A Smart Assistant for Visual Recognition of Painted Scenes

Nowadays, smart devices allow people to easily interact with the surrounding environment thanks to existing communication infrastructures, i.e., 3G/4G/5G or WiFi. In the context of a smart museum, data shared by visitors can be used to provide innovative services aimed to improve their cultural experience. In this paper, we consider as case study the painted wooden ceiling of the Sala Magna of Palazzo Chiaramonte in Palermo, Italy and we present an intelligent system that visitors can use to automatically get a description of the scenes they are interested in by simply pointing their smartphones to them. As compared to traditional applications, this system completely eliminates the need for indoor positioning technologies, which are unfeasible in many scenarios as they can only be employed when museum items are physically distinguishable. Experimental analysis aimed to evaluate the performance of the system in terms of accuracy of the recognition process, and the obtained results show its effectiveness in a real-world application scenario

Unexpected different chemoselectivity in the aerobic oxidation of methylated planar catechin and bent epicatechin derivatives catalysed by the Trametes villosa laccase/1-hydroxybenzotriazole system

Unreported methylated catechin and epicatechin derivatives 5 and 6 were synthesized by an oxa-Pictet- Spengler reaction. Catechin 5 shows the B and C rings coplanar because of the formation of a trans junction between the C ring and the newly generated six-term cycle D, in turn condensed to ring B. In contrast, epicatechin 6 presents a bent geometry due to the establishment of a cis junction between the C ring and the newly formed cycle D. The oxidation of compounds 5 and 6 in the presence of the Trametes villosa laccase/1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) system was investigated under aerobic conditions in both a biphasic system and a reverse micelle. The unexpected different chemoselective oxidation at the benzylic position of catechin and epicatechin derivatives 5 and 6 has been rationalized using a molecular modelling approach. These results demonstrate that the Trametes villosa laccase/HBT system represents a useful tool to functionalize the C-2 or C-4 position of phenolic compounds depending on the structural features

Designing steel to resist hydrogen embrittlement Part 2–precipitate characterisation

A novel, low-alloy steel has been designed for use in the oil and gas industry. Its high strength and hydrogen trapping potential are derived from a martensitic microstructure containing a dispersion of fine vanadium–molybdenum alloy carbides that evolve during tempering. In this second paper, the effect of quench rate from austenitisation and tempering conditions are investigated with respect to the microstructure. The alloy loses its tempering resistance following slow-cooling from austenitisation as a result of MC precipitation, leading to vanadium depletion and significant M(Formula presented.)C coarsening. This is predicted using computer simulation and confirmed by high energy X-ray diffraction, combined with electron microscopy.BP-ICA

Anaerobic digestion process for biogas and biomolecules production: microflora identification and characterization

The anaerobic process was efficient in organic matter removal. During the process, an interesting compound as quercetin was produced inside of reactor. Phylogenetic analysis showed the presence of phylotypes affiliated with gamma-Proteobacteria, Choroflexi, and Bacteroidetes. Archaea were represented by phylotypes belonging to the genus Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta

Lipid peroxidation is involved in calcium dependent upregulation of mitochondrial metabolism in skeletal muscle

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle cells continuously generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excessive ROS can affect lipids resulting in lipid peroxidation (LPO). Here we investigated the effects of myotube intracellular calcium-induced signaling eliciting contractions on the LPO induction and the impact of LPO-product 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) on physiology/pathology of myotubes using C2C12 myoblasts. METHODS: C2C12 myoblasts were differentiated into myotubes, stimulated with caffeine and analyzed for the induction of LPO and formation of 4-HNE protein adducts. Further effects of 4-HNE on mitochondrial bioenergetics, NADH level, mitochondrial density and expression of mitochondrial metabolism genes were determined. RESULTS: Short and long-term caffeine stimulation of myotubes promoted superoxide production, LPO and formation of 4-HNE protein adducts. Furthermore, low 4-HNE concentrations had no effect on myotube viability and cellular redox homeostasis, while concentrations from 10 μM and above reduced myotube viability and significantly disrupted homeostasis. A time and dose-dependent 4-HNE effect on superoxide production and mitochondrial NADH-autofluorescence was observed. Finally, 4-HNE had strong impact on maximal respiration, spare respiratory capacity, ATP production, coupling efficiency of mitochondria and mitochondrial density. CONCLUSION: Data presented in this work make evident for the first time that pathological 4-HNE levels elicit damaging effects on skeletal muscle cells while acute exposure to physiological 4-HNE induces transient adaptation. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: This work suggests an important role of 4-HNE on the regulation of myotube's mitochondrial metabolism and cellular energy production. It further signifies the importance of skeletal muscle cells hormesis in response to acute stress in order to maintain essential biological functions

A comprehensive promoter landscape identifies a novel promoter for CD133 in restricted tissues, cancers, and stem cells

PROM1 is the gene encoding prominin-1 or CD133, an important cell surface marker for the isolation of both normal and cancer stem cells. PROM1 transcripts initiate at a range of transcription start sites (TSS) associated with distinct tissue and cancer expression profiles. Using high resolution Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) sequencing we characterize TSS utilization across a broad range of normal and developmental tissues. We identify a novel proximal promoter (P6) within CD133+ melanoma cell lines and stem cells. Additional exon array sampling finds P6 to be active in populations enriched for mesenchyme, neural stem cells and within CD133+ enriched Ewing sarcomas. The P6 promoter is enriched with respect to previously characterized PROM1 promoters for a HMGI/Y (HMGA1) family transcription factor binding site motif and exhibits different epigenetic modifications relative to the canonical promoter region of PROM1

Brønsted Acid Catalysis—Structural Preferences and Mobility in Imine/Phosphoric Acid Complexes

Despite the huge success of enantioselective Bronsted acid catalysis, experimental data about structures and activation modes of substrate/catalyst complexes in solution are very rare. Here, for the first time, detailed insights into the structures of imine/Bronsted acid catalyst complexes are presented on the basis of NMR data and underpinned by theoretical calculations. The chiral Bronsted acid catalyst R-TRIP (3,3'-bis(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogen phosphate) was investigated together with six aromatic imines. For each investigated system, an E-imine/R-TRIP complex and a Z-imine/R-TRIP complex were observed. Each of these complexes consists of two structures, which are in fast exchange on the NMR time scale; i.e., overall four structures were found. Both identified E-imine/R-TRIP structures feature a strong hydrogen bond but differ in the orientation of the imine relative to the catalyst. The exchange occurs by tilting the imine inside the complex and thereby switching the oxygen that constitutes the hydrogen bond. A similar situation is observed for all investigated Z-imine/R-TRIP complexes. Here, an additional exchange pathway is opened via rotation of the imine. For all investigated imine/R-TRIP complexes, the four core structures are highly preserved. Thus, these core structures are independent of electron density and substituent modulations of the aromatic imines. Overall, this study reveals that the absolute structural space of binary imine/TRIP complexes is large and the variations of the four core structures are small. The high mobility is supposed to promote reactivity, while the preservation of the core structures in conjunction with extensive pi-pi and CH-pi interactions leads to high enantioselectivities and tolerance of different substrates