19672 research outputs found
Sort by
Effective Response Metric: a novel tool to predict relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using time-series gene expression profiling
No full textAccurate risk assignment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is essential to avoid under- or over-treatment. We hypothesized that time-series gene expression profiles (GEPs) of bone marrow samples during remission-induction therapy can measure the response and be used for relapse prediction. We computed the time-series changes from diagnosis to Day 8 of remission-induction, termed Effective Response Metric (ERM-D8) and tested its ability to predict relapse against contemporary risk assignment methods, including National Cancer Institutes (NCI) criteria, genetics and minimal residual disease (MRD). ERM-D8 was trained on a set of 131 patients and validated on an independent set of 79 patients. In the independent blinded test set, unfavourable ERM-D8 patients had >3-fold increased risk of relapse compared to favourable ERM-D8 (5-year cumulative incidence of relapse 38·1% vs. 10·6%; P = 2·5 × 10−3). ERM-D8 remained predictive of relapse [P = 0·05; Hazard ratio 4·09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·03–16·23] after adjusting for NCI criteria, genetics, Day 8 peripheral response and Day 33 MRD. ERM-D8 improved risk stratification in favourable genetics subgroups (P = 0·01) and Day 33 MRD positive patients (P = 1·7 × 10−3). We conclude that our novel metric – ERM-D8 – based on time-series GEP after 8 days of remission-induction therapy can independently predict relapse even after adjusting for NCI risk, genetics, Day 8 peripheral blood response and MRD
Performance analysis on an air-conditioning system installed with and without a fuzzy logic thermostat in an office building
No full textThe current research presents the study of the proposed thermostat setting developed in the previous work through a numerical simulation project using transient system simulation tool. The transient system simulation tool code is used to integrate the fuzzy logic to optimise a room thermostat with the multi-zone building model (Type56a). A set of equations is designed in the transient system simulation tool project to represent the fuzzy logic control system of the proposed thermostat setting. The performance analysis for the air-conditioning system installed with and without the application of the control system in terms of the operative zone temperature, the sensible cooling demand, the solar radiation, and the internal gains for a thermal zone for recent years or 2000s, and for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080 were comprehensively examined. Estimations of both predicted mean vote and predicted percentage of dissatisfied persons of the zone were also investigated. The findings indicate that a considerable amount of sensible cooling demand of approximately 8420 kJ/h or equivalent to 3.54% can be saved with the application of the proposed thermostat setting. The predicted mean vote is in the range from −0.22 to 0.72 with its average between 0.20 and 0.26 for the AC system installed with fuzzy logic control. These results further suggest that the thermal comfort of occupants can be improved taking into account their activity level, clothing insulation, indoor air temperature, air velocity, mean radiant temperature and relative humidity
Nanosized Cs-pollucite zeolite synthesized under mild condition and its catalytic behavior
No full textNanoscale cesium-pollucite zeolite (ANA topology) free of organic template is synthesized free of organic template. The crystallization is taken place at mild temperature and pressure (180 °C, 22 bar) compared to previous works. Powder XRD analysis reveals that the nanocrystals can be crystallized from a clear precursor solution of 16.5SiO2:1Al2O3:5.3Cs2O:175H2O within 50 h. The resulting nanocrystals exhibit trapezohedron shape and has a Si/Al ratio of 4.11. The nanocrystals possess a mean particle size of 79.4 nm and they are colloidally stable in water. In addition, Perkin condensation of benzaldehyde with acetic anhydride catalyzed by nanosized Cs-pollucite zeolite under non-microwave instant heating condition is also demonstrated and discussed
Detrital Zircons Dismember Sibumasu in East Gondwana
No full textSibumasu is inferred to have developed as a united terrane in East Gondwana, with West Sumatra linked to Cathaysia. New detrital zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data from Sumatra, complemented by literature data, challenge the above views. The scarcity of early Neoproterozoic zircons in West Sumatra argues against a direct connection between West Sumatra and Cathaysia. Detrital zircons from East Sumatra exhibit age profiles similar to those of Lhasa, West Burma, and Western Australia, with detritus most probably sourced from Western Australia. By contrast, Sibusima (Sibumasu excluding East Sumatra) shows detrital zircon age patterns resembling those of the South Qiangtang and the Tethyan and High Himalaya terranes, whose detrital materials are most likely derived from northern India. Our observations require disaggregation of Sibumasu and a new configuration of northern East Gondwana in the early Paleozoic, with East Sumatra and West Burma occupying a position outboard the Lhasa terrane along the NW Australian margin and Sibusima situated on the northern Greater Indian margin
Investigation on Secondary Structure Perturbations of Proteins Embedded in Solid Lipid Matrices as a Novel Indicator of their Biological Activity upon In Vitro Release
No full textProtein biologics are prone to conformational changes during formulation development. Limited methods are available for conformational analysis of proteins in solid state and in the presences of formulation excipients. The aim of this study was to investigate the secondary structures of proteins encased in solid lipid matrices as a novel indicator of their stability upon in vitro release. Model proteins namely catalase and lysozyme were incorporated into lipid namely Precirol® AT05 (glycerol palmitostearate, melting point 58°C) at 30% w/w loading using melting and mixing and wet granulation methods. Attenuated total reflectance (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and biological activity analyses were performed. The information about secondary structure was acquired using second derivative analysis of amide-I band (1600–1700 cm−1). ATR analysis demonstrated interference of lipid spectrum with protein amide-I band which was subsequently subtracted to allow the analysis of the secondary structure. ATR spectra amide-I bands showed shifts peak band positions compared to native protein for matrices prepared using wet granulation. SEC analysis gave evidence of protein aggregation for catalase which was increased using wet granulation. The biological activity of catalase was statistically different from that of control and was affected by the incorporation method and was found to be in alignment with ATR spectral changes and extent of aggregation. In conclusion, ATR spectroscopy could analyze protein secondary structure in lipid matrices provided lipid interference was minimized. The ATR spectral changes and formation of aggregates can indicate the loss in biological activity of protein released from solid lipid matrices
Computational investigation of the comparative analysis of cylindrical barns subjected to earthquake
No full textThe structural behaviors of cylindrical barns as a specific engineering structure have been considered as a complicated computing process. The structure design against the earthquake load, to protect by using the code, is an urgency avoiding unexpected damages. The situation has been subjected to the applied design method if there would be no failure across the construction procedures. The purpose of the current study is to clarify the behaviors of cylindrical reinforced concrete barns through the analytic methods across the mass and Lagrangian approaches through the whole outcomes comparison indicating that the isoparametric element obtained from the Lagrangian approach has been successfully applied in the barns earthquake analysis when the slosh effects have been discarded. The form of stress distributions is equal with sz closed distributions to one another
Simultaneous Localization of Software Faults Based on Complex Network Theory
No full textEffective debugging is necessary for producing high quality and reliable software. Fault localization plays a vital role in the debugging process. However, fault localization is the most tedious and expensive activity in program debugging, as such, effective fault localization techniques that can identify the exact location of faults is eminent. Despite various fault localization techniques proposed, their application in multiple-fault programs is limited. The presence of multiple faults in a program reduces the efficacy of the existing fault localization techniques to locate faults effectively due to fault interference. Moreover, most of these techniques are unable to localize faults simultaneously. This has led researchers to adopt alternative approaches, such as one-fault-at-a-time debugging and parallel debugging. In this paper, we propose a novel fault localization technique based on complex network theory (FLCN) to improve localization effectiveness in programs with single-fault and multiple-fault and to aid developers to localize multiple faults simultaneously in a single diagnosis rank list. The proposed technique ranks faulty statements based on their behavioral abnormalities and distance between faulty statements in both passed and failed test executions. Two graph-based centrality measures are adopted for fault diagnosis, namely, degree centrality and closeness centrality and a new ranking formula is proposed. FLCN is evaluated across 14 subjects with both single-fault and multiple-fault programs. Our experimental results show that FLCN is more effective at locating faults when compared with existing state-of-the-art fault localization techniques with improvement of fault localization effectiveness in both single-fault and multiple-fault programs
Photovoltaic Integrated Shunt Active Power Filter with Simpler ADALINE Algorithm for Current Harmonic Extraction
No full textThis manuscript presents a significant work in improving the current harmonics extraction algorithm and indirectly improving the injection current produced by a single-phase Photovoltaic Shunt Active Power Filter (PV SAPF). Improvement to the existing adaptive linear neuron (ADALINE) technique has been carried out, leading to the formation of a simpler ADALINE; it is expected to perform as fast as the current harmonics extraction algorithm. Further analysis on the DC link capacitor control algorithm, called "self-charging with step size error cancellation", was also done to inspect the performance of the algorithm in a single-phase photovoltaic shunt active power filter system. Both algorithms, configured in single-phase PV SAPF, were simulated in MATLAB/Simulink (R2012b). A laboratory prototype was developed, and the algorithms were computed on a TMS320F28335 Digital Signal Processing (DSP) board for hardware implementation purposes. From the acquired results, the simpler ADALINE algorithm has effectively performed with lower total harmonic Distortion (THD) and outstanding compensation. The established algorithm of self-charging with step size error cancellation works well with single-phase PV SAPF and has shown less overshoot, a fast response time, and minimal energy losses
Phencyclidine dose optimisation for induction of spatial learning and memory deficits related to schizophrenia in C57BL/6 mice
No full textPhencyclidine (PCP) has been used to model cognitive deficits related to schizophrenia in rats and mice. However, the model in mice is not consistent in terms of the PCP effective dose reported. Furthermore, most of the previous studies in mice excluded the presence of drug washout period in the regime. Thus, we aimed to optimize the dose of PCP in producing robust cognitive deficits by implementing it in a PCP regime which incorporates a drug washout period. The regimen used was 7 days’ daily injection of PCP or saline for treatment and vehicle groups, respectively; followed by 24 h drug washout period. After the washout period, the test mice were tested in water maze (5 days of acquisition + 1 day of probe trial) for assessment of spatial learning and memory. Initially, we investigated the effect of PCP at 2mg/kg, however, no apparent impairment in spatial learning and memory was observed. Subsequently, we examined the effect of higher doses of PCP at 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg. We found that the PCP at 10 mg/kg produced a significant increase in “latency to reach the platform” during the acquisition days and a significant increase in “latency of first entry to previous platform” during the probe day. There was no significant change observed in “swim speed” during the test days. Thus, we concluded that PCP at 10 mg/kg produced robust deficits in spatial learning and memory without being confounded by motor disturbances
Vertical Greenery System in urban tropical climate and its carbon sequestration potential: A review
No full textThis article presents a comprehensive literature review of Vertical Greenery System (VGS) in tropical areas, its benefits, its carbon sequestration potential and its calculation methodologies, and its potential for urban heat island (UHI) and climate change mitigation. The contemporary VGS has evolved from the seventh-century beginnings of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the vertical urban farms of today in Singapore and Japan. The VGS has demonstrated a significant role in mitigating urban climate change impacts by the potential use of carbon sequestration from vegetation. However, studies on carbon sequestration rate and the methodologies used for calculation are still rather vague. Therefore, this paper reviews existing methodologies for evaluating carbon sequestration rates in tropical climate plants and makes suggestions of potential plants for optimum carbon sequestering