A new online detection method of tobacco impurities for tobacco robot.

In the tobacco industry, impurity detection is an important prerequisite for ensuring the quality of tobacco. However, in the actual production process, the complex background environment and the variability of impurity shapes can affect the accuracy of impurity detection by tobacco robots, which leads to a decrease in product quality and an increase in health risks. To address this problem, we propose a new online detection method of tobacco impurities for tobacco robot. Firstly, a BCFormer attention mechanism module is designed to effectively mitigate the interference of irrelevant information in the image and improve the network's ability to identify regions of interest. Secondly, a Dual Feature Aggregation (DFA) module is designed and added to Neck to improve the accuracy of tobacco impurities detection by augmenting the fused feature maps with deep semantic and surface location data. Finally, to address the problem that the traditional loss function cannot accurately reflect the distance between two bounding boxes, this paper proposes an optimized loss function to more accurately assess the quality of the bounding boxes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the algorithm, this paper creates a dataset specifically designed to detect tobacco impurities. Experimental results show that the algorithm performs well in identifying tobacco impurities. Our algorithm improved the mAP value by about 3.01% compared to the traditional YOLOX method. The real-time processing efficiency of the model is as high as 41 frames per second, which makes it ideal for automated inspection of tobacco production lines and effectively solves the problem of tobacco impurity detection.

Research Status and Development Trend of Coal Spontaneous Combustion Fire and Prevention Technology in China: A Review.

Coal seam spontaneous combustion fire is not only one of the main forms of the five major mine disasters, but also the main cause of secondary disasters such as mine gas and coal dust explosions. In recent years, with the advancement of mechanization, automation, and intelligent mine construction, spontaneous coal fires in mines have presented a series of new characteristics, and the prevention and control of spontaneous coal fires are also facing new challenges. On the basis of literature research, this paper summarizes and discusses the basic theory of coal spontaneous combustion, monitoring and early warning methods, and prevention and control technology, summarizes the development process of coal spontaneous combustion theory, reviews the research progress of coal spontaneous combustion monitoring and early warning methods and prevention and control technologies, and discusses the future development direction. In terms of the basic theory of spontaneous combustion of coal, from the initial hypothesis of spontaneous combustion of multielement coal to the unified understanding of coal-oxygen composite theory, a complete set of theoretical systems have been established, and a lot of macro and micro studies have been carried out and analyzed from multiple perspectives. In terms of coal spontaneous combustion monitoring and early warning, from the initial single indicator gas early warning to the construction of gas index system, the hierarchical early warning system is studied, and gradually tends to be perfect. With the development of automation and intelligence technology, the monitoring of coal spontaneous combustion disasters has also formed a new monitoring technology with beam tube monitoring as the traditional method, distributed optical fiber, wireless AD hoc network temperature measurement, and a coal spontaneous combustion multiparameter wireless monitoring system. In terms of fire prevention and control, the traditional "prevention" and "treatment" have changed to the "prevention-control-extinction" technical system based on hierarchical early warning, and the focus has gradually shifted to "prevention", and a large number of antifire materials have been developed, including blocking materials and fire-fighting materials. However, the precise inhibition and control of coal spontaneous combustion disasters, the evolution model of coal spontaneous combustion under the conditions of multifactor coupling in the field, the reliability and stability of intelligent monitoring system, the noncontact detection method of fire source, and the collaborative adaptation of multiple prevention and control techniques are not yet clear. In the future development, the mechanism of spontaneous coal combustion and its evolution process and other basic theories should be deeply studied. On the basis of the mechanism optimization early warning method of spontaneous coal combustion process, flame retardant and fire prevention materials should be targeted and developed. On the basis of the spatiotemporal evolution of spontaneous coal combustion, monitoring and monitoring system equipment with high speed, high precision, and high stability should be developed, which should accelerate the realization of accurate dynamic sensing and intelligent early warning of coal spontaneous combustion, and form an active hierarchical collaborative prevention and control system based on the trinity of "prevention-control-extinction" of coal spontaneous combustion. The conclusions and prospects of this paper can be used for reference in the future research direction, and have a certain role in promoting the exchange of research results of coal science and technology workers.

Study on Pyrolysis and Oxidation Characteristics of Coal Gangue Based on TGA-DSC.

Coal gangue spontaneous combustion has caused serious environmental and ecological problems. To investigate the reaction kinetic parameters of the gangue and the exothermic characteristics of the spontaneous combustion of the influence of the law, this study employs the thermogravimetric method to explore the characteristic parameters of the pyrolysis and oxidative combustion process of the gangue from the perspective of thermodynamics, and, at the same time, using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) on the exothermic effect of the gangue to explore the gangue to obtain the gangue and the original coal TG/DTG/DSC curves to be compared and from the perspective of thermodynamics. The change rule and potential parameters in the pyrolysis and oxidative combustion process of coal gangue (CG) were analyzed, the oxidation kinetic properties of CG were studied, and the reaction mechanism of oxidative spontaneous combustion of CG was further explained. The results show that the TG/DTG/DSC curves of CG in different gas atmospheres will have significant differences in all stages, and in the process of pyrolysis and oxidative combustion, the thermogravimetric curves of CG and those of the original coal show a consistent trend, except for the large difference in peak amplitude in different stages; in different gas atmospheres, as the rate of warming increases, the TG/DTG/DSC curves of the gangue are tilted toward the high-temperature region, they are inclined to the high-temperature region with the increase of the heating rate, and the phenomenon of "hysteresis" of characteristic temperature occurs. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the construction of a spontaneous combustion early warning system based on the fine division of gangue pyrolysis and oxidation combustion stages.

Structural insights in the permeation mechanism of an activated GIRK2 channel.

G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels play a significant role in physiopathology by the regulation of cell excitability. This regulation depends on the K+ ion conduction induced by structural constrictions: the selectivity filters (SFs), helix bundle crossings (HBCs), and G-loop gates. To explore why no permeation occurred when the constrictions were kept in the open state, a 4-K+-related occupancy mechanism was proposed. Unfortunately, this hypothesis was neither assessed, nor was the energetic characteristics presented. To identify the permeation mechanism on an atomic level, all-atom molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and a coupled quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method were used for the GIRK2 mutant R201A. It was found that the R201A had a moderate conductive capability in the presence of PIP2. Furthermore, the 4-K+ group of ions was found to dominate the conduction through the activated HBC gate. This shielding-like mechanism was assessed by the potential energy barrier along the conduction pathway. Mutation studies did further support the assumption that E152 was responsible for the mechanism. Moreover, E152 was most probably facilitating the inflow of ions from the SF to the cavity. On the contrary, N184 had no remarkable effect on this mechanism, except for the conduction efficiency. These findings highlighted the necessity of a multi-ion distribution for the conduction to take place, and indicated that the K+ migration was not only determined by the channel conductive state in the GIRK channel. The here presented multi-ion permeation mechanism may help to provide an effective way to regulate the channelopathies.

Degradation and dechlorination of trichloroacetic acid induced by an in situ 222 nm KrCl* excimer radiation.

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic epidemic, the excessive usage of chlorinated disinfectants raised the substantial risks of disinfection by-products (DBPs) exposure. While several technologies may remove the typical carcinogenic DBPs, trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), their application for continuous treatment is limited due to their complexity and expensive or hazardous inputs. In this study, degradation and dechlorination of TCAA induced by an in situ 222 nm KrCl* excimer radiation as well as role of oxygen in the reaction pathway were investigated. Quantum chemical calculation methods were used to help predict the reaction mechanism. Experimental results showed that UV irradiance increased with increasing input power and decreased when the input power exceeded 60 W. Decomposition and dechlorination were simultaneously achieved, where around 78% of TCAA (0.62 mM) can be eliminated and 78% dechlorination within 200 min. Dissolved oxygen showed little effect on the TCAA degradation but greatly boosted the dechlorination as it can additionally generate hydroxyl radical (•OH) in the reaction process. Computational results showed that under 222 nm irradiation, TCAA was excited from S0 to S1 state and then decayed by internal crossing process to T1 state, and a reaction without potential energy barrier followed, resulting in the breaking of C-Cl bond and finally returning to S0 state. Subsequent C-Cl bond cleavage occurred by a barrierless •OH insertion and HCl elimination (27.9 kcal/mol). Finally, the •OH attacked (14.6 kcal/mol) the intermediate byproducts, leading to complete dechlorination and decomposition. The KrCl* excimer radiation has obvious advantages in terms of energy efficiency compared to other competitive methods. These results provide insight into the mechanisms of TCAA dechlorination and decomposition under KrCl* excimer radiation, as well as important information for guiding research toward direct and indirect photolysis of halogenated DBPs.

Accuracy of predicting metabolizable energy from in vitro digestible energy determined with a computer-controlled simulated digestion system in feed ingredients for ducks.

Two experiments were conducted to study the accuracy of predicting true metabolizable energy (TME) of ingredients for ducks from in vitro digestible energy (IVDE) determined with a computer-controlled simulated digestion system. Experiment 1 was to establish TME prediction models from the IVDE of 9 energy feed ingredients and 12 protein feed ingredients using regression analysis. Experiment 2 was to validate the accuracy of the predicted ME of 10 ingredients randomly selected from Exp. 1. Ten diets were formulated with 2 to 6 of 10 ingredients. Dietary in vivo TME values were compared with calculated values based on the TME predicted in Exp. 1. In Exp. 1, the correlation coefficients between TME and IVDE were 0.9339 (P < 0.05) in 9 energy feed ingredients and 0.8332 (P < 0.05) in 12 protein feed ingredients. No significant difference was observed on the slope and intercept of TME regression models between 9 energy feed ingredients and 12 protein feed ingredients. Therefore, the regression model of TME on IVDE for 21 feed ingredients was TME = 0.7169 × IVDE +1,224 (R 2 = 0.7542, P < 0.01). Determined and predicted TME differed by less than 100 kcal/kg of DM in 11 ingredients, and the difference ranged from 100 to 200 kcal/kg of DM in 5 ingredients. However, the difference between determined and predicted TME varied from 410 to 625 kcal/kg of DM in rice bran, rapeseed meal, corn gluten meal, and citric acid meal. In Exp. 2, the determined and calculated TME were comparable (3,631 vs. 3,639 kcal/kg of DM) and highly correlated (r = 0.9014; P < 0.05) in 10 diets. Determined and calculated TME differed by less than 100 kcal/kg of DM in 7 diets and by 106 to 133 kcal/kg of DM in 3 diets. These results have demonstrated that TME can be accurately predicted from IVDE in most feed ingredients, but it is less accurate for rice bran, rapeseed meal, corn gluten and citric acid meal.

Interference of ketone bodies on laboratory creatinine measurement in children with DKA: a call for change in testing practices.

BACKGROUND: The presence of ketone bodies (KBs) can interfere with creatinine (Cr) measurement in both enzymatic and Jaffe methods. Since a high proportion of children hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) develop acute kidney injury (AKI), here we investigate whether KB interferences affect the accuracy of pediatric Cr measurement. METHODS: Residual patient plasma samples were pooled to make three Cr levels (~ 50, 100, and 250 µM). KBs (acetone, acetoacetate, and ß-hydroxybutyrate) were used to spike the pooled samples. All samples were measured for Cr by two enzymatic methods (E1 and E2), two Jaffe methods (J1 and J2), and LC-MS/MS. LC-MS/MS was considered the gold standard, and the % difference in Cr concentration was calculated for each method. RESULTS: E1 and E2 were unaffected by the presence of all three KBs. J1 and J2 were unaffected by the presence of ß-hydroxybutyrate. The presence of acetone resulted in dose-dependent positive interference in both Jaffe methods, whereas the presence of acetoacetate resulted in dose-dependent positive and negative interference in J1 and J2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the enzymatic methods, the Jaffe methods were much more susceptible to interference by acetone and acetoacetate, especially at lower Cr values which are commonly seen in pediatrics. Interpretation of changes in Cr concentration between different hospitals when transferring patients can become ambiguous and true kidney function unclear if different methods are used without awareness of method-specific biases. To improve DKA patient care, we recommend standardizing all of the Cr methods to an enzymatic method. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

An Easily Fabricated High Performance Fabry-Perot Optical Fiber Humidity Sensor Filled with Graphene Quantum Dots.

An easily fabricated Fabry-Perot optical fiber humidity sensor with high performance was presented by filling Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) into the Fabry-Perot resonator, which consists of two common single mode optical fibers. The relative humidity sensing performance was experimentally investigated by an interference spectrum drift between 11 %RH to 85 %RH. 0.567 nm/%RH sensitivity and 0.99917 linear correlation were found in experiments that showed high sensitivity, good and wide-range linear responding. Meanwhile, its good responding repeatability was demonstrated by two circle tests with increasing and decreasing relative humidity. For investigating the measurement influence caused by a temperature jitter, the temperature responding was experimentally investigated, which showed its linear responding with 0.033 nm/°C sensitivity. The results demonstrate the humidity sensitivity is greatly higher than the temperature sensitivity. The wavelength shift influence is 0.0198 nm with 0.6 °C max temperature jitter in the experiment, which can be ignored in humidity experiments. The fast-dynamic responses at typical humidity were demonstrated in experiments, with 5.5 s responding time and 8.5 s recovering time. The sensors with different cavity lengths were also investigated for their humidity response. All sensors gave good linear responding and high sensitivity. In addition, the relation curve between cavity length and response sensitivity also had good linearity. The combination of GQDs and single mode optical fibers showed easy fabrication and good performance for an optical fiber relative humidity sensor.

Permeation mechanisms through the selectivity filter and the open helix bundle crossing gate of GIRK2.

G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (GIRK) are essential for the regulation of cellular excitability, a physiological function that relies critically on the conduction of K+ ions, which is dependent on two molecular mechanisms, namely selectivity and gating. Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies have shown that K+ conduction remains inefficient even with open channel gates, therefore further detailed study on the permeation events is required. In this study, all-atom MD simulations were employed to investigate the permeation mechanism through the GIRK2 selectivity filter (SF) and its open helix bundle crossing (HBC) gate. Our results show that it is the SF rather than the HBC or the G-loop gate that determines the permeation efficiency upon activation of the channel. SF-permeation is accomplished by a water-K+ coupled mechanism and the entry to the S1 coordination site is likely affected by a SF tilt. Moreover, we show that a 4-K+ occupancy in the SF-HBC cavity is required for the permeation through an open HBC, where three K+ ions around E152 help to abolish the unfavorable cation-dipole interactions that function as an energy barrier, while the fourth K+ located near the HBC allows for the inward transport. These findings facilitate further understanding of the dynamic permeation mechanisms through GIRK2 and potentially provide an alternative regulatory approach for the Kir3 family given the overall high evolutionary residue conservation.

Inactivation of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli and degradation of its resistance genes by glow discharge plasma in an aqueous solution.

Emerging contaminants such as antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are becoming a global environmental problem. In this study, the glow discharge plasma (GDP) was applied for degrading antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) with resistance genes (tetA, tetR, aphA) and transposase gene (tnpA) in 0.9% sterile saline. The results showed that GDP was able to inactivate the antibiotic resistant E. coli and remove the ARGs and reduce the risk of gene transfer. The levels of E. coli determined by 16S rRNA decreased by approximately 4.7 logs with 15 min of discharge treatment. Propidium monoazide - quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR) tests demonstrated that the cellular structure of 4.8 more logs E. coli was destroyed in 15 min. The reduction of tetA, tetR, aphA, tnpA genes was increased to 5.8, 5.4, 5.3 and 5.5 logs with 30 min discharge treatment, respectively. The removal of ARGs from high salinity wastewater was also investigated. The total abundance of ARGs was reduced by 3.9 logs in 30 min. Scavenging tests indicated that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) was the most probable agents for bacteria inactivation and ARGs degradation. In addition, the active chlorine (Cl· and Cl2) which formed during the discharge may also contribute to the inactivation and degradation.

On the mechanism of GIRK2 channel gating by phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate, sodium, and the Gßγ dimer.

G protein-gated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels belong to the inward-rectifier K+ (Kir) family, are abundantly expressed in the heart and the brain, and require that phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate is present so that intracellular channel-gating regulators such as Gßγ and Na+ ions can maintain the channel-open state. However, despite high-resolution structures (GIRK2) and a large number of functional studies, we do not have a coherent picture of how Gßγ and Na+ ions control gating of GIRK2 channels. Here, we utilized computational modeling and all-atom microsecond-scale molecular dynamics simulations to determine which gates are controlled by Na+ and Gßγ and how each regulator uses the channel domain movements to control gate transitions. We found that Na+ ions control the cytosolic gate of the channel through an anti-clockwise rotation, whereas Gßγ stabilizes the transmembrane gate in the open state through a rocking movement of the cytosolic domain. Both effects alter the way in which the channel interacts with phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate and thereby stabilizes the open states of the respective gates. These studies of GIRK channel dynamics present for the first time a comprehensive structural model that is consistent with the great body of literature on GIRK channel function.

Near-infrared lateral photovoltaic effect of ß-FeSi2 films on SrTiO3 substrate.

ß-FeSi2 is of interest for Si-based optoelectronic applications in the past decades. We fabricated ß-FeSi2 thin films on the SrTiO3 single crystal by KrF-pulsed laser deposition to open a new view of integrating ß-FeSi2 with non-silicon functional materials. After investigating the lateral photovoltaic effect of ß-FeSi2/SrTiO3 under the illumination of the 808 nm and 1064 nm steady lasers, we found that the position detection sensitivity can reach 2.68 mVmW-1mm-1 and 2.24 mVmW-1mm-1, respectively. The low degree of nonlinearities of position-sensitive and power-sensitive characteristics provide a promising application of SrTiO3-based ß-FeSi2 thin films on position-sensitive detection devices.

Fsk and IBMX inhibit proliferation and proapoptotic of glioma stem cells via activation of cAMP signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to find out the underlying mechanism of forskolin (Fsk) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) on glioma stem cells (GSCs). METHODS: The expression of cAMP-related protein CREB and pCREB as well as apoptosis-related proteins were detected through Western blot analysis. The level of proliferation and growth rate of human GSCs was measured through thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide assay and stem cells forming sphere assay. The apoptosis-related gene expression was measured through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: cAMP signaling pathway was activated in GSCs with Fsk-IBMX administration. Fsk-IBMX could inhibit the proliferation as well as invasion and promote the apoptosis of U87 cells. Besides, U0126 could inhibit MAPK signaling pathway to increase the sensitivity of GSCs to cAMP signaling pathway. As a result, Fsk-IBMX combined with U0126 had more negative effect on GSCs. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship of cAMP and MAPK signaling pathway in GSCs may provide a potential therapeutic strategy in glioma.

Candidate recommendations for protein electrophoresis reporting from the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists Monoclonal Gammopathy Working Group.

Protein electrophoresis is commonly used as an aid in the diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathies and is performed in many laboratories in Canada and throughout the world. However, unlike many other diagnostic tests, there is limited guidance for standardization and neither guidance nor specific recommendations for clinical reporting of serum (SPE) or urine (UPE) protein electrophoresis and immunotyping available in the literature. Therefore, a Canadian effort was undertaken to recommend standards that cover all aspects of clinical reporting with an ultimate goal towards reporting standardization. The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) Monoclonal Gammopathy Interest Group (MGIG), which is composed of CSCC members with an interest in protein electrophoresis, has formed a Monoclonal Gammopathy Working Group (MGWG) to take initial steps towards standardization of SPE, UPE and immunotyping. Candidate standardization recommendations were developed, discussed and voted upon by the MGWG. Candidate recommendations that achieved 90% agreement are presented as consensus recommendations. Recommendations that did not achieve 90% consensus remain candidate recommendations and are presented with accompanying MGWG discussion. Eleven consensus recommendations along with candidate recommendations for nomenclature, protein fraction reporting, test utilization, interference handling and interpretive reporting options are presented.

[Comparative Analysis of the Bacterial Community on Anodic Biofilms in Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell Under Open and Closed Circuits].

To investigate the differences in microbial community of anodic biofilms under open and closed circuits, sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFCs) reactors connecting with a 5 kΩ external resistance and open circuit during the start-up period were operated individually. Anodic biofilms were collected and analyzed using Solexa high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 3936 and 3930 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from the anodic biofilms under open and closed circuits, respectively. After 97% similarity merging, 1581 and 1551 OTUs were finally determined from open and close circuit biofilms, respectively. The analysis of α diversity showed that bacterial diversity of anodic biofilm under open circuit was higher than that under closed circuit. The dominant bacterial were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes for both open and closed circuits. They accounted for 59.79%, 12.54% and 9.02% under open circuit biofilm respectively; and these values were 63.02%, 10.01% and 3.60% in the closed circuit biofilm respectively, and Geobacter accounted for 16.55% in the closed circuit biofilm. The present study demonstrated that the electron transfer process during start-up period affected the microbial community structure of the anodic biofilms.

Malignant catatonia mimicking pheochromocytoma.

Malignant catatonia is an unusual and highly fatal neuropsychiatric condition which can present with clinical and biochemical manifestations similar to those of pheochromocytoma. Differentiating between the two diseases is essential as management options greatly diverge. We describe a case of malignant catatonia in a 20-year-old male who presented with concurrent psychotic symptoms and autonomic instability, with markedly increased 24-hour urinary levels of norepinephrine at 1752 nmol/day (normal, 89-470 nmol/day), epinephrine at 1045 nmol/day (normal, <160 nmol/day), and dopamine at 7.9 µ mol/day (normal, 0.4-3.3 µ mol/day). The patient was treated with multiple sessions of electroconvulsive therapy, which led to complete clinical resolution. Repeat urine collections within weeks of this presenting event revealed normalization or near normalization of his catecholamine and metanephrine levels. Malignant catatonia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the hypercatecholamine state, particularly in a patient who also exhibits concurrent catatonic features.

Phase stitching and error correction in aperture synthesis for generalized phase-shifting interferometry.

An accurate aperture synthesis method in generalized phase-shifting interferometry is suggested to improve the quality of the reconstructed object wavefront by stitching both the phase and the real amplitude of the object wave on the recording plane. Since the phase distribution affects the reconstruction of the original object wavefront, phase stitching is also important in aperture synthesis. Double correlations are used to find the proper relative locations and correct the phase error of subwavefronts on the recording plane. By using phase correction, the phase distributions of subwavefronts are combined perfectly. Corresponding optical experimental results have verified the effectiveness of this method, which can stitch not only the real amplitudes but also the phases of the complex amplitudes of the object wave on the recording plane and improve the quality of the reconstructed object image.

Bis(9-allyl-6-carb-oxy-9H-carbazole-3-carboxyl-ato-κ(2) O (3),O (3'))diaqua-zinc.

In the title compound, [Zn(C17H12NO4)2(H2O)2], the Zn(II) atom is located on a twofold rotation axis and is six-coordinated by four carboxyl-ate O atoms from two chelating 9-allyl-6-carb-oxy-9H-carbazole-3-carboxyl-ate ligands and two O atoms from two water mol-ecules. In the crystal, O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into a layer structure parallel to (-101).