On sorting triangles in a delaunay tessellation

In a two-dimensional Delaunay-triangulated domain, there exists a partial ordering of the triangles (with respect to a vertex) that is consistent with the two-dimensional visibility of the triangles from that vertex. An equivalent statement is that a polygon that is star-shaped with respect to a given vertex can be extended, one triangle at a time, until it includes the entire domain. Arbitrary planar triangulations do not possess this useful property which allows incremental processing of the triangles.This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation's US-Italy Collaborative Research Program under Grant INT-8714578 and Information, Robotics, and Intelligent Research Grant IRI-8704781.     

Peracetic acid pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse for enzymatic hydrolysis: a continued work

Previous work has shown that the enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse could be greatly enhanced by peracetic acid (PAA) pretreatment. There are several factors affecting the enzymatic digestibility of the biomass, including lignin and hemicelluloses content, cellulose crystallinity, acetyl group content, accessible surface area and so on. The objective of this work is to analyze the mechanism of the enhancement of enzymatic digestibility caused by PAA pretreatment. Delignification resulted in an increase of the surface area and reduction of the irreversible absorption of cellulase, which helped to increase the enzymatic digestibility. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum showed that the absorption peaks of aromatic skeletal vibrations were weakened or disappeared after PAA pretreatment. However, the infrared crystallization index (N.O'KI) was increased. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the crystallinity of PAA‐treated samples was increased owing to the partial removal of amorphous lignin and hemicelluloses and probable physical change of cellulose. The effect of acetyl group content on enzymatic digestibility is negligible compared with the degree of delignification and crystallinity. The results indicate that enhancement of enzymatic digestibility of sugarcane bagasse by PAA pretreatment is achieved mainly by delignification and an increase in the surface area and exposure of cellulose fibers. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of Digitally Encoded Layer‐by‐layer Coated Microparticles as Cell Carriers

To obtain more biologically relevant data there is a growing interest in the use of living cells for assaying the biological activity of unknown chemical compounds. Density ‘multiplex’ cell‐based assays, where different cell types are mixed in one well and simultaneously investigated upon exposure to a certain compound are beginning to emerge. To be able to identify the cells they should be attached to microscopic carriers that are encoded. This paper investigates how digitally encoded microparticles can be loaded with cells while keeping the digital code in the microcarriers readable. It turns out that coating the surface of the encoded microcarriers with polyelectrolytes using the layer‐by‐layer (LbL) approach provides the microcarriers with a ‘highly functional’ surface. The polyelectrolyte layer allows the growth of the cells, allows the orientation of the cell loaded microcarriers in a magnetic field, and does not hamper the reading of the code. It has further been shown that the cells growing on the polyelectrolyte layer can become transduced by adenoviral particles hosted by the polyelectrolyte layer. It is concluded that the digitally encoded microparticles are promising materials for use in biomedical and pharmaceutical in‐vitro research where cells are used as tools.     

Inorganic–organic hybrid materials with zirconium oxoclusters as protective coatings on aluminium alloys

Inorganic–organic hybrid materials are attracting a strong scientific interest mainly for their outstanding inherent mechanical and thermal properties, which can be traced back to the intimate coupling of both inorganic and organic components. By carefully choosing the experimental parameters used for their synthesis, chemically and thermally stable acrylate-based hybrid material embedding the zirconium oxocluster Zr₄O₄(OMc)₁₂, where OMcCH₂C(CH₃)C(O)O, can be deposited as UV-cured films on aluminium alloys.

In particular, the molar ratios between the oxocluster and the monomer, the polymerisation time, the amount of photo-initiator and the deposition conditions, by using an home-made spray-coating equipment, were optimised in order to obtain the best performing layers in terms of transparency and hardness to coat aluminium alloy (AA1050, AA6060 and AA2024) sheets. Furthermore, it was also evaluated whether the hybrid coatings behave as barrier to corrosion.

Several coated samples were prepared and characterised. Environmental scanning electronic microscopy (ESEM) and scratch test were used to investigate the morphology of the films and to evaluate their scratch resistance, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was performed in order to evaluate if the coatings actually protect the metallic substrate from corrosion.

In order to measure shear storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of the materials used for coatings, bulk samples were also obtained by UV-curing of the precursors solution. Dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) was performed in shear mode on cured disks of both the hybrid materials and pristine polymer for comparison. The values of T_g were read off as the temperatures of peak of loss modulus. The length and mass of all the samples were measured before and after the DMTA analysis, so that the shrinkage of the materials in that temperature range was exactly evaluated.     

From Long Infrared to Very Long Infrared Wavelength Focal Plane Arrays Made with HgCdTe n + n ?/ p Ion Implantation Technology

This paper aims at studying the feasibility of very long infrared wavelength (VLWIR) (12–18 μm) focal plane arrays using n-on-p planar ion-implanted technology. To explore and analyze the feasibility of such VLWIR detectors, a set of four Cd _x Hg_1−x Te LPE layers with an 18 μ cutoff at 50 K has been processed at Defir (LETI/LIR–Sofradir joint laboratory), using both our “standard” n-on-p process and our improved low dark current process. Several 320 × 256 arrays, 30-μm pitch, have been hybridized on standard Sofradir readout circuits and tested. Small dimension test arrays characterization is also presented. Measured photonic currents with a 20°C black body suggest an internal quantum efficiency above 50%. Typical I(V) curves and thermal evolution of the saturation current are discussed, showing that standard photodiodes remain diffusion limited at low biases for temperatures down to 30 K. Moreover, the dark current gain brought by the improved process is clearly visible for temperatures higher than 40 K. Noise measurements are also discussed showing that a very large majority of detectors appeared background limited under usual illumination and biases. In our opinion, such results demonstrate the feasibility of high-performance complex focal plane arrays in the VLWIR range at medium term.     

The impact of roasting on the ochratoxin A content of coffee

Roasting coffee led to a drop in the ochratoxin A (OTA) concentration, as measured by the reference method, especially for dark type roasts. The way the beverage was prepared also affected the OTA content, which could paradoxically be higher than that of the initial roasted coffee. Assays on the thermal stability of pure OTA showed that it ought to be found in larger quantities in roasted coffee. This suggested that OTA was masked by reactions with the substrate during roasting. The absence of OTA in green coffee is therefore the best guarantee of safety.     

A review on queueing network models with finite capacity queues for software architectures performance prediction

A review is carried out on how queueing network models with blocking have been applied so far into the performance evaluation and prediction of Software Architectures (SA). Queueing network models with finite capacity queues and blocking have recently been introduced and applied as more realistic models of systems with finite capacity resources and population constraints. Queueing network models have been often adopted as models for the evaluation of software performance. Starting from our own experience, we observe the need of a more accurate definition of the performance models of SA to capture some features of the communication systems. We consider queueing networks with finite capacity and blocking after service (BAS) to represent some synchronization constraints that cannot be easily modeled with queueing network models with infinite capacity queues. We investigate the use of queueing networks with blocking as performance models of SA with concurrent components and synchronous communication. Queueing theoretic analysis is used to solve the queueing network model and study the synchronous communication and performance of concurrent software components. Our experience is supported by other approaches that also propose the use of queueing networks with blocking. Directions for future research work in the field are included.     

Cooling of cylindrical vertical tanks submitted to natural internal convection

A numerical and an experimental analysis of velocity and temperature fields inside a storage tank submitted to natural convection is presented. The analysis was performed in two stages. In the first stage, the temperature profile along the vertical axis of the storage tank was obtained experimentally and numerically, for cooling time ranging from 45 to 60 h. The numerical analysis was carried out using a transient bi-dimensional model in cylindrical co-ordinates. In the second stage, after the numerical code validation, 40 cases of cooling with four aspect ratios, five insulation thicknesses, and two different volumes were simulated. In all simulations, thermal losses for the environment in all tank walls (side, top and bottom) were considered. Two correlations for the Nusselt number, encompassing all the forty cases, were obtained with these results.