Detection of crowdedness in bus compartments based on ResNet algorithm and video images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The crowding in bus is an important factor affecting passenger satisfaction and bus dispatching level. However, how to use video images to detect crowding...     

Effects of high-pressure-modified soy 11S globulin on the gel properties and water-holding capacity of pork batter

The effects of high-pressure-modified soy 11S globulin (0.1, 200, and 400 MPa) on the gel properties, water-holding capacity, and water mobility of pork batter were investigated. The high-pressure-modified soy 11S globulin significantly increased (P < 0.05) the emulsion stability, cooking yield, hardness, springiness, chewiness, resilience, cohesiveness, the a^* and b^* values, and the G′ and G′′ values of pork batter at 80 °C, compared with those of 0.1 MPa-modified globulin. In contrast, the centrifugal loss and initial relaxation time of T_2b, T₂₁, and T₂₂ significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the microstructure was denser, and the voids were smaller and more uniform compared with those of 0.1 MPa-modified globulin. In addition, the sample with 11S globulin modified at 400 MPa had the best water-holding capacity, gel structure, and gel properties among the samples. Overall, the use of high-pressure-modified soy 11S globulin improved the gel properties and water-holding capacity of pork batter, especially under 400 MPa.     

Eco-friendly and degradable red phosphorus nanoparticles for rapid microbial sterilization under visible light

Pathogens pose a serious challenge to environmental sanitation and a threat to public health.The frequent use of chemicals for sterilization in recent years has not only caused secondary damage to the environment but also increased pathogen resistance to drugs,which further threatens public health.To address this issue,the use of non-chemical antibacterial means has become a new trend for environmental disinfection.In this study,we developed red phosphorus nanoparticles(RPNPs),a safe and degradable photosensitive material with good photocatalytic and photothermal properties.The red phosphorus nanoparticles were prepared using a template method and ultrasonication.Under the irradiation of simulated sunlight for 20 min,the RPNPs exhibited an efficiency of 99.98%in killing Staphylococcus aureus due to their excellent photocatalytic and photothermal abilities.Transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy revealed that the RPNPs exhibited degradability within eight weeks.Both the RPNPs and their degradation products were nontoxic to fibroblast cells.Therefore,such RPNPs are expected to be used as a new type of low-cost,efficient,degradable,biocompatible,and eco-friendly photosensitive material for environmental disinfection.     

Facile preparation and strong adhesive strength of honeycomb polyurethane films with small pore diameter

With the continuous development of bionics, such as, geckos and virginia creeper with both superhydrophobic and super-adhesive, the surface wetting and super-adhesive properties of various porous materials have attracted extensive attention of the scientific and medical communities. Here, the honeycomb polyurethane (PU) porous films with strong adhesion were successfully prepared by microphase separation method and the effects of growth parameters on their microstructure and adhesive strength to ice were investigated. It was found that a high relative humidity (e.g., 100%) and a low solution concentration (e.g., 2%) facilitated the formation of ordered honeycomb PU porous films, and as-prepared PU pores with average pore diameter as small as 5 μm are better ordered and more uniform than these in related documents. Although the contact angle of water droplets on the surface of PU porous films increased from the premodification value of 85–130° to more than 160° after surface modification with polydopamine (PDA), the corresponding rolling angle remained approximately constant (180°), indicating that the surface of PU porous films has strong adhesion similar to geckos and virginia creeper. Furthermore, at lower temperature, the PU porous films exhibited the high adhesive strength of 142.13 kPa on ice, which was strongly dependent on the porous microstructures and surface compositions. The improved adhesive behavior to ice of honeycomb PU porous films modified with PDA provides new strategies for surface modification of materials and potential applications in medical domain.     

Recent advances during CH4 dry reforming for syngas production: A mini review

Given the continuing issues of environment and energy, methane dry reforming for syngas production have sparked interest among researchers, but struggled with the process immaturity owing to catalyst deactivation. This review summarizes the recent advances in the development of efficient and stable catalysts with strong resistance to coking and metal sintering, including the application of novel materials, the assessment of advanced characterizations and the compatibility to improved reaction system. One feasible option is the crystalline oxide catalysts (perovskite, pyrochlore, spinel and LDHs), which feature a fine metal dispersion and surface confinement effect via a metal exsolution strategy and exhibit superior reactivity and stability. Some new materials (h-BN, clays and MOFs) also extend the option because of their unique morphology and microstructure. It also is elaborated that progresses were achieved in advanced characterizations application, leading to success in the establishment of reaction mechanisms and attributions to the formed robust catalysts. In addition, the perspective described the upgrade of reaction system to a higher reaction efficiency and milder reaction conditions. The combination of efficient reaction systems and robust catalysts paves a way for a scaling-up application of the process.     

Nanogrooved carbon microtubes for wet three‐dimensional printing of conductive composite structures

Recent advances in three‐dimensional (3D) printing have enabled the fabrication of interesting structures which are not achievable using traditional fabrication approaches. The 3D printing of carbon microtube composite inks allows fabrication of conductive structures for practical applications in soft robotics and tissue engineering. However, it is challenging to achieve 3D printed structures from solution‐based composite inks, which requires an additional process to solidify the ink. Here, we introduce a wet 3D printing technique which uses a coagulation bath to fabricate carbon microtube composite structures. We show that through a facile nanogrooving approach which introduces cavitation and channels on carbon microtubes, enhanced interfacial interactions with a chitosan polymer matrix are achieved. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed composites improve when nanogrooved carbon microtubes are used, compared to untreated microtubes. We show that by carefully controlling the coagulation bath, extrusion pressure, printing distance and printed line distance, we can 3D print composite lattices which are composed of well‐defined and separated printed lines. The conductive composite 3D structures with highly customised design presented in this work provide a suitable platform for applications ranging from soft robotics to smart tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Centimeter-scale low-damage micromachining on single-crystal 4H–SiC substrates using a femtosecond laser with square-shaped Flat-Top focus spots

Femtosecond (fs) lasers have been proved to be reliable tools for high-precision and high-quality micromachining of ceramic materials. Nevertheless, fs laser processing using a single-mode beam with a Gaussian intensity distribution is difficult to obtain large-area flat and uniform processed surfaces. In this study, we utilize a customized diffractive optical element (DOE) to redistribute the laser pulse energy from Gaussian to square-shaped Flat-Top profile to realize centimeter-scale low-damage micromachining on single-crystal 4H–SiC substrates. We systematically investigated the effects of processing parameters on the changes in surface morphology and composition, and an optimal processing strategy was provided. Mechanisms of the formation of surface nanoparticles and the removal of surface micro-burrs were discussed. We also examined the distribution of subsurface defects caused by fs laser processing by removing a thin surface layer with a certain depth through chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Our results show that laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) covered by fine SiO₂ nanoparticles form on the fs laser-processed areas. Under optimal parameters, the redeposition of SiO₂ nanoparticles can be minimized, and the surface roughness Sa of processed areas reaches 120 ± 8 nm after the removal of a 10 μm thick surface layer. After the laser processing, micro-burrs on original surfaces are effectively removed, and thus the average profile roughness Rz of 2 mm long surface profiles decreases from 920 ± 120 nm to 286 ± 90 nm. No visible micro-pits can be found after removing ~1 μm thick surface layer from the laser-processed substrates.