CELLCOUNTER: Novel Open-Source Software for Counting Cell Migration and Invasion In Vitro

Transwell Boyden chamber based migration/invasion assay is a simple and extensively used approach for the characterization of cell motility in vitro. Cell motility is quantified by counting the number of cells that pass through the filter membrane. The counting is usually performed manually, which is laborious and error prone. We have therefore developed CELLCOUNTER, an application that is capable of recognizing and counting the total number of cells through an intuitive graphical user interface. The counting can be performed in batch, and the counting results can be visualized and further curated manually. CELLCOUNTER will be helpful in streamlining the experimental process and improving the reliability of the data acquisition

Phytochemical analyses of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa seed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Analyst138226881-688

Microbial succession and its effect on the formation of umami peptides during sufu fermentation

Sufu, a traditional Chinese fermented food, is famous for its unique flavor, especially umami. However, the formation mechanism of its umami peptides is still unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamic change of both umami peptides and microbial communities during sufu production. Based on peptidomic analysis, 9081 key differential peptides were identified, which mainly involved in amino acid transport and metabolism, peptidase activity and hydrolase activity. Twenty-six high-quality umami peptides with ascending trend were recognized by machine learning methods and Fuzzy c-means clustering. Then, through correlation analysis, five bacterial species (Enterococcus italicus, Leuconostoc citreum, L. mesenteroides, L. pseudomesenteroides, Tetragenococcus halophilus) and two fungi species (Cladosporium colombiae, Hannaella oryzae) were identified to be the core functional microorganisms for umami peptides formation. Functional annotation of five lactic acid bacteria indicated their important functions to be carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism, which proved their umami peptides production ability. Overall, our results enhanced the understanding of microbial communities and the formation mechanism of umami peptides in sufu, providing novel insights for quality control and flavor improvement of tofu products

The generation and migration of bubbles in oil-pressboard insulation needle-plate system

Bubbles in transformer oil can easily lead to partial discharge, which can deteriorate the transformer oil and even breakdown the transformer insulation. To clarify the migration process and the characteristics of bubbles generated in an oil-immersed power transformer exposed to an extremely uneven electric field, we experimentally monitor these phenomena under an extremely nonuniform AC electric field and numerically simulate the migration distance and the migration speed of bubbles with different initial positions and sizes. The results show that the streamer discharge channel formed by a partial discharge in oil is gasified into a bubble channel. After it collides with the surface of the pressboard, its morphology is transformed into approximately spherical bubbles due to the surface tension of the gas-liquid interface. After bubbles are generated in the oil, they move away from areas with a strong electric field due to the electric-field force and gradually approach the oil surface due to the buoyancy force. The experimental results are consistent with the simulation results, which verify the rationality of the simulation model

Generative Target Tracking Method with Improved Generative Adversarial Network

Multitarget tracking is prone to target loss, identity exchange, and jumping problems in the context of complex background, target occlusion, target scale, and pose transformation. In this paper, we proposed a target tracking algorithm based on the conditional adversarial generative twin networks, using the improved you only look once multitarget association algorithm to classify and detect the position of the target to be detected in the current frame, constructing a feature extraction model using generative adversarial networks (GANs) to learn the main features and subtle features of the target, and then using GANs to generate the motion trajectories of multiple targets, finally fuzing the motion and appearance information of the target to obtain the optimal match. The optimal matching of the tracked targets is obtained. The experimental results under OTB2015 and IVOT2018 datasets demonstrate that the proposed multitarget tracking algorithm has high accuracy and robustness, with 65% less jumps and 0.25% more accuracy than the current algorithms with minimal identity exchange and jumps

Comparison of the metabolic responses of eight Escherichia coli strains including the “big six” in pea sprouts to low concentration electrolysed water by NMR spectroscopy

10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108458Food Control131108458-10845

Fish gelatin combined with chitosan coating inhibits myofibril degradation of golden pomfret (Trachinotus blochii) fillet during cold storage

Coating of gelatin and chitosan can improve fish fillet's quality, but the mechanism is not clear. Chitosan/gelatin coatings significantly prevented deterioration of golden pomfret fillet at 4 °C. Chitosan with 7.2% gelatin group showed the best effect on preserving the length of myofibril, which remained greater than 15 μm at day 17 of storage, while for control, chitosan and chitosan combined with 3.6% gelatin group, it was 5.03, 10.04 and 9.02 μm, respectively. The MALDI-TOF MS result revealed that the coatings slowed down the protein deterioration of fillet. On days 13 and 17, the myosin light chain and myoglobin in control group degraded, while the two proteins still existed in chitosan/gelatin coated groups. Overall, the chitosan with 7.2% gelatin coating had the best effect on preserving fillet's quality during storage. The coating may exert its protective effect via inhibiting myofibril degradation within fillet

Investigation of Elementary Excitations in AlCuFe Quasicrystals by Means of Low-Temperature Specific Heat

We report on an accurate low-temperature specific heat $(C_{\rm p})$ study of several icosahedral AlCuFe samples of high structural quality in a broad $(0.1\lesssim T\lesssim 10$ K) temperature interval. The analysis shows deviations of $C_{\rm p}$ from the standard $\gamma T$ and $(\beta T^3 + \delta T^5)$ variations, generally well obeyed in crystalline (semi-)metallic alloys in this $T$-range for the electronic and phonon contributions respectively. We relate the unusual vibrational heat capacity to the very peculiar behaviour of vibrational states in quasicrystals, characterized by numerous dispersionless modes, broadened in energy, and extending down to low frequency. On the other hand, sub-linear variations of $C_{\rm p}$ at very low temperature, below 1 K, hint for the presence of another kind of excitations in addition to itinerant electrons.Nous exposons une étude précise de la chaleur spécifique $C_{\rm p}$ d'échantillons icosaédriques AlCuFe de grande qualité structurale, dans la gamme étendue de température entre 0.1 et 10 K environ. L'analyse des résultats montre des déviations aux lois standards $\gamma T$ et $(\beta T^3 + \delta T^5)$, généralement bien obsevées dans cette gamme de température pour les contributions électronique et de réseau, dans le cas des alliages (semi)-métalliques cristallins. Nous faisons la relation avec les propriétés vibrationnelles très spécifiques des quasicristaux, caractérisés par une forte densité de modes sans dispersion, élargis en énergie et s'étendant à basse fréquence. D'autre part, des variations sub-linéaires de $C_{\rm p}$ à très basse température, en dessous de 1 K, suggèrent la présence d'un autre type d'excitations que les électrons itinérants