Supercapacitor electrodes based on polyaniline-silicon nanoparticle composite

A composite material formed by dispersing ultrasmall silicon nanoparticles in polyaniline has been used as the electrode material for supercapacitors. Electrochemical characterization of the composite indicates that the nanoparticles give rise to double-layer capacitance while polyaniline produces pseudocapacitance. The composite shows significantly improved capacitance compared to that of polyaniline. The enhanced capacitance results in high power (220 kW kg⁻¹) and energy-storage (30 Wh kg⁻¹) capabilities of the composite material. A prototype supercapacitor using the composite as the charge storage material has been constructed. The capacitor showed the enhanced capacitance and good device stability during 1000 charging/discharging cycles.     

Dietary exposure to mycotoxins of the Hong Kong adult population from a Total Diet Study

Dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to mycotoxins and their metabolites including aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisins (FNs), deoxynivalenol (DON), acetyldeoxynivalenols (AcDONs) and zearalenone (ZEA) was estimated using the Total Diet Study (TDS) approach to assess the associated health risk to the local people. Sixty commonly consumed food items, collected in four seasons, were sampled and prepared as consumed. These mycotoxins were primarily found at low levels. The highest mean levels (upper bound) were: AFs, 1.50 µg kg^–1 in legumes, nuts and seed; OTA, 0.22 µg kg^–1 in sugars and confectionery; FNs, 9.76 µg kg^–1 in cereals and their products; DON and AcDONs, 33.1 µg kg^–1 in cereals and their products; and ZEA, 53.8 µg kg^–1 in fats and oils. The estimated dietary exposures of Hong Kong adults to the mycotoxins analysed were well below the respective health-based guidance values, where available. For AFs, the upper-bound exposure for high consumers is 0.0049 µg kg bw^–1 day^–1, which was estimated to contribute to about 7.7 (< 1%) of liver cancer cases when compared with 1222 liver cancer cases per year in Hong Kong. The percentage contributions of the estimated 95th percentile dietary exposures (lower and upper bound) to the health-based guidance values of individual mycotoxins were: ochratoxin A, 3.6–9.2%; fumonisins, 0.04–8.5%; deoxynivalenol and acetyldeoxynivalenols, 21.7–28.2%; and zearalenone 3.3–34.5%. The findings indicate that dietary exposures to all the mycotoxins analysed in this study were unlikely to pose an unacceptable health risk to the Hong Kong population.     

母乳成分在-80 ℃保存过程中的稳定性研究

通过对母乳脂肪酸、维生素、活性成分以及p H值和酸度在超低温冷冻条件下的稳定性研究,最终制定伊利母乳研究实物库的母乳质量标准,以确保伊利母乳研究实物库中的母乳样本在-80℃保存过程中营养成分的损失率最小。试验结果表明,母乳在-80℃冷冻保存12个月的过程中,随着保存时间的延长,维生素含量显著降低,脂肪酸、核苷酸含量以及p H值和酸度没有发生显著性变化。母乳-80℃保存3个月时,V_B_2和V_A的含量分别减少为新鲜母乳的35%和29%,V_C含量无法检出;-80℃保存12个月时,烟酸含量减少为新鲜母乳的69%。因此,从现有检测指标来看,母乳库的质量标准应根据分析研究的母乳成分而定,若分析稳定性较差的营养成分如维生素尽量使用新鲜母乳。     

Edge Computing-Based Joint Client Selection and Networking Scheme for Federated Learning in Vehicular IoT

In order to support advanced vehicular Internet-of-Things(IoT)applications,information ex-changes among different vehicles are required to find efficient soluti...     

Automatic image segmentation by integrating color-edge extractionand seeded region growing

We propose a new automatic image segmentation method. Color edges in an image are first obtained automatically by combining an improved isotropic edge detector and a fast entropic thresholding technique. After the obtained color edges have provided the major geometric structures in an image, the centroids between these adjacent edge regions are taken as the initial seeds for seeded region growing (SRG). These seeds are then replaced by the centroids of the generated homogeneous image regions by incorporating the required additional pixels step by step. Moreover, the results of color-edge extraction and SRG are integrated to provide homogeneous image regions with accurate and closed boundaries. We also discuss the application of our image segmentation method to automatic face detection. Furthermore, semantic human objects are generated by a seeded region aggregation procedure which takes the detected faces as object seeds.     

Complete classification of finite-dimensional estimation algebras of maximal rank

The idea of using estimation algebras to construct finite-dimensional non-linear filters was first proposed by Brockett and Clark, and Mitter independently. In his famous talk at the International Congress of Mathematics in 1983, Brockett proposed to classify all finite-dimensional estimation algebras. In this paper we explain why the theory of estimation algebras plays an important role in non-linear filtering. We show how to use the Wei-Norman approach to construct finite-dimensional filters from finite-dimensional estimation algebras. We survey some results in estimation algebras after 1984. We give a self-contained proof of complete classification of finite-dimensional estimation algebras of maximal rank in one place. The proof given here is simpler than those proofs scattered in several papers. This provides the readers with a complete coherent view of the important topic of the classification of finite-dimensional estimation algebras.     

Counseling style preference of international students.

Examined, with a single-S research design, the counseling-style preference of 6 international clients and 1 White-American client within and across 4 counseling sessions. All clients first listened to an audiotape (analog) counseling session containing a problem-solving approach and a client-centered approach and rated both approaches. The clients then rated these 2 counseling styles in actual counseling sessions. In contrast to past research findings, no overall preference was found for either approach. Preferences for a particular counseling style also changed from session to session. In addition, preferences exhibited during the analog portion of the study were often different from those expressed during the actual counseling sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders in a chemical plant in Taiwan and a comparison of three assessment tools

Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) caused by a poor working environment or an improper work design are the most common occupational diseases seriously affecting workers’ health, causing huge economic losses in many countries. Thus, the prevention of WMSDs is considered a priority issue worldwide. In this study, three ergonomics analysis tools and a statistic analysis were used to assess the risk level of exposure to WMSDs and to find improvements for the operations in a chemical plant. The applicability of these tools was also evaluated. Results of the analysis suggest that, to greatly prevent the incidence of WMSDs, a mobile elevating platform should be adopted to adjust the handling height of material bags at 90 cm, allowing the operators to stand in front of them to hold their short or long sides. Among the tools, key indicator methods–manual handling operation methods (KIM‐MHO) have the highest sensitivity.     

Transfusion-related acute lung injury treated with surfactant in a neonate

A term, male neonate suddenly developed respiratory distress and severe cyanosis while undergoing exchange transfusion for hyperbilirubinaemia. Transfusion-related acute lung injury was diagnosed. Because of persistent hypoxaemia despite aggressive treatment, two doses of surfactant were administered, resulting in marked improvement. Conclusion: Transfusion-related acute lung injury may occur in neonates, and may be successfully treated by surfactant replacement.     

Topographical Dissolution Characterization for Controlled Release Products - a New Technique

With most controlled release oral drug dosage forms, dissolution is the rate limiting step in drug release. While in vivo drug absorption and elimination involve a number of complex factors, characterization of in vitro dissolution rate under controlled conditions (pH, solvent, speed, etc.) should be able to provide valuable insights into in vivo drug bioavailability

Frequently, the analysis of these factors becomes obscured when a variety of data are presented in conventional two dimensional plots. The choice of approval or disapproval of a new drug product based on such data becomes difficult. We have therefore examined the characteristics of drug product dissolution using a multi-dimensional technique available in SAS as a means of more effectively delineating properties of dissolution rate. The results of our studies show that more definitive information can be discerned in a multi-dimensional topographic image which has been shown to be predictive of in vivo drug plasma concentrations