Parallel Light Speed Labeling: an efficient connected component algorithm for labeling and analysis on multi-core processors

In the last decade, many papers have been published to present sequential connected component labeling (CCL) algorithms. As modern processors are multi-core and tend to many cores, designing a CCL algorithm should address parallelism and multithreading. After a review of sequential CCL algorithms and a study of their variations, this paper presents the parallel version of the Light Speed Labeling for connected component analysis (CCA) and compares it to our parallelized implementations of State-of-the-Art sequential algorithms. We provide some benchmarks that help to figure out the intrinsic differences between these parallel algorithms. We show that thanks to its run-based processing, the LSL is intrinsically more efficient and faster than all pixel-based algorithms. We show also, that all the pixel-based are memory-bound on multi-socket machines and so are inefficient and do not scale, whereas LSL, thanks to its RLE compression can scale on such high-end machines. On a 4 × 15-core machine, and for 8192 × 8192 images, LSL outperforms its best competitor by a factor ×10.8 and achieves a throughput of 42.4 gigapixel labeled per second.     

Ethanol extraction of soybean oil

Extraction of soybean flakes with 90, 95, 98 and 100% ethanol resulted in more rapid lipid and less rapid non-lipid removal with the increasing ethanol concentrations. There was little difference in the quality of the oil produced by the different solvents. Protein content of the residual meal averaged 52.1%.     

The extraction of wheat germs,milkweed seeds,and cottonseed by trichloroethylene

Summary Specific gravity-concentration data have been determined for wheat germ oil, milkweed seed oil, and cottonseed oil miscellas where trichloroethylene is used as a solvent. Extraction rate data at two temperatures and pilot plant runs on wheat germs, cottonseed, cottonseed meats, and milkweed seeds indicate increasing extraction time in the order given.     

Role of vanadium oxide on the lithium silicate glass structure and properties

The structural role of V in 28Li₂O–72SiO₂ (in mol%) lithium silicate glass doped with 0.5 mol% V₂O₅ was assessed using ²⁹Si and ⁵¹V Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy techniques. Despite the low amount of V₂O₅ used, the structural information obtained or deduced from the statistical analysis of the NMR data could explain the evolution of glass properties after V₂O₅ addition. The XPS results indicated that all vanadium exists in 5+ oxidation state. Both the ²⁹Si NMR and FTIR data point toward an increase in the polymerization of the silicate network, caused by the V₂O₅ acting as network former, capable to form various tetrahedral units (for n = 0, 1, and 2) in the glasses. These units, which are similar to phosphate units, scavenge the Li⁺ ions and cause the silicate network to polymerize. However, in an overall balance, the entire glass network is depolymerized due to the additional nonbridging oxygens contributed by the vanadium polyhedra. The addition of vanadium causes the network to expand and increases the ionic conductivity.     

Sputtered Titanium Carbide Thick Film for High Areal Energy on Chip Carbon‐Based Micro‐Supercapacitors

The areal energy density of on‐chip micro‐supercapacitors should be improved in order to obtain autonomous smart miniaturized sensors. To reach this goal, high surface capacitance electrode (>100 mF cm^?2) has to be produced while keeping low the footprint area. For carbide‐derived carbon (CDC) micro‐supercapacitors, the properties of the metal carbide precursor have to be fine‐tuned to fabricate thick electrodes. The ad‐atoms diffusion process and atomic peening effect occurring during the titanium carbide sputtering process are shown to be the key parameters to produce low stress, highly conductive, and thick TiC films. The sputtered TiC at 10^?3 mbar exhibits a high stress level, limiting the thickness of the TiC‐CDC electrode to 1.5 µm with an areal capacitance that is less than 55 mF cm^?2 in aqueous electrolyte. The pressure increase up to 10^?2 mbar induces a clear reduction of the stress level while the layer thickness increases without any degradation of the TiC electronic conductivity. The volumetric capacitance of the TiC‐CDC electrodes is equal to 350 F cm^?3 regardless of the level of pressure. High values of areal capacitance (>100 mF cm^?2) are achieved, whereas the TiC layer is relatively thick, which paves the way toward high‐performance micro‐supercapacitors.     

Double synchronized switch harvesting (DSSH): a new energy harvesting scheme for efficient energy extraction

This paper presents a new technique for optimized energy harvesting using piezoelectric microgenerators called double synchronized switch harvesting (DSSH). This technique consists of a nonlinear treatment of the output voltage of the piezoelectric element. It also integrates an intermediate switching stage that ensures an optimal harvested power whatever the load connected to the microgenerator. Theoretical developments are presented considering either constant vibration magnitude, constant driving force, or independent extraction. Then experimental measurements are carried out to validate the theoretical predictions. This technique exhibits a constant output power for a wide range of load connected to the microgenerator. In addition, the extracted power obtained using such a technique allows a gain up to 500% in terms of maximal power output compared with the standard energy harvesting method. It is also shown that such a technique allows a fine-tuning of the trade-off between vibration damping and energy harvesting.     

Materials Science in the Developing World: Challenges and Perspectives for Africa

“Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu or botho. It means the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humanness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and roughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together” (Desmond Tutu)     

Implementing polarization shift keying over satellite – system design and measurement results

Polarization shift keying (PolSK) is a digital modulation technique using the state of polarization of an electromagnetic wave as the signalling quantity. PolSK comes from fibre communications, where the channel offers two orthogonal states of polarization. This article develops on the idea to adapt this technology to satellite communications, where similar channel conditions exist. For this purpose, a digital PolSK modem was implemented on a programmable logic board. A proposal for constellation design as well as thoughts on synchronization of PolSK over satellite is presented. The modem was used to demonstrate a 16‐state Polarization Shift Keying link over a commercial satellite in K_u band. Measurements have been conducted in a back‐to‐back setup on intermediate frequency and on a K_u band transponder simulator to assess the impact of path‐length differences, carrier recovery and non‐linearity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

G-quadruplex recognition by quinacridines: a SAR, NMR, and biological study

The synthesis of a novel group of quinacridine-based ligands (MMQs) is described along with an evaluation of their G-quadruplex binding properties. A set of biophysical assays was applied to characterize their interaction with DNA quadruplexes: FRET-melting experiments and equilibrium microdialysis were used to evaluate their quadruplex affinity and their ability to discriminate quadruplexes across a broad panel of DNA structures. All data collected support the proposed model of interaction of these compounds with G-quadruplexes, which is furthermore confirmed by a solution structure determined by 2D NMR experiments. Finally, the activity of the MMQ series against tumor cell growth is reported, and the data support the potential of quadruplex-interactive compounds for use in anticancer approaches.