Joaquin Cabrera^1,2, Paula Mariela González^1,2, Susana Puntarulo^1,2

BIOCELL, Vol.43, No.2, pp. 41-50, 2019, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2019.06163

Abstract Degraded water quality from nutrient pollution, physical, biological, and other chemical factors contributes to the development and persistence of many harmful algal blooms (HABs). The complex dynamics of the HABs is a challenge to marine ecosystems for the toxic effects reported. The consequences include fish, bird, and mammal mortality, respiratory or digestive tract problems, memory loss, seizures, lesions and skin irritation in many organisms. This review is intended to briefly summarize the recent reported information on harmful marine toxin deleterious effects over the primary organisms of the food web, namely algae, zooplankton and invertebrates.… More >

Dimitri Bigot^1,*, Cyril Ott¹, Stéphane Guichard¹, Bruno Malet-Damour¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.6, pp. 505-516, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04019

Abstract The use of bio-based materials in buildings has become more and more significant last years. In most of the cases, their health properties and natural provenance have made them a great solution to face global climate warming and the new policies to reduce building energy consumption. In many thermal problems, bio-based materials can allow to optimize the building thermal behavior according to its energy consumption and inside comfort conditions. So it is when they are used as an insulation material in the building. However, it is not the case in this paper. In fact, the… More >

Hoong-Chor Chin¹, Xingting Pang¹, Zhaoxia Wang^2,3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.60, No.2, pp. 455-463, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2019.05664

Abstract Passenger comfort is an important indicator that is often used to measure the quality of public transport services. It may also be a crucial factor in the passenger’s choice of transport mode. The typical method of assessing passenger comfort is through a passenger interview survey which can be tedious. This study aims to investigate the relationship between bus ride comfort based on ride smoothness and the vehicle’s motion detected by the smartphone sensors. An experiment was carried out on a bus fixed route within the University campus where comfort levels were rated on a 3-point… More >

Deng Li¹, Shuwei Chang^1,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.120, No.2, pp. 305-318, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2019.06475

Abstract Mechanical force plays a critical role in the remodeling and degradation of cartilage tissues. The cartilage tissue generates, absorbs, and transmits mechanical force, enabling specific biological processes in our body. A moderate intensity mechanical force is necessary for cartilage tissue remodeling and the adaptation of biomechanical properties, but a high intensity mechanical force can lead to pathological degradation of cartilage tissue. However, the molecular mechanism of cartilage degradation is still unclear. We use full atomistic simulations with SMD simulations to investigate whether the magnitude of mechanical force affects the unbinding pathway of the MMP8-Aggrecan_IGD complex. More >

Kang Qiong^1,*, Xinting Li²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.58, No.1, pp. 121-133, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2019.03723

Abstract The introduction of graph-theoretical structure descriptors represents an important step forward in the research of predictive models in chemistry and falls within the lines of the increasing use of mathematical and computational methods in contemporary chemistry. The basis for these models is the study of the quantitative structure-property and structure-activity relationship. In this paper, we investigate Great rhom-bitrihexagonal which is a kind of dodecagon honeycomb net-work covered by quadrangle and hexagon. Many topological indexes of Great rhom-bitrihexagonal have being investigated, such as sum-connectivity index, atom-bond connectivity index, geometric-arithmetic index, fifth, harmonic index, Randić connectivity index, More >

Jinshan Lin^a*, Chunhong Dou^b, Qianqian Wang^a

Sound & Vibration, Vol.52, No.2, pp. 11-15, 2018, DOI:10.32604/sv.2018.03653

Abstract A method for gearbox fault diagnosis consists of feature extraction and fault identification. Many methods for feature extraction have been devised for exposing nature of vibration data of a defective gearbox. In addition, features extracted from gearbox vibration data are identified by various classifiers. However, existing literatures leave much to be desired in assessing performance of different combinatorial methods for gearbox fault diagnosis. To this end, this paper evaluated performance of several typical combinatorial methods for gearbox fault diagnosis by associating each of multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA), empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and wavelet transform More >

Maximiliano GIRAUD-BILLOUD^1,2,*, Claudio M. FADER^1,3, Rocío AGÜERO², Fernando EZQUER⁴, Marcelo EZQUER⁴

BIOCELL, Vol.42, No.2, pp. 35-40, 2018, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2018.07010

Abstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most frequent cause of chronic renal failure. Until now, the pathophysiological mechanisms that determine its development and progression have not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we evaluate the role of autophagy at early stages of DN, induced in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mouse, and its association with proximal tubule membrane endocytic receptors, megalin and cubilin. In T2DM animals we observed a tubule-interstitial injury with significantly increased levels of urinary GGT and ALP, but an absence of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Kidney proximal tubule cells of T2DM animals showed autophagic… More >

LINGFENG CHEN^1,2,3, ZHIPENG GAO^1,2,3, BAIMEI LIU^1,2,3, YING LV^1,2,3, MEIWEN AN^1,2,3,*, JILING FENG^4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.42, No.1, pp. 25-34, 2018, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2018.06114

Abstract Arterial characterization of healthy descending thoracic aorta (DTA) is indispensable in determining stress distributions across wall thickness and different regions that may be responsible for aorta inhomogeneous dilation, rupture, and dissection when aneurysm occurs. Few studies have shown the inhomogeneity of DTA along the aorta tree considering changes in circumferential direction. The present study aims to clarify the circumferential regional characterization of DTA. Porcine DTA tissues were tested according to region and orientation using uniaxial tension. For axial test, results show that the difference in circumferential direction was mainly in collagen fiber modulus, where the… More >

Mahmoud MOUSTAFA^1,2*, Tarek TAHA³, Mohamed ELNOUBY⁴, M.A. ABU-SAIED⁵, Ali SHATI¹, Mohamed AL-KAHTANI¹, Sulaiman ALRUMMAN¹

BIOCELL, Vol.42, No.1, pp. 7-12, 2018, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2018.07002

Abstract Many recent studies are concerned with low cost, easy to handle and alternative renewable energy as a feasible solution for the upcoming crisis of energy shortage. Microalgae are unicellular entities the can only depend on CO2, water and solar power to cover their nutritional needs. The current study is concerned with using algal cells in a polymeric hydrogel, as a cheap source of energy for electricity generation. Chlorella vulgaris has been proved to be a promising algal species for electricity generation, as compared with Micractinium reisseri. PVA hydrogel has been used for the immobilization of both algal… More >

Fati Zoma^1*, David Y.K. Toguyeni¹, Ousmane Coulibaly¹, Ivon Hassel², Abdoulaye Ouedraogo³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 47-54, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634147

Abstract This study aims to show the aptitude of a locally made composite for providing thermal comfort and mechanical resistance in buildings in hot-dry climates. The thermal characterization reveals that the thermal diffusivity of the studied material is lower than that of commonly used materials such as agglomerated and full cinderblocks and laterite blocks and therefore is a better insulating material. In addition, its thermal inertia is the highest compared to commonly used materials of agglomerated and full cinderblocks, laterite blocks and compressed earth blocks, which implies a longer time lag. On the basis of mechanical More >