Simultaneous fractionation of multiple classes of polyphenols from honeybush tea using solid-phase extraction

The structural diversity of polyphenols and the inherent limitations of current extraction techniques pose a challenge to extract polyphenols using a simple and green method. Hence, in this study, a method was developed to simultaneously fractionate multiple classes of polyphenols by only varying ethanol-water solutions. Honeybush tea, which is rich in polyphenols, was selected as a model for this study. Solvent extraction followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) was developed to obtain a polyphenol-rich fraction from six honeybush samples. Based on a gradient elution programme (10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% (v/v) ethanol-water solution) of SPE, the Strata X cartridge showed a better recovery of most targeted polyphenols under 0.9 mL of the drying volume and 1 mL min⁻¹ of the dispensing speed. The elution programme for fractionating most polyphenols was as follows: single elution with 50% ethanol, followed by twice elution with 70% ethanol. The antioxidant capacity was used to analyse the differences among the polyphenol-rich fractions from six honeybush samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that unfermented C. genistoides (GG) has the greatest antioxidant capacity among the honeybush species studied. Additionally, mangiferin, isomangiferin and vicenin-2 were the main contributors to the antioxidant capacity in six honeybush fractions according to the correlation study.     

两种混合单元混合机理的数值模拟

为了研究SV型和SX型混合单元在全静态乳化器的混合机理,使用群体平衡模型对乳化器内部流场进行模拟分析。结果表明,SV型与SX型混合单元的混合机理是油相与水相材料通过混合单元时其空间流动方向改变,在流场内形成大量的漩涡,从而达到乳化的目的;通过比较流体在经过SV型和SX型混合单元后的水相索特平均直径(d_(32)),得出SV型混合单元的乳化效果更强,但同时消耗更多的能量,压降更大。     

Double emulsion (W/O/W) gel stabilised by polyglycerol polyricinoleate and calcium caseinate as mangiferin carrier: insights on formulation and stability properties

Mangiferin (MGF) is a phenolic compound isolated from mango, but its poor solubility significantly limits its use. In this study, MGF was embedded into the inner aqueous phase of W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Firstly, the dissolution method of MGF was determined. MGF remained stable in solution with pH 13 at 30 min, and its solubility reached 10 mg mL⁻¹. When the pH of MGF solutions was adjusted from pH 13 to pH 6, MGF did not immediately crystallise, providing sufficient time to construct the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Subsequently, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were constructed using polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and calcium caseinate (CAS). The formation and stability of the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were investigated. The MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised with 1% PGPR and 1% – 3% CAS exhibited a low viscosity, limited loading capacity, and poor stability. Conversely, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by 3%PGPR–3%CAS exhibited optimal loading capacity (encapsulation efficiency = 95.31% and loading efficiency = 0.91%) and stability, which was attributed to the fact that high viscosity and gel state retarded the migration of inner aqueous phase. These results indicated that the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by PGPR and CAS may be a potential alternative for encapsulating mangiferin.     

基于光谱尺度空间与管道滤波的红外目标检测

为了准确地从复杂干扰背景下检测出真实弱小目标，本文引入视觉显著性，设计了基于快速光谱尺度空间与动态管道滤波的红外目标检测算法。基于真实目标与背景内容之间的整体差异，引入快速光谱尺度空间与阈值分割技术，设计视觉显著性机制，对红外图像完成处理，输出全局显著性映射，以高效过滤干扰背景内容。考虑目标与背景的局部特征差异，构建自适应局部对比度增强机制，对粗检测结果实施处理，获取对应的局部显著性映射，改善视觉显著性区域内目标的对比度。引入高斯差分理论，通过估算每一帧红外图像中的目标像素直径，形成动态管道滤波，充分消除虚警，准确识别出弱小目标。多组实验数据显示：较已有的红外目标检测技术而言，在各种不同的复杂背景干扰下，所提算法呈现出更好的检测能力，拥有更理想的接收机工作特性ROC曲线。     

Comparative analysis of inbreeding parameters and runs of homozygosity islands in 2 Italian autochthonous cattle breeds mainly raised in the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese production region

Reggiana and Modenese are autochthonous cattle breeds, reared in the North of Italy, that can be mainly distinguished for their standard coat color (Reggiana is red, whereas Modenese is white with some pale gray shades). Almost all milk produced by these breeds is transformed into 2 mono-breed branded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, from which farmers receive the economic incomes needed for the sustainable conservation of these animal genetic resources. After the setting up of their herd books in 1960s, these breeds experienced a strong reduction in the population size that was subsequently reverted starting in the 1990s (Reggiana) or more recently (Modenese) reaching at present a total of about 2,800 and 500 registered cows, respectively. Due to the small population size of these breeds, inbreeding is a very important cause of concern for their conservation programs. Inbreeding is traditionally estimated using pedigree data, which are summarized in an inbreeding coefficient calculated at the individual level (F_PED). However, incompleteness of pedigree information and registration errors can affect the effectiveness of conservation strategies. High-throughput SNP genotyping platforms allow investigation of inbreeding using genome information that can overcome the limits of pedigree data. Several approaches have been proposed to estimate genomic inbreeding, with the use of runs of homozygosity (ROH) considered to be the more appropriate. In this study, several pedigree and genomic inbreeding parameters, calculated using the whole herd book populations or considering genotyping information (GeneSeek GGP Bovine 150K) from 1,684 Reggiana cattle and 323 Modenese cattle, were compared. Average inbreeding values per year were used to calculate effective population size. Reggiana breed had generally lower genomic inbreeding values than Modenese breed. The low correlation between pedigree-based and genomic-based parameters (ranging from 0.187 to 0.195 and 0.319 to 0.323 in the Reggiana and Modenese breeds, respectively) reflected the common problems of local populations in which pedigree records are not complete. The high proportion of short ROH over the total number of ROH indicates no major recent inbreeding events in both breeds. ROH islands spread over the genome of the 2 breeds (15 in Reggiana and 14 in Modenese) identified several signatures of selection. Some of these included genes affecting milk production traits, stature, body conformation traits (with a main ROH island in both breeds on BTA6 containing the ABCG2, NCAPG, and LCORL genes) and coat color (on BTA13 in Modenese containing the ASIP gene). In conclusion, this work provides an extensive comparative analysis of pedigree and genomic inbreeding parameters and relevant genomic information that will be useful in the conservation strategies of these 2 iconic local cattle breeds.     

Machine fault diagnosis with small sample based on variational information constrained generative adversarial network

In actual engineering scenarios, limited fault data leads to insufficient model training and over-fitting, which negatively affects the diagnostic performance of intelligent diagnostic models. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a variational information constrained generative adversarial network (VICGAN) for effective machine fault diagnosis. Firstly, by incorporating the encoder into the discriminator to map the deep features, an improved generative adversarial network with stronger data synthesis capability is established. Secondly, to promote the stable training of the model and guarantee better convergence, a variational information constraint technique is utilized, which constrains the input signals and deep features of the discriminator using the information bottleneck method. In addition, a representation matching module is added to impose restrictions on the generator, avoiding the mode collapse problem and boosting the sample diversity. Two rolling bearing datasets are utilized to verify the effectiveness and stability of the presented network, which demonstrates that the presented network has an admirable ability in processing fault diagnosis with few samples, and performs better than state-of-the-art approaches.     

Effect of functionally graded structure design on durability and thermal insulation capacity of plasma-sprayed thick thermal barrier coating

This paper aimed to design and optimize the structure of a thick thermal barrier coating by adding graded layers to achieve a balance between high thermal insulation capacity and durability. To this end, conventional TBC, conventional TTBC, and functionally graded TTBCs were deposited on the superalloy substrate by air plasma spraying. To determine the quality of the bond strength of the coatings, the bonding strength was measured. The durability of coatings was evaluated by isothermal oxidation and thermal shock tests. Then, at a temperature of 1000 °C, the thermal insulation capacity of the coatings was carried out. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the thickness of the TGO layer formed on the bond coat in the conventional TBC and TTBC under the oxidation test at 1000 °C after 150 h was 2.79 and 2.11 μm, respectively, whereas, in the functionally graded TTBC samples, no continuous TGO layer was observed as a result of internal oxidation. The functionally graded TTBC presented higher durability than conventional TTBC due to improved bonding strength, thermal shock resistance, and the lack of a TGO layer at the bond/top coat interface. Also, the thermal insulation capacity of the functionally graded TTBC (with 1000 μm thickness of YSZ coating) was better than TTBC.     

Full AC analysis of value of DER to the grid and optimal DER scheduling

This paper presents part of the work ComEd and Quanta Technology have performed to quantify the locational and temporal value of DER to avoid distribution grid upgrade investments. It focuses on the formulation of a robust and efficient algorithm for DER optimal dispatch on a distribution feeder to mitigate the violation of current and voltage limits using the allocated cost of capacity and locational marginal value of real and reactive DER injection/withdrawal.     

Effects of hydroxyl radical induced oxidation on water holding capacity and protein structure of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) mantle

Protein oxidation is considered as an important issue in food preservation process. In the present study, the potential influence of protein oxidation on water holding capacity and protein structure of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) mantle was investigated. After the hydroxyl radical oxidation, it was found that the carbonyl, surface hydrophobicity and dityrosine content of myofibrillar protein significantly increased (P < 0.05), while the content of total sulphydryl decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the fluorescence intensity of squid was weakened, and the maximum absorption peak of fluorescence red shift as the H₂O₂ concentration increased. The sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that not only the protein cross-linking but also degradation could have occurred. The content of α-helix decreased, the content of β-sheet, β-turn and the unordered structures increased after oxidation. In addition, oxidation resulted in a decrease in water holding capacity. Taken together, oxidation resulted in the damage of the myofibrillar structure, the increase in muscle loss rate and the decrease in water holding capacity.