NerVE: Neural Volumetric Edges for Parametric Curve Extraction from Point Cloud

Extracting parametric edge curves from point clouds is a fundamental problem in 3D vision and geometry processing. Existing approaches mainly rely on keypoint detection, a challenging procedure that tends to generate noisy output, making the subsequent edge extraction error-prone. To address this issue, we propose to directly detect structured edges to circumvent the limitations of the previous point-wise methods. We achieve this goal by presenting NerVE, a novel neural volumetric edge representation that can be easily learned through a volumetric learning framework. NerVE can be seamlessly converted to a versatile piece-wise linear (PWL) curve representation, enabling a unified strategy for learning all types of free-form curves. Furthermore, as NerVE encodes rich structural information, we show that edge extraction based on NerVE can be reduced to a simple graph search problem. After converting NerVE to the PWL representation, parametric curves can be obtained via off-the-shelf spline fitting algorithms. We evaluate our method on the challenging ABC dataset. We show that a simple network based on NerVE can already outperform the previous state-of-the-art methods by a great margin. Project page: https://dongdu3.github.io/projects/2023/NerVE/.Comment: Accepted by CVPR2023. Project page: https://dongdu3.github.io/projects/2023/NerVE

Fe, N, S-doped porous carbon as oxygen reduction reaction catalyst in acidic medium with high activity and durability synthesized using CaCl2 as template

燃料电池是一种可将化学能通过电催化反应直接转化成电能的装置,具有能量密度高和清洁无污染等优点.燃料电池阴极氧还原反应(ORR)的动力学较迟缓,是; 电池能量效率损失的主要原因.目前ORR催化活性最高的是铂基催化剂,但由于贵金属铂价格昂贵,储量稀少,且对燃料小分子渗透的抗性较差,严重制约了燃料; 电池的大规模应用.因此,高性能、低成本的非贵金属催化剂成为燃料电池领域的研究热点.本文选用含氮量高达45%的三聚氰胺-甲醛树脂为碳源和氮源,Fe; (SCN)_3为铁源和硫源,以CaCl_2为模板,在高温和铁的催化作用下将树脂碳化,经酸洗和二次热处理工艺,制备出铁、氮、硫共掺杂的多孔碳(Fe; NS-PC).干燥后的CaCl_2颗粒可防止树脂在高温下交联形成块状碳颗粒,同时起到造孔模板的作用.CaCl_2颗粒在温和条件下即可除去,无需强; 腐蚀性条件,因此不会对催化活性中心造成破坏.在Fe/N/C催化剂中掺杂S可进一步提高催化活性,不添加碳载体可避免低活性的碳载体降低质量活性,多孔; 结构可促进传质,充分利用活性位点.我们优化了热处理温度,并对催化剂的结构、组分及催化性能等进行了表征分析.结果表明,热处理温度为900; °C时,可将树脂完全转化成多孔碳,并获得较高的杂原子掺杂量,可达到最优活性.CaCl_2为模板剂可避免使用强腐蚀性试剂去除模板,有利于保留活性位; ,并得到多孔结构.FeNS-PC-900的比表面积可达775; m~2/g.得益于原位掺杂的合成工艺,各掺杂元素在多孔碳表面均匀分布.在酸性介质中,FeNS-PC-900的半波电位可达到0.811; V,仅比商业Pt/C催化剂低78 mV;在0.8 V电位下的质量活性为10.2; A/g,表现出优异的催化活性.经过10000圈加速衰减测试后,其半波电位仅下降了20 mV,在0.75 V电位下持续放电10000; s后,其ORR电流仍保持初始电流的84.4%,具有比Pt/C更加优异的稳定性.以FeNS-PC-900为阴极催化剂的质子交换膜燃料电池的最大功率; 密度可达到0.49 W/cm~2,并在0.6 V电压下持续放电10; h后,其电流仍可保持初始电流的65%,表现出良好的应用潜力.FeNS-PC-900具有高掺杂含量、高比表面积和多孔结构,并且杂原子在催化剂表面均; 匀分散,在半电池和燃料电池测试中都表现出优异的催化活性和稳定性,表明其是一种非常有潜力应用于燃料电池的非贵金属氧还原催化剂.Proton exchange membrane fuel cells suffer from the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the high cost of Pt catalysts. In the present work, a high-performance ORR catalyst based on Fe, N, S-doped porous carbon (FeNS-PC) was synthesized using melamine formaldehyde resin as C and N precursors, Fe(SCN)(3) as Fe and S precursors, and CaCl2 as a template via a two-step heat treatment without a harsh template removal step. The results show that the catalyst treated at 900 degrees C (FeNS-PC-900) had a high surface area of 775 m(2)/g, a high mass activity of 10.2 A/g in an acidic medium, and excellent durability; the half-wave potential decreased by only 20 mV after 10000 potential cycles. The FeNS-PC-900 catalyst was used as the cathode in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell and delivered a peak power density of 0.49 W/cm(2). FeNS-PC-900 therefore has good potential for use in practical applications. (C) 2017, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.National Basic Research Program of China [2015CB932303]; National; Natural Science Foundation of China [21373175, 21621091

Engineering Bacillus licheniformis for the production of meso-2,3-butanediol

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Multiple sequence alignments of GDH from B. licheniformis WX-02 (WX-02 GDH) with GDHs from other strains

Effects of Thinning Intensities on Soil Infiltration and Water Storage Capacity in a Chinese Pine-Oak Mixed Forest

Thinning is a crucial practice in the forest ecosystem management. The soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity of pine-oak mixed forest under three different thinning intensity treatments (15%, 30%, and 60%) were studied in Qinling Mountains of China. The thinning operations had a significant influence on soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity. The soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity in different thinning treatments followed the order of control (nonthinning): <60%, <15%, and <30%. It demonstrated that thinning operation with 30% intensity can substantially improve soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity of pine-oak mixed forest in Qinling Mountains. The soil initial infiltration rate, stable infiltration rate, and average infiltration rate in thinning 30% treatment were significantly increased by 21.1%, 104.6%, and 60.9%, compared with the control. The soil maximal water storage capacity and noncapillary water storage capacity in thinning 30% treatment were significantly improved by 20.1% and 34.3% in contrast to the control. The soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity were significantly higher in the surface layer (0~20 cm) than in the deep layers (20~40 cm and 40~60 cm). We found that the soil property was closely related to soil infiltration rate and water storage capacity

Upwelling velocity and ventilation in the western South China Sea deduced from CFC-12 and SF6 observations

This study presents observations of the transient tracers CFC-12 and SF6 in the western South China Sea during the fall of 2015. A CFC-12 maximum was discovered in the western South China Sea at the subsurface layer (150–200 m), which could be traced back to the North Pacific Tropical Water. The transit time distribution approach was used to estimate the ventilation time in this area. The constrained Δ /Γ ratio of 0.5 was obtained using CFC-12/SF6 tracer pair. This ratio is lower than the empirical unit ratio of one as used for previous estimates. Waters in the northern region of the western South China Sea appear younger than waters in the southern region. The water mass corresponding to the salinity minimum has a mean age of ∼67 ± 16 years along the 15º N line (marked by the red dashed rectangle in Fig. 1), which increases to ∼76 ± 18 years along the 10º N line (blue dashed rectangle, Fig. 1). The higher mean ages indicate that the intermediate water was ventilated from the North Pacific, which is far distant from the South China Sea. The column inventory of Cant is ∼31.3 mol C m–2. Upwelling velocities of up to ∼55 × 10–5 m s–1 was computed using the tracer data, indicating that tracer-free water as yet not influenced by human perturbation could be carried to the upper layer by upwelling. Using the transit time distribution derived mean age with transient tracers provides a possible way to determine the ventilation time scale for the study area

Deletion of Aquaporin-4 in APP/PS1 Mice Exacerbates Brain Aβ Accumulation and Memory Deficits

BACKGROUND: Preventing or reducing amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation in the brain is an important therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Recent studies showed that the water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) mediates soluble Aβ clearance from the brain parenchyma along the paravascular pathway. However the direct evidence for roles of AQP4 in the pathophysiology of AD remains absent. RESULTS: Here, we reported that the deletion of AQP4 exacerbated cognitive deficits of 12-moth old APP/PS1 mice, with increases in Aβ accumulation, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and loss of synaptic protein and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus and cortex. Furthermore, AQP4 deficiency increased atrophy of astrocytes with significant decreases in interleukin-1 beta and nonsignificant decreases in interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in hippocampal and cerebral samples. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that AQP4 attenuates Aβ pathogenesis despite its potentially inflammatory side-effects, thus serving as a promising target for treating AD

Enriched oxygen improves age-related cognitive impairment through enhancing autophagy

Age-related cognitive impairment represents a significant health concern, with the understanding of its underlying mechanisms and potential interventions being of paramount importance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on cognitive function and neuronal integrity in aged (22-month-old) C57BL/6 mice. Male mice were exposed to HBOT for 2 weeks, and spatial learning and memory abilities were assessed using the Morris water maze. We employed transcriptome sequencing and Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis to examine the effects of HBOT on gene expression profiles, with particular attention given to synapse-related genes. Our data indicated a significant upregulation of postsynapse organization, synapse organization, and axonogenesis GO terms, likely contributing to improved cognitive performance. Moreover, the hyperphosphorylation of tau, a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, was significantly reduced in the HBO-treated group, both in vivo and in vitro. Transmission electron microscopy revealed significant ultrastructural alterations in the hippocampus of the HBOT group, including an increase in the number of synapses and the size of the active zone, a reduction in demyelinated lesions, and a decreased number of “PANTHOS.” Furthermore, Western blot analyses confirmed the upregulation of PSD95, BDNF, and Syn proteins, suggesting enhanced synaptic plasticity and neurotrophic support. Moreover, HBOT increased autophagy, as evidenced by the elevated levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 proteins and the reduced level of p62 protein. Finally, we demonstrated that HBOT activated the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway, a critical regulator of autophagy. Notably, our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which HBOT ameliorates age-related cognitive impairment, suggesting the potential therapeutic value of this approach

Evaluation of the Biogenic Amines and Microbial Contribution in Traditional Chinese Sausages

Biogenic amines (BAs) in sausages represent a health risk for consumers, and thus investigating the BAs accumulation mechanism is important to control the BAs. In this study, the BAs profiles of 16 typical Chinese sausage samples were evaluated, and 8 kinds of common BAs were detected from different samples. As a whole, the BAs contents of the majority of Chinese sausage samples were within the safe dosage range, except that the total BAs and histamine concentrations of sample HBBD were above the toxic dosage levels. Furthermore, the bacterial and fungal communities of the Chinese sausage samples were investigated by high-throughput sequencing analysis, and Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Debaryomyces, and Aspergillus were identified as the predominant genera. Accordingly, 13 representative strains were selected from the dominant genera, and their BAs formation and degradation properties were evaluated. Finally, the results of fermented meats model experiment indicated that the Staphylococcus isolates including Staphylococcus pasteuri Sp, Staphylococcus epidermidis Se, Staphylococcus carnosus Sc1, Staphylococcus carnosus Sc2, and Staphylococcus simulans Ss could significantly reduce BAs, possessing the potential as the starter cultures to control the BAs in fermented meat products. The present study not only helped to explain the BAs accumulation mechanism in Chinese sausage, but also developed the candidates for potential BAs control in fermented meat products