bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Solar Radiation Effect on a Magneto Nanofluid Flow in a Porous Medium with Chemically Reactive Species
Authors: Eid Mohamed R. , Makinde O.D. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The combined impact of solar radiation, chemical reaction, Joule heating, viscous dissipation and magnetic field on flow of an electrically conducting nanofluid over a convectively heated stretching sheet embedded in a saturated porous medium is simulated. By using appropriate similarity transformation, the governing nonlinear equations are converted into ODEs and numerical shooting technique with (RK45) method is employed to tackle the problem. The effects of various thermo-physical parameters on the entire flow structure with heat and mass transfer are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively. Special cases of our results are benchmarked with some of those obtained earlier in the literature and are found to be in excellent agreement. It is found that both the temperature and surface concentration gradients are increasing functions of the non-Darcy porous medium parameter. One describing result is the incident solar radiation absorption and its transmission into the working nanofluid by convection.
Response Surface Methodology Optimization for Photodegradation of Methylene Blue in a ZnO Coated Flat Plate Continuous Photoreactor
Authors: Baghbani Ghatar Somaiyeh , Allahyari Somaiyeh , Rahemi Nader , Tasbihi Minoo 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
In this paper, a continuous flat plate photoreactor with ZnO coating was studied in the photodegradation of methylene blue. The structural properties of catalyst were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The XRD results indicate that high crystalline ZnO particles with average size of 13.5 nm were coated on the glass plate. The thickness of ZnO layer was 39.67 μm and the coating was uniform and crack free. The EDX showed clear border between glass and ZnO layer which confirmed no material transfer between glass and ZnO layer during thermal treatment. The influence of reactor parameters such as the slope of the glass plate, number of UV lamps, distance between lamp and ZnO coated glass plate and flow rate of wastewater was investigated using optimal custom design which is a subset of response surface methodology (RSM). The results indicated that the maximum photodegradation of methylene blue was achieved under the following conditions: plate slope of 9, 3 UVA lamps, 12 ml/s wastewater flow rate and 10 cm distance between lamp and glass plate. The response of surface methodology at optimum conditions was 65.05% while experimental value was 64.66%, showing good agreement between the experimental values and those predicted by the models, with relatively small errors which were only 0.64. The kinetic study was also performed for methylene blue photodegradation at optimum conditions.
Study on the Impacts of Uncertain Meteorological Parameters on Line Transmission Capacity
Authors: Mo Yang , Wang Yanling , Liang Likai , Li Heji , Zhang Qiang , Niu Zhiqiang 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Traditionally, transmission lines have been operated based on static thermal rating, which is determined by fixed and conservative meteorological data. It causes underutilization of potential transmission capacity. To overcome this limitation, this paper presents seasonal time scale, which can provide flexible ratings. Seasonal meteorological parameters are uncertain. The uncertainty can directly impact the conductor temperature, and eventually impact transmission capacity of the lines. In order to account for the uncertainty, this paper presents an uncertainty analysis model. This model consists of three parts: establishment of probability distribution models, Monte Carlo simulation, and operation risk assessment. In the case study, the actual meteorological data for 7 years in the Weihai is utilized, and is divided into four subsets by spring, summer, autumn and winter. The uncertainty analysis model is tested on an actual 47 km Wei-Kun line and a 4-bus power system. Results show that potential transmission capacity can be extracted if seasonal meteorological parameters are taken into account.
Effects of Ozone Treatment on the Storage Quality of Post-Harvest Tomato
Authors: Liang Yunzhi , Ji Lili , Chen Cunkun , Dong Chenghu , Wang Chengrong 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Effects of ozone treatment on the storage quality of post-harvest tomato were investigated. The tomatoes packed in microporous film were treated with 4.29 mg·(m3)−1, 8.57 mg·(m3)−1, 12.86 mg·(m3)−1 and 17.14 mg·(m3)−1 ozone gas for 1 h at 0℃. The firmness, ethylene, vitamin C (VC), malonaldehyde (MDA), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POD) and aromatic compounds were tested to determine the proper ozone concentrations. Compared with other treatments, 17.14 mg·(m3)−1 ozone could maintain the firmness of tomato, depress ethylene, keep the content of VC and aromatic compounds, and inhibit the accumulation of MDA and activity of POD and APX, which had a good fresh-keeping effect on tomato.
Comparative effect of the aqueous extracts of Aloe buettneri, Dicliptera verticillata, Hibiscus macranthus and Justicia insularis on the sexual maturation of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin-primed immature female rats
Authors: Goka Marie Stéphanie Chekem , Awouafack Maurice Ducret , Lamshöft Marc , Lienou Landry Lienou , Mbemya Gildas Tetaping , Fekam Fabrice Boyom , Tane Pierre , Telefo Phélix Bruno 
Published: July 2018

Abstract

Background

Aloe buettneri, Dicliptera verticillata, Hibiscus macranthus and Justicia insularis are medicinal plants used in the western region of Cameroon to cure infertility among women. This experiment was designed to compare the effect of the aqueous extracts of A. buettneri (AAB), D. verticillata (ADV), H. macranthus (AHM), J. insularis (AJI), their mixture (AME) and the extract obtained from the mixture of their powders (AMP) on some parameters of reproduction.

Materials and methods
High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with the mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to detect the constituents of different extracts. The extracts (50 mg/kg) were administered to PMSG-primed immature rats (10 rats/group) for 5 days. At the end of the treatment, five animals of each group were sacrificed and various biological markers of reproduction were recorded. The remaining animals were injected with 10 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) sacrificed 48 h later and the number of ovarian hemorrhagic points counted.

Results
Fifty-four compounds were found in the various extracts with 37 individually distributed among them and the remaining found in at least two extracts. As compared with the control, the AMP and AJI increased serum estradiol level by 2.36 and 2.23 times, respectively. The AMP was the only extract whose administration resulted in a significant increase (p<0.001) in the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Compared with the other extract-treated rats, the AMP-treated rats showed the highest number of hemorrhagic points.

Conclusions
These findings provided evidence on the synergistic effect of compounds present in these plant extracts and supported the usage of the mixture in traditional medicine.
Protective effect of chloroform extract of Stereospermum chelonoides bark against amyloid beta42 induced cell death in SH-SY5Y cells and against inflammation in Swiss albino mice
Authors: Islam Md. Imamul , Shanta Meena Afroze , Mondal Milon , Hoque Nazia , Majumder Senjuti , Ahmed Taksim , Rana Md. Sohel 
Published: July 2018

Abstract

Background
This study was designed to evaluate the free radical scavenging property of chloroform extract of the bark of Stereospermum chelonoides (SCBC) and to investigate its potential in Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation, two oxidative stress related disorders.

Methods
Preliminary phytochemical analysis and in vitro antioxidant potential of SCBC were evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and total antioxidant capacity determination assay. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were also determined. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) based cytotoxicity and cyto-protective assays were performed on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Thioflavin-T assay and caspase activation measurement assay were carried out to elucidate the mechanism of cytoprotection of SCBC observed here. In vivo anti-inflammatory potential was measured using croton oil and xylene induced ear edema tests.

Results
Phytochemical screening of SCBC revealed the presence of various phytoconstituents. Dose-dependent in vitro antioxidant activity was observed. The extract was enriched in flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds too. SCBC was found to inhibit amyloid-β peptide 1-42 (Aβ42) induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Encouraged by the cyto-protective effect, its effects on Aβ42 fibrillogenesis and caspase-3 activated apoptosis were observed. SCBC significantly slowed down the Aβ42 fibrillogenesis and caspase-3 activation in a concentration-dependent manner indicating its probable mechanism of rendering cyto-protection. SCBC has been able to reduce inflammation significantly in croton oil induced ear edema in both doses.

Conclusions
Thus, this study could form the basis for further study for the potential use of SCBC in oxidative stress associated cell death and inflammation.
Spectral Graph-based Features for Recognition of Handwritten Characters: A Case Study on Handwritten Devanagari Numerals
Authors: Bhat Mohammad Idrees , Sharada B. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractInterpretation of different writing styles, unconstrained cursiveness and relationship between different primitive parts is an essential and challenging task for recognition of handwritten characters. As feature representation is inadequate, appropriate interpretation/description of handwritten characters seems to be a challenging task. Although existing research in handwritten characters is extensive, it still remains a challenge to get the effective representation of characters in feature space. In this paper, we make an attempt to circumvent these problems by proposing an approach that exploits the robust graph representation and spectral graph embedding concept to characterise and effectively represent handwritten characters, taking into account writing styles, cursiveness and relationships. For corroboration of the efficacy of the proposed method, extensive experiments were carried out on the standard handwritten numeral Computer Vision Pattern Recognition, Unit of Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata dataset. The experimental results demonstrate promising findings, which can be used in future studies.
A Grey Wolf Optimizer for Text Document Clustering
Authors: Rashaideh Hasan , Sawaie Ahmad , Al-Betar Mohammed Azmi , Abualigah Laith Mohammad , Al-laham Mohammed M. , Al-Khatib Ra’ed M. , Braik Malik 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Text clustering problem (TCP) is a leading process in many key areas such as information retrieval, text mining, and natural language processing. This presents the need for a potent document clustering algorithm that can be used effectively to navigate, summarize, and arrange information to congregate large data sets. This paper encompasses an adaptation of the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) for TCP, referred to as TCP-GWO. The TCP demands a degree of accuracy beyond that which is possible with metaheuristic swarm-based algorithms. The main issue to be addressed is how to split text documents on the basis of GWO into homogeneous clusters that are sufficiently precise and functional. Specifically, TCP-GWO, or referred to as the document clustering algorithm, used the average distance of documents to the cluster centroid (ADDC) as an objective function to repeatedly optimize the distance between the clusters of the documents. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed TCP-GWO was demonstrated on a sufficiently large number of documents of variable sizes, documents that were randomly selected from a set of six publicly available data sets. Documents of high complexity were also included in the evaluation process to assess the recall detection rate of the document clustering algorithm. The experimental results for a test set of over a part of 1300 documents showed that failure to correctly cluster a document occurred in less than 20% of cases with a recall rate of more than 65% for a highly complex data set. The high F-measure rate and ability to cluster documents in an effective manner are important advances resulting from this research. The proposed TCP-GWO method was compared to the other well-established text clustering methods using randomly selected data sets. Interestingly, TCP-GWO outperforms the comparative methods in terms of precision, recall, and F-measure rates. In a nutshell, the results illustrate that the proposed TCP-GWO is able to excel compared to the other comparative clustering methods in terms of measurement criteria, whereby more than 55% of the documents were correctly clustered with a high level of accuracy.
Next-generation sequencing as a second-tier diagnostic test for newborn screening
Authors: Luo Xiaomei , Wang Ruifang , Fan Yanjie , Gu Xuefan , Yu Yongguo 
Published: July 2018

Abstract

Background
Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been used for newborn screening (NBS) of inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) for decades. However, the traditional approach can yield false-positive or false-negative results and is affected by biochemical substrate-level fluctuations. To overcome the current limitations, we explored the possibility of using next-generation sequencing (NGS) as a second-tier diagnostic test to detect gene mutations in samples with abnormal MS/MS results.

Methods
Genomic DNA was extracted from dried blood spots and we designed a multigene panel, comprising 77 genes related to over 40 IMDs, for NBS. The prepared libraries were sequenced on the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) platform. Thirty-eight samples identified as abnormal by MS/MS were tested for the diagnostic accuracy of NGS compared with Sanger sequencing.

Results
The concentration of DNA extracted from the 38 dried blood spots was sufficient for library preparation. The coverage and depth of the sequencing data were sufficient for the analysis. For all samples, the NGS results were consistent with the Sanger sequencing results.

Conclusions
The genomic DNA extracted from dried blood spots could be used for NGS, generating reliable sequencing results, and NGS may function as a second-tier diagnostic test for NBS. Ion PGM could facilitate the molecular diagnosis of IMDs with appropriate primers designed for candidate genes.
Methods for Computing Numerical Standard Errors: Review and Application to Value-at-Risk Estimation
Authors: Ardia David , Bluteau Keven , Hoogerheide Lennart F. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Numerical standard error (NSE) is an estimate of the standard deviation of a simulation result if the simulation experiment were to be repeated many times. We review standard methods for computing NSE and perform a Monte Carlo experiments to compare their performance in the case of high/extreme autocorrelation. In particular, we propose an application to risk management where we assess the precision of the value-at-risk measure when the underlying risk model is estimated by simulation-based methods. Overall, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation estimators with prewhitening perform best in the presence of large/extreme autocorrelation.
Serum vitamin D receptor levels in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Tekeli Seçkin Özgür , Yağmur Tekeli Feyza , Erol Onur , Ellidag Hamit Yaşar , Eren Esin , Yılmaz Necat 
Published: July 2018

AbstractBackgroundVitamin D affects glucose metabolism by increasing insulin secretion and insulin receptor expression. Also, it exerts these effects by binding to its primary receptor, the vitamin D receptor (VDR). In this preliminary study, we aimed to examine serum 25-(OH) vitamin D3and serum VDR levels in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients.MethodsBlood samples were obtained during 24–28 weeks of pregnancy from patients with GDM (n=30) and age, body mass index (BMI), and gestational age-matched control subjects (n=33). Both groups were examined for changes in the levels of glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin (bA1c), 25-(OH) vitamin D3and VDR.ResultsThere were no significant differences in serum 25-(OH) vitamin D3and fasting insulin levels between the control and GDM groups (p=0.115, p=0.182). But serum VDR levels were significantly higher in the GDM group than in the control group (p=0.001).ConclusionsAlthough there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding 25-(OH) vitamin D3levels, it is notable that VDR levels were higher in GDM patients. To further define the role of vitamin D in the prophylaxis and treatment of GDM, it may be useful to conduct more extensive studies on VDR.
Effect of predation on adult pronghornAntilocapra americana(Antilocapridae) in New Mexico, Southwestern USA
Authors: Bender Louis C. , Rosas-Rosas Octavio C. , Hartsough Matthew J. , Rodden Cristina L. , Morrow Patrick C. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe effect of predation on ungulate populations remains contentious, despite a lack of evidence showing impacts in arid Southwestern USA populations where low precipitation and frequent drought limit ungulate nutritional condition. These conditions can increase predisposition of prey to mortality, which is prerequisite for predation to be compensatory. Consequently, we tested the effect of predation on adult pronghornAntilocapra americana(Ord 1815) in two populations in arid New Mexico by modeling transformed annual survival rates as a function of predation rates. For this conservative test, a slope=0 indicates complete compensation, whereas a slope=−1 indicates complete additivity. The corrected slope of mortality potentially attributable to predation was >−0.14, and this result was consistent among individual populations. Thus, predation was primarily compensatory. Primarily compensatory predation was related to the relatively low condition of pronghorn individuals, as predated individuals were all below the mean condition of the population, similar to results seen in previous tests of the compensatory versus additive predation hypothesis in the arid Southwest USA. Conditions that predispose individual ungulates to mortality are present more often than not in arid environments, and thus managers should not assume that predation is limiting, regardless of predation rates.
Advances in materials engineering of CdS coupled with dual cocatalysts of graphene and MoS2 for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Authors: Zhang Nan , Li Shao-Hai , Fu Xianzhi , Xu Yi-Jun 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution as an attractive strategy for developing sustainable energy by utilizing sunlight has attracted enormous research efforts. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) with visible light response and proper energy band structure has been studied intensively. To suppress the recombination of charge carriers and facilitate the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over CdS, electrically conductive graphene and active-site-abundant MoS2 have proven to be efficient dual cocatalysts to improve the photocatalytic HER performance of CdS. In this review, we will focus on the representative ternary composite photocatalysts of CdS-graphene-MoS2. The synthesis approaches are first summarized, followed by the discussion of the roles of each component in the composites. Then main attention will be paid to highlighting the effects of the microscopic structures of the components on the photocatalytic performance of the composites for HER applications. It is expected that this review could be helpful to the rational design and further optimization of semiconductor-based composite photocatalysts through materials engineering strategies for solar energy conversion.
M-polynomials and topological indices of hex-derived networks
Authors: Kang Shin Min , Nazeer Waqas , Zahid Manzoor Ahmad , Nizami Abdul Rauf , Aslam Adnan , Munir Mobeen 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Hex-derived network has a variety of useful applications in pharmacy, electronics, and networking. In this paper, we give general form of the M-polynomial of the hex-derived networksHDN1[n] and HDN2[n], which came out of n-dimensional hexagonal mesh. We also give closed forms of several degree-based topological indices associated to these networks.
Porous flow characteristics of solution-gas drive in tight oil reservoirs
Authors: Qianhua Xiao , Zhiyuan Wang , Zhengming Yang , Xuewei Liu , Yunyun Wei 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The variation of porous flow resistance of solution-gas drive for tight oil reservoirs has been studied by designing new experimental equipment. The results show that the relation between the porous flow resistance gradient and pressure is the exponential function. The solution-gas driving resistance is determined by a combination of factors, such as the gas-oil ratio, density, viscosity, permeability, porosity and the Jamin effect. Based on the material balance and the flow resistance gradient equation, a new governing equation for solution-gas drive is established. After coupling with the nonlinear equation of elastic drive, the drainage radius of solution-gas drive is found to be very small and decreases rapidly when the bottom-hole pressure approaches the bubble-point value. Pressure distribution of the solution-gas drive is non-linear, and the values decrease sharply as it approaches the well bore. The productivity is rather low despite being strongly influenced by permeability. Therefore, stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) is the essential measure taken for effective development for tight oil reservoirs.
A Note on Koide’s Doubly Special Parametrization of Quark Masses
Authors: Żenczykowski Piotr 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Three charged lepton masses may be expressed in terms of a Z3-symmetric parametrization relevant for the discussion of Koide’s formula. After disregarding the overall scale parameter, the observed pattern of lepton masses can be described extremely well if the remaining two parameters acquire the unexpectedly simple values of 1 and 2/9. We argue that an analogue of this doubly special feature of the parametrization can also be seen in the quark sector provided that the mass of the strange quark is taken to be around 160 MeV, as might be expected in the low-energy regime.
Kaolinite dispersion in cassava starch-based composite films: a photonic microscopy and X-ray tomography study
Authors: Mbey Jean Aimé , Thomas Fabien , Hoppe Sandrine 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
In the present study, a combined use of photonic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and 3D X-ray tomography is carried out in order to analyze the dispersion and the distribution of raw and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-intercalated kaolinite used as filler in cassava starch-based films. It is shown that the association of these techniques allows a valuable analysis of clay dispersion in polymer-clay composite films. In the case of kaolinite-starch composite films on which this study is focused, it is obvious that previous intercalation of kaolinite with DMSO is an efficient way to improve dispersion and distribution of kaolinite in a starch polymer matrix.