Distribution Properties Research Articles

In Silico and in Vitro Biological Evaluation of Novel Serial Sulfonate Derivatives on Pancreatic Lipase Activity.

The novel benzothiazole sulfonate hybrid derivatives containing azomethine group were synthesized and characterized using 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and HR-MS analysis. The potential enzyme inhibition activities against pancreatic lipase of the novel benzothiazole sulfonate hybrid derivatives containing azomethine group were screened with in vitro and in silico methods. IC50 values of compounds 5 b (23.89 μM), 5 i (28.87 μM), and 5 f (30.13±4.32) were found to be more effective pancreatic lipase inhibitors than orlistat (57.75 μM) in vitro studies. Also, the binding affinities of compounds 5 b (-8.7 kcal/mol), 5 i (-8.6 kcal/mol), and 5 f (-8.9 kcal/mol) were found potential inhibitors for pancreatic lipase in silico studies. In addition, the absorption distribution, metabolism, and excretion properties (ADME), molecular properties, toxicity estimation, and bioactivity scores of the synthesized compounds were scanned. It was found to have the ability to cross the brain-blood barrier for compounds 5 a, 5 b, 5 c, and 5 d. All compounds were calculated to be taken orally as drugs, suitable for absorption in the intestinal tract and not carcinogenic, as well as very strongly bound to plasma proteins. Finally, compound 5 f was observed to be the best inhibitor for pancreatic lipase according to in vitro and in silico studies.

Mapping conceptual spaces in contemporary linguistic studies: Insights from lexical analysis

Contemporary linguistic studies have shown an increasing interest in conceptual spaces as a helpful tool for comprehending how meaning is organized and represented. This study focuses on the mapping of abstract areas through lexical analysis techniques. Drawing upon a diverse range of linguistic data, including corpora, dictionaries, and semantic networks, this study explores the interconnectedness of concepts within various domains. Through the identification of co-occurrence patterns and semantic associations, we examined how words and concepts relate to one another in multidimensional spaces. By analyzing the distributional properties and semantic relationships, this research provides beneficial perspicuity into the organization and structure of conceptual spaces, clearing the cognitive processes involved in language comprehension and production. The results offer implications for linguistic domains, including lexical semantics, cognitive linguistics, and natural language processing, emphasizing the potential of mapping conceptual spaces in advancing our understanding of language and cognition. This linguistic study contributes to the growing body of research on conceptual spaces, paving the way for further investigations into the nature of meaning representation and its implications for language acquisition, translation, and computational modeling.

Damage distribution and mechanical properties analysis of CRTS III slab track under uneven subgrade settlement

Due to the complex geological conditions along the high-speed railway, the subgrade uneven settlement (USS) is inevitable, and the safety and stability of the railway are significantly affected. In this paper, a three-dimensional solid model of the CRTS III slab track is established. Based on the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) model, the influence of USS on structural damage, deformation, stress, and gap is analyzed. Simultaneously, as a reinforced concrete structure, the structure reinforcement is an essential part of strengthening its tensile capacity. Consequently, the distribution of internal reinforcement is considered in detail, and the influence of reinforcement on the mechanical properties of the track structure is further explored. The results show that the base plate is the most vulnerable component under the USS, and its primary damage locations are the middle and edge of the USS and the middle track slab edge. The next component that is susceptible to damage is the self-compacting concrete, whose primary damage locations are the longitudinal outer side of the limit lug boss and the USS middle. The damage of each component increases monotonically with increasing settlement amplitude, first increasing and then decreasing with increasing wavelength, especially noting the cases of L = 15–20 m, which is the most unfavorable wavelength range for most amplitudes. The difference between the results under the CDP and linear elastic models increases with the increase in damage. The reinforcement significantly influences the value, range, and location of the structural concrete damage. The component of load-bearing stress shifts from concrete to reinforcement at severe damage locations.

On Min–Max Storage for Resource-Restricted Clients in Coded Blockchain Systems

Blockchain is the foundation of emerging applications such as smart contracts, Non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse. A key issue is that blockchain requires massive storage space, which limits its deployment in resource limited end devices, e.g., Internet of Things. Recently, coded blockchain is proposed to reduce the storage requirement of blockchain whilst guaranteeing its security and data integrity. Coded blockchain encodes blocks into coded symbols, which are then distributively stored by clients. A key challenge when applying coded blockchain in resource restricted networks is to ensure all clients store the same, and also the minimum, number of coded blocks. To this end, this paper addresses a novel problem that minimizes the maximum (min-max) storage requirement of clients. It formulates the said problem as an integer linear program (ILP). It then proposes centralized algorithms to improve the computational efficiency of storage assignments. Moreover, it presents distributed algorithms that satisfy the distributive property of blockchain. Numerical results show that the proposed distributed algorithm with a short length code reduces the min-max storage of clients by 80% compared with traditional blockchain. In addition, the computational complexity of distributed algorithms is significantly lower than centralized algorithms.

Curcumin/L-OHP co-loaded HAP for cGAS-STING pathway activation to enhance the natural immune response in colorectal cancer.

Insufficient immune cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment (TME) greatly compromises the clinical application of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-based immunotherapy. Recent findings have shown that activation of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway can enhance natural immunity and increase lymphocyte infiltration into the TME, which presents a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we constructed hydroxyapatite nanoparticles co-loaded with curcumin and L-oxaliplatin (Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs). We analyzed the particle-size distribution, zeta potential, spectral characteristics (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy), and drug-release properties of the Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs. The cellular uptake of the Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs detected by flow cytometry and confocal laser-scanning microscopy. We comprehensively evaluated the anti-tumor properties and immune-activating effects of the NPs, both in vitro and in vivo. Physicochemical characterizations demonstrated that the Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs were successfully synthesized and were capable of pH-dependent drug release. Notably, the Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs efficiently entered cancer cells, after which the released L-OHP induced nuclear DNA (nDNA) damage to some extent. HAP promoted the release of intracellular Ca2+ stores in cancer cells, and curcumin inhibited Ca2+ efflux, resulting in intracellular Ca2+ overload and the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Damage to both nDNA and mtDNA greatly stimulated the cGAS-STING pathway, thereby activating natural immunity, accompanied by immune cell recruitment to the TME. In summary, the Cur/L-OHP@HAP NPs show good prospects for improving cancer immunotherapy.

Scattered beam control of encoded metasurface based on near-field coupling effects of elements

The coupling effect between the element structures of the traditional Huygens metasurface is easy to cause the efficiency of the designed functional devices to be reduced. In order to eliminate or reduce the coupling effect between the element structures, a border-type Huygens metasurface element structure is proposed. In order to confirm that the bounding element structure can significantly reduce the coupling effect, the near-field distribution and far-field properties of two Huygens metasurfaces with and without bounding are compared. Through comparative analysis, we find that the bounding Huygens element structure can significantly reduce the coupling effect between the element structures, and the far-field scattering angle is more consistent with the theoretical calculation value. In order to realize the free regulation of the far-field scattering angle of THz waves, we introduce the Fourier convolution principle in digital signal processing, and operate the element sequence of Huygens metasurface on the addition principle to realize the free regulation of scattered beams. In addition, we performed functional addition operations on the bounding and unbounding coding sequences. The bounding code structure can accurately achieve the synthesis of functions.

A New Distribution for Modeling both Blood Cancer Data and Median Effective Dose (ED50) of Artemether-Lumefantrine against P. falciparum

In this paper, a novel distribution was proposed for modeling data on Leukemia and median effective dose (ED50) of Artemether-Lumefantrine against Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum or P. falciparum is one of the protozoan species that causes malaria. In the treatment of malaria, especially in sub-Saharan Africa Artemether-Lumefantrine dominates the hospitals. The ED50 (median effective dose) is the dose of a medication that produces a specific effect in 50\% of the population that takes that dose. The new distribution has three parameters that make it both flexible and tractable. The distribution is called the Gompertz-Lindley distribution. The model's hazard function behavior was presented together with the properties of the proposed distribution. The parameters were estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. From the analysis, the Gompertz-Lindley distribution is better than the competing standard distribution in the instances of the two data sets deployed.

Hubungan Perilaku dan Pengawasan Terhadap Penerapan 5S Pada Pekerja di Departemen Jetty PT. XYZ

Companies must not only offer appropriate infrastructure in their production processes to attain optimum profitability, but they must also cultivate a healthy corporate culture. Univariate analysis is used to describe the properties of each variable's frequency distribution in the table. Bivariate analysis, on the other hand, is used to assess the association between two variables, with the chi-square test used to determine the link. Several adjustments are proposed to boost the efficacy of using the 5S Method. These enhancements may be made by conducting bivariate and univariate analyses to discover variables that impact the performance of the 5S Method implementation. This allows proposals for improvement to be developed and executed. To define the measuring scale, researchers utilized a Likert scale to disseminate the questionnaire. The signature value of 0.044 is less than the 0.05 significance threshold, hence the null hypothesis (H0) is accepted and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is rejected. As a result, it is possible to infer that there is a considerable link between work supervision and 5S implementation in the PT XYZ Jetty department. According to the research results, there is a link between the conduct of XYZ workers and the monitoring of the 5S implementation process.

Modelling Count Variables: A Comparative Analysis of two Discretization Techniques

Background: Different discretization methods have been proposed to provide a better fit to count observations with characteristics resembling a given continuous distribution. This is done to provide discrete distribution with characteristics resembling a chosen continuous distribution. This study compares discretization through survival function and mixed Poisson processes.
 Methodology: The Ailamujia distribution is extended using the cubic rank transmutation map. The shapes and some moment based properties of the continuous distribution are obtained. Two discretized versions of the distribution obtained are unimodal and skewed, depicting characteristics of the continuous distribution. Parameters of the new discrete distributions are estimated using the method of maximum likelihood, and both AIC and chi-square are used for model comparison.
 Results: Real-life assessment using five count data shows that the two propositions provide a better fit than the three competing distributions considered. Also, discretization through the mixed Poisson process offers a better fit than the survival function technique.
 Conclusion: Various moment-based mathematical properties of the discretization through the mixed Poisson process are easily obtainable and hence, can be easily characterized.

Influence of Butter Layer Thickness on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Underwater Wet 16Mn/304L Dissimilar Welded Joint.

Butter layers of different thicknesses were successfully deposited on ferritic steel by using the tungsten arc welding (TIG) process. The effects of butter layer thickness on the microstructural characteristics, elemental distribution, and mechanical properties of underwater wet 16Mn/304L dissimilar welded joints were investigated. The results showed that the butter layer significantly changed the microstructure and elemental distribution of 16Mn/304L joints. As the thickness of butter increased, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) at the ferritic steel side changed from the original 16Mn steel to the ERNiCrMo-3 butter layer. The martensite content in HAZ also exhibited a downward trend. When the thickness of the butter layer exceeded 6 mm, the microstructure of HAZ at the ferritic steel side was composed of ferrite and pearlite, instead of quenched martensite. The microhardness of underwater dissimilar steel welded joints significantly reduced due to the absence of martensite. The addition of the butter layer increased the ultimate tensile strength from 515 MPa to 565 MPa. The results of this work could provide a robust basis for future applications of dissimilar steel structures.

Comparison of a copper processed by asymmetric unidirectional rolling (AUR) and cross rolling (ACR): Strain distribution, microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties

In this work, the effect of strain path on the strain distribution, microstructural evolution, crystallographic texture, and mechanical behavior of electrolytic tough-pitch copper was investigated by simulation and experimental procedures. The asymmetric unidirectional and cross rolling processes with a thickness reduction of 90% were performed at room temperature. The asymmetric cross-rolling (ACR) gives much better through-thickness uniformity of shear strain distribution compared to the asymmetric unidirectional-rolling (AUR). The average equivalent strain of AUR and ACR after 90% rolling reduction was 3.99 ± 1.22 and 3.66 ± 0.26, respectively. Both AUR and ACR processes improved the particle distribution in the matrix. However, the particle distribution of the AUR sample was slightly more uniform compared to the ACR sample. The shape of primary grains in the AUR copper was straight while that in the ACR sample was zigzag. The average dislocation density of the AUR sheet was larger than that of the ACR sample (2.41 × 1016 m−2 vs. 2.31 × 1016 m−2). The major recrystallization mechanism in the AUR and ACR samples was discontinuous and continuous dynamic recrystallization, respectively. The main deformation textures (Copper, S, and Brass components, and α and β fibers) were weak in both samples due to the domination of recrystallization and shear textures in the cold-rolled copper. The recrystallization texture components in the upper region were stronger than in the lower region. The uniformity of the microhardness profile of the ACR sample was more than that of the AUR sample. The AUR sample had a larger strength and a smaller ductility compared to the ACR sample. The results showed that the strain path of asymmetric rolling was effective on the strain-hardening behavior of copper during the tensile test. The fractograph of the ACR sheet exhibited ductile dimples. However, the fractograph of the AUR sample revealed many ductile shear dimples and flat surfaces.

Switching current distributions in ferromagnetic anomalous Josephson junctions

We investigate the switching current distributions of ferromagnetic anomalous Josephson junctions subjected to a linearly increasing bias current. Our study uncovers a significant correlation between the position of the switching current distributions and crucial system parameters, such as the strength of the spin–orbit coupling and the Gilbert damping parameter. This indicates that these parameters can be directly determined through experimental measurements. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the interplay among noise, magnetization, phase dynamics, and the statistical properties of the switching current distribution, we deepen our understanding of these intriguing cryogenic spintronics devices. These findings hold potential for applications in the field of quantum computing architectures and information processing technologies.

Unit Exponential Probability Distribution: Characterization and Applications in Environmental and Engineering Data Modeling

Distributions with bounded support show considerable sparsity over those with unbounded support, despite the fact that there are a number of real-world contexts where observations take values from a bounded range (proportions, percentages, and fractions are typical examples). For proportion modeling, a flexible family of two-parameter distribution functions associated with the exponential distribution is proposed here. The mathematical and statistical properties of the novel distribution are examined, including the quantiles, mode, moments, hazard rate function, and its characterization. The parameter estimation procedure using the maximum likelihood method is carried out, and applications to environmental and engineering data are also considered. To this end, various statistical tests are used, along with some other information criterion indicators to determine how well the model fits the data. The proposed model is found to be the most efficient plan in most cases for the datasets considered.

Effect of material temperatures on quality of fish vermicelli, a noodle-shaped surimi product.

The study investigated the effect of material temperatures (15°C, 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, 35°C, and 40°C) on the quality of fish vermicelli (FV) in terms of morphological, cooking, textural, microstructural, and water distribution properties. Results showed that as the material temperatures increased, the surface smoothness, cooking characteristics, and textural properties of FV significantly increased, followed by a decrease. Especially, when the material temperatures were 25°C and 30°C, the FV samples exhibited denser and more continuous gel networks with more embedded starch particles, resulting in decreased cooking loss and improved tensile strength. However, at material temperatures above 35°C, the continuity of the protein phase was disrupted by overswelling starch granules, leading to the worst cooking characteristics and textural properties. Especially at material temperatures of 40°C, the water holding capacity, hardness, and springiness of FV decreased by 25.59%, 73.48%, and 47.98%, respectively, compared to the samples at 25°C. Additionally, the cooking loss increased by 91.40%. In conclusion, the critical material temperature for the quality deterioration of FV was 35°C, and it was recommended to produce FV below this temperature.

In Silico Study of Potential Small Molecule TIPE2 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cancer

Context: Chronic inflammation has been linked to cancer since the 19th century. Tumor growth is supported by the proangiogenic factors that chronic inflammation requires. Polarized leukocytes initiate these angiogenic and tumorigenic factors. TIPE2, a transport protein, manages the cytoskeletal rearrangement that gives a polarized leukocyte its motility. Inhibition of this protein could lead to a therapeutic option for solid tumor cancers; however, no such inhibitors have been developed so far due to the large cavity size of the TIPE2 protein. Here we have examined possible small molecule inhibitors by combining structure-based and fragment-based drug design approaches. The highest binding ligands were complexed with the protein, and fragment libraries were docked with the complex with the intention of linking the hit compounds and fragments to design a more potent ligand. Three hit compounds were identified by in silico structure-based screening and a linked compound, C2–F14, of excellent binding affinity, was identified by linking fragments to the hit compounds. C2–F14 demonstrates good binding stability in molecular dynamic simulations and great predicted ADME properties. Methods: High throughput molecular docking calculations of mass libraries were performed using AutoDock Vina 1.1.2. Molecular docking of individual ligands was performed using AutoDock Vina with PyRx. Ligand libraries were prepared using OpenBabel, linked ligands were prepared using Avogadro. The protein was prepared using AutoDockTools-1.5.6. Protein-ligand complexes were visualized with PyMOL. Two- and three-dimensional representations of protein–ligand interactions were plotted with BIOVIA Discovery Studio Visualizer. In silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties were calculated using SwissADME. Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted with GROMACS.

Generalized Ng–Kundu–Chan model of adaptive progressive Type‐II censoring and related inference

AbstractThe model of adaptive progressive Type‐II censoring introduced by Ng et al. (2009) (referred to as Ng–Kundu–Chan model) is extended to allow switching from a given initial censoring plan to any arbitrary given plan of the same length. In this generalized model, the joint distribution of the failure times and the corresponding likelihood function is derived. It is illustrated that the computation of maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimates are along the same lines as for standard progressive Type‐II censoring. However, the distributional properties of the estimators will usually be different since the censoring plan actually applied in the (generalized) Ng–Kundu–Chan model is random. As already mentioned in Cramer and Iliopoulos (2010), we directly show that the normalized spacings are independent and identically exponentially distributed. However, it turns out that the spacings themselves are generally dependent with mixtures of exponential distributions as marginals. These results are used to study linear estimators. Finally, we propose an algorithm for generating random numbers in the generalized Ng–Kundu–Chan model and present some simulation results. The results obtained also provide new findings in the original Ng–Kundu–Chan model; the corresponding implications are highlighted.

Fabrication and characterization of copper/cobalt sulfides catalyst on nickel substrate with enhanced monopersulfate-activated degradation of industrial dyes

This research aims to create a new material based on metal sulfides which have 3D hierarchical nanostructures for the purpose of monopersulfate (MPS) activation. Notably, the creation of a 3D catalyst with a hierarchical structure involved the growth of CuCo-layered double hydroxide (LDH) upon a nickel substrate, with subsequent direct sulfurization, producing CuS/CoS/NF (CCSNF). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen physisorption analysis, and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy were employed to evaluate the structures, morphologies, chemical bonds, pore size distribution, surface area, and optical properties of the samples in the study. To assess the catalytic activity of the samples, the decomposition of methylene blue, methyl orange, methyl red, and rhodamine B was examined. In comparison to CuCo-LDH/NF (CCHNF) and CuCo2O4/NF (CCONF), CCSNF was demonstrated to offer enhanced chemical and physical properties, such as greater pore volume and surface area. The morphology of CCSNF is unusual in taking the form of floral bunches which comprise nano-needles on a nickel substrate surface. The catalytic degradation efficiency for CCSNF reached 99% after 1 h. This catalyst could be re-used while offering a high level of stability. Further experiments were then conducted to determine and validate the activation mechanism and pathway of dye degradation using by MPS activated by CCSNF.

Dewatering and consolidation of clay slurries

Dewatering, which is the process of separating (colloidal) suspended particles from a solvent (usually water), is used in many engineering applications (sanitary engineering, dredging engineering…). Key questions associated with dewatering in the context of the reuse of dredged sediment are (1) what is the process kinetics, (2) how can these processes be optimized and (3) can the dewatered sludge be reused and for which application? Dewatering and consolidation are functions of the suspended particles’ size and type, and their solvent-mediated interaction. In this presentation, some examples will be given about the dewatering of suspensions and slurries as found in engineering applications [1]. The presentation will focus on the behaviour of mineral clay suspensions (kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite…) composed of particles of different particle sizes [2-5]. We will show that, depending on the particle size distribution and solvent properties, the system is either undergoing a slow sedimentation dominated by thermodynamic forces or a rapid sedimentation dominated by gravity. The sedimentation is followed in time using NMR and inferential image analysis, and the particles are characterized by size, density and electrokinetic charge. We show that the time evolution of the sedimentation behaviour can be modelled using an advection-diffusion equation. The advective term is a function of gravity, whereas the diffusion term represents either a hard-sphere repulsion or an effective stress, depending on whether thermodynamic forces dominate the system [6-8]. We show that after solving this advection-diffusion equation numerically, the results based on the theory of Gibson does match the experimental data collected from NMR in the phase of slow kinetics. For the early stages of settling and consolidation, where the system kinetics are fast, we show that the data are contaminated by artifacts due to the limited time of signal acquisition imposed by the NMR method. We show that is possible to overcome those limitations by either sacrificing some information related to particle’s sizes using the NMR or by combining the NMR method with excess pore pressure measurements along the height of the settling columns.

Modeling of metamaterial based incision patterns for generating high expansions in skin grafts

BackgroundSplit-thickness skin grafting is a widely used treatment for burn patients. It requires removing a small portion of healthy skin, making parallel incisions on it, stretching it, and surgically implanting it into the burn site. Although skin graft mesher companies claim to significantly expand the size of the skin graft, in reality, the amount of expansion achieved is much smaller. MethodsThis study aimed to improve the expansion potential of skin grafts by designing new incision patterns with auxetic properties, using a skin simulant material and additive manufacturing. The mechanical properties and digital image correlation was used to analyze the strain, effective Poisson's ratio, local strains, void area, and meshing ratio of the auxetic skin graft simulants. FindingsThe results showed that the Y-shaped skin graft simulant had the highest effective negative Poisson's ratio, largest areal expansions, lowest maximum induced stresses and strains, and uniform strain distribution properties, making it the best choice for generating high expansions in skin grafts. IntrepretationThe study found that the expansions were highly strain sensitive, with higher auxeticity observed at lower strains. The novel findings with auxetic skin graft simulants are expected to provide valuable insights for developing skin grafts with higher expansion potential in the future.

Self-exciting negative binomial distribution process and critical properties of intensity distribution

Self-exciting negative binomial distribution process and critical properties of intensity distribution