This paper describes experimental research on cutting the outer layer of onions in the machine peeling process. The authors' own globally innovative modular machine construction was used for this purpose. The onion peeling machine was constructed on a real scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensors (Basel)
August 2019
Exploring Internet of Things (IoT) data streams generated by smart cities means not only transforming data into better business decisions in a timely way but also generating long-term location intelligence for developing new forms of urban governance and organization policies. This paper proposes a new architecture based on the edge-fog-cloud continuum to analyze IoT data streams for delivering data-driven insights in a smart parking scenario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The aim of this paper is to report the treatment of angiosarcoma of the scalp. High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy with an individual mold applicator is presented.
Case Description: A case of a 75-year-old male will be presented with multicentric lesions over the scalp in the temple and crown region.
The decomposition of the widely used organophosphorus pesticide parathion was carried out in aqueous solutions by the use of gamma-irradiation from a 60Co source or ozonation by means of an ozone generator, and by combined processes of ozonation and radiolysis. Factors affecting the parathion decomposition as well formation and decomposition of the main by-products, including irradiation dose, length of ozonation time, and presence of common scavengers, were investigated. The most efficient was found to be the gamma-irradiation process combined with a short ozonation period; about 1 kGy irradiation dose was sufficient to decompose the pesticide in 15 mg/L solutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
September 2011
Elemental composition of 85 cannabis samples was established using GF AAS and ICP OES methods. The robustness of the method was determined by analyzing eight independently prepared replicates from a single cannabis plant. The accuracy of the method was established by analyzing four plant certified reference material samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) represent an important group of persistent perfluorinated organic compounds commonly determined in environmental and biological samples. A reversed-phase HPLC method was developed based on derivatization of the PFCAs with the commercially available fluorescent reagent 3-bromoacetyl coumarin. The method was optimized and this resulted in the efficient separation of PFCAs containing from 3 to 12 carbon atoms in molecule in 25 min run.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate the performance of computed tomography (CT) systems of various designs as a source of electron density (rho(el)) data for treatment planning of radiation therapy.
Material And Methods: Dependence of CT numbers on relative electron density of tissue-equivalent materials (HU-rho(el) relationship) was measured for several general-purpose CT systems (single-slice, multislice, wide-bore multislice), for radiotherapy simulators with a single-slice CT and kV CBCT (cone-beam CT) options, as well as for linear accelerators with kV and MV CBCT systems. Electron density phantoms of four sizes were used.
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) produce changes of status that are frequent, dynamic and unpredictable, and cannot be represented using a linear cause-effect approach. Consequently, a new approach is needed to handle these changes in order to support dynamic interoperability. Our approach is to introduce the notion of context as an explicit representation of changes of a WSN status inferred from metadata elements, which in turn, leads towards a decision-making process about how to maintain dynamic interoperability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
September 2004
The collective and individual dynamics of decylammonium chloride (DACl) molecules in water environment were investigated as a function of surfactant concentration and temperature. In the presence of water the DACl forms a variety of self-assembled structures, ranging from isotropic micellar systems to lyotropic liquid crystalline phases of hexagonal, nematic, and lamellar types. In order to characterize the complex molecular dynamics that occur in the DACl-water system, we applied 1H and 2H NMR techniques that cover the whole frequency range between 1 kHz and 30 MHz.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMulti-agent Systems (MAS) offer a conceptual approach to include multi-actor decision making into models of land use change. The main goal is to explore the use of MAS to simulate spatial scenarios based on modelling multi-actor decision-making within a spatial planning process. We demonstrate MAS that consists of agents representing organizations and interest groups involved in an urban allocation problem during a land use planning process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the study was assessment of quality of life (QL) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated surgically or treated with both: neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. We evaluated 200 NSCLC patients in I-IIIa stages. They were divided into 2 groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDendritic cells (DC) take up antigen from the periphery and migrate to the lymphoid organs where they present the processed antigens to T cells. The propensity of DC to migrate changes during DC maturation and is probably dependent on alterations in the expression of chemokine receptors on the surface of DC. Secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine (SLC), a recently discovered chemokine for naïve T cells, is primarily expressed in secondary lymphoid organs and may be important for colocalizing T cells with other cell types important for T-cell activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing a new inducible form of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) we have found that PI 3-kinase activation has the following effects on cell growth and proliferation. (i) Activation of PI 3-kinase was sufficient to promote entry into S phase of the cell cycle within several hours. This was shown by activation of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (Cdk4) and Cdk2 and by the induction of DNA synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Obesity, the condition of excessive accumulation of fat is a poorly understood disorder and is a risk factor for type II diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia. Recently, a putative mouse obese gene was cloned and its product, termed ob protein, was shown to be involved in the regulation of body weight.
Materials And Methods: Bacterial and insect cells were used for expression of recombinant mouse ob protein.