Algorithms for Object Detection in Substations

Inspection of high-voltage power equipment is an effective way to ensure power supply reliability. Object recognition, one of the key technologies in automatic power equipment inspection, attracts attention of many researchers and engineers. Although quite a few existing models have some their own advantages, object relationship between equipment which is very important in this task is scarcely considered. This paper combining object relationship modeling and Transformer Model proposes a Relation Transformer Model. It has four parts -- backbone, encoder, decoder and prediction heads. With this structure, the proposed method shows in experiments a much better performance than other three commonly used models in object recognition in substation, largely promoting the development of automatic power equipment inspection

HDAC3 maintains oocyte meiosis arrest by repressing amphiregulin expression before the LH surge.

It is known that granulosa cells (GCs) mediate gonadotropin-induced oocyte meiosis resumption by releasing EGF-like factors in mammals, however, the detailed molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that luteinizing hormone (LH) surge-induced histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) downregulation in GCs is essential for oocyte maturation. Before the LH surge, HDAC3 is highly expressed in GCs. Transcription factors, such as FOXO1, mediate recruitment of HDAC3 to the amphiregulin (Areg) promoter, which suppresses AREG expression. With the LH surge, decreased HDAC3 in GCs enables histone H3K14 acetylation and binding of the SP1 transcription factor to the Areg promoter to initiate AREG transcription and oocyte maturation. Conditional knockout of Hdac3 in granulosa cells in vivo or inhibition of HDAC3 activity in vitro promotes the maturation of oocytes independent of LH. Taking together, HDAC3 in GCs within ovarian follicles acts as a negative regulator of EGF-like growth factor expression before the LH surge

Modelling of redox flow battery electrode processes at a range of length scales : a review

In this article, the different approaches reported in the literature for modelling electrode processes in redox flow batteries (RFBs) are reviewed. RFB models vary widely in terms of computational complexity, research scalability and accuracy of predictions. Development of RFB models have been quite slow in the past, but in recent years researchers have reported on a range of modelling approaches for RFB system optimisation. Flow and transport processes, and their influence on electron transfer kinetics, play an important role in the performance of RFBs. Macro-scale modelling, typically based on a continuum approach for porous electrode modelling, have been used to investigate current distribution, to optimise cell design and to support techno-economic analyses. Microscale models have also been developed to investigate the transport properties within porous electrode materials. These microscale models exploit experimental tomographic techniques to characterise three-dimensional structures of different electrode materials. New insights into the effect of the electrode structure on transport processes are being provided from these new approaches. Modelling flow, transport, electrical and electrochemical processes within the electrode structure is a developing area of research, and there are significant variations in the model requirements for different redox systems, in particular for multiphase chemistries (gas–liquid, solid–liquid, etc.) and for aqueous and non-aqueous solvents. Further development is essential to better understand the kinetic and mass transport phenomena in the porous electrodes, and multiscale approaches are also needed to enable optimisation across the relevent length scales

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Effetto dell'uso di un vaso anti-spiralizzazione delle radici sulla crescita di alcune piante ornamentali da esterno

La produzione vivaistica italiana occupa una posizione di rilievo nel mercato dei prodotti florovivaistici italiani ed europei. In particolare, l’area produttiva di Pistoia si estende su una superficie stimata di circa 5.000 ettari (di cui oltre 1500 in contenitore), con oltre 7000 addetti diretti e con una PLV, che pur mancando di dati ufficialmente certi, viene stimata intorno ai 730 milioni di euro. Nella coltura in contenitore la spiralizzazione delle radici e la loro deformazione sono uno dei problemi più comuni nella produzione vivaistica. Il fenomeno della spiralizzazione può compromettere gravemente la crescita delle piante, e causare difficoltà nei successivi trapianti che, in casi gravi, portano anche alla loro morte. Per risolvere questo problema, sono comparsi sul mercato diversi contenitori per migliorare la qualità dell’apparato radicale. In questo studio, si è utilizzato un contenitore anti-spiralizzazione (modello Ercole, prodotto dalla ditta “Nuova Pasquini e Bini S.p.a.”, Italia) per coltivare sette diverse piante ornamentali (due varietà di azalee, osmarea, viburno, chinotto, kumquat e limetta dolce) nel periodo aprile-novembre 2020, allo scopo di evidenziare gli effetti dello speciale vaso sulla crescita delle piante (altezza, area fogliare e peso fresco e secco della parte aerea) e sulla morfologia dell’apparato radicale (peso secco, volume e stato sanitario visivo), rispetto al tradizionale vaso da vivaio. La sperimentazione è stata condotta presso l’azienda vivaistica Vannucci Piante di Pistoia. Il vaso anti-spiralizzazione non ha influenzato l’altezza, il volume della chioma e l’area fogliare delle piante a fine coltivazione, ad eccezione di un incremento significativo nel chinotto e nel kumquat. In tutte le specie testate, con la sola eccezione della limetta dolce, il vaso Ercole ha aumentato significativamente il peso secco delle radici e aumentato la sanità delle radici valutata visivamente. L’apparato radicale delle piante cresciute nel vaso anti-spiralizzazione aveva un maggior numero di radici di dimensioni superiori, era maggiormente sviluppato nella parte interna del vaso e con poche radici spiralizzate, ad eccezione della limetta dolce. Il vaso Ercole ha quindi contribuito ad ottenere una pianta con un apparato radicale maggiormente sviluppato e generalmente più sano in sei delle sette specie testate, ma solo nel caso del chinotto e kumquat ciò si è tradotto anche in una maggiore crescita della parte aerea

Easily Established and Multifunctional Synthetic Nanobody Libraries as Research Tools

Nanobodies, or VHHs, refer to the antigen-binding domain of heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs) from camelids. They have been widely used as research tools for protein purification and structure determination due to their small size, high specificity, and high stability, overcoming limitations with conventional antibody fragments. However, animal immunization and subsequent retrieval of antigen-specific nanobodies are expensive and complicated. Construction of synthetic nanobody libraries using DNA oligonucleotides is a cost-effective alternative for immunization libraries and shows great potential in identifying antigen-specific or even conformation-specific nanobodies. This review summarizes and analyses synthetic nanobody libraries in the current literature, including library design and biopanning methods, and further discusses applications of antigen-specific nanobodies obtained from synthetic libraries to research

Preparation and corrosion resistance of shape memory self-healing coatings responsive to near-infrared light

In this study, a near-infrared light-responsive shape memory self-healing coating was prepared using epoxy resin (EP) and GO-PCL/PPy polymer composite as the shape memory matrix and photothermal conversion polymer agent, respectively. Special attention was paid to self-healing performance and corrosion resistance of the coating. The results indicated that the optimal performance of polypyrrole was achieved at the surfactant-pyrrole ratio of 2:1 and the polymerization time of 5 h. The incorporation of GO-PCL/PPy polymer into epoxy composite led to an increase in thermal conductivity of the whole coating. Additionally, the best photothermal conversion effect on epoxy resin was observed at the polymer content of 7 wt%, resulting in a shape recovery rate of 66.67% for the composite material. Moreover, the coating demonstrated the outstanding self-healing performance with a scratch-healing efficiency of up to 80%. Finally, the corrosion resistance of the coating was significantly improved compared to pure epoxy coatings

Detection and recognition of bridge crack based on convolutional neural network

Aiming at the backward artificial visual detection status of bridge crack in China, which has a great danger coefficient, a digital and intelligent detection method of improving the diagnostic efficiency and reducing the risk coefficient is studied. Combing with machine vision and convolutional neural network technology, Raspberry Pi is used to acquire and pre-process image, and the crack image is analyzed; the processing algorithm which has the best effect in detecting and recognizing is selected; the convolutional neural network(CNN) for crack classification is optimized; finally, a new intelligent crack detection method is put forward. The experimental result shows that the system can find all cracks beyond the maximum limit, and effectively identify the type of fracture, and the recognition rate is above 90%. The study provides reference data for engineering detection

Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Poge Heart-Saving Decoction on Cardiac Function in Heart Failure Rat Model

Background. Poge heart-saving decoction (PHSD) has been used as a medicine treating heart failure in China for many years. The study aimed to explore the effect of PHSD on cardiac function in heart failure conditions and its underlying mechanism. Methods. Adriamycin was used to induce the model of heart failure (HF) in rats. Sixty rats were randomly divided into six groups: blank control group, sham group, 9.33 g/kg group (low-PHSD, test group), 13.995 g/kg group (moderate-PHSD, test group), 18.66 g/kg group (high-PHSD, test group), and fosinopril group (4.67 mg/kg, comparison test group). Cardiac ultrasound was used to evaluate the cardiac function of the rats, and radioimmunoassay was used to measure aldosterone (ALD) and angiotensin II (AngII) levels in the serum. Results. Compared with the blank control group, the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDd) and left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVEDs) in the sham group were increased (1.04 ± 0.12 vs. 0.67 ± 0.13 cm; 0.75 ± 0.13 vs. 0.28 ± 0.10 cm; P<0.05), and the left ventricular ejection fraction was decreased (36.65 ± 5.74 vs. 76.09 ± 4.23%; P<0.05). The ejection fraction of HF rats was increased in 9.33 g/kg group, 13.995 g/kg group, and 18.66 g/kg group compared with those of the sham group (57.13 ± 1.63, 58.43 ± 1.98, and 59.21 ± 1.37 vs. 36.65 ± 5.74%; P<0.05). PHSD also improved cardiac function by reducing the LVEDd and LVEDs (0.88 ± 0.11, 0.75 ± 0.13, and 0.72 ± 0.18 vs. 1.04 ± 0.12 cm; 0.62 ± 0.10, 0.63 ± 0.17, and 0.45 ± 0.11 vs. 0.75 ± 0.13 cm; P<0.05). The levels of ALD and AngII in the serum of rats in the sham group were significantly higher than those in the blank control group (371.58 ± 39.25 vs. 237.12 ± 17.35 μg/L; 232.18 ± 16.33 vs. 159.44 ± 18.42 pg/L; P<0.05). The ALD and AngII of the rats in all of the three PHSD groups and the fosinopril group were decreased (276.81 ± 25.63, 277.18 ± 21.35, 268.19 ± 19.28, and 271.47 ± 28.96 vs. 371.58 ± 39.25 μg/L; 169.41 ± 27.53, 168.81 ± 19.78, 164.23 ± 21.34, and 174.27 ± 22.84 vs. 232.18 ± 16.33 pg/L; P<0.05). The histopathological changes of the myocardium in the sham group showed the disorganized fiber, shaded staining, fracture, and zonation. The fracture of the myocardium was relieved in all groups except the sham group and the blank control group. Conclusion. Therefore, PHSD could shorten LVEDd and LVEDs of rats and reverse ventricular remodeling. The mechanism might be related to the inhibition of the activation level of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (especially ALD and AngII) and decreasing the postload of the heart