Shearlet-Wavelet Regularized Semismooth Newton Iteration for Image Restoration

Image normally has both dots-like and curve structures. But the traditional wavelet or multidirectional wave (ridgelet, contourlet, curvelet, etc.) could only restore one of these structures efficiently so that the restoration results for complex images are unsatisfactory. For the image restoration, this paper adopted a strategy of combined shearlet and wavelet frame and proposed a new restoration method. Theoretically, image sparse representation of dots-like and curve structures could be achieved by shearlet and wavelet, respectively. Under the L1 regularization, the two frame-sparse structures could show their respective advantages and efficiently restore the two structures. In order to achieve superlinear convergence, this paper applied semismooth Newton method based on subgradient to solve objective functional without differentiability. Finally, through numerical results, the effectiveness of this strategy was validated, which presented outstanding advantages for any individual frame alone. Some detailed information that could not be restored in individual frame could be clearly demonstrated with this strategy

Malignant atrophic papulosis treated with eculizumab and hirudin: a fatal case report and literature review

BackgroundMalignant atrophic papulosis (MAP) is a rare obliterative vasculopathy whose etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown, and the treatment is still empirical. It can involve multiple systems, especially the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, and has a poor prognosis.Case presentationA 20-year-old Chinese male appeared to have Widespread atrophic papules and plaques, intermittent abdominal pain, recurrent bowel perforation, and psoas abscess. The clinical diagnosis of MAP was supported by skin biopsy. He was then treated with anticoagulants, antiplatelets, glucocorticoids, and immunosuppressants and started on eculizumab and hirudin after the first surgical interventions. Despite the aggressive immunosuppression, anticoagulant, antiplatelet, humanized monoclonal antibodies, and surgery therapy, he died five months after presentation.ConclusionsMAP is an extremely rare obliterative vasculopathy manifesting as benign cutaneous involvement or potentially malignant systemic involvement. MAP patients who exhibit any abdominal symptoms should undergo laparoscopy and evaluation in time and start on eculizumab and treprostinil as soon as possible, as the combination of them is presently the most effective treatment option for gastrointestinal MAP and hopefully reduce mortality

Promoting H2O2 production via 2-electron oxygen reduction by coordinating partially oxidized Pd with defect carbon.

Electrochemical synthesis of H2O2 through a selective two-electron (2e-) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an attractive alternative to the industrial anthraquinone oxidation method, as it allows decentralized H2O2 production. Herein, we report that the synergistic interaction between partially oxidized palladium (Pdδ+) and oxygen-functionalized carbon can promote 2e- ORR in acidic electrolytes. An electrocatalyst synthesized by solution deposition of amorphous Pdδ+ clusters (Pd3δ+ and Pd4δ+) onto mildly oxidized carbon nanotubes (Pdδ+-OCNT) shows nearly 100% selectivity toward H2O2 and a positive shift of ORR onset potential by ~320 mV compared with the OCNT substrate. A high mass activity (1.946 A mg-1 at 0.45 V) of Pdδ+-OCNT is achieved. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure characterization and density functional theory calculations suggest that the interaction between Pd clusters and the nearby oxygen-containing functional groups is key for the high selectivity and activity for 2e- ORR

Primary productivity of phytoplankton and its influencing factors in cold and arid regions : A case study of Wuliangsuhai Lake, China

This study measured the primary productivity (PPeu) of phytoplankton in Wuliangsuhai Lake from April 2014 to January 2019 based on the monitoring and on-site exploration of 20 sampling points in the entire lake using a vertically generalized production model (VGPM). The relationship between the spatiotemporal variation in PPeu and environmental factors was also analyzed. Our findings indicated that the temporal heterogeneity of PPeu was strong, and the average annual PPeu of the four seasons was significantly different (P spring (782.42 +/- 59.34 mg Cem-2ed-1) > autumn (465.03 +/- 49.30 mg Cem-2ed-1) > winter (96.34 +/- 10.36 mg Cem-2ed-1). Even in winter with harsh environmental conditions, PPeu under the ice sheet can reach 8 % of that in summer. The spatial heterogeneity was weak, and only the average annual PPeu in spring exhibited a significant spatial difference (P central > south. However, there were no significant differences in other seasons. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) results showed that in addition to directly participating in the calculation of the environmental factors of PPeu, PPeu in spring was mainly affected by total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and dissolved oxygen (DO). PPeu in summer was mainly affected by dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity (S), electrical conductivity (EC), and water temperature (WT). PPeu in autumn was mainly affected by pH, electrical conductivity (EC), suspended solids (SS), and water temperature (WT). PPeu in winter was mainly affected by water temperature (WT) and ice thickness (IT). The mechanisms through which environmental factors affect primary productivity are complex and dynamic. Therefore, long-term monitoring and research of PPeu in Wuliangsuhai Lake are necessary to explore the adaptation strategies of phytoplankton in ice and ice-free periods and understand the operation of natural life support systems under the alternation of ice generation and extinction. In turn, this would facilitate the development of strategies to maintain phytoplankton biodiversity and prevent algal blooms.Peer reviewe

Preparation of terminal blend/ grafting activated crumb rubber composite modified asphalt based on response surface methodology

Recycling waste tires, crushing them into crumb rubber (CR) and adding them to asphalt can effectively improve the performance and prolong the service life of asphalt pavement. However, the crumb rubber modified asphalt (CRMA) prepared by aforementioned process is prone to segregation during storage and transportation. The terminal blend rubber asphalt (TB) prepared with fine rubber powder by high-speed shearing at high temperature for long time, which effectively improves the storage stability and working performance of crumb rubber modified asphalt, but reduces the high-temperature performance. In this study, grafting activated crumb rubber (GACR) was incorporated into TB to improve its high temperature performance without impairing storage stability. Using shearing temperature, shearing time and grafting activated crumb rubber content as influencing factors, the response surface method (RSM) was carried out to optimize the preparation process. The results indicated that 180°C was a critical temperature, and the swelling of crumb rubber dominated with the temperature below it, but the desulfurization prevailed with the temperature above it. The extension of time favored the swelling of crumb rubber at low temperature but promoted desulfurization at high temperature. With the increase of crumb rubber content, the high temperature performance of modified asphalt improved whereas the storage stability deteriorated. According to the determination of response values and the prediction of optimal values, the suitable preparation conditions and parameters were recommended as shearing temperature of 190°C, shearing time of 90 min, and GACR content of 15%. The composite modified asphalt prepared through the optimized process showed good high temperature stability and storage stability

A Novel Deep Learning Method for Predicting RNA-Protein Binding Sites

The cell cycle and biological processes rely on RNA and RNA-binding protein (RBP) interactions. It is crucial to identify the binding sites on RNA. Various deep-learning methods have been used for RNA-binding site prediction. However, they cannot extract the hierarchical features of the RNA secondary structure. Therefore, this paper proposes HPNet, which can automatically identify RNA-binding sites and -binding preferences. HPNet performs feature learning from the two perspectives of the RNA sequence and the RNA secondary structure. A convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep-learning method, is used to learn RNA sequence features in HPNet. To capture the hierarchical information for RNA, we introduced DiffPool into HPNet, a differentiable pooling graph neural network (GNN). A CNN and DiffPool were combined to improve the binding site prediction accuracy by leveraging both RNA sequence features and hierarchical features of the RNA secondary structure. Binding preferences can be extracted based on model outputs and parameters. Overall, the experimental results showed that HPNet achieved a mean area under the curve (AUC) of 94.5% for the benchmark dataset, which was more accurate than the state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, these results demonstrate that the hierarchical features of RNA secondary structure play an essential role in selecting RNA-binding sites

Nitrogen-doped PtNi Catalysts on PBI-functionalized Carbon Support for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in PEMFC

PtM (M = 3d transition metals) alloys are known as the promising oxygen reduction reaction catalysts and have been considered as the replacement of pure Pt catalysts for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Although great progress has been made in the past three decades, the performance and durability of PtM catalysts still face stringent challenges from practical applications. Functionalization of a catalyst carbon support with nitrogen-contained groups can add charges onto its surface, which can be utilized to build a more complete ionomer/catalyst interface, to reduce the catalyst particle size, and to improve particle size distribution. Nitriding of PtNi catalysts can effectively improve the catalyst activity and stability by the modification of lattice strain. Hereby, we propose a synergistic approach of combining polybenzimidazole-grafted Vulcan XC72 carbon as the catalyst carbon support and the nitriding of PtNi to develop PtNiN/XC72-polybenzimidazole catalysts. Such PtNiN/XC72-PBI catalysts exhibit the excellent performance of fuel cell membrane electrode assembly (i.e., mass activity, 440 mA mgPt–1; electrochemical surface area, 51 m2 gPt–1; and rated power density, 836 mW cm–2) as well as promising catalyst stability. The developed PtNiN/XC72-PBI meets the US DOE 2020 targets of mass activity for the fuel cell catalysts. This work provides a novel approach and a promising pathway on the development of the catalyst using such a synergistic approach─modification of the catalyst structure by nitrogen doping and functionalization of carbon support by polybenzimidazole for both high performance and high durability

Information collection system of duck products based on IoT

Abstract In view of the problems existing in the processing of duck products, such as complicated technology, difficulties in information collection and information linkage, and lack of dedicated information collection equipment, the duck product traceability information of the Institute of Things automatic collection system was developed. Acquisition system is mainly composed of sensing terminals, bus structure, and host computer management system. Perceiving the terminal can automatically perceive the information of each link and transmit the perception information to the upper computer management system through the bus. The upper computer management system realizes the functions of storing the sensing information, intelligent analysis, and alarm prompting. The long-term operation results show that the system performance is stable and reliable; the collection of data is efficient, complete, and accurate; and the degree of automation of the system is high, which significantly improves the product quality and safety supervision capabilities of the company