Comparison of blood lipid-lowering effects of olive oil and other plant oils: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of 27 randomized placebo‐controlled clinical trials

Objective: We aim to report a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on effects of olive oil consumption compared with other plant oils on blood lipids.

Methods: PubMed, web of science, Scopus, ProQuest, and Embase were systematically searched until September 2017, with no age, language and design restrictions. Weighed mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were expressed as effect size. Sensitivity analyses and pre specified subgroup was conducted to evaluate potential heterogeneity. Meta-regression analyses were performed to investigate association between blood lipid-lowering effects of olive oil and duration of treatment.

Results: Twenty-seven trials, comprising 1089 participants met the eligibility criteria. Results of this study showed that compared to other plant oils, high-density lipoprotein level increased significantly more for OO (1.37 mg/dl: 95% CI: 0.4, 2.36). Also OO consumption reduced total cholesterol (TC) (6.27 mg/dl, 95% CI: 2.8, 10.6), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c) (4.2 mg/dl, 95% CI: 1.4, 7.01), and triglyceride (TG) (4.31 mg/dl, 95% CI: 0.5, 8.12) significantly less than other plant oils. There were no significant effects on Apo lipoprotein A1 and Apo lipoprotein B.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that OO consumption decreased serum TC, LDL-c, and TG less but increased HDL-c more than other plant oils.     

Effects of Pb-Doping on Phase Structural and Optical Properties of CdZnS Nano-Powders

Cadmium zinc lead sulfide[Cd0.8(Zn1-x,Pbx)0.2S] nano-powders were prepared by an improved coprecipitation method. The effect of Pb2+ concentration at 500℃ on the phase and crystalline structure of the Cd0.8(Zn1-x,Pbx)0.2S powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, the particles size are in the range of 58 nm to 72 nm. In addition, optical band gap energy and optical constants of nano-powders were determined using the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, Fournier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Kramers-Kronig analysis, respectively. We calculate the refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, and dielectric function as a function of the wavenumber. The experiment results demonstrate that the amount of Pb+2 has been playing an increasingly important role on optical properties of CZPS nanocrystals.     

Current reconstruction from magnetic field using spherical harmonic expansion to reduce impact of disturbance fields

A current reconstruction method, for determining currents in a set of parallel infinitely long conductors located above the ground from measured magnetic field, is developed. The method is designed to work even if three-dimensional external disturbance fields from external sources are present. The external field is written as an expansion in spherical harmonics. Therefore, the field in the different measurement points is regarded as a linear combination of the expansion coefficients and the currents to be determined. A linear equation system is formed with the currents and the expansion coefficients as the unknowns. The currents are reconstructed by solving the equation system using least squares method and Tikhonov regularization. If the characteristics of the ground below the conductors are known with sufficient precision, the ground effect can also be included into the model. Results of various simulations show that the method works well and noise in the measured magnetic field can be handled.     

Effects of Pb-Doping on Phase Structural and Optical Properties of CdZnS Nano-Powders

Cadmium zinc lead sulfide [Cd0.8（Zn1-x7,Pbx）0.2S] nano-powders were prepared by an improved coprecipitation method. The effect of Pb2＋ concentration at 500℃ on the phase and crystalline structure of the Cd0.8（Zn1-x7,Pbx）0.2S powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD）. According to the transmission electron microscopy （TEM） images, the particles size are in the range of 58 nm to 72 nm. In addition, optical band gap energy and optical constants of nano-powders were determined using the ultraviolet （UV） spectrum, Fournier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, and Kramers-Kronig analysis, respectively. We calculate the refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, and dielectric function t as a function of the wavenumber. The experiment results demonstrate that the amount of Pb＋2 has been playing an increasingly important role on optical properties of CZPS nanocrystals.     

Evolutionary model selection in a wavelet-based support vector machine for automated seizure detection

Support vector machines (SVM) have in recent years been gainfully used in various pattern recognition applications. Based on statistical learning theory, this paradigm promises strong robustness to noise and generalization to unseen data. As in any classification technique, appropriate choice of the kernels and input features play an important role in SVM performance. In this study, an evolutionary scheme searches for optimal kernel types and parameters for automated seizure detection. We consider the Lyapunov exponent, fractal dimension and wavelet entropy for possible feature extraction. The classification accuracy of this approach is examined by applying the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) dataset and comparing results with the SVM. The MIT-BIH dataset has the electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in patients with partial epilepsy which two types ECG beats (partial epilepsy and normal). A comparison of results shows that performance of the evolutionary scheme outweighs that of support vector machine. In the best condition, the accuracy rate of the proposed approaches reaches 100% for specificity and 96.29% for sensitivity.     

Study of hydrogen storage performance of ZnO–CeO2 ceramic nanocomposite and the effect of various parameters to reach the optimum product

ZnOCeO₂ nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel approach via employing fructose as a green capping agent. The effect of various parameters including the different precursors of zinc, calcination time and temperature on the morphology and size of as-synthesized products were investigated to reach the optimum conditions. Different analysis to study the synthesized products was utilized. We used X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns to investigate the crystal structure of the products. The chemical composition of the nanocomposite was characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analyses. To study the size and morphology of nanocomposites were employed scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The structural properties (porosity and specific surface area) of nanocomposite were evaluated by BET analysis. The performance of metal oxides as a host for hydrogen storage has not been widely studied. Albeit the technology of hydrogen energy enhanced gradually, the performance of metal oxides as a host for hydrogen adsorption has not been widely studied. According to our knowledge, the electrochemical hydrogen storage of prepared ZnOCeO₂ nanocomposite was investigated via chronopotentiometry method in KOH (6 M) electrolyte, for the first time. The maximum discharge capacity of the optimized product (S6) was observed at 2400 mAh/g after 20 cycles. The results showed the synthesized ZnOCeO₂ nanocomposites can be used as a suitable candidate for storage of energy in future.     

Characterization of polar groups in polyvinyl chloride–ethyl vinyl acetate blends using coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy

Coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy (CDBS), known for its exceptional precision, is extensively employed in examining the electronic states of polymers. In this study, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)–ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) polymers blends were prepared using conventional techniques, following specific ratios (75:25, 50:50, and 25:75, respectively). Spectroscopic analysis reveals that the longitudinal component of linear momentum surpasses the momentum unit (i.e., 10⁻³ m₀c) when considering the ratio curve associated with the participation of oxygen core electrons. When compared to non-polymer samples, the PVA polymer and PVA–EVA polymer blend exhibit greater free volume voids in contrast to non-polymer structural defects. Furthermore, the annihilation of ortho-positronium with core electrons, likely EVA oxygen core electrons, contributes to the measured free volume voids. An increased annihilation of positrons or positroniums by oxygen in the CDBS spectrum leads to higher calculated W parameter values. Conversely, as the PVC content increases, the W parameter decreases, suggesting reduced ortho-positronium annihilation and consequently, enhanced formation of para-positronium in the overall annihilation process. In summary, this investigation demonstrates the utility of CDBS in elucidating the electronic states and free volume voids in PVC and EVA polymers.     

Piezoelectric Study of 0.65Pb（Mg1/3,Nb2/3）O3-0.35PTO3 Nanopoder Ceramics

The piezoelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3 ceramic prepared by a sol-gel combustion method have been investigated as function of sintering temperature.The results show that its phase structure is near the morphoteropic phase boundary(MPB),and outstanding electrical properties are obtained with this composition.The highest piezoelectric coefficients were observed for the samples sintered at temperature of 1200oC.In comparison with pure PMN((1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-(x)P...     

Synthesis and structure of PMN–PT ceramic nanopowder free from pyrochlore phase

Single-phase perovskite 0.65PMN–0.35PT nanopowders were synthesized at low temperature by the auto-combustion method. PMN–PT powder with 1 mol% of excess Pb(NO₃)₂ was prepared from the constituent nitrates and alkoxide materials. Perovskite PMN–PT powders without any pyrochlore phase were obtained after heat treatment at 850 °C. The average particles diameter is estimated to be around 25 nm. The formation of perovskite phase and the optical constants of powders have been estimated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.     

Piezoelectric Study of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3,Nb2/3)O3-0.35PTO3 Nanopoder Ceramics

The piezoelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3 ceramic prepared by a sol-gel combustion method have been investigated as function of sintering temperature. The results show that its phase structure is near the morphoteropic phase boundary (MPB), and outstanding electrical properties are obtained with this composition. The highest piezoelectric coefficients were observed for the samples sintered at temperature of 1200oC. In comparison with pure PMN ((1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3(x)PbTiO3), the substitution of 35% PT results in the decrease of sintered temperature and improved the relaxation behavior.