Hybrid Artificial Root Foraging Optimizer Based Multilevel Threshold for Image Segmentation

This paper proposes a new plant-inspired optimization algorithm for multilevel threshold image segmentation, namely, hybrid artificial root foraging optimizer (HARFO), which essentially mimics the iterative root foraging behaviors. In this algorithm the new growth operators of branching, regrowing, and shrinkage are initially designed to optimize continuous space search by combining root-to-root communication and coevolution mechanism. With the auxin-regulated scheme, various root growth operators are guided systematically. With root-to-root communication, individuals exchange information in different efficient topologies, which essentially improve the exploration ability. With coevolution mechanism, the hierarchical spatial population driven by evolutionary pressure of multiple subpopulations is structured, which ensure that the diversity of root population is well maintained. The comparative results on a suit of benchmarks show the superiority of the proposed algorithm. Finally, the proposed HARFO algorithm is applied to handle the complex image segmentation problem based on multilevel threshold. Computational results of this approach on a set of tested images show the outperformance of the proposed algorithm in terms of optimization accuracy computation efficiency

Dispersion tuning and route reconfiguration of acoustic waves in valley topological phononic crystals

The valley degree of freedom in crystals offers great potential for manipulating classical waves, however, few studies have investigated valley states with complex wavenumbers, valley states in graded systems, or dispersion tuning for valley states. Here, we present tunable valley phononic crystals (PCs) composed of hybrid channel-cavity cells with three tunable parameters. Our PCs support valley states and Dirac cones with complex wavenumbers. They can be configured to form chirped valley PCs in which edge modes are slowed to zero group velocity states, where the energy at different frequencies accumulates at different designated locations. They enable multiple functionalities, including tuning of dispersion relations for valley states, robust routing of surface acoustic waves, and spatial modulation of group velocities. This work may spark future investigations of topological states with complex wavenumbers in other classical systems, further study of topological states in graded materials, and the development of acoustic devices

The Correlation between FSTL1 Expression and Airway Remodeling in Asthmatics

Background. Asthma is characterized by airway remodeling. Follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) is an extracellular glycoprotein. Recent studies suggest that FSTL1 may participate in the pathogenesis of asthma. Objectives. To analyze the association between FSTL1 and some parameters and inspect the role of FSTL1 in asthma. Methods. We examined FSTL1 levels in 32 asthmatics and 25 controls. All subjects enrolled had routine blood tests, spirometry, and impulse oscillometry performed. Additionally, 15 of the 32 asthmatics underwent fibre optic bronchoscopy. Spearman rank analysis was performed to detect the correlation between FSTL1 and other parameters. Results. Plasma FSTL1 levels were higher in asthmatics (130.762 ± 46.029 ng/mL) than in controls (95.408 ± 33.938 ng/mL) (p=0.009). Plasma FSTL1 levels were associated with fibrosis levels around the airways (rs=0.529, p=0.043) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) (rs=0.554, p=0.032). FSTL1 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were associated with collagen I (rs=0.536, p=0.040), α-SMA (rs=0.561, p=0.029), fibrosis levels (rs=0.779, p=0.001), and the thickness of the airway reticular basement membrane (RBM) (rs=0.660, p=0.007). Conclusions. FSTL1 levels in asthmatics were linked with increased smooth muscle mass and thickened RBM. FSTL1 may contribute to airway remodeling in asthmatics

Promoting Effect of Layered Titanium Phosphate on the Electrochemical and Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We reported a composite electrolyte prepared by incorporating layered α-titanium phosphate (α-TiP) into an iodide-based electrolyte using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate(EmimBF4) ionic liquid as solvent. The obtained composite electrolyte exhibited excellent electrochemical and photovoltaic properties compared to pure ionic liquid electrolyte. Both the diffusion coefficient of triiodide (I3−) in the electrolyte and the charge-transfer reaction at the electrode/electrolyte interface were improved markedly. The mechanism for the enhanced electrochemical properties of the composite electrolyte was discussed. The highest conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was obtained for the composite electrolyte containing 1wt% α-TiP, with an improvement of 58% in the conversion efficiency than the blank one, which offered a broad prospect for the fabrication of stable DSSCs with a high conversion efficiency

Bioanalysis through Patterning Low-Cost Substrates

The health and well-being of the human population in the developing world has become an important global issue which attracts lots of attention from many governments in the developed world. Intensive research efforts have been made by the developed countries to address human health in developing countries. Some major diseases, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, etc. threaten the health and the productivity of the human population in developing countries, severely restricting the development of those countries. For some diseases, effective clinical treatments are now available and can be delivered to patients in those countries. However, the lack of robust and low-cost screening technologies still prevents the screening of those diseases among the large human population in developing countries. To overcome these problems, cheap materials such as paper and thread are utilized to fabricate low-cost microfluidic devices, bioactive paper and bioactive thread. It is feasible to use these cheap platforms to provide affordable healthcare and environmental monitoring in developing countries. These novel applications strongly drive the continuous development of low-cost diagnostics. The work in this thesis focuses on both novel fabrication concepts and detection mechanism designs to improve low-cost diagnostics by using simple patterning methods. Throughout this work, printing is used as a versatile and cost-effective approach for fabricating low-cost and simple diagnostic devices. Printing technologies are exploited in three ways. Firstly, printing is a simple fabrication method. With the necessary modifications, printing processes can create patterns of a variety of physical and chemical properties on a substrate to form a testing device. Secondly, printing can be used as a convenient delivery method for material delivery and transfer. Samples and detection reagents can be delivery to the desired position of the device to form the sensor. Thirdly, printing is a simple analytical method. Based on different contact printing mechanisms, printing can be employed to either transfer bio-inks or bio-effects onto bioactive paper. In one print, different kinds of biochemical reactions are triggered, which turn bioactive reagents into visible patterns appearing on a paper substrate at the same time. The user friendliness of a sensor critically determines the performance of the sensor under field conditions. This thesis also presents a novel concept for paper-based diagnostics, aiming to increase the clarity of assay results reported by the paper device to the user. This work, for the first time, designs a paper-based blood typing device that reports patient’s blood type in written text, enabling non-professional users to understand the testing results. This work further addresses a practical issue related to the sensor fabrication process. Work in this thesis proposes a new method of increasing the hydrophilicity of bioactive paper using plasma treatment while retaining the bioactivity of the paper. New concepts presented in this thesis further demonstrate the huge promise of low-cost and bioactive diagnostics in improving world health. Low-cost sensors enable a range of biological and environmental tests to be performed for purposes of health care, disease screening and environmental monitoring

Bioanalysis through Patterning Low-Cost Substrates

The health and well-being of the human population in the developing world has become an important global issue which attracts lots of attention from many governments in the developed world. Intensive research efforts have been made by the developed countries to address human health in developing countries. Some major diseases, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, etc. threaten the health and the productivity of the human population in developing countries, severely restricting the development of those countries. For some diseases, effective clinical treatments are now available and can be delivered to patients in those countries. However, the lack of robust and low-cost screening technologies still prevents the screening of those diseases among the large human population in developing countries. To overcome these problems, cheap materials such as paper and thread are utilized to fabricate low-cost microfluidic devices, bioactive paper and bioactive thread. It is feasible to use these cheap platforms to provide affordable healthcare and environmental monitoring in developing countries. These novel applications strongly drive the continuous development of low-cost diagnostics. The work in this thesis focuses on both novel fabrication concepts and detection mechanism designs to improve low-cost diagnostics by using simple patterning methods. Throughout this work, printing is used as a versatile and cost-effective approach for fabricating low-cost and simple diagnostic devices. Printing technologies are exploited in three ways. Firstly, printing is a simple fabrication method. With the necessary modifications, printing processes can create patterns of a variety of physical and chemical properties on a substrate to form a testing device. Secondly, printing can be used as a convenient delivery method for material delivery and transfer. Samples and detection reagents can be delivery to the desired position of the device to form the sensor. Thirdly, printing is a simple analytical method. Based on different contact printing mechanisms, printing can be employed to either transfer bio-inks or bio-effects onto bioactive paper. In one print, different kinds of biochemical reactions are triggered, which turn bioactive reagents into visible patterns appearing on a paper substrate at the same time. The user friendliness of a sensor critically determines the performance of the sensor under field conditions. This thesis also presents a novel concept for paper-based diagnostics, aiming to increase the clarity of assay results reported by the paper device to the user. This work, for the first time, designs a paper-based blood typing device that reports patient’s blood type in written text, enabling non-professional users to understand the testing results. This work further addresses a practical issue related to the sensor fabrication process. Work in this thesis proposes a new method of increasing the hydrophilicity of bioactive paper using plasma treatment while retaining the bioactivity of the paper. New concepts presented in this thesis further demonstrate the huge promise of low-cost and bioactive diagnostics in improving world health. Low-cost sensors enable a range of biological and environmental tests to be performed for purposes of health care, disease screening and environmental monitoring

Empirical Analysis on Sociological Factors for Underdevelopment of Rural Sports

Rural sports are weak parts in sports development of China. In the social environment of new socialist countryside construction and new urbanization advancing side by side, rural sports have great opportunities and serious challenges. Taking sports of Gannan old revolutionary base area as an example, this paper analyzed factors influencing rural sports from the sociological perspective, to provide measures and recommendations for sustainable development of rural sports

Artificial root foraging optimizer algorithm with hybrid strategies

In this work, a new plant-inspired optimization algorithm namely the hybrid artificial root foraging optimizion (HARFO) is proposed, which mimics the iterative root foraging behaviors for complex optimization. In HARFO model, two innovative strategies were developed: one is the root-to-root communication strategy, which enables the individual exchange information with each other in different efficient topologies that can essentially improve the exploration ability; the other is co-evolution strategy, which can structure the hierarchical spatial population driven by evolutionary pressure of multiple sub-populations that ensure the diversity of root population to be well maintained. The proposed algorithm is benchmarked against four classical evolutionary algorithms on well-designed test function suites including both classical and composition test functions. Through the rigorous performance analysis that of all these tests highlight the significant performance improvement, and the comparative results show the superiority of the proposed algorithm

Effect of Bovine Serum Albumin Treatment on the Aging and Activity of Antibodies in Paper Diagnostics

Paper and cellulosic films are used in many designs of low-cost diagnostics such as paper-based blood grouping devices. A major issue limiting their commercialization is the short stability of the functional biomolecules. To address this problem, the effect of relative humidity (RH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the antibody bioactivity and the surface chemical composition of a paper blood typing biodiagnostic were studied. An IgM blood typing antibody was physisorbed from solution onto paper - with or without BSA pretreatment, and aged for periods up to 9 weeks under various conditions with a series of RH. The blood typing efficiency of the antibodies and the substrate surface chemical composition were analyzed by image analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. This study tests two hypotheses. The first is that the hydroxyl groups in paper promote antibody denaturation on paper; the second hypothesis is that proteins such as BSA can partially block the hydroxyl groups within paper, thus preserving antibody bioactivity. Results show that high RH is detrimental to antibody longevity on paper, while BSA can block hydroxyl groups and prolong antibody longevity by almost an order of magnitude—regardless of humidity. This study opens up new engineering concepts to develop robust and marketable paper diagnostics. The simplest is to store paper and antibody based diagnostics in moisture proof packages