Particle filter based visual tracking with multi-cue adaptive fusion

To improve the robustness of visual tracking in complex environments such as: cluttered backgrounds, partial occlusions, similar distraction and pose variations, a novel tracking method based on adaptive fusion and particle filter is proposed in this paper. In this method, the image color and shape cues are adaptively fused to represent the target observation; fuzzy logic is applied to dynamically adjust each cue weight according to its associated reliability in the past frame; particle filter is adopted to deal with non-linear and non-Gaussian problems in visual tracking. The method is demonstrated to be robust to illumination changes, pose variations, partial occlusions, cluttered backgrounds and camera motion for a test image sequence.     

Ultrasensitive detection of the β-adrenergic agonist brombuterol by a SERS-based lateral flow immunochromatographic assay using flower-like gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles

The β-adrenergic agonist brombuterol (BB) is illicitly used as an additive in animal feed to enhance the lean meat-to-fat ratio. The authors describe an ultrasensitive lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) based on the use of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for the determination of brombuterol in swine meat and urine samples. Flower-like gold-silver core-shell bimetallic nanoparticles (referred to as AuNF@Ag) displaying strong SERS enhancement were synthesized, characterized and used as the substrate for the preparation of the LFIA. Polyclonal antibody against brombuterol was immobilized on the surface of the AuNF@Ag particles carrying the Raman reporter 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA). After performing an LFIA, the Raman scattering intensity of MBA on the test line was measured and used for quantitation of brombuterol. Figures of merit of this assay procedure include (a) duration of LFIA process of 15 min; (b) an IC₅₀ value (e.g. the concentration of brombuterol producing 50% of signal inhibition in standard curve) of 380 pg mL-1; and (c) a limit of detection as low as 0.5 pg mL-1. The LFIA is selective over the molecules salbutamol, ractopamine, phenylethanolamine A, isoproterenol and phenylephrine, but shows a 8.5% cross-reactivity to clenbuterol, probably due to the high structural similarity. Swine meat and urine samples spiked with different amounts of brombuterol were analyzed by this method and gave recoveries between 95.8 and 108.0%, and relative standard deviations between 2.0 and 6.3% (for n = 3).

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) using flower-like gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles. It is capable of detecting brombuterol in swine meat and urine samples with high sensitivity and specificity.

     

碱性介质中制备纳米四氧化三锰及其超级电容特性

比较了不同碱溶液中纳米Mn₃O₄的制备及其超级电容性能。用X射线粉末衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜和原子力显微镜等技术手段分别测试了晶体结构和表面形貌。用循环伏安、恒流充放电和交流阻抗测试了材料的电化学性能。结果表明,在氢氧化钠、氨水中Mn²⁺沉淀氧化可以直接制备纳米Mn₃O₄;碳酸钠中先生成MnCO₃,加氢氧化钠可转化为纳米Mn₃O₄。NaOH、NH₃和Na₂CO₃ 3种介质中制备的Mn₃O₄晶粒尺寸分别为29.5、20.2和36.3 nm。纳米Mn₃O₄经连续充放电循环后可活化为Birnessite-type MnO₂。氨水中制备的Mn₃O₄活化后比容量最大,达到239 F/g,是一种具有应用前景的超级电容器材料。     

饱和非线性正折射异向介质中的调制不稳定性

直接从异向介质中包含饱和非线性、自陡峭和二阶非线性色散效应的非线性扩展传输方程出发,采用线性稳定性分析法,导出了调制不稳定性的色散关系、不稳定条件、无量纲的临界扰动频率和增益谱。计算和讨论了异向介质正折射区无量纲的增益谱随归一化角频率和入射功率密度的变化关系。结果表明,在异向介质正折射区,随归一化角频率和入射功率密度的不同,增益谱将会出现扰动频率大于零、扰动频率大于某个非零临界值、扰动频率大于零而小于某个非零临界值3种形式。在归一化角频率较小时,调制不稳定性可能出现阈值入射功率密度;且在较小的入射功率密度时,调制不稳定性只能出现在大于某个临界频率时。     

Dopant-induced phase transition: a new strategy of synthesizing hexagonal upconversion NaYF4 at low temperature

A new strategy of synthesizing hexagonal upconversion NaYF(4) at low temperature (down to 130 °C) based on Ti(4+) doping-induced cubic-to-hexagonal phase transition in a liquid-solid-solution reaction system is offered.     

Systematic comparison of technical details in CBB methods and development of a sensitive GAP stain for comparative proteomic analysis

Considering the importance of CBB staining in visualizing proteins in 2-DE gels, any improvement in the existing protocols with high sensitivity and good MS compatibility is of significant importance. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effects of different staining parameters on CBB methods by 1-DE and 2-DE, and demonstrated that G-250 was more suitable for visualizing low-abundant proteins as well as generating more spots than R-250, whereas R-250 had a superior capability for quick staining of high-abundant proteins. The staining produced by mixing G-250 and R-250 in different ratios showed similar sensitivity. Compared with acetic acid, phosphoric acid produced more protein spots. Ammonium-based stain demonstrated a superior sensitivity than the aluminum-based one. Based on these findings, a new protocol using CBB G-250, ammonium sulfate and phosphoric acid (GAP) was developed by incorporating the fixation, sensitization and staining procedures together. The comparison of GAP with other methods revealed that GAP generated more protein spots and had wider applications. The identification of 11 proteins demonstrated that GAP was not only compatible with MS but also obviously reduced in vitro protein modification, and thus could be a preferable protocol in the future proteomic analysis.     

Ultra-broadband near-infrared excitable upconversion core/shell nanocrystals

Monodisperse Er(3+):NaGdF(4)@Ho(3+):NaGdF(4)@NaGdF(4) active-core/active-shell/inert-shell nanocrystals, which can extend the near-infrared wavelength excitable range for upconversion (UC) emissions, were successfully fabricated for the first time. Importantly, doping of Er(3+) and Ho(3+) into the core and shell respectively suppresses adverse energy transfers between them, resulting in intense UC emissions for both Er(3+) and Ho(3+) dopants.     

Preparation and characterization of an immunoaffinity chromatography column for the selective extraction of trace contraceptive drug levonorgestrel from water samples

The preparation and characterization of an immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) column for the specific extraction and enrichment of trace contraceptive drug levonorgestrel (LNG) from water samples were described. The IAC column was constructed by covalently coupling specific polyclonal antibody against LNG to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B and packed into a common solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The extraction conditions including loading, washing and eluting solutions, as well as the effect of flow rate on the extraction were carefully optimized. Pure water, 5% of methanol and 50% of methanol were respectively selected as loading, washing and eluting solutions, while the flow rates in the loading, washing and eluting steps were selected to be 1.0, 2.0 and 0.5 mL min⁻¹, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the IAC column was characterized in terms of maximum capacity, extraction recovery and stability. It was found that, for IAC column packed with 0.2 g of solid support immobilized with antibody, the maximum capacity for LNG was about 260 ng. The extraction recoveries of the column for LNG at three different spiked concentrations were within 95.3-106.9%. After more than 35 times repeated usage, there was not significant loss of specific recognition. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as an analytical tool, trace amount of LNG in the range of ng L⁻¹ was found in river water and wastewater samples after 600-fold enrichment, demonstrated the feasibility of the prepared IAC column for LNG extraction.     

Highly Stable Carbon-Shell Encapsulated Ni−Cu Bimetallic Catalysts for Efficient Conversion of Levulinic Acid to γ-Valerolactone

Non-noble Ni−Cu alloys serve as an alternative catalytic material for noble metal-based catalysts that could be applied in the efficient conversion of levulinic acid (LA) into the high value γ-valerolactone (GVL). However, maintaining the catalytic stability for Ni−Cu nanoparticles in the LA hydrogenation process remains a substantial challenge, Herein, this problem is solved by constructing carbon-protected catalytic sites within carbon layer-coated Ni−Cu nanoalloy composite via pyrolysis of NiCu_x(OH)/glucose precursor. The optimized NiCu_0.68@C catalyst exhibits excellent stability and selectivity to GVL (>99 %) in the hydrogenation of LA reaction. Various characterization indicates that the enhancement in stability originates from the protective effect of the carbon layer, which prevents the metal leaching, oxidation and aggregation of Ni−Cu nanoparticles during the reaction process. This work greatly advances non-noble metal-catalyzed conversion of LA to GVL and helps the rational design of bimetallic catalysts.     

非线性中立双曲型时滞微分方程解的振动判据

讨论一类多滞量非线性中立双曲型时滞微分方程的振动性质，获得了其一切解振动的充分条件。