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Showing papers by "University of Malaya published in 2012"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed review has been conducted to highlight different related aspects to the biodiesel industry, including, biodiesel feedstocks, extraction and production methods, properties and qualities of biodiesel, problems and potential solutions of using vegetable oil, advantages and disadvantages of biodies, the economical viability and finally the future of the future biodiesel.
Abstract: As the fossil fuels are depleting day by day, there is a need to find out an alternative fuel to fulfill the energy demand of the world. Biodiesel is one of the best available resources that have come to the forefront recently. In this paper, a detailed review has been conducted to highlight different related aspects to biodiesel industry. These aspects include, biodiesel feedstocks, extraction and production methods, properties and qualities of biodiesel, problems and potential solutions of using vegetable oil, advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel, the economical viability and finally the future of biodiesel. The literature reviewed was selective and critical. Highly rated journals in scientific indexes were the preferred choice, although other non-indexed publications, such as Scientific Research and Essays or some internal reports from highly reputed organizations such as International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Information Administration (EIA) and British Petroleum (BP) have also been cited. Based on the overview presented, it is clear that the search for beneficial biodiesel sources should focus on feedstocks that do not compete with food crops, do not lead to land-clearing and provide greenhouse-gas reductions. These feedstocks include non-edible oils such as Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum , and more recently microalgae and genetically engineered plants such as poplar and switchgrass have emerged to be very promising feedstocks for biodiesel production. It has been found that feedstock alone represents more than 75% of the overall biodiesel production cost. Therefore, selecting the best feedstock is vital to ensure low production cost. It has also been found that the continuity in transesterification process is another choice to minimize the production cost. Biodiesel is currently not economically feasible, and more research and technological development are needed. Thus supporting policies are important to promote biodiesel research and make their prices competitive with other conventional sources of energy. Currently, biodiesel can be more effective if used as a complement to other energy sources.

1,496 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comparative study has been carried out to show the effectiveness of the WCA over other well-known optimizers in terms of computational effort and function value in this paper.

1,181 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: New HBV management guidelines include general management, indications for fibrosis assessment, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy.
Abstract: Large volume of new data on the natural history and treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have become available since 2008. These include further studies in asymptomatic subjects with chronic HBV infection and community-based cohorts, the role of HBV genotype/naturally occurring HBV mutations, the application of non-invasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis and quantitation of HBV surface antigen and new drug or new strategies towards more effective therapy. To update HBV management guidelines, relevant new data were reviewed and assessed by experts from the region, and the significance of the reported findings was discussed and debated. The earlier "Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B" was revised accordingly. The key terms used in the statement were also defined. The new guidelines include general management, indications for fibrosis assessment, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patients receiving immune suppression or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma, are also included.

1,016 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed an improved maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method for the photovoltaic (PV) system using a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.
Abstract: This paper proposes an improved maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method for the photovoltaic (PV) system using a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The main advantage of the method is the reduction of the steady- state oscillation (to practically zero) once the maximum power point (MPP) is located. Furthermore, the proposed method has the ability to track the MPP for the extreme environmental condition, e.g., large fluctuations of insolation and partial shading condition. The algorithm is simple and can be computed very rapidly; thus, its implementation using a low-cost microcontroller is possible. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, MATLAB simulations are carried out under very challenging conditions, namely step changes in irradiance, step changes in load, and partial shading of the PV array. Its performance is compared with the conventional Hill Climbing (HC) method. Finally, an experimental rig that comprises of a buck-boost converter fed by a custom-designed solar array simulator is set up to emulate the simulation. The soft- ware development is carried out in the Dspace 1104 environment using a TMS320F240 digital signal processor. The superiority of the proposed method over the HC in terms of tracking speed and steady-state oscillations is highlighted by simulation and experimental results.

851 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
22 Aug 2012-JAMA
TL;DR: The addition of common CIMT measurements to the Framingham Risk Score was associated with small improvement in 10-year risk prediction of first-time myocardial infarction or stroke, but this improvement is unlikely to be of clinical importance.
Abstract: Context: The evidence that measurement of the common carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) improves the risk scores in prediction of the absolute risk of cardiovascular events is inconsistent. Objective: To determine whether common CIMT has added value in 10-year risk prediction of first-time myocardial infarctions or strokes, above that of the Framingham Risk Score. Data Sources: Relevant studies were identified through literature searches of databases (PubMed from 1950 to June 2012 and EMBASE from 1980 to June 2012) and expert opinion. Study Selection: Studies were included if participants were drawn from the general population, common CIMT was measured at baseline, and individuals were followed up for first-time myocardial infarction or stroke. Data Extraction: Individual data were combined into 1 data set and an individual participant data meta-analysis was performed on individuals without existing cardiovascular disease. Results: We included 14 population-based cohorts contributing data for 45 828 individuals. During a median follow-up of 11 years, 4007 first-time myocardial infarctions or strokes occurred. We first refitted the risk factors of the Framingham Risk Score and then extended the model with common CIMT measurements to estimate the absolute 10-year risks to develop a first-time myocardial infarction or stroke in both models. The C statistic of both models was similar (0.757; 95% CI, 0.749-0.764; and 0.759; 95% CI, 0.752-0.766). The net reclassification improvement with the addition of common CIMT was small (0.8%; 95% CI, 0.1%-1.6%). In those at intermediate risk, the net reclassification improvement was 3.6% in all individuals (95% CI, 2.7%-4.6%) and no differences between men and women. Conclusion: The addition of common CIMT measurements to the Framingham Risk Score was associated with small improvement in 10-year risk prediction of first-time myocardial infarction or stroke, but this improvement is unlikely to be of clinical importance.

659 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a comparison of the performance of different MPPT algorithms on the basis of various speed responses and ability to achieve the maximum energy yield is made, and the optimal torque control (OTC) is found to be the best MPPT method for wind energy systems due to its simplicity.
Abstract: This paper reviews state of the art maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms for wind energy systems. Due to the instantaneous changing nature of the wind, it is desirable to determine the one optimal generator speed that ensures maximum energy yield. Therefore, it is essential to include a controller that can track the maximum peak regardless of wind speed. The available MPPT algorithms can be classified as either with or without sensors, as well as according to the techniques used to locate the maximum peak. A comparison has been made between the performance of different MPPT algorithms on the basis of various speed responses and ability to achieve the maximum energy yield. Based on simulation results available in the literature, the optimal torque control (OTC) has been found to be the best MPPT method for wind energy systems due to its simplicity. On the other hand, the perturbation and observation (P&O) method is flexible and simple in implementation, but is less efficient and has difficulties determining the optimum step-size.

645 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comparative study of basic design, working principle, applications, advantages and disadvantages of various technologies available for fuel cells is presented in this article, where the results indicate that fuel cell systems have simple design, high reliability, noiseless operation, high efficiency and less environmental impact.
Abstract: Fuel cells generate electricity and heat during electrochemical reaction which happens between the oxygen and hydrogen to form the water. Fuel cell technology is a promising way to provide energy for rural areas where there is no access to the public grid or where there is a huge cost of wiring and transferring electricity. In addition, applications with essential secure electrical energy requirement such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power generation stations and distributed systems can employ fuel cells as their source of energy. The current paper includes a comparative study of basic design, working principle, applications, advantages and disadvantages of various technologies available for fuel cells. In addition, techno-economic features of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) are compared. The results indicate that fuel cell systems have simple design, high reliability, noiseless operation, high efficiency and less environmental impact. The aim of this paper is to serve as a convenient reference for fuel cell power generation reviews.

626 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results offer an explanation for the heterogeneity of TKI responses across individuals and suggest the possibility of personalizing therapy with BH3 mimetics to overcome BIM-polymorphism–associated TKI resistance.
Abstract: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) elicit high response rates among individuals with kinase-driven malignancies, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (EGFR NSCLC). However, the extent and duration of these responses are heterogeneous, suggesting the existence of genetic modifiers affecting an individual's response to TKIs. Using paired-end DNA sequencing, we discovered a common intronic deletion polymorphism in the gene encoding BCL2-like 11 (BIM). BIM is a pro-apoptotic member of the B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL2) family of proteins, and its upregulation is required for TKIs to induce apoptosis in kinase-driven cancers. The polymorphism switched BIM splicing from exon 4 to exon 3, which resulted in expression of BIM isoforms lacking the pro-apoptotic BCL2-homology domain 3 (BH3). The polymorphism was sufficient to confer intrinsic TKI resistance in CML and EGFR NSCLC cell lines, but this resistance could be overcome with BH3-mimetic drugs. Notably, individuals with CML and EGFR NSCLC harboring the polymorphism experienced significantly inferior responses to TKIs than did individuals without the polymorphism (P = 0.02 for CML and P = 0.027 for EGFR NSCLC). Our results offer an explanation for the heterogeneity of TKI responses across individuals and suggest the possibility of personalizing therapy with BH3 mimetics to overcome BIM-polymorphism-associated TKI resistance.

537 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The daily intake of BPS was estimated on the basis of urinary concentrations using a simple pharmacokinetic approach and there were no significant differences in BPS concentrations between genders (male versus female), or among age groups (categorized as ≤ 19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and ≥ 50 years), or races (Caucasian versus Asian).
Abstract: As concern regarding the toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) grows, BPA in many consumer products is gradually being replaced with compounds such as bisphenol S (BPS). Nevertheless, data on the occurrence of BPS in human specimens are limited. In this study, 315 urine samples, collected from the general populations in the United States, China, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Vietnam, were analyzed for the presence of total BPS (free plus conjugated) concentrations by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). BPS was detected in 81% of the urine samples analyzed at concentrations ranging from below the limit of quantitation (LOQ; 0.02 ng/mL) to 21 ng/mL (geometric mean: 0.168 ng/mL). The urinary BPS concentration varied among countries, and the highest geometric mean concentration [1.18 ng/mLor 0.933 μg/g creatinine (Cre)] of BPS was found in urine samples from Japan, followed by the United States (0.299 ng/mL, 0.304 μg/g Cre), China (0.226 ng/mL, 0.223 μg/g Cr...

536 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work proposes a methodology for the automatic detection of normal, pre-ictal, and ictal conditions from recorded EEG signals and shows that the Fuzzy classifier was able to differentiate the three classes with a high accuracy of 98.1%.

534 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results showed that, for SLM-produced Ti6Al4V scaffolds with specific morphological and mechanical properties, a functional graded scaffold will contribute to enhanced cell seeding and at the same time can maintain nutrient transport throughout the whole scaffold during in vitro culturing by avoiding pore occlusion.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed review on theoretical models/correlations of conventional models related to nanofluid viscosity is presented, and the existing experimental results about the Nanofluids viscoities show clearly that viscoity augmented accordingly with an increase of volume concentration and decreased with the temperature rise.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of dust accumulation, humidity level and air velocity on the performance of photovoltaic cells was investigated and the authors concluded that in order to have a profound insight of solar cell design, the effect of these factors should be taken into consideration in parallel.
Abstract: The environmental and economical merits of converting solar energy into electricity via photovoltaic cells have caused an ever increasing interest among developed and developing countries to allocate more budget on photovoltaic systems in order to boost up their efficiency in recent years. Besides the material and design parameters, there are several omnipresent factors such as dust, humidity and air velocity that can influence the PV cell's performance. There have been a handful of studies conducted on the effect of various influential parameters on the efficiency and performance of photovoltaic cells; however none has taken all these three parameters into account simultaneously. In this study the impact of dust accumulation, humidity level and the air velocity will be elaborated separately and finally the impact of each on the other will be clarified. It is shown that each of these three factors affect the other two and it is concluded that in order to have a profound insight of solar cell design, the effect of these factors should be taken into consideration in parallel.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2012
TL;DR: To handle the subjectivity of decision makers' assessments, fuzzy logic has been applied and a new ranking method on the basis of fuzzy inference system (FIS) is proposed for supplier selection problem.
Abstract: In these days, considering the growth of knowledge about sustainability in enterprise, the sustainable supplier selection would be the central component in the management of a sustainable supply chain. In this paper the sustainable supplier selection criteria and sub-criteria are determined and based on those criteria and sub-criteria a methodology is proposed onto evaluation and ranking of a given set of suppliers. In the evaluation process, decision makers' opinions on the importance of deciding the criteria and sub-criteria, in addition to their preference of the suppliers' performance with respect to sub-criteria are considered in linguistic terms. To handle the subjectivity of decision makers' assessments, fuzzy logic has been applied and a new ranking method on the basis of fuzzy inference system (FIS) is proposed for supplier selection problem. Finally, an illustrative example is utilized to show the feasibility of the proposed method.

Journal ArticleDOI
30 May 2012-Sensors
TL;DR: This article reviews and evaluates the performance of 1-D nanostructured metal-oxide gas sensors based on ZnO, SnO 2, TiO2, In2O3, WOx, AgVO3, CdO, MoO 3, CuO, TeO2 and Fe2O2.
Abstract: Recently one dimensional (1-D) nanostructured metal-oxides have attracted much attention because of their potential applications in gas sensors. 1-D nanostructured metal-oxides provide high surface to volume ratio, while maintaining good chemical and thermal stabilities with minimal power consumption and low weight. In recent years, various processing routes have been developed for the synthesis of 1-D nanostructured metal-oxides such as hydrothermal, ultrasonic irradiation, electrospinning, anodization, sol-gel, molten-salt, carbothermal reduction, solid-state chemical reaction, thermal evaporation, vapor-phase transport, aerosol, RF sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition, gas-phase assisted nanocarving, UV lithography and dry plasma etching. A variety of sensor fabrication processing routes have also been developed. Depending on the materials, morphology and fabrication process the performance of the sensor towards a specific gas shows a varying degree of success. This article reviews and evaluates the performance of 1-D nanostructured metal-oxide gas sensors based on ZnO, SnO2, TiO2, In2O3, WOx, AgVO3, CdO, MoO3, CuO, TeO2 and Fe2O3. Advantages and disadvantages of each sensor are summarized, along with the associated sensing mechanism. Finally, the article concludes with some future directions of research.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the use of microemulsions for synthesizing and controlling the grain size and morphology of the nanoparticles and at the same time summarize some recent works carried out in the synthesis of organic and inorganic nanoparticles by this method.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of electrochemical and bio-electrochemical technologies for the removal of protein rich wastes from aquaculture ponds and hatcheries is presented, which can remove contaminants at high efficiencies (≈99%) whilst giving least impact upon the environment.

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Mar 2012-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: The pattern of susceptibility among coral genera documented here is unprecedented and lends support to the hypothesis that corals in regions subject to more variable temperature regimes are more resistant to thermal stress than those in less variable environments.
Abstract: Background Coral bleaching events vary in severity, however, to date, the hierarchy of susceptibility to bleaching among coral taxa has been consistent over a broad geographic range and among bleaching episodes. Here we examine the extent of spatial and temporal variation in thermal tolerance among scleractinian coral taxa and between locations during the 2010 thermally induced, large-scale bleaching event in South East Asia.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed the latest developments and technologies on waste heat recovery of exhaust gas from internal combustion engines (ICE), including thermoelectric generators (TEG), organic Rankine cycle (ORC), six-stroke cycle IC engine and turbocharger technology.
Abstract: The focus of this study is to review the latest developments and technologies on waste heat recovery of exhaust gas from internal combustion engines (ICE). These include thermoelectric generators (TEG), organic Rankine cycle (ORC), six-stroke cycle IC engine and new developments on turbocharger technology. Furthermore, the study looked into the potential energy savings and performances of those technologies. The current worldwide trend of increasing energy demand in transportation sector are one of the many segments that is responsible for the growing share of fossil fuel usage and indirectly contribute to the release of harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is hoped that with the latest findings on exhaust heat recovery to increase the efficiency of ICEs, world energy demand on the depleting fossil fuel reserves would be reduced and hence the impact of global warming due to the GHG emissions would fade away.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that commonly used a priori approaches for partitioning concatenated data in maximum likelihood analyses, by gene or by codon position, performed poorly relative to the use of partitions identified a posteriori using a Bayesian mixture model.
Abstract: The angiosperm order Malpighiales includes ∼16,000 species and constitutes up to 40% of the understory tree diversity in tropical rain forests. Despite remarkable progress in angiosperm systematics during the last 20 y, relationships within Malpighiales remain poorly resolved, possibly owing to its rapid rise during the mid-Cretaceous. Using phylogenomic approaches, including analyses of 82 plastid genes from 58 species, we identified 12 additional clades in Malpighiales and substantially increased resolution along the backbone. This greatly improved phylogeny revealed a dynamic history of shifts in net diversification rates across Malpighiales, with bursts of diversification noted in the Barbados cherries (Malpighiaceae), cocas (Erythroxylaceae), and passion flowers (Passifloraceae). We found that commonly used a priori approaches for partitioning concatenated data in maximum likelihood analyses, by gene or by codon position, performed poorly relative to the use of partitions identified a posteriori using a Bayesian mixture model. We also found better branch support in trees inferred from a taxon-rich, data-sparse matrix, which deeply sampled only the phylogenetically critical placeholders, than in trees inferred from a taxon-sparse matrix with little missing data. Although this matrix has more missing data, our a posteriori partitioning strategy reduced the possibility of producing multiple distinct but equally optimal topologies and increased phylogenetic decisiveness, compared with the strategy of partitioning by gene. These approaches are likely to help improve phylogenetic resolution in other poorly resolved major clades of angiosperms and to be more broadly useful in studies across the Tree of Life.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a penalty based differential evolution (P-DE) method was proposed for extracting the parameters of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at different environmental conditions.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the applicability of vegetable oil-based metalworking fluids in machining of ferrous metals has been investigated and its performances with respect to the cutting force, surface finish of work piece, tool wear and temperature at the cutting zone have been investigated.
Abstract: The increasing attention to the environmental and health impacts of industrial activities by governmental regulations and by the growing awareness level in the society is forcing industrialists to reduce the use of mineral oil-based metalworking fluids as cutting fluid. Cutting fluids have been used extensively in metal cutting operations for the last 200 years. In the beginning, cutting fluids consisted of simple oils applied with brushes to lubricate and cool the machine tool. As cutting operations became more severe, cutting fluid formulations became more complex. There are now several types of cutting fluids in the market and the most common types can be broadly categorized as cutting oils or water-miscible fluids. In this review, the applicability of vegetable oil-based metalworking fluids in machining of ferrous metals has been undertaken. The advantages of metalworking fluids and its performances with respect to the cutting force, surface finish of work piece, tool wear and temperature at the cutting zone have been investigated. It has been reported in various literature that metalworking fluids, which are vegetable oil-based, could be an environmentally friendly mode of machining with similar performance obtained using mineral oil-based metalworking fluids.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of temperature on various other parameters such as carbon conversion, gas yield, calorific value, cold gas efficiency as well as tar and char contents in various kinds of coals, biomasses and their mixtures under catalytic or non-catalytic conditions is reviewed in detail.
Abstract: Numerous reviews have been found related to individual studies on coal gasification (CG) and biomass gasification (BG). However, this review deals mainly with the CO-gasification (COG) of numerous types of coal and biomass and then compares their results with those obtained using coal and biomass gasification in detail. There are several process parameters which have a direct effect on the gasification process and among them temperature is the most significant one. In this paper, the production of H2, CO2, CO, CH4, and other hydrocarbons in CG, BG and COG with the variation of temperature is reviewed in detail. As it mainly influences the gaseous products and their characteristic behaviour, this review takes into account the effect of temperature on various other parameters such as carbon conversion, gas yield, calorific value, cold gas efficiency as well as tar and char contents in various kinds of coals, biomasses and their mixtures under catalytic or non-catalytic conditions.

Journal ArticleDOI
Rahman Saidur1, T.C. Meng1, Zafar Said1, Md. Hasanuzzaman1, A. Kamyar1 
TL;DR: In this paper, the extinction coefficient of water-based aluminum nanofluid has been investigated and evaluated by varying nanoparticle size and volume fraction and the improvement is promising within 1.0% volume fraction.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Each category of pullulanase, properties of pullulinase, merits of applying pullul anase during starch bioprocessing, current genetic engineering works related to pullulAnase genes, and possible industrial applications of pullULanase are reviewed.
Abstract: The use of pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) has recently been the subject of increased applications in starch-based industries especially those aimed for glucose production. Pullulanase, an important debranching enzyme, has been widely utilised to hydrolyse the α-1,6 glucosidic linkages in starch, amylopectin, pullulan, and related oligosaccharides, which enables a complete and efficient conversion of the branched polysaccharides into small fermentable sugars during saccharification process. The industrial manufacturing of glucose involves two successive enzymatic steps: liquefaction, carried out after gelatinisation by the action of α-amylase; saccharification, which results in further transformation of maltodextrins into glucose. During saccharification process, pullulanase has been used to increase the final glucose concentration with reduced amount of glucoamylase. Therefore, the reversion reaction that involves resynthesis of saccharides from glucose molecules is prevented. To date, five groups of pullulanase enzymes have been reported, that is, (i) pullulanase type I, (ii) amylopullulanase, (iii) neopullulanase, (iv) isopullulanase, and (v) pullulan hydrolase type III. The current paper extensively reviews each category of pullulanase, properties of pullulanase, merits of applying pullulanase during starch bioprocessing, current genetic engineering works related to pullulanase genes, and possible industrial applications of pullulanase.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the impact of drivers of collaboration on channels of interaction, and their impact of these channels on the perceived benefits by researchers and firms in terms of short-term or long-term benefits for firms.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: By suppressing expression of TRAF6 and IRAK1, miR-146a regulates NF-κB activation in T cells through a negative feedback loop and controls the resolution of T cell responses in mice.
Abstract: T cell responses in mammals must be tightly regulated to both provide effective immune protection and avoid inflammation-induced pathology. NF-κB activation is a key signaling event induced by T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Dysregulation of NF-κB is associated with T cell–mediated inflammatory diseases and malignancies, highlighting the importance of negative feedback control of TCR-induced NF-κB activity. In this study we show that in mice, T cells lacking miR-146a are hyperactive in both acute antigenic responses and chronic inflammatory autoimmune responses. TCR-driven NF-κB activation up-regulates the expression of miR-146a, which in turn down-regulates NF-κB activity, at least partly through repressing the NF-κB signaling transducers TRAF6 and IRAK1. Thus, our results identify miR-146a as an important new member of the negative feedback loop that controls TCR signaling to NF-κB. Our findings also add microRNA to the list of regulators that control the resolution of T cell responses.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a new algorithm for distributed generator placement and sizing for distribution systems based on a novel index is proposed, which is developed considering stable node voltages referred as power stability index (PSI), a new analytical approach is adopted to visualize the impact of DG on system losses, voltage profile and voltage stability.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the novelty of using waste cooking oil (WCO), which is frequently found as a polluting waste material in landfills and rivers from the food industry, to rejuvenate the bituminous binder was investigated.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how and where phase change materials (PCMs) are used in the cooling systems, how are these systems related to buildings, if they provide lower energy consumption, how the indoor temperatures change due to PCMs and if the indoor air conditions improve.