We present a novel global non-rigid registration method for dynamic 3D objects. Our method allows objects to undergo large non-rigid deformations and achieves high-quality results even with ...substantial pose change or camera motion between views. In addition, our method does not require a template prior and uses less raw data than tracking-based methods since only a sparse set of scans is needed. We simultaneously compute the deformations of all the scans by optimizing a global alignment problem to avoid the well-known loop closure problem and use an as-rigid-as-possible constraint to eliminate the shrinkage problem of the deformed shapes, especially near open boundaries of scans. To cope with large-scale problems, we design a coarse-to-fine multi-resolution scheme, which also avoids the optimization being trapped into local minima. The proposed method is evaluated on public datasets and real datasets captured by an RGB-D sensor. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method obtains better results than several state-of-the-art methods.
•Peel browning in ‘Nanguo’ pears was alleviated by Glycine betaine.•Alleviation of peel browning was related to phenol and sugar metabolisms.•Changes in enzyme activities and levels of gene were ...studied.
Long-term cold storage can postpone the senescence and preserve the quality of postharvest ‘Nanguo’ pear fruit. However, peel browning (PB), which is deemed to be a symptom of chilling injury (CI), usually develops after the fruit are transferred to shelf life at room temperature. In this study, the effect of glycine betaine (GB) treatment (10 mmol L−1 for 10 min) on PB, as well as on phenylpropanoid and soluble sugar metabolisms of pear fruit was investigated. The results showed that GB treatment effectively delayed the occurrence of PB by 6 d after cold storage for 120 d, and significantly inhibited the browning index in fruit by more than 35% during the 15 d of shelf life. Enzymes activities and genes expression levels related to phenylpropanoid metabolism were increased after GB treatment, which resulted in the increase of total phenols and flavonoids content. Moreover, higher sucrose content, and lower fructose and glucose content were observed in GB-treated fruit, which was concomitant with increased activities and genes expression levels of sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), as well as decreased activities and genes expression levels of invertase. The results showed that the development of PB in cold-stored ‘Nanguo’ pears was closely related to phenylpropanoid and soluble sugar metabolisms. GB treatment could alleviate PB by ways of regulating phenylpropanoid and soluble sugar metabolisms, as well as by sustaining higher levels of phenolic and sucrose content. Therefore, exogenous GB treatment could be an effective method to alleviate PB of ‘Nanguo’ pear fruit during cold storage.
Road information plays an increasingly important role in applications, such as map updating, urban planning, and intelligent supervision. However, roads in remote sensing images may be shaded by ...trees and buildings or interfered with by farmland. These intrinsic image features can cause road extraction results to suffer from breakage and misidentification problems. To address these problems, this article improves on D-LinkNet and proposes a dual codec structure network, namely RUW-Net. Specifically, we use ReSidual U-blocks instead of ordinary residual blocks to extract more global contextual information during the encoding stage. Moreover, we propose a decoder-encoder combination (DEC) module to build a dual codec structure. The DEC module links the decoder of the first U-block and the encoder of the following U-block to narrow the semantic gap in the encoding and decoding process. The RUW-Net model can extract more multiscale contextual features and effectively use them to enhance the semantic information of road entities. Therefore, the RUW-Net model can obtain more accurate extraction results. We conducted a series of experiments on public datasets, such as DeepGlobe, including comparative, robustness, and ablation experiments. The results show that the proposed model alleviates the road extraction breakage and misidentification problems. Compared with other representative methods, the RUW-Net performs better in terms of completeness and accuracy of road extraction results; overall, its extraction results are also the best. The RUW-Net model provides a new idea for road extraction from remote sensing images.
Purpose
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been revealed to interventions in atherosclerosis (AS) progressions. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been discovered to modulate the ...functions of EPCs. Herein, effects of allicin on EPCs were explored in coronary atherosclerosis (CAS).
Methods
Allicin (5 or 10 mg/kg/d) was used to treat the ApoE−/− mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD. TC, TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C were examined. HE staining was applied for observation of CAS lesions. In vitro, EPCs were induced by ox-LDL and then treated with allicin and an eNOS inhibitor, L-NAME. Thereafter, the cell viability, apoptosis and migration were examined using CCK-8, flow cytometry and Transwell methods. Western blot was applied for evaluating eNOS, Nrf2 and HO-1 protein expression. NO production, MDA content, and SOD activity were also measured.
Results
Allicin inhibited CAS progression, decreased serum levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C but increased HDL-C. Moreover, counts of circulating EPCs, and the protein levels of eNOS, Nrf2 and HO-1 were increased by allicin treatment in mice fed with HFD. Allicin suppressed MDA contents but enhanced SOD activities. In vitro, allicin reversed the impacts of ox-LDL induction in EPCs, facilitating cell mobility and NO production, and decreasing apoptosis. L-NAME treatment reversed effects of allicin.
Conclusion
Allicin alleviated CAS progressions in mice, modulating the cell apoptosis and migration of EPCs via eNOS/ Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.
•The moisture transfer mechanism of SAP in cement slurry is revealed.•The method of shrinkage control and anti-fracture based on humidity compensation is proposed.•The rule of shrinkage development ...and fracture properties of SAP concrete is studied.•The enhancement mechanism for the hydration of concrete is discussed.
In this work, we studied the moisture transfer mechanism of a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) in cement slurry, analyzed the influence of the SAP parameter on the mechanical property of concrete, and continuously monitored the internal relative humidity (IRH) of SAP curing pavement concrete using sensors. The method of shrinkage control and anti-fracture was proposed based on the principle of humidity compensation. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to reveal the enhancement mechanism for concrete hydration. The results show that the SAP can reach a swell-equilibrium state in 30 min, and the larger the particle size is, the greater the absorptance is. Moreover, water retention of 88% can be maintained in the early period of the real hydration process. With the incorporation of SAP, the humidity saturation period of C40 pavement concrete is prolonged, and the IRH within the 28 d can be maintained above 90%. The increase in additional water can significantly relieve the total shrinkage strain of C40 pavement concrete within 28 d. The rupture process of SAP concrete is similar to that of the benchmark concrete, and the occurrence of cracking can be postponed, thereby significantly reducing the deterioration rate of the concrete after fracture instability. In summary, concrete with 0.134% of SAP2 (180–380 μm) shows the best shrinkage control and anti-fracture characteristics, where its compressive strength, IRH, peak load and fracture energy can be improved by 3.62%, 15.17%, 41.87% and 54.25%, respectively, and total shrinkage strain can be effectively reduced by 45.56%. Combined with the SEM method, the SAP concrete can generate a C-S-H gel cluster, thereby increasing the degree of concrete hydration. The number of primary cracks in early hydration was reduced, and the strength of the cement matrix was increased such that the concrete could effectively resist the moisture gradient and load deformation.
With the development of the power system automation and the smart grid, intelligent monitoring sensors are widely used in the high-voltage power transmission lines (HVPLs). To ensure the stability ...and effectiveness of the monitoring sensors, the method of power supply should be solved urgently. In this paper, a three-coil wireless power supply system is proposed by considering the insulation problem. By comparing the insulation characteristics of the HVPLs with configuring the relay coil or not, the feasibility of the three-coil wireless power supply system in the application is validated. On the basis, the impedance matching conditions to achieve maximum efficiency and receiving power are analyzed. Particularly, a method to design the relay coil, used as an impedance matching window, is introduced so that the efficiency and the receiving power can be optimized simultaneously in different application situations. The theoretical analysis is confirmed by both simulation and experimental results.
Antidepressants increase hippocampal neurogenesis by activating the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), but excessive GR activation impairs hippocampal neurogenesis, suggesting that normal GR function is ...crucial for hippocampal neurogenesis. Baicalin was reported to regulate the expression of GR and facilitate hippocampal neurogenesis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we used the chronic corticosterone (CORT)-induced mouse model of anxiety/depression to assess antidepressant-like effects of baicalin and illuminate possible molecular mechanisms by which baicalin affects GR-mediated hippocampal neurogenesis. We found that oral administration of baicalin (40, 80 or 160 mg/kg) for 4 weeks alleviated several chronic CORT-induced anxiety/depression-like behaviors. Baicalin also increased Ki-67- and DCX-positive cells to restore chronic CORT-induced suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis. Moreover, baicalin normalized the chronic CORT-induced decrease in GR protein levels, the increase in GR nuclear translocation and the increase in GR phosphorylation at Ser203 and Ser211. Finally, chronic CORT exposure increased the level of FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP5) and of phosphorylated serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) at Ser422 and Thr256, whereas baicalin normalized these changes. Together, our findings suggest that baicalin improves anxiety/depression-like behaviors and promotes hippocampal neurogenesis. We propose that baicalin may normalize GR function through SGK1- and FKBP5-mediated GR phosphorylation.
The anti-peak shaving characteristics of wind power is an important factor that limits the consumption of wind power. The use of the space-time translation capability of a battery energy storage ...system is one of the effective means for promoting wind power consumption. Thus, this study proposes an energy storage system smoothing wind power fluctuation control strategy considering wind power consumption to improve the utilization level and economy of an energy storage system. First, the statistical characteristics of wind power are analyzed, and the scene division principle of a multiscenario regulation of an energy storage system is formulated using a correlation coefficient. On this basis, the charging and discharging intervals of the energy storage system in each scenario are determined by comprehensively considering the wind power and the time domain distribution law of load. Then, the control strategy of energy storage system based on inter-zone control is proposed based on the division of charging and discharging intervals. During the charging interval, smoothing the upward fluctuation of wind power or reducing the amount of abandoned wind power is aimed at storing electricity. During the discharge interval, electricity is released to smooth the downward fluctuation of wind power. Finally, considering the real-time state of charge and wind power consumption of the energy storage system, a method of charging and discharging power correction based on fuzzy control is proposed. Taking the actual data of a wind farm as an example, a test is performed on a simulation platform of a combined wind storage power generation system to verify the feasibility and superiority of the proposed control strategy.
RNA editing is a post-transcription process that alters the genetic information on RNA molecules. In plastids and mitochondria of flowering plants, the multiple organellar RNA editing factors (MORFs) ...interact with the PLS-type pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins and participate in RNA editing of cytidine-to-uridine conversion. The PPR proteins recognize cytidine targets around the editing sites, and the MORF proteins modulate the RNA-binding activity of the PPR proteins. Here, we report the structure of the Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplast MORF2 at 2.4 Å resolution. The structure, adopting typical MORF-box fold as observed in mitochondrial MORF1 and chloroplast MORF9, reveals an MORF1-like dimerization mode. The difference between the two dimerization modes can be attributed to F157 (corresponding F162 in MORF1 and W160 in MORF9), which causes a 60° shift upon dimerization. This observation, together with the PPR–MORF2 model, suggests a dimer-to-monomer transition during RNA editosome formation.
•Crystal structure of MORF2 is determined at 2.4 Å.•MORF2 forms dimer through hydrophobic interaction.•Dimerization interface of MORF2 overlaps with its PPR interacting site.•A dimer-to-monomer transition is implicated for MORF2's role in RNA editing.
An efficient, general, and one-pot procedure for the synthesis of multisubstituted xanthene derivatives through Fe(III)-catalyzed reactions of 2-aryloxybenzaldehydes with electron-rich arenes has ...been developed. This method offers several advantages such as high selectivities, mild reaction conditions, and easily accessible starting materials. A mechanistic study revealed that a C−C bond cleavage of a triarylmethane intermediate might be involved in the domino process.
PDF
