bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Double Walled Carbon Nanotube/TiO2 Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Dye Degradation
Authors: Kuvarega Alex T. , Mamba Bhekie B.
Published: October 2016

Double walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT)/N,Pd codoped TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by a modified sol-gel method and characterised using FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, DRUV-Vis, XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses. TEM images showed unique pearl-bead-necklace structured morphologies at higher DWCNT ratios. The nanocomposite materials showed characteristic anatase TiO2 Raman bands in addition to the carbon nanotube D and G bands. Red shifts in the UV-Vis absorption edge were observed at low DWCNT percentages. The photocatalytic activity of DWCNT/N,Pd TiO2 nanocomposite was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow under simulated solar light irradiation and the 2% DWCNT/N,Pd TiO2 nanocomposite showed the highest photoactivity while the 20% DWCNT/N,Pd TiO2 hybrid was the least efficient. The photocatalytic enhancement was attributed to the synergistic effects of the supporting and electron channeling role of the DWCNTs as well as the electron trapping effects of the platinum group metal. These phenomena favour the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, reducing their recombination rate, which consequently lead to significantly enhanced photoactivity.
A Swelling over Sternum in a Child: Reminder of an Uncommon Diagnosis
Authors: Joshi Pradnya , Bavdekar Sandeep B. , Save Sushma U.
Published: October 2016

Lack of awareness about isolated tubercular osteomyelitis of the sternum resulted in a delay in diagnosing the condition in an eleven-year-old girl who presented with a gradually increasing swelling over the sternum. Radiological, histological, and microbiological investigations helped diagnose the condition and the child responded well to antitubercular therapy (ATT) and surgical debridement. The report provides a brief description about the various management options available.
High Mobility Group Box-1: A Missing Link between Diabetes and Its Complications
Authors: Wu Han , Chen Zheng , Xie Jun , Kang Li-Na , Wang Lian , Xu Biao
Published: October 2016

High mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1), a damage-associated molecular pattern, can be actively or passively released from various cells under different conditions and plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of inflammation and angiogenesis-dependent diseases. More and more evidence suggests that inflammation, in addition to its role in progression of diabetes, also promotes initiation and development of diabetic complications. In this review, we focus on the role of HMGB-1 in diabetes-related complications and the therapeutic strategies targeting HMGB-1 in diabetic complications.
Effect of Growth Temperature and Time on Morphology and Gas Sensitivity of Cu2O/Cu Microstructures
Authors: Wu Ling , Zhang Lun , Xun Zhipeng , Yu Guili , Shi Liwei
Published: October 2016

A facile hydrothermal synthesis with CuSO4as the copper source was used to prepare micro/nano-Cu2O. The obtained samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). With increasing the reaction temperature and time, the final products were successively Cu2O octahedron microcrystals, Cu2O/Cu composite particles, and a wide range of Cu spherical particles. The gas sensitivity of products towards ethanol and acetone gases was studied. The results showed that sensors prepared with Cu2O/Cu composites synthesized at 65°C for 15 min exhibited optimal gas sensitivity. The gas sensing mechanism and the effect of Cu in the enhanced gas response were also elaborated. The excellent gas sensitivity indicates that Cu2O/Cu composites have potential application as gas sensors.
Adaptive Control of Dynamically Complex Networks with Saturation Couplings
Authors: Wang Guoliang , Yan Tingting
Published: October 2016

This paper considers the control problem of dynamically complex networks with saturation couplings. Two novel control schemes in terms of adaptive control are presented to deal with such saturation couplings. Based on the robust idea, the underlying complex network is firstly transformed into a strongly connected network having time-varying uncertainty. However, the upper bound of uncertainty is unknown. Because of such an unavailable bound, a kind of adaptive controller added to each node is proposed such that the closed-loop auxiliary network is uniformly bounded. In particular, the original system states are asymptotically stable. Moreover, in order to avoid adding the desired controller to every node, another different kind of adaptive controller based on the pinning control idea is proposed. Compared with the former method, it is only applied to a part of nodes and has a good operability. Finally, a numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of our results.
The AMBU® Aura-i™ Laryngeal Mask and LMA Supreme™: A Randomized Trial of Clinical Performance and Fibreoptic Positioning in Unparalysed, Anaesthetised Patients by Novices
Authors: Yahaya Zanahriah , Teoh Wendy H. , Dintan Nora A. , Agrawal Ravi
Published: October 2016

Introduction. Manikin studies’ data cannot accurately be extrapolated to real-life scenarios and inherent differences in design and materials of newer products may affect their clinical performance.Methods. Hence, we compared the AMBU® Aura-i™ and LMA Supreme™ in this randomized trial involving 100 ASA 1-2 unparalysed anaesthetised patients undergoing minor gynaecological surgery. Investigators had <20 Aura-i insertions. Primary outcome was time to achieve effective ventilation and secondarily insertion parameters, oropharyngeal leak pressures (OLP), fibreoptic positioning, and pharyngeal morbidity. The position of the Ambu Aura-i was evaluated with the Ascope; the fiberoptic view of the glottis was scored on a five-point scale.Results. 43 (86%) AMBU Aura-i and 44 (88%) LMA Supremes were successfully inserted on first attempt (p=0.59), with similar ease (p=0.79), and comparable times to first capnogram, mean (SD) 18.2 (6.0) versus 17.3 (6.4) sec,p=0.9. The Aura-i needed significantly less volume of air to inflate its cuff to 60 cmH2O on the manometer, 17.7 (3.5) versus 23.1 (4.4) mL,p<0.001. Both devices exhibited similar OLP, Aura-i versus LMA Supreme, mean (SD) 28.8 (7.1) versus 27.3 (5.3) cmH2O,p=0.24. There was no difference in ease of insertion or adjustment manoeuvres to aid ventilation. 90% of patients had good positioning of Aura-i on fibreoptic check, yielding a view of the vocal cords and epiglottis. In 5 patients (10%), the vocal cords were not seen, but ventilatory function was unaffected.Conclusions. The Aura-i handled well in novices hands, with comparable times to insert and establish ventilation, similar leak pressures, and successful first attempt insertion rates compared to the LMA Supreme.
A Novel Optimal Control Method for Impulsive-Correction Projectile Based on Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Sun Ruisheng , Hong Qiao , Zhu Gang
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a new parametric optimization approach based on a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) to design a class of impulsive-correction projectiles with discrete, flexible-time interval, and finite-energy control. In terms of optimal control theory, the task is described as the formulation of minimum working number of impulses and minimum control error, which involves reference model linearization, boundary conditions, and discontinuous objective function. These result in difficulties in finding the global optimum solution by directly utilizing any other optimization approaches, for example, Hp-adaptive pseudospectral method. Consequently, PSO mechanism is employed for optimal setting of impulsive control by considering the time intervals between two neighboring lateral impulses as design variables, which makes the briefness of the optimization process. A modification on basic PSO algorithm is developed to improve the convergence speed of this optimization through linearly decreasing the inertial weight. In addition, a suboptimal control and guidance law based on PSO technique are put forward for the real-time consideration of the online design in practice. Finally, a simulation case coupled with a nonlinear flight dynamic model is applied to validate the modified PSO control algorithm. The results of comparative study illustrate that the proposed optimal control algorithm has a good performance in obtaining the optimal control efficiently and accurately and provides a reference approach to handling such impulsive-correction problem.
Association between Air Pollution and the Development of Rheumatic Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Sun Gavin , Hazlewood Glen , Bernatsky Sasha , Kaplan Gilaad G. , Eksteen Bertus , Barnabe Cheryl
Published: October 2016

Objective. Environmental risk factors, such as air pollution, have been studied in relation to the risk of development of rheumatic diseases. We performed a systematic literature review to summarize the existing knowledge.Methods. MEDLINE (1946 to September 2016) and EMBASE (1980 to 2016, week 37) databases were searched using MeSH terms and keywords to identify cohort, case-control, and case cross-over studies reporting risk estimates for the development of select rheumatic diseases in relation to exposure of measured air pollutants (n=8). We extracted information on the population sample and study period, method of case and exposure determination, and the estimate of association.Results. There was no consistent evidence of an increased risk for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with exposure to NO2, SO2, PM2.5, or PM10. Case-control studies in systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) indicated higher odds of diagnosis with increasing PM2.5exposure, as well as an increased relative risk for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in American children <5.5 years of age. There was no association with SARDs and NO2exposure.Conclusion. There is evidence for a possible association between air pollutant exposures and the development of SARDs and JIA, but relationships with other rheumatic diseases are less clear.
New Leakage Current Particulate Matter Sensor for On-Board Diagnostics
Authors: Wang Jiawei , Tang Dong , Wang Songhua , Zhu Zehong , Li Nan , Chen Lie
Published: October 2016

Structure and principle of the new leakage current particulate matter (PM) sensor are introduced and further study is performed on the PM sensor with the combination of numerical simulation and bench test. High voltage electrode, conductive shell, and heaters are all built-in. Based on the principle of Venturi tube and maze structure design, this sensor can detect transient PM concentrations. Internal flow field of the sensor and distribution condition of PM inside the sensor are analyzed through gas-solid two-phase flow numerical simulation. The experiment was also carried out on the whole sensor system (including mechanical and electronic circuit part) and the output signals were analyzed. The results of simulation and experiment reveal the possibility of PM concentration (mass) detection by the sensor.
Structural Stability of Functionalized Silicene Nanoribbons with Normal, Reconstructed, and Hybrid Edges
Authors: Mehdi Aghaei Sadegh , Torres Ingrid , Calizo Irene
Published: October 2016

Silicene, a novel graphene-like material, has attracted a significant attention because of its potential applications for nanoelectronics. In this paper, we have theoretically investigated the structural stability of edge-hydrogenated and edge-fluorinated silicene nanoribbons (SiNRs) via first-principles calculations. Various edge forms of SiNRs including armchair edge, zigzag edge, Klein edge, reconstructed Klein edge, reconstructed pentagon-heptagon edge, and hybrid edges have been considered. It has been found that fully fluorinated Klein edge SiNRs, in which each edge Si atom is terminated by three fluorine atoms, are the most stable structure. We also discovered that a hybrid edge structure of trihydrogenated Klein edge and dihydrogenated zigzag edge can increase the nanoribbon’s stability up to that of dihydrogenated armchair edge SiNR, which is known as the most stable edge-hydrogenated structure. With the attractive properties of silicene for practical applications, the obtained results will advance experimental investigations toward the development of silicene based devices.
The Effects of Anthropogenic Heat Release on Urban Meteorology and Implication for Haze Pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region
Authors: Liu Ruiting , Han Zhiwei
Published: October 2016

In this study, the effect of anthropogenic heat release (AHR) on meteorological variables and atmospheric diffusion capability and implication for haze pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in January 2013 were investigated by using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with an urban canopy model (UCM) and an AHR scheme. The comparison with observation demonstrated the WRF/UCM model taking AHR into account apparently improved meteorological prediction, especially for surface air temperature at 2 m (T2). The model also exhibited a better performance for planetary boundary layer (PBL) height. This study revealed that AHR from cities exerted a significant impact on meteorology by generally increasing surface air temperature and wind speed, decreasing relative humidity, and elevating PBL height and near surface turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), which could consequently reduce surface pollutant concentration and mitigate haze pollution by enhancing atmospheric instability and turbulent mixing and reducing aerosol hygroscopic growth.
Quantitative Analysis of Ageing Condition of Insulating Paper Using Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Saldivar-Guerrero R. , Cabrera Álvarez E. N. , Leon-Silva U. , Lopez-Gonzalez F. A. , Delgado Arroyo F. , Lara-Covarrubias H. , Montes-Fernandez R.
Published: October 2016

Transformers are very expensive apparatuses and are vital to make the whole power system run normally. The failures in such apparatuses could leave them out of service, causing severe economic losses. The life of a transformer can be effectively determined by the life of the insulating paper. In the present work, we show an alternative diagnostic technique to determine the ageing condition of transformer paper by the use of FTIR spectroscopy and an empirical model. This method has the advantage of using a microsample that could be extracted from the transformer on-site. The proposed technique offers an approximation quantitative evaluation of the degree of polymerization of dielectric papers and could be used for transformer diagnosis and remaining life estimation.
Fabrication and Optimization of Polymer Solar Cells Based on P3HT:PC70BM System
Authors: Yu Huangzhong , Li Yanping , Dong Yifan , Huang Xinxin
Published: October 2016

Efficient bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on P3HT:PC70BM were fabricated by optimizing the processing parameters. The optimized thickness and annealing temperature have been found to be about 200 nm and 130°C. The effect of cathode interfacial layers on device performance is related to the formation of interfacial dipole. Furthermore, the effect of optimum ZnO interfacial thickness (~30 nm) on device performance is attributed to good interfacial conductivity and its optical property. The metal electrode deposited in the slow rate has a better influence on device performance. Based on these optimal conditions, the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.91% was obtained under AM 1.5G and 100 mW/cm2 illumination. This detailed investigation provides an important reference for the fabrication and optimization of polymer photovoltaic devices.
Natural Products Improving Hyperuricemia with Hepatorenal Dual Effects
Authors: Hao Shijun , Zhang Chunlei , Song Haiyan
Published: October 2016

This review aims to put forth an overview of natural products reducing uric acid level with hepatorenal dual effects. The prevalence of hyperuricemia increased rapidly in recent years and has closely interdependent relationship with other metabolic disorders. Current therapeutically used drugs including a few uricostatic and uricosuric chemical drugs are proved efficient to control serum uric acid level. However, their side effects as well as contraindication in some cases with liver, kidney injury, or other conditions frequently limit their clinic application. More attention thus has been paid to natural products as an alternative means in treating hyperuricemia. Many natural products have been proved efficient in downregulating uric acid level, among which some can improve hyperuricemia with hepatorenal dual effects. It means these natural products can regulate both the production and the excretion of uric acid by targeting the key metabolic enzymes mainly in liver or uric acid transporters in kidneys. Thus, these natural products could have stronger efficacy and broader application, which may be developed for the treatment of hyperuricemia in clinic.
Mixed Skyhook and FxLMS Control of a Half-Car Model with Magnetorheological Dampers
Authors: Krauze Piotr , Kasprzyk Jerzy
Published: October 2016

The problem of vibration attenuation in a semiactive vehicle suspension is considered. The proposed solution is based on usage of the information about the road roughness coming from the sensor installed on the front axle of the vehicle. It does not need any preview sensor to measure the road roughness as other preview control strategies do. Here, the well-known Skyhook algorithm is used for control of the front magnetorheological (MR) damper. This algorithm is tuned to a quarter-car model of the front part of the vehicle. The rear MR damper is controlled by the FxLMS (Filtered-x LMS) taking advantage of the information about the motion of the front vehicle axle. The goal of this algorithm is to minimize pitch of the vehicle body. The strategy is applied for a four-degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) vehicle model equipped with magnetorheological dampers which were described using the Bouc-Wen model. The suspension model was subjected to the road-induced excitation in the form of a series of bumps within the frequency range 1.0–10 Hz. Different solutions are compared based on the transmissibility function and simulation results show the usefulness of the proposed solution.
Research on the Effectiveness of Different Estimation Algorithm on the Autonomous Orbit Determination of Lagrangian Navigation Constellation
Authors: Gao Youtao , Chen Junkang , Xu Bo , Zhou Jianhua
Published: October 2016

The accuracy of autonomous orbit determination of Lagrangian navigation constellation will affect the navigation accuracy for the deep space probes. Because of the special dynamical characteristics of Lagrangian navigation satellite, the error caused by different estimation algorithm will cause totally different autonomous orbit determination accuracy. We apply the extended Kalman filter and the fading–memory filter to determinate the orbits of Lagrangian navigation satellites. The autonomous orbit determination errors are compared. The accuracy of autonomous orbit determination using fading-memory filter can improve 50% compared to the autonomous orbit determination accuracy using extended Kalman filter. We proposed an integrated Kalman fading filter to smooth the process of autonomous orbit determination and improve the accuracy of autonomous orbit determination. The square root extended Kalman filter is introduced to deal with the case of inaccurate initial error variance matrix. The simulations proved that the estimation method can affect the accuracy of autonomous orbit determination greatly.
The Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Patients with Leukemia
Authors: Wang Yu-Jun , Liao Chung-Chih , Chen Hsuan-Ju , Hsieh Ching-Liang , Li Tsai-Chung
Published: October 2016

Leukemia is the most common malignancy among all childhood cancers and is associated with a low survival rate in adult patients. Since 1995, the National Health Insurance (NHI) program in Taiwan has been offering insurance coverage for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), along with conventional Western medicine (WM). This study analyzes the status of TCM utilization in Taiwan, in both pediatric and adult patients with leukemia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using population‐based National Health Insurance Research Database of Registry of Catastrophic Illness, involving patient data from 2001 to 2010 and follow‐up data through 2011. The effectiveness of TCM use was evaluated. Relevant sociodemographic data showed that both pediatric and adult patients who were TCM users one year prior to leukemia diagnosis were more likely to utilize TCM services for cancer therapy. A greater part of medical expenditure of TCM users was lower than that of TCM nonusers, except little discrepancy in drug fee of adult patients. The survival rate is also higher in TCM users. Altogether, these data show that TCM has the potential to serve as an adjuvant therapy when combined with conventional WM in the treatment of patients with leukemia.
The Opportunity Offered by the ESSnuSB Project to Exploit the Larger Leptonic CP Violation Signal at the Second Oscillation Maximum and the Requirements of This Project on the ESS Accelerator Complex
Authors: Wildner E. , Baussan E. , Blennow M. , Bogomilov M. , Burgman A. , Bouquerel E. , Carlile C. , Cederkäll J. , Christiansen P. , Cupial P. , Danared H. , Dracos M. , Ekelöf T. , Eshraqi M. , Hall-Wilton R. , Koutchouk J.-P. , Lindroos M. , Martini M. , Matev R. , McGinnis D. , Miyamoto R. , Ohlsson T. , Öhman H. , Olvegård M. , Ruber R. , Schönauer H. , Tang J. Y. , Tsenov R. , Vankova-Kirilova G. , Vassilopoulos N.
Published: October 2016

The European Spallation Source (ESS), currently under construction in Lund, Sweden, is a research center that will provide, by 2023, the world’s most powerful neutron source. The average power of the proton linac will be 5 MW. Pulsing this linac at higher frequency will make it possible to raise the average total beam power to 10 MW to produce, in parallel with the spallation neutron production, a very intense neutrino Super Beam of about 0.4 GeV mean neutrino energy. This will allow searching for leptonic CP violation at the second oscillation maximum where the sensitivity is about 3 times higher than at the first. The ESS neutrino Super Beam, ESSnuSB operated with a 2.0 GeV linac proton beam, together with a large underground Water Cherenkov detector located at 540 km from Lund, will make it possible to discover leptonic CP violation at 5σ significance level in 56% (65% for an upgrade to 2.5 GeV beam energy) of the leptonic CP-violating phase range after 10 years of data taking, assuming a 5% systematic error in the neutrino flux and 10% in the neutrino cross section. The paper presents the outstanding physics reach possible for CP violation with ESSnuSB obtainable under these assumptions for the systematic errors. It also describes the upgrade of the ESS accelerator complex required for ESSnuSB.
Quasi-Positive Delta Sequences and Their Applications in Wavelet Approximation
Authors: Lal Shyam , Kumar Susheel
Published: October 2016

A sufficient literature is available for the wavelet error of approximation of certain functions in theL2-norm. There is no work in context of multiresolution approximation of a function in the sense of sup-error. In this paper, for the first time, wavelet estimator for the approximation of a functionfbelonging toLipα[a,b]class under supremum norm has been obtained. Working in this direction, four new theorems on the wavelet approximation of a functionfbelonging toLipα,0<α≤1class using the projectionPmfof its wavelet expansions have been estimated. The calculated estimator is best possible in wavelet analysis.
Update on the Clinical Effect of Acupuncture Therapy in Patients with Gouty Arthritis: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Lu Wei-wei , Zhang Jin-ming , Lv Zheng-tao , Chen An-min
Published: October 2016

Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis. Methods. A literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, CENTRAL, and CNKI was conducted from the inception date of each database up to October 2015. Two investigators screened each article independently and were blinded to the findings of the other reviewer. Data was extracted according to the predetermined collection form. Meta‐analysis was performed. Results. We analyzed data from 28 RCTs involving 2237 patients with gouty arthritis. Compared with conventional pharmacological treatments acupuncture was more effective in rendering patients free from symptoms after 24 hours, lowering serum urate, alleviating pain associated with gouty arthritis, and decreasing the ESR; regarding CRP, no statistically significant difference was found. In addition, the frequency of adverse events in acupuncture treatment was lower than that in control group. Conclusion. Based on the findings of our study, we cautiously suggest that acupuncture is an effective and safe therapy for patients with gouty arthritis. However, the potential beneficial effect of acupuncture might be overstated due to the methodological deficiency of included studies. High quality RCTs with larger scale are encouraged.
Inherited Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6 and Breast Cancer
Authors: Gravel Annie , Dubuc Isabelle , Brooks-Wilson Angela , Aronson Kristan J. , Simard Jacques , Velásquez-García Héctor A. , Spinelli John J. , Flamand Louis
Published: October 2016

Background: Inherited chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus 6 (iciHHV-6) is a condition observed in approximately 1% of the population. Whether such a genetic alteration predisposes to cancer development in currently unknown. Two studies were conducted to determine whether iciHHV-6 is associated with cancer development.

Methods: First, a screen of 19,597 people from the province of Quebec (Canada) was conducted. A replication test, using data from a population-based case–control study of 1,090 women with incident breast cancer and 1,053 controls from British Columbia and Ontario (Canada) was conducted. DNA samples were analyzed by qPCR and droplet digital PCR to identify iciHHV-6+ carriers.

Results: In the initial study, a potential association between iciHHV-6 positivity and breast cancer was identified [OR = 2.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.95–7.44]. In the replication dataset, no association was found between iciHHV-6 positivity in women and breast cancer (OR = 0.87; 95% CI, 0.35–2.15).

Conclusions: We found no statistically significant associations between inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 and breast cancer in women.

Impact: These results do not provide evidence to suggest that iciHHV-6 is a risk factor for breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(3); 425–7. ©2016 AACR.
Cabozantinib Is Active against Human Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Xenografts Carrying Different KIT Mutations
Authors: Gebreyohannes Yemarshet K. , Schöffski Patrick , Van Looy Thomas , Wellens Jasmien , Vreys Lise , Cornillie Jasmien , Vanleeuw Ulla , Aftab Dana T. , Debiec-Rychter Maria , Sciot Raf , Wozniak Agnieszka
Published: October 2016

In the majority of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), oncogenic signaling is driven by KIT mutations. Advanced GIST is treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as imatinib. Acquired resistance to TKI is mainly caused by secondary KIT mutations, but can also be attributed to a switch of KIT dependency to another receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). We tested the efficacy of cabozantinib, a novel TKI targeting KIT, MET, AXL, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR), in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of GIST, carrying different KIT mutations. NMRI nu/nu mice (n = 52) were bilaterally transplanted with human GIST: UZLX-GIST4 (KIT exon 11 mutation, imatinib sensitive), UZLX-GIST2 (KIT exon 9, imatinib dose-dependent resistance), or UZLX-GIST9 (KIT exon 11 and 17 mutations, imatinib resistant). Mice were grouped as control (untreated), imatinib (50 mg/kg/bid), and cabozantinib (30 mg/kg/qd) and treated orally for 15 days. Cabozantinib resulted in significant tumor regression in UZLX-GIST4 and -GIST2 and delayed tumor growth in -GIST9. In all three models, cabozantinib inhibited the proliferative activity, which was completely absent in UZLX-GIST4 and significantly reduced in -GIST2 and -GIST9. Increased apoptotic activity was observed only in UZLX-GIST4. Cabozantinib inhibited the KIT signaling pathway in UZLX-GIST4 and -GIST2. In addition, compared with both control and imatinib, cabozantinib significantly reduced microvessel density in all models. In conclusion, cabozantinib showed antitumor activity in GIST PDX models through inhibition of tumor growth, proliferation, and angiogenesis, in both imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant models. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(12); 2845–52. ©2016 AACR.
Interference with the HSF1/HSP70/BAG3 Pathway Primes Glioma Cells to Matrix Detachment and BH3 Mimetic–Induced Apoptosis
Authors: Antonietti Patrick , Linder Benedikt , Hehlgans Stephanie , Mildenberger Iris C. , Burger Michael C. , Fulda Simone , Steinbach Joachim P. , Gessler Florian , Rödel Franz , Mittelbronn Michel , Kögel Donat
Published: October 2016

Malignant gliomas exhibit a high intrinsic resistance against stimuli triggering apoptotic cell death. HSF1 acts as transcription factor upstream of HSP70 and the HSP70 co-chaperone BAG3 that is overexpressed in glioblastoma. To specifically target this resistance mechanism, we applied the selective HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11 and the HSP70/BAG3 interaction inhibitor YM-1 in combination with the pan-Bcl-2 inhibitor AT-101. Here, we demonstrate that lentiviral BAG3 silencing significantly enhances AT-101–induced cell death and reactivates effector caspase-mediated apoptosis in U251 glioma cells with high BAG3 expression, whereas these sensitizing effects were less pronounced in U343 cells expressing lower BAG3 levels. KRIBB11 decreased protein levels of HSP70, BAG3, and the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein Mcl-1, and both KRIBB11 and YM-1 elicited significantly increased mitochondrial dysfunction, effector caspase activity, and apoptotic cell death after combined treatment with AT-101 and ABT-737. Depletion of BAG3 also led to a pronounced loss of cell–matrix adhesion, FAK phosphorylation, and in vivo tumor growth in an orthotopic mouse glioma model. Furthermore, it reduced the plating efficiency of U251 cells in three-dimensional clonogenic assays and limited clonogenic survival after short-term treatment with AT-101. Collectively, our data suggest that the HSF1/HSP70/BAG3 pathway plays a pivotal role for overexpression of prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins and cell death resistance of glioma. They also support the hypothesis that interference with BAG3 function is an effective novel approach to prime glioma cells to anoikis. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(1); 156–68. ©2016 AACR.
Interstitial 1q21.1 Microdeletion Is Associated with Severe Skeletal Anomalies, Dysmorphic Face and Moderate Intellectual Disability
Authors: Gamba Bruno F. , Zechi-Ceide Roseli M. , Kokitsu-Nakata Nancy M. , Vendramini-Pittoli Siulan , Rosenberg Carla , Krepischi Santos Ana C.V. , Ribeiro-Bicudo Lucilene , Richieri-Costa Antonio
Published: October 2016

We report on a Brazilian patient with a 1.7-Mb interstitial microdeletion in chromosome 1q21.1. The phenotypic characteristics include microcephaly, a peculiar facial gestalt, cleft lip/palate, and multiple skeletal anomalies represented by malformed phalanges, scoliosis, abnormal modeling of vertebral bodies, hip dislocation, abnormal acetabula, feet anomalies, and delayed neuropsychological development. Deletions reported in this region are clinically heterogeneous, ranging from subtle phenotypic manifestations to severe congenital heart defects and/or neurodevelopmental findings. A few genes within the deleted region are associated with congenital anomalies, mainly the RBM8A, DUF1220, and HYDIN2 paralogs. Our patient presents with a spectrum of unusual malformations of 1q21.1 deletion syndrome not reported up to date.
Reconfiguration with Simultaneous DG installation to Improve the Voltage Profile in Distribution Network using Harmony Search Algorithm
Authors: Ali S Muqthiar , Babu P Suresh , Gurusekhar B
Published: October 2016

Due to dynamic nature of loads, total system load is more than its generation capacity that makes relieving of load on the feeders not possible and hence voltage profile of the system will not be improved to the required level. In order to meet required level of load demand, Reconfiguration DG units are integrated in distribution network to improve voltage profile, to provide reliable and uninterrupted power supply and also to achieve economic benefits such as minimum power loss, energy efficiency and load leveling. This work proposes minimization of real power losses and improvement of voltage profile using network reconfiguration in the presence of distributed generation. Generally distributed generations (DG) are preferred with objective of minimizing real power loss and improving voltage profile in distribution system. In this work A meta heuristic Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) is used to simultaneously reconfigure and identify the optimal locations for installation of DG units in a distribution network. Sensitivity analysis is used to identify optimal locations for installation of DG units. The proposed method has tested in MATLAB for 33-bus and 69- Bus radial distribution systems at three different load levels and the analysis is presented for loss minimization.
Invention into the AC Voltage Regulator with V/F Technique for Induction Motor Starting Applications
Authors: Kollipara Mahesh , Kolluru V N Srinivasa Rao
Published: October 2016

Modern electrical motors are available in many different forms with different mounting arrangements. To ensure a long life for the motor it is important to select it with correct degree of protection when operating under heavy duty conditions in a severe environment. Smooth starting is also one of major considerations to get long life and optimum efficiency. The conventional method to start an asynchronous motor with a soft starter is by reducing the voltage of the motor by varying the voltage “off time”. The “off time” could for example be controlled to achieve a desired maximum current level or a constant driving torque.  Even if the voltage is reduced the fundamental frequency of the voltage is equal to the supply voltage frequency. That gives a large difference between angular speed of supply voltage and angular speed of the rotor during start. Due to the large difference in angular speed the motor flux will be low and thereby also the ability to produce torque. Instead of using the conventional control method with a reduced voltage it is possible to use a method with controlled flux similar to frequency inverters for soft-starters. As the soft-starter does not have the intermediate DC energy storage the applied voltage vector has to be directly modulated from the mains supply.
ANN Controller Design for Lime Kiln Process
Authors: Sunori Sandeep Kumar , Juneja Pradeep Kumar
Published: October 2016

The lime kiln is a very complex multivariable process with severe non linearities, high degree of coupling and frequent disturbances. In this paper a 2x2 lime kiln process with two manipulated variables namely the fuel gas flowrate, and the percent opening of the induced draft damper and two controlled variables namely front end temperature and back end temperature has been considered. After its decoupling, artificial neural network (ANN) controllers have been designed to control the front end temperature. The performance of ANN controllers have been compared with that of conventional controllers.
NCTF-FL Controller for Pendulum Balancing System
Authors: Jalani Noor Hisham
Published: October 2016

Pendulum Balancing of Linear Servo System consists of a cart driven by a DC motor, via a rack and pinion mechanism to ensure consistent and continuous traction. The cart is also equipped with a rotary joint to which a free turning rod (or pendulum) can be attached. This concept paper proposed a combination of Nominal Characteristic Trajectory Following (NCTF) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) to control the position of the cart and to balance the pendulum. The proposed controllers are expected to have a simple design method and achieved high performances.
Effective Cable Sizing model for Building Electrical Services
Authors: Nair M. Pratap , Nithiyananthan K.
Published: October 2016

This paper mainly focuses on the sizing of electrical cables (i.e.cross-sectional area) and its accomplishment in various international standards. Cable sizing methods are at variance across international standards. For example, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Electrical Code (NEC), British Standard (BS) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The basic philosophy underlying any cable sizing calculation is to develop a procedure model on cable sizing. The main objective of this research work is to develop effective cable sizing model for building services.
Transient Stability Enhancement Using Phasor Model of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage
Authors: Bey Mohamed , Moudjahed Mohamed
Published: October 2016

Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) is one of most important device attracting researchers for enhancing the transient stability of power systems. To facilitate the use of this device in different simulations and studied, a phasor model is established and used to analyse the impact of this device using matlab/Simulink software. The phasor model has enough advantages like using the SMES without need detailed model that contains the electronic power converter and therefore minimize the simulation time. The Western Systems Council Coordinating (WSCC) 3 machine-9 bus system is taken as a power system test. Simulation results show that the phasor model of SMES unit is very effective to study their impact for enhancing the transient stability in large scale time.
Application of PEM Fuel Cell for Stand-alone Based on a Fuzzy PID Control
Authors: Rakhtala SM , Roudbari E Shafiee
Published: October 2016

Due to increasing concerns on environmental pollution and depleting fossil fuels, fuel cell (FC) has received considerable attention as an alternative to the conventional energy systems. Fuel cells have numerous stand-alone and grid-connected applications. This paper presents the control of the stand-alone application based on fuzzy PID (FPID) controller. The aim of the paper is to achieve the control of the fuel cell for stand-alone with suitable power conditioning unit (PCU) that consists of the two stages of DC/DC converter and DC/AC inverter. An analysis of cascade structure based on FPID controller for a single phase inverter is done and comprises two feedback control loops. The inductor current and capacitor voltage are measured and feedback to the inner loop and the outer loop, respectively. The analytical models of the h PEM fuel cells is designed and simulated by developing a detailed simulation software using Matlab, Simulink and SimPowerSystems Blockset for portable applications. The PEM fuel cell model is validated with NexaTM Power Module MAN5100078 by Ballard Power Systems at 80°C. In this paper shown that the proposed controller shows a robust behavior and good transient response.
Regime Analysis of Critical Raindrop Diameters for Rainfall Attenuation in Southern Africa
Authors: Adetan O , Obiyemi OO
Published: October 2016

The influence of critical raindrop diameters on the specific rainfall attenuation in Durban (29o52'S, 30o58'E), South Africa using various rainfall regimes is analyzed in this paper. Different rain rate values representing drizzle, widespread, shower and thunderstorm are selected for the purpose of analysis over the measured raindrop size distribution. The three-parameter lognormal and gamma DSD models with shape parameter of 2 are used to estimate the parameters required to investigate the drop sizes which produce a major contribution to the total specific rainfall attenuation for the selected rain rate values. The computed total specific attenuation increases with increasing frequencies and rain rates. The highest and prevailing contribution to the specific attenuation occurs at for the stratiform (drizzle or widespread) and convective (shower or thunderstorm) rain types for the models considered. The total percentage fraction formed by drops in the diameter range 0.5 mm ≤ D ≤ 2.5 mm and 1.0 mm ≤ D ≤ 3.0 mm are found to be most critical for the specific rain attenuation for the stratiform (drizzle and widespread)  and convective (shower and thunderstorm) rainfall types especially at higher frequencies.
Substrate Current Evaluation for Lightly and Heavily Doped MOSFETs at 45 nm process Using Physical Models
Authors: Sharma Sanjay , Yadav R. P. , Janyani Vijay
Published: October 2016

Substrate noise is a major integration issue in mixed signal circuits; particularly at radio frequency (RF) it becomes a key issue. In deep sub micron MOSFETs hot carrier effect induces device degradation. The impact ionization phenomenon is one of the main hot carrier effects. The paper covers the process and device level simulation of MOSFETs by TCAD and the substrate current comparison in lightly and heavily doped MOS. PMOS and NMOS devices are virtually fabricated with the help of ATHENA process simulator. The modeled devices include the hot carrier effects. The MOS devices are implemented on lightly and heavily doped substrates and substrate current is evaluated and compared with the help of ATLAS device simulator. Substrate current is better in lightly doped substrate than in heavily doped one. Drain current is also better in lightly doped than heavily doped substrates. Silvaco TCAD Tool is used for Virtual fabrication and simulation. ATHENA process simulator is used for virtual fabrication and ATLAS device simulator is used for device characterization.
Leakage Immune 9T-SRAM Cell in Sub-threshold Region
Authors: Gupta Priya , Gupta Anu , Asati Abhijit
Published: October 2016

The paper presents a variability-aware modified 9T SRAM cell. In comparison to 6T SRAM cell the proposed  cell achieves 1.3× higher read-SNM and 1.77× higher write-SNM with 79.6% SINM (static current noise margin) distribution at the expense of 14.7× lower WTI (write trip current) at 0.4 V power supply voltage, while maintaining similar stability in hold mode. Thus, comparative analysis exhibits that the proposed design has a significant improvement, thereby achieving high cell stability at 45nm technology.
Mitigation of Lightning Hazards at the More Sensitive Points in Wind Farms Using Ant-Colony Optimization Technique
Authors: Abd-Allah MA , Said A , Ali Mahmoud N
Published: October 2016

The lightning energy can be very harmfull to the wind turbine farm components. This paper attempts to evaluate the overvoltages at the sensitive points in wind farm, using ATP-EMTP package program. Four cases were performed; a) the transient voltage distribution in the insulating layer of the control line, b) the transient voltage on the control equipment, c) the coupling voltage between the tower and the control, and, d) the transient voltage distribution in the wind turbine WT generator, boast transformers and grid. These cases were performed under different lightning current conditions and at conventional design and proper design of grounding system. The results show that the ground potential rise (GPR) is reduced with using the proper design of wind turbine ground system, but the induced voltage at the control system will not affected. This work determines the optimum location of wind turbine at the areas of maximum lightning incidence. Ant colony optimization (ACO) technique is implemented to find the optimum wind farm location. This work enhances the protection strategy of the wind farms against lightning stroke.
Design of a Low-cost and Compact Radiometer for Spectral Acquisition of Vegetation and Bare Soil
Authors: Zemaili Mokhtaria Nawel , Benabadji Noureddine , Hassini Abdelatif
Published: October 2016

We describe, in this article, the design of a low-cost and compact radiometer with five analog channels for spectral acquisition: four in the visible (blue, green, red and panchromatic) and one channel in the near-infrared. This small embedded system is based on an 8-bit microcontroller for automatic data acquisition, calibrating, storing and serial link processing with a compatible PC, through a C++ application software provided to handle and deal with the mass of data collected and stored in an EEPROM. The acquisition of spectral reflectance measurements of an object for different wavelengths allows the construction of a characteristic curve, named spectral signature of the object. The study of the spectral signatures of different types of surfaces such as water, bare ground or vegetation allows their identification in remote sensing image processing, and consequently, facilitates the interpretation of this kind of data, as, for instance, the AVHRR data of the HRPT images acquired and freely distributed by the satellite NOAA.
Selection of Gate Dielectrics for ZnO Based Thin-Film Transistors
Authors: Garg Vaibhav , Gupta Navneet
Published: October 2016

The bulk of semiconductor technology has been based on silicon till today. But silicon has its own limitations. It is not transparent to visible light and hence it cannot be used in certain applications. ZnO is a material which is transparent to visible light. In this paper, we compare the electrical performance of ZnO Thin film Transistors using different gate insulators. Certain performance indices and material indices were considered as the selection criteria for electrical performance. A methodology known as Ashby’s approach was adopted to find out the best gate insulators and based on this methodology various charts were plotted to compare different properties of competing materials. This work concludes that Y2O3 is the best insulator followed by ZrO2 and HfO2.
New Hybrid Non-Dominated Sorting Differential Evolutionary Algorithm
Authors: Bakhshipour Mohammad , Namdari Farhad , Bahador Nooshin
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a new multi objective optimization algorithm with the aim of complete coverage, faster global convergence and higher solution quality. In this technique, the high-speed characteristic of particle swarm optimization (PSO) is combined with non-dominated differential evolutionary (NSDE) and an efficient multi objective optimization algorithm is created. This method posses high convergence characteristic in quite less execution times. Generating fewer populations to find the Pareto front also makes the proposed algorithm use less memory. For the purpose of performance evaluation, the algorithm is verified with four benchmarking functions on its global optimal search ability and compared with two recognized algorithm to assess its diversity. The capability of the suggested algorithm in solving practical engineering problems such as power system protection is also studied and the results are discussed in detail.