MASS TRANSFER MODEL BUILDING IN DRYING

The objective of much experimentation in drying is to build or discover a suitable model for a drying system. In this study, an attempt is made to formulate an approach to the problem of iteratively improving models, guided by the inefficiences of an initial tested model. This model involved both moisture diffusion coefficient and external mass transfer coefficient A statistical analysis was applied to the residual populations created by fitting a model to the experimental data, so as to exhibit possible model inadequacies. Inspection of the tendencies produced. suggested what modifications were necessary for improvement. The cycle was repeated until an adequate model was found.     

Stenosis of Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis in the tricuspid position caused by adhesion of native valve cusps to the bioprosthesis

We experienced a case of dysfunction of Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis in the tricuspid position. Explanted bioprosthesis showed overgrowth of neointima from ring to cusps and adhesion to remnants of native cusps. This restricted the motion of the pericardial leaflets resulting in orifice stenosis. Care must be taken in such valve replacement by this prosthesis leaving native valve tissue.     

DRYING KINETICS OF ONION AND GREEN PEPPER

Drying kinetics were examined by introducing one-parameter empirical mass aansfer model, where the characteristic parameter (drying constant), is a function of process variables. The model was tested with data produced in an experimental through dryer, using direct regression analysis. Investigation involved two vegetables (namely, green pepper and onion) and a wide range of characteristic dimensions of samples and air conditions (temperature, humidity, and velocity). The parameters of the model considered were found to be greatly affected by sample characteristic dimension and air temperature.     

Computer-aided tumor detection in endoscopic video using color wavelet features

We present an approach to the detection of tumors in colonoscopic video. It is based on a new color feature extraction scheme to represent the different regions in the frame sequence. This scheme is built on the wavelet decomposition. The features named as color wavelet covariance (CWC) are based on the covariances of second-order textural measures and an optimum subset of them is proposed after the application of a selection algorithm. The proposed approach is supported by a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) procedure for the characterization of the image regions along the video frames. The whole methodology has been applied on real data sets of color colonoscopic videos. The performance in the detection of abnormal colonic regions corresponding to adenomatous polyps has been estimated high, reaching 97% specificity and 90% sensitivity.     

An evaluation of the role of radiation and nonradiation factors in the development of lung cancer in workers at a radiochemical enterprise (1)

A case-control study using logistic regression included 500 employees of the nuclear works (162 patients with lung carcinoma and 338 healthy controls). After examination of radiation and nonradiation causative factors 5 proved statistically significant. For them the following chance proportions were obtained: smoking 6.6, plutonium pneumosclerosis 4.6, plutonium incorporation 3.1, chronic nonspecific pulmonary diseases 2.1, external gamma-radiation 1.6. Attributive risk for the total of the radiation factors makes up 25% at the most while of the nonradiation factors at least 70%.     

A real-time FPGA architecture for 3D reconstruction from integral images

In this paper, we present a hardware architecture for real-time three-dimensional (3D) surface model reconstruction from Integral Images (InIms). The proposed parallel digital system realizes a number of computational-heavy calculations in order to achieve real-time operation. The processing elements are deployed in a systolic architecture and operate on multiple image areas simultaneously. Moreover, memory organization allows random access to image data and copes with the increased processing throughput of the system. Operating results reveal that the proposed architecture is able to process 3D data at a real-time rate. The proposed system can handle large sized InIms in real time and outputs 3D scenes of enhanced depth and detailed texture, which apply to emerging 3D applications.     

Report of a case with re-mitral valve replacement for Bj?rk-Shiley Delrin disc valve prosthesis--disc wear of the Delrin disc 20 years after implantation

We reported a patient in whom slight congestive heart failure gradually developed 20 years after mitral valve replacement with a Delrin disc Bj?rk-Shiley valve prosthesis. Although no evident cause of prosthetic valve malfunction could be detected preoperatively, the mitral prosthesis was excised and replaced uneventfully with a 29 mm St. Jude Medical valve prosthesis. At gross inspection, marked wears of the Delrin disc surface and strut shaped indentations were present. These disc variance, occurred much earlier than initially predicted by Dr. Bj?rk, allowed prosthetic valve malfunction. The patient with this specific model should be carefully followed-up, if necessary, performed reoperation.     

PEEL ADHESION PROPERTIES OF AIR-DRIED PHARMACEUTICAL PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE

ABSTRACT

The performance of a pharmaceutical pressure sensitive adhesive, whose liquid formulation is based on a multicomponent mixture of solvents, has been examined during two peel adhesion types of tests (90° dynamic adhesive strength peel test and 180° release liner peel test). The experiments were carried out under various drying temperatures, initial coating thickness, and types of backing film and release liner. The results show that the peel force depends mainly on the dry film weight of the tested adhesive. The type of the backing film which is used to form the adhesive also affects its peel adhesion properties.