowledge of the functions such as manufacturing, logistics, marketing, and sales, is captured and managed. To be easily communicated and shared, tacit knowledge needs to be externalized as explicit knowledge, e.g., design rules, and this explicit knowledge incorporated with information technology supports the design decision-making. This paper presents an agent-based system to knowledge management, specifically in design knowledge externalization, and focuses on decision support of modular product collaborative design. The solution approach involves (1) modeling/representing modular products and design knowledge explicitly and (2) supporting collaborative decision-making with agent techniques intelligently. The agent-based system allows the designer to develop a product with the assistance of agents characterizing intelligence, autonomy, and cooperation. The novelty of this paper is that the design operations are formulated and stored in data mart. Therefore, implicit knowledge can be externalized as design rules using the data mining technology. With these rules, design decision-making is supported effectively.
A CAD-augmented Reality Integrated Environment for Assembly Sequence Check and Interactive Validation
Authors: Liverani A. , Amati G. , Caligiana G.
Published: April 2004

An integrated environment based on CAD assembly software and on an Augmented Reality wearable system is used to improve the overall integration between engineering design and real prototypes manufacturing. The environment following called – Personal Active Assistant (PAA) – exploits a CAD tool connection to remarkably improve object recognition, best assembly sequence optimization, and operator instructions generation. PAA is real-time and wirelessly linked to a remote server or designer workstation where project geometric database is stored. The PAA head-mounted camera is also able to acquire the human-driven assembly sequence and check the efficiency and correctness via object recognition: an incremental sub-assembly detection algorithm has been developed in order to achieve complex dataset monitoring.

On the other hand, the Augmented Reality-based assembly evaluation tool allows engineers to interact directly with the assembly operator while manipulating the real and virtual prototype components. Information from the assembly planner can be displayed, directly superimposed, on the real scene by using a see-through head-mounted display. Thus the new combined software and hardware equipment may be considered a step ahead in the support of true concurrent engineering and remote collaboration, strongly improving this latter through a better heterogeneous task integration. Several tests have been performed also to achieve personnel training and warehouse part seeking.
Residential Energy Consumption: 1987 to 1997
Authors: Yust Becky L. , Guerin Denise A. , Coopet Julie G.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine energy‐conserving practices and consumption from 1987 to 1997 using a human ecosystem framework. Research on energy consumption and practices at the household level has been minimal in recent years. Factors that influence household energy consumption were examined, including climate, demographic characteristics of the households, housing characteristics including weatherization features and appliances, and occupant behaviors. This study was a secondary analysis of data compiled by the Energy Information Administration from the 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Surveys and included only owner‐occupied, single‐family detached residences. Based on multiple regression analyses, more than 30% of the household energy consumption was accounted for by the variables representing the environments of the human ecosystem.
Texas Trooper Uniforms: Assessment of Fabrics, Comfort, and Wear
Authors: Horridge Patricia E. , Caddel D. Kay , Simonton James L.
Published: April 2004

Using the physical dimension triad of Branson and Sweeney's Model for Clothing Comfort as a conceptual framework, the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of cotton/wool fabrics on comfort and wear of trooper uniforms. Participants were 10 troopers recruited for wear‐ testing uniforms developed in accordance to Texas Department of Public Safety specifications. Trooper shirt and pants fabrics were developed in two fiber contents (80/20 and 70/30 cotton/wool) and tested before and after dry‐cleaning. Twenty constructed uniforms and 10 issued uniforms were worn through four wear‐refurbishing‐dry‐cleaning cycles. Surveys and scales were used to gather data during and after wear testing; data were analyzed by t‐test and ANOVAs. Branson and Sweeney's comfort model was supported, in part, with person attributes (body weight, hours uniform worn) affecting uniform comfort. Implications are given for fabric producers and garment manufacturers.
A Comparison of Saving Motives of Urban Chinese and American Workers
Authors: Xiao Jing J. , Fan Jessie X.
Published: April 2004

This article compares saving motives of urban Chinese and American workers. A framework based on Maslow's human needs theory with the consideration of economic and cultural factors was used to develop hypotheses. The results of logistic regressions and simulations suggest that Chinese are more likely than Americans to report four out of six saving motives: saving for daily expenses, emergencies, children, and investment, whereas Americans are more likely to report saving for major purchases and retirement. Differences in cultures and in economic development stages were investigated as causes for such differences in saving motives. The findings have implications for public policies and cross‐cultural communications.
An Exploratory Study of the Relationships between Family Functioning and Parenting Styles: The Perceptions of Mothers of Young Grade School Children
Authors: Mupinga Emily Evellyne , Garrison M. E. Betsy , Pierce Sarah H.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between family functioning and parenting styles. Data were collected in 1996 from 151 mothers of first‐ or third‐grade children using established self‐report assessments. Based on the findings, the researchers concluded that balanced family types were positively related to authoritative parenting and negatively related to authoritarian parenting.
The Impact of Nutrition Education on Food Insecurity among Low‐Income Participants in EFNEP
Authors: Dollahite Jamie , Olson Christine , Scott‐Pierce Michelle
Published: April 2004

The impact of nutrition education on food security status was assessed in a multiethnic, low‐income population using a pretest‐posttest comparison group design. Data were collected over 3 years from participants (N = 16,146) in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) in New York State who either graduated or terminated involvement prior to graduation. Both groups had a significant decrease in food insecurity score (p < .05) from pre‐to post education. The difference between the graduated and terminated groups approached statistical significance using a t‐test comparison (p = .055). A multiple regression analysis indicated that food insecurity score decreased significantly more in graduates (p < .001). A dose response relationship was seen between the number of lessons received and decreases in food insecurity. Programs that educate low‐income families in food selection and resource management skills can decrease the risk of food insecurity, although effects vary by socio demographic characteristics of participants and program delivery methods.
Examining the Links Among Magazine Preference, Levels of Awareness and Internalization of Sociocultural Appearance Standards, and Presence of Eating‐Disordered Symptoms in College Women
Authors: Lokken Kristine L. , Worthy Sheri Lokken , Trautmann Julianne
Published: April 2004

Research has shown that young women are negatively affected by media images representing thin female body types. Given the increasing prevalence of eating disorders among young women, it is important to look closer at this phenomenon and the role/responsibility of the media. This study examined the links among quantity of magazine exposure, preference for specific periodicals, awareness and internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty, and the presence of eating‐disordered symptoms in a sample of college women. Small, but significant, correlations were found between magazine exposure and drive for thinness, and between preference for beauty and fashion magazines and internalization of sociocultural standards of appearance. Regression analyses found awareness and internalization of sociocultural standards of appearance to be significant predictors of body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimic symptoms. The results of this study are discussed in terms of educational and social marketing strategies.
The Impact of Business Communication Education on Students’ Short- and Long-Term Performances
Authors: Zhao Jensen J. , Alexander Melody W.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to identify the short- and long-term impact of business communication education on students’ skill developments and performance outcomes. Nearly 400 students at an AACSC International–accredited business college participated in the study during their sophomore and senior years. The findings indicate that the business communication course helped students develop good skills in writing reports, solving problems, working in teams, communicating orally, and using Internet technologies for both the short term (sophomore year) and the long term (senior year). More than 95% of the students reported achieving As and Bs on written assignments, company-analysis reports, problem-solving assignments, and oral presentations in their sophomore, junior, and senior years. However, the long-term effect was statistically less significant than was the short-term effect, although both were within the same positive range.
Determination of the Liquid Water Diffusivity from Transient Moisture Transfer Experiments
Authors: Carmeliet J. , Hens H. , Roels S. , Adan O. , Brocken H. , Cerny R. , Pavlik Z. , Hall C. , Kumaran K. , Pel L.
Published: April 2004

The Boltzmann transformation method is used to determine the liquid water diffusivity from moisture content profiles as measured in a capillary water absorption experiment. An inter-laboratory comparison for analyzing the reliability of the determination method showed that the inaccuracy in the liquid water diffusivity is caused by scatter in the transformed data and by uncertainty in the boundary conditions at the intake surface and ahead of the steep moisture front. A methodology is proposed based on (1) the evaluation of the validity of the diffusion approach, (2) a simplified handling of the boundary conditions, (3) smoothing of the scattered data and (4) the evaluation of the quality of the determined liquid water diffusivity. For HAM (Heat-Air-Moisture transport) calculations values of the liquid water diffusivity for moisture contents higher than the capillary moisture content are disregarded. The liquid water diffusivity can be described by an exponential function limited at a lower moisture content bound.

To describe the moisture diffusivity including liquid water and water vapour transports, a new parametric description of the moisture diffusivity is presented, which shows sufficient flexibility both in the hygroscopic and overhygroscopic ranges. When permeability is calculated from diffusivity, the permeability should monotonically increase with decreasing capillary pressure. In the hygroscopic region it should coincide with the measured water vapour permeabilities.
Indoor Radon/Thoron Levels in Dwellings of the Hilly Regions Surrounding Guwahati, Assam
Authors: Deka P. C. , Sarkar Subir , Sarma B. K. , Goswami T. D. , Ramachandran T. V. , Nambi K. S. V.
Published: April 2004

Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) are widely used for the determination of indoor radon and thoron levels. They are the most effective passive detectors available to obtain time integrated levels of radon, thoron and their daughters. This article gives the results of measurement and analysis of both radon and thoron in dwellings of different types in the hilly regions surrounding Guwahati, Assam made over a full year, covering all four seasons. The measurements were carried out using the passive time-integrated method by employing LR-115 (type II) detectors in plastic twin-chamber dosimeter cups. The estimated indoor radon levels varied from 101.1 to 238.5 Bq m 155.4 Bq m 3 with a mean of 3. The thoron levels were found to vary from 13.0 to 57.9 Bq m 1.
Determining Domestic Formaldehyde Levels in Ankara, Turkey
Authors: Vaizoğlu Songül Acar , Aycan Sefer , Deveci Mehmet Ali , Acer Tuğ;ba , Bulut Berk , Bayraktar Ulas D. , Akyollu Basak , çelik Mustafa , Arslan Uğur , Akpinar Funda , Baris Zeren , Arslan Seray , Deniz Ali , Evci E. Didem , Güler Çağatay
Published: April 2004

This cross-sectional study was carried out in October, 2001, with the aim of measuring formaldehyde levels in 399 homes representative of those in the central districts of Ankara province. Measurements were carried out with a Formaldemeter 400 in the living rooms and kitchens of these homes. The average formaldehyde levels in living rooms and kitchens were 0.064 and 0.060 ppm, respectively. The correlations between formaldehyde levels and type of house, construction materials, and method of ventilation were assessed. Formaldehyde levels were found to be significantly higher in apartments than in detached houses (living room: X2 = 38.7, p < 0.001; kitchen: X2 = 43.2, p < 0.001), significantly higher in reinforced concrete homes than in brick and mortar homes (living room: X2 = 43.1, p<0.001; kitchen: 2 = 34.9, p < 0.001), and significantly higher in homes using mechanical methods of ventilation than in homes with natural ventilation only X2 = 6.2, p < 0.05). People living in homes with formaldehyde levels higher than 0.10 ppm had a significantly higher incidence of watering eyes, dry throats, and running noses than people living in homes with lower levels. The correlation between kitchen formaldehyde levels and the type of fuel used in the kitchen was assessed, and homes using natural gas in the kitchen (53.4%) were determined to have significantly higher levels than homes using bottled propane (46.6%) (X2 = 48.8, p < 0.001). The results of the study show a significant correlation between formaldehyde levels and the type of home and construction materials, and between formaldehyde levels and residents' complaints of watering eyes, dry throats, and running noses. This study was carried out during the warm season. The results suggest that a similar study should be conducted during the winter, when heating is used and ventilation is less adequate.
Humid Building Problems in Mauritius
Authors: Bholah R. , Subratty A. H.
Published: April 2004

A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the occurrence of respiratory and other symptoms among workers in 25 buildings in Mauritius. Buildings were randomly selected and a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the office occupants to investigate personal characteristics, work environment and demographic factors. Other questions related to the indoor climate at work included: perception of any health symptoms, psychosocial and physical conditions. A walk-through inspection of the buildings was made and some indoor climatic variables were measured. Some ocular and respiratory symptoms were related to water damage, damaged floor covering and mould growth.
The Use of Zeolite and Oxidant Generating Devices in Air Cleaning
Authors: Law Teresa S.C. , Chao Christopher Y.H. , Chan George Y.W. , Law Anthony K.Y.
Published: April 2004

This paper presents the effects of combining a zeolite filter with an oxidant-generating device to remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from air. Two types of synthetic zeolites were tested. The sources of VOCs used in the tests were acetone and dried shark fins. Dried shark fins are commonly used in Chinese cooking and they emit amine related compounds with a notorious smell. Experiments were conducted under various conditions in an experimental chamber. Results indicate that combining the zeolite filter with an ozone generator or an ioniser resulted in a faster rate of depletion of VOCs than using either device alone. The effectiveness of the VOC removal is related to the pore size of the zeolite. Zeolite with a larger pore size is capable of adsorbing both the oxidants and the pollutant molecules into the same cavity, which allows catalytic oxidation reaction to occur inside the confined space of the zeolite.
Hannah Arendt’s Jewish Identity
Authors: Vromen Suzanne
Published: April 2004

Drawing extensively on her letters and published writings, this study synthesizes Hannah Arendt’s own perspectives on her Jewish identity and the views of others, and then offers a reconsideration. What emerges is that Arendt’s Jewishness is problematic and interesting to her only in relation to Germany and Israel, and not in the American context where she engages in a universalistic discourse transcending identity conflicts and perplexities.
Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism in its Original Context
Authors: Söllner Alfons
Published: April 2004

The objective of this article is to contribute to an understanding of Hannah Arendt’s special place in present-day political theory by means of a contrast between her Origins of Totalitarianism and four important political science studies of National Socialism and totalitarianism, three written by authors who shared the status of involuntary emigrant with Arendt, that are offered as constituting the original context of her work. A critical appreciation of the seminal works by Ernst Fraenkel, Franz L. Neumann, Sigmund Neumann, and Carl Joachim Friedrich and Zbigniew Brezinski, with special emphasis on questions of method, opens the way to a reconsideration of the distinctly philosophical character of Arendt’s work, and its shocking challenges to the scientific orientations of political science.
Fracture Monitoring System of Sewer Pipe with Composite Fracture Sensors Via the Internet
Authors: Todoroki Akira , Takeuchi Yusuke , Shimamura Yoshinobu , Iwasaki Atushi , Sugiya Tsuneya
Published: April 2004

Sewer pipeline breaks were reported after severe earthquakes like the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995. Although sewer pipeline breakage is not an emergent problem, they may cause epidemic disasters if left unrepaired. However, it is extremely expensive to find damaged parts and very time consuming to visually inspect all sewer pipelines laid underground. This demands a low-cost fracture monitoring system for sewer pipelines. The present study proposes a new fracture monitoring system for sewer pipelines and explains its demonstration using a small sewer pipe. The fracture monitoring system adopts fracture sensors made of fabric glass and carbon black–epoxy composite materials; a small embeddable terminal is included that can be connected to the Internet. In the sensor, a carbon black sheet is sandwiched between a surface layer and a base layer: both are made from fabric glass–epoxy plies. A part of the glass fibre in the surface layer is cut perpendicular to the loading direction to make a crack starter. Direct current electric voltage is charged in the embedded carbon black sheet; then, an electric resistance is connected serially to the carbon black sheet. Electric voltage of the resistance is monitored using the embeddable tiny terminal through the Internet. When the fracture sensor is loaded, large deflection causes a crack in the crack starter; then, the crack breaks the carbon black layer. This causes electric disconnection, and electric voltage of the resistance drops to zero. This system is applied to a fracture monitoring of a sewer pipe. As a result, the system successfully monitored fracture through the Internet.
Integrating Evolution, Cognition and Design: Extending Simonian Perspectives to Strategic Organization
Authors: Augier Mie , Sarasvathy Saras D.
Published: April 2004

Several streams of research in strategic management and organizational theory build upon the early work of Herbert Simon.Yet, as content analyses of articles published in leading management journals show, key ideas from his later years are for the most part either neglected or misinterpreted. We bring to strategic organization three constructs from Simon’s later work and make a case for their use in future research in strategic organization in general and entrepreneurship in particular: docility, a fundamental behavioral assumption in lieu of opportunism or embedded networks of trust; near-decomposability, an evolutionarily robust structural feature that permeates nature’s designs; and artifacts, products of human design that reshape local environments and/or help select between them to create and achieve human purposes. Each of these constructs embodies a uniquely Simonian integration of evolution, cognition and design.Together they enable us to conceptualize empirical phenomena as thick three-dimensional reality rather than abstractions entailed by any one of these perspectives alone.
Presentational Form in First Person Research
Authors: Taylor Steven S.
Published: April 2004

Rigorous reflection for the purposes of learning about and changing our own behavior as the foundation of an organizational change process (in the action science tradition) can include representing our tacit knowing with an artistic form and then applying explicit analytic techniques to the artistic form to generate actionable explicit knowing. This process is illustrated with an example of a collaborative off-line reflection process based on a presentational (or artistic) representation in which I learned in what ways and in which conditions I cooperate with and re-enforce power systems rather than speaking to or fighting the power. This process suggests: 1) the need for first person research in order to act as a third person change agent; 2) the need for second person research in order to do first person research; 3) the need to use multiple forms of representation and; 4) the advantages of presentational forms.
Crime and Justice in France
Authors: de Maillard Jacques , Roché Sebastian
Published: April 2004

Crime and insecurity have been major political issues in France during the past 20 years, and especially during the presidential election campaign of 2002. This survey focuses on empirically-based social science that is relevant to these issues. Key themes are crime trends and the influence of incivilities and of fear of crime. The political debate about crime and crime reduction since the 1970s is described and analysed. The paper describes and critically assesses the various measures of the crime phenomenon (vital statistics, victim surveys, self-report studies) and summarizes the information provided by these measures at various times. The various societal responses to crime and insecurity are reviewed, including police work (and police reform), incarceration trends, social prevention and the new partnerships at a local level. Moves to decentralize policy and practice in the field of control and prevention of crime are discussed. Finally, key publications, centres of criminological research and sources of funding are reviewed.
Comments on ‘How Not to Be a Hypocrite’
Authors: Power Sally
Published: April 2004

This article examines the arguments and underlying assumptions of Adam Swift’s book on How Not to Be a Hypocrite. It argues that, although there is much that is commendable and fascinating in the book, it might have benefited from a more sociological approach to the middle class. While the book is designed to capture and argue with the anxieties of middle class parents, it really only addresses the concerns of one fraction – specificallythe ‘new middle class’. It also under-emphasizes the nature and force of parents’ anxieties, which are often less to do with pushing their children to higher plains and rather more to do with fear of social descent. In addition, the book underplays the pervasiveness of social class on lifestyle and modes of reasoning. School choice is not just one area of decisionmaking that can be separated from other life choices. It is a shame that this lack of a sociological grounding of class differences diminishes the force of what is an otherwise powerful book and an admirable attempt to celebrate academic thinking and to believe that people other than academics can benefit from serious consideration of difficult issues.
Part-Time Politics
Authors: Young Beth , Brooks Mary
Published: April 2004

During a multi-district study on part-time teaching employment, part-time teachers, school administrators, and teachers’ association officials spoke about a range of micropolitical activities related to part-time teaching arrangements as a component of flexible workforces and as an element of flexible workplaces. The study was conducted in one Canadian province during a period of rapidly imposed changes, including funding cuts, typical of the globalized school restructuring movement. We describe administrators’ strategic efforts to mobilize their biases related to part-time teaching employment by organizing their micropolitical resources either to support that preference or to minimize such arrangements. We discuss the strategies that part-time teachers used in order to survive as flexible workers, and sometimes to flourish in rather fragile versions of flexible workplaces. We conclude by noting micropolitical themes that have application beyond the little-studied subculture of part-time teaching. These themes offer insights about power, perceptions, values, and gender that apply more widely to the micropolitics of school organizations.
Control of Hydrogenation Patterning for CVD Diamond Substrates by AFM Local Anodic Oxidation
Authors: Manfredotti C. , Vittone E. , Paolini C. , Bianco L. , Fizzotti F. , Lo Giudice A. , Olivero P.
Published: April 2004

Local anodic oxidation (LAO) of hydrogenated CVD diamond surfaces was carefully investigated as a function of the scanning speed, relative humidity and bias voltage. As examples, perfect control of the width of the oxidised lines between 80 and 110 nm was demonstrated for scanning speeds between 20 and 110 nm s-1, at 60% relative humidity, and between 45 and 90 nm by switching the humidity from 40% to 60%. The oxidation process is indicated by the decay of the current during the LAO process, which is concluded in about 10 s. The interpretation of the results, which in the literature oscillates between digging grooves and the creation of oxidised bumps, is still quite difficult, since it depends on the AFM mode (‘contact’ or ‘non-contact’) which was used for LAO. A true oxidation process is more likely to occur, as indicated by the present results, and this is in agreement with the presence of oxygen in surface analysis data.
Effects of Residual Stress Patterns on TBC Systems
Authors: Ekici B.
Published: April 2004

In recent studies, interfacial toughness in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems was measured by indentation tests. The layers existing in the TBC systems were simplified to a system consisting of a coating and a substrate. The second simplification is that the residual stress values were taken as average values in the calculation. The types of residual stresses which may occur in TBC systems have not been studied. In the present paper, different residual stress patterns are applied to the model, and they are not taken as average values because some residual patterns are not scalar values but linear or parabolic functions. Results are presented for application in the measurement of the interfacial toughness of TBC systems using a simple indentation test simulation technique.
Three-dimensional finite element analysis to predict the different zones of microstructure in submerged arc welding
Authors: Pathak A K , Datta G L
Published: April 2004

The temperature distribution and cooling rate during the welding process have significant effects on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of a weldment. The change in microstructure, grain growth, hardness and residual stress in a weldment are very dependent on the temperature distribution and cooling rate. In the present work a three-dimensional transient finite element analysis of heat transfer in arc welding has been done to predict the different zones of microstructures. The problem was solved by taking several important factors into consideration (such as temperature dependence of material properties, a Gaussian distribution for the welding arc, enthalpy, etc.). The model was indirectly verified by conducting some experiments on submerged arc welding. The weld metal zone, coarse-grained zone and fine-grained zone were theoretically estimated by using three-dimensional finite element analysis and compared with the experimentally measured values. It was found that theoretically estimated zones corresponded well to the experimentally measured zones. A correlation was also developed to estimate the arc radius from the weld metal zone.
Robust control of an adaptive optical system
Authors: Frazier B W , Roche J , Tyson R K , Kakad Y P , Sherlock B G
Published: April 2004

Most adaptive optical systems are based on a least-squares fit algorithm to optimize performance, and generally do not adequately address stability or uncertainty in the system. This paper describes the implementation of an H-infinity controller for an adaptive optical system, in order to optimize the closed-loop stability of the system.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumour of the pharynx
Authors: Siddiq M. A. , East D. , Hock Y. L. , Warfield A. T.
Published: April 2004

This documents the case of a 55-year-old female presenting with a solitary polypoidal tumour of the pharynx. Histological examination revealed features consistent with a gastrointestinal stromal tumour. Although well described elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, from our literature search, this is the first reported case of such a tumour occurring in the pharynx
The Impact of Check Sequencing on NSF (Not-Sufficient Funds) Fees
Authors: Apte Aruna , Apte Uday M. , Beatty Randolph P. , Sarkar Ila C. , Semple John H.
Published: April 2004

In a wave of litigation that has escalated into several class-action lawsuits, banks have been charged with sequencing checks unfairly to obtain higher fees for not-sufficient funds (NSF). The point of contention is the banks’ use of the high-low check-sequencing procedure, which presents checks for payment in descending dollar amounts. While it is likely that sequencing plays an important role in determining NSF fees, no studies rigorously analyze the theoretical and empirical properties of different sequencing policies and their financial impact on banks and customers. At the request of a litigation participant, we undertook such a study. We interwove several OR/MS tools, including distribution fitting, simulation, and integer programming. Our results show that sequencing is only half of the story; the other half concerns the role of overdraft protection. By clarifying the impact of check-sequencing policies, our study should help policy makers, regulators, and courts to arrive at a suitable resolution of the issues surrounding the public-policy debate on check-sequencing.
Studies of the Optical Properties of Metal-Pliable Polymer Composite Materials
Authors: Giesfeldt Kathleen S. , Connatser R. Maggie , De Jesús Marco A. , Lavrik Nickolay V. , Dutta Pampa , Sepaniak Michael J.
Published: April 2004

Polymer-nano-metallic-particle composites have demonstrated technological potential due to their unique optical and electrical properties. Herein, we report on composites prepared via physical vapor deposition of silver metal onto pliable poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) polymer. Rapid Ag diffusion and nano-metallic-particle formation in a phase-separated surface layer of the PDMS creates unique sub-surface-based composites whose properties vary based on rate of deposition and average Ag thickness. Additionally, nano-metallic-particle spacing can be altered with fair reproducibility and reversibility by physically manipulating the Ag–PDMS composite. The optical properties of the materials are studied by visible wavelength optical extinction spectrometry and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), including studies performed during physical manipulation. Direct current (DC) conductivity measurements were made during Ag deposition to study percolation conditions for the materials. Depth-profiling was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry. Sample Raman spectral data collected with the composite as a SERS substrate are included. A practical technological characteristic of these composite materials arises from their potential to be molded into functional devices.
Automated Method for Subtraction of Fluorescence from Biological Raman Spectra
Authors: Lieber Chad A. , Mahadevan-Jansen Anita
Published: April 2004

One of the challenges of using Raman spectroscopy for biological applications is the inherent fluorescence generated by many biological molecules that underlies the measured spectra. This fluorescence can sometimes be several orders of magnitude more intense than the weak Raman scatter, and its presence must be minimized in order to resolve and analyze the Raman spectrum. Several techniques involving hardware and software have been devised for this purpose; these include the use of wavelength shifting, time gating, frequency-domain filtering, first- and second-order derivatives, and simple curve fitting of the broadband variation with a high-order polynomial. Of these, polynomial fitting has been found to be a simple but effective method. However, this technique typically requires user intervention and thus is time consuming and prone to variability. An automated method for fluorescence subtraction, based on a modification to least-squares polynomial curve fitting, is described. Results indicate that the presented automated method is proficient in fluorescence subtraction, repeatability, and in retention of Raman spectral lineshapes.
Two-Dimensional Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy: Resolution of Fluorescence of Tryptophan Residues in Horse Heart Myoglobin
Authors: Nakashima Kenichi , Yuda Kazuki , Ozaki Yukihiro , Noda Isao
Published: April 2004

Generalized two-dimensional (2D) fluorescence correlation spectroscopy has been used to resolve fluorescence of two tryptophan (Trp) residues in horse heart myoglobin. Fluorescence quenching is employed as a perturbation mode for causing intensity changes in the fluorescence ( quenching perturbation). Two kinds of quenchers, iodide ion and acrylamide, are used for inducing fluorescence intensity change. This technique works because the Trp residue located at the 7th position (W7) is known to be easily accessible to the quencher, whereas that located at the 14th position (W14) is not. By this technique, the fluorescence spectra of the two Trp residues were clearly resolved. From asynchronous maps, it was also shown that the quenching of W7 fluorescence is brought about prior to the quenching of W14 fluorescence. This result is consistent with the structure of horse heart myoglobin that was proposed earlier. Furthermore, it was elucidated that the present 2D analysis is not interfered with by Raman bands of the solvents, which sometimes brings difficulty into conventional fluorescence analysis.
Spectroscopic Studies on the Darkening of Lead White
Authors: Goltz Douglas , McClelland Jennifer , Schellenberg Angela , Attas Michael , Cloutis Edward , Collins Cathy
Published: April 2004

Lead white is an historically important paint used by artists since antiquity. The darkening of lead white has been well documented in works of art such as paintings. In this paper, mid-infrared (MIR) and visible spectroscopy were used to examine spectral changes accompanying the darkening of lead white paint as a result of exposure to H2S(g). Laboratory-prepared paint and a commercial lead white paint were used to observe the darkening reaction overtime. Structural changes to the pigment, 2PbCO3Pb(OH)2, in lead white were readily detected using MIR by applying a thin film on a KBr pellet. Spectral changes at 3541 (O–H stretch), 1400 (C–O), and 680 cm−1 (C–O) were the most significant over time as the paint darkened. Visible spectra were also collected to provide a semi-quantitative measure of color change with structural changes observed by MIR. Experiments in the visible region were also conducted to compare the spectral response as % reflected and % transmitted light as lead white darkened. The effect of different binding agents (egg tempera, linseed oil, water, and gum Arabic) on the rate of darkening of lead white was also examined. Other sulfur-containing pigments such as orpiment and realgar were also tested for their ability to darken lead white. By applying paint as a thin film inside a sealed cuvette, darkening of lead white was observed in the visible spectra (800 nm) when either powdered orpiment or realgar was in placed in the cuvette for 24 h.
Remote Detection of Heated Ethanol Plumes by Airborne Passive Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry
Authors: Tarumi Toshiyasu , Small Gary W. , Combs Roger J. , Kroutil Robert T.
Published: April 2004

Methodology is developed for the automated detection of heated plumes of ethanol vapor with airborne passive Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Positioned in a fixed-wing aircraft in a downward-looking mode, the spectrometer is used to detect ground sources of ethanol vapor from an altitude of 2000–3000 ft. Challenges to the use of this approach for the routine detection of chemical plumes include (1) the presence of a constantly changing background radiance as the aircraft flies, (2) the cost and complexity of collecting the data needed to train the classification algorithms used in implementing the plume detection, and (3) the need for rapid interferogram scans to minimize the ground area viewed per scan. To address these challenges, this work couples a novel ground-based data collection and training protocol with the use of signal processing and pattern recognition methods based on short sections of the interferogram data collected by the spectrometer. In the data collection, heated plumes of ethanol vapor are released from a portable emission stack and viewed by the spectrometer from ground level against a synthetic background designed to simulate a terrestrial radiance source. Classifiers trained with these data are subsequently tested with airborne data collected over a period of 2.5 years. Two classifier architectures are compared in this work: support vector machines (SVM) and piecewise linear discriminant analysis (PLDA). When applied to the airborne test data, the SVM classifiers perform best, failing to detect ethanol in only 8% of the cases in which it is present. False detections occur at a rate of less than 0.5%. The classifier performs well in spite of differences between the backgrounds associated with the ground-based and airborne data collections and the instrumental drift arising from the long time span of the data collection. Further improvements in classification performance are judged to require increased sophistication in the ground-based data collection in order to provide a better match to the infrared backgrounds observed from the air.
Automated Line-Focused Laser Ablation for Mapping of Inclusions in Stainless Steel
Authors: Mateo M. P. , Cabalín L. M. , Laserna J. J.
Published: April 2004

An automated line imaging arrangement for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) generation of chemical maps of inclusions in stainless steel by laser-induced plasma spectrometry (LIPS) is presented. The plasma was generated in air at atmospheric pressure by focusing a flat-top Nd:YAG laser beam operating at 532 nm to a microline on the sample surface. The emitted light from the microline plasma was projected through an imaging spectrograph onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector to generate a spatially and spectrally resolved data set. Compositional distribution maps of inclusion constituents (Mn, Mg, Ca, Al, and Ti) in stainless steel of different grades have been generated. Comparative studies with the point-to-point LIPS mapping method have been performed, resulting in a 51-fold reduction in the number of pulses and analysis time when the microline imaging approach is employed. The results illustrate the capability of microline imaging LIPS for fast-automated acquisition of tomographic maps with spatial resolution of 50 μm between adjacent craters and 4.8 μm along the microline.
Orientation Effects in Waveguide Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Monolayers
Authors: Kanger J. S. , Otto C.
Published: April 2004

In this paper we study the effect of molecular orientation on the observed Raman spectra in waveguide Raman spectroscopy. Depolarization ratios differ from those in ‘normal’ Raman spectroscopy due to the polarization properties of the guiding modes that excite the Raman scattering. Waveguide Raman spectra of sub-monolayers of cytochrome c and NiOEP were recorded using different polarization settings. The observed depolarization ratios strongly deviate from those obtained in bulk Raman spectra. Using the derived equations for the depolarization ratios, the preferred orientation angle of the molecules can be obtained from the observed depolarization ratios. From these results we first conclude that high-quality spectra of sub-monolayers can be obtained using waveguide Raman spectroscopy and secondly, that these spectra can be used to determine the preferred orientation of the molecule with respect to the waveguide surface.
Determining Sample Differences in a Sample Series of Complex Liquid Chromatography—Diode Array Detector Data Using Chemometrics
Authors: Windig Willem , Marchincin Tamara F. , Meyer Gordon N.
Published: April 2004

In analytical laboratories, one often has to deal with sample series that have minor differences between them. For example, different batches of the same material may cause manufacturing problems, and quality control is an important issue. Another example is decomposition studies, where changes may or may not occur in a sample. To extract the differences between such highly related samples from LC-DAD (liquid chromatography–diode array detector) data is a time-consuming and subjective task. This paper describes an algorithm that efficiently extracts such differences.
Two-Dimensional Correlation Analysis for a Kinetic Model of Consecutive Reactions
Authors: Chin Thou-Long , Lin King-Chuen
Published: April 2004

We have systematically studied a kinetic scheme of consecutive reactions by using generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis as reported by Noda. The correlations between reactant–intermediate, intermediate–product, and reactant–product pairs are analyzed with the related rate constants and absorption coefficients. When the reference spectrum is set at zero, the synchronous and asynchronous correlation spectra for the kinetic model are almost free from the influence of poor quality signals. If an appropriate reference spectrum is selected, the intermediate can be feasibly distinguished from other species involved in the reaction. A ratio of asynchronous to synchronous correlation intensity yields a coherence spectrum, which is characterized by different plateau-type peak intensities. When a steady-state condition fits the kinetic model, the peak summation of reactant–intermediate and intermediate–product correlation will approach the intensity of the reactant–product correlation. The coherence spectrum is useful for pattern recognition of the reaction scheme and also provides an effective way to identify the location and the extent of spectral overlap between two peaks.
Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the Mandible: A Laser Raman Spectroscopic Study
Authors: Lakshmi R. Jyothi , Alexander Mohan , Kurien Jacob , Mahato K. K. , Kartha V. B.
Published: April 2004

Laser Raman spectroscopy has been used in this study to characterize mandibular bone samples from patients who had undergone radiation therapy for oral cancer. The paper discusses spectral changes resulting in osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandibular bone, a serious complication that may occur after radiation therapy. Histopathological studies normally reveal the radiation damage on vascular canals and loss in bone cells, but will not reveal any structural or biochemical changes. All radiation-induced side effects are attributed to this hypovascularity and hypocellularity caused by early- and/or late-delayed effects. Our Raman studies on normal and ORN bone and on bone exposed to radiation, but not in the ORN state, show that irradiation produces immediate structural changes in the inorganic bone matrix with a slight loss in cells. ORN bone, in addition to the structural changes that had already occurred on radiation exposure, shows almost complete loss of cellular components. Since bone tissue is continuously being remodeled (dissolved and rebuilt) under normal conditions, our results suggest that the immediate structural changes in the calcium hydroxy apatite mineral part is not repaired in ORN, due to loss of the highly transient osteoblasts and osteoclasts resulting from destruction of stem cells. The spectral studies also show changes in the organic matrix, which is mostly type I collagen.
Simple Photomultiplier Tube Internal-Gating Method for Use in Subnanosecond Time-Resolved Spectroscopy
Authors: Iwata Tetsuo , Takasu Tsuyoshi , Araki Tsutomu
Published: April 2004

We propose a simple photomultiplier tube (PMT) internal-gating method for use in the field of subnanosecond time-resolved spectroscopy. In the proposed method, we control two dynodes in the PMT by applying a gate signal whose pulse width is Tg. When controlling the mth and the n(>m)th dynodes, a resolution time Δ t is approximately given by Δ t = Tg – ( n – m)τ, where τ is a transit time of a lump of secondary electrons traveling between the two dynodes in the PMT. In principle, the resolution time Δ t shorter than the pulse width Tg of the gate signal can be easily obtained. From a fundamental performance test, we found that a subnanosecond resolution time Δ t = 0.31 ns was obtained for the case of m = 2 and n = 5. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we carried out a time-resolved spectroscopic measurement of emission obtained from a white-light-emitting diode (LED) driven by a nanosecond current pulse.
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for On-Line Engine Equivalence Ratio Measurements
Authors: Ferioli Francesco , Puzinauskas Paulius V. , Buckley Steven G.
Published: April 2004

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used to measure the equivalence ratio of a spark-ignited engine in a laboratory setting. Spectral features of C (711.3 nm), O (776.6 nm), N (746.3 and 743.8 nm), and CN (broad emission 707–734 nm) were used to quantify the equivalence ratio over a range from Φ = 0.8 to Φ = 1.2. The C/N and C/O peak ratios were found to be successful measurement metrics, compared with a standard exhaust gas oxygen analyzer, for averaged measurements. Some variation in the measurements was observed as a function of engine load. Single-shot data based on a CN/air peak ratio were evaluated using a separate calibration from averaged measurements, and the average of the single-shot data was found to agree well with the exhaust gas oxygen analyzer. The scatter in the single-shot data was substantially higher at lower equivalence ratios. The measurements including the CN peak were slightly sensitive to load, possibly due to pressure changes in the sample as the load increases, or possibly due to changes in the particle size distribution in the gas stream.