Transcriptome, microRNA, and degradome analyses of the gene expression of Paulownia with phytoplamsa

Primers of P. tomentosa miRNAs for qRT-PCR analysis. (DOCX 20.7 kb

Two-stream convolutional neural network for non-destructive subsurface defect detection via similarity comparison of lock-in thermography signals

Active infrared thermography is a safe, fast, and low-cost solution for subsurface defects inspection, providing quality control in many industrial production tasks. In this paper, we explore deep learning-based approaches to analyze lock-in thermography image sequences for non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&amp;E) of subsurface defects. Different from most existing Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models that directly classify individual regions/pixels as defective and non-defective ones, we present a novel two-stream CNN architecture to extract/compare features in a pair of 1D thermal signal sequences for accurate classification/differentiation of defective and non-defective regions. In this manner, we can significantly increase the size of the training data by pairing two individually captured 1D thermal signals, thereby greatly easing the requirement for collecting a large number of thermal sequences of specimens with defects to train deep CNN models. Moreover, we experimentally investigate a number of network alternatives, identifying the optimal fusion scheme/stage for differentiating the thermal behaviors of defective and non-defective regions. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method, directly learning how to construct feature representations from a large number of real-captured thermal signal pairs, outperforms the well-established lock-in thermography data processing techniques on specimens made of different materials and at various excitation frequencies.</p

Remote sensing-based spatiotemporal variation and driving factor assessment of chlorophyll-a concentrations in China’s Pearl River Estuary

Climate change and intensive anthropogenic activities have severely challenged the water quality of China’s Pearl River Estuary (PRE). Further investigations into long-term water quality variation and associated driving mechanisms are therefore necessary to support the sustainable development of the PRE’s Greater Bay Area (GBA). This study used remote sensing retrieval to address long-term spatiotemporal chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) variation characteristics in the PRE and the relationship between Chl-a concentrations and socioeconomic/environmental indicators. Three decades of Landsat satellite images and measured data were collected, and a two-band global algorithm was used to retrieve Chl-a concentration data. Results reveal significant spatiotemporal variability in Chl-a concentrations. The space-averaged Chl-a concentration exhibited a slight downward trend during the past three decades, and the multi-year mean value was 5.20 mg/L. Changes to environmental protection policies in recent years have improved overall PRE water quality. The western section of the PRE had the highest Chl-a concentration (i.e., 5.92 mg/L average) while the eastern section had the lowest (i.e., 3.98 mg/L average). This discrepancy was likely caused by the western section’s more intensive industrial activities, resulting in a higher overall wastewater discharge volume. Affected by climatic conditions, winter Chl-a concentrations were evenly distributed while summer concentrations were significantly higher. Additionally, Chl-a concentrations significantly and positively correlated with total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), and the biotic oxygen demand (BOD5). Chl-a concentrations also correlated with external factors (i.e., climate and anthropogenic activities). Among these factors, industrial wastewater discharge and the proportion of primary industries in coastal cities significantly and positively correlated with water quality. This study is intended to help direct water quality improvement management and urban sustainable development in the GBA

Flavanone-rich citrus beverages counteract the transient decline in postprandial endothelial function in humans: a randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study

Specific flavonoid-rich foods/beverages are reported to exert positive effects on vascular function; however, data relating to effects in the postprandial state are limited. The present study investigated the postprandial, time-dependent (0–7 h) impact of citrus flavanone intake on vascular function. An acute, randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study was conducted by including middle-aged healthy men (30–65 years, n 28) to assess the impact of flavanone intake (orange juice: 128·9 mg; flavanone-rich orange juice: 272·1 mg; homogenised whole orange: 452·8 mg; isoenergetic control: 0 mg flavanones) on postprandial (double meal delivering a total of 81 g of fat) endothelial function. Endothelial function was assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery at 0, 2, 5 and 7 h. Plasma levels of paringenin/hesperetin metabolites (sulphates and glucuronides) and nitric oxide species were also measured. All flavanone interventions were effective at attenuating transient impairments in FMD induced by the double meal (7 h post intake; P <0·05), but no dose–response effects were observed. The effects on FMD coincided with the peak of naringenin/hesperetin metabolites in circulation (7 h) and sustained levels of plasma nitrite. In summary, citrus flavanones are effective at counteracting the negative impact of a sequential double meal on human vascular function, potentially through the actions of flavanone metabolites on nitric oxide

Robust anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnetic metal under high pressure

Recently, the giant intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) has been observed in the materials with kagome lattice. In this study, we systematically investigate the influence of high pressure on the AHE in the ferromagnet LiMn6Sn6 with clean Mn kagome lattice. Our in-situ high-pressure Raman spectroscopy indicates that the crystal structure of LiMn6Sn6 maintains a hexagonal phase under high pressures up to 8.51 GPa. The anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) {\sigma}xyA remains around 150 {\Omega}-1 cm-1, dominated by the intrinsic mechanism. Combined with theoretical calculations, our results indicate that the stable AHE under pressure in LiMn6Sn6 originates from the robust electronic and magnetic structure.Comment: 11 pages 5 figure

A solution-processable and ultra-permeable conjugated microporous thermoset for selective hydrogen separation.

The synthesis of a polymer that combines the processability of plastics with the extreme rigidity of cross-linked organic networks is highly attractive for molecular sieving applications. However, cross-linked networks are typically insoluble or infusible, preventing them from being processed as plastics. Here, we report a solution-processable conjugated microporous thermoset with permanent pores of ~0.4 nm, prepared by a simple heating process. When employed as a two-dimensional molecular sieving membrane for hydrogen separation, the membrane exhibits ultrahigh permeability with good selectivity for H2 over CO2, O2, N2, CH4, C3H6 and C3H8. The combined processability, structural rigidity and easy feasibility make this polymeric membrane promising for large-scale hydrogen separations of commercial and environmental relevance

Superconducting properties of FeSe wires and tapes prepared by gas diffusion technique

Superconducting FeSe in the form of wires and tapes were successfully fabricated using a novel gas diffusion procedure. Structural analysis by mean of x-ray diffraction shows that themain phase of tetragonal PbO-type FeSe was obtained by this synthesis method. The zero resistivity transition temperature of the FeSe was confirmed to be 9.3 K. The critical current density as high as 137 A/cm^2 (4 K, self field) has been observed. The results suggest that the diffusion procedure is promising in preparing high-quality FeSe wires and tapes.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Supercond. Sci. Technol. accepte

Structural and critical current properties in polycrystalline SmO1-xFxFeAs

A series of polycrystalline SmO1-xFxFeAs bulks (x=0.15, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) were prepared by the conventional solid state reaction. Resistivity, susceptibility, magnetic hysteresis, critical current density and microstructure of these samples have been investigated. It is found that critical transition temperature Tc increases steadily with increasing fluorine content, with the highest onset Tc=53 K at x=0.4. On the other hand, the superconductivity seems correlated with lattice constants; that is, Tc rises with the shrinkage of a-axis while resistivity increases with the enlargement of c-axis. A global critical current density of 1.1x10^4 A/cm^2 at 5 K in self field was achieved in the purest sample. A method of characterization of inter-grain current density is proposed. This method gives an inter-grain Jc of 3.6x10^3 A/cm^2 at 5 K in self field, in contrast to the intra-grain Jc of 10^6 A/cm^2. The effect of composition gradients on the inter-grain Jc in SmO1-xFxFeAs is also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure