FECTS: A Facial Emotion Cognition and Training System for Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Traditional training methods such as card teaching, assistive technologies (e.g., augmented reality/virtual reality games and smartphone apps), DVDs, human-computer interactions, and human-robot interactions are widely applied in autistic rehabilitation training in recent years. In this article, we propose a novel framework for human-computer/robot interaction and introduce a preliminary intervention study for improving the emotion recognition of Chinese children with an autism spectrum disorder. The core of the framework is the Facial Emotion Cognition and Training System (FECTS, including six tasks to train children with ASD to match, infer, and imitate the facial expressions of happiness, sadness, fear, and anger) based on Simon Baron-Cohen's E-S (empathizing-systemizing) theory. Our system may be implemented on PCs, smartphones, mobile devices such as PADs, and robots. The training record (e.g., a tracked record of emotion imitation) of the Chinese autistic children interacting with the device implemented using our FECTS will be uploaded and stored in the database of a cloud-based evaluation system. Therapists and parents can access the analysis of the emotion learning progress of these autistic children using the cloud-based evaluation system. Deep-learning algorithms of facial expressions recognition and attention analysis will be deployed in the back end (e.g., devices such as a PC, a robotic system, or a cloud system) implementing our FECTS, which can perform real-time tracking of the imitation quality and attention of the autistic children during the expression imitation phase. In this preliminary clinical study, a total of 10 Chinese autistic children aged 3-8 are recruited, and each of them received a single 20-minute training session every day for four consecutive days. Our preliminary results validated the feasibility of the developed FECTS and the effectiveness of our algorithms based on Chinese children with an autism spectrum disorder. To verify that our FECTS can be further adapted to children from other countries, children with different cultural/sociological/linguistic contexts should be recruited in future studies

Efficient Homojunction/Heterojunction Photocatalyst via Integrating CsPbBr₃ Quantum Dot Homojunction with TiO₂ for Degradation of Organic Dyes

A novel TiO2–CsPbBr3(Q) photocatalyst is proposed and rationally constructed, where CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (QDs) of various sizes inside mesopore TiO2 (M-TiO2) are integrated. These perovskite QDs, generated in situ within M-TiO2, establish a type-II homojunction. Interestingly, a Z-scheme heterojunction is simultaneously formed at the interface between CsPbBr3 and TiO2. Due to the coexistence of the type-II homojunction and the Z-scheme heterojunction, photogenerated electrons are effectively transferred from TiO2 to CsPbBr3, thereby suppressing carrier recombination and thus enhancing the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Compared with pure CsPbBr3 and TiO2, TiO2–CsPbBr3(Q) shows significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance for RhB degradation. The degradation efficiency of RhB in the presence of the TiO2–CsPbBr3(Q) attains 97.7% in 5 min under light illumination, representing the highest efficiency observed among photocatalysts based on TiO2. This study will facilitate the development of superior semiconductor catalysts for photocatalytic applications

Seasonal and Spatial Fluctuations of Reactive Oxygen Species in Riparian Soils and Their Contributions on Organic Carbon Mineralization

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are ubiquitous in the natural environment and play a pivotal role in biogeochemical processes. However, the spatiotemporal distribution and production mechanisms of ROS in riparian soil remain unknown. Herein, we performed uninterrupted monitoring to investigate the variation of ROS at different soil sites of the Weihe River riparian zone throughout the year. Fluorescence imaging and quantitative analysis clearly showed the production and spatiotemporal variation of ROS in riparian soils. The concentration of superoxide (O2•–) was 300% higher in summer and autumn compared to that in other seasons, while the highest concentrations of 539.7 and 20.12 μmol kg–1 were observed in winter for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH), respectively. Spatially, ROS production in riparian soils gradually decreased along with the stream. The results of the structural equation and random forest model indicated that meteorological conditions and soil physicochemical properties were primary drivers mediating the seasonal and spatial variations in ROS production, respectively. The generated •OH significantly induced the abiotic mineralization of organic carbon, contributing to 17.5–26.4% of CO2 efflux. The obtained information highlighted riparian zones as pervasive yet previously underestimated hotspots for ROS production, which may have non-negligible implications for carbon turnover and other elemental cycles in riparian soils