Relationship between cavitation structures and cavitation damage

A study of visual and erosion effects of cavitation on simple single hydrofoil configurations in a cavitation tunnel was made. A two-dimensional hydrofoil with circular leading edge was used for the experiments. In addition, the hydrofoil geometry was modified to obtain some three-dimensional cavitation effects. A thin copper foil, applied to the surface of the hydrofoil, was used as an erosion sensor. Cavitation phenomenon above hydrofoils at different flow conditions (system pressure, water gas content) was observed. Images of vapour cavities from above and from side view were taken. A statistical evaluation of cavitation structures was made. Images of damaged copper coated hydrofoil surface were taken under sufficient magnification. A pit-count method, based on computer-aided image processing, was used for direct measurement of the cavitation erosion by evaluating the damage of the surface of the hydrofoil. A relation between characteristics of cavitation structures and cavitation damage was established.     

Correcting the axial shrinkage of skeletal muscle thick sections visualized by confocal microscopy

Confocal microscopy is a suitable method for measurements and visualization of skeletal muscle fibres and the neighbouring capillaries. When using 3D images of thick sections the tissue deformation effects should be avoided. We studied the deformation in thick sections of the rat skeletal muscle from complete stacks of images captured with confocal microscope. We measured the apparent thickness of the stacks and compared it to the slice thickness deduced from calibrated microtome settings. The ratio of both values yielded the axial scaling factor for every image stack. Careful sample preparation and treatment of the tissue cryosections with cold Ringer solution minimize the tissue deformation. We conclude that rescaling by the inverse of the axial scaling factor of the stack of optical slices in the direction of the microscope optical axis satisfactorily corrects the axial deformation of skeletal muscle samples.     

Phylogenetic Studies,Gene Cluster Analysis,and Enzymatic Reaction Support Anthrahydroquinone Reduction as the Physiological Function of Fungal 17β‐Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase

17β‐Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β‐HSDcl) from the filamentous fungus Curvularia lunata (teleomorph Cochliobolus lunatus) catalyzes NADP(H)‐dependent oxidoreductions of androgens and estrogens. Despite detailed biochemical and structural characterization of 17β‐HSDcl, its physiological function remains unknown. On the basis of amino acid sequence alignment, phylogenetic studies, and the recent identification of the physiological substrates of the homologous MdpC from Aspergillus nidulans and AflM from Aspergillus parasiticus, we propose an anthrahydroquinone as the physiological substrate of 17β‐HSDcl. This is also supported by our analysis of a secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene cluster in C. lunata m118, containing 17β‐HSDcl and ten other genes, including a polyketide synthase probably involved in emodin formation. Chemoenzymatic reduction of emodin by 17β‐HSDcl in the presence of sodium dithionite verified this hypothesis. On the basis of these results, the involvement of a 17β‐HSDcl in the biosynthesis of other anthrahydroquinone‐derived natural products is proposed; hence, 17β‐HSDcl should be more appropriately referred to as a polyhydroxyanthracene reductase (PHAR).     

Inductive logic programming for relational knowledge discovery

Inductive logic programming (ILP) is concerned with the induction of logic programs from examples and background knowledge. In ILP, the shift of attention from program synthesis to knowledge discovery resulted in advanced techniques that are practically applicable for discovering knowledge in relational databases. This paper gives a brief introduction to ILP, presents selected ILP techniques for relational knowledge discovery and reviews selected ILP applications. Nada Lavrač, Ph.D.: She is a senior research associate at the Department of Intelligent Systems, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia (since 1978) and a visiting professor at the Klagenfurt University, Austria (since 1987). Her main research interest is in machine learning, in particular inductive logic programming and intelligent data analysis in medicine. She received a BSc in Technical Mathematics and MSc in Computer Science from Ljubljana University, and a PhD in Technical Sciences from Maribor University, Slovenia. She is coauthor of KARDIO: A Study in Deep and Qualitative Knowledge for Expert Systems, The MIT Press 1989, and Inductive Logic Programming: Techniques and Applications, Ellis Horwood 1994, and coeditor of Intelligent Data Analysis in Medicine and Pharmacology, Kluwer 1997. She was the coordinator of the European Scientific Network in Inductive Logic Programming ILPNET (1993–1996) and program cochair of the 8th European Machine Learning Conference ECML’95, and 7th International Workshop on Inductive Logic Programming ILP’97. Sašo Džeroski, Ph.D.: He is a research associate at the Department of Intelligent Systems, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia (since 1989). He has held visiting researcher positions at the Turing Institute, Glasgow (UK), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), German National Research Center for Computer Science (GMD), Sankt Augustin (Germany) and the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion (Greece). His research interest is in machine learning and knowledge discovery in databases, in particular inductive logic programming and its applications and knowledge discovery in environmental databases. He is co-author of Inductive Logic Programming: Techniques and Applications, Ellis Horwood 1994. He is the scientific coordinator of ILPnet2, The Network of Excellence in Inductive Logic Programming. He was program co-chair of the 7th International Workshop on Inductive Logic Programming ILP’97 and will be program co-chair of the 16th International Conference on Machine Learning ICML’99. Masayuki Numao, Ph.D.: He is an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology. He received a bachelor of engineering in electrical and electronics engineering in 1982 and his Ph.D. in computer science in 1987 from Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was a visiting scholar at CSLI, Stanford University from 1989 to 1990. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Global Intelligence and Machine Learning. Numao is a member of Information Processing Society of Japan, Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, Japanese Cognitive Science Society, Japan Society for Software Science and Technology and AAAI.     

Size effect on the concrete cone pull-out load

In the present paper the failure mechanism and size effect of the concrete cone resistance is reviewed and studied. The influence of material and geometrical parameters on the failure mode and size effect is investigated. In the numerical studies the smeared crack finite element analysis, based on the microplane material model for concrete, was used. Both, experimental and numerical results show that there is a strong size effect on the nominal concrete cone pull-out strength. It is demonstrated that besides the embedment depth the scaling of the head of the stud as well as the scaling of the concrete member influence the nominal strength. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Road lighting energy-saving system based on wireless sensor network

An intelligent wireless sensor network that is designed to save road lighting energy, while maintaining traffic safety, is presented. It consists of an array of nodes that may be installed on both sides of the road, being mutually separated by a few tens to a few hundreds of meters. Each node consists of (i) vehicle detection subsystem, (ii) wireless communications and control subsystem for message exchange between the neighboring nodes, and (iii) lighting subsystem. During the day, nodes are inactive, while during the night, they turn to an active mode enabling detection of passing vehicles and timely activation of road lighting. Upon detection of a passing vehicle, the node generates a wireless message. Neighboring nodes that receive the wireless message will turn on their road lighting. In order to prevent driver distraction, each lamp will be turned on at a safe distance ahead of the moving vehicle. In order to improve energy efficiency, the lights will be dimmed or turned off behind the passing vehicle. The proposed road lighting energy-saving (RLES) system, which combines advanced sensor and wireless communication technologies, is suitable for implementation both with existing high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps and new light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Our analysis shows that the RLES system will pay off in less than a year when used with HID lamps, while pay-back period is less than two and a half years when used with LEDs.     

Realisation barriers in energy efficiency projects in Croatian public buildings: a critic overview and proposals

This paper discusses in detail specific barriers to establishing energy efficiency policies in Croatian public buildings that affect the realisation of energy efficiency projects. Barriers were discovered after years of collaboration with public institutions in Croatia, especially at a local level. Although the information presented in this paper relates specifically to the geographical areas of Splitsko- Dalmatinska and Dubrovacko-Neretvanska counties in Croatia, the research can be generalised to the country as a whole. The paper also analyses the important role of the United Nations Development Programme in encouraging proactive energy efficiency policies in public buildings in Croatia. Finally, a new organisational framework is proposed to eliminate existing barriers and to establish a system which will lead to the effective realisation of energy efficiency projects in buildings. The research presented in this paper should also be useful to countries facing similar barriers to energy investments.     

Effect of Tensile Loading and Temperature on the Hydrogen Solubility of Steels at High Gas Pressure

The hydrogen solubility in ferritic and martensitic steels is affected by hydrostatic stress, pressure, and temperature. In general, compressive stresses decrease but tensile stresses increase the hydrogen solubility. This important aspect must be considered when qualifying materials for high-pressure hydrogen applications (e.g., for pipelines or tanks) by using autoclave systems. In this work, a pressure equivalent for compensating the effect of compressive stresses on the hydrogen solubility inside of closed autoclaves is proposed to achieve solubilities that are equivalent to those in pipelines and tanks subjected to tensile stresses. Moreover, it is shown that the temperature effect becomes critical at low temperatures (e.g., under cryogenic conditions for storing liquid hydrogen). Trapping of hydrogen in the microstructure can increase the hydrogen solubility with decreasing temperature, having a solubility minimum at about room temperature. To demonstrate this effect, the generalized law of the hydrogen solubility is parameterized for different steels using measured contents of gaseous hydrogen. The constant parameter sets are verified and critically discussed with respect to the high-pressure hydrogen experiments.     

50 Years of Progress in Quality of Malting Barley Grown in the Czech Republic

This paper summarizes the results of study of malting and agronomic characteristics of barley varieties grown in the territory of the Czech Republic over the period 1955–2005. Mean year‐on‐year increase in the grain yield was 53 kg/ha. Mean increase in TGW was 0.177 g/year over the studied period. Accumulation of protein in the studied varieties declined ca by 12%. Varieties from the beginning of the 21st century displayed a 4% higher extract content than those grown in the second half of the 1950s. Mean year‐on‐year increase in extract (d.m.) was a 0.0641 percentage point. By the end of the 1970s most of the varieties achieved values of diastatic power higher than 300°WK. In the 1970s to 1980s, diastatic power declined to under the level of 300°WK. In the 2nd half of the 1990s and at the beginning of this century, activity of amylolytic enzymes increased considerably in some modern varieties and values of diastatic power frequently moved over 350°WK. Activity of proteolytic enzymes increased by 6%. Mean year‐on‐year increase in Kolbach index was a 0.1456 percentage point. Value of relative extract at 45°C increased by 3%. Mean year‐on‐year increase in relative extract at 45°C was a 0.0645 percentage point over the studied period. Value of the apparent final attenuation, a trait characterizing quality of wort composition, increased by 3%. Mean inter‐year increase in apparent final attenuation was a 0.0756 percentage point.