ORDERING FUZZY SETS BY CONSENSUS CONCEPT AND FUZZY RELATION EQUATIONS

A general class of consensus measures of fuzzy sets is introduced in this paper. It is shown that, while the consensus measures are valuations but neither isotone nor antitone with respect to the lattice structure induced by the pointwise maximum and minimum operations to the set of all the fuzzy sets on a nonempty crisp set, they are antitone valuations with respect to the lattice structure induced by the generalized sharpening relation to a quotient set of the set of fuzzy sets. It is also shown that the solutions of a finite fuzzy relation equation that have the maximum consensus measure can be characterized through the join operation of the latter lattice in terms of the maximum solution and some of the minimal solutions of the equation.     

Correlation between Rm and Standard Affinity of Some Anionic Azo Dyes on Cellulose

Results on affinity measurements and paper chromatography of some anionic azo dyes, obtained by diazotization of 4-aminobenzophenone, 2(4′-amino-benzoyl)thiophene, 4′-aminobenzanilide, 2-thiophene-carboxanilide-4′-amino, trans-4-aminostilbene and trans-2(4′-aminostyryl)thiophene and coupling with naphthionic acid, Nevile-Winther's acid, R acid, Hacid and chromotropic acid, have been reported. A linear relationship between the R_m value of the dyes and their standard affinity of dyeing has been observed for dyes with the same coupling component.     

Optimal improvement in bistable measurement device performance via stochastic resonance

The notion of noise-activated systems has been well known since the 1950s. A number of natural phenomena have been investigated by means of this theory and an improvement in the performance of several systems has also been achieved. Recently the stochastic resonance (SR) phenomenon was introduced as an innovative approach for both understanding the behaviour and improving the performance of several classes of systems. In the present work some new results regarding the influence of forcing signal parameters on the persistence of the SR condition are given. Both theoretical results and numerical simulations have been carried out to emphasize the suitability of the proposed noise tuning methodology.     

PROTEOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF LACTOBACILLUS SAKEI, LACTOBACILLUS FARCIMINIS AND LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM ON SARCOPLASMIC PROTEINS OF PORK LEAN

The aim of this study was to assess the proteolytic activity of Lactobacillus sakei (DSM 6333), L. plantarum (B21), and to a lesser extent, L. farciminis (DSM 20184) on meat sarcoplasmic proteins. The protein composition was assayed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and capillary electrophoresis after incubation of meat extract inoculated with bacteria. All strains showed proteolytic activity: a band about 94 kDa disappeared in samples inoculated with L. farciminis and L. plantarum and strongly decreased in those inoculated with L. sakei. The intensity of the bands with a molecular weight between 94 and 38 kDa decreased in all samples. Capillary electrophoresis analysis ascertained the disappearance of the fractions corresponding to 8.64 and 8.66 min retention time in all samples. The bands corresponding to 94 kDa and 38 kDa were, respectively, identified as glycogen phosphorylase muscle isoform and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, by in situ digestion of protein gel bands and peptide map analysis using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).     

DECOMPOSITION PROBLEM OF FUZZY RELATIONS

The paper deals with a problem of decomposition of a binary fuzzy relation defined in the Cartesian product of a finite space. We propose an algorithm which produces the decomposition or indicates that the given relation is non-decomposable, within a finite sequence of steps.     

RESPONSE SURFACE MODEL FOR EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE, WATER ACTIVITY AND pH ON GERMINATION OF BACILLUS CEREUS SPORES

A response surface model was developed for effects of temperature (20 to 40C), pH (4.5 to 6.5) and water activity (a_w) (0.94 to 0.99) on germination of Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778 spores. Germination depended, to varying extents, on the interactions among the independent variables and complexity of the medium. In particular it was affected (P < 0.05) by interactions of a_w with temperature and pH and by temperature in its quadratic term. The model was validated against data not used in its development. Mean absolute relative error of predictions (model accuracy) was 22.8% in model systems and 10.17% in real systems. Bias factors were 0.887 and 0.922 for model and real systems, respectively. Results indicated that the model developed was "fail safe" and provided reliable predictions of germination of B. cereus.     

EXACT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARAMETERS AND TEST DATA FOR MODELS OF SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES

ABSTRACT

In a recent paper the authors have presented a new method expressing the parameters of a synchronous machine model in terms of measurable time constants, without the traditional simplifying assumptions. The considered model is characterized by equal mutual reactances between armature, field and damper windings.

This paper shows the extention of the new method to the models with all three unequal mutuals and with two equal mutuals. The exact relationships between the parameters of the examined models and the test data are provided. Comparisons are made between new and old method results to demonstrate the discrepancies in values of parameters.     

MINIMAL AND MAXIMAL SOLUTIONS OF A DECOMPOSITION PROBLEM OF FUZZY RELATIONS

In this work we continue the study already begun in our foregoing paper, dealing with the decomposition problem or a binary fuzzy relation defined in the Cartesian product of a finite space. We characterize the whole set of the solutions of the max-min fuzzy relation equation which formulates the decomposition problem.     

Dental-derived stem cells and biowaste biomaterials: What’s next in bone regenerative medicine applications

The human teeth and oral cavity harbor various populations of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), so calleddental-derived stem cells (D-dSCs) with self-renewing and multilineage differentiation capabilities. D-dSCs propertiesinvolves a strong paracrine component resulting from the high levels of bioactive molecules they secrete in responseto the local microenvironment. Altogether, this viewpoint develops a general picture of current innovative strategiesto employ D-dSCs combined with biomaterials and bioactive factors for regenerative medicine purposes, and offersinformation regarding the available scientific data and possible applications.     

A component‐by‐component characterisation of high‐risk atherosclerotic plaques by multiphoton microscopic imaging

Aims: Atherosclerotic plaques vulnerable to rupture are almost always inflamed, and carry a large lipid core covered by a thin fibrous cap. The other components may include neovascularisation, intraplaque haemorrhage and spotty calcification. In contrast, stable plaques are characterised by a predominance of smooth muscle cells and collagen, and lipid core is usually deep seated or absent. This study is a proof of principle experiment to evaluate the feasibility of multiphoton microscopy (MPM) to identify aforementioned plaque components. Methods and Results: MPM is a nonlinear optical technique that allows imaging based on intrinsic tissue signals including autofluorescence and higher‐order scattering. In our study, MPM imaging was performed on morphologically diverse aortic and coronary artery plaques obtained during autopsy. Various histologically verified plaque components including macrophages, cholesterol crystals, haemorrhage, collagen and calcification were recognised by MPM. Conclusions: Recognition of the distinct signatures of various plaque components suggests that MPM has the potential to offer next‐generation characterisation of atherosclerotic plaques. The higher lateral resolution (comparable to histology) images generated by MPM for identifying plaque components might complement larger field of view and greater imaging depth currently available with optical coherence tomography imaging. As the next step MPM would need to be evaluated for intact vessel imaging ex vivo and in vivo.