Synthesis of new hyperbranched urethane-acrylates and their evaluation in UV-curable coatings

Three series of hyperbranched urethane-acrylates (HB-UA), based on aliphatic hyperbranched polyesters and polyethyleneglycol acrylate, were prepared and evaluated for use in UV-curable coatings. UV-curing kinetics were monitored by FT-IR spectroscopy. The thermal and mechanical properties of UV-cured HB-UA were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and correlated to the mechanical properties of coatings (hardness and flexibility). These new HB-UA's are very reactive and did not show oxygen inhibition. Obtained coatings have good mechanical properties and solvent resistance.     

Augmented AVI video file for road surveying

This paper presents a novel video augmentation approach: a video recording of a real entity augmented by structured data. This augmented video is a self-contained entity integrating values of perceptible and non-perceptible attributes of the same real entity. It simplifies data search, storage and management. Streaming, sharing, collaboration and synchronization are also simplified by the fact that the structured data (so-called augmented data) are integrated in the video file and therefore only one file needs to be manipulated. Our approach was applied to address the issues which road engineers experience while using the ROad Measurement and Data Acquisition System (ROMDAS). The ROMDAS system collects and analyses the road-condition state through video recordings and the data corresponding acquired by specific measuring devices. Currently, however, road engineers have to search the videos manually in order to find details of interest provided by the analysis of the data measured due to the separation of the video from the data. The ROMDAS system manages a large collection of road-condition data. It does not offer history management of video recordings of the same road captured at different time. We present this hybrid video augmentation system: the Augmented Video stream Framework (AVF). It allows creation, search, history management and playback of such augmented video files for effective road surveying based on the discrete data recorded in parallel to the video recordings. The AVF provides road engineers with effective and more comfortable perceptible and non-perceptible data search, storage and history management to be used for (collaborative) road inspection and maintenance.     

Explanation and reliability of prediction models: the case of breast cancer recurrence

In this paper, we describe the first practical application of two methods, which bridge the gap between the non-expert user and machine learning models. The first is a method for explaining classifiers’ predictions, which provides the user with additional information about the decision-making process of a classifier. The second is a reliability estimation methodology for regression predictions, which helps the users to decide to what extent to trust a particular prediction. Both methods are successfully applied to a novel breast cancer recurrence prediction data set and the results are evaluated by expert oncologists.     

Adaptive content-based music retrieval system

This paper presents a tunable content-based music retrieval (CBMR) system suitable the for retrieval of music audio clips. The audio clips are represented as extracted feature vectors. The CBMR system is expert-tunable by altering the feature space. The feature space is tuned according to the expert-specified similarity criteria expressed in terms of clusters of similar audio clips. The main goal of tuning the feature space is to improve retrieval performance, since some features may have more impact on perceived similarity than others. The tuning process utilizes our genetic algorithm. The R-tree index for efficient retrieval of audio clips is based on the clustering of feature vectors. For each cluster a minimal bounding rectangle (MBR) is formed, thus providing objects for indexing. Inserting new nodes into the R-tree is efficiently performed because of the chosen Quadratic Split algorithm. Our CBMR system implements the point query and the n-nearest neighbors query with the O(logn) time complexity. Different objective functions based on cluster similarity and dissimilarity measures are used for the genetic algorithm. We have found that all of them have similar impact on the retrieval performance in terms of precision and recall. The paper includes experimental results in measuring retrieval performance, reporting significant improvement over the untuned feature space.     

Nelson Goodman’s Arguments Against Perspective: A Geometrical Analysis

Nelson Goodman’s highly influential book Languages of Art argued that that all visual experience is merely a cultural construct. In presenting his thesis Goodman relied on a series of geometrical arguments intended to show that the geometrical construction of perspective does not rely on the geometry of light rays. In this article I analyze the geometrical validity of Goodman’s arguments.     

Actualising (Overlooked) Material Capacities

An emphasis on material synthesis is not without its pitfalls and challenges. Here Branko Kolarevic , Professor and Chair in Integrated Design at the University of Calgary Faculty of Environmental Design, alerts us to the dangers of overlooking materials' shifting capacities, which are so often scale dependent, while also disregarding existing materials in favour of the new or novel. As the potential grows for material systems in buildings to become more adaptive and to harness automation, Kolarevic describes some exciting developments that are taking place in dynamic facade design, providing the much-heralded promise of an efficient use of ambient energy.     

Inulin-based emulsion-filled gel as a fat replacer in prebiotic- and PUFA-enriched dry fermented sausages

In order to produce fermented sausages with prebiotic fibre and improved fatty acid composition, 16% of pork back fat was replaced with inulin gelled suspension (I) and inulin linseed oil gelled emulsion (IO). Physico-chemical analysis, fatty acid profiles, lipid oxidation, microbiological, textural, colour and sensory analysis were carried out. The fat content was lower in I (31.38%) and IO (35.36%) modified sausages compared to control (44.37%) (P < 0.05). IO sausages had lower SFA and MUFA and higher PUFA content with an improved n-6/n-3 ratio (2.23) (P < 0.05) and α-linolenic acid increment (5.74 g per 100 g). Reformulation led to decrease in springiness, chewiness and hardness and increase in adhesiveness of the sausages. Modified sausages had lower L* and higher a* values, while b* values of I sausages did not differ compared to control sausages. Modified sausages were acceptable regarding all sensory attributes. Lipid oxidation parameters showed higher susceptibility to oxidation and lipolysis in IO sausages.     

Influence of Whey Protein Addition and Feed Moisture Content on Chosen Physicochemical Properties of Directly Expanded Corn Extrudates

Production of extrudates from cereals is an often-used technological process in today’s world food industry. Extrudates from corn flour produced using the twin-screw extrusion process and enriched with whey protein concentrate represent high-quality source of proteins and fats. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) as a valuable source of proteins and minerals is one of the highest-quality components for possible extrudate enrichment. In this paper, the influence of various WPC addition and some extrusion process parameters such as feed moisture content ( Q_{\textH\text2 \textO} Q_{{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}} ) on physicochemical properties of directly expanded corn flour extrudates manufactured in twin-screw co-rotating extruder was investigated. Whey protein concentrate was added in the following ratios 7.5%, 15% and 22.5% and water in 10.08, 12.18 and 14.28 L/h. Final composition of products is determined with measuring of protein, fat and water shares, water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI). With added WPC and with increase of water volume flow, there was a significant rise in total protein, fat and water content in final products, as well as lowering of WSI and rising of WAI indexes. The statistical analysis of the obtained data shows that the lowest WSI and the highest WAI had samples with the largest share of WPC (22.5%) and water volume flow of 14.28 L/h. Colour is measured for each sample, and results were represented with hue angle (H), chroma (C) and lightness (L) values. Process parameters, WPC and Q_{\textH\text2 \textO} Q_{{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}} influence the increase of saturation of C and lightness of L colour value, while H value stays unchanged. Mean value of H was 90.14 ± 1.06, which corresponds to dominance of yellow colour of samples.