An efficient classifier to diagnose of schizophrenia based on the EEG signals

In this paper, electroencephalogram (EEG) signals of 13 schizophrenic patients and 18 age-matched control participants are analyzed with the objective of classifying the two groups. For each case, multi-channels (22 electrodes) scalp EEG is recorded. Several features including autoregressive (AR) model parameters, band power and fractal dimension are extracted from the recorded signals. Leave-one (participant)-out cross validation is used to have an accurate estimation for the separability of the two groups. Boosted version of Direct Linear Discriminant Analysis (BDLDA) is selected as an efficient classifier which applied on the extracted features. To have comparison, classifiers such as standard LDA, Adaboost, support vector machine (SVM), and fuzzy SVM (FSVM) are applied on the features. Results show that the BDLDA is more discriminative than others such that their classification rates are reported 87.51%, 85.36% and 85.41% for the BDLDA, LDA, Adaboost, respectively. Results of SVM and FSVM classifiers were lower than 50% accuracy because they are more sensitive to outlier instances. In order to determine robustness of the suggested classifier, noises with different amplitudes are added to the test feature vectors and robustness of the BDLDA was higher than the other compared classifiers.     

Acquisition of amino acids by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 2038 when grown in the presence of casein

The acquisition of amino acids by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 2038 (Lb. bulgaricus 2038) when grown in the presence of bovine casein, the major protein in bovine milk, was investigated by examining the expression of genes related to proteolysis and amino acid biosynthesis. To support the growth on bovine casein, Lb. bulgaricus 2038 has to synthesise five kinds of amino acids de novo, as proteolysis from casein does not provide these. The incomplete hydrolysis in combination with amino acids biosynthesis may explain the slow growth of Lb. bulgaricus 2038 in a casein environment. Meanwhile, it was determined that Lb. bulgaricus 2038 uses different intracellular peptidases when grown in casein or whey medium, and initially yields the important amino acid glutamate from the C-terminal or N-terminal end of peptides imported into the cell.     

Facile fabrication of a binary NiCo phosphide with hierarchical architecture for efficient hydrogen evolution reactions

Exploring and designing efficient non-noble catalysts formed by element doping and nanostructure modification for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of critical importance with respect to sustainable resources. Herein, we have prepared a three-dimensional binary NiCo phosphide with hierarchical architecture (HA) composed of NiCoP nanosheets and nanowires grown on carbon cloth (CC) via a facile hydrothermal method followed by oxidation and phosphorization. Due to its unique hierarchical nanostructure, the NiCoP HA/CC electrocatalyst exhibits excellent performance and good working stability for the HER in both acidic and alkaline conditions. The obtained NiCoP HA/CC shows excellent HER activity with a low potential of 74 and 89 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², a small Tafel slope of 77.2 and 99.8 mV dec⁻¹ and long-term stability up to 24 h in acidic and alkaline electrolyte, respectively. NiCoP HA/CC, a non-noble metal material, is a promising electrocatalyst to replace noble metal-based electrocatalysts for the HER.     

Diverse bio-sensing and therapeutic applications of plasmon enhanced nanostructures

Substantial advancements have been observed over the years in the research and development of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). A variety of current and future applications involving anisotropic plasmonic nanoparticles include biosensors, photothermal therapies, photocatalysis, and various other fields. Amongst various other applications, plasmonic enhancements are deployed in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) mediated bio-sensing, absorption spectroscopy based analyte quantification, and fluorescence spectroscopy-based biomolecular detection up to femtomolar level and even on the level of single molecules. LSPR based healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics have grown much faster than expected, with an increased number of published original research articles and reviews. Despite the extensive literature available, a comprehensive review with a focused emphasis on recent advances in the field of plasmonic particle anisotropy, plasmonic nanostructure, plasmonic coupling mediated enhanced LSPR intensity and their diverse applications in biosensing is needed. This article focuses on LSPR properties of anisotropic nanostructures like spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNP), gold nanorod (AuNR), gold nanostar (AuNs), gold nanorattles (AuNRT), gold nanoholes (AuNH), dimeric nanostructures and their role in plasmonic enhancements for targeted biosensing and therapeutic research. The contemporary state of the art biosensing development around SERS has also been discussed. A detailed literature analysis of recent development in micro-surgery, photothermal tumor killing, biosensor development for detection up to single molecule level, high-efficiency drug delivery are covered in this article. Furthermore, recent and advanced technologies including Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy (SERRS), and Surface Enhanced Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SESORS) are presented citing their importance in biosensing. We complement this review article with relevant theoretical frameworks to understand finer nuances within the literature that is discussed.     

Biological performance of zinc borate-incorporated particleboard: Effects of leaching on efficacy

The decay and termite resistance and effects of a robust leaching process on the efficacy of zinc borate-incorporated particleboard were examined. Particleboards (300 × 300 × 15 mm) prepared from particles of mixed wood species generated from demolished construction materials were incorporated with zinc borate at target retentions of 0%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% of the particle weight. An in-line treatment method was utilized to introduce the powdered chemical during the blending stage. ICP analysis indicated that the amount of zinc borate was not lost during manufacturing. Standard static bending tests demonstrated that there was no significant loss in mechanical properties. The decay and termite tests indicated that the efficacy of zinc borate at a higher retention was enough to suppress the biological activity, even after application of a robust leaching process.     

Control of phase transition in TaSe3

Stabilization factors of the high and low temperature phases of TaSe₃ are investigated. The low temperature phase is stabilized by zirconium or titanium impurity. The high temperature phase is stabilized by oxygen impurity. Without oxygen impurity, the low temperature phase is stable up to decomposition temperature and the phase transition is completely suppressed by zirconium impurity.     

Synthesis method of novel Gd2O3@Fe3O4 nanocomposite modified by dextrose capping agent

In current study, gadolinium oxide was heterogeneously formed on the surface of iron oxide nanoparticles and further modified with dextrose capping agent to be used in biomedical applications, especially for contrast enhancement in MR images. First, two types of iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared at 25 and 80 ^°C via simple coprecipitaion method. Then, gadolinium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized through a consecutive precipitation process on previously formed iron oxide seeds in an aqueous media and subsequent annealing at 300 ^°C. Finally, dextrose was used as capping agent to stabilize nanocomposites in a colloidal suspension. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning and Transmission electron microscopy, Dynamic Laser Scattering (DLS), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Magnetometery (VSM) techniques were employed for nanocomposites investigation and MTT-assay method used for viability assessment of colloidal samples. Measurements based on Scherrer equation from XRD patterns showed that increasing coprecipitation temperature resulted bigger iron oxide crystallites. The iron oxide crystallite size was increased from 15.1 to 28.1 nm. Precipitation process led to gadolinium oxide formation with 30.7 and 38.8 nm crystallite sizes, respectively. TEM images revealed that iron oxide agglomerates were encapsulated in gadolinium oxide surroundings. Hydrodynamic size of the coated nanoparticles with dextrose was 208 and 247 nm. In VSM examinations, nanocomposites did not display coercive field and the saturation magnetization was 1.93 emu/g. MTT-assay results showed 80% viability in 285 μg nanocomposites containing 96.9 μg [Fe] and 11.4 μg [Gd].     

基于代谢组学研究不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分差异

以云白毫、白牡丹（包括月光白一级和月光白二级）、云寿为云南白茶的代表性样品,采用基于超高效液相色谱-四极杆轨道阱质谱的代谢组学方法对不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分差异进行研究。共鉴定出120 个化合物,包括儿茶素类、二聚儿茶素类、氨基酸类、生物碱类、酚酸类、有机酸类、香气糖苷类、N-乙基-2-吡咯烷酮取代的儿茶素类、黄酮糖苷类、脂质类等。偏最小二乘法判别分析和热图分析分别表明不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分存在较大差异,共得到76 个化合物具有组间显著性差异（P＜0.05）,其中儿茶素类、二聚儿茶素类、生物碱类、酚酸类、茶氨酸等化合物随云南白茶原料嫩度的降低,含量下降;部分氨基酸和杨梅素苷在白牡丹中含量相对较高;芹菜素苷、山柰酚苷、槲皮素苷、脂质类化合物在云寿中含量相对较高。本研究可为云南白茶感官品质和营养价值的研究以及等级判别提供理论依据。     

Effect of hydroxyl and Mo doping on activity and carbon deposition resistance of hydroxyapatite supported NixMoy catalyst for syngas production via DRM reaction

The doping of the second metal Mo is expected to further enhance the carbon deposition resistance of Ni-based catalysts for syngas production via dry reforming of methane (DRM). In this study, the hydroxyapatite (HAP) was used as the support and a small Mo dosage was doped in the Ni-based catalysts to investigate the effect of intrinsic hydroxyl and Mo doping on the catalytic activity and carbon deposition resistance in DRM reaction. The catalyst characterization results show that both Ni and Mo are doped into the HAP structure with relatively uniform dispersion. The basic site strength of Ni4Mo0.2-HAP catalyst containing Mo is significantly higher than that of without Mo. The Mo dopant significantly improves the initial catalytic activity, but has minimal effect on the stability enhancement. Whether the catalyst is pre-reduced or not is crucial to the initial activity of the DRM reaction, the non-pre-reduced catalysts will go through a “self-activation” stage at the beginning of the reaction, where the “hydroxyl group” are proved to play as an “oxygen supply” for the partial oxidation of CH₄ or the oxidation of the carbon deposition in the initial stage. Only trace amount of carbon deposition is found after 100 h of DRM reaction on Ni3Mo0.2-HAP catalyst. The NiMo-HAP catalysts exhibit excellent initial activity and resistance to carbon deposition due to the synergistic effect of Ni–Mo alloy and hydroxyl groups in the hydroxyapatite support.