Influence of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from polluted and non-polluted areas on some atherosclerosis indices in rats fed cholesterol

The influence of diets supplemented with mussels, from polluted (MPoll) and non-polluted (MNPoll) areas, on some atherosclerosis indices in rats fed cholesterol (Chol) were studied. According to the results of our investigation in vitro, mussels from polluted areas had higher contents of proteins, metals and antioxidant compounds, mostly phenolics and higher antioxidant capacities. 28 male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of 7 and named Control, Chol, Chol/MPoll and Chol/MNPoll. The rats of the Control group received basal diet (BD) only, and the diets of the other 3 groups were supplemented with 1% of non-oxidized cholesterol (NOC), 1% of NOC and 5.6% of mussel dry matter (DM) from polluted and 1% of NOC and 5.6% of mussel DM from non-polluted areas for Chol, Chol/MPoll and Chol/MNPoll, respectively. The histology of the aorta and brain in rats fed cholesterol did not show any signs of atherosclerosis. Some differences were registered in the electrophoretic protein patterns of plasma in rats, with mussel-supplemented diets. In full plasma electrophoretic patterns of the Chol/MPoll diet group more proteins were detected than in both Chol and Control groups, and the differences were significant. In conclusion, in groups of rats fed cholesterol with mussels supplementation, a significant hindering in the rise of plasma lipid levels and also hindering in the decrease of plasma antioxidant activity were registered.     

CFD-based 3-D optimization of the mutual coil configuration for the effective cooling of an electrical transformer

An optimal mutual configuration of coils and cooling ducts for the effective cooling of a dry-type transformer is presented in this paper based on the method developed by the author. In the optimization procedure, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and a genetic algorithm are combined to optimize the diameters of both the ducts and the coils. The method was applied to cool a special dry-type unit to minimize the hot-spot temperature of the windings. These simulations were performed using various sets of optimized shape parameters and copper mass constraints in a real 3-D transformer geometry. The objective function value is computed using a CFD model that accounts for all three heat transfer modes. In the proposed model, the thermal properties of the coils and core are treated as anisotropic and temperature-dependent quantities, and the power losses are treated as heat sources and are computed based on the coupled CFD-electromagnetic (EMAG) model. Due to a shape change, both coil properties and power losses vary with each generated coil configuration. The results show that the nonuniform positioning of the wires and air ducts and an optimal splitting of high- and low-voltage coils can significantly lower the hot-spot temperature and improve the heat dissipation in comparison with current transformer designs.     

Open architecture computer-aided diagnosis system

Abstract: In this study an approach to open architecture computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is presented. The traditional goal of a CAD system, to assist the physicians in performing the diagnosis and treatment, has been extended. The platform also supports the system designer in developing a new CAD workflow by implementing general-purpose modules as well as problem-dependent procedures. A new CAD may require new procedures to be added, yet some of the already implemented functions can be employed. The CAD environment is subjected to the developmental process of three systems: the multiple sclerosis CAD, the lung nodule CAD and the pneumothorax CAD. Modules and procedures are briefly described and the CAD systems are evaluated. Results obtained during the CAD evaluation show prospective flexibility of the infrastructure. The trade-offs, well known to CAD designers, can easily be handled by the operators in a user-friendly manner by choosing various workflow paths.     

Thermal cleavage stresses in a piecewise-homogeneous plate

We analyze the thermal stressed state of a piecewise homogeneous body formed by a homogeneous matrix and a layer with different thermal properties applied to its surface. The free surface of the layer is heated by a uniformly distributed heat flow of limited duration. On the basis of the solution of the corresponding nonstationary boundary-value problem of heat conduction, we determine the fields of quasistationary thermal stresses and strains. The numerical analysis is performed to show the possibility of using the obtained solutions in modeling thermal cleavage of brittle materials. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 19–24, September–October, 2005.     

Scheduling on parallel identical machines with late work criterion: Offline and online cases

In the paper, we consider the problem of scheduling jobs on parallel identical machines with the late work criterion and a common due date, both offline and online cases. Since the late work criterion has not been studied in the online mode so far, the analysis of the online problem is preceded by the analysis of the offline problem, whose complexity status has not been formally stated in the literature yet. Namely, for the offline mode, we prove that the two-machine problem is binary NP-hard, and the general case is unary NP-hard. In the online mode we assume that jobs arrive in the system one by one, i.e., we consider the online over list model. We give an algorithm with a competitive ratio being a function of the number of machines, and we prove the optimality of this approach for two identical machines.     

Contrast control for grey-level deformation removal in images: an algorithm and a computer application

An algorithm and a computer routines library written in object programming language C++ are described, which allow removal of global intensity deformation in a grey-scale image using contrast control. During the process, a Gaussian pyramid representation of an input image is constructed through low-pass filtration and sampling of successive pyramid levels, where the input image constitutes the first (zero) level of the pyramid. In the second step a Laplacian pyramid is built by subtracting successive levels of the Gaussian pyramid. Then, all levels in the Laplacian pyramid are expanded to the original image size and added with weights, which are real numbers, to reconstruct the image. Proper choice of the weights allows global grey-level deformation removal. This technique can be applied for contrast enhancement and image archiving of airborne, scanned, photo-copied and optical camera-made images, where global distortions of intensity are frequently met.     

Validating the Knuth-Morris-Pratt Failure Function,Fast and Online

Let $\pi'_{w}$ denote the failure function of the Knuth-Morris-Pratt algorithm for a word w. In this paper we study the following problem: given an integer array $A'[1 \mathinner {\ldotp \ldotp }n]$ , is there a word w over an arbitrary alphabet Σ such that $A'[i]=\pi'_{w}[i]$ for all i? Moreover, what is the minimum cardinality of Σ required? We give an elementary and self-contained $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$ time algorithm for this problem, thus improving the previously known solution (Duval et al. in Conference in honor of Donald E. Knuth, 2007), which had no polynomial time bound. Using both deeper combinatorial insight into the structure of π′ and advanced algorithmic tools, we further improve the running time to $\mathcal{O}(n)$ .     

Discrete area filters in accurate detection of faces and facial features

This paper introduces a new method for detection of faces and facial features. Proposed algorithm denies the thesis that bottom-up solutions can't work at reasonable speed. It introduces fast detection – about 9 frames per second for a 384 × 256 image – while preserving accurate details of the detection. Main experiments focus on the detection of the eye centers — crucial in many computer vision systems such as face recognition, eye movement detection or iris recognition, however algorithm is tuned to detect 15 fiducial face points. Models were trained on nearly frontal faces. Bottom-up approach allows to detect objects under partial occlusion — particularly two out of four face parts (left eye, right eye, nose, mouth) must be localized. Precision of the trained model is verified on the Feret dataset. Robustness of the face detection is evaluated on the BioID, LFPW, Feret, GT, Valid and Helen databases in comparison to the state of the art detectors.     

Reliability improvement of large multi-state series-parallel systems

In the paper, excess methods for improving the reliability of multi-state series-parallel systems are presented: for the hot reserve of single components, the cold reserve of single components, and the mixed (hot and cold) reserve of single components. A process is also introduced to improve the reliability of these methods by replacing their components with more reliable ones. New theorems for multi-state limit reliability functions in homogeneous and non-homogeneous series-parallel large systems composed of components with improved reliability are presented, and applied to compare the effects of these systems in different reliability improving methods.     

A reliability analysis of Double-Ring topologies with Dual Attachment using p-cycles for optical metro networks

The distribution of multicast traffic (e.g. IPTV or business point-to-multipoint) in the metropolitan environment requires highly resilient network infrastructures. Currently-deployed fibre ducts in the metropolitan area are typically based on ring topologies interconnected by the dual homing approach. In this study, an easy evolution towards meshed topologies is proposed, based on Double Rings with Dual Attachments (DRDA). This work analyses in detail the resilience capabilities of DRDAs and the two dual p-cycles defined over them. It is shown that, just by ensuring service repair rates of 12 h, large service availability values can be achieved (of the order of four to five-nines). Additionally, the amount of backup capacity required to recover from link failures is further calculated in this paper. Furthermore, this work gives a mathematical framework or reference to all those network operators who are willing to deploy highly resilient metropolitan area networks at a moderate cost. The five-nines service availability degree is easily achieved provided sufficiently small service repair times (in the range of 12 h). Additionally, large service availability values are obtained with little extra backup capacity (about three-nines with only doubling capacity).