Study on the effects of wood flour geometry on physical and mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites

The present study is focused on the effects of the shape and size of Fagus orientalis wood flour on physical and mechanical properties of HDPE based wood plastic composites (WPC). Variables included two mesh sizes (20 and 60), as well as five different contents of ground shavings (0, 25, 50,75, and 100%) mixed with sawdust; totally 10 treatments. HDPT content was 40% in all formulations. Panels were compression molded and physical and mechanical tests were carried out in accordance with ASTM D2240 standard specifications. Results showed that mesh size can only significantly affect the hardness in the studied wood-plastic composites. On the other hand, increasing the proportion of the ground shavings possessing higher aspect ratio (l/d) increased both flexural strength and hardness. This increasing effect however was not observed for ground shavings beyond 50%. It was also concluded that while the addition of ground shavings up to 50% could improve the mechanical properties, higher proportions would reduce some of the properties, particularly the impact strength. In was concluded that the panel made of 50% wood flour combined with 50% ground shavings exhibited overall suitableproperties for most applications

Modelling Irrational Behaviour of Residential End Users using Non-Stationary Gaussian Processes

Demand response (DR) plays a critical role in ensuring efficient electricity consumption and optimal usage of network assets. Yet, existing DR models often overlook a crucial element, the irrational behaviour of electricity end users. In this work, we propose a price-responsive model that incorporates key aspects of end-user irrationality, specifically loss aversion, time inconsistency, and bounded rationality. To this end, we first develop a framework that uses Multiple Seasonal-Trend decomposition using Loess (MSTL) and non-stationary Gaussian processes to model the randomness in the electricity consumption by residential consumers. The impact of this model is then evaluated through a community battery storage (CBS) business model. Additionally, we propose a chance-constrained optimisation model for CBS operation that deals with the unpredictability of the end-user irrationality. Our simulations using real-world data show that the proposed DR model provides a more realistic estimate of price-responsive behaviour considering irrationality. Compared to a deterministic model that cannot fully take into account the irrational behaviour of end users, the chance-constrained CBS operation model yields an additional 19% revenue. In addition, the business model reduces the electricity costs of end users with a rooftop solar system by 11%.Comment: This manuscript has been submitted to IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid for possible publicatio

Voltammetric Determination of Homocysteine Using Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Paste Electrode in the Presence of Chlorpromazine as a Mediator

We propose chlorpromazine (CHP) as a new mediator for the rapid, sensitive, and highly selective voltammetric determination of homocysteine (Hcy) using multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode (MWCNTPE). The experimental results showed that the carbon nanotube paste electrode has a highly electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of Hcy in the presence of CHP as a mediator. Cyclic voltammetry, double potential step chronoamperometry, and square wave voltammetry (SWV) are used to investigate the suitability of CHP at the surface of MWCNTPE as a mediator for the electrocatalytic oxidation of Hcy in aqueous solutions. The kinetic parameters of the system, including electron transfer coefficient, and catalytic rate constant were also determined using the electrochemical approaches. In addition, SWV was used for quantitative analysis. SWV showed wide linear dynamic range (0.1–210.0 μM Hcy) with a detection limit of 0.08 μM Hcy. Finally, this method was also examined as a selective, simple, and precise electrochemical sensor for the determination of Hcy in real samples

Synthesis of new functionalized Calix[4]arene modified silica resin for the adsorption of metal ions: Equilibrium, thermodynamic and kinetic modeling studies

In this study, a new efficient resin-based material has been synthesized through the surface modification of silica by functionalized calix[4]arene and applied for the adsorption of metal ions from aqueous media. The synthesis of functionalized calix[4]arene modified silica (FCMS) resin was characterized by FTIR, CHNS, BET surface area, SEM analyses. The FCMS resin has high thermal and chemical stabilities that were checked by the thermogravimetric analysis and various acidic/basic conditions. The efficiency of the FCMS resin was checked by performing a set of batch experiments under optimized parameters such as concentration of the metal solution, pH, resin dosage, time, temperature, and competitive adsorption in mixed solutions. The results showed that better adsorption has been achieved at pH 7, with 25 mg adsorbent dosage and 10 min contact time. The equilibrium kinetic study showed that the metal adsorption follows the pseudo 2nd order kinetic model with quite high coefficients of determination values (R-2 > 0.99). The experimental data have been validated by applying three adsorption isotherm models and the results revealed that the Freundlich isotherm model (R-2 > 0.99) was the best fit for the adsorption of Cu2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ ions. However, the sorption energy calculated from the D-R isotherm model for Cu2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ ions suggested that an ion-exchange mechanism is involved on the surface of the FCMS resin. The thermodynamic data demonstrated that the reaction is spontaneous and endothermic. The FCMS resin was also applied on real wastewater samples and the results demonstrated that the resin has a good ability to treat metal-contaminated wastewater. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Identification of heavy metal ions from aqueous environment through gold, Silver and Copper Nanoparticles: An excellent colorimetric approach

Heavy metal pollution has become a severe threat to human health and the environment for many years. Their extensive release can severely damage the environment and promote the generation of many harmful diseases of public health concerns. These toxic heavy metals can cause many health problems such as brain damage, kidney failure, immune system disorder, muscle weakness, paralysis of the limbs, cardio complaint, nervous system. For many years, researchers focus on developing specific reliable analytical methods for the determination of heavy metal ions and preventing their acute toxicity to a significant extent. The modern researchers intended to utilize efficient and discerning materials, e.g. nanomaterials, especially the metal nanoparticles to detect heavy metal ions from different real sources rapidly. The metal nanoparticles have been broadly utilized as a sensing material for the colorimetric detection of toxic metal ions. The metal nanoparticles such as Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), and Copper (Cu) exhibited localized plasmon surface resonance (LPSR) properties which adds an outstanding contribution to the colorimetric sensing field. Though, the stability of metal nanoparticles was major issue to be exploited colorimetric sensing of heavy emtal ions, but from last decade different capping and stabilizing agents such as amino acids, vitmains, acids and ploymers were used to functionalize the metal surface of metal nanoparticles. These capping agents prevent the agglomeration of nanoparticles and make them more active for prolong period of time. This review covers a comprehensive work carried out for colorimetric detection of heavy metals based on metal nanoparticles from the year 2014 to onwards. © 202

Serum overexpression of miR-301a and miR-23a in patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous group of membrane-bound vesicles with complex cargoes including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. EVs have received significant attention due to their specific features including stability under harsh conditions and involvement in cell-to-cell communication. Circulating EVs and the molecules associated with them are important in the diagnosis and prognosis of cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs that have a role in regulating gene expression. Current literature shows that circulating miRNAs can be used as noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of cancers. The present study was set to investigate the potential role of serum exosomal miRNA expression levels in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and evaluate their correlation with clinicopathologic features. METHODS: Exosome-enriched fractions were isolated from the serum of 25 CRC patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy controls using a polymer-based precipitation method. During the pilot phase, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out on 12 CRC patients and eight healthy participants to evaluate the expression difference of 11 candidate miRNAs between CRC patients and tumor free subjects. Finally, the results were validated in a separate group, which was similar in size to the pilot group. The clinicopathologic data were also collected and the relationship between aberrant miRNA expression and clinicopathological parameters were investigated. RESULTS: There were high expressions of exosomal miR-23a and miR-301a in serum samples of CRC patients compared to normal controls in training and validation phases; these differences were not significantly correlated with clinicopathologic features. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that miR-301a and miR-23a were able to discriminate CRC patients from normal subjects. CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence on the roles of miR-301a and miR-23a in CRC development and their potential roles as noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of CRC

State estimation for discrete-time neural networks with Markov-mode-dependent lower and upper bounds on the distributed delays

Copyright @ 2012 Springer VerlagThis paper is concerned with the state estimation problem for a new class of discrete-time neural networks with Markovian jumping parameters and mixed time-delays. The parameters of the neural networks under consideration switch over time subject to a Markov chain. The networks involve both the discrete-time-varying delay and the mode-dependent distributed time-delay characterized by the upper and lower boundaries dependent on the Markov chain. By constructing novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, sufficient conditions are firstly established to guarantee the exponential stability in mean square for the addressed discrete-time neural networks with Markovian jumping parameters and mixed time-delays. Then, the state estimation problem is coped with for the same neural network where the goal is to design a desired state estimator such that the estimation error approaches zero exponentially in mean square. The derived conditions for both the stability and the existence of desired estimators are expressed in the form of matrix inequalities that can be solved by the semi-definite programme method. A numerical simulation example is exploited to demonstrate the usefulness of the main results obtained.This work was supported in part by the Royal Society of the U.K., the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 60774073 and 61074129, and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China under Grant BK2010313

An artificial fish swarm filter-based Method for constrained global optimization

Ana Maria A.C. Rocha, M. Fernanda P. Costa and Edite M.G.P. Fernandes, An Artificial Fish Swarm Filter-Based Method for Constrained Global Optimization, B. Murgante, O. Gervasi, S. Mirsa, N. Nedjah, A.M. Rocha, D. Taniar, B. Apduhan (Eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Part III, LNCS 7335, pp. 57–71, Springer, Heidelberg, 2012.An artificial fish swarm algorithm based on a filter methodology for trial solutions acceptance is analyzed for general constrained global optimization problems. The new method uses the filter set concept to accept, at each iteration, a population of trial solutions whenever they improve constraint violation or objective function, relative to the current solutions. The preliminary numerical experiments with a wellknown benchmark set of engineering design problems show the effectiveness of the proposed method.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Integrative Genomics Identifies the Molecular Basis of Resistance to Azacitidine Therapy in Myelodysplastic Syndromes

© 2017 The Author(s) Myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia are blood disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and progressive marrow failure that can transform into acute leukemia. The DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine (AZA) is the most effective pharmacological option, but only ∼50% of patients respond. A response only manifests after many months of treatment and is transient. The reasons underlying AZA resistance are unknown, and few alternatives exist for non-responders. Here, we show that AZA responders have more hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) in the cell cycle. Non-responder HPC quiescence is mediated by integrin α5 (ITGA5) signaling and their hematopoietic potential improved by combining AZA with an ITGA5 inhibitor. AZA response is associated with the induction of an inflammatory response in HPCs in vivo. By molecular bar coding and tracking individual clones, we found that, although AZA alters the sub-clonal contribution to different lineages, founder clones are not eliminated and continue to drive hematopoiesis even in complete responders

Co-transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-derived Neural Progenitors and Schwann Cells in a Rat Spinal Cord Contusion Injury Model Elicits a Distinct Neurogenesis and Functional Recovery

Co-transplantation of neural progenitors (NPs) with Schwann cells (SCs) might be a way to overcome low rate of neuronal differentiation of NPs following transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI) and the improvement of locomotor recovery. In this study, we initially generated NPs from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and investigated their potential for neuronal differentiation and functional recovery when co-cultured with SCs in vitro and co-transplanted in a rat acute model of contused SCI. Co-cultivation results revealed that the presence of SCs provided a consistent status for hESC-NPs and recharged their neural differentiation toward a predominantly neuronal fate. Following transplantation, a significant functional recovery was observed in all engrafted groups (NPs, SCs, NPs+SCs) relative to the vehicle and control groups. We also observed that animals receiving co-transplants established a better state as assessed with the BBB functional test. Immunohistofluorescence evaluation five weeks after transplantation showed invigorated neuronal differentiation and limited proliferation in the co-transplanted group when compared to the individual hESC-NPs grafted group. These findings have demonstrated that the co-transplantation of SCs with hESC-NPs could offer a synergistic effect, promoting neuronal differentiation and functional recovery