Optimization of ceramic setting as a function of their heat absorption from the radiating walls of the furnace

An experimental study involving a model unit was conducted on heat absorption from the radiating walls of a kiln by the ceramic ware set up on a kiln car. It was shown that there is always optimal spacing between the ceramic pieces in the setting above which any further increase in the spacing would not increase the rate of heat absorption by the ware. Translated from Steklo i Keramika, No. 6, pp. 25–27, June, 1997.     

Image Processing-Based Methodology for Optimizing Automotive Ignition Timing

Modern fuel-injected automobiles use an electronic engine control unit (ECU) that is programmed to ignite the air-fuel mixture in a way that maximizes the torque (TQ) and power output of the engine without compromising its reliability. The ECU achieves this by reading a base value from the primary ignition map (PIM) and then manipulating various other parameters to come up with the final solution. Each input into the final solution comes from a so-called map, which is a 3-D image that represents a set of all the possible values that each parameter can take on. In this paper, we develop a robust methodology using image processing techniques to optimize the PIM for automobiles. The techniques are used to compare, combine, manipulate, and reconstruct various maps. Experiments show that the process yields a gain of about 7 hp and a TQ of 15 ft middotlb measured at the wheels.     

The effect of a synthetic neuromelanin on yield of free hydroxyl radicals generated in model systems

Neuromelanin is an amorphous pigment of the catecholamine origin that accumulates in certain dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra of human brain. In Parkinson's disease, there appears to be selective degeneration of the most heavily pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra, and this process has been linked to the presence of neuromelanin. It has been postulated that neuromelanin could increase the risk of oxidative stress reactions. On the other hand, melanin is usually considered to be an efficient antioxidant. Here we analyze experimental conditions that stimulate, or inhibit, antioxidant properties of neuromelanin. Using electron spin resonance (ESR)--spin trapping technique and salicylate hydroxylation assay, we monitored the formation of free hydroxyl radicals generated by a Fenton system in the presence of varying concentration of dopamine-melanin, a synthetic model for neuromelanin. Our data clearly indicate that the antioxidant action of neuromelanin is predominantly due to its ability to sequester redox-active metal ions such as iron. Using direct ESR spectroscopy, we have shown that ferric complexes with neuromelanin are resistant to reduction by mild biological reductants such as ascorbate. We have demonstrated that dopamine-melanin saturated with ferric ions, could enhance the formation of free hydroxyl radicals by redox activation of the ions. Thus, under the conditions that stimulate the release of accumulated metal ions, neuromelanin may actually become an efficient prooxidant. It is conceivable that neuromelanin, which normally is able to protect pigmented dopaminergic neurons against metal-ion related toxicity, could under extreme conditions have a cytotoxic role.     

高熵合金在钎焊和表面工程领域的应用研究进展

随着合金制造水平的提高及性能要求的复杂化,高熵合金逐渐引起极大的关注.目前在材料加工领域内的研究主要集中于钎焊和表面工程两大方向.在钎焊领域,高熵合金可以作为钎焊填充材料应用于高温和低温钎焊,本文归纳了合金高熵化的相关经验参数,阐述了第一性原理计算和相图计算等模拟计算手段在高熵合金填充材料设计领域内的应用;详细介绍了高熵合金钎料在镍基高温合金、陶瓷-金属异种材料、低温封装等连接领域的最新研究进展.同时,分析了工艺参数对高熵合金钎料钎焊接头组织与性能的影响.在表面工程领域,论述了高熵合金薄膜/涂层的应用方向与制备手段,总结了在高温防护涂层、硬质保护层以及其他应用领域的研究进展.同时归纳了高熵合金在钎焊和表面工程领域研究和应用中存在的问题,而未来将在降低钎料熔点、提高焊缝高温力学性能以及发展共晶高熵合金钎料/涂层等领域进一步提高研究水平.     

ACTNET: End-to-End Learning of Feature Activations and Multi-stream Aggregation for Effective Instance Image Retrieval

International Journal of Computer Vision - We propose a novel CNN architecture called ACTNET for robust instance image retrieval from large-scale datasets. Our key innovation is a learnable...     

Estimation of complex multimodal motion: an approach based on robust statistics and Hough transform

An application of robust statistics in a Hough transform based motion estimation approach is presented. The algorithm is developed and experiments are performed, proving its superior performance in terms of estimate accuracy, convergence, robustness and better segmentation. Comparative results with standard methods are also included.     

Laparoscopic peroperative cholangiography--indications and significance

The authors have performed 35 peroperative laparoscopic cholangiographies by means of transcystic cannylation of the choledochus in 410 patients subdued to laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Choledocholelithiasis was found in 8 patients (22.85%). The authors advocate for the application of peroperative cholangiography in indicated cases since the method is simple, safe and sufficiently successful. (Tab. 5, Ref. 9.)