Low order anti-aliasing filters for sparse signals in embedded applications

Major emphasis, in compressed sensing (CS) research, has been on the acquisition of sub-Nyquist number of samples of a signal that has a sparse representation on some tight frame or an orthogonal basis, and subsequent reconstruction of the original signal using a plethora of recovery algorithms. In this paper, we present compressed sensing data acquisition from a different perspective, wherein a set of signals are reconstructed at a sampling rate which is a multiple of the sampling rate of the ADCs that are used to measure the signals. We illustrate how this can facilitate usage of anti-aliasing filters with relaxed frequency specifications and, consequently, of lower order.

Development and programming of Geophonino: A low cost Arduino-based seismic recorder for vertical geophones

The commercial data acquisition systems used for seismic exploration are usually expensive equipment. In this work, a low cost data acquisition system (Geophonino) has been developed for recording seismic signals from a vertical geophone. The signal goes first through an instrumentation amplifier, INA155, which is suitable for low amplitude signals like the seismic noise, and an anti-aliasing filter based on the MAX7404 switched-capacitor filter. After that, the amplified and filtered signal is digitized and processed by Arduino Due and registered in an SD memory card. Geophonino is configured for continuous registering, where the sampling frequency, the amplitude gain and the registering time are user-defined. The complete prototype is an open source and open hardware system. It has been tested by comparing the registered signals with the ones obtained through different commercial data recording systems and different kind of geophones. The obtained results show good correlation between the tested measurements, presenting Geophonino as a low-cost alternative system for seismic data recording.

Flou de mouvement réaliste en temps réel

Le flou de mouvement de haute qualité est un effet de plus en plus important en rendu interactif. Avec l'augmentation constante en qualité des ressources et en fidélité des scènes vient un désir semblable pour des effets lenticulaires plus détaillés et réalistes. Cependant, même dans le contexte du rendu hors-ligne, le flou de mouvement est souvent approximé à l'aide d'un post-traitement. Les algorithmes de post-traitement pour le flou de mouvement ont fait des pas de géant au niveau de la qualité visuelle, générant des résultats plausibles tout en conservant un niveau de performance interactif. Néanmoins, des artefacts persistent en présence, par exemple, de mouvements superposés ou de motifs de mouvement à très large ou très fine échelle, ainsi qu'en présence de mouvement à la fois linéaire et rotationnel. De plus, des mouvements d'amplitude importante ont tendance à causer des artefacts évidents aux bordures d'objets ou d'image. Ce mémoire présente une technique qui résout ces artefacts avec un échantillonnage plus robuste et un système de filtrage qui échantillonne selon deux directions qui sont dynamiquement et automatiquement sélectionnées pour donner l'image la plus précise possible. Ces modifications entraînent un coût en performance somme toute mineur comparativement aux implantations existantes: nous pouvons générer un flou de mouvement plausible et temporellement cohérent pour plusieurs séquences d'animation complexes, le tout en moins de 2ms à une résolution de 1280 x 720. De plus, notre filtre est conçu pour s'intégrer facilement avec des filtres post-traitement d'anticrénelage.

Isolation of anti-angiogenesis antibodies from a large combinatorial repertoire by colony filter screening

We describe here a method, based on iterative colony filter screening, for the rapid isolation of binding specificities from a large synthetic repertoire of human antibody fragments in single-chain Fv configuration. Escherichia coli cells, expressing the library of antibody fragments, are grown on a porous master filter, in contact with a second filter coated with the antigen, onto which antibodies secreted by the bacteria are able to diffuse. Detection of antigen binding on the second filter allows the recovery of a number of E.coli cells, including those expressing the binding specificity of interest, which can be submitted to a second round of screening for the isolation of specific monoclonal antibodies. We tested the methodology using as antigen the ED-B domain of fibronectin, a marker of angiogenesis. From an antibody library of 7 × 108 clones, we recovered a number of specifically-binding antibodies of different aminoacid sequence. The antibody clone showing the strongest enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay signal (ME4C) was further characterised. Its epitope on the ED-B domain was mapped using the SPOT synthesis method, which uses a set of decapeptides spanning the antigen sequence synthesised and anchored on cellulose. ME4C binds to the ED-B domain with a dissociation constant Kd = 1 × 10–7 M and specifically stains tumour blood vessels, as shown by immunohistochemical analysis on tumour sections of human and murine origin.

Adição de superplastificante e anti-segregante à base de CMC em pastas de cimento para Poços de Petróleo

Oil well cementing materials consist of slurries of Special class Portland cement dispersed in water. Admixtures can be used to provide the necessary fluidity, so the material can be efficiently pumped down as well as penetrate porous rocks with controlled filter loss. Construction admixtures can be used to modify the properties of oil well cements provided they can withstand and hold their properties at the higher than ambient temperatures usually encountered in oil fields. In civil construction, superplasticizer play the role of dispersants that reduce the facto r of water cement improve mechanical properties and fluidity of the cement, whereas anti-segregation agents improve the workability of the slurry. In the present study, oil well cement slurries were produced adding both a dispersant and an anti-segregation agent conventionally used in Portland CPII-Z-32 RS cement aiming at materials for primary cementing and squeeze operations. Three basic aspects were evaluated: fluidity, filter loss and the synergetic effect of the admixtures at two temperatures, i.e., 27°C and 56°C, following API RP 10B practical recommendations. The slurries were prepared using admixture concentrations varying from 2.60 Kgf/m3 (0.02 gallft3) to 5.82 Kgf/m3 (0.045 galJft3) BWOC. The density of the slurries was set to 1.89 g/cm3 (15.8 Ib/gal). 0.30 to 0.60% BWOC of a CMC-based anti-segregation agent was added to the cement to control the filter loss. The results showed that the addition of anti-segregation at concentrations above 0.55% by weight of cement resulted in the increased viscosity of the folders in temperatures evaluated. The increasing the temperature of the tests led to a reduction in the performance of anti-segregation. At concentrations of 5.20 kgf/m3 (0,040 gallft3) and 5.82 Kgf/m3 (0,045 gal/ft 3) observed a better performance of the properties evaluated in the proposed system. At low temperature was observed instability in the readings of rheology for all concentrations of anti-segregation. Contents that increasing the concentration of anti¬-segregation is limited concentrations greater than 0.55 % BWOC of the CMC in temperature analyzed. The use of the system with CMC promoted a good performance against the properties evaluated. The principal function of anti¬-segregation was optimized with increasing concentration of superplasticizer, at temperatures above the 2rC. The study of the behaviour of systemic additives, resulting in slurries of cement, which can be optimized face studies of other intrinsic properties in oil fields

Novel active and passive anti-vibration mountings

This paper investigates a novel design approach for a vibration isolator for use in space structures. The approach used can particularly be applicable for aerospace structures that support high precision instrumentation such as satellite payloads. The isolator is a space-frame structure that is folded in on itself to act as a mechanical filter over a defined frequency range. The absence of viscoelastic elements in such a mounting makes the design suitable for use in a vacuum and in high temperature or harsh environments with no risk of drift in alignment of the structure. The design uses a genetic algorithm based geometric optimisation routine to maximise passive vibration isolation, and this is hybridised with a geometric feasibility search. To complement the passive isolation system, an active system is incorporated in the design to add damping. Experimental work to validate the feasibility of the approach is also presented, with the active/passive structure achieving transmissibility of about 19 dB over a range of 1-250 Hz. It is shown here that the use of these novel anti-vibration mountings has no or little consequent weight and cost penalties whilst maintaining their effectiveness with the vibration levels. The approach should pave the way for the design of anti-vibration mountings that can be used between most pieces of equipment and their supporting structure. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of anti-Giardia lamblia serum antibody among children of day care centers

OBJETIVOS: Detectar anticorpos séricos anti-Giardia lamblia entre crianças atendidas em creches e estimar a freqüência de infecção por Giardia lamblia em área endêmica. MÉTODOS: Foram coletadas três amostras de fezes de cada uma das 147 crianças de três creches da rede municipal de Botucatu, SP, com idade variando de 0 a 6 anos, e as amostras foram processadas pelos métodos de sedimentação espontânea e flutuação pelo sulfato de zinco. Amostras de sangue foram obtidas da polpa digital, coletadas em papel de filtro e testadas pelos métodos de imunofluorescência indireta (IFI) e de reação imunoenzimática (Elisa) para pesquisa de IgG anti-Giardia. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÕES: de um total de 147 crianças, 93 (63,3%) apresentaram cistos de Giardia nas fezes. Dos 147 eluatos testados, 93 (63,3%) e 100 (68%) foram positivos para Giardia em IFI e em Elisa, respectivamente. A sensibilidade de IFI foi de 82% e de Elisa, 72%. Contudo, Elisa foi menos específica (39%) do que IFI (70%). A imunofluorescência indireta apresentou maior concordância com o exame de fezes do que Elisa.

Avaliação da atividade carrapaticida e anti-helmíntica do abacaxi (Ananas comosus L.) em ruminantes

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Sesquiterpene Lactones with Anti-Hepatitis C Virus Activity Using Molecular Descriptors

Hepatitis C is a worldwide public health problem. The available therapies are limited by their partial effectiveness and with meaningful side-effects. Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a group of natural products with a wide variety of chemical structures and biological activities associated. There are few studies about the influence of the molecular structure of SLs for the anti-hepatitis C virus activity. In the present work, SLs are investigated in a subgenomic RNA replicon assay system and were analyzed using multiple linear regression along with self-organizing maps with DRAGON descriptors in order to identify the structural requirements for their biological activity and to predict the inhibitory potency of SLs. Characteristics such as stereochemistry and electronic effects demonstrated to be important for their anti-HCV activity, and the SOM produced a clear separation betwenn active and inactive compounds. Therefore, it is possible to use this map as a filter for virtual screening to predict the anti-HCV activity of SLs.

The effect of adsorption, filter material and point of dilution on antibiotic elimination by haemofiltration - An in vitro study of levofloxacin

We studied an in vitro model of continuous venous-venous haemofiltration (CVVH), into which levofloxacin 100 mg was infused, to determine levofloxacin adsorption and to determine the effect of filter material and point of dilution (pre- or post-filter) on sieving coefficient. Mean (standard deviation; S.D.) adsorption was 18.7 (5.3) mg for the polyamide filter and 40.2 (2.0) mg for the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) filter (P < 0.001). Post-dilution resulted in a minor, but statistically significant, decrease in sieving coefficient (pre-dilution 0.96 (S.D. 0.10), post-dilution 0.88 (S.D. 0.11) with the PAN filter. These data indicate that the variability in published values for levofloxacin sieving coefficient are not due to variation in point of dilution or membrane type (PAN or polyamide). Significant adsorption of levofloxacin onto PAN filters occurs. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

Adição de superplastificante e anti-segregante à base de CMC em pastas de cimento para Poços de Petróleo

Oil well cementing materials consist of slurries of Special class Portland cement dispersed in water. Admixtures can be used to provide the necessary fluidity, so the material can be efficiently pumped down as well as penetrate porous rocks with controlled filter loss. Construction admixtures can be used to modify the properties of oil well cements provided they can withstand and hold their properties at the higher than ambient temperatures usually encountered in oil fields. In civil construction, superplasticizer play the role of dispersants that reduce the facto r of water cement improve mechanical properties and fluidity of the cement, whereas anti-segregation agents improve the workability of the slurry. In the present study, oil well cement slurries were produced adding both a dispersant and an anti-segregation agent conventionally used in Portland CPII-Z-32 RS cement aiming at materials for primary cementing and squeeze operations. Three basic aspects were evaluated: fluidity, filter loss and the synergetic effect of the admixtures at two temperatures, i.e., 27°C and 56°C, following API RP 10B practical recommendations. The slurries were prepared using admixture concentrations varying from 2.60 Kgf/m3 (0.02 gallft3) to 5.82 Kgf/m3 (0.045 galJft3) BWOC. The density of the slurries was set to 1.89 g/cm3 (15.8 Ib/gal). 0.30 to 0.60% BWOC of a CMC-based anti-segregation agent was added to the cement to control the filter loss. The results showed that the addition of anti-segregation at concentrations above 0.55% by weight of cement resulted in the increased viscosity of the folders in temperatures evaluated. The increasing the temperature of the tests led to a reduction in the performance of anti-segregation. At concentrations of 5.20 kgf/m3 (0,040 gallft3) and 5.82 Kgf/m3 (0,045 gal/ft 3) observed a better performance of the properties evaluated in the proposed system. At low temperature was observed instability in the readings of rheology for all concentrations of anti-segregation. Contents that increasing the concentration of anti¬-segregation is limited concentrations greater than 0.55 % BWOC of the CMC in temperature analyzed. The use of the system with CMC promoted a good performance against the properties evaluated. The principal function of anti¬-segregation was optimized with increasing concentration of superplasticizer, at temperatures above the 2rC. The study of the behaviour of systemic additives, resulting in slurries of cement, which can be optimized face studies of other intrinsic properties in oil fields