Extension of tabled 0L-systems and languages

This paper introduces a new family of languages which originated from a study of some mathematical models for the development of biological organisms. Various properties of this family are established and in particular it is proved that it forms a full abstract family of languages. It is compared with some other families of languages which have already been studied and which either originated from the study of models for biological development or belong to the now standard Chomsky hierarchy. A characterization theorem for context-free languages is also established.This research has been supported by NSF Grant GJ 998.     

Membrane Systems with Marked Membranes

Membrane computing is a biologically inspired computational paradigm. Motivated by brane calculi we investigate membrane systems which differ from conventional membrane systems by the following features: (1) biomolecules (proteins) can move through the regions of the systems, and can attach onto (and de-attach from) membranes, and (2) membranes can evolve depending on the attached molecules. The evolution of membranes is performed by using rules that are motivated by the operation of pinocytosis (the pino rule) and the operation of cellular dripping (the drip rule) that take place in living cells. We show that such membrane systems are computationally universal. We also show that if only the second feature is used then one can generate at least the family of Parikh images of the languages generated by programmed grammars without appearance checking (which contains non-semilinear sets of vectors). If, moreover, the use of pino/drip rules is non-cooperative (i.e., not dependent on the proteins attached to membranes), then one generates a family of sets of vectors that is strictly included in the family of semilinear sets of vectors. We also consider a number of decision problems concerning reachability of configurations and boundness.     

Contrast Restoration by Adaptive Countershading

The ABSTRACT is to be in fully-justified italicized text, between two horizontal lines, in one-column format, below the author and affiliation information. Use the word “Abstract” as the title, in 9-point Times, boldface type, left-aligned to the text, initially capitalized. The abstract is to be in 9-point, single-spaced type. The abstract may be up to 3 inches (7.62 cm) long. Leave one blank line after the abstract, then add the subject categories according to the ACM Classification Index (see http://www.acm.org/class/1998/ ).     

The Particle Image Velocimetry Experimental Study of Flame Extinction in Standard Square Flammability Column Resulting From Stretching

The main goal of this work is to determine experimentally local stretching rate distribution along the limits of methane/air and propane/air flames, using particle image velocimetry (PIV). This method allows obtaining necessary moving flame velocity fields in a standard flammability column and also recognition of the flame structures. For this purpose each mixture was seeded with MgO particles (of known size) before entering the tube (column), using a special system. The amount of seeds in the mixture, their dispersion system, and the laser power producing a sheet of light penetrating the column were carefully chosen (so as not to disrupt the combustion or flame propagation in it). After a learning process, this finally it allowed us obtain good-quality velocity field images in the region of concern, images acceptable for further processing. The methodology developed for these experiments proved to be reliable and able to supply analyses with repeatable data. On the basis of performed experiments it was possible to derive the flame stretching rate that causes its extinction in both mixtures.     

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene)/(hexafluoropropylene) coatings for mitigating the corrosion of steel in a simulated geothermal environment

Study focused on investigating the usefulness of room temperature-curable poly(tetrafluoroethylene)/(hexafluoropropylene) as a polyfluorocarbon coating for mitigating corrosion of carbon steel in a simulated geothermal environment. Coated steel panels were exposed for up to 20 days in an autoclave containing 20,000 ppm CO₂-laden 13 wt.% NaCl solution at 200°C. The appearance of the coatings after 20 days exposure revealed that they adequately protected the underlying steel substrate against corrosion in this short-term exposure. However, the superficial layer of coating suffered hydrothermal oxidation, leading to conformational transformation of the fluorocarbon structure into a fragmental fluorocarboxylic acid derivative as the oxidation reaction product. This transformation generated three undesirable features: (1) an increase in the susceptibility of the coating surfaces to moisture; (2) a decline in the thermal stability of the coatings; (3) a reduction of the crystallinity of the polymer.     

Direct identification of the linear block in Wiener system

In the paper, the linear component of the Wiener system is identified under poor knowledge about the static subsystem nonlinearity. Unlike most of other identification methods, the proposed approach allows to decompose the problem of the Wiener system identification into two simpler subproblems. The considered methodology is based on the observation that the impulse response of the dynamic subsystem is proportional to the multiple input single output mapping, directly related to the considered system. Although derivation of the method involves gradient and kernel least squares techniques, the resulting algorithm possesses explicit form and does not utilize any difficult computational procedures. The consistency of the method is proved, and sufficient conditions for algorithm's bandwidth selection are formulated. Practical aspects of the approach are discussed, and applicability of the method for small and moderate number of observations is examined numerically. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conversion of a Mono‐ and Diacylglycerol Lipase into a Triacylglycerol Lipase by Protein Engineering

Despite the fact that most lipases are believed to be active against triacylglycerides, there is a small group of lipases that are active only on mono‐ and diacylglycerides. The reason for this difference in substrate scope is not clear. We tried to identify the reasons for this in the lipase from Malassezia globosa. By protein engineering, and with only one mutation, we managed to convert this enzyme into a typical triacylglycerol lipase (the wild‐type lipase does not accept triacylglycerides). The variant Q282L accepts a broad spectrum of triacylglycerides, although the catalytic behavior is altered to some extent. From in silico analysis it seems that specific hydrophobic interactions are key to the altered substrate specificity.     

Bacteriophages vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22, Newly Isolated Viruses from Chicken Feces,Specific for Several Salmonella enterica Strains

Two newly discovered bacteriophages, isolated from chicken feces and infecting Salmonella enterica strains, are described in this report. These phages have been named vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22, and we present their molecular and functional characterization. Both studied viruses are able to infect several S. enterica strains and develop lytically, but their specific host ranges differ significantly. Electron microscopic analyses of virions have been performed, and full genome sequences were determined and characterized, along with molecular phylogenetic studies. Genomes of vB_Sen-TO17 (ds DNA of 41,658 bp) and vB_Sen-E22 (dsDNA of 108,987 bp) are devoid of homologs of any known or putative gene coding for toxins or any other proteins potentially deleterious for eukaryotic cells. Both phages adsorbed efficiently (>95% adsorbed virions) within 10 min at 42 °C (resembling chicken body temperature) on cells of most tested host strains. Kinetics of lytic development of vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22, determined in one-step growth experiments, indicated that development is complete within 30–40 min at 42 °C, whereas burst sizes vary from 9 to 79 progeny phages per cell for vB_Sen-TO17 and from 18 to 64 for vB_Sen-E22, depending on the host strain. Virions of both phages were relatively stable (from several percent to almost 100% survivability) under various conditions, including acidic and alkaline pH values (from 3 to 12), temperatures from −80 °C to 60 °C, 70% ethanol, chloroform, and 10% DMSO. These characteristics of vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22 indicate that these phages might be considered in further studies on phage therapy, particularly in attempts to eliminate S. enterica from chicken intestine.     

The use of the internet by older adults in Poland

Universal Access in the Information Society - It is generally accepted that it is young people who are particularly interested in information and communication technologies (ICT). Older adults...