bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Natural inhibitors of advanced glycation end‐products
Authors: Ramkissoon J.S. , Mahomoodally Fawzi M. , Ahmed Nessar , Subratty Hussein A. 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on some of the reported natural advanced glycation end‐products (AGE) inhibitors providing an outline of AGE‐breakers and the potential anti‐glycation properties of some foodstuffs.Design/methodology/approachLiterature searches were conducted to find a link between common household spices, medicinal herbs, AGE and diabetes which could lead to practical home‐based recommendations for changes in a person's diet.FindingsFindings tend to indicate the potential of some dietary components to prevent and/or inhibit AGE formation. Thus, these dietary agents may be exploited for controlling AGE‐mediated diabetic pathological conditions and as possible natural protector of AGE formation in vivo. Consequently, the quest for new AGE inhibitors is considered of paramount importance which can be of therapeutic potential in patients with diabetes or age‐related diseases.Practical implicationsStudies on the inhibition of AGE formation have received increasing recognition from both a nutritional and medical research standpoint. Inhibition of the formation of AGE is believed to play a key role in the prevention of diabetic and cardiovascular complications. Investigation of nutritional bioactive compounds with anti‐glycation properties provides future perspectives for prevention or intervention related to AGEs complications.Originality/valueThis paper adds on to the evidence of the use of dietary agents as natural inhibitors of AGE and hence the prevention of diabetic complications and age‐related diseases.
Eating fast food slowly? Cultural usage and meaning of fast food in America and Japan
Authors: Kobayashi Futoshi 
Published: March 2013

PurposeAlthough several anthropologists have reported various cultural differences between East Asians and Americans regarding their usage of fast food based on their ethnographic fieldwork, a quantitative study to test the validity of such findings is necessary for advancement of this research field. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively investigate cultural differences and similarities between American and Japanese college students regarding the usage and meaning of fast food.Design/methodology/approachA total of 130 Japanese college students (82 female and 48 male) in Miyazaki, Japan and 70 American college students (43 female and 27 male) in Maine, USA answered the survey in order to assess their conceptualization and usage of fast food.FindingsThe results indicated that: both Americans and Japanese assumed that fast food was a meal instead of a snack, Japanese and women in general were more likely to visit fast food restaurants with others instead of going alone than Americans and men in general, and Japanese were more likely to share their ordered fast food items with others and stay at fast food restaurants for a longer duration than Americans.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the limited sample size, the results of the present study might be strengthened with further investigation of different samples.Practical implicationsLike qualitative studies conducted before, the results of this quantitative study provided evidence to suggest that there are cultural differences in the meaning and usage of fast food between East Asians and Americans.Originality/valueThere were few quantitative studies on cultural differences in the meaning and usage of fast food between East Asians and Americans. The present study might be the first such study.
Comparison of some mineral contents of common Iranian food items with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) table
Authors: Ghaemmaghamia Jamal , Mahdavib Reza , Nikniazc Zeinab , Assadid Yaghub 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe importance of adequate dietary intake of essential minerals for the maintenance of optimal health and growth in humans is well recognized. Accordingly, food composition tables are used for evaluating nutrient adequacy and for nutritional policy making. As in Iran there is no up‐to‐date national food composition table, usually data of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are used. However, because of environmental and genetic differences, the applicability of this information in Iran had been questioned. Hence, the purpose of the present study is to analyze micronutrients content of different food items.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 85 samples of 17 different food items were chosen for this study. The iron, phosphorus, calcium and zinc contents of food items were measured using spectrophotometric method and the values were compared with the data of USDA food composition table.FindingsThere were differences between the micronutrient content of Iranian food items when compared with USDA values. The greatest variation was observed in the case of calcium content for which 58.82 percent of products had appreciable differences followed by iron (47.17 percent), phosphorus (47.05 percent) and zinc (35.29 percent). Given these differences, caution must be taken in using data from other countries tables especially in the case of evaluating nutrient adequacy and nutritional policy making.Originality/valueThis paper is believed to be the only one which compared some mineral content of Iranian food items with USDA food composition table as a most commonly used table in Iran.
Effect of steaming on properties of yam flour
Authors: Akinwande B.A. , Abiodun O.A. , Adeyemi I.A. 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe aim of the study is to compare the effect of steaming method and time on the physico‐chemical properties of underutilized Dioscorea dumetorum with three more commonly consumed Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea cayenensis and Dioscorea alata.Design/methodology/approachRaw and pre‐gelatinized flour were produced from the yam species. Pre‐gelatinization was done by steaming diced cubes in autoclave at 68,950 Nm‐2 for 5 min and in Barlett steamer at 98±2°C for 10, 20 and 30 min. Flour samples were analyzed for amylose content, swelling index, consistency, solubility, water absorption capacity, and iodine affinity for starch.FindingsThe physico‐chemical properties of the flours were affected by both species and steaming time. Pre‐gelatinization of the tuber reduced amylose content in all the yam species, which reduced further with increase in steaming time. Except for amylose content and iodine affinity for starch, D. dumetorum compared with D. rotundata and D. cayenensis in the parameters that were measured. Samples autoclaved for 5 min had value similar to those steamed in Barlett steamer for 10 and 20 min for all the parameters that were measured, except consistency.Practical implicationsIt is very important to encourage the cultivation and utilization of D. dumetorum because of the high yield and nutritional composition to enhance the nutritional and financial well‐being of the populace.Originality/valuePre‐gelatinization is important as pre‐treatment for yam tubers. Underutilized D. dumetorum could be useful in ingredient formulation for product development, especially as a thickening agent.
Dietary diversity scores and nutritional status of women in two seasons in rural areas of Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Nupo S.S. , Oguntona C.R.B. , Onabanjo O.O. , Fakoya E.O. 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe aim of the study is to assess the dietary diversity score (DDS) and nutritional status of women in the University of Agriculture extension village in rural areas of Ogun State, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachA representative sample of 204 women was surveyed from the rural villages in two seasons using simple random technique. A pretested interview guide was used to collect information on personal data, and socio demographic characteristics of the subjects. Information on dietary diversity was obtained using Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project questionnaire (FANTA). Body mass index (BMI), waist‐hip ratio (WHR) and skin fold thickness were used in classifying obesity. Information on food intake was obtained from 24‐hour dietary recall techniques. For each season, a DDS was computed and the nutritional status was assessed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics; SPSS software package version 16.0.FindingsThe socio economic characteristic revealed that more than half (53 percent) had no formal education, 59 percent were small scale farmers. The DDS increased from 3.55±7.6 to 3.93±4.3 between the two seasons. DDS within the various food groups showed that fruit group increased from 0.48±0.20 to 0.52.±0.10, vegetable group 0.60±0.30 to 0.66±0.30, and meat group 0.48±0.20 to 0.58±0.30 while cereals/grain groups and oil/dairies group decreased from 0.42±0.30 to 0.37, 0.11±0.30 to 0.09, respectively, between the two seasons. The nutrient content of the subjects was calculated from nutrient contents of foods obtained from food composition tables and compared to dietary reference intake (DRI). The results showed that the protein, energy and fat intakes of the subjects increased significantly during the rainy season (p<0.05). Two percent of the subjects gained weight, 4 percent had weight reduction from overweight and obese category. The result of the waist‐hip ratio showed that 78 percent had normal waist‐hip ratio, 14 percent had overweight, and 7 percent were obese. The dietary diversity score of the subjects was low. There is need for nutritional education in the villages.Originality/valueThis may be the first research work to assess the dietary diversity score of rural women in Nigeria.
GC‐MS and antioxidant capacity analyses of cowpea seeds oils
Authors: Nadeem Asghar Muhammad , Akhtar Javaid , Shafiq Muhammad , Nadeem Iram , Ashfaq Muhammad , Shahid Sammia 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe cowpea plant, being affordable and protein‐rich, is considered poor man's meat. The aim of this paper is to undertake a detailed investigation regardingin vitrototal antioxidant capacity (TAC) and chemical constituents of the vegetable oils from seeds of this plant, taking its nutritional value into consideration.Design/methodology/approachVegetable oils of different indigenous cowpea varieties were obtained using soxhelt extraction assembly and subjected to GC‐MS analyses and various antioxidant assays including 2,2′‐azinobis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulpohonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging, ferr, 2.2′‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging, total phenolic contents (TPC), lipid peroxidation inhibition, and iron chelation activity.FindingsVarious chemical constituents including different hydrocarbons, tocopherols, ketones, fatty esters, estragole and cedrene were identified. TPCs were found to be 5.439, 5.7279, 7.6126, 6.7573 and 10.0591 mg/L gallic acid equivalent for S.A. Dandy, Elite, White Star, CP‐386 and FBD Rawan varieties, respectively. Employing ABTS radical decoloration assay a significant linear correlation (R2=0.997, 0.996, 0.997, 0.996 and 0.997 for S.A. Dandy, Elite, White Star, CP‐386 and FBD Rawan varieties, respectively) was found between the percent inhibition of ABTS radical cation and the amount of vegetable oils. The percent inhibition of the Fe(II)‐Ferrozine complex formation was found to be 29.45, 53.76, 82.91, 86.59 and 57.87 for the same varieties, respectively.Originality/valueGC‐MS and standardin vitroantioxidative capacity analyses data clearly demonstrated the potency of the cowpea as antioxidant and radical scavenger plant which may be used as a good source of natural antioxidants. The plant seeds may prove a better and cost‐effective substitute of expensive food items.
A novel approximation method for multivariate data partitioning
Authors: Tunga Burcu , Demiralp Metin 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe plain High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) method needs Dirac delta type weights to partition the given multivariate data set for modelling an interpolation problem. Dirac delta type weight imposes a different importance level to each node of this set during the partitioning procedure which directly effects the performance of HDMR. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new method by using fluctuation free integration and HDMR methods to obtain optimized weight factors needed for identifying these importance levels for the multivariate data partitioning and modelling procedure.Design/methodology/approachA common problem in multivariate interpolation problems where the sought function values are given at the nodes of a rectangular prismatic grid is to determine an analytical structure for the function under consideration. As the multivariance of an interpolation problem increases, incompletenesses appear in standard numerical methods and memory limitations in computer‐based applications. To overcome the multivariance problems, it is better to deal with less‐variate structures. HDMR methods which are based on divide‐and‐conquer philosophy can be used for this purpose. This corresponds to multivariate data partitioning in which at most univariate components of the Plain HDMR are taken into consideration. To obtain these components there exist a number of integrals to be evaluated and the Fluctuation Free Integration method is used to obtain the results of these integrals. This new form of HDMR integrated with Fluctuation Free Integration also allows the Dirac delta type weight usage in multivariate data partitioning to be discarded and to optimize the weight factors corresponding to the importance level of each node of the given set.FindingsThe method developed in this study is applied to the six numerical examples in which there exist different structures and very encouraging results were obtained. In addition, the new method is compared with the other methods which include Dirac delta type weight function and the obtained results are given in the numerical implementations section.Originality/valueThe authors' new method allows an optimized weight structure in modelling to be determined in the given problem, instead of imposing the use of a certain weight function such as Dirac delta type weight. This allows the HDMR philosophy to have the chance of a flexible weight utilization in multivariate data modelling problems.
On the role of enrichment and statical admissibility of recovered fields in a posteriori error estimation for enriched finite element methods
Authors: Andrés González‐Estrada Octavio , José Ródenas Juan , Pierre Alain Bordas Stéphane , Duflot Marc , Kerfriden Pierre , Giner Eugenio 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of the statical admissibility of the recovered solution and the ability of the recovered solution to represent the singular solution; also the accuracy, local and global effectivity of recovery‐based error estimators for enriched finite element methods (e.g. the extended finite element method, XFEM).Design/methodology/approachThe authors study the performance of two recovery techniques. The first is a recently developed superconvergent patch recovery procedure with equilibration and enrichment (SPR‐CX). The second is known as the extended moving least squares recovery (XMLS), which enriches the recovered solutions but does not enforce equilibrium constraints. Both are extended recovery techniques as the polynomial basis used in the recovery process is enriched with singular terms for a better description of the singular nature of the solution.FindingsNumerical results comparing the convergence and the effectivity index of both techniques with those obtained without the enrichment enhancement clearly show the need for the use of extended recovery techniques in Zienkiewicz‐Zhu type error estimators for this class of problems. The results also reveal significant improvements in the effectivities yielded by statically admissible recovered solutions.Originality/valueThe paper shows that both extended recovery procedures and statical admissibility are key to an accurate assessment of the quality of enriched finite element approximations.
Modified spline‐based differential quadrature method applied to vibration analysis of truncated conical shells
Authors: Krowiak Artur 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present some modifications in the spline‐based differential quadrature method (DQM), in order to accelerate the convergence of the method. The improvements are explained and examined by the examples of the free vibration of conical shells. The composite laminated shell, as well as isotropic one, are taken under consideration.Design/methodology/approachTo determine weighting coefficients for the DQM, the spline interpolation with non‐standard definitions of the end conditions is used. One of these definitions combines natural and not‐a‐knot end conditions, while the other one uses the boundary conditions for considered problem as the end conditions. The weighting coefficients can be determined by solving set of equations arising from spline interpolation.FindingsIt is shown that the proposed modifications significantly improve the convergence of the method, especially when the boundary conditions are introduced at the stage of the computation of the weighting coefficients. Unfortunately, the use of this approach is limited to some types of boundary conditions.Originality/valueThe paper describes development of the modified spline interpolation dedicated to DQM and examines the possibility of building boundary conditions into the weighting coefficients at the stage of the computation of these coefficients.
MHD natural convection flow from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder under consideration of temperature dependent viscosity
Authors: Molla Mamun , Saha Suvash C. , Khan M.A.I. 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss, with numerical simulations, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) natural convection laminar flow from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder immersed in a fluid with viscosity proportional to a linear function of temperature.Design/methodology/approachThe governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a non‐dimensional form and the resulting nonlinear system of partial differential equations are reduced to convenient form, which are solved numerically by two very efficient methods: implicit finite difference method together with Keller box scheme; and direct numerical scheme.FindingsNumerical results are presented by velocity and temperature distributions of the fluid as well as heat transfer characteristics, namely the shearing stress and the local heat transfer rate in terms of the local skin‐friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number for a wide range of MHD parameter, viscosity‐variation parameter and viscous dissipation parameter.Originality/valueMHD flow in this geometry with temperature dependent viscosity is absent in the literature. IN this paper, the results obtained from the numerical simulations have been verified by two methodologies.
A lattice‐particle approach to determine the RVE size for quasi‐brittle materials
Authors: Montero‐Chacón Francisco , Medina Fernando 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the representative volume element (RVE) size for quasi‐brittle materials using a discrete approach, namely a lattice‐particle model.Design/methodology/approachDifferent material samples are generated and subjected to study regarding its size, maximum aggregate size and boundary conditions. In order to determine the mechanical properties such as the elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio or tensile strength, several tension tests are carried out. For this purpose, a lattice‐particle approach is used to model concrete's fracturing behavior. The information provided by the previous simulations is implemented in a statistical analysis to determine the size of the RVE.FindingsThe determination of the RVE size for quasi‐brittle materials is successfully achieved by means of a lattice‐particle model. Computed results show a good agreement with other results reported in the bibliography.Originality/valueWithin a general multiscale framework, the determination of the RVE size is of great interest and some studies have been performed for random heterogeneous materials. However, these analyses are mainly continuum‐based. The estimation of the RVE size is important for correctly predicting the mechanical properties and can be used in different multiscale schemes.
Discrete element approach in brittle fracture mechanics
Authors: Danh Le Ba , Koval Georg , Chazallon Cyrille 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use the discrete element method (DEM) to model the fracture behaviour of brittle materials in 2D.Design/methodology/approachThe material consists of a set of particles in contact with a close‐packed structure. It allows the derivation of an expression for the stress intensity factor as a function of the contact forces near the crack tip. A classical failure criterion, based on the material's toughness, is then adopted for the analysis of crack propagation, represented by the contact loss between particles.FindingsThe DEM approach is compared to two tensile cases (mode I); both presenting a monotonous convergence towards classical solutions for more precise discretization.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a DEM approach in fracture mechanics of isotropic brittle materials entirely compatible with continuous classical theory. Hence the toughness value is directly introduced as a parameter of the material without any previous calibration of the DEM.
3D harmonic model of the end region for turbogenerators
Authors: Andrzejewski Jakub , Komęza Krzysztof , Romary Raphaël 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe large size of models and long computing time prevent the creation of full‐scale, three‐dimensional models of end region of turbogenerators. Only exact three‐dimensional model can illustrate complex phenomena of end region losses. Also some methods of decreasing such losses cannot be simulated in two‐dimensional models. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a method of creating three‐dimensional models of turbogenerators' end regions for calculations of eddy current losses.Design/methodology/approachTime‐stepping is the most expensive part of computation. A harmonic model would be free from that disadvantage and it can provide a tool to make an accurate, fully three‐dimensional model of a steady state for different loads and provide results in a reasonable time.FindingsThe research focuses on the method of creating three‐dimensional models of turbogenerators end region for calculations of eddy current losses. By using two‐dimensional, time‐stepping models and empirical loss functions for a main flux and three‐dimensional models for eddy current losses from a perpendicular flux of an end connections, it is found that fast analysis of that complex part of a machine can be achieved.Originality/valueThe approach proposed in the paper is a universal and novel method of calculation losses of turbogenerators' end regions. Combining two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional models provides advantages of both known methods: fast computation time from simplified models and good representation of complex geometry of a machine.