Solving distribution problems in content-based recommendation system with gaussian mixture model

Applied Intelligence - Recommendation systems play an important role in boosting purchasing consumption for many manufacturers by helping consumers find the most appropriate items. Furthermore,...     

Self-assembled poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-grafted gelatin nanogels for efficient delivery of curcumin in cancer treatment

Curcumin (CUR) is a natural active ingredient that attracted much attention for its chemotherapeutic activity against tumors without causing toxicity in healthy cells. However, it has certain limitations for being used in chemotherapy such as low aqueous solubility and hydrolytic instability in the physiological environment. In this study, self-assembled poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-grafted gelatin (Gel-mPEG) nanogels were fabricated as delivery systems to improve the applicability of CUR in cancer treatment. CUR-loaded Gel-mPEG nanogels exhibited desired size range, relatively colloidal stability, and provided enhanced CUR stability in aqueous solutions. Especially, they showed significant high CUR loading capacity and better anticancer activity than free CUR as compared to previously reported CUR-loaded nanogels according to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, the in vitro release of CUR from the nanogels was controlled and prolonged up to 96 h. These results demonstrated that Gel-mPEG nanogels are the promising modality for the efficient delivery of CUR in cancer treatment. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47544.     

Rheological properties of wheat flour and quality characteristics of pan bread as modified by partial additions of wheat bran or whole grain wheat flour

The use of bran and whole grain flour changes dough rheology and causes difficulties in manufacturing bakery products. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of substituting refined wheat flour (WF) by wheat bran (WB; 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%) or whole grain wheat flour (WGWF; 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) on dough rheological properties and pan bread quality characteristics. The addition of WB and WGWF increased water absorption and resistance to extension and decreased stability, extensibility and peak viscosity. Effects with WB were more pronounced. The presence of WB or WGWF increased crumb moisture content, firmness and hardness and decreased specific volume of pan bread. It is important to set new farinographic and extensographic standards when using WB and WGWF, allowing for a correct correlation between rheology and quality characteristics of bakery products, as the same standards used for WF are not valid.     

Synthesis of highly concentrated suspension of chemically converted graphene in organic solvents: Effect of temperature on the extent of reduction and dispersibility

We report the effect of temperature on the extent of graphene oxide reduction by hydrazine and the dispersibility of the resulting chemically converted graphene (CCG) in polar organic solvents. The extent of graphene oxide reduction at high temperatures was only slightly higher than at low temperatures (30–50 °C), while the dispersibility of the resulting CCG in organic solvents decreased markedly with increasing temperature. The low dispersibility of CCGs prepared at high temperatures was greatly affected by reduction and influenced by the formation of an irreversible agglomerate of CCG at high temperatures. The reduction of graphene oxide at low temperatures is necessary to prepare highly dispersible CCG in organic solvents. CCG prepared at 30 °C is dispersible in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone concentrations as high as 0.71 mg/mL. The free-standing paper made of this CCG possessed an electrical conductivity of more than 22,000 S/m, one of the highest values ever reported.     

Identifying organizational requirements for the implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT)

AMT selection and adoption processes have been extensively studied. Topics that include financial and human factors, productivity, and coordination of the AMT implementation establish a substantial content of the present research agenda. The purpose of this paper is to study the organizational factors that influence the AMT implementation, considering a manufacturing strategy context and an analysis based on an organizational design framework. The research strategy is based on ‘empirical iterations’ using survey secondary data, experts’ interviews information and multiple case studies. The results show that there is a set of recommendations, which strongly influence the AMT implementation. Companies require a structured and integrative approach for the AMT implementation in order to take advantage of all their individual and systemic benefits. The set of proposed AMT recommendations for integrating these technologies to the organizational design are framed by structural, process and contextual aspects.     

An assessment of energy benefits of efficient household air-conditioners in Brazil

Increasing efficiency of electrical equipment is essential to national energy rationality, enabling energy consumption reduction and postponing inversion in distribution, transmission and generation, as well as mitigating environmental impacts associated with such activities. Considering such purposes, two actions have been promoted in Brazil: (a) minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) have been required for some appliances and (b) consumers have been informed about the most efficient products by ??endorsement labeling.?? The purpose of this study is to assess window and split air-conditioners with Brazilian MEPS. To evaluate the impact of efficient air-conditioners in this market, a model was developed based on estimates for quantity of equipment in operation and unitary consumption, as determined by local temperature records. From this model, it was deduced that using only efficient conditioners (class A for Brazilian Labeling Program/INMETRO, with PROCEL Label) an annual saving of 322?GWh and a reduction in demand of 109?MW could be obtained in 2007. Furthermore, it was observed that the current MEPS established by Brazilian legislation for air-conditioners may be considered relatively low. Considering that MEPS are similar to those observed in China (the main exporter of air-conditioners to the Brazil), an energy saving of roughly 222?GWh could be achieved in the same year. Impacts on emission of greenhouse gases are also estimated.     

Modeling of microstructure effects on the mechanical behavior of ultrafine-grained nickels processed by hot isostatic pressing

Bulk ultrafine-grained nickel specimens having grain sizes in the range of 0.25-5 μm were consolidated by hot isostatic pressing technique. The resulting microstructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Compression tests were carried out at room temperature and at strain rate of 1.6×10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. It was found that the measured yield strength does not follow the Hall-Petch law as a consequence of the presence of oxide phase. Therefore, the use of micromechanics based model, which takes into account only the Hall-Petch relationship at grain level for predicting the grain sized effects on mechanical behavior of this kind of materials, is not accurate yet. In this study, a modification made to the generalized self-consistent model was proposed for studying both grain size and oxide phase dependence of ultrafine-grained materials behavior. Because of the novel modification, an optimization procedure with two steps was required to identify the parameters of micromechanical model. An acceptable agreement between experimental and numerical results was achieved. Moreover, the influence of texture on the yield strength and the application of the proposed model to the spark plasma sintering processed materials were also discussed.     

Neurofuzzy control of a low‐temperature desulphurization plant

Low‐temperature desulphurization (LTD) is a low‐cost alternative to conventional wet scrubbing for removing sulphur dioxide from flue gas produced by power generating plants. A problem in the design of conventional controllers to achieve and maintain process conditions for optimal desulphurisation is the lack of mathematical models to characterise the complex desulphurization process and unexpected environ mental disturbances. The aim of the work reported in this paper was to replace a skilled human operator who could successfully regulate the LTD plant through manipulation of low‐level controllers with a competitive neurofuzzy system, which possesses both the learning ability of neural networks and the structural transparency of fuzzy logic systems. A hierarchical control structure was adopted whereby the competitive neurofuzzy method was used at the top level for co‐ordinating actions of low‐level conventional controllers. This approach would considerably simplify the task of designing the control system and has been shown to yield high‐level controllers with performances at least equalling that of expert operators, as demonstrated in this paper. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhanced removal of 1,2-dichloroethane by anodophilic microbial consortia

1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) is a well-known recalcitrant groundwater contaminant. New environment-friendly approaches for the removal of 1,2-DCA that does not bring about volatilization of the compound are required. In this study, different anodophilic consortia enriched in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) operated under airtight conditions were shown to effectively degrade 1,2-DCA (up to 102 mg per liter reactor volume per day), while concomitantly generating a current. An anodophilic consortium previously enriched with acetate as the electron donor changed its composition at the rate of 48% per week and increased its richness (Rr) 3-fold, upon adapting to 1,2-DCA as the new electron donor. After being stable, during 1 month of operation, it removed up to 95% of the 1,2-DCA amount in the medium in the first 2 weeks, while converting 43 ± 4% of electrons available from the removal to electricity. A natural consortium from a 1,2-DCA contaminated site changed its composition at the rate of 9% per week and increased its Rr 2-fold, upon adapting to the MFC anode conditions with 1,2-DCA as the electron donor. After being stable, during 1 month of operation, it removed up to 85% of the 1,2-DCA amount in the medium in the first 2 weeks and the coulombic efficiency was 25 ± 4%. The operation of the MFCs under closed circuit conditions resulted in higher 1,2-DCA removal rates than the operation under open circuit conditions, indicating that bioelectrochemical activities enhanced the removal of 1,2-DCA in the MFC anode. The production of ethylene glycol, acetate and carbon dioxide indicated that the anodophilic bacteria oxidatively metabolized 1,2-DCA, probably by means of a hydrolysis-based pathway. The results show that MFCs can be potentially used as a practically convenient technology for the biological removal of 1,2-DCA.