Meshless Helmholtz-Hodge Decomposition

Vector fields analysis traditionally distinguishes conservative (curl-free) from mass preserving (divergence-free) components. The Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition allows separating any vector field into the sum of three uniquely defined components: curl free, divergence free and harmonic. This decomposition is usually achieved by using mesh-based methods such as finite differences or finite elements. This work presents a new meshless approach to the Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition for the analysis of 2D discrete vector fields. It embeds into the SPH particle-based framework. The proposed method is efficient and can be applied to extract features from a 2D discrete vector field and to multiphase fluid flow simulation to ensure incompressibility.     

Josef Bro?ek: The Spanish Connection.

Presents reflections on Josef Maria Bro?ek's contributions toward the development of psychology in the nation of Spain. The author recounts that Bro?ek became one of our most enthusiastic supporters and advisors. He also encouraged us to go ahead with the project of the Revista de Historia de la Psicologia, a journal on the history of psychology that we had created in 1980 at the University of Valencia. This journal, now entering its 25th year of existence, offers an average of 500 pages per year--in Spanish or English--devoted to its topic. It is the only living journal on the specialty published in Spanish, and it includes most of the world's specialists among its authors. From the very first issue, Bro?ek became a member of its advisory committee, and a Festschrift was published in his honor in 1984 (Revista de Historia de la Psicologia, Vol. 5, No. 1-2). This volume turned out to be a true international monograph on the history of psychology, as was only natural considering the many connections held by Bro?ek at the time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short communication: Identification of Corynebacterium bovis by MALDI-mass spectrometry

Corynebacterium bovis is a mastitis-causing microorganism responsible for economic losses related to decrease in milk production. The aim of the study was identify Corynebacterium spp. strains recovered from milk samples of subclinical mastitis by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). Samples were collected during a 10-mo mastitis-monitoring program in a high-production dairy farm. In this study, 80 strains were analyzed; from these 54 (67.5%) were identified at species level as Corynebacterium bovis, 24 (31.2%) isolates were identified at the genus level as Corynebacterium spp., and only 1 (1.35%) isolated had unreliable identification. Results demonstrated that MALDI-MS could be an important technique for the identification of Corynebacterium spp. in milk.     

Effect of processing conditions on some functional characteristics of extrusion‐cooked cassava starch/wheat gluten blends

Extrusion‐cooked blends of cassava starch (CS) and wheat gluten (WG) were studied. The data were analysed using response surface methodology. The results showed the formation of new structures characterised by lower radial expansion (RE) and specific volume (SV) when gluten was added to CS. WG content was the most important variable affecting RE, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), SV and difference in colour (ΔE) of the extruded products, but feed moisture content and barrel temperature also influenced RE. WAI was affected by a significant interaction between WG content and barrel temperature. The extruded products had lower WAI values and higher WSI values than WG‐free products. Heat, high shear rate and high pressure during extrusion cooking caused mechanical destruction or denaturation of the WG and gelatinisation and dextrinisation of the starch components. The extruded blends could have diverse applications. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

An adaptive constraint handling technique for?differential evolution with dynamic use of variants in?engineering optimization

Differential Evolution is a simple and efficient stochastic population-based heuristics for global optimization over continuous spaces. As with other nature inspired techniques, there is no provision for constraint handling in its original formulation, and a few possibilities have been proposed in the literature. In this paper an adaptive penalty technique (APM), which has been shown to be quite effective within genetic algorithms, is adopted for constraint handling within differential evolution. The technique, which requires no extra parameters, is based on feedback obtained from the current status of the population of candidate solutions, and automatically defines, for each constraint, its corresponding penalty coefficient. Equality as well as inequality constraints can be dealt with. In this paper we additionally introduce a mechanism for dynamically selecting the mutation operator, according to its performance, among several variants commonly used in the literature. In order to assess the applicability and performance of the proposed procedure, several test-problems from the structural and mechanical engineering optimization literature are considered.     

Mariano Yela-Granizo (1921–1994): Obituary.

Memorializes M. Yela-Granizo who was known for his tireless effort to promote a quantitative and rigorous science of psychology. He was a creator of a Department of Experimental Psychology at the Higher Council for Scientific Research, a founder of the Spanish Psychological Society, and a member of the International Union of Psychological Science Committee. Yela-Granizo furthered the factorial study of personality and individual differences. His work on the factorial structure of practical intelligence on verbal factors, and on mechanical and technical aptitudes is also noteworthy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hyperhomocysteinemia and polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate gene in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients

Hyperhomocysteinemia has been documented in chronic renal failure (CRF). Premature as well as progressive occlusive vascular disease is common. Mutations or polymorphisms in the gene of the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), as C677T, A1298C and G1793A, are associated with hyperhomocysteinemia and possibly with elevated risk for vascular diseases. This study was conducted on 89 individuals with renal failure on dialysis to determine the allelic and genotypic frequencies of the mutations in the MTHFR gene and hyperhomocysteinemia. Blood samples were colleted for determination of homocysteine and DNA. The C677T, A1298C and G1793A mutations were detected. This study confirmed the high prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in patients on dialysis, which was diagnosed in 76 patients (85.39%) and high incidence of the C677T and A1298C mutation, 42 (47.19%) and 29 (32.58%) patients, respectively. Five patients (5.62%) presented the G1793A mutation and hyperhomocysteinemia. The authors concluded that there was no influence of the polymorphisms on homocysteine levels in these patients.     

Analytical calculation of blocking probabilities in WDM rings with the first-fit algorithm

The estimation of blocking probabilities in optical path networks has been investigated mainly for the case in which wavelengths are chosen randomly among the available ones on a route. Even though algorithms that unbalance the load among wavelengths usually have a superior performance when compared with the random algorithm, the modeling complexity of these better-performance algorithms often limits their analytical analysis. This article proposes a per-wavelength plane blocking probability estimation for the first-fit algorithm in WDM rings with wavelength continuity constraint. Moreover, the estimation method allows the calculation of the probability distribution of the constellations of active wavelengths in the network links under the first-fit rule for a given blocking probability.