Geo-electrical survey of masonry

The geo-electrical measuring technique is frequently used for restoration purposes. However, this technique as developed in geology cannot be used without adaptations. The structure that is analysed has geometrical boundaries which influence the measurements and can lead to errors in the interpretation if they are not taken into account. This is illustrated by practical and theoretical tests. In an extensive test programme other aspects of the technique are also considered, such as the influence of electrode configuration and of moisture content.     

Bayesian framework for least-squares support vector machine classifiers, gaussian processes, and kernel Fisher discriminant analysis

The Bayesian evidence framework has been successfully applied to the design of multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) in the work of MacKay. Nevertheless, the training of MLPs suffers from drawbacks like the nonconvex optimization problem and the choice of the number of hidden units. In support vector machines (SVMs) for classification, as introduced by Vapnik, a nonlinear decision boundary is obtained by mapping the input vector first in a nonlinear way to a high-dimensional kernel-induced feature space in which a linear large margin classifier is constructed. Practical expressions are formulated in the dual space in terms of the related kernel function, and the solution follows from a (convex) quadratic programming (QP) problem. In least-squares SVMs (LS-SVMs), the SVM problem formulation is modified by introducing a least-squares cost function and equality instead of inequality constraints, and the solution follows from a linear system in the dual space. Implicitly, the least-squares formulation corresponds to a regression formulation and is also related to kernel Fisher discriminant analysis. The least-squares regression formulation has advantages for deriving analytic expressions in a Bayesian evidence framework, in contrast to the classification formulations used, for example, in gaussian processes (GPs). The LS-SVM formulation has clear primal-dual interpretations, and without the bias term, one explicitly constructs a model that yields the same expressions as have been obtained with GPs for regression. In this article, the Bayesian evidence framework is combined with the LS-SVM classifier formulation. Starting from the feature space formulation, analytic expressions are obtained in the dual space on the different levels of Bayesian inference, while posterior class probabilities are obtained by marginalizing over the model parameters. Empirical results obtained on 10 public domain data sets show that the LS-SVM classifier designed within the Bayesian evidence framework consistently yields good generalization performances.     

An observer-controller combination for a unicycle mobile robot

This paper considers the problem of output feedback trajectory tracking with a unicycle mobile robot system. A state-feedback controller for the non-linear error dynamics of the robot is combined with an observer that estimates the orientation error based on available trajectory information and measurement of the position coordinates. A stability analysis, derivation and implementation of the resulting controller is given and tested on an experimental mobile robot.     

Lymphomas with testicular localisation show a consistent BCL-2 expression without a translocation (14;18): a molecular and immunohistochemical study

Rabbits were immunised with stage 1 and stage 2 soluble haemagglutinins (sHA) of Helicobacter pylori strain NCTC 11637 and with rabbit erythrocytes coated with stage 1 sHA. After adsorption of stage 1 sHA on erythrocytes, SDS-PAGE analysis showed that 4 major protein bands were removed from the preparation. The anti-sHA coated erythrocyte serum had the highest HA inhibition titre of 16. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis of the stage 1 sHA, against stage 1 and 2 antisera showed multiple precipitin arcs; however, the anti-sHA coated erythrocyte serum produced only two arcs. One arc produced by the anti-stage 2 serum was absent with the anti-stage 1 serum. This arc could have been produced against a 20 kDa polypeptide which was absent in the stage 1 sHA. The other arc was stronger when compared with that produced by anti-stage 1 serum. These two arcs corresponded to the two arcs produced by the anti-sHA coated erythrocyte serum, which had the highest inhibition titre. The two arcs were markedly reduced in crossed immunoelectrophoresis with an adsorbed stage 1 sHA preparation, which indicates that these arcs were produced against the sHAs.     

Field emission SEM comparison of four postfixation drying techniques for human dentin

Critical-point drying (CPD) is generally considered essential for the preparation of biologic specimens for electron microscopy. Several attempts have been made to introduce alternative techniques. More recently, this problem has arisen in dentistry, because of the new developments in dentin bonding. The present study focuses on three alternative techniques to CPD: hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) drying, Peldri II drying, and air drying. Twenty-four dentin disks were obtained from noncarious extracted human molars by microtome sectioning parallel to the occlusal surface. The dentin surfaces were etched with polymer-thickened, silica-free, 10% phosphoric acid semigel, fixed, dehydrated, and dried with one of the four techniques. The specimens were observed in two perpendicular planes, showing dentinal tubules in longitudinal view and cross-section, using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The intertubular demineralized dentin zone was composed of three different successive layers, which did not substantially differ between CPD and Peldri II drying, but were more evident in HMDS-dried specimens: first, an upper layer of denatured collagen and residual smear layer particles, with sectioned collagen fibrils and few open intertubular pores; second, an intermediate layer of closely packed cross-sectioned collagen fibers; and third, a deeper layer with unfilled spaces, scattered hydroxyapatite crystals, and few collagen fibers. HMDS drying seemed to preserve better the collagen network and the microporosity of the demineralized dentin surface. Moreover, HMDS drying is easy to perform. The air-drying method caused some artefacts, such as surface collapsing and thickening of the denatured collagen layer.     

The S1, S2 and SGA1 ancestral genes for the STA glucoamylase genes all map to chromosome IX in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The polymorphic extracellular glucoamylase-encoding genes STA1 (chr. IV), STA2 (chr. II) and STA3 (chr. XIV), from Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus probably evolved by genomic rearrangement of DNA regions (S1, S2 and SGA1) present in S. cerevisiae, and subsequent translocation to unlinked regions of chromosomal regions. S1, encoding a homologue to the threonine/serine-rich domain of STA glucoamylases (GAI-III), mapped to the right arm of chromosome IX. S2, encoding the hydrophobic leader peptide of GAI-III, was also mapped on the right arm of chromosome IX, next to S1, close to DAL81. The SGA1 sporulation-specific, intracellular glucoamylase-encoding gene is located on the left arm of chromosome IX, 32 kb proximal of HIS5.     

Multiclass LS-SVMs: Moderated Outputs and Coding-Decoding Schemes

A common way of solving the multiclass categorization problem is to reformulate the problem into a set of binary classification problems. Discriminative binary classifiers like, e.g., Support Vector Machines (SVMs), directly optimize the decision boundary with respect to a certain cost function. In a pragmatic and computationally simple approach, Least Squares SVMs (LS-SVMs) are inferred by minimizing a related regression least squares cost function. The moderated outputs of the binary classifiers are obtained in a second step within the evidence framework. In this paper, Bayes' rule is repeatedly applied to infer the posterior multiclass probabilities, using the moderated outputs of the binary plug-in classifiers and the prior multiclass probabilities. This Bayesian decoding motivates the use of loss function based decoding instead of Hamming decoding. For SVMs and LS-SVMs with linear kernel, experimental evidence suggests the use of one-versus-one coding. With a Radial Basis Function kernel one-versus-one and error correcting output codes yield the best performances, but simpler codings may still yield satisfactory results. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparation and characterization of Au/CeO2–Al2O3 monoliths

Porous CeO₂–Al₂O₃ monoliths with hierarchical pore structure were prepared by mixing boehmite particles with solutions containing different amounts of cerium chloride and aluminum nitrate. The monoliths were functionalized with gold nanoparticles using the incipient wetness method. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, mercury porosimetry, UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The catalysts were tested in liquid phase glucose oxidation, comparing continuously stirred batch reactor and continuous-flow fix-bed reactor setups.     

Persistent T cell and B cell activities in the duodenal mucosa of AIDS patients

OBJECTIVE: As HIV infection most commonly occurs via a mucosal surface, and as gastrointestinal symptoms are very frequent among HIV-infected patients, we investigated the functional properties of residual lymphocytes in the duodenal mucosa from HIV-infected individuals. DESIGN: Duodenal biopsies and blood samples were obtained from 19 HIV-infected patients [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stage III] and from 19 controls. METHODS: Phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes was performed by flow cytometry and/or immunocytochemistry. Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin (IL) 4 and immunoglobulin secretions were analysed by enzyme-linked immunospot techniques. The phenotype of cytokine-producing cells was analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The proportions of duodenal T lymphocytes from HIV-infected patients spontaneously secreting IFN-gamma or IL-4 were not lower than those from healthy controls. In patients with a high intestinal mucosal viral load, they were higher than in controls (P < 0.05). The proportions of immunoglobulin-secreting cells were significantly raised in HIV-infected patients for the three main isotypes. CONCLUSIONS: T- and B-cell populations of the intestinal mucosa remain functional or are even activated in patients with AIDS, even when the numbers of both mucosal and circulating CD4+ lymphocytes are strongly decreased.