Uneven Size Research Articles

Toward improving precision and complexity of transformer-based cost-sensitive learning models for plant disease detection

Early and accurate detection of plant diseases is crucial for making informed decisions to increase the yield and quality of crops through the decision of appropriate treatments. This study introduces an automated system for early disease detection in plants that enhanced a lightweight model based on the robust machine learning algorithm. In particular, we introduced a transformer module, a fusion of the SPP and C3TR modules, to synthesize features in various sizes and handle uneven input image sizes. The proposed model combined with transformer-based long-term dependency modeling and convolution-based visual feature extraction to improve object detection performance. To optimize a model to a lightweight version, we integrated the proposed transformer model with the Ghost module. Such an integration acted as regular convolutional layers that subsequently substituted for the original layers to cut computational costs. Furthermore, we adopted the SIoU loss function, a modified version of CIoU, applied to the YOLOv8s model, demonstrating a substantial improvement in accuracy. We implemented quantization to the YOLOv8 model using ONNX Runtime to enhance to facilitate real-time disease detection on strawberries. Through an experiment with our dataset, the proposed model demonstrated mAP@.5 characteristics of 80.30%, marking an 8% improvement compared to the original YOLOv8 model. In addition, the parameters and complexity were reduced to approximately one-third of the initial model. These findings demonstrate notable improvements in accuracy and complexity reduction, making it suitable for detecting strawberry diseases in diverse conditions.

Preparation and performance evaluation of an efficient microbial dust suppressant for dust control in disturbed areas of blast piles in open-pit coal mines.

Open-pit coal mining creates large rock piles as a result of removing overlying strata. When disturbed by loading operations and wind, these rock piles release considerable dust, leading to significant environmental pollution. This study aims to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for dust control in disturbed areas of open-pit coal mines, using Sporosarcina pasteurii as a microbial dust suppressant to explore its potential application and development. Laboratory experiments were conducted to simulate the growth characteristics of Sporosarcina pasteurii in the microenvironment of blast pile dust. The effectiveness of the microbial dust suppressant was evaluated under conditions of impact disturbance and rainfall erosion through wind and rain erosion tests. Results showed that under optimal conditions, the wind erosion resistance of treated samples improved significantly, with an increase of 98.24%, 86.99%, 64.08%, and 40.98% after 1, 2, 3, and 4 impact disturbances, respectively. Additionally, rain erosion resistance improved by 75.55% after 35min of simulated rainfall. The growth conditions of Sporosarcina pasteurii in blast pile dust leachate were similar to those in sterile water, demonstrating robust growth and consistent urease activity of 7.78mmolL⁻1min⁻1 after 24h. The mineralization product was calcite-type CaCO3 with uneven particle sizes. This work confirms the feasibility of microbial dust suppressants for managing dust in disturbed areas of open-pit coal mine blast piles, offering a promising approach for dust control in such environments.

Influence of threaded pipe structural parameters on the conveyance of lithium-ion battery anode materials

Particle stratification occurs during the pneumatic conveyance of lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode materials, resulting in an uneven particle size distribution, which affects battery performance. To optimize the conveyance of lithium-ion battery anode material particles and achieve uniform mixing of large and small particles, this study proposes the inclusion of a threaded pipe section and evaluates this structure based on numerical simulations and experimental research. The results indicate that a pitch of 500 mm maximizes the mixing performance enhancement coefficient for the threaded pipe section. Additionally, the mixing performance is best for a channel comprising 4 threaded pipe sections (the enhancement coefficient exceeds 1.6). The final structure with 4 threaded pipe sections, 500 mm pitch, and 4 channels can be used for graphitic anodes in LIBs under conditions of a small pressure drop and excellent mixing performance. This structure also provides uniform particle transportation.

Evolution in thermal storage stability of SBS-polymer modified asphalt induced by differences in microscopic characteristics of base asphalt

In thermal storage process, the aggregation, segregation, and floating of styrene–butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS) modifier will affect the performances of SBS-modified asphalt (SBSMA). To investigate the significant impact of macro and micro characteristics of base asphalt (BA) on the storage stability of SBSMA, we prepared SBSMA samples with three different base asphalts (BA-A, BA-B, and BA-C). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the microscopic properties of BAs and SBSMAs and to establish topological network nodes for their microscopic morphology. The storage performance of SBSMAs was inspected by the segregation softening point difference, complex modulus difference, and phase angle difference. Finally, the correlation analysis of microscopic structure of BA samples and storage stability of SBSMA was conducted via grey correlation methodology. The experimental results indicate that BA-A with higher molecular weight has an uneven size with honeycomb like structure, while modified asphalt using BA-A exhibits serious phase separation. In contrast, modified asphalt using BA-B and BA-C has better storage stability due to their uniform honeycomb structure size, which is consistent with the pattern presented by the microstructure of asphalt. Grey correlation analysis shows that there is a good correlation between the roughness of BA samples and the storage stability of SBSMA. In addition, the segregation softening point and the difference in complex modulus can be effective indicators for evaluating the storage stability of SBSMA.

Solid-State Synthesis for High-Tetragonality, Small-Particle Barium Titanate.

This study successfully synthesized high-tetragonality barium titanate (BaTiO3) particles with a small particle size by implementing ball milling in the solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 and utilizing nanoscale raw materials. This study also addressed the issues of impurities and uneven particle size distribution that could exist in the synthesized BaTiO3 particles. The crystal structure, morphology, and particle size of the synthesized BaTiO3 particles have been meticulously analyzed and discussed through the use of techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the laser particle size analyzer. BaTiO3 has been successfully synthesized, exhibiting a uniform particle size with an average diameter of 170 nm and a high tetragonality value of 1.01022. This new solid-state synthesis method provided insights to avoid the impact of "size effects" during the process of electronic device miniaturization.

Distributed Statistical Analyses: A Scoping Review and Examples of Operational Frameworks Adapted to Health Analytics.

Data from multiple organizations are crucial for advancing learning health systems. However, ethical, legal, and social concerns may restrict the use of standard statistical methods that rely on pooling data. Although distributed algorithms offer alternatives, they may not always be suitable for health frameworks. This paper aims to support researchers and data custodians in three ways: (1) providing a concise overview of the literature on statistical inference methods for horizontally partitioned data; (2) describing the methods applicable to generalized linear models (GLM) and assessing their underlying distributional assumptions; (3) adapting existing methods to make them fully usable in health settings. A scoping review methodology was employed for the literature mapping, from which methods presenting a methodological framework for GLM analyses with horizontally partitioned data were identified and assessed from the perspective of applicability in health settings. Statistical theory was used to adapt methods and to derive the properties of the resulting estimators. From the review, 41 articles were selected, and six approaches were extracted for conducting standard GLM-based statistical analysis. However, these approaches assumed evenly and identically distributed data across nodes. Consequently, statistical procedures were derived to accommodate uneven node sample sizes and heterogeneous data distributions across nodes. Workflows and detailed algorithms were developed to highlight information-sharing requirements and operational complexity. This paper contributes to the field of health analytics by providing an overview of the methods that can be used with horizontally partitioned data, by adapting these methods to the context of heterogeneous health data and by clarifying the workflows and quantities exchanged by the methods discussed. Further analysis of the confidentiality preserved by these methods is needed to fully understand the risk associated with the sharing of summary statistics.

A new process for preparing ultrafine WC-Co cemented carbide by doping yttrium within the ammonium metatungstate solution

Ultrafine WC-Co cemented carbide has superior performance of high strength and high hardness, which is widely used in industrial fields. In the traditional process, high temperature carburization method is used to prepare tungsten carbide, and solid-phase mechanical milling method is used to mix grain growth inhibitor (Cr3C2) and tungsten carbide, which easily lead to large WC particle size and uneven WC grain size distribution in WC-Co cemented carbide, thus affecting mechanical properties of the alloy. In the new process, based on the genetic relationship between the particle size of ammonium paratungstate and tungsten carbide, ultrafine ammonium paratungstate uniformly doped with yttrium was firstly obtained by adding a certain amount of ammonia and yttrium oxide into the ammonium metatungstate solution. Then the ammonium paratungstate was calcined to obtain yttrium-doped tungsten trioxide, which was then converted into yttrium-doped ultrafine tungsten carbide powders by introducing carbon monoxide at a low temperature. Finally, the ultrafine WC-Co cemented carbide was prepared by pressure sintering. During the neutralization and crystallization process of ammonium metatungstate solution, the yttrium-doped ultrafine ammonium paratungstate (Fischer particle size 8.4 μm) with narrow particle size distribution and regular morphology was prepared. The yttrium-doped ammonium paratungstate was calcined at 500 °C for 90 min in air atmosphere to obtain yttrium-doped tungsten trioxide powder with a Fischer particle size of 4.5 μm and narrow size distribution. Then the yttrium-doped tungsten trioxide and carbon monoxide gas were reacted at 920 °C for 3h to obtain yttrium-doped ultrafine tungsten carbide powder with a Fischer particle size of 0.32 μm and a specific surface area of 4.44 m2/g, and ultrafine WC-Co cemented carbide with tungsten carbide grain size of 0.28 μm was obtained by pressure sintering. The yttrium uniform distributed effectively inhibited the abnormal growth of tungsten carbide grains. Compared with the WC-Co cemented carbide prepared by solid-phase mechanically mixing tungsten carbide powder and chromium carbide, the yttrium-doped WC-Co cemented carbide had a smaller average tungsten carbide grain size and a more homogeneous microstructure. The prepared yttrium-doped WC-Co cemented carbide had a hardness (HRA) of 94.6, a bending strength of 4841 M, and a coercive force of 42.3 KA/c.

Enhanced powder characteristics of succinic acid through crystallization techniques for food industry application

During crystallization, succinic acid, an important food additive, exhibit severe agglomeration behaviour, uneven crystal size distribution (CSD), and irregular crystal morphology, resulting in poor powder flow properties. This paper presents an innovative approach to optimize succinic acid crystallization through investigation of novel blade milling method, seeding, and inclusion of green additive, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). CTAB for crystal habit regulation and formation of desired cubic-like morphology. We employ Mask R-CNN, a deep learning-based image analysis tool to quantitatively assess crystal and powder flow properties. Results demonstrate that the inclusion of 0.5 wt% CTAB with two-stage cooling method yields uniform CSD ranging from 30 μm to 160 μm and improves powder properties, reducing the agglomeration degree by 46% and caking ratio to only 6.78%, indicating a decreased tendency for clumping. The integration of crystallization with the proposed deep learning framework not only improves succinic acid food functionality but also showcases highly efficient method for optimizing crystal properties, setting new standard for food crystallization processes. It has been adequately presented with real-time high-precision analysis of CSD, agglomeration, etc, facilitating rapid screening for optimized food quality improvements.

Haizao–Gancao herb pair ameliorates propylthiouracil-induced goiter by regulating the Beclin1-mediated autophagy

Ethnopharmacological relevanceHaizao, Sargassum, is widely used to treat goiter. Gancao, Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizome, is renowned for reducing toxicity or increasing effects in traditional Chinese medicine. As a classic herb pair, Haizao–Gancao (HG) is a commonly used and effective combined therapy for goiter. The underlying biological mechanisms of HG on goiter is still unclear. Aim of the studyTo explore the effect of HG on goiter, employing molecular docking combined with experimental validation to elucidate the molecular mechanism. Materials and methodsThe rat goiter model was created by gavageing propylthiouracil (PTU) intragastrically for a duration of 14 days. The rats had been separated into six groups: control, model, euthyrox, HG high-dose (HG-H), medium-dose (HG-M) and low-dose (HG-L) group. Based on general observations (such as the rats' living status, body weight, and rectal temperature), the relative weight of the thyroid, thyroid function, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to view the pathological variations of the thyroid glands, the effect of HG was evaluated. Discovered the chemical composition of HG by UPLC-MS/MS and the possible targets were predicted adopting several databases. Next, we explored their pharmacological mechanisms using molecular docking and validated key targets using western blotting (WB) and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). ResultsHG significantly increased the levels of triiodothyronine(T3), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), gained body weight and reduced tumescent thyroid glands in PTU-induced rats. The model group pathological changes such as uneven size, irregular shape and disordered arrangement of follicular epithelial cells occurred. However, HG groups thyroid follicles and epithelial cells appeared apparently normal. A variety of characteristic changes of autophagic vesicles appeared in the HG groups as opposed to the model group. In conclusion, the HG-L showed the best therapeutic effect. By UPLC-MS/MS, the major chemical components of HG were identified. The result revealed that HG contained flavonoids, alkaloids, organic acids, phenolic acidsand and terpenoids, etc. The molecular docking results of formononetin and naringenin and Beclin1 protein showed a high interaction of −5.38 kcal/mol and −5.25 kcal/mol. This implies that formononetin and naringenin may have a therapeutic effect in goiter rats by controlling the Beclin1-mediated autophagy. Western Blot (WB) and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) results showed that HG can disrupt Beclin1/class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3KC3) binding and promote Beclin1/B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2(Bcl-2) complex formation. Taken together, results demonstrate that autophagy inhibition via reducing Beclin1/PI3KC3 formation and increasing Beclin1/Bcl-2 binding activity. ConclusionsHG ameliorates propylthiouracil-induced goiter by regulating the Beclin1-mediated autophagy, thus promoting the autophagy of thyroid cells.

Experimental and numerical analysis to enhance the thermodynamic properties and biofuel stability: Sapindus mukorossi

ABSTRACT Microscale additives face challenges like sedimentation, conglomeration, and uneven size distribution, which can adversely impact biodiesel stability and thermochemical properties. This study investigates the stability and thermochemical properties of magnesium-doped calcium oxide (MdC) in Sapindus mukkarosi (SMBD25) biodiesel emulsified with antioxidants SPAN80 (SP80) and TWEEN80 (TW80) at different concentrations. 9 sets of experiments were carried out with the L9 OA as per the design matrix. Minitab 16 software was used to simplify the analysis of the results using the Taguchi method. Also, this research encompassed a comprehensive investigation by employing GCFID, SEM and XRD techniques. From the results, the heating value and cetane number for SMBD25 + 30 mg/L MdC + 30 mg/L TW80 + 30 mg/L SP80, surfactant and dispersant (1:1 ratio) biodiesel blend is improved. The enhanced absorbance and reduced transmittance for SMBD25 + 30 mg/L MdC + 30 mg/L TN80 + 30 mg/L SP80 were estimated to be 4.63 and 0.53%, respectively, while the heating value and cetane number were calculated to be 42.13 MJ/kg and 56, respectively. The Taguchi method revealed that SMBD27.8, 34ppm nanocatalyst, and 24ppm dispersant were optimum process parameters. The biodiesel blend is highly effective (71.18%) in controlling the optimal biodiesel thermochemical properties, followed by the dispersant (19.55%).

DETR-ORD: An Improved DETR Detector for Oriented Remote Sensing Object Detection with Feature Reconstruction and Dynamic Query

Optical remote sensing images often feature high resolution, dense target distribution, and uneven target sizes, while transformer-based detectors like DETR reduce manually designed components, DETR does not support arbitrary-oriented object detection and suffers from high computational costs and slow convergence when handling large sequences of images. Additionally, bipartite graph matching and the limit on the number of queries result in transformer-based detectors performing poorly in scenarios with multiple objects and small object sizes. We propose an improved DETR detector for Oriented remote sensing object detection with Feature Reconstruction and Dynamic Query, termed DETR-ORD. It introduces rotation into the transformer architecture for oriented object detection, reduces computational cost with a hybrid encoder, and includes an IFR (image feature reconstruction) module to address the loss of positional information due to the flattening operation. It also uses ATSS to select auxiliary dynamic training queries for the decoder. This improved DETR-based detector enhances detection performance in challenging oriented optical remote sensing scenarios with similar backbone network parameters. Our approach achieves superior results on most optical remote sensing datasets, such as DOTA-v1.5 (72.07% mAP) and DIOR-R (66.60% mAP), surpassing the baseline detector.

Analysis on the Ancient Bronze Cooking Outils Excavated from Historic Site of Anti-Mongolian Struggle in Hangpaduri, Jeju

The microstructure of ancient bronze cooking outil excavated in historic site of anti-Mongolian struggle in Hangpaduri was analyzed to confirm various manufacturing techniques. Bronze spoon and bronze ladles were made by alloying only copper and tin, and the alloy ratio included approximately 22% tin in the copper composition of the forged high tin bronze. The manufacturing process of forged high tin bronze technology, which commonly involves high-temperature forging and final finishing with quenching, was performed. In addition, the sulfide elongated in the longitudinal direction shows that the copper material supplied to the metal may be copper ore containing sulfur such as chalcopyrite and chalcocite. The three bronzewares were made using a binary alloy of copper-tin and a ternary alloy of copper-tin-lead, respectively. Manufacturing techniques using a binary alloy of copper-tin are divided into a forged high tin bronze technique using a hammering and quenching process and a manufacturing technique system of quenching after casting into a shape. Bronze bowl made using a ternary alloy of copper-tin-lead contain 11 wt% tin and 9 wt% lead in the main metal of copper. The lead contained in large quantities is formed in an uneven size within the microstructure, and shows the characteristic of sulfide being distributed around the lead. In addition, there are no traces of additional processing or heat treatment such as quenching. Therefore, it can be seen that the work process was completed by casting the shape. The results of the microstructure analysis show various manufacturing technology systems applied to the bronze cooking outils from historic site of anti-Mongolian struggle in Hangpaduri, Jeju. In particular, through comparison with bronze artifacts utensils excavated from other regions of the Sambyeolcho’s historic site, the possibility of bronze being introduced due to the migration of the Sambyeolcho was confirmed.

Synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites PVA/CMC/NFC as a barrier film paper packaging

Abstract The renewable discovery resulting from the synthesis of nanocomposites using nano fibrillated cellulose (NFC) as a nanofiller and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a matrix with the addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) additives demonstrates good potential for food packaging applications. NFC was synthesized through a mechanical homogenization method from microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and was effectively characterized by its physical properties, including density and particle size. Subsequently, PVA/CMC/NFC nanocomposites were created using a mechanical homogenization method with various CMC concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, and 2%) and a 90:10 ratio of PVA/CMC to NFC. The resulting nanocomposites were also characterized for their physical properties. It was found that adding CMC 2% increased the density of the solution. Then, these nanocomposites were used to apply as a coating paper. Micro photo characterization was carried out on the nanocomposite to examine the nanocomposite’s morphology on the paper and evaluate the nanocomposite’s performance as a coating paper. The results indicate that the nanocomposite has an uneven particle size distribution and demonstrates agglomeration with increased CMC concentration. This is due to hydrogen bonding interactions among PVA, CMC, and NFC, the adhesion properties to the paper, and the ratio between PVA, CMC, and NFC in solution.

Research on traffic sign detection algorithm based on improved SSD in complex environments

Abstract In complex traffic sign environments, detection challenges include uneven size distribution, insufficient valid information, and difficulties in identifying targets under resource constraints, leading to missed and false detections. This study proposes an enhanced lightweight traffic sign detection algorithm based on SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector). By replacing the original backbone network with MobileNetV2, the model is streamlined to have fewer parameters, which improves generalization in complex environments. This modification significantly boosts the recall rate, achieving a better balance between precision and recall. By introducing the FPN(Feature Pyramid Network) combined with the CBAM(Convolutional Block Attention Module) attention mechanism, the detailed and semantic information between deep and shallow layers is fully integrated, reducing the loss of feature information, thus enhancing the strengthening of key information of traffic signs and the adaptability to different scales of traffic signs. Finally, by integrating the cross-attention mechanism, the algorithm's anti-interference ability in complex environments is improved, and the positioning accuracy of traffic signs is enhanced by capturing the dependency between different positions. Through ablation experiments and comparative experiments on a public traffic sign dataset, our improved SSD algorithm achieved an mAP of 89.97%. Compared with the original algorithm, the mAP increased by 12.41%, the recall rate increased by 18.38%, and the sum of precision and recall F1 increased by 14.6%. These improvements significantly enhance the performance of traffic sign detection in complex environments, thereby meeting the performance requirements of traffic sign detection.

Study on Pulsed Gas Tungsten Arc Lap Welding Techniques for 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel

The lap welding process for 304L stainless steel welded using the pulsed gas tungsten arc welding (P-GTAW) procedure was studied, and the effects of the pulse welding parameters (the peak current, background current, duty cycle, pulse frequency, and welding speed) on the macroscopic morphology, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the resultant lap joints were investigated. Tensile tests, hardness measurements, and SEM/EDS/XRD analyses were conducted to reveal the characterization of the joint. The relationships between the welding parameters; certain joint characteristic dimensions (the weld width, D; the weld width on the lower plate, La; the weld depth on the lower plate, P; and the minimum fusion radius, R); and the maximum tensile bearing capacity were studied. The weld zone was primarily composed of vermicular ferrite, skeletal ferrite, and austenite, and no obvious welding defects, precipitation, or phase transformations were evident in the weld. Microhardness tests demonstrated that the weld microhardness was highest in the base metal zone and lowest in the weld zone. As the heat input increased, the average microhardness decreased. The hardness difference reached 17.6 Hv10 due to the uneven grain size and the transformation of the structure to ferrite in the weld. The fracture location in welded joints varied as the heat input changed. In some parameter combinations, the weld tensile strength was significantly higher than that of the base material, with fractures occurring in the weld. Scanning electron microscopy results exhibited an obvious dimple morphology, which is a typical form of ductile fracture. XRD revealed no significant phase changes in the weld zone, with a higher intensity of the austenite diffraction peaks compared to the ferrite diffraction peaks.

Influence of foaming additives on the porous structure and properties of lightweight geopolymers based on ash–slag waste

Lightweight geopolymer is a promising thermal insulation material that conserves energy used for heating and cooling buildings. This study investigates foaming agents that influence the porous structure and properties of geopolymer foams based on ash–slag waste from thermal power plant using a 12 M sodium hydroxide solution, waterglass, and foaming agents (30 % hydrogen peroxide solution, aluminum, silicon, and zinc powders). The study demonstrates the feasibility of foaming geopolymers by water evaporation without foaming additives, where the best density of 949 kg/m3 and compressive strength of 4.2 MPa were achieved in samples foamed by microwave radiation, but such properties cannot attribute geopolymers as lightweight. Foaming with H2O2 is hard to synchronize with geopolymerization reactions. Aluminum and silicon powders lead to rapid reactions in alkaline conditions, resulting in uneven pore sizes. Zinc powder was the most effective foaming agent, producing materials with a density of 331 kg/m3 and compressive strength of 1.17 MPa, and it also integrates into the geopolymer gel structure. The foaming process should occur at room temperature. Elevated temperatures increase curing rates and result in incomplete geopolymerization, preventing uniform pore formation. Synthesized geopolymers are suitable for building insulation, basements, underground pipelines, and utility networks.

Supercritical Fluids: An Innovative Strategy for Drug Development.

Nanotechnology plays a pivotal role in the biomedical field, especially in the synthesis and regulation of drug particle size. Reducing drug particles to the micron or nanometer scale can enhance bioavailability. Supercritical fluid technology, as a green drug development strategy, is expected to resolve the challenges of thermal degradation, uneven particle size, and organic solvent residue faced by traditional methods such as milling and crystallization. This paper provides an insight into the application of super-stable homogeneous intermix formulating technology (SHIFT) and super-table pure-nanomedicine formulation technology (SPFT) developed based on supercritical fluids for drug dispersion and micronization. These technologies significantly enhance the solubility and permeability of hydrophobic drugs by controlling the particle size and morphology, and the modified drugs show excellent therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, pathological scarring, and corneal neovascularization, and their performance and efficacy are highlighted when administered through multiple routes of administration. Overall, supercritical fluids have opened a green and efficient pathway for clinical drug development, which is expected to reduce side effects and enhance therapeutic efficacy.

Construction of core-triple shell upconversion nanostructures NaNdF4:Yb,Gd@NaGdF4:Yb@NaGdF4:Yb,Er@NaGdF4 with high FRET efficiency for the biochemical sensor

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are excellent energy donors for Föster resonance energy transfer (FRET) systems. However, the lower FRET efficiency to some extend limits its application. To improve the efficiency of FRET, NaNdF4:Yb,Gd@NaGdF4:Yb@NaGdF4:Yb,Er@NaGdF4 core-triple shell (CTS) UCNPs with sensitizers in the core region and activators doped in the outer shell region were successfully prepared by changing the traditional core-shell structure design sequence. By introducing a certain amount of Gd3+ into the core nanoparticles, the crystal growth process of core nanoparticles was regulated, solving the problem of excessive and uneven size caused by high concentration of sensitizers. The insertion of Yb3+ doped transition layer weakens the negative effect between Nd3+ and activator ions, and enhances the luminescence intensity. In addition, comparing CTS UCNPs with UCNPs prepared in the traditional core-shell structure design sequence proves that CTS UCNPs have higher FRET efficiency. A biochemical sensing system was designed using this novel core-shell structure UCNPs, achieving simultaneous detection of GSH and Cd2+ with detection limits of 4.2 nM and 15.2 nM, respectively. The new core-shell structure UCNPs have broader application prospects in the field of biochemical sensing design.

Application of the blastomere count variations "skip value" in the embryo AI assessment

Objective: To explore the correlation between blastomere count variations "skip value" which extracted from by time-lapse technology (TLT) combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and morphological features of in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryo, and to test its feasibility in clinical applications. Methods: This study was a diagnostic experiment (AI reassessment of embryo transferred patients), a total of 6 545 embryos from 1 226 patients who underwent IVF at the Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from December 2020 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, of which 2 869 embryos were attempted to cultured to blastocyst stage by TLT. The embryo dynamic map (EDM) was drawn by Embryo Viewer, a TLT recording software, based on embryo developmental kinetics. The self-developed AI embryo evaluation software identified and recorded the number of cleavages in real time during embryonic development, and compared with the EDM, the correlation between the skip value formed by the change of cleavage sphere counts and the outcomes of the embryos was analyzed. The correlation among skip value, morphological score of embryo, implantation rate and live birth rate were performed by Spearman and step-up logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was selected for reporting there relationship of skip value and morphology. Finally, predicting power of skip value for implantation and live birth rate were performed by ROC analysis. Results: The total skip values extracted from the blastomere count of embryos (72 hours post-fertilization) were negatively correlated with abnormal cleavage, blastocyst formation rate, day 3 (D3)-cell score, uneven size and fragmentation (the β values were -0.268, -0.116, -0.213, -0.159 and -0.222, respectively; all P<0.001); positively correlated with D3-cell number (β=0.034; P<0.001); negatively correlated with blastocyst formation rate and implantation rate (OR=0.97, 95%CI: 0.93-0.99, P=0.034; OR=0.96, 95%CI: 0.93-0.98, P=0.044). The power of predicting implantation were similar between the order selection of skip values and traditional morphology criteria [area under curve (AUC): 0.679 vs 0.620]. Live birth rate were negatively correlated with female age (OR=0.91, 95%CI: 0.88-0.93; P<0.001), D3 general score (OR=0.77, 95%CI: 0.59-0.99; P=0.045) and order selection of skip values (OR=0.98, 95%CI: 0.96-0.99; P=0.038), while positively correlated with retrieved oocyte number and endometrial thickness in embryo transferred (OR=1.08, 95%CI:1.05-1.11, P<0.001; OR=1.09, 95%CI:1.06-0.12, P<0.001, respectively) from multivariate regression analysis, and the power of predicting live birth was 0.666 for AUC. Conclusions: The skip value and its order form is a systematic quantification of embryo development, correlated with embryo developmental quality and clinical outcome. It could be an addition parameter for embryo culture and selection.

Carboxymethylcellulose and rare earth metal cation self-assembly: Tunable encapsulation of carbon dots in a multifunctional transparent film

Due to their unique properties, carbon dots have attracted significant interest across diverse fields. However, obstacles such as uneven size distribution in the course of synthesis and excessive aggregation lead to fluorescence quenching during solidification process. Moreover, conventional doping procedures frequently yield carbon dot films with constrained functionality, inferior durability, and harsh environments, thereby restricting their practical applications. To address these issues, this study fabricates N-doped carbon dots via a straightforward hydrothermal approach and incorporates them into CMC films by metathesis with CeCl3·7H2O, resulting in a unique carbon dot-encapsulated film. This film overcomes the problem of fluorescence quenching caused by excessive aggregation of carbon dots and allows for size control by adjusting the concentration of Ce(III). The resulting film achieves extreme transparency and superior performance compared to existing UV-blocking films. In addition, the film exhibits exceptional resistance to acids and bases, bleaching, excellent mechanical properties, and good thermal and water stability. Based on these properties, the film achieves size-controlled in-situ photoluminescence, full UV shielding, Cu2+ ion detection, anti-counterfeiting, and information encryption. The water-processable and water-adhesive characteristics of CMC enable its use in real-life situations, opening the door to wider use of solid-state carbon dots for multifunctional and intelligent applications.