Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease based on the state-of-the-art deep learning approach: a comprehensive survey

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of brain disorder that causes functions’ loss in a person’s daily activity. Due to the tremendous progress...     

An Enhanced Cooperative Communication Scheme for Physical Uplink Shared Channel in NB-IoT

Wireless Personal Communications - Smart Home is one of the most established applications of the Internet of Things. Almost every equipment we use in our daily life—appliances, electric...     

Infrared Signature of Novel Super-Thermite (Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/Mg) Fluorocarbon Nanocomposite for Effective Countermeasures of Infrared Seekers

Infrared (IR) guided missiles are real threat; they caused 90% of aircraft damage. Fluorocarbon polymer nanocomposite based on super-thermites can offer superior thermal signature to countermeasure IR guided missile seekers. This study reports on the sustainable fabrication of mono-dispersed colloidal Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with 3 nm average particle size. Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were dispersed in acetone for subsequent integration in fluorocarbon polymer. The impact of Fe₂O₃ content on thermal signature was evaluated using (FT-MIR 2–6 μm) spectrophotometer. Nanocomposite polymer with 8 wt% Fe₂O₃ offered an increase in the average intensity of α (2–3 μm) and β (4–5 μm) bands by 50 and 85% respectively to that of reference formulation. Quantification of stimulated emitting species in the combustion flame was conducted using ICT thermodynamic code. The developed nanothermite particles extended the primary reaction zone by 183%. Full discussions about combustion zones with associated exothermic chemical reactions have been represented.     

Sustainable biodegradable coffee grounds filler and its effect on the hydrophobicity,mechanical and thermal properties of biodegradable PBAT composites

Poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT) and coffee grounds (CG) wastes are biodegradable materials. The high cost of PBAT restricts its marketability; the lignocellulosic CG were used as a reinforcing agent for PBAT. Thus, the present work focuses mainly on the preparation and characterization of bio‐based PBAT composites filled with CG bio‐additives with affordable cost, and with potential use in a variety of eco‐friendly fields such as packaging, biomedical devices, and composting. The PBAT polymer was melt blended with various contents of CG powder using twin screw extrusion. The compatibility and dispersion state of investigated biocomposites in presence or absence of PEG as plasticizer were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of the addition of PEG on PBAT/CG was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile properties, contact angle measurements, and thermogravimetric analysis. The chemical interaction between hydroxyl groups of CG particles and PEG plasticizer was achieved by these techniques. A pyrolysis kinetic model was proposed to identify the kinetic parameters of the thermal degradation of PBAT and CG powder. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44498.     

Effect of macerate enzymes on the yield,quality, volatile compounds and rheological property of prickly pear juice

Pectinase and cellulase enzymes were used to investigate efficacy for improving juice yield, stability and quality from prickly pear fruit. Pectinase improved the yield, stable color, color‐assayed as release of anthocyanins or carotinoids and clarity of the juice. A significant increase in the effectiveness of pectinase was observed as the concentration was increased from 0.05 to 0.50% v/w. However, at concentration >0.25% v/w they tended to impart a bitter flavor in the juice. Among three concentrations of pectinase and cellulase, pectinase at 0.50% v/w produced higher yield, a sediment‐free clear juice and high‐quality juice. The results indicated that depectinated clarified prickly pear juice behaves as a Newtonian fluid. It was found that the activation energy (Ea) for viscous flow was in the range of 5.02×10³–20.06×10³ kJ/mol depending on the concentrations of pectinase and cellulase enzyme treatment of prickly pear juice, in contrast to 22.15×10³ kJ/mol in untreated juice. Volatile compound concentrations of twelve compounds were not affected by pectinase and cellulase treatment. Overall the quality of prickly pear juice was better in pectinase‐treated juice compared with untreated and cellulase‐treated juice.     

Study the effect of recycled pressurized air on oxygen transfer design parameters in sequencing batch reactor technology

Aeration process consumes more than 60% of the total energy required for wastewater treatment. The present study aims to save power consumption within wastewater treatment aeration process through recycling of the air flow. A new technique of aeration is used to increase oxygen transfer efficiency via exploiting recycled pressurized air. A pilot plant has been constructed to study the effect of using recycled pressurized air within sequencing batch reactor (SBR) model. The results showed that the new technique comparing with the conventional SBR model improved Standard oxygen transfer rate (SORT), Standard oxygen transfer efficiency (SOTE) and Standard aeration efficiency (SAE). In particular, the new technique enhanced (SAE) with 10 and 4% at gauge pressure values 0.5 atm. and 2 atm. respectively. On the other hand, intermittent aeration enhanced (SAE) with 15 and 5% at gauge pressure values 0.5 atm. and 2 atm. respectively.     

Application of artificial neural networks for modeling of biohydrogen production

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to estimate the hydrogen production profile with time in batch studies. A back propagation artificial neural network ANN configuration of 5–6–4–1 layers was developed. The ANN inputs were the initial pH, initial substrate and biomass concentrations, temperature, and time. The model training was done using 313 data points from 26 published experiments. The correlation coefficient between the experimental and estimated hydrogen production was 0.989 for training, validating, and testing the model. Results showed that the trained ANN successfully predicted the hydrogen production profile with time for new data with a correlation coefficient of 0.976.     

Integrating quality and maintenance decisions in a production-inventory model for deteriorating items

In typical production-inventory models of deteriorating items, deterioration of the production process has not been considered. In this paper, a model is proposed in which both the produced items and the production equipment deteriorate. When the production system deteriorates, it shifts to an out-of-control state and begins to produce a proportion of defective items, necessitating corrective maintenance action. A model is formulated to integrate several realistic aspects, including item and process deterioration, varying demand and production rates, quality, inspection, and maintenance. A heuristic solution algorithm is developed to determine the production and inspection schedules, and a numerical example is solved.     

KCNQ1 Haplotypes Associate with Type 2 Diabetes in Malaysian Chinese Subjects

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of potassium voltage-gated channel, KQT-like subfamily, member 1 (KCNQ1) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Malaysian Chinese subjects. The KCNQ1 SNPs rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 were genotyped in 300 T2D patients and 230 control subjects without diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Two logistic regression models of analysis were applied, the first adjusted for age and gender while the second adjusted for age, gender and body mass index. The additive genetic analysis showed that adjusting for body mass index (BMI) even strengthened association of rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 with T2D (OR = 2.0, P = 5.1 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 5.2 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 7.8 × 10(-5), respectively). The haplotype TCA containing the allele of rs2237892 (T), rs2283228 (C) and rs2237895 (A) was highly protective against T2D (Second model; OR = 0.17, P = 3.7 × 10(-11)). The KCNQ1 rs2237892 (TT), and the protective haplotype (TCA) were associated with higher beta-cell function (HOMA-B) in normal subjects (P = 0.0002; 0.014, respectively). This study found that KCNQ1 SNPs was associated with T2D susceptibility in Malaysian Chinese subjects. In addition, certain KCNQ1 haplotypes were strongly associated with T2D.     

Radiation-induced grafting of glycidyl methacrylate onto cotton fabric waste and its modification for anchoring hazardous wastes from their solutions

Ion exchange adsorbents based on cellulosic fabric wastes carrying sulfonic acid and amine functional groups were synthesized by radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with subsequent chemical modification of the epoxy groups of poly-GMA graft chains with sodium sulfite/H₂SO₄ and triethylamine, respectively. The conversion of epoxy groups into the functional groups was investigated. Factors affecting on grafting process such as radiation dose, monomer concentration and solvent were studied. The synthesized adsorbent and its applications in the removal of different types of hazardous pollutants e.g. acidic dye, cobalt, dichromate and phenols from aqueous solution were also studied.