Construction of Retinal Vessel Segmentation Models Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Neural Processing Letters - Segmentation of retinal vessels in fundus images plays a very important role in diagnosing relevant diseases. In this paper, we have constructed automated segmentation...     

Resonance Assignments of Lowly Populated and Unstable Enzyme Intermediate Complex under Real-Time Conditions

Unstable and low-abundance protein complexes represent a large family of transient protein complexes that are difficult to characterize, even by means of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. A method to assign the NMR signals of these unstable complexes through a combination of selective isotope labeling of amino acids in a protein and site-specific labeling the protein with a paramagnetic tag is presented herein. By using this method, the resonances of unstable thioester intermediate complex (lifetime <5 h and highest concentration ≈20 μm ) generated by Staphylococcus aureus sortase A and its peptide substrate under a real-time reaction have been assigned.     

The Activity of Small Urea-γ-AApeptides Toward Gram-Positive Bacteria

Host Defense Peptides (HDPs) have gained considerable interest due to the omnipresent threat of bacterial infection as a serious public health concern. However, development of HDPs is impeded by several drawbacks, such as poor selectivity, susceptibility to proteolytic degradation, low-to-moderate activity and requiring complex syntheses. Herein we report a class of lipo-linear α/urea-γ-AApeptides with a hybrid backbone and low molecular weight. The heterogeneous backbone not only enhances chemodiversity, but also shows effective antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and is capable of disrupting bacterial membranes and killing bacteria rapidly. Given their low molecular weight and ease of access via facile synthesis, they could be practical antibiotic agents.     

Thermodynamic investigation of methanol and dimethyl ether synthesis from CO2 Hydrogenation

The thermodynamics involved in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ have been examined extensively. By assuming that methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) are the main products, two reaction systems each consisting of two pararell reactions were analyzed and compared in terms of the equilibrium yield and selectivity of the useful products, methanol and DME. The calculation results demonstrated that the production of DME allows much higher oxygenate yield and selectivity than that of methanol.     

Experimental studies on the instabilities of viscous fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell

When air is injected into silicone oil contained in a horizontal Hele-Shaw cell, a single air bubble forms and grows showing various interesting phenomena. In this study the effects of the bubble front velocity, air injection velocity at a nozzle, fluid properties and cell depth on the stability of the growing bubble were investigated experimentally. By using the modified capillary number involving the aspect ratio, we obtained the onset conditions of the unstable bubble. Also, the bubble width was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Before the bubble experiences splitting, the bubble front velocity is almost proportional to the air injection velocity. Therefore the latter velocity may be used in a practical sense.     

Effects of photo-assisted electrodeposited on CuInSe2 thin films

Photo-assisted one-step electrodeposition has been applied to help in forming smooth and dense CuInSe₂ films. The difference in surface morphology and crystalline quality between CuInSe₂ films with various photo-assistance has been investigated. In the photo-assisted electrodeposition process, the many kinds of lamps providing maximum light intensity at about 380 to 620 nm were used as light source to be irradiated onto the surface of Mo-coated soda-lime glass substrates. The results suggested effects of photo-assistance including activating surface diffusion and growing high-crystalline quality films with reduced defects during electrodeposition.     

Preparation and evaluation of poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide)-hexadecylamine-iron oxide for MR imaging of lymph nodes

The purpose of this study was to synthesize biocompatible poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide)–C₁₆-iron oxide (PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide) nanoparticles and to evaluate their efficacy as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of lymph nodes. The PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by coprecipitation method. The core size of the PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles was about 5 to 7 nm, and the overall size of the nanoparticles was around 20, 60, and 150 nm in aqueous solution. The size of the nanoparticles was controlled by the amount of C₁₆. The 3.0-T MRI signal intensity of a rabbit lymph node was effectively reduced after intravenous administration of PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide with the size of 20 nm. The in vitro and in vivo toxicity tests revealed the high biocompatibility of PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles. Therefore, PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles with 20-nm size can be potentially useful as T2-weighted MR imaging contrast agents for the detection of lymph nodes.     

Improved conversion efficiency of amorphous Si solar cells using a mesoporous ZnO pattern

To provide a front transparent electrode for use in highly efficient hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells, porous flat layer and micro-patterns of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle (NP) layers were prepared through ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) and deposited on Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layers. Through this, it was found that a porous micro-pattern of ZnO NPs dispersed in resin can optimize the light-trapping pattern, with the efficiency of solar cells based on patterned or flat mesoporous ZnO layers increased by 27% and 12%, respectively.     

Discrimination between natural and HPHT-treated type IIa diamonds using photoluminescence spectroscopy

We have performed low-temperature (8 K) photoluminescence (PL) measurements on 71 natural and 12 high-pressure-and-high-temperature (HPHT)-treated type IIa diamonds. The GR1, NV⁰, NV^?, H4, and H3 defect center PL signals are compared. Some distinct differences in the PL lineshape, intensity, and appearance of side-band PL signals are observed. Furthermore, we processed 6 of the natural diamond samples with the HPHT treatment to investigate the effect of the treatment on the PL spectrum. By systematically analyzing the differences in the PL spectra, we developed a scheme to discriminate natural and HPHT-treated diamonds with 99% validity.