A novel local PCA-based method for detecting activation signals in fMRI.

A novel local principal component analysis (LPCA) technique is presented for activation signal detection in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) without explicit knowledge about the shape of the model activation signal. Unlike the traditional PCA methods, our LPCA algorithm is based on a measure of separation between two clusters formed by the signal segments in active periods and inactive periods, which is computed in an eigen-subspace. In addition, we only applied PCA to the temporal sequence of each individual voxel instead of applying PCA to the fMRI data set. In our algorithm, we first applied a linear regression procedure to alleviate the baseline drift artifact. Then, the baseline-corrected temporal signals were partitioned into active and inactive segments according to the paradigm used for the fMRI data acquisition. Principal components were computed from all these segments for each voxel by PCA. By projecting the segments of each voxel onto a linear subspace formed by the corresponding most dominant principal components, two separate clusters were formed from active and inactive segments. An activation measure was defined based on the degree of separation between these two clusters in the projection space. We show experimental results on the activation signal detection from various sets of fMRI data with different types of stimulation by using the proposed LPCA algorithm and the standard t-test method for comparison. Our experiments indicate that the LPCA algorithm in general provides substantial signal-to-noise ratio improvement over the t-test method.     

基于不完备频响函数的结构损伤统计识别研究

基于不完备频响函数数据,结合概率统计方法,提出了一种能同时考虑模型参数不确定性和测试噪声影响的结构损伤统计识别方法.首先,基于频响函数某一行向量在不同频率下的幅值数据,利用矩阵拉直运算建立了关于损伤系数的确定性识别方程.其次,假设模型参数误差和测试噪声为零均值的高斯随机变量,根据摄动理论,推导了损伤后结构刚度参数的前二...     

珊瑚状Ni2P修饰新型四足状Cd0.9Zn0.1SZB/WZ同质结光催化剂的高效可见光光催化产氢

随着社会发展,传统化石能源消耗加剧,人类迫切需要开发新型的清洁能源.半导体光催化分解水产氢是一种非常具有潜力解决能源危机的清洁技术.目前,金属硫化物半导体有着合适的能带结构和高效的光催化产氢能力而得到了广泛的研究.通常,为了提高光催化剂产氢性能,添加贵金属助催化剂是一个行之有效的方法.但是贵金属昂贵的价格限制了其大规模...     

Facile Synthesis and Size Control of 2D Cyclodextrin-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks Nanosheet for Topical Drug Delivery

In this work, a 2D nanosheet (NS) of γ-cyclodextrin (CD)-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is synthesized through a facile green chemistry approach. NS-MOF carrier is constructed using a water system in a simple one-pot reaction involving CD and potassium carbonate. Particle size optimization is achieved by adjusting the reaction temperature and the introduction of crystal growth suppressor (appropriate proportion of acetone). The NS-MOF stability in aqueous medium is improved by polymerization reaction of crosslinked CD-MOF (CL-CD-MOF) without blocking its cavity for drug loading. The effects of particle geometry and size of nanoporous materials on their pharmacokinetics during drug delivery are compared between the sheet-like DXM@CL-NS-MOF and 3D-cubic-shaped DXM@CL-CD-MOF loaded with the same quantity of dexamethasone (DXM). The bioefficiency of these carriers in tear fluids and aqueous humors to deliver DXM is investigated in vivo. The results demonstrate that the 2D-nanosheet particles significantly improve precorneal residence time and intraocular bioavailability over the commercial Maxidex (0.1% dexamethasone) and its 3D-cubes counterpart of similar chemical composition. It suggests that the geometry of a carrier play a significant role in the biodistribution, and the carrier of CL-NS-MOF is a good candidate for ocular drug delivery.     

Donor–Acceptor Type Pendant Conjugated Molecules Based on a Triazine Center with Depressed Intramolecular Charge Transfer Characteristics as Gain Media for Organic Semiconductor Lasers

A set of fluorene-capped pendant conjugated molecules ( T-m and T-p ), which consist of a triazine center with three carbazole substituents as the donor–acceptor (D-A) type pendant structure, were designed, synthesized, and investigated as gain media for organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs). In particular, varying the capping positions of the fluorene units on the pendant core structures results in significantly different intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) properties, where T-m manifested depressed ICT characteristic and high fluorescence quantum yield. The lowest amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold in neat films was recorded as 1.9 μJ cm⁻² for T-m and 83.8 μJ cm⁻² for T-p , which indicated that the depressed ICT characteristics in the case of T-m help to enhance the ASE properties. Remarkably, the ASE threshold remained almost unchanged and the ASE spectra showed very small shifts (within 1 nm) for T-m with film samples annealed up to 180 °C in open air. In contrast, its linear counterpart 2FEtCz-m showed a clearly increased ASE threshold upon annealing above 100 °C. The results suggest that the selective construction of conjugated pendant molecules with depressed ICT characteristics is beneficial for finely modulating the optical and electrical properties as well as improving the thermostability and photostability, which manifests the great potential as a robust gain media for OSLs.     

Multiple 3D- and 2D-quantitative structure–activity relationship models (QSAR), theoretical study and molecular modeling to identify structural requirements of imidazopyridine analogues as anti-infective agents against tuberculosis

Structural Chemistry - Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious remains a global health burden till date. Considering immense importance of theoretical tools in computer aided-drug designing, the current...     

Substituent-regulated highly X-ray sensitive Os(Ⅵ)nitrido complex for low-toxicity radiotherapy

A high efficiency and low toxicity radiosensitizer,OsN(PhenOH)Cl_3,was designed and synthesized through substituent regulation.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first osmium-based coordination complex radiosensitizer.The experimental results shown that this radiosensitizer induced G2/M cell cycle arrest mainly through induction of intracellular ROS overproduction.     

Dual-Functional Mesoporous Copper(II) Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Remediation of Organic Dyes

By using tritopic and ditopic organic linkers derived from the same 2,4,6-triphenylpyridine core, copper(II) metal-organic frameworks with different three-dimensional structures have been successfully synthesized under ambient conditions. The crystalline framework, ^PTB MOF ([Cu₃(PTB)₂(H₂O)₃]_n, where H₃PTB=4,4′,4′′-(pyridine-2,4,6-triyl)tribenzoic acid, was observed to be mesoporous in nature and exhibited dual functionality in the removal of organic dyes. While cationic dyes such as methylene blue and malachite green, which are of different sizes, were adsorbed by ^PTB MOF ; anionic dyes such as tartrazine could be effectively degraded in a photo-Fenton-like reaction catalyzed by the MOFs under irradiation with visible light.     

PFAS Degradation in Ultrapure and Groundwater Using Non-Thermal Plasma

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent one of the most recalcitrant class of compounds of emerging concern and their removal from water is a challenging goal. In this study, we investigated the removal efficiency of three selected PFAS from water, namely, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and pefluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) using a custom-built non-thermal plasma generator. A modified full factorial design (with 2 levels, 3 variables and the central point in which both quadratic terms and interactions between couple of variables were considered) was used to investigate the effect of plasma discharge frequency, distance between the electrodes and water conductivity on treatment efficiency. Then, the plasma treatment running on optimized conditions was used to degrade PFAS at ppb level both individually and in mixture, in ultrapure and groundwater matrices. PFOS 1 ppb exhibited the best degradation reaching complete removal after 30 min of treatment in both water matrices (first order rate constant 0.107 min⁻¹ in ultrapure water and 0.0633 min⁻¹ in groundwater), while the degradation rate of PFOA and PFHxA was slower of around 65% and 83%, respectively. During plasma treatment, the production of reactive species in the liquid phase (hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide) and in the gas phase (ozone, NO_x) was investigated. Particular attention was dedicated to the nitrogen balance in solution where, following to NO_x hydrolysis, total nitrogen (TN) was accumulated at the rate of up to 40 mg^N L⁻¹ h⁻¹.     

Temporal variability of rare earth elements in Ultisol soil under citrus plants

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The objective of this study was to evaluate temporal variability of rare earth elements (REE) in soils of citrus agroecosystems. Instrumental...