Search

This paper describes the topographical implications of grit blasted surfaces on plasma sprayed alumina. The transition of the grit blasted surface from raw material to correctly blasted is described in terms of surface heights, height distribution, spacings and texture. The influence of embedded grit is shown to be significant. The individual particles of alumina impacting the surface are classified into two types, these being disc splats and splash splats. Their deposition relationships with regard to surface topography and adhesion is explained with reference to the two types of splat.

Propionic acid (PPA), utilized in the manufacture of cellulose acetate propionate, is known to exhibit antimicrobial effects, but its mechanism in Escherichia coli O157 is still unknown. In general, antimicrobial activity is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS), but ROS generation is not observed under PPA treatment. In addition to ROS, experiments were conducted to observe changes in trehalose and ion balance to discover factors that may affect the cell proliferation. Bacteria use trehalose, a sugar used for stabilization due to stress factors, which contradicts PPA concentration. Discrepancy in homeostasis follows as a result of ion imbalance. PPA causes interruption in bacterial internal stability in a dose‐dependent manner. Membrane damage by ion imbalance occurs due to the binding ability of ionized PPA and divalent ions, which induce membrane depolarization, leading to a reduction in cell viability. Considering the lethal impact of membrane depolarization on cell death in bacteria, DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine exposure in apoptosis are confirmed. Due to severe damage in DNA, the activation of caspase‐like protein is observed. Apoptosis‐like death (ALD), a novel programmed cell death in bacteria, occurs eventually. In conclusion, ALD in E. coli O157 is induced via the contribution of homeostasis disruption in a ROS‐independent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of blind field of view caused by the change in the vehicle’s yaw angle when the self-driving vehicle is turning or changing lanes, this paper proposes a camera rotation strategy based on monocular active environment sensing, which realizes the detection of the blind field of view when the vehicle’s yaw angle changes in the self-driving vehicle. Based on the two-degrees-of-freedom dynamic model, the camera rotation angle control is achieved by controlling the front-wheel angle of the vehicle. A camera control module is designed using Simulink to control the camera in real-time, allowing it to rotate based on different driving scenes. The effect of obstacle detection by traditional vision sensors and active vision sensors is tested under different vehicle driving scenes. The results demonstrate that the obstacle detection effect of the camera rotation strategy based on monocular active environment perception, as designed in this paper, is better than the traditional monocular vision.

This research examines the total polyphenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of natural ingredients such as balloon flower root extract (BFE), Japanese apricot extract (JAE) and grape extract (GE). In addition, their effect on beef jerky quality characteristics was investigated when the extracts were used as alternatives to potassium sorbate (PS) and vitamin E (VE). BFE had higher (p < 0.05) total flavonoid content (TFC) (6.85 mg CAT eq/g), total polyphenol content (TPC) (10.52 mg RUT eq/g), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical (62.96%), and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity (87.60%) compared to other extracts. Although all extracts showed lower activity than BHT in all antioxidant activity tests, the BFE and JAE showed higher (p < 0.05) activity than the GE in the DPPH and FRAP assays. In contrast, in the ABTS assay, both BFE and GE showed increased activity (p < 0.05) compared to JAE. The jerky was prepared by adding 0.05% (v/v) each of BFE, JAE and GE. Furthermore, a control sample of jerky was also prepared by adding 0.10% (w/v) PS and 0.05% VE, respectively. On day 30, the redness (a*) values of the BFE and PS samples were also found to be significantly higher than those of the other samples (p < 0.05). Additionally, the yellowness (b*) values of the BFE sample were also found to be significantly higher than those of the other samples (p < 0.05). The thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) on day 30 were lower in the jerky treated with PS, VE, and GE compared to those treated with BFE and JAE (p < 0.05). In the sensory analysis, beef jerky with BFE had significantly higher overall acceptability scores on days 1 and 30 (p < 0.05). The addition of BFE to beef jerky influenced the increase in a* and b* values on day 30. The addition of GE effectively suppressed lipid oxidation to a level comparable to that of the PS and VE at day 30. Furthermore, the addition of BFE enhanced the overall acceptability of sensory characteristics.

Timely and accurate detection of viruses is crucial for infection diagnosis and treatment. However, it remains a challenge to develop a portable device that meets the requirement of being portable, powerless, user-friendly, reusable, and low-cost. This work reports a compact ∅30 × 48 mm portable powerless isothermal amplification detection device (material cost ∼$1 USD) relying on LAMP (Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification). We have proposed chromatographic-strip-based microporous permeation technology which can precisely control the water flow rate to regulate the exothermic reaction. This powerless heating combined with phase-change materials can maintain a constant temperature between 50 and 70 °C for a duration of up to 49.8 min. Compared with the conventional methods, it avoids the use of an additional insulation layer for heat preservation, greatly reducing the size and cost. We have also deployed a color card and a corresponding algorithm to facilitate color recognition, data analysis, and storage using a mobile phone. The experimental results demonstrate that our device exhibits the same limit of detection (LOD) as the ProFlex PCR for SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus samples, with that for both being 103 copies/μL, verifying its effectiveness and reliability. This work offers a timely, low-cost, and easy way for respiratory infectious disease detection, which could provide support in curbing virus transmission and protecting the health of humans and animals, especially in remote mountainous areas without access to electricity or trained professionals.

Vehicle pose detection plays a vital role in modern automotive technology, which can improve driving safety, enhance vehicle stability and provide important support for the development of autonomous driving technology. The current pose estimation methods have the problems of accumulation errors, large algorithm computing power, and expensive cost, so they cannot be widely used in intelligent connected vehicles. This paper proposes a vehicle pose detection method based on an RSU (Roadside Unit). First, the on-board GPS performs the positioning of the target vehicle and transmits the positioning information to the RSU through the UDP (User Data Protocol). Next, the RSU transmits a forward command to the OBU (On-board Unit) through the UDP. The OBU sends the command to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to control the vehicle forward. Then, the RSU detects and tracks the vehicle. The RSU takes pictures of two images before and after the movement and obtains the coordinates of the four angle points and the center point by image processing. The vehicle heading direction is determined by the moving direction of the center point of the front and rear two images. Finally, the RSU captures the vehicle images in real time, performs the process of tracking, rectangular fitting and pose calculation to obtain the pose information and transmits the information to the OBU to complete the whole process of vehicle pose detection and information transmission. Experiments show that the method can realize accurate and efficient detection of vehicle pose, meet the real-time requirements of vehicle pose detection, and can be widely used in intelligent vehicles.

Let BT4l denote a subclass of bounded turning functions connected with a four-leaf-type domain. The goal of the study is to probe into the bounds of coefficients |b6|,|b7|,|b8|, the bounds of the logarithmic coefficients, and the third-order determinants |H3,1|,|H3,2|,|H3,3| for the functions in this class.

Protocell models play a pivotal role in the exploration of the origin of life. Vesicles are one type of protocell model that have attracted much attention. Simple single-chain amphiphiles (SACs) and organic small molecules (OSMs) possess primitive relevance and were most likely the building blocks of protocells on the early Earth. OSM@SAC vesicles have been considered to be plausible protocell models. Pyrite (FeS2), a mineral with primitive relevance, is ubiquitous in nature and plays a crucial role in the exploration of the origin of life in the mineral–water interface scenario. “How do protocell models based on OSM@SAC vesicles interact with a mineral–water interface scenario that simulates a primitive Earth environment” remains an unresolved question. Hence, we select primitive relevant sodium monododecyl phosphate (SDP), isopentenol (IPN) and pyrite (FeS2) mineral particles to build a protocell model. The model investigates the basic physical and chemical properties of FeS2 particles and reveals the effects of the size, content and duration of interaction of FeS2 particles on IPN@SDP vesicles. This deepens the understanding of protocell growth mechanisms in scenarios of mineral–water interfaces in primitive Earth environments and provides new information for the exploration of the origin of life.

The graphite as the commercial anode material for lithium-ion batteries shows the low specific capacity, which is difficult to meet the market demand. The metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) have the tunable structure, large surface area, and adjustable pore size, which can be used as the next generation of electrochemical energy storage devices, causing the extensive research. The synthesis of the metal (Fe, Co, Zn, Mn, Cu)-based metal organic frameworks and the derivatives were introduced in this paper, the research progress on the preparation of transition metal oxide (TMO)/C as the anode materials for lithium-ion batteries was focused, using MOFs as the precursors, and the development direction was prospected.

Seagrass beds are a typical coastal ecosystem. To understand the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of the plankton community structure in a Zostera marina seagrass bed and an adjacent area of bare sand in Swan Lake, Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, an investigation of plankton diversity and abundance, ecological characteristics of the seagrass bed, and key environmental factors in the Z. marina seagrass bed and its adjacent bare sand area was conducted in February, May, August, and November in 2019. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) were used to explore the influence of environmental factors on the diversity of plankton species. The results showed that there were 38 species of phytoplankton, belonging to 25 genera and three phyla, among which diatom species were the most abundant (89.4%), followed by dinoflagellates (7.8%). A total of 18 species of zooplankton and three species of larvae were identified (mainly crustaceans: 71.4%), and the number of plankton species was the highest in November. The annual average abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the seagrass bed was 5.4×104 cells/m3 and 1.6×104 ind./m3, respectively, which were 1.4 times and 1.5 times higher than those in the bare sand area. The CCA and RDA analyses showed that the dominant plankton species in the seagrass bed were significantly correlated with water temperature, plant density, and biomass of seagrass beds, while the dominant plankton species in the bare sand area were mainly correlated with environmental factors such as water temperature, pH value, and ammonia nitrogen content. The results showed that the seagrass bed in Swan Lake supported a higher abundance and diversity of plankton compared with the bare sand area. This study provides baseline data for further elucidating the structure and function of the seagrass bed ecosystem.

Abstract Background The real‐world outcomes of edoxaban treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) were analyzed in the ETNA‐AF (Edoxaban Treatment in Routine Clinical Practice) study involving data from multiple regional registries. This report addresses effectiveness and safety of edoxaban in the Korean ETNA‐AF population. Methods One‐year data from 1887 Korean ETNA‐AF participants were analyzed according to edoxaban dose and patient age and compared with results of other ETNA‐AF registries. Results Approximately 70% of patients received the recommended doses of edoxaban (60 mg/30 mg); non‐recommended 60 mg and 30 mg doses were prescribed to 9.6% and 19.8% of the patients, respectively. The proportions of reference age (

Abstract Understanding the genetic basis of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) domestication is crucial for further improving natural rubber production to meet its increasing demand worldwide. Here we provide a high-quality H. brasiliensis genome assembly (1.58 Gb, contig N50 of 11.21 megabases), present a map of genome variations by resequencing 335 accessions and reveal domestication-related molecular signals and a major domestication trait, the higher number of laticifer rings. We further show that HbPSK5, encoding the small-peptide hormone phytosulfokine (PSK), is a key domestication gene and closely correlated with the major domestication trait. The transcriptional activation of HbPSK5 by myelocytomatosis (MYC) members links PSK signaling to jasmonates in regulating the laticifer differentiation in rubber tree. Heterologous overexpression of HbPSK5 in Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) can increase rubber content by promoting laticifer formation. Our results provide an insight into target genes for improving rubber tree and accelerating the domestication of other rubber-producing plants.

Background Remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPoC) is induced by several cycles of brief, reversible, mechanical blood flow occlusion, and reperfusion of the distal organs thereby protecting target organs. We investigated if RIPoC ameliorated liver injury in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemic rats. Methods Protocol 1) Rats were administered LPS and samples collected at 0, 2, 6, 12, and 18 h. 2) After RIPoC at 2, 6, and 12 h (L+2R+18H, L+6R+18H, and L+12R+18H), samples were analyzed at 18 h. 3) RIPoC was performed at 2 h, analysis samples at 6, 12, 18 h (L+2R+6H, L+2R+12H, L+2R+18H), and RIPoC at 6 h, analysis at 12 h (L+6R+12H). 4) Rats were assigned to a control group while in the RIPoC group, RIPoC was performed at 2, 6, 10, and 14 h, with samples analyzed at 18 h. Results Protocol 1) Liver enzyme, malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) levels increased while superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels decreased over time. 2) Liver enzyme and MDA levels were lower while SOD levels were higher in L+12R+18H and L+6R+18H groups when compared with L+2R+18H group. 3) Liver enzyme and MDA levels were lower while SOD levels were higher in L+2R+6H and L+6R+12H groups when compared with L+2R+12H and L+2R+18H groups. 4) Liver enzyme, MDA, TNF-α, and NF-κB levels were lower while SOD levels were higher in RIPoC group when compared with control group. Conclusions RIPoC attenuated liver injury in the LPS-induced sepsis model by modifying inflammatory and oxidative stress response for a limited period.

ABSTRACT: This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of probiotic administration on adults with lactose intolerance. Twelve studies were identified from databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Knowledge based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The effect size was estimated using the standardized mean difference (SMD), and Cochrane's Q test was used to evaluate the statistical heterogeneity of the effect size. Moderator analysis, including meta-ANOVA and meta-regression, were performed to determine the cause of heterogeneity in the effect size using a mixed-effect model. Egger's linear regression test was conducted to evaluate publication bias. The results showed that probiotic administration alleviated the symptoms of lactose intolerance, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, and flatulence. Among them, the area under the curve (AUC) showed the greatest decrease following probiotic administration (SMD, −4.96; 95% confidence interval, −6.92 to −3.00). In the meta-ANOVA test, abdominal pain and total symptoms decreased with monostrain probiotic administration. This combination was also effective for flatulence. The dosage of probiotics or lactose was significantly associated with a reduction in the total symptom score, and the linear regression models between the dosage and SMD were found to be Y = 2.3342 × dosage − 25.0400 (R2 = 79.68%) and Y = 0.2345 × dosage − 7.6618 (R2 = 34.03%), respectively. Publication bias was detected for most items. However, even after effect size correction, the probiotic administration effect for all items remained valid. The administration of probiotics was effective at improving adult lactose intolerance, and it is expected that the results of this study could help improve the nutritional status of adults by increasing their consumption of milk and dairy products in the future.