Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Essential Oil of Jasminum officinale L var Grandiflorum Flower

Purpose: To analyze the essential oil composition of the flower of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandifloroum L. (Jasminum grandiflorum) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Methods: The optimum GC-MS conditions used for the analysis were 250 oC inlet temperature, 150 oC MSD detector temperature, and GC oven temperature program as follows: 100 oC initial temperature, increased to 270 oC at 4 oC/min, final temperature 270 oC and held for 7.5 min.Results: Thirty compounds were identified, representing 99.28 % of the oil content. The major volatile components of the flower were 3,7,11,15- tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol（phytol） (25.77 %), 3,7,11- trimethyldodeca -1,6,10-trien-3-ol (12.54 %) and 3,7,11,15- tetramethyl -1-Hexadecen-3-ol (12.42 %).Conclusion: The results show that phytol is the major volatile component of Jasminum grandiflorum.Keywords: Jasminum grandiflorum, Essential oil, Gas chromatography-mass spectrometr

A sufficient condition for pancyclability of graphs

AbstractLet G be a graph of order n and S be a vertex set of q vertices. We call G,S-pancyclable, if for every integer i with 3≤i≤q there exists a cycle C in G such that |V(C)∩S|=i. For any two nonadjacent vertices u,v of S, we say that u,v are of distance two in S, denoted by dS(u,v)=2, if there is a path P in G connecting u and v such that |V(P)∩S|≤3. In this paper, we will prove that if G is 2-connected and for all pairs of vertices u,v of S with dS(u,v)=2, max{d(u),d(v)}≥n2, then there is a cycle in G containing all the vertices of S. Furthermore, if for all pairs of vertices u,v of S with dS(u,v)=2, max{d(u),d(v)}≥n+12, then G is S-pancyclable unless the subgraph induced by S is in a class of special graphs. This generalizes a result of Fan [G. Fan, New sufficient conditions for cycles in graphs, J. Combin. Theory B 37 (1984) 221–227] for the case when S=V(G)

Generation of tooth profile for roots rotor based on virtual linkage associated with Assur group

This article, for the first time, presents the generation of Roots rotor tooth profiles based on an Assur-group-associated virtual linkage method. Taking the original Roots rotor as an example, structure and geometry of the Roots rotor are introduced, and based on the principle of inversion, an equivalent virtual linkage is identified for generating dedendum tooth profile of the rotor. Using linkage decomposition associated with elemental Assur groups, algorithm for computing the tooth curve is constructed leading to the explicit expression of rotor profile and the corresponding numerical simulation, verifying the validity of the proposed approach. For demonstration purpose, the virtual linkage method is then extended to the generation of tooth profiles for the variants of Roots rotors with arc-cycloidal curves and arc-involute curves. Integrated with computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering and computer-aided manufacturing software platforms, as well as the three-dimensional printing technology, this article provides an efficient and intuitive approach for Roots rotor system design, analysis and development

The role of childhood social position in adult type 2 diabetes: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Copyright @ 2014 Pikhartova et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Socioeconomic circumstances in childhood and early adulthood may influence the later onset of chronic disease, although such research is limited for type 2 diabetes and its risk factors at the different stages of life. The main aim of the present study is to examine the role of childhood social position and later inflammatory markers and health behaviours in developing type 2 diabetes at older ages using a pathway analytic approach. Methods. Data on childhood and adult life circumstances of 2,994 men and 4,021 women from English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were used to evaluate their association with diabetes at age 50 years and more. The cases of diabetes were based on having increased blood levels of glycated haemoglobin and/or self-reported medication for diabetes and/or being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Father's job when ELSA participants were aged 14 years was used as the measure of childhood social position. Current social characteristics, health behaviours and inflammatory biomarkers were used as potential mediators in the statistical analysis to assess direct and indirect effects of childhood circumstances on diabetes in later life. Results: 12.6 per cent of participants were classified as having diabetes. A disadvantaged social position in childhood, as measured by father's manual occupation, was associated at conventional levels of statistical significance with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood, both directly and indirectly through inflammation, adulthood social position and a risk score constructed from adult health behaviours including tobacco smoking and limited physical activity. The direct effect of childhood social position was reduced by mediation analysis (standardised coefficient decreased from 0.089 to 0.043) but remained statistically significant (p = 0.035). All three indirect pathways made a statistically significantly contribution to the overall effect of childhood social position on adulthood type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Childhood social position influences adult diabetes directly and indirectly through inflammatory markers, adulthood social position and adult health behaviours. © 2014Pikhartova et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Economic and Social Research Council-funded International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health (RES-596-28-0001)

Fitness Ranking of Individual Mutants Drives Patterns of Epistatic Interactions in HIV-1

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

A game prototype for understanding the safety issues of a lifeboat launch

© 2018 The Author(s) Novel, advanced game techniques provide us with new possibilities to mimic a complicated training process, with the added benefit of enhanced safety. In this paper, we design and implement a 3D game with the support of virtual reality equipment which imitates the process of a lifeboat launch, involving both tractor manoeuvres and boat operations. It is a complex but vital process which can save lives at sea but also has many potential hazards. The primary objective of the game is to allow novices to better understand the sequence of the operations and manage the potential risks which may occur during the launch process. Additionally, the game has been promoted to the general public for educational purposes and to raise awareness of the safety issues involved. The key modules of the game are designed based on physical simulations to give the players enhanced plausible cognition and enjoyable interaction. We conducted two case studies for the two purposes of the games: one for training with volunteers without launching experience and the other for public awareness of the potential hazards with young children. The game is proven to be very promising for future professional training, and it serves the educational purpose of awareness of the safety issues for general public while being entertaining

Study of qqqccˉqqqc\bar{c} five quark system with three kinds of quark-quark hyperfine interaction

The low-lying energy spectra of five quark systems $uudc\bar{c}$ (I=1/2, S=0) and $udsc\bar{c}$ (I=0, S=-1) are investigated with three kinds of schematic interactions: the chromomagnetic interaction, the flavor-spin dependent interaction and the instanton-induced interaction. In all the three models, the lowest five quark state ($uudc\bar{c}$ or $udsc\bar{c}$) has an orbital angular momentum L=0 and the spin-parity $J^{P}=1/2^{-}$; the mass of the lowest $udsc\bar{c}$ state is heavier than the lowest $uudc\bar{c}$ state

A particle swarm optimization approach using adaptive entropy-based fitness quantification of expert knowledge for high-level, real-time cognitive robotic control

Abstract: High-level, real-time mission control of semi-autonomous robots, deployed in remote and dynamic environments, remains a challenge. Control models, learnt from a knowledgebase, quickly become obsolete when the environment or the knowledgebase changes. This research study introduces a cognitive reasoning process, to select the optimal action, using the most relevant knowledge from the knowledgebase, subject to observed evidence. The approach in this study introduces an adaptive entropy-based set-based particle swarm algorithm (AE-SPSO) and a novel, adaptive entropy-based fitness quantification (AEFQ) algorithm for evidence-based optimization of the knowledge. The performance of the AE-SPSO and AEFQ algorithms are experimentally evaluated with two unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) benchmark missions: (1) relocating the UAV to a charging station and (2) collecting and delivering a package. Performance is measured by inspecting the success and completeness of the mission and the accuracy of autonomous flight control. The results show that the AE-SPSO/AEFQ approach successfully finds the optimal state-transition for each mission task and that autonomous flight control is successfully achieved

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Control in China: Progress and Challenge

Background: China has the second highest caseload of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the world. In 2009, the Chinese government agreed to draw up a plan for MDR-TB prevention and control in the context of a comprehensive health system reform launched in the same year. Discussion: China is facing high prevalence rates of drug-resistant TB and MDR-TB. MDR-TB disproportionally affects the poor rural population and the highest rates are in less developed regions largely due to interrupted and/or inappropriate TB treatment. Most households with an affected member suffer a heavy financial burden because of a combination of treatment and other related costs. The influential Global Fund programme for MDR-TB control in China provides technical and financial support for MDR-TB diagnosis and treatment. However, this programme has a fixed timeline and cannot provide a long term solution. In 2009, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in cooperation with the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China, started to develop innovative approaches to TB/MDR-TB management and case-based payment mechanisms for treatment, alongside increased health insurance benefits for patients, in order to contain medical costs and reduce financial barriers to treatment. Although these efforts appear to be in the right direction, they may not be sufficient unless (a) domestic sources are mobilized to raise funding for TB/MDR-TB prevention and control and (b) appropriate incentives are given to both health facilities and their care providers. Summary: Along with the on-going Chinese health system reform, sustained government financing and social health protection schemes will be critical to ensure universal access to appropriate TB treatment in order to reduce risk of developing MDR-TB and systematic MDR-TB treatment and management