Direct ink writing of vancomycin-loaded polycaprolactone/ polyethylene oxide/ hydroxyapatite 3D scaffolds

Novel inks were formulated by dissolving polycaprolactone (PCL), a hydrophobic polymer, in organic solvent systems; polyethylene oxide (PEO) was incorporated to extend the range of hydrophilicity of the system. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a weight ratio of 55–85% was added to the polymer-based solution to mimic the material composition of natural bone tissue. The direct ink writing (DIW) technique was applied to extrude the formulated inks to fabricate the predesigned tissue scaffold structures; the influence of HAp concentration was investigated. The results indicate that in comparison to other inks containing HAp (55%, 75%, and 85%w/w), the ink containing 65% w/w HAp had faster ink recovery behavior; the fabricated scaffold had a rougher surface as well as better mechanical properties and wettability. It is noted that the 65% w/w HAp concentration is similar to the inorganic composition of natural bone tissue. The elastic modulus values of PCL/PEO/HAp scaffolds were in the range of 4–12 MPa; the values were dependent on the HAp concentration. Furthermore, vancomycin as a model drug was successfully encapsulated in the PCL/PEO/HAp composite scaffold for drug release applications. This paper presents novel drug-loaded PCL/PEO/HAp inks for 3D scaffold fabrication using the DIW printing technique for potential bone scaffold applications.     

基于卷积神经网络的5G蜂窝网络无线定位方法

5G蜂窝网络发展迅猛，其覆盖面积将逐渐增大，因此使用5G蜂窝网络进行定位是有研究潜力的研究方向。本文提出一种新的深度学习技术来实现高效、高精度和低占用的定位，以代替传统指纹定位过程中繁重的指纹库生成以及距离计算。该方法建立了一个特殊的卷积神经网络，并根据5G天线信号的接收信号强度指示、相位和到达角等特征量，选择合适的输入数据格式构造样本组建训练集，对该卷积神经网络进行训练。训练得到的卷积神经网络可以替代指纹定位中的庞大指纹库，非常有利于直接在5G移动设备端实现定位。虽然卷积神经网络在训练过程中需要大量时间，但在训练完毕后直接进行分类定位的速度非常快，可以保障定位实现的实时性。本文所实现的卷积神经网络权重与偏置所占内存不到0.5 MB，且能够在实际应用环境中以95%的定位准确率以及0.1 m的平均定位精度实现高精度定位。     

“数字信号处理”课程的几何视角

“数字信号处理”的经典课程体系以“系统”为中心，以离散时间傅立叶变换、z变换和离散傅立叶变换为分析工具，以滤波器设计为目的，注重定理和公式推导及其性质分析，很难让学生建立一个形象的、完整统一的知识体系框架。本文从几何视角将 “系统”化和“代数”化的经典课程体系重构为面向“信号”的“几何”知识体系，从而提升学生对本质问题的“洞察力”，帮助学生建立系统的知识体系。     

Tribological and mechanical characteristics of AA5083 alloy reinforced by hybridising heavy ceramic particles Ta2C & VC with light GNP and Al2O3 nanoparticles

In this study, AA5083 sheets were reinforced with four different hybrid nanoparticles by friction stir processing (FSP) for the development of surface nanocomposites used in advanced engineering applications. The present research focused on improving the properties and tribological behaviour of AA5083 alloy surfaces, including novel hybrid nanoparticles and the intermetallic phase formed during FSP. A tribometer tester with a constant normal load was used to examine the tribological performance of the hybrid composites. After the wear test, a surface profiler inspector was used to analyse the morphology and surface roughness of the examined materials. The Vickers micro-hardness of the base metal and the manufactured composites were measured. During FSP, a new intermetallic phase of AlV₃ was successfully formed at 300–400 °C in the hybrid nanocomposites containing VC particles. The reinforcements resulted in additional grain refining than FSP. The AA5083/Ta2C–Al₂O₃ exhibited the greatest grain refinement, a sixty-fold reduction in grain size compared to that of the base alloy. The results revealed that the hybrid nanocomposites containing VC particles demonstrated the most significant microhardness values inside the stirred zone as a result of the presence of the AlV₃ phase, which was increased by 25–30%. Moreover, the mechanical properties were significantly improved for all manufactured nanocomposites. The tensile strength was increased by 28% through the hybridisation of AA5083 using a hybrid of VC-GNPs. The dispersion of Ta₂C-GNPs and VC-GNPs in the matrix led to excellent interfacial adhesion, resulting in an enhancement in the mechanical properties. The AA5083/VC-GNPs surface composite outperformed other manufactured composites regarding wear resistance. In addition, due to GNPs soft nature, it reduced the coefficient of friction (COF) of the manufactured composites by 20–25% compared to other reinforcements.     

Iodine from brown algae in human nutrition,with an emphasis on bioaccessibility,bioavailability, chemistry,and effects of processing: A systematic review

Brown algae are becoming increasingly popular as a food source and dietary supplement in Europe and other Western countries. As they are highly rich in iodine, they represent a potential new dietary iodine source. Iodine deficiency has been re-emerging in Europe, and it is important to ensure adequate intake through one's diet. However, macroalgae, and especially brown algae, may contain very high amounts of iodine, and both iodine deficiency and excessive iodine may increase the risk of negative health effects. The iodine content of algae or foods containing algae is currently not regulated in the European Union. The aim of this paper is to review the literature to determine the chemical species of iodine in brown algae, the loss of iodine during processing, and the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of iodine. A systematic search of the literature was performed in April 2021, via the databases Web of Science and PubMed. The review includes studies of iodine in brown macroalgae in relation to bioavailability, bioaccessibility, processing and speciation. A meta-analysis was conducted in relation to the following topics: (i) the correlation between total iodine and iodide (I^–) content in brown algae; (ii) the correlation between the loss of iodine during processing and the I^– content; and (iii) the correlation between bioavailability and the I^– content. The bioavailability of iodine from brown algae was generally high, with in vivo bioavailability ranging from 31% to 90%. The in vitro bioavailability of iodine (2%–28%) was systematically lower than in vivo bioavailability (31%–90%), indicating an inadequate in vitro methodology. Processing may reduce the iodine content of brown algae, and a higher I^– content was positively correlated with increased iodine loss during processing. Although processing strategies may reduce the iodine content of brown algae significantly, the iodine content may still be high after processing. These findings may be used in food safety evaluations of brown algae as well as in the development of macroalgae-containing foods with iodine contents suitable for human consumption. Further research on processing techniques to reduce the iodine content in brown macroalgae are warranted.     

Synthesis of thermoresponsive copolymer/silica-coated magnetite nanoparticle composite and its application for heavy metal ion recovery

To enhance chemical stability and suppress of aggregation of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs), which are used as a support for thermoresponsive copolymer immobilization, silica coating of the MNPs is applied via the electrooxidation method. Although the resulting silica coated-MNPs also formed aggregates, the size distribution of the aggregate shifted to smaller size range. Because of that, the surface area available for copolymer immobilization increased approximately 6.7 times at maximum as compared with that of the uncoated MNPs. It contributed to the increase of the amount of the immobilized copolymer on the silica-coated MNPs, which is approximately four times larger than that on the uncoated MNPs. Fe₃O₄ dissolution test confirmed enhancement of chemical stability of MNPs. The thermoresponsive copolymer immobilized on the silica-coated MNPs shows the ability to recycle Cu(II) ion from Cu(II) containing solution by changing temperature with significantly shorter time than those in other thermoresponsive adsorbents in gel form.     

Mathematical Modeling of Drying Processes of Selected Fruits and Vegetables

This study investigates the behavior of fruit and vegetable samples during drying. The experimental data are fitted to several different thin-layer drying models. Regression analysis is used to determine model parameters, while statistical indicators serve to evaluate the goodness of fit. The power function model gives the best fit for all examined samples. Based on this model, different drying and heat storage technologies can be combined to ensure that the required residual moisture content of an agricultural product is reached. It is demonstrated on the case of a specific Togolese processing plant that under favorable conditions, fossil fuel consumption can be decreased by 33 %.     

Achieving fabrication of highly transparent Y2O3 ceramics via air pre-sintering by deionization treatment of suspension

An easy albeit quite effective deionization suspension treatment was adopted to alleviate the detrimental effects related to the hydrolysis of Y₂O₃ in an aqueous medium. Fabrication of highly transparent Y₂O₃ ceramics with a fine grain size via air pre-sintering and post–hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment without using any sintering additive was achieved using the treated suspensions. The hydrolysis issue of Y₂O₃ powder in an aqueous medium was effectively alleviated by using deionization treatment, and a well-dispersed suspension with a low concentration of dissolved Y³⁺ species was obtained. The dispersed suspensions were consolidated by the centrifugal casting method, and the green bodies derived from the suspension of 35.0 vol% solid loading showed an improved homogeneity with a relative density of 52.1%. Fully dense Y₂O₃ transparent ceramic with high transparency was obtained by pre-sintering consolidated green compacts at a low temperature of 1400°C for 16 h in air followed by a post-HIP treatment at 1550°C for 2 h under 200 MPa pressure. The sample had a fine average grain size of 690 nm. The in-line transmittance of the sample reached 83.3% and 81.8% at 1100 nm and 800 nm, respectively, very close to the theoretical values of Y₂O₃.     

Secure image encryption scheme using 4D-Hyperchaotic systems based reconfigurable pseudo-random number generator and S-Box

This paper introduces the design of a hardware efficient reconfigurable pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) using two different feedback controllers based four-dimensional (4D) hyperchaotic systems i.e. Hyperchaotic-1 and -2 to provide confidentiality for digital images. The parameter's value of these two hyperchaotic systems is set to be a specific value to get the benefits i.e. all the multiplications (except a few multiplications) are performed using hardwired shifting operations rather than the binary multiplications, which doesn't utilize any hardware resource. The ordinary differential equations (ODEs) of these two systems have been exploited to build a generic architecture that fits in a single architecture. The proposed architecture provides an opportunity to switch between two different 4D hyperchaotic systems depending on the required behavior. To ensure the security strength, that can be also used in the encryption process in which encrypt the input data up to two times successively, each time using a different PRNG configuration. The proposed reconfigurable PRNG has been designed using Verilog HDL, synthesized on the Xilinx tool using the Virtex-5 (XC5VLX50T) and Zynq (XC7Z045) FPGA, its analysis has been done using Matlab tool. It has been found that the proposed architecture of PRNG has the best hardware performance and good statistical properties as it passes all fifteen NIST statistical benchmark tests while it can operate at 79.101-MHz or 1898.424-Mbps and utilize only 0.036 %, 0.23 %, and 1.77 % from the Zynq (XC7Z045) FPGA's slice registers, slice LUTs, and DSP blocks respectively. Utilizing these PRNGs, we design two 16 × 16 substitution boxes (S-boxes). The proposed S-boxes fulfill the following criteria: Bijective, Balanced, Non-linearity, Dynamic Distance, Strict Avalanche Criterion (SAC) and BIC non-linearity criterion. To demonstrate these PRNGs and S-boxes, a new three different scheme of image encryption algorithms have been developed: a) Encryption using S-box-1, b) Encryption using S-box-2 and, c) Two times encryption using S-box-1 and S-box-2. To demonstrate that the proposed cryptosystem is highly secure, we perform the security analysis (in terms of the correlation coefficient, key space, NPCR, UACI, information entropy and image encryption quantitatively in terms of (MSE, PSNR and SSIM)).     

The influence of textese on adolescents’ perceptions of text message writers

Text messages are characterised by a casual language style, ‘textese’ (e.g., c u on thurs). This study investigated adolescents’ perceptions of the use of different levels of textese in digital messages which varied in their intended recipient (friend, teacher). Grade 8 students in Australia (N = 90, aged 13–14 years) each read six text messages purportedly written by a fellow student, and rated the extent to which they agreed (on a 7-point Likert scale) that the message writer was intelligent, paid attention to detail, used an appropriate writing style, and was friendly. Overall, participants rated message senders most favourably on all measures when they used no textese, and least favourably when they used high levels of textese. This pattern was even stronger when messages were addressed to teachers rather than same-aged friends. The findings suggest that adolescents are sensitive to both writing style and recipient when considering digital messages.