Tracing the equilibrium path beyond simple critical points

A unified presentation of some popular continuation procedures used in the non-linear finite element analysis of structural mechanics is introduced. An extension of the elliptical constraint equation proposed by Crisfield is given. It is shown that in the proposed procedure real roots can always be obtained in solving the iterative change of the load parameter. Updated weighting factors are introduced in the constraint equation in order to get better convergence characteristics in the case when localized deformations occur. For bifurcation points a modification of Rheinboldt's branching procedure is presented. Post critical response after limit and bifurcation points is determined in some numerical examples.     

A component framework for system modeling based on high-level replacement systems

The aim of this paper is to present a generic component framework for system modeling that satisfies main requirements for component-based development in software engineering. In this sense, we have defined a framework that can be used, by providing an adequate instantiation, in connection with a large class of semi-formal and formal modeling techniques. Moreover, the framework is also flexible with respect to the connection of components, providing a compositional semantics of components. This means more precisely that the semantics of a system can be inferred from the semantics of its components. In contrast to other component concepts for data type specification techniques, our component framework is based on a generic notion of transformations. In particular, refinements and transformations are used to express intradependencies, between the export interface and the body of a component, and interdependencies, between the import and the export interfaces of different components. The generic component framework generalizes module concepts for different kinds of Petri nets and graph transformation systems proposed in the literature, and seems to be also suitable for visual modeling techniques, including parts of the UML, if these techniques provide a suitable refinement or transformation concept. In this paper the generic approach is instantiated in two steps. First to high-level replacement systems generalizing the transformation concept of graph transformations. In a second step it is further instantiated to low-level and high-level Petri nets. To show applicability we present sample components from a case study in the domain of production automation as proposed in a priority program of the German Research Council (DFG).     

Inhibition of protein and lipid oxidation by rapeseed, camelina and soy meal in cooked pork meat patties

In this study protein-containing by-products of deoiling processes rich in phenolics were applied to meat to be used as potential food ingredients in developing meat products with antioxidant effect. The effect of rapeseed meal (Brassica rapa L.), camelina meal (Camelina sativa), soy meal and soy flour (from soybean, Glycene max L.), in inhibiting oxidation of lipids and proteins was tested in cooked pork meat patties. A commercial CO₂ extract from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) was used as a reference material alone and in combination with the other plant materials. The cooked pork meat with added plant materials was oxidized for 10 days at 5 °C under light. The oxidation was followed by measuring the formation of hexanal, pentanal and propanal by headspace gas chromatography and the formation of protein carbonyls by converting them to 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones (DNPH). Rapeseed meal (0.5 and 0.7 g/100 g meat) and camelina meal (0.7 g/100 g meat) as such and their combination (addition of 0.5 g/100 g) with rosemary extract (0.04 g/100 g) were effective antioxidants toward both protein and lipid oxidation while soy meal and flour were effective only in combination with rosemary extract.     

Enhancement Factor for Water Vapor–Pressure Correction in Humid Methane

Energy gases are mainly composed of methane, and they are dried prior to pumping to natural gas grids. To avoid condensation of water-vapor related problems, the dew-point temperature is monitored. In dew-point temperature measurements, however, the water-vapor enhancement factor is needed to correct effects caused by pressure changes and to enable unit conversions when using instruments based on indirect measurement principles. In the work reported in this paper, new experiments were carried out, and methane–water equilibrium data available in the literature were analyzed for deriving a new equation. The derived equation provides an easy calculation method for the water-vapor enhancement factor in methane as a function of pressure and dew-point temperature. An uncertainty analysis for the equation is also presented covering the whole studied pressure ranging from atmospheric pressure up to 7 MPa, and the dew-point temperature ranges from +20 \(^{\circ }\) C down to hydrate forming temperatures.     

Tissue biocompatibility of new biodegradable drug-eluting stent materials

Drug-eluting stents are a recent innovation for endovascular and endourethral purposes. The aim of this study was to assess the biocompatibility of new biodegradable drug-eluting stent materials in vivo. Rods made of SR-PLDLA (self-reinforced poly-96l,4d-lactic acid) covered with P(50l/50d)LA and rods made of 96l/4D SR-PLA and covered with P(50l/50d)LA including indomethacin 3.3 μg/mm² or dexamethasone 1.5 μg/mm², were inserted into the dorsal muscles of 20 rabbits serving as test animals. Rods made of silicone and organotin-positive polyvinylchloride were used as negative and positive controls. The animals were sacrificed after 1 week, 1 month, 2 months or 4 months. Histological changes attributable to the operative trauma were seen in all specimens at 1 week and 1 month. At 2 months both dexamethasone and indomethacin induced less fibrosis than the plain SR-PLDLA covered with P(50l/50d)LA without drug. At 4 months dexamethasone induced both chronic inflammatory changes and foreign body reaction, whereas the reactions in the indomethacin and drug-free plain SR-PLDLA groups were insignificant. The new biodegradable drug-eluting stent materials are highly biocompatible. Drug-eluting biodegradable stents may offer a promising new treatment modality for vascular and urethral diseases. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate their feasibility and efficacy.     

Quantitative analysis of the main phenolics in rapeseed meal and oils processed differently using enzymatic hydrolysis and HPLC

Rapeseed meal is the dry residue of the rapeseed de-oiling process. It contains more phenolic compounds than any other oilseed meal. In analysis, rapeseed phenolic esters, mainly sinapine, are usually hydrolyzed to free phenolic acids, because sinapine is not available as a commercial standard. In this study, the efficiencies of different enzymes and enzyme preparations in hydrolyzing sinapine to sinapic acid were explored. The main phenolics in rapeseed meal were sinapine and sinapic acid. In rapeseed oil, the main phenolics were vinylsyringol, sinapine and sinapic acid. In hydrolyzing rapeseed meal, ferulic acid esterase and Ultraflo L were as effective in hydrolyzing sinapine as sodium hydroxide. Over 90% of sinapic acid derivatives were hydrolyzed to yield sinapic acid. Compared to base hydrolysis, enzyme treatment was not only as efficient but also less destructive to the liberated phenolics. Thus, enzymatic hydrolysis is a recommended procedure for optimal analysis of rapeseed phenolics. In rapeseed oils, hydrolysis was best applied in crude post-expelled rapeseed oils with high phenolic content.     

Virtual reality in posturography.

Balance dysfunctions are common, especially among elderly people. Present methods for the diagnosis and evaluation of severity of dysfuntion have limited value. We present a system that makes it easy to implement different visual and mechanical perturbations for clinical investigations of balance and visual-vestibular interaction. The system combines virtual reality visual stimulation with force platform posturography on a moving platform. We evaluate our contruction's utility in a classification task between 33 healthy controls and 77 patients with Ménière's disease, using a series of tests with different visual and mechanical stimuli. Responses of patients and controls differ significantly in parameters computed from stabilograms. We also show that the series of tests achieves a classification accuracy slightly over 80% between controls and patients.