Are the W Ursae Majoris-type systems EK Comae Berenices and UX Eridani surrounded by circumstellar matter?

The variations of the orbital periods of two nearly neglected W UMa-type eclipsing binaries, EK Comae Berenices and UX Eridani, are presented through a detailed analysis of the O–C diagrams. It is found that the orbital period of EK Com is decreasing and the period of UX Eridani is increasing, and several sudden jumps have occurred in the orbital periods of both binaries. We analyze the mechanism(s), which might underlie the changes of the orbital periods of both systems, and obtain some new results. The long-term decrease of the orbital period of EK Comae Berenices might be caused by the decrease of the orbital angular momentum due to a magnetic stellar wind (MSW) or by mass transfer from the more massive to the less massive component. The secular increase in the orbital period of UX Eridani might be caused by mass transfer from the less massive to the more massive star. The possible mechanisms, which underlie the sudden changes in the orbital periods of the close binary systems are as the followings: (1) the variations of the structure due to the variation of the magnetic field; (2) the rapid mass exchange between the close binaries and their circumstellar matter. Finally, the evolutionary status of the systems EK Comae Berenices and UX Eridani is discussed.