Saliency-weighted graphs for efficient visual content description and their applications in real-time image retrieval systems

The exponential growth in the volume of digital image databases is making it increasingly difficult to retrieve relevant information from them. Efficient retrieval systems require distinctive features extracted from visually rich contents, represented semantically in a human perception-oriented manner. This paper presents an efficient framework to model image contents as an undirected attributed relational graph, exploiting color, texture, layout, and saliency information. The proposed method encodes salient features into this rich representative model without requiring any segmentation or clustering procedures, reducing the computational complexity. In addition, an efficient graph-matching procedure implemented on specialized hardware makes it more suitable for real-time retrieval applications. The proposed framework has been tested on three publicly available datasets, and the results prove its superiority in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency in comparison with other state-of-the-art schemes.     

Switchable Printed Yagi-Uda Antenna with Pattern Reconfiguration

A switchable Yagi-Uda antenna prototype with radiation pattern reconfiguration is presented in this letter. The proposed reconfigurable antenna is based on the concept of switching between the reflector and director of a Yagi-Uda antenna using a radio frequency PIN diode. As a result, the minimum/maximum radiation can be steered towards desired signals or away from interfering signals in opposite directions. The measured 10 dB impedance bandwidth and gain are 210 MHz (7%) and 8.02 dBi at 3 GHz, respectively. Details of the antenna design and its performance are described and empirically analyzed.     

Composition, soaking, cooking properties and thermal characteristics of starch of chickpeas, wrinkled peas and smooth peas

We investigated both the distribution of protein, ash and starch in legume (chickpeas, smooth and wrinkled peas) cotyledons, and the soaking and cooking characteristics, including gelatinization and retrogradation, of the starch. There were large differences in composition between different types of legumes and also between the outer and inner parts of legume cotyledons. Wrinkled peas exhibited much higher water absorption during prolonged soaking and there were higher hardness value determined for cooked seeds compared with chickpeas and smooth peas. While the hardness of cooked seeds decreased continuously as cooking time increased to 110 min, all legume starch was fully gelatinized after cooking for 70 min.     

Self‐Powered,Room‐Temperature Electronic Nose Based on Triboelectrification and Heterogeneous Catalytic Reaction

Herein, a self‐powered electronic nose strategy with highly selective gas detection is described. The electronic nose is a two‐dimensional microarray based on the triboelectrification between ZnO nanowires and the dielectric layers, and the heterogeneous catalytic reaction occurring on the nanowires and on the NiO nanoparticles. These electronic noses show the ability to distinguish between four volatile organic compound (VOC) gases (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and toluene) with a detection limit of 0.1% at room temperature using no external power source.     

An Atomistic Tomographic Study of Oxygen and Hydrogen Atoms and their Molecules in CVD Grown Graphene

The properties and growth processes of graphene are greatly influenced by the elemental distributions of impurity atoms and their functional groups within or on the hexagonal carbon lattice. Oxygen and hydrogen atoms and their functional molecules (OH, CO, and CO₂) positions' and chemical identities are tomographically mapped in three dimensions in a graphene monolayer film grown on a copper substrate, at the atomic part‐per‐million (atomic ppm) detection level, employing laser assisted atom‐probe tomography. The atomistic plan and cross‐sectional views of graphene indicate that oxygen, hydrogen, and their co‐functionalities, OH, CO, and CO₂, which are locally clustered under or within the graphene lattice. The experimental 3D atomistic portrait of the chemistry is combined with computational density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations to enhance the understanding of the surface state of graphene, the positions of the chemical functional groups, their interactions with the underlying Cu substrate, and their influences on the growth of graphene.     

Three‐Dimensional Branched Nanowire Heterostructures as Efficient Light‐Extraction Layer in Light‐Emitting Diodes

A facile method to fabricate three‐dimensional branched ZnO/MgO nanowire heterostructures and their application as the efficient light‐extraction layer in light‐emitting diodes are reported. The branched MgO nanowires are produced on the hydrothermally‐grown ZnO nanowires with a small tapering angle towards the tip (≈6°), by the oblique angle flux incidence of MgO. The structural evolution during the growth verifies the formation of the MgO nanoscale islands with strong (111) preferred orientation on very thin (5–7 nm) MgO (110) layer. The MgO nanobranches, then grown on the islands, are polycrystalline consisting of many grains oriented in specific directions of <200> and <220>, supported by the nucleation theory. The LEDs with the branched ZnO/MgO nanowire arrays show a remarkable enhancement in the light output power by 21% compared with that of LEDs with pristine ZnO nanowires. Theoretical calculations using a finite‐difference time‐domain method reveal that the nanostructure is very effective in breaking the wave‐guiding mode inside the ZnO nanowires, extracting more light especially in radial direction through the MgO nanobranches.     

Microbiota and Serum Metabolic Profile Changes in Korean Native Hanwoo Steer in Response to Diet Feeding Systems

The diversity of bacteria and their function in cattle gastrointestinal tracts can influence animal welfare. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to investigate microbial diversity in the feces of Hanwoo steers reared under natural grazing (GS) and housing (HS) systems. Additionally, serum metabolic parameters, such as liver and kidney markers and mineral and lipid content changes, as well as their correlation with pyrotags, were studied. A total of 6468 ± 87.86 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified in both steer groups, of which 3538 ± 38.17 OTUs were from grazing steer and 2930 ± 94.06 OTUs were from GS. Chao1 index analysis revealed a higher bacterial richness in GS. The dominant bacterial taxa were Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. GS showed lower Bacteroidetes and higher Firmicutes abundance than HS. The serum of HS showed consistent increases in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γGTP), glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (T-CHO), and triglyceride (TG) levels. The impact of GS on animal health and serum metabolic markers was strongly correlated with microbiota. As shown in this study, grazing has a significant impact on the fecal microbiota at the phylum and family levels, as well as the serum biochemical metabolites of Hanwoo steers.