A new family of nonredundant transforms using hybrid wavelets and directional filter banks.

We propose a new family of nonredundant geometrical image transforms that are based on wavelets and directional filter banks. We convert the wavelet basis functions in the finest scales to a flexible and rich set of directional basis elements by employing directional filter banks, where we form a nonredundant transform family, which exhibits both directional and nondirectional basis functions. We demonstrate the potential of the proposed transforms using nonlinear approximation. In addition, we employ the proposed family in two key image processing applications, image coding and denoising, and show its efficiency for these applications.     

Evaluation of intranets in a distributed environment

The capture and dissemination of intra-organizational information is widely recognized to be essential for supporting operational and strategic corporate decision-making. Intranet technology has proven to be effective in accessing and disseminating intra-organizational data and knowledge, yet because of the novelty of intranets, very little research has been conducted to understand this technology in terms of its planning, management, and implementation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of intranet technology in a distributed environment with respect to its contributions to interconnectivity, information dissemination, process reengineering, organizational performance, and team collaboration.     

End-to-end rate-based congestion control: convergence properties and scalability analysis

We study several properties of binary-feedback congestion control in rate-based applications. We first derive necessary conditions for generic binary-feedback congestion control to converge to fairness monotonically (which guarantees asymptotic stability of the fairness point) and show that AIMD is the only TCP-friendly binomial control with monotonic convergence to fairness. We then study the steady-state behavior of binomial controls with n competing flows on a single bottleneck. Our main result here shows that combined probing for new bandwidth by all flows results in significant overshoot of the available bandwidth and rapid (often super-linear as a function of n) increase in packet loss. We also show that AIMD has the best scalability and lowest packet-loss increase among all TCP-friendly binomial schemes. We conclude the paper by deriving the conditions necessary to achieve constant packet loss regardless of the number of competing flows, n, and, in both simulation and streaming experiments, examine one new scheme, called ideally scalable congestion control, with such constant packet loss.     

One-pot size and shape controlled synthesis of DMSO capped iron oxide nanoparticles

We report here the capping of iron oxide nanoparticles with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to make chloroform soluble iron oxide nanoparticles. Size and shape of the capped iron oxide nanoparticles are well controlled by simply varying the reaction parameters. The synthesized nanocrystallites were characterized by thermal analysis (TG-DTA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for evaluating phase, structure and morphology. ¹H NMR spectra of the synthesized samples confirm DMSO, and the capping of DMSO on the ferrite samples. Shift of the S=O stretching frequency in Fourier transformed infra-red (FTIR) spectra indicates that the bonding between DMSO and ferrite is through an oxygen moiety. The magnetic measurements of all the synthesized samples were investigated with a SQUID magnetometer which shows that the magnetic properties are strongly dependent on the size as well as shape of the iron oxide.     

Polyphenolic and phytochemical content of Cucumis sativus seeds and study on mechanism of preservation of nutritional and quality outcomes in enriched mayonnaise

Oxidative rancidity in food emulsions leads to a reduction in shelf life. Synthetic antioxidants are widely used in food industry to prevent the development of rancidity. The present study was focussed on investigating the antioxidant potential of Cucumis sativus seeds (CSS) and correlates these findings with mayonnaise enrichment and extends its shelf life. CSS exhibited the highest abundance in phenolic compounds (93.5 ± 0.1 mgGAE g^?1), flavonoids (57.4 ± 0.1 mgQE g^?1), β‐carotene (19.46 ± 0.4 mg carotenoids per 100 g) and high free radical scavenging activity. CSS (200 ppm) and butylated hydroxyanisole (200 ppm) were incorporated in mayonnaise and the oxidative stability was evaluated by peroxide, p‐anisidine and TBARS values during storage at different temperatures. Organoleptic evaluations indicated that CSS enriched sample was recorded the highest overall acceptability. The results from our study will provide scientific basis for CSS as natural preservative against lipid oxidation or food enrichment while developing functional foods.     

A unified model for multi-turn closed-loop pulsating heat pipe

Numerical modeling of  the multi-turn closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) in the bottom, horizontal, and top heat mode is presented in this paper, with water as working fluid. Modeling is carried out for 2-mm ID CLPHP having 5, 16, and 32 turns at different orientations for 10 different cases. Momentum and heat transfer variations with time are investigated by numerically solving the one-dimensional governing equations for vapor bubble and liquid plugs. Instead of considering all the vapor bubble at saturation temperature, vapor bubbles are allowed to remain in super-heated condition. Film thickness is found using a correlation. Two-phase heat transfer coefficient is calculated by considering conduction through the thin film at liquid–vapor interface. Liquid plug merging and splitting result in continuous variation in the number of liquid plugs and vapor bubble with time, which is also considered in the code. During the merging of liquid plugs, a time step-adaptive scheme is implemented and this minimum time step was found to be 10⁻⁷ s. Model results are compared with the experimental results from literature for heat transfer and the maximum variation in heat transfer for all these cases is below ±39%.     

A new approach to mining fuzzy databases using nearest neighbor classification by exploiting attribute hierarchies

Data classification is a well‐organized operation in the field of data mining. This article presents an application of the k‐nearest neighbor classification technique for mining a fuzzy database. We consider a data set in which attribute values have certain similarities in nature and analyze the observations for the domain of each attribute, on the basis of fuzzy similarity relations. The proposed technique is general and the presented case study demonstrates the suitability of using this fuzzy approach for mining fuzzy databases, especially when the database contains various levels of abstraction. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 19: 1277–1290, 2004.     

A simple method for the measurement of stress in evaporated thin films by real-time holographic interferometry

The properties of thin films depend to a large extent upon their mechanical stability which in turn is dependent on the intrinsic stresses developed during evaporation. This paper describes a simple method for the measurement of stresses in thin films by the use of real-time holographic interferometry.     

Green function approach to mass fluctuation waves

In earlier work, a model Hamiltonian has been used to study in detail the effects of⁴He impurities in solid³He. Starting with this Hamiltonian we use the Green function method, with a suitable decoupling scheme, to study the mass fluctuation waves caused by the impurities, and also to study the effect of the impurity terms in the Hamiltonian on the magnons of the system. Expressions are presented for the shifted positions of the poles, in the energy plane, corresponding to the excitations concerned.