Enhanced CNN for image denoising

Owing to flexible architectures of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs), CNNs are successfully used for image denoising. However, they suffer from the following drawbacks: (i) deep network architecture is very difficult to train. (ii) Deeper networks face the challenge of performance saturation. In this study, the authors propose a novel method called enhanced convolutional neural denoising network (ECNDNet). Specifically, they use residual learning and batch normalisation techniques to address the problem of training difficulties and accelerate the convergence of the network. In addition, dilated convolutions are used in the proposed network to enlarge the context information and reduce the computational cost. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the ECNDNet outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for image denoising.Comment: CAAI Transactions on Intelligence Technology[J], 201

Taste and Visual Influences on Hispanic Consumers' Preferences and Willingness-to-Pay for Pasture-Fed Beef

Experimental Economics methods are used to determine Hispanic consumers’ sensory acceptance of pasture-fed beef and evaluate visual and taste influences on their overall preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP). Two hundred and thirty-one Hispanic consumers in four experimental sites in Virginia participated in a laboratory experimental procedure where they visually examined and tasted pasture-fed and conventionally produced grain-fed beef, and then participated in a non-hypothetical Multiple Price Lists (MPL) experiment to determine their WTP. Hispanic consumers perceived significant differences between pasture-fed and grain-fed beef’s appearance and taste. Visual and taste acceptances are closely correlated to and significantly influence overall preferences. More than fifty percent of Hispanic consumers prefer pasture-fed beef and the majority of them consistently are willing to pay a price premium. Approximately, half consumers who generally prefer pasture-fed beef consistently consider the appearance and taste of pasture-fed beef more favorable but another half of them indicated discrepant visual and taste acceptances. Nevertheless, this inconsistency doesn’t lead to a lower WTP for pasture-fed beef.Pasture-Fed Beef, Experimental Economics, Multiple Price Lists, Preference, Willingness-to-pay, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Establishment and analysis of temperature field of riserless mud recovery system

International audienceDue to the drill pipe in the Riserless Mud Recovery (RMR) system is exposed to seawater, so the characteristics of the temperature changing are very different from the conventional offshore drilling. Considering temperature is an important factor affecting the annulus pressure, it is necessary to study the variation law of the temperature field of the RMR. In this paper, according to the physical process of the heat transfer in RMR, the mathematical model of the temperature field is established. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software is used to simulate the temperature distribution in the drill pipe and the annulus, so that the law of the temperature changing can be observed more intuitively. In order to be more aware of the influencing factors of the temperature field changing, this paper analyzes the influence mechanism of the different discharge capacity and the different injection temperature on temperature changing. Moreover, this paper also analyzes the influence of the annulus temperature on the annulus pressure, which provides a theoretical basis for the well control of RMR

Entangling two giant atoms via a topological waveguide

We study the entanglement generation of two two-level giant atoms coupled to a photonic waveguide, which is formed by a Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) type coupled-cavity array. Here, each atom is coupled to the waveguide through two coupling points. We focus on the two-atom separate-coupling case, and consider sixteen coupling configurations for the coupling-point distributions between the two atoms and the waveguide. We derive quantum master equations to govern the evolution of the two atoms and characterize atomic entanglement by calculating the concurrence of the two-atom states. It is found that the two giant-atom entanglement depends on the coupling configurations and the coupling-point distance of the giant atoms. In particular, the entanglement dynamics of the two giant atoms in fourteen coupling configurations depends on the dimerization parameter of the SSH waveguide. According to the self-energies of the two giant atoms, we find that ten of these sixteen coupling configurations can be divided into five pairs. We also show that delayed sudden birth of entanglement between the two giant atoms is largely enhanced in these five pairs of coupling configurations. This work will promote the study of quantum effects and coherent manipulation in giant-atom topological-waveguide-QED systems.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, submitted to New J. Phys. on Sep. 1st, 202

Differences in tissue distribution ability of evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine are due to the dihedral angle of the molecule stereo-structure

Introduction: This researcher focused at the evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine tissue distribution and structure-pharmacokinetics (PK) relationship after intravenous injection in mice.Methods: Using a transmembrane transport experiment, the permeability of evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine on Caco-2 cells was evaluated. The tissue distribution and pharmacokinetics (PK) of evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine in mice were studied. To comprehend the connection between structure and tissue distribution, physicochemical property evaluations and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) calculations were performed.Results: Dehydroevodiamine’s Papp values in vitro were 10−5 cm/s, whereas evodiamine’s were 10−6 cm/s. At a dose of 5 mg/kg, the brain concentration of dehydroevodiamine was 6.44 times more than that of evodiamine. By MEP or physicochemical measures, the permeability difference between evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine is unaffected. The dihedral angle of the stereo-structure appears to be the main cause of the difference in tissue distribution ability between evodiamine and dehydroevodiamine.Discussion: Dehydroevodiamine has a dihedral angle of 3.71° compared to 82.34° for evodiamine. Dehydroevodiamine can more easily pass through the phospholipid bilayer than evodiamine because it has a more planar stereo-structure. Dehydroevodiamine is therefore more likely to pass cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain in a tissue-specific manner