Miscibility behavior of blend of polyesteramides of linseed oil and dehydrated castor oil with poly(methacrylic acid)

Blending of two polymers in solution is a simple and cost‐effective technique to improve upon the physical and mechanical properties of the component polymers through synergism. To obtain maximum synergy in their properties, the component polymers should be miscible with each other on molecular scale. Polymer blends of complex physicomechanical properties are being actively investigated. Poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), a commercial polymer, yields transparent, hard, brittle, and water‐sensitive films. It has been blended with natural polymers like dextran, collagen, and gelatin to obtain films with improved physical and mechanical characteristics. Polyesteramides, which are easily synthesized from vegetable seeds oil, a sustainable resource, have found application in surface coatings. These oligomeric products do not make free standing films in the ambient condition. The polyesteramides from vegetable seeds oil can be used to obtain blend with PMMA of improved mechanical and water absorption properties. In this study, linseed oil polyesteramide (LOPEA) and dehydrated castor oil polyesteramide (DCPEA), the source oils with different unsaturation in their fatty acid chains, were blended with PMAA through mixing in solution in the ratio DCPEA/LOPEA: PMAA as 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, and 20/80. In the first instance, the miscibility of the two components was investigated in solution by viscosity and ultrasonic measurements and in solid phase through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moisture absorption by the blend was also studied. DCPEA and LOPEA show immiscibility with PMAA in solution phase while LOPEA with more unsaturation in the fatty acid chain of the oil was found more immiscible than DCPEA. DCPEA shows a narrow miscibility window in the solid phase while LOPEA was found immiscible with PMAA in the solid phase too. Uptake of moisture was found to be markedly reduced in the blends of DCPEA/LOPEA with PMAA. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1367–1374, 2007:     

On the performance of different capability indices under normal and non-normal distributions

In this article, we have examined the performance of some useful capability indices using normal and non-normal distributions. The confidence intervals are calculated and mean coverage rates are observed for different capability indices. The effects of symmetry and kurtosis of parent distributions are examined on the mean coverage rates of different capability indices. Moreover, we have investigated the robustness (of confidence interval) using the median and percentile-based indices. We have considered the well-known distributions including normal, gamma, t, Weibull, and chi-squared. For these process scenarios, we have observed that some indices resist disturbance only in symmetry of the parent distribution, some resist the disturbance in symmetry and kurtosis of the distribution, and some indices don’t resist against either type of disturbance.     

On the Efficiency of Runs Rules Schemes for Process Monitoring

There are two main types of variations, namely, common and special causes leading to in‐control and out‐of‐control states, respectively. Control charts are popular tools used to differentiate between these two states of a process. Implementation of runs rules schemes with control charts is an attractive approach for process monitoring. This study is designed to describe the methodology of runs rules schemes and discuss their implementation for different types of control charts. We have considered memory‐less charts, namely, , S, and R charts for our study purposes. It is examined that the efficiency gain depends on the number of decision points utilized to implement a given rule. Moreover, superiority of runs rules schemes may vary for different types of location and dispersion charts. An application example using a dataset is also included in the study for practical considerations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Combined Shewhart–Cumulative Sum S Chart for Monitoring Process Standard Deviation

The combined application of a Shewhart chart and cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart is an effective tool for the detection of all sizes of process shifts as the scheme combines the advantages of a CUSUM at detecting small to moderate shifts and Shewhart for the quick detection of very large shifts. This article proposes new combined Shewhart–CUSUM S charts based on the extreme variations of ranked set sampling technique, for efficient monitoring of changes in the process dispersion. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the combined scheme is designed to minimize the average extra quadratic loss over the entire process shift domain. The results show that the combined Shewhart–CUSUM S charts uniformly outperform several other procedures for detecting increases and decreases in the process variability. Moreover, the proposed scheme can detect changes that are small enough to escape the Shewhart S chart or fairly large to escape detection by the CUSUM S chart. Numerical example is given to illustrate the practical application of the proposed scheme using real industrial data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Anti-Cancer Activity of New Pyrazolinyl-Indole Derivatives: Pharmacophoric Interactions and Docking Studies for Identifying New EGFR Inhibitors

Newly designed series of indole-containing pyrazole analogs, pyrazolinylindoles, were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed based on the spectral data of the ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HR-MS analyses. Preliminary anti-cancer activity testings were carried out by the National Cancer Institute, United States of America (NCI, USA). Compounds HD02, HD05, and HD12 demonstrated remarkable cytotoxic activities against nine categories of cancer types based cell line panels which included leukemia, colon, breast, melanoma, lungs, renal, prostate, CNS, and ovarian cancer cell lines. The highest cytotoxic effects were exhibited by the compounds HD02 [1-(5-(1-H-indol-3-yl)-3-(p-tolyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-phenylethanone], HD05 [1-(3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-phenoxyethanone], and HD12 [(3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)(pyridin-4-yl)methanone] against some of the 56 types of NCI-based cell lines in different panels. Compound HD05 showed the maximum range of cancer cell growth inhibitions against all categories of the cell lines in all nine panels. On average, in comparison to the referral standard, imatinib, at a dose level of 10 µM, the HD05 showed significant activity against leukemia in the range of 78.76%, as compared to the imatinib at 9% of cancer cells’ growth inhibitions. Molecular docking simulation studies were performed in silico on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, in order to validate the activity.     

Foliar Application of Silicon Enhances Growth,Flower Yield,Quality and Postharvest Life of Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) under Saline Conditions by Improving Antioxidant Defense Mechanism

Silicon - Tuberose is native to Mexico and then reached Europe and spread other parts of the world. In Pakistan, tuberose stalks come in the market during late summer and autumn when only few...     

Calmodulin and Its Interactive Proteins Participate in Regulating the Explosive Growth of Alexandrium pacificum (Dinoflagellate)

Alexandrium pacificum is a typical dinoflagellate that can cause harmful algal blooms, resulting in negative impacts on ecology and human health. The calcium (Ca²⁺) signal transduction pathway plays an important role in cell proliferation. Calmodulin (CaM) and CaM-related proteins are the main cellular Ca²⁺ sensors, and can act as an intermediate in the Ca²⁺ signal transduction pathway. In this study, the proteins that interacted with CaM of A. pacificum were screened by two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis and far western blots under different growth conditions including lag phase and high phosphorus and manganese induced log phase (HPM). The interactive proteins were then identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Four proteins were identified, including Ca²⁺/CaM-dependent protein kinase, serine/threonine kinase, annexin, and inositol-3-phosphate synthase, which all showed high expression levels under HPM. The gene expression levels encoding these four proteins were also up-regulated under HPM, as revealed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, suggesting that the identified proteins participate in the Ca²⁺ transport channel and cell cycle regulation to promote cell division. A network of proteins interacting with CaM and their target proteins involved in the regulation of cell proliferation was raised, which provided new insights into the mechanisms behind the explosive growth of A. pacificum.     

The chemopreventive effect of β-cryptoxanthin from mandarin on human stomach cells (BGC-823)

β-Cryptoxanthin, a provitaminic carotenoid, present in many fruits and vegetables, has been associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases, including cancer. The influence of β-cryptoxanthin derived from mandarin on the proliferation of the stomach tumor cell line BGC-823 was tested using MTT and cell count assay at 72 h and dose–response (from 0.01 to 20 μM). β-Cryptoxanthin suppressed the cell migration by the scratch assay. Furthermore, β-cryptoxanthin induced an accumulation of cells in the G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle (as detected by flow cytometry), which was in accordance with an increased expression of p21 and down regulations of cyclin D1 and cyclin E, detected by Western blot analysis, and β-cryptoxanthin increased the mRNA levels of retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) with the treatment at 10 μM for 24 h. Collectively, the above findings suggest that β-cryptoxanthin could be therapeutic in the treatment of stomach cancer cell in vitro.     

A legal cross-references taxonomy for reasoning about compliance requirements

Companies must ensure their software complies with relevant laws and regulations to avoid the risk of costly penalties, lost reputation, and brand damage resulting from non-compliance. Laws and regulations contain internal cross-references to portions of the same legal text, as well as cross-references to external legal texts. These cross-references introduce ambiguities, exceptions, as well as other challenges to regulatory compliance. Requirements engineers need guidance as to how to address cross-references in order to comply with the requirements of the law. Herein, we analyze each external cross-reference within the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the Gramm?CLeach?CBliley Act (GLBA), and the GLBA Financial Privacy Rule to determine whether a cross-reference either introduces a conflicting requirement, a conflicting definition, or refines an existing requirement. Herein, we propose a legal cross-reference taxonomy to aid requirements engineers in classifying cross-references as they specify compliance requirements. Analyzing cross-references enables us to address conflicting requirements that may otherwise thwart legal compliance. We identify five sets of conflicting compliance requirements and recommend strategies for resolving these conflicts.