Comparative Analysis of Intercell Interference Mitigation Techniques in LTE-A Network

The performance of long term evolution-advance (LTE-A) depends on different factors such as spectral efficiency, throughput and signal interference to noise ratio (SINR). Interference causes the performance of a network to be grassed to very low level, it directly affects the parameters such as noise interference, receiving diversity and system receiving gain so to mitigate the interference in LTE-A network is very important. Interference occurs in two forms, intra-cell interference and inter-cell interference. Intra-cell interference is removed by orthogonal frequency division multiple access, but the problem of inter-cell interference still exists due to reception of signals from two adjacent base stations at same frequency on user equipment, so coordination is applied between the cells to reduce the interference between the cells. This paper focuses on coordination between the base stations using dynamic cooperative Base Station selection (DCBS). In this paper, SINR, system capacity, minimum and maximum rates of the system are analyzed when coordination is applied between the cells. Three different scenarios are discussed in this paper, which includes coordinated multipoint transmission and reception (COMP), non-COMP and DCBS and then the results of these scenarios are compared.     

Performance comparison of JPEG,JPEG 2000, and newly developed CSI‐JPEG by adopting different color models

The major issues of using less storage space and wanting higher transmission rates for information in the form of high quality color images was taken into consideration. Two experiments were conducted in order to investigate and compare performance of compression standard including JPEG 1992 and JPEG 2000, and a newly developed CSI‐JPEG. The CSI‐JPEG is an amalgamation of Cubic Spline Interpolation (CSI) with baseline JPEG 1992 algorithm. The performance of different image compression algorithms was evaluated using different color models/spaces in terms of compression rate, color accuracy, and visual quality. The results from three assessment methods consistently showed that JPEG 2000 and CSI‐JPEG performed significantly better compared with JPEG 1992 for small color differences (in the range of acceptability). Moreover, the CAM02‐UCS performed best among other selected models in terms of compression rate and image performance for all three image compression algorithms. The results from the visual assessment also confirmed this. It was also found that CIEDE2000 can be reliably used for assessing quality of compressed images with low levels of distortion. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 460–473, 2017     

Effect of different cooking methods on the antioxidant activity of some vegetables from Pakistan

The effects of different cooking methods (boiling, frying and microwave cooking) on the antioxidant activity of some selected vegetables (peas, carrot, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, yellow turnip and white turnip) were assessed by measuring the total phenolic contents (TPC), reducing power and percentage inhibition in linoleic acid system. TPC (gallic acid equivalents g/100 g of dry weight) and reducing power of the methanolic extracts of raw‐, microwaved‐, boiled‐ and fried vegetables ranged 0.333–2.97, 0.52–2.68, 0.48–2.08, 1.00–2.02 and 0.391–2.24, 0.822–1.10, 0.547–1.16, 0.910–4.07, respectively. The level of inhibition of peroxidation ranged 71.4–89.0, 66.4–87.3, 73.2–89.2 and 77.4–91.3%, respectively. Antioxidant activity of the vegetables examined was appreciably affected because of varying cooking treatments. TPC of vegetables, generally, decreased by boiling, frying and microwave cooking. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in reducing power as a result of frying. However, boiling and microwave cooking did not affect reducing power. Inhibition of peroxidation increased by boiling and frying, whereas, in contrast it was decreased by microwave cooking. The results of the present investigation showed that all the cooking methods affected the antioxidant properties of the vegetables; however, microwave treatment exhibited more deleterious effects when compared with those of other treatments. Thus an appropriate method might be sought for the processing of such vegetables to retain their antioxidant components at maximum level.     

Soret and Dufour effects for three-dimensional flow in a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching surface

This article deals with the Soret and Dufour effects on three-dimensional boundary layer flow of viscoelastic fluid over a stretching surface. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a dimensionless coupled system of non-linear ordinary differential equations and then solved analytically by the homotopy analysis method (HAM). Graphs are plotted to analyze the variation of different parameters of interest on the velocity, concentration and temperature fields.     

Flavonols (kaempeferol,quercetin, myricetin) contents of selected fruits,vegetables and medicinal plants

The concentrations of flavonols (kaempeferol, quercetin, myricetin) were determined in 22 plant materials (9 vegetables, 5 fruits, and 8 medicinal plant organs). The materials were extracted with acidified methanol (methanol/HCl, 100:1, v/v) and analyzed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) with UV detection. The total flavonols contents varied significantly (P < 0.05) among vegetables, fruits and medicinal plant organs ranged from 0 to 1720.5, 459.9 to 3575.4, and 2.42 to 6125.6 mg kg⁻¹ of dry matter, respectively. Among vegetables, spinach and cauliflower exhibited the highest amounts of flavonols (1720.5 and 1603.9 mg kg⁻¹, respectively), however, no flavonols were detected in garlic. Within fruits, highest level of flavonols was observed in strawberry (3575.4 mg kg⁻¹), whereas, the lowest in apple fruit (459.9 mg kg⁻¹). Of the medicinal plant organs, moringa and aloe vera leaves contained the highest contents of flavonols (6125.6 and 1636.04 mg kg⁻¹), respectively, whereas, lowest was present in barks (2.42–274.07 mg kg⁻¹). Overall, leafy green vegetables, soft fruits and medicinal plant leaves exhibited higher levels of flavonols.     

Association of Methylentetraydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) 677 C > T gene polymorphism and homocysteine levels in psoriasis vulgaris patients from Malaysia: a case-control study

Background  

The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme catalyzes the reduction of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and methyl donors. The methyl donors are required for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Mutation of MTHFR 677 C > T disrupts its thermostability therefore leads to defective enzyme activities and dysregulation of homocysteine levels.     

Removal of toxic metal ions by using composite cation-exchange material

Polyanilinezirconium(IV) arsenate composite cation exchange material was synthesized under different experimental conditions by the incorporation of polyaniline into the matrices of inorganic precipitate (zirconium(IV)arsenate). The experimental parameters such as concentration, mixing volume ratio, and pH were established for the synthesis of the material. Ion-exchange material that was synthesized at pH 1.0 showed an ion exchange capacity of 1.33 meq g⁻¹ for Na⁺ ions. The composite material exhibits improved ion-exchange capacity along with chemical and thermal stability. The exchanger was characterized based on FTIR, TGA, XRD, and SEM analysis. The X-ray diffraction study shows semi-crystalline nature of the material. The distribution coefficient studies (K_d) of metal ions on the material were performed in diverse solvent systems. Based on K_d values the material was found to be selective for Pb(II) and Hg(II) ions. Some analytically important binary separations of metal ions in synthetic mixtures viz. Ba²⁺-Pb²⁺, Pb²⁺-Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺-Hg²⁺, Ni²⁺-Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺-Pb²⁺, Ca²⁺-Bi³⁺, Al³⁺-Hg²⁺, and Ca²⁺-Pb²⁺ were achieved on the columns of polyanilinezirconium(IV) arsenate cation exchanger. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Nature of the Interlayer Environment in an Organoclay Optimized for the Sequestration of Dibenzo-p-dioxin

A Na-smectite clay (Na-SWy-2) was exchanged with various amounts of dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DODA-Br) up to twice the cation exchange capacity (CEC). The organoclay (DODA-SWy-2) with DODA-Br added at 2 × CEC exhibited a maximum 4.2 nm d-spacing and a 31.4% carbon content, which demonstrates DODA(+) intercalation. DODA-SWy-2 was evaluated as an archetype of commercial products used to sequester hydrophobic contaminants, and the nature of the primarily C18 alkylhydrocarbon-chain interlayer environment was emhasized. Shifts in ν(CH) and CH(2) rocking band positions in DODA-SWy-2-complex FTIR-spectra indicate that DODA C18 chains were more ordered as DODA surface coverage was increased. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated a DODA-SWy-2 gel-to-liquid transition temperature much lower than the melting point of crystalline DODA-Br and similar to that of aqueous DODA-Br vesicles. This suggests that the transition was governed by C18 alkyl tail-tail interactions in the clay interlamellar region. Dibenzo-p-dioxin (DD) sorption from water by DODA-SWy-2 was compared to DD sorption by the geosorbents granular activated carbon (GAC), K-exchanged saponite, and a muck soil. The linear K(l) sorption coefficients (log K(l)) from a linear fit of the sorption isotherms were 4.37 for DODA-SWy-2, 5.55 for GAC, 3.19 for muck soil, and 2.46 for K-saponite. The DD-organic-matter-normalized sorption coefficient (K(om)) was ～2.4 times the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)). This indicates that DD has a higher affinity for the nonpolar interlayer DODA organic phase than for octanol. In contrast, the K(om) for muck soil DD sorption was ～10 times less than K(ow), which reflects the higher polarity of amorphous soil organic matter relative to octanol. Enhanced DD uptake by the DODA-derived lipophilic phase in the organoclay is attributed to the low polarity, "open" C18 alkyl structure due to the physical dimensions of "v-shaped" DODA(+) molecular, and low density of the interlamellar phase (～0.50 g/cm3) density of intercalated DODA(+).     

Bioprospecting traditional Pakistani medicinal plants for potent antioxidants

Antioxidant potential of four methanol extracts from three selected plant species, namely Salvia nubicola (Lamiaceae), Acer oblongifolium (Aceraceae) and Hedera nepalensis (Araliaceae) was measured using assays in aqueous and lipid systems. Antioxidant activities were investigated in aqueous systems by using DPPH radical-scavenging assay, ABTS radical-scavenging assay and DNA protection assay, while antioxidant activity in a lipid system was determined by using the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) assay. Additionally, the Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to measure total phenolic content. Methanol extracts of leaves and flowers of S. nubicola showed the highest Trolox equivalent (TE) values in the case of the DPPH assay, 2484 ± 4.9 mmol TE/g extract, as well as total phenolic content, 139 ± 0.2 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract. Three fractions (A-C) of the methanol extract of S. nubicola leaves and flowers were produced by semi-preparative HPLC. Fraction B was found to be the most active in the DPPH radical-scavenging assay and had the highest total phenol content. HPLC-DAD and LC-MS revealed rosmarinic acid in S. nubicola extracts and chlorogenic acid and rutin in H. nepalensis extracts as the main phenolic antioxidants.