Search

Image deraining with unpaired data has been a challenging problem. Previous methods suffer from either the color distortion artifacts, due to the pixel-level cycle consistency loss, or the time-consuming training process. To address these problems, in this paper, we propose a novel method for rain removal based on using unpaired data. First, we obtain a rain streak mask from the derained result, which serves as a guidance for generating rainy images. Both the mask and the rain-free image are then fed into the proposed generator to obtain a high-quality rainy image, which implicitly helps improve the rain removal performance. In this way, the proposed learning framework simultaneously learns rain removal and rain generation in order to produce high-quality rain-free images and rainy images. Second, we propose a contrastive learning generator to preserve background texture details and ensure semantic consistency between the generated rain-free image and the original input. Experimental results demonstrate that our method surpasses most state-of-the-art unsupervised methods on multiple benchmark synthetic and real datasets. • We propose a rain removal framework that generates clean images without paired data. • We propose a method to remove rain by generating rain images using masks as a guide. • We propose a contrastive learning generator to maintain texture and semantic consistency. • Our method outperforms most state-of-the-art unsupervised methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Endogenous DHA in milk is more bioaccessible than exogenously added DHA. • Endogenous DHA in milk has higher digestive stability than exogenously added DHA. • The bound form of milk endogenous DHA facilitates its digestion and absorption. • Naturally enriched milk fat hydrolyzes easier than artificially enriched milk fat. This study aimed to compare the bioaccessibility of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in naturally and artificially enriched milk and investigate the potential mechanisms involved. The results indicated that the DHA in naturally enriched milk (NEM) had a higher bioaccessibility (76.9 %) and a lower digestive loss rate (18.1 %) compared to artificially enriched milk (ArEM). Moreover, NEM contained a higher proportion of DHA-containing glycerophospholipids and sn -2 DHA, with fewer long-chain fatty acids and more saturated fatty acids adjacent to DHA in the same lipid molecule. During simulated intestinal digestion, NEM had a higher free fatty acid release and lipid digestion rate than ArEM. These findings suggested that the bioaccessibility of endogenous DHA in milk was superior to that of externally added DHA due to its more easily digestible and absorbable chemical binding form and lower digestive loss rate. The easy digestibility of milk lipids in NEM also contributed to its high DHA bioaccessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • All animal experiments carried out in accordance with the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. • The sex of animals was indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study. Momordica Charantia Polysaccharide (MCP), the main active ingredient of M. charantia, exhibits multiple pharmacological properties. However, its effects and mechanisms against ulcerative colitis (UC) remain unclear. In this study, we employed a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis model to investigate the therapeutic potential of MCP. Our results revealed that prophylactic MCP dramatically attenuated the pathological symptoms associated with colitis in mice, including body weight loss, reduction in colon length, and tissue damage. Moreover, we found prophylactic MCP reduced DSS-induced intestinal permeability and enhanced intestinal barrier integrity. Notably, we observe that prophylactic MCP restored the diversity and richness of the gut microbiota, thereby ameliorating gut microbiota dysbiosis in DSS-induced mice models. Furthermore, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments demonstrated that the microbiota derived from MCP-dosed mice remarkably alleviated colitis symptoms. Collectively, our study provided valuable insights into the potential of MCP as a promising prebiotic agent for maintaining intestinal health, and demonstrated that MCP ameliorated colitis in a gut microbiota-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea varieties with specific colours have often been studied by researchers. However, previous studies on the albinism of tea plants have mostly been based on plants with different genetic backgrounds or focused on common components in albino tea leaves, such as amino acids, flavones, and carotenoids. In this study, we conducted widely targeted metabolic and transcriptomic analyses between a wildtype tea genotype (Shuixian, LS) and its albino mutant (Huangjinshuixian, HS). At the molecular level, alteration of gene expression levels in the MEP pathway may have reduced the production of chlorophyll and carotenoids in HS, which could be the main cause of the phenotypic changes in HS. At the metabolite level, a large number of metabolites related to light protection that significantly accumulated in HS, including flavones, anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanones, vitamins and their derivatives, polyphenols, phenolamides. This result, combined with an enzyme activity experiment, suggested that the absence of photosynthetic pigments made the albino tea leaves of HS more vulnerable to UV stress, even under normal light conditions. In addition, except for the common amino acids, we also identified numerous nitrogen-containing compounds, including nucleotides and their derivates, amino acid derivatives, glycerophospholipids, and phenolamides, which implied that significant accumulation of NH 4 + in albino tea leaves could not only promote amino acid synthesis but could also activate other specialized metabolic pathways related to nitrogen metabolism. In conclusion, our results provide new information to guide further studies of the extensive metabolic reprogramming events caused by albinism in tea plants. • Alteration of gene expression in the MEP pathway may inhibit the production of photosynthetic pigment in albino tea leaves. • The albino tea leaves of HS more vulnerable to UV stress, even under normal light conditions. • Albino tea leaves could activate other secondary metabolic pathways related to nitrogen metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the tribological behavior between two amorphous iron oxide substrates with octene molecules confined between them. The results revealed that higher temperatures facilitated the degradation and oxidation of octene molecules, leading to an increased quantity of reaction products such as water and oxidation products like alcohols. Due to the obstructive action of water molecules, the octene and its oxidation products were able to adsorb onto the substrate surfaces, resulting in the formation of a stably adsorbed carbon-based tribofilm at elevated temperatures. In addition, the water layer also significantly reduces friction by preventing direct contact between the carbon-based tribofilm, even though only a small amount of octene molecules are present at the interface. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline water electrolyzers (AWEs) holds great promise for large-scale green hydrogen production, but its commercialization is impeded by high electrical energy costs. Improving flow uniformity in AWEs is crucial to reduce energy consumption, necessitating optimized plate structure designs. Regrettably, the quantitative investigation of flow uniformity in electrolyzers is rare, due to the complex flow behavior. As a consequence, the existing designs primarily rely on empirical knowledge, lacking an efficient and systematic design guidance. This study establishes a general plate structure design strategy for commercial AWEs by introducing quantitative criteria for flow uniformity in multi-scale. The strategy comprises four steps: 1) single unit design to improve lateral liquid distribution, 2) evaluation of velocity magnitude discrepancy at horizontal sections, 3) flow behavior prediction by RTD analysis, and 4) validation through performance test. The strategy incorporates three quantitative parameters φ , δ , θ to evaluate the performance in three different levels. Two novel designs, namely, the rhombus and wedge electrolyzers are proposed to demonstrate the design strategy. Additionally, an in-situ electrolysis visualization/performance test platform is developed to vividly depict the gas-liquid flow during electrolysis and validate the effectiveness of our design guidelines. The proposed design guideline provides step-by-step guidance for the plate structure design of future high-performance commercial AWEs. [Display omitted] • A brief plate structure design guideline for commercial AWEs with improved liquid flow uniformity. • Multi-scale quantitative uniformity criteria by defined parameters φ , δ, and θ. • A concise approach to evaluate flow behavior: RTD analysis by CFD-PT method. • Noval designs for improved performance: wedge and rhombus electrolyzers. • Experimental validation: in-situ electrolysis visualization and performance test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to create food-grade soft gel particles that stabilize oil-in-water emulsions. The gel particles were prepared by covalently crosslinking the protein network within the self-associated casein sub-micelles (CN-GP) or calcium-induced casein micelles (CN-Ca-GP) with genipin. The mean diameters of CN-GP and CN-Ca-GP were 17.6 ± 2.9 nm and 113.5 ± 1.4 nm, respectively. From the atomic force microscopy images, it can be found the height of the two particles on the mica plate surface were significantly smaller than their width, indicating both the CN-GP and CN-Ca-GP were soft particles. Their ability to stabilize the oil droplets against creaming, coalescence and flocculation was assessed with Turbiscan analysis, droplet size determination and microscopy observation. For comparison, sodium caseinate (CN) was used as the control. The microscopy observation suggested the oil droplets stabilized by CN exhibited obvious flocculation, whereas the oil droplets stabilized by CN-GP or CN-Ca-GP were quite stable against flocculation. Turbiscan analysis showed the emulsions stabilized by CN-GP or CN-Ca-GP exhibited higher stability against creaming than the emulsions stabilized by CN. The droplet size determination indicated no significant changes in the average size of the oil droplets stabilized by CN-GP or CN-Ca-GP during 30 days’ storage, whereas significant increase in the average size of the oil droplets stabilized by CN can be observed during the storage. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy images suggested the CN-GP or CN-Ca-GP can be closely packed and deformed at the interfaces of the oil droplets. Overall, casein gel particles offer promising prospects in food emulsion-based products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Strain controlled quasi in situ HCF at 77 K are conducted. • Deformation twinning and detwinning contribute greatly to fatigue performance. • Movement of in-coherent defects can promote migration of TBs, and delay cracking. The high-Mn austenitic steel exhibits better fatigue performance at 77 K than at RT. Especially when the stress amplitude is in the range of yield strength (YS) to 1.08YS, the fatigue life decreases slightly at 77 K, while decreases significantly at RT. Lowering the stacking fault energy and increasing the stress amplitude at 77 K promotes twinning, which is responsible for improving the tolerance of fatigue damage and cracking delay. Surprisingly, with the stress amplitude increases to 1.04YS and 1.08YS, migration of twin boundaries and detwinning are observed, respectively, which can enhance the resistance against intergranular fatigue cracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pea albumin potentially reduced high fat diet-induced body weight gain and fat mass. • Pea albumin improved high fat diet-induced insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. • Pea albumin regulated lipid metabolism in white adipose tissue and reduced adipocyte size. • Pea albumin selectively promoted the growth of beneficial gut bacteria (Akkermansia , Parabacteroides etc.). Plant protein has been reported to play a key role in the prevention of obesity and associated complications. It is unknown whether pea albumin may exert anit-obesity and obesity-associated metabolic disorders alleviation. Pea albumin was isolated from pea seed (Pisum sativum L.) and determined its functional role for anti-obesity and metabolic disorders alleviation in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Pea albumin administration reduced body weight gain, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammatory cytokines secretion, and alleviated hepatic steatosis in HFD-fed mice. Interestingly, pea albumin inhibited lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells in vitro and modulated lipid metabolism by upregulating critical proteins implicated in lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation, and downregulating lipogenesis in vivo. Moreover, pea albumin restored gut microbial composition to normal fat diet condition and selectively promoted the growth of beneficial gut bacteria (Akkermansia , Parabacteroides etc.). Collectively, the data demonstrated that pea albumin protects mice from HFD-induced obesity and associated metabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied electron–electron ( e – e ) interactions in multilayer graphene grown on SiC(0001). We find that the observed logarithmic temperature (ln T ) dependence of the Hall slope is a good physical quantity for probing e – e interactions since it is not affected by electron–phonon scattering at high temperatures. By subtracting the weak localization correction term, we are able to study e – e interactions independently. It is found that the interaction correction terms determined by two methods, which both show ln T dependences, agree better with each other in the high-temperature regime. Our approach is applicable to other two-dimensional materials which do not have buckled structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The destabilization of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions greatly restricts their application. Converting the inner water droplets into soft solid-like gelled particles is an appealing strategy to improve the stability of W/O emulsions. In the present communication, we propose a novel method for preparing stable W/O emulsions containing gelled water droplets. In this method, the 3% (w/v) casein dispersions containing 0.9% (w/v) glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) and soybean oil with 2% or 6% lipophilic emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) were homogenized to form W/O emulsions. Three hours later, the GDL-induced gelation of caseins in the inner aqueous phase occurred; thus, the W/O emulsions containing gelled water droplets were formed. The stability of the emulsions was characterized by Turbiscan analysis, particle size changes and visual inspection of phase separation. It was found that the W/O emulsions containing GDL-induced casein gels in the inner aqueous phase showed higher resistance to destabilization than the non-gelled W/O emulsions. In addition, the stability of the emulsions formulated by the gelled aqueous phase and 2% PGPR was even higher than emulsions with 6% PGPR in the absence of the gelled aqueous phase. These findings suggested that this method is an effective strategy for improving the long-term stability of W/O emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a learning framework for salient object detection, which is trained only on image-level binary labels but yields comparable performance to state-of-the-art weakly-supervised methods. • We propose a target label hallucination method, which can synthesize quality pseudo ground truth saliency maps from just binary labels. • We have conducted extensive experimental evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed weakly-supervised method. Recent deep learning based salient object detection (SOD) methods have achieved impressive performance. However, while fully-supervised methods require a large amount of labeled data, weakly-supervised methods still require a considerable human effort. To address this problem, we propose a novel weakly-supervised method for salient object detection based on only binary image tags, which are much cheaper to collect. Our basic idea is to construct a dataset of images that are labeled as either salient (with salient objects) or non-salient (without salient objects), and leverage such binary labels as supervision to learn a salient object detector based on existing unsupervised methods. In particular, we propose a target saliency map hallucinator, which can synthesize pseudo ground truth saliency maps for the salient images in the training data solely from binary labels. We can then use the pseudo ground truth labels to train a salient object detector. Experimental results show that our method performs comparably to the state-of-the-art weakly-supervised methods, but requires considerably less human supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of lactose on the changes in the composition and size of casein micelles induced by high-pressure treatment and the related mechanism of action were investigated. Dispersions of ultracentrifuged casein micelle pellets with 0–10% (w/v) lactose were subjected to high pressure (400 MPa) at 20 °C for 40 min. The results indicated that the level of non-sedimentable caseins was positively related to the amount of lactose added prior to pressure treatment, and negatively correlated to the size. A mechanism for the pressure-induced, lactose-dependent changes in the casein micelles is proposed. Lactose inhibits the hydrophobic interactions between the micellar fragments during or after pressure release, through the hydrophilic layer formed by their hydrogen bonds around the micellar fragments. In addition, lactose does not favour the association between calcium and the casein aggregates after pressure release. Due to these two functions, lactose inhibited the formation of larger micelles after pressure treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigates the existence of 15 phthalate esters (PAEs) in surface soils (27 samples) collected from 9 different facility agriculture sites in the black soil region of northeast China, during the process of agricultural production (comprising only three seasons spring, summer and autumn). Concentrations of the 15 PAEs detected significantly varied from spring to autumn and their values ranged from 1.37 to 4.90 mg/kg-dw, with a median value of 2.83 mg/kg-dw. The highest concentration of the 15 PAEs (4.90 mg/kg-dw) was determined in summer when mulching film was used in the greenhouses. Probably an increase in environmental temperature was a major reason for PAE transfer from the mulching film into the soil and coupled with the increased usage of chemical fertilizers in greenhouses. Results showed that of the 15 PAEs, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) were in abundance with the mean value of 1.12 ± 0.22, 0.46 ± 0.05, 0.36 ± 0.04, and 0.17 ± 0.01 mg/kg-dw, respectively; and their average contributions in spring, summer, and autumn ranged between 64.08 and 90.51% among the 15 PAEs. The results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated the concentration of these four main PAEs significantly differed among the facility agricultures investigated, during the process of agricultural production. In comparison with foreign and domestic results of previous researches, it is proved that the black soils of facility agriculture in northeast China show higher pollution situation comparing with non-facility agriculture soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is promising for large-scale commercial production of green hydrogen, but large overpotential hinders their promotion. To reduce overpotential, the electrolyzers should be designed to improve flow uniformity, thus requiring a quantitative evaluation of flow distribution. However, the corresponding assessment criteria and method are ambiguous. This study establishes a 3D numerical model as well as quantitative parameters to investigate the liquid flow uniformity in a concave-convex bipolar plate (CCBP) electrolyzer. The simulation result is validated by a flow visualization experiment. The simulated velocity field reveals significant non-uniform flow in the CCBP electrolyzer. A uniformity parameter δ was defined to quantify the velocity discrepancy at various horizontal sections. Additionally, residence time distribution (RTD) analysis by CFD coupled particle tracing (CFD-PT) method is applied to evaluate flow behavior inside electrolyzers. The corresponding dimensionless parameter θ can be applied as a criterion for electrolyzer structure design, operation optimization, and scale-up. [Display omitted] • Non-uniform flow discovered in a commercial CCBP electrolyzer by 3D CFD simulation. • Simulation validation: flow visualization experiment. • A defined parameter δ to describe flow uniformity at horizontal sections. • Electrolyzer flow uniformity evaluation/prediction: RTD analysis by CFD-PT method. • Dimensionless time parameter θ : a criterion for electrolyzer structure design, operation optimization, and scale-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research on real-time 3D animation is attracting a lot of attention in recent years due to the popularity of emerging applications such as distributed virtual environments and computer games. One of the important issues in real-time animation is that the existing motion retrieval techniques generally have a high matching time because they are typically based on matching time-series, making them less suitable for use with large motion databases. In this paper, we propose a different approach to motion retrieval, called Eigen-based Motion Retrieval (or EigenMR), to address this limitation of the existing methods by performing motion retrieval in the transform domain instead of the time domain. To differentiate the motion of different body parts, we propose to perform the matching on individual body parts as well as on the whole body. Our approach has the important advantage that each body part can be represented by an index of fixed size, consisting of a number of eigenvectors and the corresponding eigenvalues. As a result, our approach has constant time complexity based on the number of motion files in the database instead of the size of the database. The experimental results show that our approach is both efficient and accurate compared with some of the latest methods. When applied to a motion database of 4GB in size, our method requires approximately 20% of the standard time, making it more suitable for real-time animation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The composition, size and hydration of yak (Bos grunniens) casein micelles and the variation of these parameters during a warm and a cold period, were investigated. The concentrations of micellar calcium, magnesium and inorganic phosphorus in yak milk obtained during the cold period were higher than those obtained during the warm period, while the reverse result was observed for micellar citrate. In yak casein micelles, the relative proportion of β-casein decreased significantly from the warm period to the cold period, whereas the opposite was observed for αS1-casein, and the relative proportion of αS2- and κ-casein remained largely constant. Casein micelles in yak milk obtained during the cold period showed smaller average diameter, narrower size distribution and higher hydration. On the other hand, these parameters of casein micelles in yak milk differed significantly compared with those in cows' milk, with different contents of the components, larger average size and higher hydration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An in-situ sintered model of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) with environment-friendly aqueous matrices was proposed in order to optimize the performance of MCFC unit cell. The optimum assembly pressure range was settled based on the sintered model. Moreover, an environment-friendly aqueous α-LiAlO2 matrix was fabricated by a tape-casting process using distilled water as solvent and was applied into MCFC successfully. The obtained single drying green sheet had a thickness of 200–300 μm, no defects, and good workability. The microstructure of the α-LiAlO2 required in an MCFC was obtained using this method. In this work, the MCFC using the matrices was assembled and tested. The output power density could reach 149.2 mW cm−2 at the current density of 200 mA cm−2 when the assemble pressure was 7.01 MPa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A sort of core–shell catalyst as a novel anti-alkali-poisoning concept was prepared, tested and applied in the direct internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (DIR-MCFC). Results showed that the core–shell catalyst possessed good alkali-poisoning resistance capacity, which was explained well by the micropore model of the catalyst. And the cell performance could keep above 0.75V during 100 h test. When the steam carbon ratio was 2 (S/C = 2) and the current density was 150 mA cm−2, the cell potential varied from 0.826 to 0.751 V and the voltage fluctuant phenomenon was explained specifically. Furthermore, the short stack (three cells) was also assembled, and the maximum output power density of the short stack was 338.4 mW cm−2. The above results indicated that the core–shell catalyst could be applied into the DIR-MCFC successfully. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Enhancement for the Young's modulus, ultimate tensile strength, and tensile toughness for 4, 10, and 6 folds, respectively. • New sandwich-tubular of structure. • Mechanics enhancement via structure engineering. • Atomistic insights including vibration density state analysis. • Outstanding properties promising for applications in interconnects. The miniaturization of microchips requires high strength and conductivity of nanoscale interconnects. With utmost mechanical strength, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a common reinforcement. An open issue is how to improve the mechanical strength of CNT-metal composites in nanoscale. Here, via structure engineering, we introduce a novel CNT-sandwiched tubular copper nanocomposite. Theoretical enhancement factor referring to 5-nm-wire copper is approximately 4, 10, and 6 folds for Young's modulus, ultimate tensile strength, and tensile toughness, respectively, using single-walled CNT reinforcers. The enhancement can be further increased with the number of walls of CNT, as well as the reduction of the cross-section size. The reinforcement is proportional to CNT volume fraction, which is higher than that of conventional Halpin-Tsai model, up to 2 times. Even at the high temperature of 900 K, the nanocomposite structure still has a considerably high Young's modulus (219.8 GPa), ultimate tensile strength (26.0 GPa) and tensile toughness (2.22 GJ m−3), suggesting advanced high-temperature applications. Vibration density of state analysis reveals the origin of the enhancement and the change of C C bonds state during tensile process. The abnormally high reinforcement suggests the essential role of nanostructure engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two high manganese austenitic steels with different grain size were prepared to comprehensively investigate the size effect on secondary twinning and resultant strain hardening at 77 K. The microstructure was characterised by means of quasi in situ electron back-scattered diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. An abnormal phenomenon was found that both the tensile strength and total elongation showed a decreasing trend with the increase of grain size, especially the strain hardening ability decreased significantly in the later stage of deformation. The microstructure indicates that the difference of the fractions of secondary twins may be the reason for this change. Twin-twin interactions are an important strain hardening mechanism. In addition, the dynamic grain refinement caused by the primary twins is a "one-dimensional" refinement, therefore, with the increase of the density of primary twins, the activation of secondary twins becomes difficult. A high density of primary twins are formed in the CG steel in the early stage of deformation, but these high-density primary twins prevent the activation of secondary twins, leading to a significant decrease in strain hardening capacity. However, in the FG steel, the secondary twins are sufficiently activated, leading to a significantly increase in yield strength and strain hardening capacity. • High density primary twins prevent the activation of secondary twins, leading to a decrease in strain hardening capacity • The relationship between grain size, secondary twins and strain hardening behavior at cryogenic are systematically studied • A new dynamic grain refinement named "one dimensional" is put forward,and the critical stress of secondary twins is deduced [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Nondestructive laser peening by low-energy femtosecond lasers. • Surface enhancement in both linear and nonlinear mechanical properties. • Simultaneous mechanical reinforcement and high-quality surface. • Pinning mechanism on dislocation motion to enhance lattice strength. Laser peening is an advanced technology for surface engineering. However, the unintentional surface destruction due to melting degrades the quality and reduces the corrosion resistance. Here we have introduced the nondestructive laser peening using femtosecond lasers with ultrahigh pulse density and ultralow pulse energy by a combined approach of experiment, finite element analysis, and molecular dynamics simulations, taken stainless steel as a paradigm. A reinforcement of 33.6% was achieved on surface hardness of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 301 stainless steel with the pulse energy of 0.375 μJ (fluence of 0.45 J cm−2) and pulse density of 2 × 108 mm−2, without penalty in surface roughness compared with conventional nanosecond laser peening. Two-temperature finite element analysis indicates the non-melting of the peening process. Molecular dynamic simulations reveal the pinning mechanism on dislocation movement by defect meshes generated during femtosecond laser peening process. Dislocation pinning, multiplication, and intertwining enhance both the linear and nonlinear mechanical properties, agreeing well with experiment. With the atomistic insights, our results imply promising applications of nondestructive laser peening on various surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Development of SeNPs based on the selenium tolerance characteristics of probiotic NML21. • Significant tolerance and effective transformation capabilities towards Se(IV) by NML21. • The crucial role of the functional groups C O and C O in the bioreduction of selenium. • Biosynthesized SeNPs were shown to exhibit excellent stability by NML21. Selenium nanospheres (SeNPs) show less toxicity and greater bioavailability than selenite salts. This research demonstrated the substantial tolerance and efficient conversion of Se(IV) into SeNPs by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NML21. The bioreduction process of Se(IV) and the properties of SeNPs, including their morphology, particle size, and stability, were investigated with techniques including SEM, EDX, TEM, XPS, FT-IR, dynamic light scattering, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. Under high selenium stress, certain cells displayed significant deformation and rupture, and released SeNPs as the main product of the bioreduction of Se(IV). These SeNPs were red, amorphous, zero-valent, and spherical, with an average diameter of 160 nm. Spectroscopic analysis highlighted that the functional groups of C O and C O are key to the bioreduction of Se(IV). The study suggested preliminary mechanisms for the bioreduction of Se(IV) and the formation and release of SeNPs by lactic acid bacteria. NML21 may therefore be a promising candidate for SeNPs synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct-steam-infusion ultra-high temperature (dUHT) technology has been paid much attention to in recent years because of its short heating time, which helps retain more nutritional ingredients and extend shelf life of dairy products. However, protein instability is an urgent problem for dUHT milk to solve. As the main component of protein, it is unclear whether and what structural changes casein micelles (CMs) undergo after dUHT treatment. In this study, CM dispersions were treated with dUHT technology (140 °C/3 s, 145 °C/3 s, 150 °C/3 s, 155 °C/3 s, and 157 °C/0.116 s), and unheated sample was taken as the control. As the temperature increased, hydrodynamic diameter of the CMs reduced from 190 nm to 156 nm, zeta potential did not change significantly, and turbidity decreased significantly. After dUHT, contents of casein, calcium, and phosphorus in the serum phase increased. Furthermore, dUHT treatment would lead to disruption of intermolecular hydrogen bonds, rearrangement of secondary structures, and unfolding of CM. The 31P NMR spectra demonstrated that colloidal calcium phosphate solubilized and electrostatic repulsion within micelles increased with dUHT treatments. Further analysis of molecular structure of CMs using small-angle X-ray scattering and a cryo-transmission electron microscope found that after dUHT treatment, CMs dissociated in the form of casein clusters (20–40 nm) and became loose and porous in structure. In conclusion, dUHT treatment destroyed the calcium bridges and increased electrostatic repulsion inside micelles, leading to dissociation of casein clusters and a smaller, looser, and more porous structure of the CMs. [Display omitted] • Hydrodynamic diameter and turbidity of CM dispersions reduced after dUHT treatment. • The content of casein, Ca, and P in the serum phase increased after dUHT treatment. • CCP solubilized and electrostatic repulsion inside CM increased after dUHT process. • The CM dissociated in the form of casein clusters after dUHT treatment. • The structure of CM became looser and more porous after dUHT treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]