Water diffusion in polymer nano-films measured with microcantilevers

We present a method to measure the absorption of water molecules from the liquid and the vapour phase into polymer nano-films and the diffusion inside these films. Film thickness can be down to 45 nm. To demonstrate the possibilities of this method we use polymer films that are deposited on the upper side of a silicon cantilever by plasma polymerization of norbornene. When a microdrop of water is deposited onto the initially straight cantilever, the drop causes the cantilever to bend while it evaporates. Evaporation of such small water drops usually takes less than a second. An upwards bending is due to capillary forces and a downwards bending is due to the diffusion of water into the polymer film – and the consequent volume expansion (swelling) of the film. The magnitude of the capillary forces and the extent of swelling continuously change during drop evaporation. When drop evaporation is over the cantilever returns to its initial straight position. We simulate the time dependent bending with a numerical model that qualitatively agrees with the experiment. From the time dependence of cantilever bending we are able to determine the diffusion coefficient of water in the thin polymer film.     

Byte code level cross-compilation for developing web applications

JavaScript provides the technological foundation of Web 2.0 applications. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) applications have received wide-spread attention as a new way to develop highly interactive web applications. Breaking with the complete-page-reload paradigm of traditional web applications, AJAX applications rival desktop applications in their look-and-feel. But AJAX places a high burden on a web developer requiring extensive JavaScript knowledge as well as other advanced client-side technologies. In this paper, we introduce a technique that allows a developer to implement an application in Java or any.NET language and then automatically cross-compile it to an AJAX-enabled web application.     

Efficient filtering for the Resource-Cost AllDifferent constraint

This paper studies a family of optimization problems where a set of items, each requiring a possibly different amount of resource, must be assigned to different slots for which the price of the resource can vary. The objective is then to assign items such that the overall resource cost is minimized. Such problems arise commonly in domains such as production scheduling in the presence of fluctuating renewable energy costs or variants of the Travelling Salesman Problem. In Constraint Programming, this can be naturally modeled in two ways: (a) with a sum of element constraints; (b) with a MinimumAssignment constraint. Unfortunately the sum of element constraints obtains a weak filtering and the MinimumAssignment constraint does not scale well on large instances. This work proposes a third approach by introducing the ResourceCostAllDifferent constraint and an associated incremental and scalable filtering algorithm, running in \(\mathcal {O}(n \cdot m)\), where n is the number of unbound variables and m is the maximum domain size of unbound variables. Its goal is to compute the total cost in a scalable manner by dealing with the fact that all assignments must be different. We first evaluate the efficiency of the new filtering on a real industrial problem and then on the Product Matrix Travelling Salesman Problem, a special case of the Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem. The study shows experimentally that our approach generally outperforms the decomposition and the MinimumAssignment ones for the problems we considered.     

Evaluation of six night vision enhancement systems: qualitative and quantitative support for intelligent image processing

OBJECTIVE: An evaluation study was conducted to answer the question of which system properties of night vision enhancement systems (NVESs) provide a benefit for drivers without increasing their workload. BACKGROUND: Different infrared sensor, image processing, and display technologies can be integrated into an NVES to support nighttime driving. Because each of these components has its specific strengths and weaknesses, careful testing is required to determine their best combination. METHOD: Six prototypical systems were assessed in two steps. First, a heuristic evaluation with experts from ergonomics, perception, and traffic psychology was conducted. It produced a broad overview of possible effects of system properties on driving. Based on these results, an experimental field study with 15 experienced drivers was performed. Criteria used to evaluate the development potential of the six prototypes were the usability dimensions of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction (International Organization for Standardization, 1998). RESULTS: Results showed that the intelligibility of information, the easiness with which obstacles could be located in the environment, and the position of the display presenting the output of the system were of crucial importance for the usability of the NVES and its acceptance. Conclusion: All relevant requirements are met best by NVESs that are positioned at an unobtrusive location and are equipped with functions for the automatic identification of objects and for event-based warnings. APPLICATION: These design recommendations and the presented approach to evaluate the systems can be directly incorporated into the development process of future NVESs.     

Deformation models for image recognition

We present the application of different nonlinear image deformation models to the task of image recognition. The deformation models are especially suited for local changes as they often occur in the presence of image object variability. We show that, among the discussed models, there is one approach that combines simplicity of implementation, low-computational complexity, and highly competitive performance across various real-world image recognition tasks. We show experimentally that the model performs very well for four different handwritten digit recognition tasks and for the classification of medical images, thus showing high generalization capacity. In particular, an error rate of 0.54 percent on the MNIST benchmark is achieved, as well as the lowest reported error rate, specifically 12.6 percent, in the 2005 international ImageCLEF evaluation of medical image specifically categorization.     

Standardisation of digital human models

Digital human models (DHM) have evolved as useful tools for ergonomic workplace design and product development, and found in various industries and education. DHM systems which dominate the market were developed for specific purposes and differ significantly, which is not only reflected in non-compatible results of DHM simulations, but also provoking misunderstanding of how DHM simulations relate to real world problems. While DHM developers are restricted by uncertainty about the user need and lack of model data related standards, users are confined to one specific product and cannot exchange results, or upgrade to another DHM system, as their previous results would be rendered worthless. Furthermore, origin and validity of anthropometric and biomechanical data is not transparent to the user. The lack of standardisation in DHM systems has become a major roadblock in further system development, affecting all stakeholders in the DHM industry. Evidently, a framework for standardising digital human models is necessary to overcome current obstructions. Practitioner Summary: This short communication addresses a standardisation issue for digital human models, which has been addressed at the International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee for Human Simulation and Virtual Environments. It is the outcome of a workshop at the DHM 2011 symposium in Lyon, which concluded steps towards DHM standardisation that need to be taken.     

Trennung von Muskelprotein, Kollagen und Elastin durch fraktionierte Extraktion mit Na-dodecylsulfat(SDS)-L?sungen

Zusammenfassung Die fraktionierte Extraktion mit Na-dodecylsulfat(SDS)-Lösungen ermöglicht die Trennung von Muskel- und Bindegewebs-Protein. In einem zweiten Schritt kann auch Kollagen von Elastin getrennt werden. Muskelprotein löst sich unter Schütteln bei Zimmertemperatur in einer SDS(2%)-ME(1%)-Lösung in einem Boratpuffer pH 9. Zur Lösung des Kollagens sind 100°C, intensives Rühren und eine SDS(8%)-ME(1%)-Lösung in einem Citratpuffer pH 5 notwendig. Das Verfahren wurde an nativem und hitzedenaturiertem Material angewendet. Die Möglichkeit zur Bestimmung des BEFFE-Wertes in Brühwürsten mit dieser Methode wird untersucht und die Anwendung auf andere Fleischprodukte diskutiert.

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Fractionation of muscle protein, collagen and elastin by extraction with buffers containing dodecylsulfat (SDS)

Summary Dodecylsulfate (SDS) containing buffers were used for stepwise extraction of proteins from muscle and connective tissue. The first step was done at room temperature with borate buffer pH 9 and the muscle proteins were extracted. The second treatment (citrate buffer pH 5 at 100°C) dissolved collagen and left elastin as residue. All extracts were analysed by electrophoresis to identify the proteins and evaluated by a biuret method insensitive to SDS and ME. This method was applied to native and heatdenatured proteins and to Brühwdrste. The possibility of applying this method to the determination of the BEFFE-content is discussed.

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Benutzte Abkürzungen NPN Nichteiweißstickstoffverbindungen - ATM Acetontrockenmasse - BEFFE bindegewebseiweißfreies Fleischeiweiß - OH-Pro Hydroxyprolin - SDS Natrium(Sodium)-dodecylsulfat - ME 2-Mercapto-äthanol - Tris Tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminomethan - PAGE Polyacrylamid-Gelelektrophorese - Vk Variationskoeffizient - S Standardabweichung - Mittelwert Die Arbeit ist Teil der Dissertation von I. de WreedeWir danken der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft für ihre finanzielle Unterstützung und Herrn Dr. H. H. Heinert, Leiter des Staatl. Veterinär-Untersuchungsamtes Braunschweig, der freundlicherweise die Brühwurstproben zur Verfügung gestellt hat