Search results for: synthetic phorbol ester

Authors: Abbassi Daloii Asieh, Yazdani Hoda

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Background and Objective: evidence supports systemic inflammation in obesity and insulin resistance. Apelin that is secreted by adipose tissue plays an important role in the inflammation process and appear act as an anti-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this study was the effect of eight weeks aerobic training and nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME) on plasma apelin in male’s rats. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 24 male Wistar rats aged 20 months were randomly assigned into four groups: Control, training, training and L-NAME and L-NAME. Training intervention was eight weeks aerobic exercise (5 time/weekly) at 75-80 (%) of maximal oxygen consumption. All rats were killed 72 hours after lasted exercise session; blood samples collected and plasma were stored. Data was analyzed by one way ANOVA and Tucky Test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically signigcant. Results: The results showed that after eight weeks of endurance training exercise Apelin plasma compared to the control group did not change significantly. Also, the results showed that there was significant difference in plasma Apelin between groups(P > 0/05). Also, the results showed no significant difference between the insulin levels and glucose of four groups (P > 0/05). Conclusion: It seems that aerobic exercise plasma Apelin levels in male rats is not affected. On the other hand, nitric oxide inhibitors can reduce levels of plasma Apelin.

Keywords: aerobic training, L-NAME, plasma Apelin, male’s rats

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Authors: Adedoyin Akintunde Adedayo, Onilude Abiodun Anthony

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The continuous usage of synthetic antibiotics in livestock production has led to the resistance of microbial pathogens. This has prompted research to find alternative sources. This study aims to compare the growth and intestinal health of broilers fed scent leaf meal (SLM) as an alternative to synthetic antibiotics. The study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 300 one-week-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks. The chicks were divided into six treatments with five replicates of ten birds each. The feeding trial lasted 49 days, including a one-week acclimatization period. Commercial broiler diets were used. The diets included a negative control (no leaf meal or antibiotics), a positive control (0.10% oxy-tetracycline), and four diets with different levels of SLM (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%). The supplementation of both oxy-tetracycline and SLM improved feed intake during the finisher phase. Birds fed SLM at a 1% inclusion level showed significantly (P<0.05) improved average body weight gain (ABWG), lowered feed-to-gain ratio, and cost per kilogram of weight gain compared to other diets. The mortality (2.0%) rate was significantly higher in the negative control group. White blood cell levels varied significantly (P<0.05) in birds fed SLM-supplemented diets, and the use of 2% SLM led to an increase in liver weight. However, welfare indices were not compromised.

Keywords: Arbor Acres, phyto-biotic, synthetic antibiotic, white blood cell, liver weight

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Authors: Byl Farney Cunha Junior

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In this work the dynamic three-dimensional analysis of a 47-story building located in Goiania city when subjected to wind loads generated using both the Wind Brazilian code, NBR6123 (ABNT, 1988) and the Synthetic-Wind method is realized. To model the frames three different methodologies are used: the shear building model and both bi and three-dimensional finite element models. To start the analysis, a plane frame is initially studied to validate the shear building model and, in order to compare the results of natural frequencies and displacements at the top of the structure the same plane frame was modeled using the finite element method through the SAP2000 V10 software. The same steps were applied to an idealized 20-story spacial frame that helps in the presentation of the stiffness correction process applied to columns. Based on these models the two methods used to generate the Wind loads are presented: a discrete model proposed in the Wind Brazilian code, NBR6123 (ABNT, 1988) and the Synthetic-Wind method. The method uses the Davenport spectrum which is divided into a variety of frequencies to generate the temporal series of loads. Finally, the 47- story building was analyzed using both the three-dimensional finite element method through the SAP2000 V10 software and the shear building model. The models were loaded with Wind load generated by the Wind code NBR6123 (ABNT, 1988) and by the Synthetic-Wind method considering different wind directions. The displacements and internal forces in columns and beams were compared and a comparative study considering a situation of a full elevated reservoir is realized. As can be observed the displacements obtained by the SAP2000 V10 model are greater when loaded with NBR6123 (ABNT, 1988) wind load related to the permanent phase of the structure’s response.

Keywords: finite element method, synthetic wind, tall buildings, shear building

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Authors: Guillaume Bélanger, Jean-Philippe Fontaine, Clémence Hauduc

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There is an undeniable thirst from organic chemists and from the pharmaceutical industry to access complex alkaloids with short syntheses. While medicinal chemists are interested in the fascinating wide range of biological properties of alkaloids, synthetic chemists are rather interested in finding new routes to access these challenging natural products of often low availability from nature. To synthesize complex polycyclic cores of natural products, reaction cascades or sequences performed one-pot offer a neat advantage over classical methods for their rapid increase in molecular complexity in a single operation. In counterpart, reaction cascades need to be run on substrates bearing all the required functional groups necessary for the key cyclizations. Chemoselectivity is thus a major issue associated with such a strategy, in addition to diastereocontrol and regiocontrol for the overall transformation. In the pursuit of synthetic efficiency, our research group developed an innovative one-pot transformation of linear substrates into bi- and tricyclic adducts applied to the construction of Aspidospermatan-type alkaloids. The latter is a rich class of indole alkaloids bearing a unique bridged azatricyclic core. Despite many efforts toward the synthesis of members of this family, efficient and versatile synthetic routes are still coveted. Indeed, very short, non-racemic approaches are rather scarce: for example, in the cases of aspidospermidine and aspidospermine, syntheses are all fifteen steps and over. We envisaged a unified approach to access several members of the Aspidospermatan alkaloids family. The key sequence features a highly chemoselective formamide activation that triggers a Vilsmeier-Haack cyclization, followed by an azomethine ylide generation and intramolecular cycloaddition. Despite the high density and variety of functional groups on the substrates (electron-rich and electron-poor alkenes, nitrile, amide, ester, enol ether), the sequence generated three new carbon-carbon bonds and three rings in a single operation with good yield and high chemoselectivity. A detailed study of amide, nucleophile, and dipolarophile variations to finally get to the successful combination required for the key transformation will be presented. To complete the indoline fragment of the natural products, we developed an original approach. Indeed, all reported routes to Aspidospermatan alkaloids introduce the indoline or indole early in the synthesis. In our work, the indoline needs to be installed on the azatricyclic core after the key cyclization sequence. As a result, typical Fischer indolization is not suited since this reaction is known to fail on such substrates. We thus envisaged a unique photocatalyzed decarboxylative radical cyclization. The development of this reaction as well as the scope and limitations of the methodology, will also be presented. The original Vilsmeier-Haack and azomethine ylide cyclization sequence as well as the new photocatalyzed decarboxylative radical cyclization will undoubtedly open access to new routes toward polycyclic indole alkaloids and derivatives of pharmaceutical interest in general.

Keywords: Aspidospermatan alkaloids, azomethine ylide cycloaddition, decarboxylative radical cyclization, indole and indoline synthesis, one-pot sequential cyclizations, photocatalysis, Vilsmeier-Haack Cyclization

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Authors: Li Lin Ong, Duc Thinh Khong, Zaher M. A. Judeh

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Phenylpropanoid sucrose esters (PSEs) are natural compounds found in various medicinal plants which exhibit important biological activities such as antiproliferation and α- and β-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Despite their potential as new therapeutics, total synthesis of PSEs has been very limited as their inherent structures contain one or more (substituted) cinnamoyl groups randomly allocated on the sucrose core via ester linkage. Since direct acylation of unprotected sucrose would be complex and tedious due to the presence of eight free hydroxyl groups, partially protected 2,1’:4,6-di-O-diisopropylidene sucrose was used as the starting material instead. However, similar reactivity between the remaining four hydroxyl groups still pose a challenge in the total synthesis of PSEs as the lack of selectivity can restrict customisation where acylation at specific OH is desired. To overcome this problem, a 4-step orthogonal protection scheme was developed. In this scheme, the remaining four hydroxyl groups on 2,1’:4,6-di-O-diisopropylidene sucrose, 6’-OH, 3’-OH, 4’-OH, and 3-OH, were protected with different protecting groups with an overall yield of > 40%. This orthogonally protected intermediate would provide a convenient and divergent access to a wider range of natural and synthetic PSEs as (substituted) cinnamoyl groups can be selectively introduced at desired positions. Using this scheme, three different series of monosubstituted PSEs were successfully synthesized where (substituted) cinnamoyl groups were introduced selectively at O-3, O-3’, and O-4’ positions, respectively. The expanded library of PSEs would aid in structural-activity relationship study of PSEs for identifying key components responsible for their biological activities.

Keywords: orthogonal protection, phenylpropanoid sucrose esters, selectivity, sucrose

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Authors: Reza Mohammadi, Mahmod R. Sahebi, Mehrnoosh Omati, Milad Vahidi

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Classification of high resolution polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) images plays an important role in land cover and land use management. Recently, classification algorithms based on Bag of Visual Words (BOVW) model have attracted significant interest among scholars and researchers in and out of the field of remote sensing. In this paper, BOVW model with pixel based low-level features has been implemented to classify a subset of San Francisco bay PolSAR image, acquired by RADARSAR 2 in C-band. We have used segment-based decision-making strategy and compared the result with the result of traditional Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. 90.95% overall accuracy of the classification with the proposed algorithm has shown that the proposed algorithm is comparable with the state-of-the-art methods. In addition to increase in the classification accuracy, the proposed method has decreased undesirable speckle effect of SAR images.

Keywords: Bag of Visual Words (BOVW), classification, feature extraction, land cover management, Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR)

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Authors: Mohamed H. Sorour, Hayam F. Shaalan, Heba A. Hani, Eman S. Sayed, Amany A. El-Mansoup

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Heavy metals (HMs) present an increasing threat to aquatic and soil environment. Thus, techniques should be developed for the removal and/or recovery of those HMs from point sources in the generating industries. This paper reports our endeavors concerning the development of in-house developed weak cation exchange polyacrylate hydrogel kaolin composites for heavy metals removal. This type of composite enables desirable characteristics and functions including mechanical strength, bed porosity and cost advantages. This paper emphasizes the effect of varying crosslinker (methylenebis(acrylamide)) concentration. The prepared cation exchanger has been subjected to intensive characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Brunauer Emmett and Teller (BET) method. Moreover, the performance was investigated using synthetic and real wastewater for an industrial complex east of Cairo. Simulated and real wastewater compositions addressed; Cr, Co, Ni, and Pb are in the range of (92-115), (91-103), (86-88) and (99-125), respectively. Adsorption experiments have been conducted in both batch and column modes. In general, batch tests revealed enhanced cation exchange capacities of 70, 72, 78.2 and 99.9 mg/g from single synthetic wastes while, removal efficiencies of 82.2, 86.4, 44.4 and 96% were obtained for Cr, Co, Ni and Pb, respectively from mixed synthetic wastes. It is concluded that the mixed synthetic and real wastewaters have lower adsorption capacities than single solutions. It is worth mentioned that Pb attained higher adsorption capacities with comparable results in all tested concentrations of synthetic and real wastewaters. Pilot scale experiments were also conducted for mixed synthetic waste in a fluidized bed column for 48 hour cycle time which revealed 86.4%, 58.5%, 66.8% and 96.9% removal efficiency for Cr, Co, Ni, and Pb, respectively with maximum regeneration was also conducted using saline and acid regenerants. Maximum regeneration efficiencies for the column studies higher than the batch ones about by about 30% to 60%. Studies are currently under way to enhance the regeneration efficiency to enable successful scaling up of the adsorption column.

Keywords: polyacrylate hydrogel kaolin, ultrasonic irradiation, heavy metals, adsorption and regeneration

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Authors: Bikramjit Goswami, Manoranjan Kalita

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Active microwave remote sensing is useful in remote sensing applications in cloud-covered regions in the world. Because of high spatial resolution, the spatial variations of land cover can be monitored in greater detail using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Inundation is studied using the SAR images obtained from Sentinel-1A in both VH and VV polarizations in the present experimental study. The temporal variation of the SAR scattering coefficient values for the area gives a good indication of flood and its boundary. The study area is the district of Morigaon in the state of Assam in India. The period of flood monitoring study is the monsoon season of the year 2017, during which high flood occurred in the state of Assam. The variation of microwave scattering value shows a distinctive indication of flood from the non-flooded period. Frequent monitoring of flood in a large area (10 km x 10 km) using passive microwave sensing and pin-pointing the actual flooded portions (5 m x 5 m) within the flooded area using active microwave sensing, can be a highly useful combination, as revealed by the present experimental results.

Keywords: active remote sensing, flood monitoring, microwave remote sensing, synthetic aperture radar

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Authors: Nino Kupatadze, Mzevinar Bedinashvili, Tamar Memanishvili, Manana Gurielidze, David Tugushi, Ramaz Katsarava

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Bacteria easily colonize the surfaces of tissues, surgical devices (implants, orthopedics, catheters, etc.), and instruments causing surgical device related infections. Therefore, the battle against bacteria and the prevention of surgical devices from biofilm formation is one of the main challenges of biomedicine today. Our strategy to the solution of this problem consists in using antimicrobial polymeric coatings as effective “shields” to protect surfaces from bacteria’s colonization and biofilm formation. As one of the most promising approaches look be the use of antimicrobial bioerodible polymeric nanocomposites containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). We assume that the combination of an erodible polymer with a strong bactericide should put obstacles to bacteria to occupy the surface and to form biofilm. It has to be noted that this kind of nanocomposites are also promising as wound dressing materials to treat infected superficial wounds. Various synthetic and natural polymers were used for creating biocomposites containing AgNPs as both particles' stabilizers and matrices forming elastic films at surfaces. One of the most effective systems to fabricate AgNPs is an ethanol solution of polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) with dissolved AgNO3–ethanol serves as a AgNO3 reductant and PVP as AgNPs stabilizer (through the interaction of nanoparticles with nitrogen atom of the amide group). Though PVP is biocompatible and film-forming polymer, it is not a good candidate to design either "biofilm shield" or wound dressing material because of a high solubility in water – though the solubility of PVP provides the desirable release of AgNPs from the matrix, but the coating is easily washable away from the surfaces. More promising as matrices look water insoluble but bioerodible polymers that can provide the release of AgNPs and form long-lasting coatings at the surfaces. For creating bioerodible water-insoluble antimicrobial coatings containing AgNPs, we selected amino acid based biodegradable polymers(AABBPs)–poly(ester amide)s, poly(ester urea)s, their copolymers containing amide and related groups capable to stabilize AgNPs. Among a huge variety of AABBPs reported we selected the polymers soluble in ethanol. For preparing AgNPs containing nanocompositions AABBPs and AgNO3 were dissolved in ethanol and subjected to photochemical reduction using daylight-irradiation. The formation of AgNPs was observed visually by coloring the solutions in brownish-red. The obtained AgNPs were characterized by UV-spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and dynamic light scattering(DLS). According to the UV and TEM data, the photochemical reduction resulted presumably in spherical AgNPs with rather high contribution of the particles below 10 nm that are known as responsible for the antimicrobial activity. DLS study showed that average size of nanoparticles formed after photo-reduction in ethanol solution ranged within 50 nm. The in vitro antimicrobial activity study of the new nanocomposite material is in progress now.

Keywords: nanocomposites, silver nanoparticles, polymer, biodegradable

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Authors: Stephanie Cornish

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The use of synthetic dermal templates, also known as dermal matrices, such as PolyNovo® Biodegradable Temporising Matrix (BTM), has been well established in the reconstruction of acute wounds with a full thickness defect of the skin. Its use has become common place in the treatment of full thickness burns and is not unfamiliar in the realm of necrotising fasciitis, free flap donor site reconstruction, and the management of acute traumatic wounds. However, the use of dermal templates for more chronic wounds is rare. The authors present the successful use of BTM in the reconstruction of a chronic scalp wound following the excision of a malignancy and multiple previous failed attempts at repair, thus demonstrating the potential for an increased scope of use.

Keywords: dermal template, BTM, chronic, scalp wound, reconstruction

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Authors: R. E. Vasconcelos, K. R. M. da Silva, J. M. B. Pinto

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This study aims to determine and to present the results of an experimental study of Synthetic (polypropylene) Fibers Reinforced Concrete (SFRC), in levels of 0.33% - 3kg/m3, 0.50% - 4.5kg/m3, and 0.66% - 6kg/m3, using cement CP V – ARI, at ages 28 and 88 days after specimens molding. The specimens were exposed for 60 days in aggressive environment (in solution of water and 3% of sodium chloride), after 28 days. The bending toughness tests were performed in prismatic specimens of 150 x 150 x 500 mm. The toughness factor values of the specimens in aggressive environment were the same to those obtained in normal environment (in air).

Keywords: concrete reinforced with polypropylene fibers, toughness in bending, synthetic fibers, concrete reinforced

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Authors: Cheng-Yen Huang, Yu-Jen Shih, Ming-Chun Yen, Yao-Hui Huang

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This research developed a fluidized-bed homogeneous crystallization (FBHC) process to remove copper from synthetic wastewater in terms of recovery of highly pure malachite (Cu2(OH)2CO3) pellets. The experimental parameters of FBHC which included pH, molar ratio of copper to carbonate, copper loading, upper flowrate and bed height were tested in the absence of seed particles. Under optimized conditions, both the total copper removal (TR) and crystallization ratio (CR) reached 99%. The malachite crystals were characterized by XRD and SEM. FBHC was capable of treating concentrated copper (1600 ppm) wastewater and minimizing the sludge production.

Keywords: copper, carbonate, fluidized-bed, crystallization, malachite

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Authors: Veerapat Kitsawat, Muenduen Phisalaphong

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Green natural rubber (NR) composites reinforced with synthetic graphite, using alginate as thickening and dispersing agent, were developed to improve mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. The film fabrication was performed using a latex aqueous microdispersion process. The research found that up to 60 parts per hundred rubbers (phr) of graphite could be successfully integrated into the NR matrix without causing agglomeration and phase separation. Accordingly, the mechanical properties, in terms of tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the composite films, were significantly increased, while the elongation at break decreased with higher graphite loading. The reinforcement strongly improved the hydrophilicity of the composite films, resulting in a higher water absorption rate compared to the neat NR film. Moreover, the incorporation of synthetic graphite significantly improved the chemical resistance of the composite films when exposed to toluene. It is demonstrated that the electrical conductivity of the composite films was considerably enhanced with graphite loading. According to the obtained properties, the developed composites offer potential for further development as conductive substrate for electronic applications.

Keywords: alginate, composite, graphite, natural rubber

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Authors: Gehan F. Abdel Raoof, Ataa A. Said, Khaled Y. Mohamed, Hala M. Mohammed

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Pleiogynium timorense(DC.) Leenh is one of the therapeutically active plants belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. The bark of Pleiogynium timorense needs further studies to investigate its phytochemical and biological activities. This work was carried out to investigate the chemical composition of petroleum ether extract of Pleiogynium timorense bark as well as to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The unsaponifiable matter and fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Moreover, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing test and carrageen hind paw oedema models in rats, respectively. The results showed that twenty one compounds in the unsaponifiable fraction were identified representing 92.54 % of the total beak area, the major compounds were 1-Heptene (35.32%), Butylated hydroxy toluene (19.42%) and phytol (12.53%), whereas fifteen compounds were identified in the fatty acid methyl esters fraction representing 94.15% of the total identified peak area. The major compounds were 9-Octadecenoic acid methyl ester (35.34%) and 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid methyl ester (29.32%). Moreover, petroleum ether extract showed a significant reduction in pain and inflammation in a dose dependent manner. This study aims to be the first step toward the use of petroleum ether extract of Pleiogynium timorense bark as analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug.

Keywords: analgesic, anti-inflammatory, bark, petroleum ether extract, Pleiogynium timorense

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Authors: Karthiyayini Nagarajan, P. V. Ramakrishna

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Radar Imaging techniques provides extensive applications in the field of remote sensing, majorly Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that provide high resolution target images. This paper work puts forward the effective and realizable signal generation and processing for SAR images. The major units in the system include camera, signal generation unit, signal processing unit and display screen. The real radio channel is replaced by its mathematical model based on optical image to calculate a reflected signal model in real time. Signal generation realizes the algorithm and forms the radar reflection model. Signal processing unit provides range and azimuth resolution through matched filtering and spectrum analysis procedure to form radar image on the display screen. The restored image has the same quality as that of the optical image. This SAR imaging system has been designed and implemented using MATLAB and Quartus II tools on Stratix III device as a System (Lab Bench) that works in real time to study/investigate on radar imaging rudiments and signal processing scheme for educational and research purposes.

Keywords: synthetic aperture radar, radio reflection model, lab bench, imaging engineering

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Authors: Karthiyayini Nagarajan, P. V. RamaKrishna

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Radar Imaging techniques provides extensive applications in the field of remote sensing, majorly Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) that provide high resolution target images. This paper work puts forward the effective and realizable signal generation and processing for SAR images. The major units in the system include camera, signal generation unit, signal processing unit and display screen. The real radio channel is replaced by its mathematical model based on optical image to calculate a reflected signal model in real time. Signal generation realizes the algorithm and forms the radar reflection model. Signal processing unit provides range and azimuth resolution through matched filtering and spectrum analysis procedure to form radar image on the display screen. The restored image has the same quality as that of the optical image. This SAR imaging system has been designed and implemented using MATLAB and Quartus II tools on Stratix III device as a System(lab bench) that works in real time to study/investigate on radar imaging rudiments and signal processing scheme for educational and research purposes.

Keywords: synthetic aperture radar, radio reflection model, lab bench

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Authors: L. K. Davis

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The effects of the evolution force are observable in nature at all structural levels ranging from small molecular systems to conversely enormous biospheric systems. However, the evolution force and work associated with formation of biological structures has yet to be described mathematically or theoretically. In addressing the conundrum, we consider evolution from a unique perspective and in doing so we introduce the “Fundamental Theory of the Evolution Force: FTEF”. We utilized synthetic evolution artificial intelligence (SYN-AI) to identify genomic building blocks and to engineer 14-3-3 ζ docking proteins by transforming gene sequences into time-based DNA codes derived from protein hierarchical structural levels. The aforementioned served as templates for random DNA hybridizations and genetic assembly. The application of hierarchical DNA codes allowed us to fast forward evolution, while dampening the effect of point mutations. Natural selection was performed at each hierarchical structural level and mutations screened using Blosum 80 mutation frequency-based algorithms. Notably, SYN-AI engineered a set of three architecturally conserved docking proteins that retained motion and vibrational dynamics of native Bos taurus 14-3-3 ζ.

Keywords: 14-3-3 docking genes, synthetic protein design, time-based DNA codes, writing DNA code from scratch

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Authors: Peter Joseph Basil Morris, Chhabi Nigam, S. Ramakrishnan, P. Radhakrishna

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This paper brings out the analysis of the airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data using the Range Migration Algorithm (RMA) for the spotlight mode of operation. Unlike in polar format algorithm (PFA), space-variant defocusing and geometric distortion effects are mitigated in RMA since it does not assume that the illuminating wave-fronts are planar. This facilitates the use of RMA for imaging scenarios involving severe differential range curvatures enabling the imaging of larger scenes at fine resolution and at shorter ranges with low center frequencies. The RMA algorithm for the spotlight mode of SAR is analyzed in this paper using the airborne data. Pre-processing operations viz: - range de-skew and motion compensation to a line are performed on the raw data before being fed to the RMA component. Various stages of the RMA viz:- 2D Matched Filtering, Along Track Fourier Transform and Slot Interpolation are analyzed to find the performance limits and the dependence of the imaging geometry on the resolution of the final image. The ability of RMA to compensate for severe differential range curvatures in the two-dimensional spatial frequency domain are also illustrated in this paper.

Keywords: range migration algorithm, spotlight SAR, synthetic aperture radar, matched filtering, slot interpolation

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Authors: Shriya Shukla, Lachin Fernando

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Pneumonia, a leading cause of mortality in young children globally, presents significant diagnostic challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings. This study presents an approach to diagnosing pediatric pneumonia using Chest X-Ray (CXR) images, employing a lightweight MobileNetV2 model enhanced with synthetic data augmentation. Addressing the challenge of dataset scarcity and imbalance, the study used a Variational Autoencoder-Generative Adversarial Network (VAE-GAN) to generate synthetic CXR images, improving the representation of normal cases in the pediatric dataset. This approach not only addresses the issues of data imbalance and scarcity prevalent in medical imaging but also provides a more accessible and reliable diagnostic tool for early pneumonia detection. The augmented data improved the model’s accuracy and generalization, achieving an overall accuracy of 95% in pneumonia detection. These findings highlight the efficacy of the MobileNetV2 model, offering a computationally efficient yet robust solution well-suited for resource-constrained environments such as mobile health applications. This study demonstrates the potential of synthetic data augmentation in enhancing medical image analysis for critical conditions like pediatric pneumonia.

Keywords: pneumonia, MobileNetV2, image classification, GAN, VAE, deep learning

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Authors: Chi-Yuan Huang, Mei-Chuan Kuo, Ching-Yi Hsiao

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In this study, acids with various chain lengths (C₆, C₈, C₁₀ and C₁₂) modified by methane sulfonic acid (MSA) and temperature were used to modify tapioca starch (TPS), then the glycerol (GA) were added into modified starch, to prepare new blends. The mechanical properties, thermal properties and physical properties of blends were studied. This investigation was divided into two parts.  First, the biodegradable materials were used such as starch and glycerol with hexanedioic acid (HA), suberic acid (SBA), sebacic acid (SA), decanedicarboxylic acid (DA) manufacturing with different temperatures (90, 110 and 130 °C). And then, the solution was added into modified starch to prepare the blends by using single-screw extruder. The FT-IR patterns indicated that the characteristic peak of C=O in ester was observed at 1730 cm^-1. It is proved that different chain length acids (C₆, C₈, C₁₀ and C₁₂) reacted with glycerol by esterification and these are used to plasticize blends during extrusion. In addition, the blends would improve the hydrolysis and thermal stability. The water contact angle increased from 43.0° to 64.0°.  Second, the HA (110 °C), SBA (110 °C), SA (110 °C), and DA blends (130 °C) were used in study, because they possessed good mechanical properties, water resistances and thermal stability. On the other hand, the various contents (0, 0.005, 0.010, 0.020 g) of MSA were also used to modify the mechanical properties of blends. We observed that the blends were added to MSA, and then the FT-IR patterns indicated that the C=O ester appeared at 1730 cm^-1. For this reason, the hydrophobic blends were produced. The water contact angle of the MSA blends increased from 55.0° to 71.0°. Although break elongation of the MSA blends reduced from the original 220% to 128%, the stress increased from 2.5 MPa to 5.1 MPa. Therefore, the optimal composition of blends was the DA blend (130 °C) with adding of MSA (0.005 g).

Keywords: chain length acids, methane sulfonic acid, Tapioca starch (TPS), tensile stress

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Authors: Reda Mankbadi

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There are several technologically-important flow situations in which there is a need to control the outcome of the fluid flow. This could include flow separation, drag, noise, as well as particulate separations, to list only a few. One possible approach is the passive control, in which the design geometry is changed. An alternative approach is the Active Flow Control (AFC) technology in which an actuator is imbedded in the flow field to change the outcome. Examples of AFC are pulsed jets, synthetic jets, plasma actuators, heating and cooling, Etc. In this work will present an overview of the development of this field. Some examples will include: Airfoil Noise Suppression: LES is used to simulate the effect of the synthetic jet actuator on controlling the far field sound of a transitional airfoil. The results show considerable suppression of the noise if the synthetic jet is operated at frequencies. Mixing Enhancement and suppression: Results will be presented to show that imposing acoustic excitations at the nozzle exit can lead to enhancement or reduction of the jet plume mixing. In a vertical takeoff of Aircraft or in Space Launch, we will present results on the effects of water injection on reducing noise, and on protect the structure and pay load from fatigue damage. Other applications will include airfoil-gust interaction and propulsion systems optimizations.

Keywords: aerodynamics, simulations, aeroacoustics, active flow control (AFC), Large-Eddy Simulations (LES)

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Authors: Xiaoyan Dai, Hsieh Yisan

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Barcode processing of captured images is a huge challenge, as different shooting conditions can result in different barcode appearances. This paper proposes a deep learning-based barcode detection using synthetic-to-real data augmentation. We first augment barcodes themselves; we then augment images containing the barcodes to generate a large variety of data that is close to the actual shooting environments. Comparisons with previous works and evaluations with our original data show that this approach achieves state-of-the-art performance in various real images. In addition, the system uses hybrid resolution for barcode “scan” and is applicable to real-time applications.

Keywords: barcode detection, data augmentation, deep learning, image-based processing

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Authors: Lydia Booney Jyrwa, Rabindra Nath Bhuyan

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Chocolate Mahseer (Neolissochilus hexagonolepis) is one of the Mahseer species inhabiting the North-eastern region of India and is a native species to the state of Meghalaya since it can adapt and grow well under the agro climatic conditions of the region. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The fish is considered as one of the endangered species of the Mahseer group, which is having tremendous scope for culture, sports and tourism. But non-availability of quality seed is a hindrance for the culture of this fish. Thus induced breeding of the fish by hormonal administration with pituitary gland and synthetic hormones is the only reliable method to procure the pure seed of the fish. Chocolate Mahseer was successfully bred at the Hatchery Complex, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, Meghalaya by using pituitary extract and synthetic hormone viz. ovaprim, ovatide and gonopro-FH. The dose standardized is @ 4mg/kg body weight to both male and female as 1st dose and @ 7.9 mg/kg body weight only to female as 2nd dose for pituitary extract and single dose @ 0.8 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of both ovaprim and ovatide, while a single dose @ 0.9 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of gonopro-FH. The doses are standardized after a series of trial and error experiment performed. The fecundity of the fish was 3500 eggs/ kg body weight. The final hatching percentage achieved was 60%. The survival rate of hatchling was 50% up to fry stage. The use of synthetic hormone and positive response of the fish to the hormone will go in long way for production of quality seed of the fish which in turn help in culture of the species as the fish can be a very good candidate species for the culture in the state. This study will also help in the ranching of the fish in the natural habitat leading to conservation of the species. However, the study should be continued further for the large scale production of seeds.

Keywords: chocolate mahseer, induced breeding, pituitary extract, synthetic hormone

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Authors: Reneiloe Seodigeng, John Kabuba, Hilary Rutto, Tumisang Seodigeng

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Urine diversion toilets have become popular as a means of solving the challenges in sanitation. As a result, the source-separated urine must be adequately treated so that it can be disposed of safely and valuable struvite can be extracted for use as fertilizer. In this study, synthetic urine was prepared, and struvite crystallisation experiments carried out using magnesium nitrate. The effect of residence time on crystal growth was studied. At residence time of 10, 30 and 60 minutes, mean particle sizes were 17, 34 and 53 µm showing that with higher residence times, larger crystal sizes can be achieved. SEM analysis of the crystal showed that the resultant crystals had the typical morphology of struvite crystals.

Keywords: struvite, magnesium nitrate, crystallisation, urine treatment

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Authors: R. R. Mankbadi

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There are several technologically-important flow situations in which there is a need to control the outcome of the fluid flow. This could include flow separation, drag, noise, as well as particulate separations, to list only a few. One possible approach is the passive control, in which the design geometry is changed. An alternative approach is the Active Flow Control (AFC) technology in which an actuator is embedded in the flow field to change the outcome. Examples of AFC are pulsed jets, synthetic jets, plasma actuators, heating, and cooling, etc. In this work will present an overview of the development of this field. Some examples will include Airfoil Noise Suppression: Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) is used to simulate the effect of synthetic jet actuator on controlling the far field sound of a transitional airfoil. The results show considerable suppression of the noise if the synthetic jet is operated at frequencies. Mixing Enhancement and suppression: Results will be presented to show that imposing acoustic excitations at the nozzle exit can lead to enhancement or reduction of the jet plume mixing. In vertical takeoff of Aircrafts or in Space Launch, we will present results on the effects of water injection on reducing noise, and on protecting the structure and payload from fatigue damage. Other applications will include airfoil-gust interaction and propulsion systems optimizations.

Keywords: aeroacoustics, flow control, aerodynamics, large eddy simulations

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Authors: Willian L. G. Silva, Fabio R. M. Batista, Matthieu Tubino

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Microalgae can be considered a potential source of oil for biodiesel synthesis since this microorganism can grow rapidly in either fresh or salty water, not competing with food production. There are several favorable conditions in Brazil for this type of culture due to the country’s great amount of water. Another very positive aspect of this type of culture is its ability to fix atmospheric CO2, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases and their effects on global warming. Despite this biodiesel environmental advantages it degrades resulting in changes in its physical and chemical properties. In this work, the methyl and ethyl microalgae biodiesel oxidative stability was studied in the absence and presence of a synthetic antioxidant. The synthetic antioxidants used were propyl gallate (PG) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), at a 0,12% (w/w) concentration. The biodiesel mixture was kept in a sealed glass flask, sheltered from light, and at room temperature (about 25 ºC) for 180 days. During this period, aliquots from this biodiesel were subjected to induced degradation by the Rancimat method, which determines an important quality parameter, provided in the current methods, and is used to monitor the degradation processes that occur in the biodiesel over time. The induction period (IP) expresses the biodiesel oxidative stability. It was stablished that the minimum accepted IP value for biodiesel is 8 hours. The results show that ethylic biodiesel increased its IP value from 7,6 hours to 31 hours when using PG, and to 67 hours when using TBHQ, exceeding the minimum accepted IP value. When the antioxidants were added to the methylic biodiesel samples, the IP was raised to 28 hours when using PG, and to 62 hours when using TBHQ. These values were maintained throughout the entire period of study (180 days). On the other hand, the biodiesel samples without additives maintained an IP above the allowed value for only 30 days. Therefore, in order to preserve microalgae biodiesel for longer periods of time, it is necessary to add antioxidants to both derivatives, i.e., the ethylic and methylic.

Keywords: biodiesel, microalgae, oxidative stability, storage, synthetic antioxidants

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Authors: Amelia J. McFarland, Andrew K. Davey, Shailendra Anoopkumar-Dukie

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Microglia are the resident macrophage population of the central nervous system (CNS), contributing to both innate and adaptive immune response, and brain homeostasis. Activation of microglia occurs in response to a multitude of pathogenic stimuli in their microenvironment; this induces morphological and functional changes, resulting in a state of acute neuroinflammation which facilitates injury resolution. Adequate microglial function is essential for the health of the neuroparenchyma, with microglial dysfunction implicated in numerous CNS pathologies. Given the critical role that these macrophage-derived cells play in CNS homeostasis, there is a high demand for microglial models suitable for use in neuroscience research. The isolation of primary human microglia, however, is both difficult and costly, with microglial activation an unwanted but inevitable result of the extraction process. Consequently, there is a need for the development of alternative experimental models which exhibit morphological, biochemical and functional characteristics of human microglia without the difficulties associated with primary cell lines. In this study, our aim was to evaluate whether THP-1 human peripheral blood monocytes would display microglial-like qualities following an induced differentiation, and, therefore, be suitable for use as surrogate microglia. To achieve this aim, THP-1 human peripheral blood monocytes from acute monocytic leukaemia were differentiated with a range of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) concentrations (50-200 nM) using two different protocols: a 5-day continuous PMA exposure or a 3-day continuous PMA exposure followed by a 5-day rest in normal media. In each protocol and at each PMA concentration, microglial-like cell morphology was assessed through crystal violet staining and the presence of CD-14 microglial / macrophage cell surface marker. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli (055: B5) was then added at a range of concentrations from 0-10 mcg/mL to activate the PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells. Functional microglial-like behavior was evaluated by quantifying the release of prostaglandin (PG)-E2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α using mediator-specific ELISAs. Furthermore, production of global reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) were determined fluorometrically using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2-DA) respectively. Following PMA-treatment, it was observed both differentiation protocols resulted in cells displaying distinct microglial morphology from 10 nM PMA. Activation of differentiated cells using LPS significantly augmented IL-1β, TNF-α and PGE2 release at all LPS concentrations under both differentiation protocols. Similarly, a significant increase in DCFH-DA and DAF-2-DA fluorescence was observed, indicative of increases in ROS and NO production. For all endpoints, the 5-day continuous PMA treatment protocol yielded significantly higher mediator levels than the 3-day treatment and 5-day rest protocol. Our data, therefore, suggests that the differentiation of THP-1 human monocyte cells with PMA yields a homogenous microglial-like population which, following stimulation with LPS, undergo activation to release a range of pro-inflammatory mediators associated with microglial activation. Thus, the use of PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells represents a suitable microglial model for in vitro research.

Keywords: differentiation, lipopolysaccharide, microglia, monocyte, neuroscience, THP-1

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Authors: Mengjun Yang, Zhulin Zong, Jie Gao

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In this paper, a new and robust algorithm is proposed to achieve high resolution for inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging in the compressive sensing (CS) framework. Traditional CS based methods have to assume that unknown scatters exactly lie on the pre-divided grids; otherwise, their reconstruction performance dropped significantly. In this processing algorithm, several basis shifts are utilized to achieve the same effect as grid refinement does. The detailed implementation of the basis shift algorithm is presented in this paper. From the simulation we can see that using the basis shift algorithm, imaging precision can be improved. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are investigated by the simulation results.

Keywords: ISAR imaging, sparse reconstruction, off-grid, basis shift

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Authors: Yanli Qi, Ning Lv, Jing Li

Abstract:

Sub-Nyquist sampling jamming method (SNSJ) is a well known deception jamming method for inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR). However, the anti-decoy of the SNSJ method performs easier since the amplitude of the false-target images are weaker than the real-target image; the false-target images always lag behind the real-target image, and all targets are located in the same cross-range. In order to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above, a simple modulation based on SNSJ (M-SNSJ) is presented in this paper. The method first uses amplitude modulation factor to make the amplitude of the false-target images consistent with the real-target image, then uses the down-range modulation factor and cross-range modulation factor to make the false-target images move freely in down-range and cross-range, respectively, thus the capacity of deception is improved. Finally, the simulation results on the six available combinations of three modulation factors are given to illustrate our conclusion.

Keywords: inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), deceptive jamming, Sub-Nyquist sampling jamming method (SNSJ), modulation based on Sub-Nyquist sampling jamming method (M-SNSJ)

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Authors: Italo Luigi de Paoli

Abstract:

The use of synthetic soil for the vegetables cultivation in conditions of limited water consumption The separate collection of urban organic waste and green waste for the countries of the European Union averages 100 kg / inhabitant x year with an annual growth of about 10%. The production of quality compost averages 38% - 40% of the production of organic waste material. Most of the compost produced is used as an organic soil improver in those nutrient-poor soils in order to improve its quality. This study seeks to enhance the production of quality compost by creating a synthetic soil, where the percentages of compost on average oscillate between 50% and 60% in which, with appropriate precautions, different species of horticultural can be grown in conditions of high environmental safety without the use of pesticides and with a consumption of water used for irrigation limited to the actual evaporation of the plants. The project started in 2018 and is still ongoing, confirms its validity through a series of different horticultural productions, especially if this technology is applied where the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of vegetables is limited and where the use of water for irrigation represents a cultural criticality. Furthermore, the creation of "open field" crops, together with their automation, represents a further possibility in the concrete development of such technologies, giving the final product organoleptic characteristics equal if not superior to what the market offers today for human nutrition.

Keywords: water scarcity, compost, vegetable foods, syntetic soil

Procedia PDF Downloads 173