DFF-ResNet : An Insect Pest Recognition Model Based on Residual Networks

Insect pest control is considered as a significant factor in the yield of commercial crops. Thus, to avoid economic losses, we need a valid method for insect pest recognition. In this paper, we proposed a feature fusion residual block to perform the insect pest recognition task. Based on the original residual block, we fused the feature from a previous layer between two 1×1 convolution layers in a residual signal branch to improve the capacity of the block. Furthermore, we explored the contribution of each residual group to the model performance. We found that adding the residual blocks of earlier residual groups promotes the model performance significantly, which improves the capacity of generalization of the model. By stacking the feature fusion residual block, we constructed the Deep Feature Fusion Residual Network (DFF-ResNet). To prove the validity and adaptivity of our approach, we constructed it with two common residual networks (Pre-ResNet and Wide Residual Network (WRN)) and validated these models on the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research (CIFAR) and Street View House Number (SVHN) benchmark datasets. The experimental results indicate that our models have a lower test error than those of baseline models. Then, we applied our models to recognize insect pests and obtained validity on the IP102 benchmark dataset. The experimental results show that our models outperform the original ResNet and other state-of-the-art methods

HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of four compounds in rat plasma after intravenous administration of Portulaca oleracea L. extract

O objetivo do estudo foi desenvolver um método simples e específico de HPLC para a determinação simultânea de hesperidina (HP), ácido caféico (CA), ácido ferúlico (FA) e ácido p-cumárico (p-CA) em plasma de rato após a administração intravenosa de extrato Portulaca oleracea L. (POE) empregando hyperosídeo como padrão interno de referência. Metanol foi empregado para os analitos em plasma (0,2 mL). A fase móvel isocrática foi composta por metanol-acetonitrila-tetraidrofurano-0,5% ácido acético glacial (5:3:18:74, v/v/v/v). Curvas de calibração foram lineares na faixa de concentração de 0,1-25 µg mL-1, 0,1-25 µg mL-1, 0,1-25 µg mL-1 e 0,015-3 µg mL-1 para HP, CA, FA e p-CA, respectivamente. O método desenvolvido foi adequado para estudo farmacocinético de HP, CA, FA e p-CA em ratos após a administração intravenosa de POE.The objective of the present study was to develop a simple and selective HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of hesperidin (HP), caffeic acid (CA), ferulic acid (FA) and p-coumaric acid (p-CA) in rat plasma after intravenous administration of Portulaca oleracea L. extract (POE). With the hyperoside as the internal standard, the sample pretreatment procedure involved simple single-step extraction with methanol of 0.2 mL plasma. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran-0.5% glacial acetic acid (5:3:18:74, v/v/v/v). The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.1-25 µg mL-1, 0.1-25 µg mL-1, 0.1-25 µg mL-1and 0.015-3 µg mL-1 for HP, CA, FA and p-CA, respectively. The method developed was suitable for the pharmacokinetic study of HP, CA, FA and p-CA in rats after intravenous administration of POE

The microstructure network and thermoelectric properties of bulk (Bi,Sb)₂Te₃

We report small-angle neutron scattering studies on the microstructure network in bulk (Bi,Sb)(2)Te-3 synthesized by the melt-spinning (MS) and the spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) process. We find that rough interfaces of multiscale microstructures generated by the MS are responsible for the large reduction of both lattice thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. Our study also finds that subsequent SPS forms a microstructure network of similar to 10 nm thick lamellae and smooth interfaces between them. This nanoscale microstructure network with smooth interfaces increases electrical conductivity while keeping a low thermal conductivity, making it an ideal microstructure for high thermoelectric efficiency

Pharmacokinetic study of isoquercitrin in rat plasma after intravenous administration at three different doses

O objetivo deste estudo é desenvolver um método simples e específico de HPLC usando vitexina como padrão interno para investigar a farmacocinética do isoquercitrina (ISOQ) após três doses diferentes administradas por via intravenosa a ratos. Os parâmetros farmacocinéticos foram calculados pelas abordagens compartimental e não compartimental. Os resultados mostraram que ISOQ se encaixa no modelo de três compartimentos. Os valores de AUC aumentaram proporcionalmente na faixa de 5-10 mg·kg-1. Além disso, a meia-vida, b meia-vida, ªCL, MRT0-t and MRT0→∞ de ISOQ em ratos mostraram diferenças significativas entre 20 mg·kg-1 e outras doses, o que significa que ISOQ apresenta farmacocinética dose-dependente no intervalo de 5-10 mg·kg-1 e farmacocinética não linear em doses mais elevadas.The aim of this study is to develop a simple and specific HPLC method using vitexin as the internal standard to investigate the pharmacokinetics of isoquercitrin (ISOQ) after three different doses administrated intravenously to rats. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by both compartmental and non-compartmental approaches. The results showed that ISOQ fitted a three-compartment open model. The values of AUC increased proportionally within the range of 5-10 mg·kg-1. Moreover, a half-life, b half-life, ªCL, MRT0-t and MRT0→∞ of ISOQ in rats showed significant differences between 20 mg·kg-1 and other doses, indicating that ISOQ presented dose-dependent pharmacokinetics in the range of 5-10 mg·kg-1 and non-linear pharmacokinetics at higher doses