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A modeling study for prediction of oil retention in compressor suction lines is presented in this article. A new flow-pattern-based analytical model called the double-circle model (DCM) was developed to evaluate the oil retention amount in suction lines. A new consolidated oil retention database was established to develop interfacial friction factor correlation. Parametric study was conducted by means of force balance analysis to determine the influence factors of oil transport. The DCM and parametric study were validated by the database, and the results showed that they display reliable accuracy. Finally, a hybrid artificial neural network (ANN) approach was proposed, which used the DCM and parametric study to produce extrapolation data and determine the input parameters, respectively. The hybrid ANN was optimized for the 6-13-1 configuration with logarithmic sigmoid (logsig) transfer function and the Lavenberg–Marquardt (L-M) algorithm. The hybrid ANN model prediction yields a mean relative error (MRE) and R2 of 6.25% and 96.86%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharide of Taxus chinensis var. mairei Cheng et L.K.Fu (Taxaceae) (PTM) functions in anti-apoptosis and antioxidation, but its function on Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear. To investigate the effect of PTM on AD. C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups: control, d-galactose (d-gal), and d-gal + PTM. AD-like symptom was induced by d-gal for 6 weeks, followed with PTM (0.4 g/kg/d) for 14 days. PTM was added to BV2 cells stimulated with d-gal (1, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 μg/mL). Cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. The expression of NRF2, SOD, cleaved caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 were detected with Western blot analysis. Cognitive function was evaluated by Morris water maze test. Decreased cleaved caspase-3 (1.30 ± 0.09) and Bax/Bcl2 ratio (1.32 ± 0.11) were observed in BV2 cells induced by d-gal + PTM (50 μg/mL). Increased MDA and ROS and decreased SOD were observed in d-gal group. However, decreased MDA (175 ± 9 ng/mL) and ROS level (188 ± 38 ng/mL) were observed after treated with PTM group (p < 0.05). In addition, the expression of NRF2 decreased in d-gal group (0.75 ± 0.09) but increased after treated with PTM (p < 0.05). Furthermore, decreased Aβ1-42 was observed and the cognitive function was improved after PTM intervention (p < 0.05). This is the first report that PTM inhibited oxidative stress and apoptosis in AD. The result will further accelerate the applications of Taxus chinensis var. mairei and the treatment for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]