Optimization of the procedure to burn textile fabrics by cone calorimeter: Part I. Combustion behavior of polyester

The aim of this study was the optimization of cone calorimeter to determine the burning behavior of textile fabrics. In particular, the combustion behavior of commercial polyester textile fabrics with varying densities was studied in terms of time to ignition (TTI), heat release rate (HRR), and relative peak (pkHRR) were monitored. Reproducibility and repeatability of the data have been verified by the influence of instrument variable including incident heat flux, the temperature of ceramic backing pads and retaining grid used during sample mounting as well as sample weight (as the number of fabric layers), the density of textiles, and the relative humidity. A low reproducibility has been obtained when a wire grid was not used to stabilize samples during the tests. The effects of these variables on TTI and pkHRR were observed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cholesterol photosensitised oxidation of horse meat slices stored under different packaging films

The effect of the type of packaging film (transparent vs. light-protecting red film) was evaluated on the formation of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) in refrigerated horse meat slices stored in retail conditions under light exposure for 8 h. In meat wrapped with a transparent film, COPs increased from 233 (control) to 317 μg/g of fat, whereas the red film delayed cholesterol oxidation and offered protection against COPs formation, since COPs decreased from 173 (control) to 139 μg/g of fat after 8 h of light exposure. In addition, light opened the epoxy ring and led to the formation of triol, which was actually absent at T_0. A proper packaging film may represent a useful strategy to retard oxidative degradation in a light-sensitive, high pigment- and fat-containing food, such as horse meat.     

An automatic procedure for the synthesis and optimization of very low-frequency Gm–C integrators

Fully integrated low frequency filters are critical cells that should be carefully designed in order to avoid excessive area occupation. In this work we propose an automatic procedure capable of optimizing the design of G_m?CC integrators, which constitute the basis of a wide class of G_m?CC filters. The optimization target is minimizing the cell area with constraints on input range and low frequency noise. Lower and upper bounds can be fixed to most quantities and design parameters in order to avoid solutions that are not compatible with the physical limitations of the process. The program has been developed within the MATLAB^? platform, exploiting the optimization toolbox. The effect of several important design parameters on the optimization of low frequency integrators has been investigated using the proposed routine. The strong interaction between noise and low frequency constraints has been demonstrated, showing the impressive impact of strict noise specifications on the occupied area. The actual effectiveness of parameters such as the current division factor or approaches such as flicker noise rejection by means of chopper modulation has been investigated. Examples of integrator synthesis, performed using the proposed procedure configured with the parameters of a commercial CMOS process, are presented. The consistence between the characteristics of the cells and the initial specifications has been checked using electrical simulations showing a maximum discrepancy with the initial specifications of nearly 80%. A semi-manual method to refine the synthesized cells and improve the accuracy is proposed.     

Supervised Multivariate Analysis of Hyper-spectral NIR Images to Evaluate the Starch Index of Apples

Fruit maturity indexes are crucial in harvest time determination and commercial context. The harvest time of apples, matching the desired commercial characteristics, is assessed through starch–iodine test in practice. Fruit halves are dipped into iodine solution and patterns are visually evaluated by experts comparing them to reference charts. Aim of the work was to study the relationships of near infrared (NIR) spectral images (1,000–1,700 nm), starch/starch-free patterns visually assessed and RGB color images. Spectral images of 88 Golden Delicious Klon B apples were sampled at seven different maturity stages. Partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) technique was used on hyper-spectral NIR images to classify single pixels using its NIR reflectance spectrum. The response variable (i.e. the classification for each pixel) was identified through the matching of single pixel obtained with the color images, segmented in two classes (starch and starch-free), and the NIR hyper-spectral matrix. Mean hyper-spectral classification obtained through PLSDA modeling on individual apple correctly classified 80.81% of the total pixels, while the unique model, i.e. a single model including all the fruits, resulted in 66.33%. In the latter case, the relationship with the RGB classification showed high values (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.95). The present work shows the feasibility of NIR imaging spectroscopy as a tool for apple fruit maturity determination, avoiding expert’s subjective interpretation by traditional starch index assignments.     

Multi-agent quality of experience control

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - In the framework of the Future Internet, the aim of the Quality of Experience (QoE) Control functionalities is to track the personalized...     

Accessing the spoken word

Spoken-word audio collections cover many domains, including radio and television broadcasts, oral narratives, governmental proceedings, lectures, and telephone conversations. The collection, access, and preservation of such data is stimulated by political, economic, cultural, and educational needs. This paper outlines the major issues in the field, reviews the current state of technology, examines the rapidly changing policy issues relating to privacy and copyright, and presents issues relating to the collection and preservation of spoken audio content .