Recovering band-limited signals under noise

We consider the problem of recovering a band-limited signal f(t) from noisy data yk=f(kτ)+≫epsilon/_k, where τ is the sampling rate. Starting from the truncated Whittaker-Shannon cardinal expansion with or without sampling windows (both cases yield inconsistent estimates of f(t)) we propose estimators that are convergent to f(t) in the pointwise and uniform sense. The basic idea is to cut down high frequencies in the data and to use suitable oversampling τ⩽π/Ω, Ω being the bandwidth (maximum frequency) of f(t). The simplest estimator we propose is given by fˆ_n(t)=τ Σ/|t-kτ|⩽nτ yksin(Ω(t-kτ))/π(t-kτ),|t|⩽nτ. Generalizations of fˆ_n including sampling windows are also examined. The main aim is to examine the mean squared error (MSE) properties of such estimators in order to determine the optimal choice of the sampling rate τ yielding the fastest possible rate of convergence. The best rate for the MSE we obtain is O(In(n)/n)     

On the posterior-probability estimate of the error rate ofnonparametric classification rules

The posterior-probability estimate of the classification error rate of some nonparametric classification rules is studied. The variance of the estimator is shown to have same remarkable distribution-free properties for the k-nearest neighbor, kernel, and histogram rules. We also investigate the bias of the estimate and establish its consistency and upper bounds. The version of the estimate calculated from an independent set of unclassified patterns is also considered     

The Co-Culture of Staphylococcal Biofilm and Fibroblast Cell Line: The Correlation of Biological Phenomena with Metabolic NMR1 Footprint

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent pathogens associated with several types of biofilm-based infections, including infections of chronic wounds. Mature staphylococcal biofilm is extremely hard to eradicate from a wound and displays a high tendency to induce recurring infections. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate in vitro the interaction between S. aureus biofilm and fibroblast cells searching for metabolites that could be considered as potential biomarkers of critical colonization and infection. Utilizing advanced microscopy and microbiological methods to examine biofilm formation and the staphylococcal infection process, we were able to distinguish 4 phases of biofilm development. The analysis of staphylococcal biofilm influence on the viability of fibroblasts allowed us to pinpoint the moment of critical colonization—12 h post contamination. Based on the obtained model we performed a metabolomics analysis by ¹H NMR spectroscopy to provide new insights into the pathophysiology of infection. We identified a set of metabolites related to the switch to anaerobic metabolism that was characteristic for staphylococcal biofilm co-cultured with fibroblast cells. The data presented in this study may be thus considered a noteworthy but preliminary step in the direction of developing a new, NMR-based tool for rapid diagnosing of infection in a chronic wound.     

Wafer bonding using Cu–Sn intermetallic bonding layers

Wafer-level Cu–Sn intermetallic bonding is an interesting process for advanced applications in the area of MEMS and 3D interconnects. The existence of two intermetallic phases for Cu–Sn system makes the wafer bonding process challenging. The impact of process parameters on final bonding layer quality have been investigated for transient liquid phase wafer-level bonding based on the Cu–Sn system. Subjects of this investigation were bonding temperature profile, bonding time and contact pressure as well as the choice of metal deposition method and the ratio of deposited metal layer thicknesses. Typical failure modes in intermetallic compound growth for the mentioned process and design parameters have been identified and were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The possibilities to avoid abovementioned failures are indicated based on experimental results.     

Effect of Mode of Drying on Microstructure of Potato

Potato v. Irga was subjected to blanching, and thereafter was dried by convection, puff-drying, and freeze-drying. Microstructure of raw, blanched, and dried tissue was analyzed under the light microscope using computer image analysis. It was found that the tissue of the investigated variety is built up from cells much smaller than those described in literature for other cultivars. Blanching caused starch gelatinization and increase of cross-sectional area of cells. There was no evidence of broken cell walls. Convective drying resulted in cell shrinkage and some breaking of cell walls. It was estimated that some 12% of cells lost integrity during drying. Limited disintegration of the tissue caused by convective drying is attributed to small size of cells, large contact area, and high cohesive forces between cells. Puff-drying damaged the tissue much more than the convective drying. The most devastating to tissue microstructure was freeze-drying, probably freezing per se.     

The favorable and unfavorable effects of oxide and intermetallic phases in conductive materials using laser micro technologies

In laser technological processes, which are connected with phase transitions, special changes in material structure occur. These changes of structure include among others phase composition as well as morphology. The changed structure determines the electrical, mechanical and functional properties of the material. The problems become of greater importance in laser microtechnologies when areas with changed structure have dimensions measurable in micrometers, and volume of an order of 10⁻³ mm³. The favorable and unfavorable effects of the structural changes of materials and functional properties of elements produced by means of laser microtechnology have been analyzed in the paper.     

Uncertain variables and their applications for a class of uncertain systems

This paper presents definitions and basic properties of uncertain variables and shows how they may be applied to the analysis and decision making in static systems with unknown parameters in their mathematical models. The unknown parameters are assumed to be uncertain variables described by certainty distributions given by an expert. Two versions of the uncertain variables are described. The uncertain variable in the first version may be considered as a special case of the fuzzy number with a specific interpretation. Two forms of systems are considered in the paper: a system described by a function (functional system) and a system described by a relation (relational system). In both cases the statements and general solutions of the analysis and decision problems are presented. Simple examples illustrating the application of the uncertain variables are included.     

Artificial Maturation of the Highly Active Heterodimeric [FeFe] Hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 7757

Hydrogenases catalyze the reduction of protons and oxidation of molecular hydrogen with high turnover frequencies and low overpotentials under ambient conditions. The heterodimeric [FeFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans has an exceptionally high activity, and can be purified aerobically in an oxygen-stable inactive state. Recently, it was demonstrated that monomeric [FeFe] hydrogenases produced recombinantly in Escherichia coli can be artificially maturated by simply incubating the inactive “apo” enzymes with the synthetic [2Fe] cofactor mimic [Fe₂(adt)(CO)₄(CN)₂]²⁻. Here, we use the same technique to produce the heterodimeric “apo” hydrogenase from D. desulfuricans in E. coli with a high yield and purity, and maturate the “apo” enzyme with [Fe₂(adt)(CO)₄(CN)₂]²⁻ to generate fully active “holo” enzyme. Interestingly, the rate of the artificial maturation process with D. desulfuricans is significantly slower than that for all other hydrogenases tested so far. The artificially maturated enzyme is spectroscopically and electrochemically identical to the native enzyme and shows high rates of hydrogen production (3700 s⁻¹) and hydrogen oxidation (63,000 s⁻¹). We expect that our highly efficient production method will facilitate future studies of this enzyme and other related [FeFe] hydrogenases from Desulfovibrio species.