For micromotion targets with rotating parts, the inverse synthetic-aperture-radar image of the main body may be shadowed by the micro-Doppler. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an imaging ...algorithm based on the complex-valued empirical-mode decomposition. First, the radar echoes are decomposed into a series of complex-valued intrinsic-mode functions (IMFs). Then, the IMFs from the rotating parts and those from the main body are separated according to the characteristics of their zero-crossings. Finally, the well-focused imaging of the main body via traditional imaging algorithm and the accurate parameter estimation of the rotating part can be obtained. Both the imaging results for the simulated and measured data are given to verify the validity of the proposed algorithm.
The effects of the degree of milling (DOM) on amino acid composition, thiamine, riboflavin, phytic acid (PA), and mineral (Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ca, Se, and Pb) contents of japonica Xinfeng 2 and ...indica T-You 15 brown rice were investigated. Almost all amino acids slightly decreased as DOM increased. Quadratic and linear relationships were observed between DOM and milling time at 0–30 s and 30–100 s, respectively. Thiamine and riboflavin content decreased linearly as DOM increased. Approximately 57.6–65.4% of thiamine and 40.3–45.7% of riboflavin were removed after 30 s of milling (DOM = ca. 9%). Considerable losses were observed for PA, Mg, Mn, Fe, and Pb during milling (DOM = ca. 9%), whereas the losses of Ca, Cu, Zn, and Se were relatively lower. In addition, the linear correlations of Mg, Mn, Pb, and Fe levels with PA concentration were revealed. These results indicate that DOM should be supervised to improve nutrient utilization and appropriately control toxic metal contamination.
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•Correlation between degree of milling (DOM) and loss of Vitamin B are revealed.•Almost all amino acids decreased as DOM increased.•Considerable losses were observed for PA, Mg, Mn, Fe, and Pb during milling.•Appropriate DOM can control the anti-nutritional factors and poisonous elements.
Biological materials relied on multiple synergistic structural design elements typically exhibit excellent comprehensive mechanical properties. Hierarchical incorporation of different biostructural ...elements into a single artificial material is a promising approach to enhance mechanical properties, but remains challenging. Herein, a biomimetic structural design strategy is proposed by coupling gradient structure with twisted plywood Bouligand structure, attempting to improve the impact resistance of ceramic‐polymer composites. Via robocasting and sintering, kaolin ceramic filaments reinforced by coaxially aligned alumina nanoplatelets are arranged into Bouligand structure with a gradual transition in filament spacing along the thickness direction. After the following polymer infiltration, biomimetic ceramic‐polymer composites with a gradient Bouligand (GB) structure are eventually fabricated. Experimental investigations reveal that the incorporation of gradient structure into Bouligand structure improves both the peak force and total energy absorption of the obtained ceramic‐polymer composites. Computational modeling further suggests the substantial improvement in impact resistance by adopting GB structure, and clarifies the underlying deformation behavior of the biomimetic GB structured composites under impact. This biomimetic design strategy may provide valuable insights for developing lightweight and impact‐resistant structural materials in the future.
Translating different biostructural elements into a single synthetic material represents a promising pathway to achieve improved mechanical properties. Here, one new‐style biomimetic structure is designed by coupling gradient structure with Bouligand structure, resulting in a ceramic‐polymer composite with synergistically enhanced impact resistance. This work highlights the importance of hierarchical structural design for future impact‐resistant structural materials.
Abstract Background Asthmatic inflammation is dominated either by eosinophil and/or neutrophil accumulation in airways. Disposal of these inflammatory cells is the key to disease control. ...Eosinophilic airway inflammation is responsive to corticosteroid treatment, while neutrophilic inflammation is resistant and increases the burden of global health care. Corticosteroid resistant neutrophilic asthma remains mechanistically poorly understood and requires novel effective therapeutic strategies. Objective We thought to explore the underlying mechanisms of airway inflammation persistence as well as corticosteroid resistance, and to investigate a new strategy of effective treatment against corticosteroid-insensitive neutrophilic asthma. Methods Mouse models of either eosinophils-dominated or neutrophils-dominated airway inflammation were used in this study to test corticosteroid sensitivity in vivo and in vitro . We also used vav-Bcl-2 transgenic mice to confirm the importance of granulocytes apoptosis in the clearance of airway inflammation. Finally, Bcl-2 inhibitors ABT-737 or ABT-199 –were tested for their therapeutic effects against eosinophilic or neutrophilic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. Results Overexpression of Bcl-2 protein was found to be responsible for persistence of granulocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid following allergic challenge. This was important as allergen-induced airway inflammation aggravated and persisted in vav-Bcl-2 transgenic mice, where nucleated hematopoietic cells were over-expressed with Bcl-2 and resistant to apoptosis. Bcl-2 inhibitors, ABT-737 or ABT-199, play efficient roles in alleviation of either eosinophilic or corticosteroid resistant-neutrophilic airway inflammation, by inducing apoptosis of immune cell, such as eosinophils, neutrophils, Th2, Th17 and dendritic cells. Moreover, these inhibitors were found to be more efficient than steroid to induce granulocytes apoptosis ex vivo from severe asthma patients. Conclusion Apoptosis of inflammatory cells is essential for the clearance of allergen-induced airway inflammation. Bcl-2 inhibitors ABT-737 or ABT-199 may be promising drugs for the treatment against airway inflammation, especially for corticosteroid-insensitive neutrophilic airway inflammation.
To investigate the behavior of Mg isotopes during low-temperature alteration of oceanic crust and to further understand its role in the global Mg cycle, we measured the Mg isotopic compositions ...(25Mg/24Mg and 26Mg/24Mg) of a set of samples of altered oceanic crust (AOC) recovered from the Ocean Drilling Program Hole 801C, the reference site for old crust (∼170 Ma) subducting in the Pacific. The measured δ26Mg values range from −1.70‰ to 0.21‰, deviating from that of pristine oceanic basalts (−0.25 ± 0.07‰). Composite samples of volcanoclastic breccia that have experienced relatively intense alteration have larger variation in δ26Mg values (−1.01‰ to 0.15‰) than composite samples of massive basaltic flows (−0.53‰ to −0.04‰), indicating significant Mg isotope fractionation during low-temperature alteration of the oceanic crust. Moreover, the upper off-axis basement has on average lower δ26Mg values (−1.70‰ to −0.04‰) than the lower on-axis basement (−0.16‰ to 0.21‰). These findings, combined with the co-variations between MgO content and FeO∗/CaO ratio and between δ26Mg and FeO∗/CaO ratio, suggest that formation of Mg-bearing minerals (i.e., saponite and calcite) during low-temperature alteration of the oceanic crust accounts for the highly variable δ26Mg of AOC. Early formation of saponite under anoxic condition preferentially takes up heavy Mg isotopes and accounts for Mg enrichment and relatively high δ26Mg in the on-axis basement. Subsequent precipitation of carbonates results in the dilution of Mg and relatively low δ26Mg in the off-axis basement. In addition, accumulation of carbonate-rich interflow sediments in the upper basement may contribute further to the low δ26Mg. A weighted average δ26Mg value of 0.00 ± 0.09‰ is estimated for the AOC at Site 801, implying that low-temperature alteration of oceanic crust drives the ocean to a lighter Mg isotopic composition, and thus requires additional carbonate precipitation to maintain a steady-state Mg isotopic composition of seawater. A mass balance calculation suggests that the Mg output flux due to low-temperature alteration of the oceanic crust equals ∼12% of the annual Mg riverine input, indicating that AOC is a significant sink of Mg in seawater. Our study further highlights that recycling of AOC with highly variable δ26Mg along with overlying marine sediments into the mantle through subduction may generate Mg isotopic heterogeneity in the mantle at small scales.
Our study aimed to investigate the short‐term efficacy and long‐term prognosis of liver failure patients caused by hepatitis B after a single transplantation with autologous marrow mesenchymal stem ...cells (MMSCs). A total of 527 inpatients with liver failure caused by hepatitis B were recruited and received the same medical treatments, among whom 53 patients underwent a single transplantation with autologous MMSCs. A total of 105 patients matched for age, sex, and biochemical indexes, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, total bilirubin (TBIL), prothrombin time (PT), and Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD), comprised the control group. A total of 120 mL of bone marrow was obtained from each patient and then diluted and separated. Then, the MMSC suspension was slowly transfused into the liver through the proper hepatic artery. The success rate of transplantation was 100%, without serious side effects or complications. Levels of ALB, TBIL, and PT and MELD score of patients in the transplantation group were markedly improved from 2‐3 weeks after transplantation, compared with those in the control group. At 192 weeks of follow‐up, there were no dramatic differences in incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or mortality between the two groups. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the incidence of HCC or mortality between patients with and without cirrhosis in the transplantation group. Conclusion: Autologous MMSC transplantation is safe for liver failure patients caused by chronic hepatitis B. Short‐term efficacy was favorable, but long‐term outcomes were not markedly improved. In respect to several parameters, this method is preferable for patients with liver cirrhosis and may have potential for reducing their incidence of HCC and mortality. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
A colocated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar system has the ability to address multiple beam information. However, the simultaneous multibeam working mode has two finite working resources: ...the number of beams and the total transmit power of the multiple beams. In this scenario, a resource allocation strategy for the multibeam working mode with the task of tracking multiple targets is developed in this paper. The basis of our technique is to adjust the number of beams and their directions and the transmit power of each beam through feedback, with the purpose of improving the worst tracking performance among the multiple targets. The Bayesian Cramér-Rao lower bound (BCRLB) provides us with a lower bound on the estimated mean square error (MSE) of the target state. Hence, it is derived and utilized as an optimization criterion for the resource allocation scheme. We prove that the resulting resource optimization problem is nonconvex but can be reformulated as a set of convex problems. Therefore, optimal solutions can be obtained easily, which greatly aids real-time resource management. Numerical results show that the worst case tracking accuracy can be efficiently improved by the proposed simultaneous multibeam resource allocation (SMRA) algorithm.
Urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures were synthesized as the typical Schottky junction via intermediate layer conversion method, which show synergistic killing due to the high yield of ROS ...and hyperthermia leading to rapid inactivation of Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) triggered by near-infrared (NIR) light.
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•Urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures have been prepared for the first time.•Au nanorods were coated by urchin-shaped Bi2S3 via a hard template engaged polyol method.•The Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures exhibited enhanced antibacterial activities.
Antimicrobial nanostructures are expected to be effective alternatives to antibiotics, combating the emergence of drug resistance and superbugs. Herein, we have developed an intermediate layer conversion strategy to fabricate urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures via a hard template engaged polyol method, which showed low cytotoxicity and excellent photothermal conversion properties. This metal-semiconductor composite nanostructures are also behaved as the typical Schottky junction that can improve the separation efficiency of the electron-hole pairs triggered by near-infrared (NIR) light, leading to considerable generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). As a result, the obtained urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures exhibited enhanced antibacterial ability compared to Au nanorods or Bi2S3 alone, which can be attributed to the higher yield of ROS and hyperthermia. Once stimulated by 808 nm laser irradiation, urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures made a nearly 100% bactericidal ratio quickly for Escherichia coli (140 μg/mL) and Staphylococcus aureus (120 μg/mL) owing to their synergetic photothermal and photodynamic anti-bacterial (PTA/PDA) performance. Thus, this work can be extended to fabricate some other heterostructures comprised of semiconductors and metals/semiconductors. In particular, the urchin-shaped Au@Bi2S3 core-shell structures is a promising candidate for rapidly bacterial elimination in medical treatment or environmental remedy.
Recent theory of compressed sampling (CS) suggests that exact recovery of an unknown sparse signal with overwhelming probability can be achieved from very limited number of samples. In this letter, ...we adapt this idea and present a framework of high-resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging with limited measured data. During the framework, we mathematically convert the imaging into a problem of signal reconstruction with orthogonal basis; hence, a conceptive upper bound of the cross-range resolution is presented based on the CS theory. Real data results show that the CS imaging approach outperforms the conventional range-Doppler one in resolution.
D-limonene (4-isopropenyl-1-methylcyclohexene) is an important compound in several citrus essential oils (such as orange, lemon, tangerine, lime, and grapefruit). It has been used as a flavoring ...agent and as a food preservative agent, with generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. D-limonene has been well-studied for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and antibacterial properties. The antibacterial activity of D-limonene against food-borne pathogens was investigated in this study by preparing a D-limonene nanoemulsion. The D-limonene solution and nanoemulsion have been prepared in six concentrations, 0.04%, 0.08%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.8% (v/v), respectively, and the antibacterial activity was tested against four food-borne pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, and Escherichia coli). The results showed that the D-limonene nanoemulsion had good nanoscale and overall particle size uniformity, and its particle size was about 3~5 nm. It has been found that the D-limonene solution and nanoemulsion have a minimal inhibitory concentration of 0.336 mg/mL, and that they could inhibit the growth of microorganisms efficiently. The data indicate that the D-limonene nanoemulsion has more antibacterial ability against microorganisms than the D-limonene essential oil. After bananas are treated with 1.0% and 1.5% D-limonene nanoemulsion coatings, the water loss of the bananas during storage and the percentage of weight loss are reduced, which can inhibit the activity of pectinase. The application of a biocoating provides a good degree of antibacterial activity and air and moisture barrier properties, which help with extending the shelf life of bananas.
