Dietary squalene increases tissue sterols and fecal bile acids in the rat

Feeding 1% squalene increased markedly the concentrations of squalene and methyl sterols in each serum lipoprotein class, intestinal mucosa, liver and also in adipose tissue. It also increased cholesterol concentration of the liver and serum VLDL, and esterified cholesterol in serum LDL as well as fecal bile acids. The results suggest that absorbed dietary squalene contributes to some extent to the squalene content of adipose tissue, effectively increases the overall cholesterol synthesis and enhances cholesterol elimination preferentially as fecal bile acids.     

Quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization: an overview and systematization

In this paper, we present a systematization of techniques that use quality metrics to help in the visual exploration of meaningful patterns in high-dimensional data. In a number of recent papers, different quality metrics are proposed to automate the demanding search through large spaces of alternative visualizations (e.g., alternative projections or ordering), allowing the user to concentrate on the most promising visualizations suggested by the quality metrics. Over the last decade, this approach has witnessed a remarkable development but few reflections exist on how these methods are related to each other and how the approach can be developed further. For this purpose, we provide an overview of approaches that use quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization and propose a systematization based on a thorough literature review. We carefully analyze the papers and derive a set of factors for discriminating the quality metrics, visualization techniques, and the process itself. The process is described through a reworked version of the well-known information visualization pipeline. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model by applying it to several existing approaches that use quality metrics, and we provide reflections on implications of our model for future research.     

A PTAS for Cutting Out Polygons with Lines

We present a simple O(m+n ⁶/ε ¹²) time (1+ε)-approximation algorithm for finding a minimum-cost sequence of lines to cut a convex n-gon out of a convex m-gon.     

New Results on Path Approximation

In this paper we give bounds on the complexity of some algorithms for approximating 2-D and 3-D polygonal paths with the infinite beam measure of error. While the time/space complexities of the algorithms known for other error measures are well understood, path approximation with infinite beam measure seems to be harder due to the complexity of some geometric structures that arise in the known approaches. Our results answer some open problems left in previous work. We also present a more careful analysis of the time complexity of the general iterative algorithm for infinite beam measure and show that it could perform much better in practice than in the worst case. We then propose a new approach for path approximation that consists of a breadth first traversal of the path approximation graph, without constructing the graph. This approach can be applied to any error criterion in any constant dimension. The running time of the new algorithm depends on the size of the output: if the optimal approximating path has m vertices, the algorithm performs F(m) iterations rather than n–1 in the previous approaches, where F(m) \le n–1 is the number of vertices of the path approximation graph that can be reached with at most m–2 edges. This is the first output sensitive path approximation algorithm.     

Development of a hybrid ECT sensor for JSFR SG double-wall tubes

A new design has been adopted for the steam generator (SG) tubes of the Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) using double-wall tubes. This paper estimates and assesses the effectiveness of detecting defects in SG double-wall tubes of the JSFR by using combined high-frequency eddy current testing (ECT) and low-frequency remote field eddy current sensors. We confirm that the proposed hybrid ECT sensor is highly sensitive to small defects, fatigue cracks, and other defects even when located under support plates of tubes. The parameters of the hybrid ECT sensor are designed and optimized to detect small defects using accurate numerical simulations based on the finite element method, using an in-house developed code. The sensitivity and high performance of the hybrid ECT sensor was validated with experimental measurements.     

Molecularly imprinted poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐acrylic acid) matrix with sclareol

There are presented results regarding a new set of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) based on acrylonitrile:acrylic acid (AN:AA) copolymer matrix. As template, it was used sclareol, an important anticancer bioactive compound, never used before for molecular imprinting. An emerging and insufficient studied MIP preparation method, namely the phase inversion, was used to prepare 0.8 mm spherical sclareol MIPs (S‐MIPs). Three AN:AA copolymers, having the initial monomer ratios 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30, were synthesized by radical copolymerization in emulsion, without emulsifier. After that, each copolymer was dissolved in the presence of the template (sclareol) in dimethylformamide. The imprinting and the morphology of these new materials were analyzed by rheology, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, batch rebinding tests, and Scatchard analysis. The conclusion was that the AN:AA‐80:20 matrix proved to be the optimized solution between high rigidity (given by the AN segments) and high affinity for the template (given by AA segments), the average imprinting factor for this system being 2.67. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1484–1494, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The dependence of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites on the modification of the carbon nanotubes

Nanostructural TiO₂/modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes photocatalysts were prepared by hydrolysis of Ti(iso-OC₃H₇)₄ providing chemical bonding of anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles onto oxidized- or amino-functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The processes of functionalization of the MWCNT and the deposition of TiO₂ influence the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanocomposites. The phase composition, crystallite size, and the structural and surface properties of the obtained TiO₂/modified-MWCNT nanocomposite were analyzed from XRD, FEG-SEM, TEM/HRTEM and FTIR data, as well low temperature N₂ adsorption. In the photocatalytic study, the TiO₂/oxidized-MWCNT catalyst showed the highest and the TiO₂/amino functionalized-MWCNT catalysts somewhat lower degradation rates, indicating that the enhancement of photocatalysis was supported by the more effective electron transfer properties of the oxygen- than amino-containing functional groups, which support the efficient charge transportation and separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs.     

On the semantics of noun compounds

This paper provides new insights on the semantic characteristics of two and three noun compounds. An analysis is performed using two sets of semantic classification categories: a list of 8 prepositional paraphrases previously proposed by Lauer [Designing statistical language learners: experiments on noun compounds, Ph.D. Thesis, Macquarie University, Australia] and a new set of 35 semantic relations introduced by us. We show the distribution of these semantic categories on a corpus of noun compounds and present several models for the bracketing and the semantic classification of noun compounds. The results are compared against state-of-the-art models reported in the literature.     

平面四杆机构高阶和复合点阶综合的CAD几何法

提出四连杆机构高阶和复合点近似综合的CAD几点法，确定机构连杆的位置、速度和加速度与轨迹曲线的点，一阶导数和二阶导数的等效关系，基于几何约束和尺寸驱动技术，构造一个基本四连杆模拟机构，再根据机构高阶和复合点阶综合的任务，由基本四连杆模拟机构分别构造出高阶和复合点阶近似综合模拟机构，采用修改尺寸和尺寸动态变化技术，检查和分析尺寸变化对机构的影响因素，干涉情况，确定机构的理想形状，计算机模拟结果表明，该方法不仅快捷，直观，而且具有求解精度高和重复性好的优点，为连杆机构的高阶和复合点阶综合提供有效的工具。     

Defect analysis and excitons diffusion in undoped homoepitaxial diamond films after polishing and oxygen plasma etching

Several 65 μm thick epitaxial diamond films prepared on (100) Ib substrates by high power pulsed microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition (HP-MPCVD) are studied as a function of surface treatments by cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. They are either asgrown, or polished, or etched by a microwave oxygen plasma, or after applying subsequently the two last processes. In CL spectra, bands due to defects occur at 2.3 eV, 3.07 eV, 3.7 eV and 4.7 eV, the last one being specific of polished surfaces, with nearly no contrast in the luminescence image. A fundamental result consists in demonstrating that the defects induced by polishing can be removed by oxygen plasma etching. Additionally, in order to assess how luminescence spectra originate from a peculiar depth or not, a bevelled sample is studied. PL spectra are acquired on the sample side while CL spectra are measured at several points on the bevel top side till to the Ib substrate. Comparison of the two sets of result show that the H3 signal originates from the Ib substrate even if it is present in the CL spectra of the film. An analysis of the change in the intensity of the TO free exciton line, defect bands and H3 signal, along decreasing photon energies, as a function of the thickness of the remaining HP-PMPCVD film, is performed with the help of a model taking the diffusion of the unrecombined excitonic pairs and the re-excited photoluminescence into account. CL images recorded at specific wavelengths, which do not show inverted contrast, are also assessed. From these data, the exciton diffusion length is evaluated to 11 μm in the major part of the epitaxial layer except for the first 20 μm close to the Ib substrate where it decreases down to 2 μm. This study sheds light on the interpretation of luminescence spectra excited by an electron beam in undoped diamond layers. Defects bands due to damages induced by polishing and etching processes are also documented.