As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

Research on slope reliability analysis using multi-kernel relevance vector machine and advanced first-order second-moment method

Engineering with Computers - To increase the efficiency and accuracy in slope stability analysis, a reliability analysis method based on machine learning and the advanced first-order second-moment...     

NeuCrowd: neural sampling network for representation learning with crowdsourced labels

Knowledge and Information Systems - Representation learning approaches require a massive amount of discriminative training data, which is unavailable in many scenarios, such as healthcare, smart...     

Learning from crowds with decision trees

Knowledge and Information Systems - Crowdsourcing systems provide an efficient way to collect labeled data by employing non-expert crowd workers. In practice, each instance obtains a multiple noisy...     

Integrated LaB6/g-C3N4 solar absorber for solving dye accumulation during solar steam generation

Solar steam generation has attracted considerable interest due to its easy accessibility and sustainability. However, dye molecules were gradually concentrated on bulk water or the surface of solar absorbers during the disposal of dye wastewater. Herein, LaB₆/g-C₃N₄ composites were immobilized on porous cotton cloth, served as a solar absorber resistant to dye clogging. The optimal solar absorber possessed solar harvesting of 92.3% and showed great application potential in the field of the treatment of dye wastewater. This study presented a new approach for the treatment of dye wastewater.     

有机元素检测仪器在石油化工行业的需求和应用现状

本文通过对国内外石油及石化产品分析检测相关标准技术的调研与收集,以及相关检测仪器特点的分析,对目前包括润滑油、汽油、柴油、煤油、石蜡、石化聚合物、原油等样品类型,共计80个样品在现有仪器上进行测试,使用标准方法对样品中碳、氢、氮、硫元素进行检测,获取样品的检测时间、含量结果、仪器条件等参数,为相关仪器检测提供数据基础.     

Mechanical properties of biomimetic ceramic with Bouligand architecture

Biomimetic Bouligand architecture is constructed in the ceramic to improve its toughness. Firstly, unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced ZrB₂-SiC ceramic films are achieved through a vacuum-assisted filtration method using graphene oxide. Then, ceramic films are helically assembled at a fixed angle of 30° in the graphite die based on the fiber orientation. Finally, the spark plasma sintering method was utilized to densify helical assembly carbon fiber/ceramic films. By constructing Bouligand structure, high fracture toughness (7.4 MPa·m^0.5) and work of fracture (∼1055 J/m²) are achieved in ZrB₂-based ceramic. The toughening mechanisms mainly are crack deflection, twisting and branching, carbon fiber pulling out, and bridging.     

化脓隐秘杆菌对奶牛脾脏组织细胞凋亡的影响

目的观察化脓隐秘杆菌自然感染奶牛脾脏组织的病理学变化,并检测组织细胞中Caspase-3、Caspase-8、Caspase-9、Bax和Bcl-2的表达,以确定化脓隐秘杆菌感染对奶牛脾脏组织细胞凋亡的影响。方法筛检2头化脓隐秘杆菌阴性健康奶牛(对照)和5头自然感染化脓隐秘杆菌的奶牛,收集脾脏组织样本,采用本课题组国家发明专利方法,进行石蜡制片和HE染色,观察脾脏组织病理学变化;采用免疫组织化学方法与本课题组国家发明专利方法相结合,检测奶牛脾脏组织中与细胞正负凋亡相关的调节基因Bax和Bcl-2及凋亡通路蛋白Caspase-3、Caspase-8和Caspase-9的表达情况。结果肉眼观察可见化脓隐秘杆菌自然感染奶牛脾脏肿大、柔软,有出血;病理组织学观察可见脾脏组织出血,水肿,淋巴细胞数量减少,有坏死;脾脏淋巴细胞Caspase-3、Caspase-9和Bax表达阳性,与对照组相比,差异有统计学意义(P <0.05),少量淋巴细胞Caspase-8和Bcl-2表达阳性,与对照组相比,差异无统计学意义(P> 0.05)。结论化脓隐秘杆菌能够引起奶牛脾脏淋巴细胞发生坏死和凋亡;可通过调节脾脏中淋巴细胞Bcl-2家族的活性,引起其Bax和Bcl-2比率改变,增加淋巴细胞线粒体内外膜通透性,导致与凋亡相关因子的释放,激活Caspase-9,进一步激活Caspase-3,从而引起脾脏中淋巴细胞发生凋亡。     

Electrospun Zn-doped Ga2O3 nanofibers and their application in photodegrading rhodamine B dye

Ultrawide band gap semiconductor materials have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their great potential in the photocatalytic field. In this study, Zn-doped Ga₂O₃ nanofibers with various concentrations were synthesized via electrospinning; they exhibited a superior photocatalytic degradation performance of rhodamine B dye compared to that of undoped Ga₂O₃ nanofibers. The Zn dopant replaced Ga sites via replacement doping, which could increase the concentration of oxygen vacancies and lead to enhanced photocatalytic properties. When the Zn concentration increased, a Ga₂O₃/ZnGa₂O₄ hybrid structure formed, which could further enhance the photocatalytic performance. The separation of photogenerated carriers due to Zn doping and heterojunctions were the primary causes of the enhanced photocatalytic performance. This study provides experimental data for the fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts based on Ga₂O₃ nanomaterials.     

Fabrication and upconversion luminescence properties of Er:SrF2 transparent ceramics compared with Er:CaF2

SrF₂ transparent ceramic is a promising upconversion material due to the low phonon energy. The effect of different sintering temperatures on Er:SrF₂ transparent ceramics was investigated. The suitable sintering temperature for Er:SrF₂ transparent ceramics was 900 °C by hot-pressed sintering in this study. High quality of Er:SrF₂ transparent ceramics with different doping concentrations were obtained. The upconversion luminescence spectra and decay behavior were compared between Er:SrF₂ and Er:CaF₂ transparent ceramics with different Er³⁺ doping concentration. The green emission of 5 at.% Er:SrF₂ ceramic was much stronger than that of 5 at.% Er:CaF₂ ceramic, while the red emission of Er:SrF₂ ceramic was almost the same as that of Er:CaF₂ ceramic. The upconversion luminescence lifetime of Er:SrF₂ transparent ceramics was longer than that of Er:CaF₂.All the results indicated Er:SrF₂ transparent ceramics was a candidate for green fluorescent upconversion materials.