3D Hair sketching for real-time dynamic & key frame animations

Physically based simulation of human hair is a well studied and well known problem. But the “pure” physically based representation of hair (and other animation elements) is not the only concern of the animators, who want to “control” the creation and animation phases of the content. This paper describes a sketch-based tool, with which a user can both create hair models with different styling parameters and produce animations of these created hair models using physically and key frame-based techniques. The model creation and animation production tasks are all performed with direct manipulation techniques in real-time.     

Ant colony optimization approach to estimate energy demand of Turkey

This paper attempts to shed light on the determinants of energy demand in Turkey. Energy demand model is first proposed using the ant colony optimization (ACO) approach. It is multi-agent systems in which the behavior of each ant is inspired by the foraging behavior of real ants to solve optimization problem. ACO energy demand estimation (ACOEDE) model is developed using population, gross domestic product (GDP), import and export. All equations proposed here are linear and quadratic. Quadratic_ACOEDE provided better-fit solution due to fluctuations of the economic indicators. The ACOEDE model plans the energy demand of Turkey until 2025 according to three scenarios. The relative estimation errors of the ACOEDE model are the lowest when they are compared with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) projection.     

secG and temperature modulate expression of azide-resistant and signal sequence suppressor phenotypes of Escherichia coli secA mutants

SecA is a dynamic protein that undergoes ATP-dependent membrane cycling to drive protein translocation across the Escherichia coli inner membrane. To understand more about this process, azide-resistant (azi) and signal sequence suppressor (prlD) alleles of secA were studied. We found that azide resistance is cold sensitive because of a direct effect on protein export, suggesting that SecA-membrane interaction is regulated by an endothermic step that is azide inhibitable. secG function is required for expression of azide-resistant and signal sequence suppressor activities of azi and prlD alleles, and in turn, these alleles suppress cold-sensitive and export-defective phenotypes of a secG null mutant. These remarkable genetic observations support biochemical data indicating that SecG promotes SecA membrane cycling and that this process is dependent on an endothermic change in SecA conformation.     

Is it possible to differentiate between choledochal cyst and congenital biliary atresia (type I cyst) by antenatal ultrasonography?

Both choledochal cyst and congenital biliary atresia (type I cyst) may share the same ultrasonographic pattern. We report 2 cases which were shown to have cystic structures on the upper abdomen by antenatal ultrasonography. The size of the choledochal cyst found at 24 weeks' gestation increased steadily as gestational age advanced. But the size of the cyst in congenital biliary atresia found at 29 weeks' gestation remained unchanged throughout the remaining pregnancy. Cyst enlargement, therefore, may suggest the possibility of a choledochal cyst.     

Protein modification by a Maillard reaction intermediate methylglyoxal. Immunochemical detection of fluorescent 5-methylimidazolone derivatives in vivo

Methylglyoxal (MG), an endogenous metabolite that increases in diabetes, is a common intermediate in nonenzymatic glycation (Maillard reaction) in vivo. Here we describe the immunochemical approach to the detection of MG adducts in proteins in vitro and in atherosclerotic lesions of human aorta in vivo. The reaction of protein (bovine serum albumin) with MG led to selective loss of arginine and lysine residues, accompanied by the formation of 5-methylimidazolone (N delta-(5-methylimidazolon-2-yl)ornithine) and imidazolysine (1,3-di-lysino-4-methylimidazole) derivatives, respectively. The anti-5-methylimidazolone antibody was prepared by immunizing rabbits with a MG-keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugate and purifying the serum on an affinity gel prepared by covalent attachment of the 5-methylimidazolone derivative. The antibody cross-reacted with the proteins treated with not only MG but trioses, such as hydroxyacetone, dihydroxyacetone, and glyceraldehyde. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed that atherosclerotic lesions of human aorta contained 5-methylimidazolone derivatives whose distributions were identical to those of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) detected by the anti-AGE antibody.     

Synthesis of phosphorus-, zinc-, and chlorine-containing poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Phosphorus-, zinc-, and chlorine-containing oligomer was used as a comonomer including ionic bonds in its molecules in the synthesis of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Phosphorus-, zinc-, and chlorine-containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) including ionic bonds in its main polymer chain was synthesized. With a content of 0.6% P and 1.25% Zn and 0.1% Cl, the resin has the following characteristics: η_rel = 1.407; COOH 39.90 mg equiv KOH/g 10^?6; and mp 255.8°C. The modifier acts as a thermostabilizer. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

MICROSTRUCTURE AND REVERSE SHAPE MEMORY EFFECT IN A Cu-Zn-Al ALLOY

The bainite structure in a Cu-Zn-A1 alloy related to the reverse shape memory effect hasbeen observed by means of TEM.The reverse memory effect may be improved by up to oneorder of magnitude under applied constraint stress.The widespread propagation of bainite wasconfirmed to be the diffusion controlled shear process by the parabolic configuration of sideinterface of bainite plate and the twisting of intersected bainite plates.     

Lead recovery from aqueous environment by using porous carbon of citrus fruits waste: equilibrium,kinetics and thermodynamic studies

ABSTRACT

The mixture of citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, mandarin, and lemon) wastes was utilized to obtain high surface area activated carbon (AC) by H₃PO₄ activation. The production conditions were optimized and the optimum conditions were determined. The optimal-activated carbon (CFWAC) was characterized by various physicochemical techniques. CFWAC was also used as a sorbent for Pb (II) ions from water. Batch experiments were performed to explore the adsorption capacity and mechanism. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model showed good fitness to the experimental data. The maximum Pb (II) adsorption capacity of CFWAC was found to be 163.93 mg/g.     

Decentralized observers with consensus filters for distributed discrete-time linear systems

This paper presents a decentralized observer with a consensus filter for the state observation of discrete-time linear distributed systems. Each agent in the distributed system has an observer with a model of the plant that utilizes the set of locally available measurements, which may not make the full plant state detectable. This lack of detectability is overcome by utilizing a consensus filter that blends the state estimate of each agent with its neighbors’ estimates. It is proven that the state estimates of the proposed observer exponentially converge to the actual plant states under arbitrarily changing, but connected, communication and pseudo-connected sensing graph topologies. Except these connectivity properties, full knowledge of the sensing and communication graphs is not needed at the design time. As a byproduct, we obtained a result on the location of eigenvalues, i.e., the spectrum, of the Laplacian for a family of graphs with self-loops.