Evolutionary approach to development of collaborative teleconsultation system for imaging medicine

This paper presents an evolution of a modern collaborative teleconsultation system called TeleDICOM over the period of several years. We show how new features (required from a medical point of view) can be provided, which barriers have been identified, and how these factors influence the system's architecture. A turning point in the evolution of our system was the formulation of a new architecture, fully facilitating service-oriented architecture paradigm guidelines. We therefore show how the knowledge and experience gathered during utilization of previous versions of TeleDICOM positively stimulate procedures of service-based system decomposition and business processes definition.     

Application of a material fatigue damage model in 4PB tests

The fatigue property of an asphalt mix is an important issue in pavement design. This property is often determined with the aid of a four-point bending (4PB) test in controlled deflection mode. The fatigue property is related to the decrease in the calculated complex stiffness modulus, however, due to the non- homogenous stress and strain field in the beam, the measured response does not represent the stiffness modulus of the material but a weighted stiffness value. For a correct interpretation, a fatigue damage material model like the Asphalt Concrete Pavement-Fatigue model is needed. After integration, the calculated and measured responses are compared. By varying the model parameters, an excellent comparison between the two responses is obtained up to a certain number of cycles. This number of cycles is denoted as the fatigue life N _PH . The accumulated dissipated energy at the surface of the beam in the midsection can be expressed as a constant times the fatigue life N _PH to the power z and also as a constant times the product of the fatigue life N _PH and the initial dissipated energy in the first cycle. Using these two findings, a Wöhler curve was established similar to the one directly based on the strain amplitudes and fatigue life data.     

Poly(hydromethylsiloxane)-derived high internal phase emulsion-templated materials (polyHIPEs) containing palladium for catalytic applications

Journal of Materials Science - Cross-linking of poly(hydromethylsiloxane) (PHMS) with 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-1,3,5,7-tetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4Vi) in water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion...     

Fracture toughness characterisation of a glass fibre‐reinforced plastic composite

By examining the state of the art, it can be realised that few research works have been done on the fracture behaviour of plastic composites reinforced with continuous glass fibres. Therefore, the present paper deals with the fracture toughness of a unidirectional glass fibre‐reinforced plastic (GFRP), such a parameter being analytically determined by means of the modified two‐parameter model (MTPM). The input data of the MTPM are obtained from an experimental campaign related to three‐point bending tests on single edge‐notched specimens characterised by different sizes. The novelty of this research work is that the MTPM, originally proposed for isotropic materials, is here employed to estimate the fracture toughness of GFRPs characterised by orthotropic mechanical properties.     

Effect of elevated accumulation of iron in ferritin on the antioxidants content in soybean sprouts

Cultivation of soybean sprouts in abiotic stress conditions, resulted from the presence of 5–25?mM FeSO₄ in the culture media, causes a strong overexpression of ferritin. Accumulation of ferritin iron in sprouted seeds germinated in the 20?mM solution of FeSO₄ was 67 times higher than in sprouts germinated in distilled water. The cultivation conditions also influence on another antioxidant content—mainly β-carotene content, which increased 28 times (in sprouts cultured in 10?mM FeSO₄ solution) in comparison to the content in dry seeds. Obtained in stress conditions sprouted seeds contain less tocochromanoles than raw seeds. However, their total tocochromanol content was higher than in sprouted seeds cultured in distilled water in every examined concentration of Fe²⁺. A total antioxidant activity is increased only during culturing in 0–10?mM media, and it is positively correlated to the total phenolic compounds content (r?=?0.8498). We concluded that germination in high abiotic stress also causes the increase in different antioxidants content, not only in ferritin, which is directly involved in the process of iron detoxification.     

Analysis of indole compounds in edible Basidiomycota species after thermal processing

Methanolic extracts of processed fruiting bodies of six edible mushroom species (Basidiomycota) - Armillaria mellea, Boletus badius, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Lactarius deliciosus collected from natural habitats and Pleurotus ostreatus of commercial origin - were analysed for the presence of non-hallucinogenic indole compounds. Thermal processing was designed in such a way that it mimicked conditions used for cooking of mushroom dishes, since only a narrow group of mushrooms can be eaten raw, while indole compounds are thermolabile. All processed extracts were shown to contain l-tryptophan (up to 8.92 mg/100 g dw). The contents of the remaining compounds, 5-methyltryptophan, tryptamine, melatonin, indoleacetonitrile and indole, varied in different species (from 0.71 to 6.55 mg/100 g dw). Extract of processed C. cibarius fruiting bodies contained l-tryptophan, 5-methyltryptophan, tryptamine, melatonin, indoleacetonitrile and indole (1.96-4.94 mg/100 g dw) whereas l-tryptophan (2.78 mg/100 g dw) and tryptamine (2.77 mg/100 g dw) were the only indole compounds identified in the processed fruiting bodies of A. mellea.     

Wheat endosperm hardness. Part I. Relationships to colour of kernel cross-section

The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the measurement of wheat endosperm colour can be used to predict its hardness. The results indicate that there is no general (for all varieties) relationship between the colour of wheat endosperm and its hardness. Nevertheless, endosperm hardness tends to increase along with increasing values of b*, H and S attributes and decreasing values of a*. More promising results were obtained when the colour–hardness relationship was examined within a variety. In all cases, the results were statistically significant, but the endosperm hardnesses of Zyta, Rysa, Banti, Sakwa, and Mewa varieties were found to be more closely linked with the colour of the central part of the endosperm (r ranging from 0.53 to 0.76), whereas that of durum and Elena wheats were found to be more closely linked with the colour of the whole endosperm (r=0.70 and 0.57 respectively). It was observed that the varieties examined can be divided into three groups differing in the range of changes in hardness as a function of the b* attribute of endosperm colour. For group I (durum and Zyta), the rate of hardness increase was higher than that of group II (Rysa, Banti and Sakwa). The third group (Elena and Mewa) was characterised by the highest slope of hardness versus b*; however, it was well differentiated from group I by its low values for yellow.     

Odor active compounds content in spices and their microencapsulated powders measured by SPME

Within this study, main odorants of marjoram and thyme (linalool and thymol) were determined in spices and microencapsulated powders using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Analyses were conducted on selected batches of spices before and after decontamination and on microencapsulated powders prepared for technological purposes (improvement of aroma in decontaminated spices). Conditions of SPME analyses were determined for individual compounds and matrices. Determination of total and surface contents of compounds and the percentage dependencies between encapsulated and surface aroma made it possible to identify the best powders in terms of their quality.     

Organic whey as a source of Lactobacillus strains with selected technological and antimicrobial properties

Twenty‐five strains, isolated from raw, non‐pasteurised, organic whey samples, were identified phenotypically and genotypically. Biochemical tests were performed, and enzyme profiles, antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial properties were investigated. Sixteen strains were identified as genus Lactobacillus. Based on 16S rDNA gene sequence, the strains were identified as Lb. plantarum and Lb. fermentum. All of the strains had β‐galactosidase activity, and some of them reduced nitrate content. All strains utilised carbohydrates. The tested strains were characterised by low or average lipolytic and esterolytic activity. Moreover, the strains showed low proteolytic activity which is advantageous for their use as starter cultures for foods with low protein content. Strains Lb. fermentum S20, SM1, SM3, S2R and Lb. plantarum SM5 produced harmful N‐acetyl‐β‐glucosaminidase; moreover, the strain S20 produced also β‐glucuronidase. None of the strains produced α‐chymotrypsin. In phenotypic studies, most of the test strains were susceptible to gentamicin, ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, penicillin and erythromycin. Strains Lb. plantarum S1 and Lb. fermentum S4, S7, S8, S10, SM1 and SM3 did not possess any transfer resistance genes. Antagonistic activity of the culture LAB strains was assessed as high or moderate in relation to the indicator strains, with the greatest zones of inhibition for E.coli and the smallest for L. monocytogenes ATCC 15313. This study reveals that the LAB strains isolated from organic whey have high potential for food application. Some strains of species Lb. fermentum (S4, S7, S8, S10) have been identified as the best candidates.