Automatic Recognition of Leaves by Shape Detection Pre-Processing with Ica

In this work we present a simulation of a recognition process with perimeter characterization of a simple plant leaves as a unique discriminating parameter. Data coding allowing for independence of leaves size and orientation may penalize performance recognition for some varieties. Border description sequences are then used to characterize the leaves. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is then applied in order to study which is the best number of components to be considered for the classification task, implemented by means of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Obtained results with ICA as a pre-processing tool are satisfactory, and compared with some references our system improves the recognition success up to 80.8% depending on the number of considered independent components.

Differences of Functional Connectivity Brain Network in Emotional Judgment

Using combined emotional stimuli, combining photos of faces and recording of voices, we investigated the neural dynamics of emotional judgment using scalp EEG recordings. Stimuli could be either combioned in a congruent, or a non-congruent way.. As many evidences show the major role of alpha in emotional processing, the alpha band was subjected to be analyzed. Analysis was performed by computing the synchronization of the EEGs and the conditions congruent vs. non-congruent were compared using statistical tools. The obtained results demonstrate that scalp EEG ccould be used as a tool to investigate the neural dynamics of emotional valence and discriminate various emotions (angry, happy and neutral stimuli).

Synthesis and immunological characterization of 104-mer and 102-mer peptides corresponding to the N- and C-terminal regions of the Plasmodium falciparum CS protein.

We investigated the immunogenicity and the conformational properties of the non-repetitive sequences of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite (CS) protein. Two polypeptides of 104 and 102 amino acids long, covering, respectively, the N- and C-terminal regions of the CS protein, were synthesized using solid phase Fmoc chemistry. The crude polypeptides were purified by a combination of size exclusion chromatography and RP-HPLC. Sera of mice immunized with the free polypeptides emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant strongly reacted with the synthetic polypeptides as well as with native CS protein as judged by ELISA and IFAT assays. Most importantly, these antisera inhibited the sporozoite invasion of hepatoma cells. In addition, sera derived from donors living in a malaria endemic area recognized the CS 104- and 102-mers. Conformational studies of the CS polypeptides were also performed by circular dichroism spectroscopy showing the presence of a weakly ordered structure that can be increased by addition of trifluoroethanol. The obtained results indicate that the synthetic CS polypeptides and the natural CS protein share some common antigenic determinants and probably have similar conformation. The approach used in this study might be useful for the development of a synthetic malaria vaccine.

Gestión del bosque mediterráneo y conservación de la avifauna: el caso de los alcornocales

Se presentan los resultados de los diversos estudios de poblaciones de aves realizados en los alcornocales catalanes, especialmente en cuanto a la riqueza específica de los mismos. Dado que los estudios publicados hasta el momento en esta materia eran referidos a la estación reproductora (primavera), se señalan los datos recogidos en los alcornocales de les Gavarres (NE peninsular), durante la estación invernal. Asimismo, se analizan las diversas tipologías de alcornocales que se encuentran en Catalunya, bosques en gestión activa, y por tanto sin sotobosque, y bosques abandonados en los que la biomasa del sotobosque es máxi-ma, y se exponen los resultados de la comparativa entre ambas tipologías de explotación cuando se aplica un índice de conservación de la avifauna, basado en la riqueza de cada una de las especies registradas, la presencia de especies amenazadas según los criterios de la UICN (SPEC) y su categoría de amenaza (non-SPEC, SPEC 4, SPEC 3, SPEC 2 y SPEC 1). Los resultados obtenidos muestran como las explotaciones abandonadas tienen un índice de conservación de avifauna más elevado que los bosques en explotación activa. Se discuten es-tos resultados en el contexto de la gestión forestal y las ayudas recibidas por parte de las ad-ministraciones para llevar a cabo estas prácticas de gestión

Genetic parameters and variability in physic nut accessions during early developmental stages

The objective of this work was to estimate the genetic parameters and variability among accessions (half-sib families) of physic nut (Jatropha curcas) during the early stages of development. For this study, 110 accessions in the first year of development of the physic nut germplasm bank, maintained at Embrapa Cerrados, DF, Brazil, were evaluated in situ. The experiment was established in a randomized complete block design, with two replicates and five plants per plot arranged in rows at 4x2 m spacing. Grain yield, total number of branches per plant, plant height, stem diameter, canopy projection on the row, canopy projection between rows, canopy volume, number of days until first flowering and height of the first inflorescence were evaluated. Estimates of vegetative genetic parameters showed the existence of genetic variability in the physic nut germplasm bank. Physic nut accessions of the germplasm bank were grouped into five similarity groups based on character divergence. Although preliminary, the obtained results are promising for showing potential for Jatropha improvement with selective efficiency.

New trends in the kitchen: propellants assessment of edible food aerosol sprays used on food.

New products available for food creations include a wide variety of "supposed" food grade aerosol sprays. However, the gas propellants used cannot be considered as safe. The different legislations available did not rule any maximum residue limits, even though these compounds have some limits when used for other food purposes. This study shows a preliminary monitoring of propane, butane and dimethyl ether residues, in cakes and chocolate after spraying, when these gases are used as propellants in food aerosol sprays. Release kinetics of propane, butane and dimethyl ether were measured over one day with sprayed food, left at room temperature or in the fridge after spraying. The alkanes and dimethyl ether analyses were performed by headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/thermal conductivity detection, using monodeuterated propane and butane generated in situ as internal standards. According to the obtained results and regardingthe extrapolations of the maximum residue limits existing for these substances, different delays should be respected according to the storage conditions and the gas propellant to consume safely the sprayed food.

Analyzing hidden semantics in social bookmarking of open educational resources

Web 2.0 services such as social bookmarking allow users to manage and share the links they find interesting, adding their own tags for describingthem. This is especially interesting in the field of open educational resources, asdelicious is a simple way to bridge the institutional point of view (i.e. learningobject repositories) with the individual one (i.e. personal collections), thuspromoting the discovering and sharing of such resources by other users. In this paper we propose a methodology for analyzing such tags in order to discover hidden semantics (i.e. taxonomies and vocabularies) that can be used toimprove descriptions of learning objects and make learning object repositories more visible and discoverable. We propose the use of a simple statistical analysis tool such as principal component analysis to discover which tags createclusters that can be semantically interpreted. We will compare the obtained results with a collection of resources related to open educational resources, in order to better understand the real needs of people searching for open educational resources.

Conductivity test in seeds of different passion flower species

The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of the conductivity test as a means of predicting seed viability in seven Passiflora species: P. alata, P. cincinnata, P. edulis f. edulis, P. edulis f. flavicarpa, P. morifolia, P. mucronata, and P. nitida. Conductivity of non-desiccated (control), desiccated, and non-desiccated cryopreserved seeds was determined and related to their germination percentage. The obtained results suggest that the electrical conductivity test has potential as a germination predictor for P. edulis f. flavicarpa seed lots, but not for the other tested species.

Kosketukseton hitsin pintageometrian määrittäminen

Yleisesti tiedetään hitsin pintageometrian vaikuttavan rakenteen väsymislujuuteen. Nopean, edullisen ja luotettavan pintageometrian mittausmenetelmän kehittäminen on askel kohti tarkempaa ja varmempaa rakenteen väsymislujuuden tarkastelua. Tässä työssä on tutkittu hitsejä, joiden pinnan geometria on mitattu norjalaisen SINTEF -yrityksen kehittämällä rakenteellisen valon menetelmällä. Osana työtä kehitettiin MatLab -pohjainen ohjelma, jolla jälkikäsitellään mittauksesta saadut x-y-z -mittapisteet. Mittausdatan jälkikäsittelyssä saadaan mittauksesta määritettyähitsin reunan pyöristys, liittymäkulma, a-mitta, reunahaava ja kateettisuhde. Kehitettyä menetelmää käyttämällä mitattiin lähes 300 voimaakantamatontaristiliitoksen hitsiä. Mittaustuloksia verrattiin vastaavista kappaleista tehtyihin hiemittauksiin. Manuaalisen hieestä tehdyn mittauksen havaittiin olevan tarkempi ja pystyttiin havaitsemaan paikallisempia muotoja. Rakenteellisen valon mittauksissa tapahtunut heijastelu saatiin pienenemään käsittelemällä mitattava pinta mattavalkoisella maalilla. Rakenteellisen valon mittatarkkuudeksi saatiin noin 0,2 mm. Pohjautuen mitattuun hitsin reunan pyöristykseen ja liittymäkulmaan voidaan yksinkertaista kaavaa käyttämällä laskea hitsin jännityskonsentraatio ja näin saada alkuarvaus väsymislujuudelle. Myös muiden tekijöiden tiedetään vaikuttavan hitsin väsymislujuuteen, joten pyöristyksen ja liittymäkulman avulla tehdyt arviot eivät ole absoluuttisen oikeita. Tämä havaittiin väsytyskokeilla, joista yhdessä väsymisvaurio ei syntynyt suurimmankaan jännityskonsentraation alueella.

Multi-analyte detection for biological fluids. Towards continous monitoring of glucose, ionized calcium and pH using a viscometric affinity biosensor.

We present a viscometric affinity biosensor that can potentially allow continuous multi-analyte monitoring in biological fluids like blood or plasma. The sensing principle is based on the detection of viscosity changes of a polymeric solution which has a selective affinity for the analyte of interest. The chemico-mechanical sensor incorporates an actuating piezoelectric diaphragm, a sensing piezoelectric diaphragm and a flow-resisting microchannel for viscosity detection. A free-standing Anodic Alumina Oxide (AAO) porous nano-membrane is used as selective interface. A glucose-sensitive sensor was fabricated and extensively assessed in buffer solution. The sensor reversibility, stability and sensitivity were excellent during at least 65 hours. Results showed also a good degree of stability for a long term measurement (25 days). The sensor behaviour was furthermore tested in fetal bovine serum (FBS). The obtained results for glucose sensing are very promising, indicating that the developed sensor is a candidate for continuous monitoring in biological fluids. Sensitive solutions for ionized calcium and pH are currently under development and should allow multi-analyte sensing in the near future.

An Assessment ofFatigue Strength of Load Carrying Welded Joints with Lack of Penetration

On yleisesti tiedossa, että väsyttävän kuormituksen alaisena olevat hitsatut rakenteet rikkoutuvat juuri hitsausliitoksista. Täyden tunkeuman hitsausliitoksia sisältävien rakenteiden asiantunteva suunnittelu janykyaikaiset valmistusmenetelmät ovat lähes eliminoineet väsymisvauriot hitsatuissa rakenteissa. Väsymislujuuden parantaminen tiukalla täyden tunkeuman vaatimuksella on kuitenkin epätaloudellinen ratkaisu. Täyden tunkeuman hitsausliitoksille asetettavien laatuvaatimuksien on määriteltävä selkeät tarkastusohjeet ja hylkäämisperusteet. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena oli tutkia geometristen muuttujien vaikutusta kuormaa kantavien hitsausliitosten väsymislujuuteen. Huomio kiinnitettiin pääasiassa suunnittelumuuttujiin, joilla on vaikutusta väsymisvaurioiden syntymiseen hitsauksen juuren puolella. Nykyiset määräykset ja standardit, jotka perustuvat kokeellisiin tuloksiin; antavat melko yleisiä ohjeita hitsausliitosten väsymismitoituksesta. Tämän vuoksi muodostettiin kokonaan uudet parametriset yhtälöt sallitun nimellisen jännityksen kynnysarvon vaihteluvälin, ¿¿th, laskemiseksi, jotta vältettäisiin hitsausliitosten juuren puoleiset väsymisvauriot. Lisäksi, jokaiselle liitostyypille laskettiin hitsin juuren puolen väsymisluokat (FAT), joita verrattiin olemassa olevilla mitoitusohjeilla saavutettuihin tuloksiin. Täydentäviksi referensseiksi suoritettiin useita kolmiulotteisia (3D) analyysejä. Julkaistuja kokeellisiin tuloksiin perustuvia tietoja käytettiin apuna hitsausliitosten väsymiskäyttäytymisen ymmärtämiseksi ja materiaalivakioiden määrittämiseksi. Kuormaa kantavien vajaatunkeumaisten hitsausliitosten väsymislujuus määritettiin käyttämällä elementtimenetelmää. Suurimman pääjännityksen kriteeriä hyödynnettiin murtumiskäyttäytymisen ennakoimiseksi. Valitulle hitsatulle materiaalille ja koeolosuhteille murtumiskäyttäytymistä mallinnettiin särön kasvunopeudella da/dN ja jännitysintensiteettikertoimen vaihteluvälillä, 'K. Paris:n yhtälön numeerinen integrointi suoritettiin FRANC2D/L tietokoneohjelmalla. Saatujen tulosten perusteella voidaan laskea FAT tutkittavassa tapauksessa. ¿¿th laskettiin alkusärön jännitysintensiteettikertoimen vaihteluvälin ja kynnysjännitysintensiteettikertoimen, 'Kth, perusteella. ¿Kth arvoa pienemmällä vaihteluvälillä särö ei kasva. Analyyseissäoletuksena oli hitsattu jälkikäsittelemätön liitos, jossa oli valmis alkusärö hitsin juuressa. Analyysien tulokset ovat hyödyllisiä suunnittelijoille, jotka tekevät päätöksiä koskien geometrisiä parametreja, joilla on vaikutusta hitsausliitosten väsymislujuuteen.

Representació de grans escenes urbanes emprant jerarquies d'impostors en relleu

Relief Mapping is giving great results for the creation of 3D impostor models. An impostor model is a simplication of an original geometric model that is used to replace it. Then, the original volume can be reproduced in a high quality representation with very few artifacts or cracks and a high compactness. We have studied the state of the art on Relief Impostors and some current techniques related to them. In particular, we have implemented the Omni-directional Relief Impostors (ORI) technique and its hierarchical extension (HORI), througn the usage of spatial partition methods. We expose an alternative to the spatial distribution and selection of the impostors. Furthermore, we show a different computation for the rendering view distance in order to guarantee a minimal quality for the simplified representation. Finally, we discuss the obtained results and propose some new ideas or approaches to enhance the efficiency and quality of the final rendering using ORIs' and HORIs' techniques. In addition, our implementation has involved a software engineering study in the Open Source field.

Effect of Noncondensable Gases on Circulation of Primary Coolant in Nuclear Power Plants in Abnormal Situations

The present study focuses on two effects of the presence of a noncondensable gas on the thermal-hydraulic behavior of thecoolant of the primary circuit of a nuclear reactor in the VVER-440 geometry inabnormal situations. First, steam condensation with the presence of air was studied in the horizontal tubes of the steam generator (SG) of the PACTEL test facility. The French thermal-hydraulic CATHARE code was used to study the heat transfer between the primary and secondary side in conditions derived from preliminary experiments performed by VTT using PACTEL. In natural circulation and single-phase vapor conditions, the injection of a volume of air, equivalent to the totalvolume of the primary side of the SG at the entrance of the hot collector, did not stop the heat transfer from the primary to the secondary side. The calculated results indicate that air is located in the second half-length (from the mid-length of the tubes to the cold collector) in all the tubes of the steam generator The hot collector remained full of steam during the transient. Secondly, the potential release of the nitrogen gas dissolved in the water of the accumulators of the emergency core coolant system of the Loviisa nuclear power plant (NPP) was investigated. The author implemented a model of the dissolution and release ofnitrogen gas in the CATHARE code; the model created by the CATHARE developers. In collaboration with VTT, an analytical experiment was performed with some components of PACTEL to determine, in particular, the value of the release time constant of the nitrogen gas in the depressurization conditions representative of the small and intermediate break transients postulated for the Loviisa NPP. Such transients, with simplified operating procedures, were calculated using the modified CATHARE code for various values of the release time constant used in the dissolution and release model. For the small breaks, nitrogen gas is trapped in thecollectors of the SGs in rather large proportions. There, the levels oscillate until the actuation of the low-pressure injection pumps (LPIS) that refill the primary circuit. In the case of the intermediate breaks, most of the nitrogen gas is expelled at the break and almost no nitrogen gas is trapped in the SGs. In comparison with the cases calculated without taking into account the release of nitrogen gas, the start of the LPIS is delayed by between 1 and 1.75 h. Applicability of the obtained results to the real safety conditions must take into accountthe real operating procedures used in the nuclear power plant.

Dynamic Model of a Small Once-Through Boiler

In this study, a model for the unsteady dynamic behaviour of a once-through counter flow boiler that uses an organic working fluid is presented. The boiler is a compact waste-heat boiler without a furnace and it has a preheater, a vaporiser and a superheater. The relative lengths of the boiler parts vary with the operating conditions since they are all parts of a single tube. The present research is a part of a study on the unsteady dynamics of an organic Rankine cycle power plant and it will be a part of a dynamic process model. The boiler model is presented using a selected example case that uses toluene as the process fluid and flue gas from natural gas combustion as the heat source. The dynamic behaviour of the boiler means transition from the steady initial state towards another steady state that corresponds to the changed process conditions. The solution method chosen was to find such a pressure of the process fluid that the mass of the process fluid in the boiler equals the mass calculated using the mass flows into and out of the boiler during a time step, using the finite difference method. A special method of fast calculation of the thermal properties has been used, because most of the calculation time is spent in calculating the fluid properties. The boiler was divided into elements. The values of the thermodynamic properties and mass flows were calculated in the nodes that connect the elements. Dynamic behaviour was limited to the process fluid and tube wall, and the heat source was regarded as to be steady. The elements that connect the preheater to thevaporiser and the vaporiser to the superheater were treated in a special way that takes into account a flexible change from one part to the other. The model consists of the calculation of the steady state initial distribution of the variables in the nodes, and the calculation of these nodal values in a dynamic state. The initial state of the boiler was received from a steady process model that isnot a part of the boiler model. The known boundary values that may vary during the dynamic calculation were the inlet temperature and mass flow rates of both the heat source and the process fluid. A brief examination of the oscillation around a steady state, the so-called Ledinegg instability, was done. This examination showed that the pressure drop in the boiler is a third degree polynomial of the mass flow rate, and the stability criterion is a second degree polynomial of the enthalpy change in the preheater. The numerical examination showed that oscillations did not exist in the example case. The dynamic boiler model was analysed for linear and step changes of the entering fluid temperatures and flow rates.The problem for verifying the correctness of the achieved results was that there was no possibility o compare them with measurements. This is why the only way was to determine whether the obtained results were intuitively reasonable and the results changed logically when the boundary conditions were changed. The numerical stability was checked in a test run in which there was no change in input values. The differences compared with the initial values were so small that the effects of numerical oscillations were negligible. The heat source side tests showed that the model gives results that are logical in the directions of the changes, and the order of magnitude of the timescale of changes is also as expected. The results of the tests on the process fluid side showed that the model gives reasonable results both on the temperature changes that cause small alterations in the process state and on mass flow rate changes causing very great alterations. The test runs showed that the dynamic model has no problems in calculating cases in which temperature of the entering heat source suddenly goes below that of the tube wall or the process fluid.

Towards desired crystalline product properties: In-situ monitoring of batch crystallization

The objective of industrial crystallization is to obtain a crystalline product which has the desired crystal size distribution, mean crystal size, crystal shape, purity, polymorphic and pseudopolymorphic form. Effective control of the product quality requires an understanding of the thermodynamics of the crystallizing system and the effects of operation parameters on the crystalline product properties. Therefore, obtaining reliable in-line information about crystal properties and supersaturation, which is the driving force of crystallization, would be very advantageous. Advanced techniques, such asRaman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FTIR) spectroscopy, and in-line imaging techniques, offer great potential for obtaining reliable information during crystallization, and thus giving a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms (nucleation and crystal growth) involved. In the present work, the relative stability of anhydrate and dihydrate carbamazepine in mixed solvents containing water and ethanol were investigated. The kinetics of the solvent mediated phase transformation of the anhydrate to hydrate in the mixed solvents was studied using an in-line Raman immersion probe. The effects of the operation parameters in terms of solvent composition, temperature and the use of certain additives on the phase transformation kineticswere explored. Comparison of the off-line measured solute concentration and the solid-phase composition measured by in-line Raman spectroscopy allowedthe identification of the fundamental processes during the phase transformation. The effects of thermodynamic and kinetic factors on the anhydrate/hydrate phase of carbamazepine crystals during cooling crystallization were also investigated. The effect of certain additives on the batch cooling crystallization of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) wasinvestigated. The crystal growth rate of a certain crystal face was determined from images taken with an in-line video microscope. An in-line image processing method was developed to characterize the size and shape of thecrystals. An ATR FTIR and a laser reflection particle size analyzer were used to study the effects of cooling modes and seeding parameters onthe final crystal size distribution of an organic compound C15. Based on the obtained results, an operation condition was proposed which gives improved product property in terms of increased mean crystal size and narrowersize distribution.