As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

Broad-Spectral-Range Sustainability and Controllable Excitation of Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons in α-MoO3

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in orthorhombic-phase molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO₃) show in-plane hyperbolicity, great wavelength compression, and ultralong lifetime, therefore holding great potential in nanophotonic applications. However, its polaritonic response in the far-infrared (FIR) range remains unexplored due to challenges in experimental characterization. Here, monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is used to probe HPhPs in α-MoO₃ in both mid-infrared (MIR) and FIR frequencies and correlate their behaviors with microstructures and orientations. It is found that low structural symmetry leads to various phonon modes and multiple Reststrahlen bands (RBs) over a broad spectral range (over 70 meV) and in different directions (55–63 meV and 119–125 meV along the b-axis, 68–106 meV along the c-axis, and 101–121 meV along the a-axis). These HPhPs can be selectively excited by controlling the direction of swift electrons. These findings provide new opportunities in nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications, such as directed light propagation, hyperlenses, and heat transfer.     

Preparation and characterization of calcium phosphate cement with enhanced tissue adhesion for bone defect repair

Anti-washout and tissue adhesion properties are essential for the clinical application of injectable bone materials. In this study, we prepared calcium phosphate cement (CPC) with anti-washout and tissue adhesion properties and attempted to build covalent bonds between CPC and the amino groups in bone tissue under a self-regulating pH system in the CPC (acidic to basic). The results of push-out tests demonstrated that a significant enhancement (from 6.42 ± 0.76 N to 61.5 ± 4.09 N) in tissue adhesion was obtained with the addition of 6% (w/w) oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) in CPC. The FTIR, XRD, anti-washout test, XPS, pH test, and SEM results suggested that the synergistic effect of OSA-citric acid (CA) led to the formation of a three-dimensional gel network structure in the CPC, and the Schiff base reaction between aldehyde and amino groups induced adhesion between CPC and the bone tissue. Further, the addition of less OSA had no significant negative effect on the hydration properties of CPC. Our work aims to promote the development of injectable bone material in clinical applications.     

Partitioning of predominant lipophilic bioactives (squalene, α-tocopherol and β-sitosterol) during olive oil processing

The partitioning of predominant lipophilic olive bioactives (squalene, β-sitosterol and α-tocopherol) in olive oil processing was studied for the first time using common integrated olive milling plant. 7% of the oil and 5% of the squalene present in the olives was lost in the last pomace. β-sitosterol and α-tocopherol, which are mainly concentrated in the seed of the olive fruit, was recovered in virgin olive oil to a lesser extent (66%, 67%) while 10% were lost in last pomace. Thus, the loss of β-sitosterol and α-tocopherol was higher than that of squalene and oil, due to nonrecovered bound forms. 19% of the α-tocopherol and 21% of the β-sitosterol loss was unaccounted for, which can be attributed to degradation of α-tocopherol and incomplete recovery of sterols from the olive and pomace matrices. This study provides a basis for process development studies.     

α-Fe2O3/煤矸石复合光催化剂的制备及其降解五氯酚性能的研究

以Fe（NO₃）₃、煤矸石和NaOH为原料,采用沸腾回流法制得了一系列不同质量比的α-Fe₂O₃/煤矸石复合光催化剂。采用场发射扫描电子显微镜（FESEM）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）及紫外-可见漫反射光谱（UV-Vis DRS）等多种手段对产物做了表征。以五氯酚为目标降解物,考察了模拟太阳光照下样品的光催化效果。结果表明,将球形α-Fe₂O₃负载于改性煤矸石表面可有效提高其光催化活性,且α-Fe₂O₃/煤矸石复合光催化剂的性能与α-Fe₂O₃的含量有关,当α-Fe₂O₃与煤矸石的质量比为30∶100时,样品的光催化效果最佳,180 min内即可将五氯酚降解完全。此外,α-Fe₂O₃/煤矸石复合光催化剂还具有可重复使用的特点。     

抗rHu-IFN-αMcAb亲和常数的测定

采用ELISA间接法检测抗原－抗体反应系统中游离抗体量的方法，对本实验室制备的5系抗rHu－IFN－αMcAb进行了亲和力测定，获得比较准确的McAb亲和常数。     

A new generalised α scale spaces quadrature filters

The α   scale spaces is a recent theory that open new possibilities of phase-based image processing. It is a parameterised class (α∈]0,1])$(\alpha \in ]0,1\left]\right)$ of linear scale space representations, which allows a continuous connection beyond the well-known Gaussian scale space (α=1$\alpha =1$). In this paper, we make use of this unified representation to derive new families of band pass quadrature filters, built from derivatives and difference of the α scale space generating kernels. This construction leads to generalised α kernel filters including the commonly known families derived from the Gaussian and the Poisson kernels. The properties of each family are first studied and then experiments on one- and two-dimensional signals are shown to exemplify how the suggested filters can be used for edge detection. This work is complemented by an experimental evaluation, which demonstrates that the new proposed filters are a good alternative to the commonly used Log-Gabor filter.     

2-苯基-4-对氯苯基-1,5-苯并硫氮杂-α-(丁二酰亚胺基)-β-内酰胺的高效液相色谱法分析

采用Hypersil-ODS2(4.6mm×250mm,5μm)色谱柱,乙腈-水(70∶30)流动相,242nm检测波长,建立了测定2-苯基-4-对氯苯基-1,5-苯并硫氮杂-α-(丁二酰亚胺基)-β-内酰胺的高效液相色谱法。该法线性范为0～0.1mg/mL,回归方程为A=1.63×108c-2.86×105,相关系数r=0.9994,相对标准偏差为0.33%(c=0.06mg/mL,n=5),检出限为0.08μg/mL。平均回收率在97.2%～102.4%之间。该法重现性好,灵敏度高,简单,快速,准确。     

电子封装用环氧树脂的增韧和提高耐热性研究

用α,ω 二氯聚二甲基硅氧烷(DPS)或α 氯聚二甲基硅氧烷(CPS)来改性普通双酚A环氧树脂(BPAER)和四溴双酚A环氧树脂(TBBPAER),目标是制备出一系列可用于电子封装的高韧性高耐热性的环氧基料。通过对固化物的冲击强度、拉伸强度、断裂伸长率和玻璃化转变温度(Tg)以及断裂面形态的测定,探讨了改性方法、有机硅组成与含量等对材料性能的影响。结果表明,当m(BPAER)∶m(DPS)=100∶10时,树脂固化物的冲击强度达到30 5kJ/m2,拉伸强度达46 95MPa,断裂伸长率达到60 23%,Tg达到141 3℃;分别比未改性BPAER提高了19 7kJ/m2,1 69MPa,54 29%以及5 9℃。而当m(TBBPAER)∶m(CPS)=100∶10时,固化物的冲击强度达到17 2kJ/m2,拉伸强度达39 89MPa,断裂伸长率达到5 60%,Tg达到147 0℃;分别比未改性TBBPAER提高了12 8kJ/m2,28 26MPa,4 29%以及7 9℃。     

基于LS-SVM逆系统的无轴承异步电机解耦控制

无轴承异步电机具有非线性、多变量和强耦合的特点,要实现电机稳定悬浮和旋转运行,必须对其进行非线性动态解耦控制。为了克服逆系统方法精确建模难的局限性,采用基于最小二乘支持向量机(LS-SVM)α阶逆系统方法对无轴承异步电机进行动态解耦控制的研究。首先利用最小二乘支持向量机辨识出无轴承异步电机的逆模型,然后将它串联在原系统前,将无轴承异步电机解耦成四个独立的伪线性子系统-2个径向位移子系统、一个速度子系统和一个磁链子系统。为保证鲁棒性能,最后对解耦后的系统采用非线性内模控制策略。研究表明,LS-SVMα阶逆系统方法能够实现无轴承异步电机径向悬浮力和旋转力之间的动态解耦控制,控制系统具有良好的静态和动态性能。