Blind Quality Assessment for Image Superresolution Using Deep Two-Stream Convolutional Networks

Numerous image superresolution (SR) algorithms have been proposed for reconstructing high-resolution (HR) images from input images with lower spatial resolutions. However, effectively evaluating the perceptual quality of SR images remains a challenging research problem. In this paper, we propose a no-reference/blind deep neural network-based SR image quality assessor (DeepSRQ). To learn more discriminative feature representations of various distorted SR images, the proposed DeepSRQ is a two-stream convolutional network including two subcomponents for distorted structure and texture SR images. Different from traditional image distortions, the artifacts of SR images cause both image structure and texture quality degradation. Therefore, we choose the two-stream scheme that captures different properties of SR inputs instead of directly learning features from one image stream. Considering the human visual system (HVS) characteristics, the structure stream focuses on extracting features in structural degradations, while the texture stream focuses on the change in textural distributions. In addition, to augment the training data and ensure the category balance, we propose a stride-based adaptive cropping approach for further improvement. Experimental results on three publicly available SR image quality databases demonstrate the effectiveness and generalization ability of our proposed DeepSRQ method compared with state-of-the-art image quality assessment algorithms

Isolation, Structural Identification and in Vitro Activity Evaluation of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from Moringa oleifera Seeds

In this study, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides from an enzymatic hydrolysate of Moringa oleifera seeds were separated by sequential ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography. The peptide sequences were identified by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and potential ACE inhibitory peptides were selected by bioinformatics and molecular docking; their secondary structure was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and their in vitro activity was evaluated by enzymatic inhibition kinetics and the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method. The results showed that peptide fraction F-b had a good antihypertensive effect. A total of 11 peptide sequences were identified. Peptide QGPRPQ was identified as a potential ACE inhibitory peptide with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) (1.15 ± 0.3) mmol/L. Molecular docking showed that QGPRPQ could better bind to ACE through hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction. Secondary structure analysis showed that QGPRPQ was composed of 22.8% α-helix, 33.3% β-fold and 43.9% β-turn. The mode of inhibition of QGPRPQ was mixed type, and it had no toxic effect on HepG2 cells at a concentration lower than 0.01 mg/mL. This study can provide an important theoretical basis for the development and utilization of hypotensive peptides derived from M. oleifera seed protein

Health-related effects and improving extractability of cereal arabinoxylans

Arabinoxylans (AXs) are major dietary fibers. They are composed of backbone chains of -(1–4)- linked xylose residues to which -l-arabinose are linked in the second and/or third carbon positions. Recently, AXs have attracted a great deal of attention because of their biological activities such as their immunomodulatory potential. Extraction of AXs has some difficulties; therefore, various methods have beenusedto increase the extractability ofAXs withvaryingdegrees of success, suchas alkaline, enzymatic, mechanical extraction. However, some of these treatments have been reported to be either expensive, such as enzymatic treatments, or produce hazardous wastes and are non-environmentally friendly, such as alkaline treatments. On the other hand, mechanical assisted extraction, especially extrusion cooking, is an innovative pre-treatment that has been used to increase the solubility of AXs. The aim of the current review article is to point out the health-related effects and to discuss the current research on the extraction methods of AXs

Atypical chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy with ophthalmoplegia and anti-sulfatide IgM positivity

Background Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a heterogeneous group of chronic immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathies. The clinical presentation of CIDP is mainly characterized by a classic peripheral demyelinating sensory-motor type and persists for a minimum of 2 months. However, CIDP may also present with atypical symptoms. Case presentation: This report presents the case of a patient with CIDP with ophthalmoplegia and anti-sulfatide IgM antibodies. Maintenance intravenous immunoglobulin and glucocorticoid therapies were administered to the patient in accordance with the clinical, laboratory, and electrophysiological findings, which were indicative of CIDP. The treatment partially improved the symptoms, and no recurrence was detected throughout the 3-month monitoring phase. Conclusions This study combines a retrospective analysis and a literature review to explore the possible mechanism of CIDP

Lithospheric Architecture and Metallogenesis in Liaodong Peninsula, North China Craton: Insights from Zircon Hf-Nd Isotope Mapping

The Liaodong Peninsula is an important mineral province in northern China. Elucidating its lithospheric architecture and structural evolution is important for gold metallogenic research and exploration in the region. In this study, Hf-Nd isotope maps from magmatic rocks are constructed and compared to geological maps to correlate isotopic signatures with geological features. It is found that gold deposits of different age periods in Liaodong are located in areas with specific εHf(t) and εNd ranges (Triassic: from −8 to −4 and from −12 to −8, Jurassic: from −22 to −8 and from −14 to −8, Cretaceous: from −12 to −10 and from −22 to −20), respectively. This may reflect that when the Paleo-Pacific plate was subducted beneath the North China Craton, the magma was derived from the juvenile lower crust and the ancient lower crust, and formed the low-to-moderate hydrothermal Au-(Ag) and Pb-Zn deposits in the Triassic. In the Jurassic, continued subduction may have led to lithospheric thickening. Subsequently, the magma from the ancient lower crust upwelled and formed low-to-moderate hydrothermal Au deposits and porphyry Mo deposits. In the Cretaceous, crustal delamination may have taken place. The magma from the ancient lower crust upwelled and formed various low-to-moderate hydrothermal Au deposits

Design and Analysis of Bionic Cutting Blades Using Finite Element Method

Praying mantis is one of the most efficient predators in insect world, which has a pair of powerful tools, two sharp and strong forelegs. Its femur and tibia are both armed with a double row of strong spines along their posterior edges which can firmly grasp the prey, when the femur and tibia fold on each other in capturing. These spines are so sharp that they can easily and quickly cut into the prey. The geometrical characteristic of the praying mantis’s foreleg, especially its tibia, has important reference value for the design of agricultural soil-cutting tools. Learning from the profile and arrangement of these spines, cutting blades with tooth profile were designed in this work. Two different sizes of tooth structure and arrangement were utilized in the design on the cutting edge. A conventional smooth-edge blade was used to compare with the bionic serrate-edge blades. To compare the working efficiency of conventional blade and bionic blades, 3D finite element simulation analysis and experimental measurement were operated in present work. Both the simulation and experimental results indicated that the bionic serrate-edge blades showed better performance in cutting efficiency

Synthesis and modelling of one rotational constraint orientated compliant mechanisms

This paper proposes dozens of One Rotational Constraint orientated Compliant Mechanisms (ORC-CMs), mainly utilizing a newly proposed virtual rigid-body mechanism based replacement method and the existing positon space method. These ORC-CMs have four types of configurations, including basic, transformed, parallel and serial configurations. The basic ORC-CM has the simplest geometrical structure that forms the constituent component of the other configurations. Parametric kinetostatic (linear) models of these ORC-CMs are derived for quick and insightful determinate synthesis/analysis toward optimization of the associated parameters to achieve the intended objectives, which can also promote further nonlinear modelling. The linear analytical results are in reasonable agreement with the FEA simulation results, over an approximate displacement range of +/- 10% of beam length for translations or +/- 0.08 rad for rotations. Some of the derived analytical models are also verified through experimental tests on one fabricated prototype of the parallel ORC-CMs. The proposed ORC-CMs along with the well-known slender wire beams play an important role on the synthesis of multi-DOF kinematic decoupled compliant mechanisms and the design of other instruments and robots such as continuum robots. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved