Dielectric behaviour of graded spherical cells with an intrinsic dispersion

The dielectric properties of single-shell spherical cells with an intrinsic dielectric dispersion has been investigated. By means of the dielectric dispersion spectral representation (DDSR) for the Clausius-Mossotti (CM) factor, we express the dispersion strengths as well as the characteristic frequencies of the CM factor analytically in terms of the parameters of the cell model. These analytic expressions enable us to assess the influence of various model parameters on the electrokinetics of cells. Various interesting behaviours have been reported. We extend our considerations to a more realistic cell model with a graded core, which can have spatial gradients in the conductivity and/or permittivity. To this end, we address the effects of a graded profile in a small-gradient expansion in the framework of DDSR.Comment: accepted by European Physical Journal

ALL-E: Aesthetics-guided Low-light Image Enhancement

Evaluating the performance of low-light image enhancement (LLE) is highly subjective, thus making integrating human preferences into image enhancement a necessity. Existing methods fail to consider this and present a series of potentially valid heuristic criteria for training enhancement models. In this paper, we propose a new paradigm, i.e., aesthetics-guided low-light image enhancement (ALL-E), which introduces aesthetic preferences to LLE and motivates training in a reinforcement learning framework with an aesthetic reward. Each pixel, functioning as an agent, refines itself by recursive actions, i.e., its corresponding adjustment curve is estimated sequentially. Extensive experiments show that integrating aesthetic assessment improves both subjective experience and objective evaluation. Our results on various benchmarks demonstrate the superiority of ALL-E over state-of-the-art methods. Source code and models are in the project page

Λb→Λc\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c Form Factors from QCD Light-Cone Sum Rules

In this work, we calculate the transition form factors of $\Lambda_b$ decaying into $\Lambda_c$ within the framework of light-cone sum rules with the distribution amplitudes (DAs) of $\Lambda_b$-baryon. In the hadronic representation of the correlation function, we have isolated both the $\Lambda_c$ and the $\Lambda_c^*$ states so that the $\Lambda_b \rightarrow \Lambda_c$ form factors can be obtained without ambiguity. We investigate the P-type and A-type current to interpolate the light baryons for a comparison since the interpolation current for the baryon state is not unique. We also employ three parametrization models for DAs of $\Lambda_b$ in the numerical calculation. We present the numerical predictions on the $\Lambda_b \rightarrow \Lambda_c$ form factors and the branching fractions, the averaged forward-backward asymmetry , the averaged final hadron polarization and the averaged lepton polarization of the $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c \ell\mu$ decays, as well as the ratio of branching ratios $R_{\Lambda_c}$, and the predicted $R_{\Lambda_c}$ can be consistent with the LHCb data.Comment: 22 pages, 2figur

[1,2-Bis(pyridin-2-ylmeth­oxy)benzene-κ4 N,O,O′,N′]dichloridocopper(II)

In the title compound, [CuCl2(C18H16N2O2)], the CuII atom lies on a twofold axis and is six-coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral environment defined by two N and two O atoms from the ligand and by two Cl atoms. In the crystal, π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.838 (1) Å] and C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link adjacent mol­ecules into a chain structure along [101]

Protective effects of resveratrol on the inhibition of hippocampal neurogenesis induced by ethanol during early postnatal life

AbstractEthanol (EtOH) exposure during early postnatal life triggers obvious neurotoxic effects on the developing hippocampus and results in long-term effects on hippocampal neurogenesis. Resveratrol (RSV) has been demonstrated to exert potential neuroprotective effects by promoting hippocampal neurogenesis. However, the effects of RSV on the EtOH-mediated impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis remain undetermined. Thus, mice were pretreated with RSV and were later exposed to EtOH to evaluate its protective effects on EtOH-mediated toxicity during hippocampal development. The results indicated that a brief exposure of EtOH on postnatal day 7 resulted in a significant impairment in hippocampal neurogenesis and a depletion of hippocampal neural precursor cells (NPCs). This effect was attenuated by pretreatment with RSV. Furthermore, EtOH exposure resulted in a reduction in spine density on the granular neurons of the dentate gyrus (DG), and the spines exhibited a less mature morphological phenotype characterized by a higher proportion of stubby spines and a lower proportion of mushroom spines. However, RSV treatment effectively reversed these responses. We further confirmed that RSV treatment reversed the EtOH-induced down-regulation of hippocampal pERK and Hes1 protein levels, which may be related to the proliferation and maintenance of NPCs. Furthermore, EtOH exposure in the C17.2 NPCs also diminished cell proliferation and activated apoptosis, which could be reversed by pretreatment of RSV. Overall, our results suggest that RSV pretreatment protects against EtOH-induced defects in neurogenesis in postnatal mice and may thus play a critical role in preventing EtOH-mediated toxicity in the developing hippocampus

Multi-functional groups decorated composite nanofiber separator with excellent chemical stability in ester-based electrolyte for enhancing the lithium-ion transport

As various heat-resistant polymer separators come out, although they possess better thermal stability and superior affinity to liquid electrolyte than commercial polyolefin separator, the porous structure and chemical stability of these novel separators should be paid more attention. In this work, we prepare a thin polyacrylonitrile/cellulose acetate (PAN/CA) composite nanofiber separator and discuss the importance of chemical stability in the ester-based electrolyte. The addition of CA decreases the PAN/CA fiber diameter from 310 nm to 210 nm. However, CA containing a lot of ester groups is easy to be dissolved by liquid electrolyte for the property of similarity and compatibility. Hence, the obtained PAN/CA composite nanofiber separator is treated via alkaline hydrolysis process, and some ester groups are transformed to be hydroxyl groups. Noteworthily, hydroxyl-rich PAN/CA composite nanofiber separator not only remains stable in electrolyte, but also possesses an improved lithium-ion transport property for reducing concentration polarization effect. As a result, the LiCoO2/Li half cells employing the hydroxyl-rich composite nanofiber separator exhibits better capacity retention (118.5 mAh g -1 after 300 cycles) and superior rate performance (143.1 mAh g -1 at 3C). Therefore, this multi-functional groups decorated composite nanofiber separator with excellent chemical stability is a candidate for next-generation lithium-based battery

[1,2-Bis(pyridin-2-ylmeth­oxy)benzene-κ4 N,O,O′,N′]bis­(nitrato-κO)cobalt(II)

In the title compound, [Co(NO3)2(C18H16N2O2)], the CoII ion is six-coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral environment defined by two O and two N atoms from the ligand and by two O atoms from two nitrate anions. A two-dimensional network parallel to the ab plane is built up by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which link adjacent mol­ecules in the crystal structure