Bandgap widening in highly conducting CdO thin film by Ti incorporation through radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique

Transparent and highly conducting thin films of cadmium oxide (CdO) with titanium doping were synthesized by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The thin films were deposited on glass and silicon substrates with different percentages of titanium at a fixed substrate temperature 473 K and a fixed pressure of 0.1 mbar in Ar atmosphere. The deposited films were characterized by studying their crystallographic structure, optical and electrical properties. X-ray diffractometer, atomic force microscope, UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer, and X-ray photoelectron spectrophotometer were used for different characterizations. All the films have a rock-salt structure. A systematic increase in the optical bandgap was found for the CdO thin films with Ti doping, so that it can be considered as a candidate material for different optoelectronic device applications. Electrical conductivity was also found to increase with Ti doping concentration.     

An Interpretation Architecture for Deep Learning Models with the Application of COVID-19 Diagnosis

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the threats to the world. Computed tomography (CT) is an informative tool for the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. Many deep learning approaches on CT images have been proposed and brought promising performance. However, due to the high complexity and non-transparency of deep models, the explanation of the diagnosis process is challenging, making it hard to evaluate whether such approaches are reliable. In this paper, we propose a visual interpretation architecture for the explanation of the deep learning models and apply the architecture in COVID-19 diagnosis. Our architecture designs a comprehensive interpretation about the deep model from different perspectives, including the training trends, diagnostic performance, learned features, feature extractors, the hidden layers, the support regions for diagnostic decision, and etc. With the interpretation architecture, researchers can make a comparison and explanation about the classification performance, gain insight into what the deep model learned from images, and obtain the supports for diagnostic decisions. Our deep model achieves the diagnostic result of 94.75%, 93.22%, 96.69%, 97.27%, and 91.88% in the criteria of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, which are 8.30%, 4.32%, 13.33%, 10.25%, and 6.19% higher than that of the compared traditional methods. The visualized features in 2-D and 3-D spaces provide the reasons for the superiority of our deep model. Our interpretation architecture would allow researchers to understand more about how and why deep models work, and can be used as interpretation solutions for any deep learning models based on convolutional neural network. It can also help deep learning methods to take a step forward in the clinical COVID-19 diagnosis field.     

Effects of thermoultrasonic treatment on characteristics of micro-nano particles and flavor in Greenland halibut bone soup

In order to investigate the effects of thermoultrasonic treatment (TUT) on the formation of colloidal micro-nano particles (MNPs) and the quality of halibut bone soup, nutrients, particle characteristics, and flavor characteristics were analyzed. The morphology of MNPs was studied using an optical microscope. Results showed that TUT could increase the nutrient content (total sugars, 22.15 mg/100 mL; water soluble proteins, 173.24 mg/mL; fatty acids, 1779.7 mg/100 mL; solids, 3.16 g/100 mL), reduce the particle size (605.92 nm) and interfacial tension. Meanwhile, TUT make the halibut bone soup has better emulsifying characteristics and stability. The contents of flavor substances, such as esters, 5′-nucleotides, organic acids in the halibut bone soup were more abundant, while the contents of hexanal and 1-octen-3-ol and fishy off-flavor were reduced in TUT group. The overall odor and taste outline were more harmonious. Therefore, TUT can be used in the production of high quality fish bone soup, and TUT could be considered as a good deep processing technology for halibut bone and improve economic efficiency.     

Ultrasound-assisted alkaline proteinase extraction enhances the yield of pecan protein and modifies its functional properties

To enhance the extraction yield of pecan protein and modify its functional properties, this study investigated whether both ultrasound and enzyme have a synergistic impact on the extraction of pecan (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch) protein. The highest protein extraction rate (25.51%) was obtained under the conditions of 1415.43 W^.cm⁻², 15 min, pH 10.0, 50 °C, and 1% (w/w) alkaline proteinase. Owing to its high shear, mechanical energy and cavitation, the ultrasound process increased the solubility of the substrate making it readily accessible to the enzyme, thereby accelerating the chemical reaction and improving the yield of the protein. The optimized ultrasound-assisted enzymatic method (400 W, 20 kHz, 5 s/3s) effectively changed the secondary and tertiary structure of the pecan protein. The results of surface hydrophobicity, intrinsic fluorescence spectra, sulfhydryl content and scanning electron microscopy all indicated the unfolding of protein and exposure of hydrophobic groups and sulfhydryl groups. Moreover, the protein obtained by this method showed higher solubility (70.77%), higher emulsifying activity (120.56 m²/g), smaller particle size (326.7 nm), and better dispersion (0.305) than single ultrasound and non-ultrasound methods (p < 0.05). To conclude, ultrasound-assisted enzymatic method could be an appropriate technique to improve the yield and quality of the pecan protein. The study also provides a theoretical basis for the application of pecan protein in food processing.     

Study on the emulsification and oxidative stability of ovalbumin-pectin-pumpkin seed oil emulsions using ovalbumin solution prepared by ultrasound

Pumpkin seed oil (PSO), which is a valuable compound with high nutritional value used for the prevention of various chronic diseases, is prone to oxidation. In this work, small and uniform (su) ovalbumin (OVA) and pectin (PEC) were used to stabilize PSO in the form of an emulsion. The results showed that suOVA-PEC-PSO emulsion with a droplet size of 9.82 ± 0.05 μm was successfully self-assembled from PSO, PEC, and suOVA solution (with a droplet size of 230.13 ± 14.10 nm) treated with 300 W ultrasound, owing to the formation of a more stable interfacial film on the surface of droplets. The interfacial, rheological, emulsifying, and antioxidant properties of the suOVA-PES-PSO emulsions were excellent, owing to the synergistic effects between PEC and suOVA solution. Moreover, the physical stability of the suOVA-PEC-PSO emulsions to salt stress, a freeze-thaw cycle, and heat treatment was also increased and the oxidation of linolenic acid was notably delayed. These results have extended the food-related applications of OVA and PSO, and provide a promising foundation for further exploration of the self-assembly of composite emulsions by small and uniform proteins.     

Consensus problems on networks with free protocol

In the real world, rule makers can only restrict, not completely control the behavior of the governed, while the governed can only choose their behavior patterns under these restrictions. In this paper, we design a new control protocol called free protocol to describe this situation. First, we calculate consensus probabilities based on the information of the interaction networks. Then, sufficient conditions are obtained for all agents converging to a same value with probability one. Finally, numerical simulation results are given to verify the above results.     

LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3界面增强光伏效应

探索LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3(LAO/STO)界面产生的新奇物理特性对理解关联电子系统中多自由度耦合和设计功能材料器件具有重要的价值.本文通过脉冲激光沉积方法在SrTiO_3基底上制备了LAO/STO薄膜,研究了正面照射LAO/STO膜面和侧面照射LAO/STO界面时的光伏效应,探讨了LAO/STO界面对光伏效应的影响.研究结果表明,在同样光照能量下侧面照射LAO/STO界面产生的光电压远高于正面照射LAO/STO膜面产生的光电压,说明LAO/STO界面对光伏效应有明显的增强作用.通过偏压调控可以进一步增强照射LAO/STO界面产生的光电压,当偏压为60 V时, LAO/STO样品的位置探测灵敏度达到了36.8 mV/mm.这些研究结果为设计场调控位置敏感探测器等新型光电子器件提供了新的思路.     

Synthesis,Structures, and Luminescent Properties of Lanthanide Complexes with Triphenylphospine Oxide

Seven lanthanide complexes [Ln(OPPh₃)₃(NO₃)₃] ( 1 – 3 ) (OPPh₃ = triphenylphosphine oxide, Ln = Nd, Sm, Gd), [Dy(OPPh₃)₄(NO₃)₂](NO₃) ( 4 ), [Ln(OPPh₃)₃(NO₃)₃]₂ ( 5 – 7 ) (Ln = Pr, Eu, Gd) were synthesized by the reactions of different lanthanide salts and OPPh₃ ligand in the air. These complexes were characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis, elemental analysis, IR and fluorescence spectra. Structure analysis shows that complexes 1 – 4 are mononuclear complexes formed by OPPh₃ ligands and nitrates. The asymmetric units of complexes 5 – 7 consist of two crystallographic‐separate molecules. Complex 1 is self‐assembled to construct a 2D layer‐structure of (4,4) net topology by hydrogen bond interactions. The other complexes show a 1D chain‐like structure that was assembled by OPPh₃ ligands and nitrate ions through C–H ··· O interactions. Solid emission spectra of compounds 4 and 6 are assigned to the characteristic fluorescence of Tb³⁺ (λ_em = 480, 574 nm) and Eu³⁺ (λ_em = 552, 593, 619, 668 nm).     

Optical Determination of Cholesterol in Milk with Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Coated Quantum Dots

Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots were prepared in an efficient one-step synthesis. Their application as fluorescent nanoparticles for the direct quantification of cholesterol in milk was characterized. The quantum dots were used as cores to produce fluorescence. The molecularly imprinted polymer shells provided specific binding sites for cholesterol. The system exhibited good linearity for cholesterol from 0.5 to 150?µg?mL^?1, a low detection limit of 0.15?µg?mL^?1, and acceptable reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 4.2% for six replicates. The molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots were used to determine cholesterol in fortified milk. Recoveries were from 87.0 to 105.2% and a possible mechanism is proposed. The fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots exhibited excellent selectivity and provide a simple, rapid, selective, and effective analytical approach.     

Selective electrochemical CO bond cleavage of β-O-4 lignin model compounds mediated by iodide ion

The electrochemically oxidative cleavage of lignin β-O-4 model compounds mediated by iodide ion has been studied. The results indicate that electrolytic conditions play a predominant role in determining the distribution of cleavage products. The preparative-scale electrolysis proceeds in a simple undivided cell, employing a catalytic amount of NaI as the redox mediator and supporting electrolyte in methanol. Under these conditions, the C_βO bond is selectively cleaved with 2,2-dimethoxy-2-arylacetaldehyde being the main product. In some cases, the reaction gives a good yield of cleavaged products. The results further demonstrate that the indirect electrolysis mediated by halide is a versatile approach for chemical transformation.