In Silico Analysis and Experimental Validation of Active Compounds from Cichorium intybus L. Ameliorating Liver Injury

This study aimed at investigating the possible mechanisms of hepatic protective activity of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) in acute liver injury. Pathological observation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection and measurements of biochemical indexes on mouse models proved hepatic protective effect of Cichorium intybus L. Identification of active compounds in Cichorium intybus L. was executed through several methods including ultra performance liquid chromatography/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS). Similarity ensemble approach (SEA) docking, molecular modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were applied in this study to explore possible mechanisms of the hepato-protective potential of Cichorium intybus L. We then analyzed the chemical composition of Cichorium intybus L., and found their key targets. Furthermore, in vitro cytological examination and western blot were used for validating the efficacy of the selected compounds. In silico analysis and western blot together demonstrated that selected compound 10 in Cichorium intybus L. targeted Akt-1 in hepatocytes. Besides, compound 13 targeted both caspase-1 and Akt-1. These small compounds may ameliorate liver injury by acting on their targets, which are related to apoptosis or autophagy. The conclusions above may shed light on the complex molecular mechanisms of Cichorium intybus L. acting on hepatocytes and ameliorating liver injury.     

Recent progress of the gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Material and structure designs of microporous layer

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have become the most attractive power supply units for stationary and mobile applications. The operation, design characteristics, as well as performance of PEMFCs, are closely related to the multiphase transport of mass, heat, and electricity in the cell, a critical of which is the gas diffusion layer (GDL). It is very important to guarantee the transmission of water and gasses under high current density, and which is the weakness of PEMFCs at present. Microporous layer (MPL) is considered to be the key variable for mass transfer, so varieties of works focus on modification of MPL materials and its structure design. However, there is still a lack of special review to summarize and prospect the progress of MPL in recent years. This review article therefore focuses on the insights and comprehensive understanding of four critical issues of the MPL, the porosity, pore size distribution, wettability, structural design and the durability of MPL. At last, the conclusion and recommendations section summarized the future prospects and recommendations for possible research opportunities.     

A Student's t-based density peaks clustering with superpixel segmentation (tDPCSS) method for image color clustering

Image color clustering is a basic technique in image processing and computer vision, which is often applied in image segmentation, color transfer, contrast enhancement, object detection, skin color capture, and so forth. Various clustering algorithms have been employed for image color clustering in recent years. However, most of the algorithms require a large amount of memory or a predetermined number of clusters. In addition, some of the existing algorithms are sensitive to the parameter configurations. In order to tackle the above problems, we propose an image color clustering method named Student's t-based density peaks clustering with superpixel segmentation (tDPCSS), which can automatically obtain clustering results, without requiring a large amount of memory, and is not dependent on the parameters of the algorithm or the number of clusters. In tDPCSS, superpixels are obtained based on automatic and constrained simple non-iterative clustering, to automatically decrease the image data volume. A Student's t kernel function and a cluster center selection method are adopted to eliminate the dependence of the density peak clustering on parameters and the number of clusters, respectively. The experiments undertaken in this study confirmed that the proposed approach outperforms k-means, fuzzy c-means, mean-shift clustering, and density peak clustering with superpixel segmentation in the accuracy of the cluster centers and the validity of the clustering results.     

Combined effects of wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose on dough rheological behaviours and gluten network of potato–wheat flour-based bread

Incorporating high level of potato flour into wheat flour enhances nutritional values of bread but induces a series of problems that lead to the decline of the bread quality. To overcome the barrier, wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were added into potato–wheat composite flour to improve dough machinability and bread quality. The rheological properties, thermo-mechanical properties and microstructures of dough were investigated. The results showed that the interaction between gluten and CMC mitigated the discontinuity of gluten matrix and gluten protein aggregation caused by the addition of potato flour, which yielded a more branched and compact gluten network. The compact three-dimensional viscoelastic structure induced improvements of gas retention capacity and dough stability, making it mimic the machinability properties of wheat flour dough. Bread qualities were apparently improved with the combined use of 4% gluten and 6% CMC, of which specific volume increased by 42.86%, and simultaneously, hardness reduced by 75.93%.     

On the local behavior of spaces of range image patches

We focus on the quantitative and local topological properties of range images. We consider the spaces M_m of m × m high-contrast patches of range images for m=?3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Using computational topological tools to analyze range image patches, we detect that M₃ (M₉, M₁₁) has core subsets with the topology of a circle, M₃, M₅, M₇, M₉ and that M₁₁ have some subspaces with the topology of a Klein bottle. We also discover that the largest subspace with the Klein bottle’s topology decreases as the measurements of patches increase, which generalizes the results in the paper of H. Adams and G. Carlsson, and demonstrates properties among optical images and range image patches, which are more similar than those established by Lee et al.

     

面部运动单元检测研究综述

面部运动单元检测旨在让计算机从给定的人脸图像或视频中自动检测需要关注的运动单元目标。经过二十多年的研究，尤其是近年来越来越多的面部运动单元数据库的建立和深度学习的兴起，面部运动单元检测技术发展迅速。首先，阐述了面部运动单元的基本概念，介绍了已有的常用面部运动单元检测数据库，概括了包括预处理、特征提取、分类器学习等步骤在内的传统检测方法；然后针对区域学习、面部运动单元关联学习、弱监督学习等几个关键研究方向进行了系统性的回顾梳理与分析；最后讨论了目前面部运动单元检测研究存在的不足以及未来潜在的发展方向。     

350MW机组采暖集水箱液位自动控制的完善与实现

辽宁东方350 MW机组采暖集水箱液位自动控制,投产时设计是采用磁翻板就地液位显示加液位接点输出液位高低等信号,配合电气疏水控制系统实现水位自动控制回收系统。运行8年来,该系统经常发生由于液位接点动作故障致使液位自动控制不正常,只能靠人工定期就地控制。为了解决这个问题,从根源上进行了分析,温度是影响原磁翻板液位控制系统正常运行的主要原因,结合原设备的实际状况,在不投入大量改造的基础上又能够解决问题的前提下,利用压力液位的关系特性,提出了相应的改造方案,在实施中得到了非常好的效果,不但设备运行良好同时带来了不菲的经济效益。     

核算前移在冶炼企业优化成本控制中的应用

针对国际黄金价格的走低,黄金冶炼企业如何在激烈的市场竞争中寻求更大的利润空间,优化成本控制显得尤为重要。以某冶炼厂为例,阐述核算前移在优化企业成本控制中的应用,以达到降本增效的目的,实现企业利润的最大化。