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  • Molecular Diversity Preservation International  (83)
  • Hindawi  (27)
  • 2015-2019  (110)
  • 1
    Publication Date: 2019-05-30
    Description: Background: One of the most important causative agents of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is Leishmania infantum, which is mainly spread by Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia sandflies in the Old and New World, respectively. Novel and effective drugs to manage this neglected vector-borne disease are urgently required. In this study, we evaluated the toxicity of carvacrol, thymol and linalool, three common essential oil constituents, on amastigotes and promastigotes of L. infantum. Methods: in vitro experiments were performed by 24 h MTT assay. Carvacrol, thymol and linalool at concentrations ranging from 1.3 to 10 μg/mL were tested on promastigotes of L. infantum. For in vivo test, two groups of hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) received 100 mg/kg of body weight/day of carvacrol and thymol as intraperitoneal injection on day 7 post-infection, followed by a 48 h later injection. The third group was treated with the glucantime as standard drug (500 mg/kg) and the last group (control) just received normal saline. On the 16th day, the number of parasites and histopathological changes in liver and spleen were investigated. Results: 24 h MTT assay showed promising antileishmanial activity of thymol and carvacrol, with IC50 values of 7.2 (48 μM) and 9.8 μg/mL (65 μM), respectively. Linalool at all concentrations did not affect L. infantum promastigote viability. In vivo toxicity data of carvacrol and thymol showed that the former at 100 mg/kg was the safest and most effective treatment with little side effects on the liver. Conclusions: Overall, thymol and carvacrol are highly promising candidates for the development of effective and safe drugs in the fight against VL.
    Electronic ISSN: 1420-3049
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2018-12-17
    Description: Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of human lives all over the world. The number of afflicted patients is rapidly growing, and disease-modifying agents are urgently needed. Caffeic acid, an important member of the hydroxycinnamic acid family of polyphenols, has considerable neurotrophic effects. We have previously shown how caffeate alkyl ester derivatives significantly promote survival and differentiation in neuronal cells. In this study, the mechanisms by which these ester derivatives exert their neurotrophic effects are examined. A series of eight caffeic acid esters with different alkyl chain lengths, ranging from methyl (CAF1) to dodecyl esters (CAF8), were synthesized and studied for their influence on neurotrophic signaling pathways. Caffeate esters did not induce tropomyosin-receptor kinase A (TrkA) phosphorylation, which was assessed by immunoblotting up to a concentration of 25 µM. NIH/3T3 cells overexpressing TrkA were generated to further examine phosphorylation of this receptor tyrosine kinase. None of the esters induced TrkA phosphorylation in these cells either. Assessment of the effect of caffeate derivatives on downstream neurotrophic pathways by immunoblotting showed that the most potent esters, decyl caffeate (CAF7) and dodecyl caffeate (CAF8) caused extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and Akt serine threonine kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells at 5 and 25 µM concentrations. In conclusion, this study shows that caffeate esters exert their neurotrophic action by modulation of ERK1/2 and Akt signaling pathways in neuronal cells, and further demonstrates the potential therapeutic implications of these derivatives for neurodegenerative diseases.
    Electronic ISSN: 1420-3049
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2015-04-29
    Description: The application of a new modified Adomian decomposition method for obtaining the analytic solution of Lane-Emden type equations is investigated. The proposed method, called the spectral Adomian decomposition method, is based on a combination of spectral method and Adomian decomposition method. A comparative study between the proposed method and Adomian decomposition method is presented. The obtained result reveals that method is of higher efficiency, validity, and accuracy.
    Print ISSN: 1024-123X
    Electronic ISSN: 1563-5147
    Topics: Mathematics , Technology
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2016-06-01
    Description: The paper presents a circuit model for the computationally efficient design of a planar Short-Circuited Self-Excited EBG Resonator Antenna (SC SE-EBG-RA). To this purpose, the same circuit model previously presented for the Open-Circuited version of the antenna is modified to be applicable to the SC version. Detailed HFSS modeling and simulation corroborate the accuracy of the model in predicting the antenna resonance. The efficiency of the designed antenna is calculated by a simulated Wheeler Cap Method (WCM) and is compared with the standard efficiency given by the numerical analyzer. The EM modeling is arranged so as to incorporate the effects of the SMA connector, discontinuities, and the WC, emulating a real WC measurement and yielding a high degree of confidence in the results. Overall, a small antenna sized with 93% verified efficiency is achieved, which is also compiled with affordable manufacturing processes.
    Print ISSN: 1687-5869
    Electronic ISSN: 1687-5877
    Topics: Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2015-12-02
    Description: Heterogeneous networks with dense deployment of small cells can employ cognitive features to efficiently utilize the available spectrum resources. Spectrum sensing is the key enabler for cognitive radio to detect the unoccupied channels for data transmission. In order to deal with shadowing and multipath fading in sensing channels, cooperative spectrum sensing is designed to increase the accuracy of the sensed signal. In this paper, an optimized local decision rule is implemented for the case that the received data from primary users are possibly correlated due to the sensing channel impairments. Since the prior information is unavailable in the real systems, Neyman-Pearson criterion is used as the cost function. Then, a discrete iterative algorithm based on Gauss-Seidel process is applied to optimize the local cognitive user decision rules under a fixed fusion rule. This method with low complexity can minimize the cost using the golden section search method in a finite number of iterations. ROC curves are depicted using the achieved probability of detection and false alarm by numerical examples to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results also confirm the superiority of the proposed method compared to the conventional topologies and decision rules.
    Print ISSN: 1550-1329
    Electronic ISSN: 1550-1477
    Topics: Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2015-03-24
    Description: Biogas released from palm oil mill effluent (POME) could be a source of air pollution, which has illustrated negative effects on the global warming. To protect the environment from toxic emissions and use the energy of POME biogas, POME is conducted to the closed digestion systems and released biogas is captured. Since POME biogas upgrading is a complicated process, it is not economical and thus new combustion techniques should be examined. In this paper, POME biogas (40% CO2 and 60% CH4) has been utilized as a fuel in a lab-scale furnace. A computational approach by standard k-ε combustion and turbulence model is applied. Hydrogen is added to the biogas components and the impacts of hydrogen enrichment on the temperature distribution, flame stability, and pollutant formation are studied. The results confirm that adding hydrogen to the POME biogas content could improve low calorific value (LCV) of biogas and increases the stability of the POME biogas flame. Indeed, the biogas flame length rises and distribution of the temperature within the chamber is uniform when hydrogen is added to the POME biogas composition. Compared to the pure biogas combustion, thermal NOx formation increases in hydrogen-enriched POME biogas combustion due to the enhancement of the furnace temperature.
    Print ISSN: 2090-1968
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-1976
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2016-04-12
    Description: A considerable difference between experimental and theoretical results has been observed in the studies of segmented thermoelectric generators (STEGs). Because of simplicity, the approximate methods are widely used for design and optimization of the STEGs. This study is focused on employment of exact method for design and optimization of STEGs and comparison of exact and approximate results. Thus, using new highly efficient thermoelectric materials, four STEGs are proposed to operate in the temperature range of 300 to 1300 kelvins. The proposed STEGs are optimally designed to achieve maximum efficiency. Design and performance characteristics of the optimized generators including maximum conversion efficiency and length of elements are calculated through both exact and approximate methods. The comparison indicates that the approximate method can cause a difference up to 20% in calculation of some design characteristics despite its appropriate results in efficiency calculation. The results also show that the maximum theoretical efficiency of 23.08% is achievable using the new proposed STEGs. Compatibility factor of the selected materials for the proposed STEGs is also calculated using both exact and approximate methods. The comparison indicates a negligible difference in calculation of compatibility factor, despite the considerable difference in calculation of reduced efficiency (temperature independence efficiency).
    Print ISSN: 1687-806X
    Electronic ISSN: 1687-8078
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2018-03-05
    Description: Research has shown that the soundboard plays an increasingly important role compared to the sound hole, back plate, and the bridge at high frequencies. The frequency spectrum of investigation can be extended to 5 kHz. Design of bracings and their placements on the soundboard increase its structural stiffness as well as redistributing its deflection to nonbraced regions and affecting its loudness as well as its response at low and high frequencies. This paper attempts to present a review of the current state of the art in guitar research and to propose viable alternatives that will ultimately result in a louder and better sounding instrument. Current research is an attempt to increase the sound level with bracing designs and their placements, control of natural frequencies using scalloped braces, as well as improve the acoustic radiation of this instrument at higher frequencies by deliberately inducing asymmetric modes in the soundboard using the concept of “splitting board.” Various mathematical methods are available for analysing the soundboard based on the theory of thin plates. Discrete models of the instrument up to 4 degrees of freedom are also presented. Results from finite element analysis can be utilized for the evaluation of acoustic radiation.
    Print ISSN: 1687-6261
    Electronic ISSN: 1687-627X
    Topics: Physics
    Published by Hindawi
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2019-03-14
    Description: The current analyses used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition 2015 to investigate grain-based food (GBF) dietary patterns of consumptions among 6,400,000 Canadian children and adolescents 2 to 18 years old. Nutrient intakes, socioeconomic differences, body mass index (BMI) z-scores, and intakes of several food groups were examined across the identified grain patterns of consumption. We employed k-mean cluster analysis to identify the consumption patterns of grain products. Based on the contributions of 21 grain food groups to the total energy intake of each individual, seven GBF consumption patterns were identified including other bread; salty snacks; pasta; rice; cakes and cookies; white bread; and mixed grains. Individuals having less than one serving of grain products were also separately categorized as no-grain consumers. Mean energy intake (kcal/day) was lowest for the “no-grain” consumers and greatest in children/adolescents consuming a “salty snacks” pattern when all GBF patterns were compared. Children and adolescents with “no-grain” and “rice” GBF consumption patterns had significantly lower intakes of several nutrients including dietary fiber, folate, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin. No associations were observed with any of the identified GBF patterns and BMI z-scores. In addition, the socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as household incomes and immigration status of participants were shown to be significantly different across the identified clusters.
    Electronic ISSN: 2072-6643
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2019-07-22
    Description: Nutritional phenotyping can help achieve personalized nutrition, and machine learning tools may offer novel means to achieve phenotyping. The primary aim of this study was to use energy balance components, namely input (dietary energy intake and macronutrient composition) and output (physical activity) to predict energy stores (body weight) as a way to evaluate their ability to identify potential phenotypes based on these parameters. From the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI OS), carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibers, sugars, and physical activity variables, namely energy expended from mild, moderate, and vigorous intensity activity, were used to predict current body weight (both as body weight in kilograms and as a body mass index (BMI) category). Several machine learning tools were used for this prediction. Finally, cluster analysis was used to identify putative phenotypes. For the numerical predictions, the support vector machine (SVM), neural network, and k-nearest neighbor (kNN) algorithms performed modestly, with mean approximate errors (MAEs) of 6.70 kg, 6.98 kg, and 6.90 kg, respectively. For categorical prediction, SVM performed the best (54.5% accuracy), followed closely by the bagged tree ensemble and kNN algorithms. K-means cluster analysis improved prediction using numerical data, identified 10 clusters suggestive of phenotypes, with a minimum MAE of ~1.1 kg. A classifier was used to phenotype subjects into the identified clusters, with MAEs
    Electronic ISSN: 2072-6643
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
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