Reconstruction of Daily 30 m Data from HJ CCD, GF-1 WFV, Landsat, and MODIS Data for Crop Monitoring

With the recent launch of new satellites and the developments of spatiotemporal data fusion methods, we are entering an era of high spatiotemporal resolution remote-sensing analysis. This study proposed a method to reconstruct daily 30 m remote-sensing data for monitoring crop types and phenology in two study areas located in Xinjiang Province, China. First, the Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Approach (STDFA) was used to reconstruct the time series high spatiotemporal resolution data from the Huanjing satellite charge coupled device (HJ CCD), Gaofen satellite no. 1 wide field-of-view camera (GF-1 WFV), Landsat, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Then, the reconstructed time series were applied to extract crop phenology using a Hybrid Piecewise Logistic Model (HPLM). In addition, the onset date of greenness increase (OGI) and greenness decrease (OGD) were also calculated using the simulated phenology. Finally, crop types were mapped using the phenology information. The results show that the reconstructed high spatiotemporal data had a high quality with a proportion of good observations (PGQ) higher than 0.95 and the HPLM approach can simulate time series Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) very well with R2 ranging from 0.635 to 0.952 in Luntai and 0.719 to 0.991 in Bole, respectively. The reconstructed high spatiotemporal data were able to extract crop phenology in single crop fields, which provided a very detailed pattern relative to that from time series MODIS data. Moreover, the crop types can be classified using the reconstructed time series high spatiotemporal data with overall accuracy equal to 0.91 in Luntai and 0.95 in Bole, which is 0.028 and 0.046 higher than those obtained by using multi-temporal Landsat NDVI data

Quantitative Assessment Methods of Early Enamel Caries with Optical Coherence Tomography: A Review

Early detection of caries is an urgent problem in the dental clinic. Current caries detection methods do not detect early enamel caries accurately, and do not show microstructural changes in the teeth. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can provide imaging of tiny, demineralized regions of teeth in real time and noninvasively detect dynamic changes in lesions with high resolution and high sensitivity. Over the last 20 years, researchers have investigated different methods for quantitative assessment of early caries using OCT. This review provides an overview of the principles of enamel caries detection with OCT, the methods of characterizing caries lesion severity, and correlations between OCT results and measurements from multiple histological detection techniques. Studies have shown the feasibility of OCT in quantitative assessment of early enamel lesions but they vary widely in approaches. Only integrated reflectivity and refractive index measured by OCT have proven to have strong correlations with mineral loss calculated by digital microradiography or transverse microradiography. OCT has great potential to be a standard inspection method for enamel lesions, but a consensus on quantitative methods and indicators is an important prerequisite. Our review provides a basis for future discussions

Identification of a hub gene VCL for atherosclerotic plaques and discovery of potential therapeutic targets by molecular docking

Abstract Background Atherosclerosis (AS) is a pathology factor for cardiovascular diseases and instability of atherosclerotic plaques contributes to acute coronary events. This study identified a hub gene VCL for atherosclerotic plaques and discovered its potential therapeutic targets for atherosclerotic plaques. Methods Differential expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between unstable and stable plaques from GSE120521 dataset and then used for construction of a protein-protein interactions (PPI) network. Through topological analysis, hub genes were identified within this PPI network, followed by construction of a diagnostic model. GSE41571 dataset was utilized to validate the diagnostic model. A key hub gene was identified and its association with immune characteristics and pathways were further investigated. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were employed to discover potential therapeutic targets. Results According to the PPI network, 3 tightly connected protein clusters were found. Topological analysis identified the top 5 hub genes, Vinculin (VCL), Dystrophin (DMD), Actin alpha 2 (ACTA2), Filamin A (FLNA), and transgelin (TAGLN). Among these hub genes, VCL had the highest diagnostic value. VCL was selected for further analysis and we found that VCL was negatively correlated with immune score and AS-related inflammatory pathways. Next, we identified 408 genes that were highly correlated with VCL and determined potential drug candidates. The results from molecular docking and MD simulation showed compound DB07117 combined with VCL protein stably, the binding energy is -7.7 kcal/mol, indicating that compound DB07117 was a potential inhibitor of VCL protein. Conclusion This study identified VCL as a key gene for atherosclerotic plaques and provides a potential therapeutic target of VCL for the treatment of atherosclerotic plaques

Plasma–Solution Junction for the Formation of Carbon Material

The solution plasma process (SPP) can provide a low-temperature reaction field, leading to an effective synthesis of N-doped graphene with a high N content and well-structured planar structure. However, the interactions at the plasma–solution interface have not been well understood; therefore, it needs to be urgently explored to achieve the modulation of the SPP. Here, to address the knowledge gap, we experimentally determined the physical parameters of the spital distribution in the plasma phase, plasma–gas phase, and gas–liquid phase of the SPP by the Langmuir probe system with modification. Based on the assumption that plasma can act similarly to semiconductors with the Fermi level above the vacuum level, an energy band diagram of the plasma–solution junction could be proposed for the first time. It was observed that the Fermi level of the organic molecule could determine the magnitude of electron temperature in plasma, i.e., benzene produced the highest electron temperature, followed by phenol, toluene, and aniline. Finally, we found that the electron temperature at the interface could induce quenching, leading to the formation of multilayer large-size-domain carbon products. It provided significant evidence for achieving nonequilibrium plasma modulation of carbon nanomaterial synthesis

Source, Age, and Evolution of Coal Measures Water in Central-South Qinshui Basin, China

Groundwater is one of the important factors controling the accumulation and exploitation of coal measures gas. In this work, a water source identification method based on hydrochemistry, stable isotope, I-129 and C-14 dating is first established; then, the source, age, and evolution of coal measures water in the Central-South Qinshui Basin are clarified. The results reveal that the hydrogeological environment of coal measures water in Carboniferous-Permian is between semiclosed and open, with free water exchanging. The coal measures water in the Guxian and Shizhuangnan blocks are Ca-HCO3 and NaHCO3 types, respectively, while the closed coefficients are 1.77 and 322.75, respectively. Therefore, the water is attributed to river water or shallow groundwater in the Guxian block and deep groundwater in the Shizhuangnan block. The age of coal measures water is 1.51-20.61 Ma, which indicates that the water in coal measures at the present stage is a mixture of a little paleo sedimentary water and massive modern meteoric water and that the modern meteoric water recharge lasted until 1950. The above achievements deepen the understanding of the coal measures reservoir type and also guide the optimal selection and co-exploration and-exploitation of coal measures gas