Microbial conversion of selected azo dyes and their breakdown products.

Four selected azo dyes (acid orange 6, acid orange 7, methyl orange and methyl red) were completely decolourised in the presence of anaerobic granular sludge, while only methyl red was degraded in aerobic conditions using a conventional activated sludge. Additional experiments with culture broth devoid of cells showed that anaerobic decolourisation of azo dyes was performed by extracellular reducing agents produced by anaerobic bacteria. This was further confirmed by abiotic experiments with sulphide and NADH. The presence of redox mediators such as riboflavin led to dramatic acceleration of the anaerobic biodecolourisation process. The azo dye reduction products were found to be sulphanilic acid and 4-aminoresorcinol for acid orange 6; sulphanilic acid and 1-amino-2-naphthol for acid orange 7; N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine and sulphanilic acid for methyl orange; and N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine and anthranilic acid for methyl red. Anaerobic toxicity assays showed that the azo dyes were more toxic than their breakdown products (aromatic amines), except 1-amino-2-naphthol. In the presence of activated sludge, only anthranilic acid was completely mineralised while sulphanilic acid was persistent. 4-aminoresorcinol, 1-amino-2-naphthol and N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine underwent autooxidation in aerobic conditions yielding coloured polymeric products. On the contrary, in the presence of granular methanogenic sludge, 4-aminoresorcinol, 1-amino-2-naphthol and anthranilic acid were quantitatively methanised, sulphanilic acid was partially (70%) mineralised while N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine was only demethylated producing 1,4-phenylenediamine as an end product.     

Directional features in online handwriting recognition

The selection of valuable features is crucial in pattern recognition. In this paper we deal with the issue that part of features originate from directional instead of common linear data. Both for directional and linear data a theory for a statistical modeling exists. However, none of these theories gives an integrated solution to problems, where linear and directional variables are to be combined in a single, multivariate probability density function. We describe a general approach for a unified statistical modeling, given the constraint that variances of the circular variables are small. The method is practically evaluated in the context of our online handwriting recognition system frog on hand and the so-called tangent slope angle feature. Recognition results are compared with two alternative modeling approaches. The proposed solution gives significant improvements in recognition accuracy, computational speed and memory requirements.     

Apollonius tenth problem via radius adjustment and Möbius transformations

The Apollonius Tenth Problem, as defined by Apollonius of Perga circa 200 B.C., has been useful for various applications in addition to its theoretical interest. Even though particular cases have been handled previously, a general framework for the problem has never been reported. Presented in this paper is a theory to handle the Apollonius Tenth Problem by characterizing the spatial relationship among given circles and the desired Apollonius circles. Hence, the given three circles in this paper do not make any assumption regarding on the sizes of circles and the intersection/inclusion relationship among them. The observations made provide an easy-to-code algorithm to compute any desired Apollonius circle which is computationally efficient and robust.     

Complete mobile email management

Years have lapsed since the inauguration of the first Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) application. One of the main reasons for the lukewarm response so far may be attributed to the lack of a “Killer” application. Many companies and developers have attempted to replicate email services (an Internet Killer appplication) within the WAP realm, but till now, no significant success has been reported. This paper will first discuss on the key functions which are lacking in the present WAP-email service, and which are arguably necessary if a much larger user base is to be attracted to these services. A new system will be proposed which can enable the user to send files residing in a remote personal computer (PC) as attachments to his emails using WAP-enabled mobile devices. The implementation of the system will be presented in details. Issue relating to the connection to various types of email servers and the security of the system will also be addressed in the paper.     

Neuronet Data Processing on the State of an Object After an Emergency

Neuronets are considered for processing data on the state of a potentially hazardous object after an emergency. An example is given of processing the data on the state of a potentially hazardous object in increments.Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 3, pp. 6–8, March, 2005.     

Human-centered multimedia: culture, deployment, and access

Cultural setting is an intrinsic part of what we're trying to capture and use in muitimedia systems. However, being in our own culture (both everyday culture and professional culture) we forget that multimedia interfaces and communication are culture-specific. This article gives some great insights that stem from diversity in countries (and cultures) as well as inside the interdisciplinary multimedia community.     

Remediation of zones of local radioactive contamination

A methodology remediating zones of local radioactive contamination is presented. It is based on a classification of the zones taking account of the contribution of external and internal irradiation to the total dose load to the public. The criteria for identifying such loads and the steps required for their remediation are identified. A radiation-ecological validation of the decrease in the external irradiation dose to the public in zones of local radioactive contamination is given. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 125–134, February, 2006.     

Modeling of two-dimensional photonic crystal resonant cavities incorporating elliptically shaped dielectric cylinders

Modeling of photonic crystal structures is an ongoing challenge. This letter is devoted to the theoretical modeling of photonic crystal resonant cavities, composed of elliptically shaped dielectric pillars. Through this rigorous study, we can examine the impact of the elliptical-shape deformations to important quantities related to the photonic crystal cavity performance, such as the quality factor and the resonance frequency.