Local saliency consistency-based label inference for weakly supervised salient object detection using scribble annotations

Recently,weak supervision has received growing attention in the field of salient object detection due to the convenience of labelling.However,there is a large performance gap between weakly supervised and fully supervised salient object detectors because the scribble annotation can only provide very limited foreground/background information.Therefore,an intuitive idea is to infer annotations that cover more complete object and background regions for training.To this end,a label inference strategy is proposed based on the assumption that pixels with similar colours and close positions should have consistent labels.Specifically,k-means clustering algorithm was first performed on both colours and coordinates of original annotations,and then assigned the same labels to points having similar colours with colour cluster centres and near coordinate cluster centres.Next,the same annotations for pixels with similar colours within each kernel neighbourhood was set further.Extensive experiments on six benchmarks demonstrate that our method can significantly improve the performance and achieve the state-of-the-art results.

Revenue management method and critical techniques of railway passenger transport

Purpose–Revenue management(RM)is a significant technique to improve revenue with limited resources.With the macro environment of dramatically increasing transit capacity and rapid railway transport development in China,it is necessary to involve the theory of RM into the operation and decision of railway passenger transport.Design/methodology/approach–This paper proposes the theory and framework of generalized RM of railway passenger transport(RMRPT),and the thoughts and methods of the main techniques in RMRPT,involving demand forecasting,line planning,inventory control,pricing strategies and information systems,are all studied and elaborated.The involved methods and techniques provide a sequential process to help with the decision-making for each stage of RMRPT.The corresponding techniques are integrated into the information system to support practical businesses in railway passenger transport.Findings–The combination of the whole techniques devotes to railway benefit improvement and transit resource utilization and has been applied into the practical operation and organization of railway passenger transport.Originality/value–The development of RMRPT would provide theoretical and technical support for the improvement of service quality as well as railway benefits and efficiency.

An Aware-Scheduling Security Architecture with Priority-Equal Multi-Controller for SDN

Current SDN controllers suffer from a series of potential attacks. For example, malicious flow rules may lead to system disorder by introducing unexpected flow entries. In this paper, we propose Mcad-SA, an aware decision-making security architecture with multiple controllers, which could coordinate heterogeneous controllers internally as a "big" controller. This architecture includes an additional plane, the scheduling plane, which consists of transponder, sensor, decider and scheduler. Meanwhile it achieves the functions of communicating, supervising and scheduling between data and control plane. In this framework, we adopt the vote results from the majority of controllers to determine valid flow rules distributed to switches. Besides, an aware dynamic scheduling(ADS) mechanism is devised in scheduler to intensify security of Mcad-SA further. Combined with perception, ADS takes advantage of heterogeneity and redundancy of controllers to enable the control plane operate in a dynamic, reliable and unsteady state, which results in significant difficulty of probing systems and executing attacks. Simulation results demonstrate the proposed methods indicate better security resilience over traditional architectures as they have lower failure probability when facing attacks.

Plant buffering against the high-light stress- induced accumulation of CsGA2ox8 transcripts via alter native splici ng to fi n ely tune gibberelli n levels and maintain hypocotyl elongation

In plants,alternative splicing(AS)is markedly induced in response to environmental stresses,but it is unclear why plants generate multiple transcripts under stress conditions.In this study,RNA-seq was performed to identify AS events in cucumber seedlings grown under different light intensities.We identi fi ed a novel transcript of the gibberellin(GA)-deactivating enzyme Gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase 8(CsGA2ox8).Compared with canonical CsGA2ox8.1,the CsGA2ox8.2 isoform presented intron retention between the second and third exons.Functional analysis proved that the transcript of CsGA2ox8.1 but not CsGA2ox8.2 played a role in the deactivation of bioactive GAs.Moreover,expression analysis demonstrated that both transcripts were upregulated by increased light intensity,but the expression level of CsGA2ox8.1 increased slowly when the light intensity was>400μmol-m-2-s-1 PPFD(photosynthetic photon fl ux density),while the CsGA2ox8.2 transcript levels increased rapidly when the light intensity was>200 pmol-m-2-s-1 PPFD.Our fi ndings provide evidence that plants might fi nely tune their GA levels by buffering against the normal transcripts of CsGA2ox8 through AS.

Experimental method to explore the adaptation degree of type-Ⅱand all-solid-state Z-scheme heterojunction structures in the same degradation system

TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using the hydrothermal method and modified with CgN to syn-thesize a Type-Ⅱheterojunction semiconductor photocatalyst,TiO2-C;Na.In addition,a carbon layerwas coated onto the TiO2 nanoparticles and the obtained material was uniformly covered on thesurface of CaNa to form an all-solid-state Z-scheme semiconductor photocatalyst,TiO2-C-C3N4,Through characterization by XRD,XPS,SEM,TEM,BET,photoelectrochemical experiments,UV-visible diffuse reflection,and PL spectroscopy,the charge transfer mechanism and band gappositions for the composite photocatalysts were analyzed.The Type-Ⅱand all-solid-state Z-schemeheterojunction structures were compared.By combining microscopic internal mechanisms withmacroscopic experimental phenomena,the relationship between performance and structure wasverified.Experimental methods were used to explore the adaptation degree of different photocata-lytic mechanisms using the same degradation system.This study highlights effective photocatalystdesign to meet the requirements for specific degradation conditions.

Activation of p38/HSP27 pathway counters melatonin-induced inhibitory effect on proliferation of human gastric cancer cells

Overexpression of heat shock protein 27(HSP27)in gastric cancer is correlated with poor clinical prognosis.Melatonin,an endogenous hormone,shows promise in gastric cancer therapy.However,there is limited study on the biological activity of HSP27 in response to melatonin treatment.In this study,we show an anti-proliferative action of melatonin on human gastric cancer cell lines BGC-823 and MGC-803.Biochemically,the inhibitory effect of melatonin is accompanied by the upregulation of HSP27 phosphorylation level.Transfection of gastric cancer cells with HSP27-specific siRNA effectively reduces HSP27 phosphorylation and potentiated melatonininduced inhibitory effect on cell proliferation.The reduction of cyclin D1 in melatonin-treated cells is also aggravated by HSP27 depletion.Moreover,melatonin stimulation increases p38 phosphorylation.Pretreatment with p38 inhibitor SB203580 not only remarkably suppresses melatonin-induced HSP27 phosphorylation,but also augment the inhibitory effect of melatonin on cyclin D1 expression as well as cell proliferation.Taken together,our study indicates the protective pathway of p38/HSP27 against melatonin-induced inhibitory effect on gastric cancer cell proliferation,suggesting that combined with p38/HSP27 pathway inhibitor,the therapeutic efficacy of melatonin on gastric cancer may be improved.

Nitroxide radical cathode material with multiple electron reactions

Organic materials with redox-active centers are regarded as promising candidates for rechargeable batteries in recent years for their light weight, low cost, environmental friendliness and structural diversity [1–4]. Organic materials, such as conducting polymers (polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polyaniline, etc.)[5], conjugated carbonyl compounds (quinone compounds, imides, etc.)[6–9] and nitroxide radical (N-O.)[10,11] compounds have been attempted as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

CuP_(2) as high-capacity and long-cycle-life anode for potassium-ion batteries

Metal phosphides have shown great potential for potassium-ion batteries because of their high theoretical specific capacity.Nevertheless,most of the metal phosphide anodes are plagued by rapid capacity decay(caused by the large volume changes during the discharge/charge process),which would restrict their further practical application.Herein,a chemically bonded CuP_(2)/C composite was prepared by a facile high-energy ball milling method.A potassium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide(KFSI)-based electrolyte was adopted instead of a conventional KPF6-based electrolyte for the CuP_(2)/C composite anode.Benefiting from the synergistic effects of the formation of strong P-O-C chemical bonds and the KFSIbased electrolyte,the CuP_(2)/C composite anode exhibited high reversible capacity(451.4 mAh g^(-1) at50 mA g^(-1)),excellent rate performance(123.5 mAh g^(-1) at 1000 mA g^(-1)),and superior cycling stability(300 mAh g^(-1) after 100 cycles).This work paves the way for the development of high-performance CuP_(2) anode for potassium-ion batteries.

Analysis of atmospheric effects on the continuous variable quantum key distribution

Atmospheric effects have significant influence on the performance of a free-space optical continuous variable quantum key distribution(CVQKD)system.In this paper,we investigate how the transmittance,excess noise and interruption probability caused by atmospheric effects affect the secret-key rate(SKR)of the CVQKD.Three signal wavelengths,two weather conditions,two detection schemes,and two types of attacks are considered in our investigation.An expression aims at calculating the interruption probability is proposed based on the Kolmogorov spectrum model.The results show that a signal using long working wavelength can propagate much further than that of using short wavelength.Moreover,as the wavelength increases,the influence of interruption probability on the SKR becomes more significant,especially within a certain transmission distance.Therefore,interruption probability must be considered for CVQKD by using long-signal wavelengths.Furthermore,different detection schemes used by the receiver will result in different transmission distances when subjected to individual attacks and collective attacks,respectively.

Fabrication and Application of CeO_(2) Nanostructure with Different Morphologies: A Review

CeO_(2),as a significant functional material,Has a widespread application in many fields due to its excellent properties.In this review,we sum up a serious of methods to prepare and differentiate nanostructured cerium oxide with various morphologies based on dimensionality and its main applications in industry.We mainly summary the different strategies to synthetic the CeO_(2) with 0-D,1-D,2-D and 3-D and the key parameters which may affect the nanostructures.We hope that this review helps researchers master can look up CeO_(2) related knowledge more quickly upon the synthetic methods and comparing various morphologies or fabricating ways to explore more convenient and economical procedures when they embark on new research on synthesis cerium oxide.

Optimization method of urban rail train operational plan based on O-D time-varying demand

Purpose–Under the constraints of given passenger service level and coupling travel demand with train departure time,this study optimizes the train operational plan in an urban rail corridor to minimize the numbers of train trips and rolling stocks considering the time-varying demand of urban rail passenger flow.Design/methodology/approach–The authors optimize the train operational plan in a special network layout,i.e.an urban rail corridor with dead-end terminal yard,by decomposing it into two sub-problems:train timetable optimization and rolling stock circulation optimization.As for train timetable optimization,the authors propose a schedule-based passenger flow assignment method,construct the corresponding timetabling optimization model and design the bi-directional coordinated sequential optimization algorithm.For the optimization of rolling stock circulation,the authors construct the corresponding optimization assignment model and adopt the Hungary algorithm for solving the model.Findings–The case study shows that the train operational plan developed by the study’s approach meets requirements on the passenger service quality and reduces the operational cost to the maximum by minimizing the numbers of train trips and rolling stocks.Originality/value–The example verifies the efficiency of the model and algorithm.

基于等效电路模型理解机械应变对电催化反应的作用

电催化的应变工程被认为是提高材料电催化性能最有效的策略之一.然而,目前还缺乏数学模型来深入理解这些有趣的科学现象.本文基于等效电路理论研究了应变对电极反应中法拉第过程的影响.根据基尔霍夫定律,获得了应变影响电极响应电流的数学表达式,研究了法拉第过程逐渐成为电催化反应的主导作用时,由应变导致的响应电流参数的变化趋势和峰值的变化规律,并深入探索电催化反应中不同因素相互作用的复杂机制.

Enhanced room-temperature Na^(+) ionic conductivity in Na_(4.92)Y_(0.92)Zr_(0.08)Si_(4)O_(12)

Developing cost-effective and reliable solid-state sodium batteries with superior performance is crucial for stationary energy storage.A key component in facilitating their application is a solid-state electrolyte with high conductivity and stability.Herein,we employed aliovalent cation substitution to enhance ionic conductivity while preserving the crystal structure.Optimized substitution of Y^(3+)with Zr^(4+)in Na_(5)YSi_(4)O_(12) introduced Naþion vacancies,resulting in high bulk and total conductivities of up to 6.5 and 3.3 mS cm^(-1),respectively,at room temperature with the composition Na_(4.92)Y_(0.92)Zr_(0.08)Si_(4)O_(12)(NYZS).NYZS shows exceptional electrochemical stability(up to 10 V vs.Naþ/Na),favorable interfacial compatibility with Na,and an excellent critical current density of 2.4 mA cm^(-2).The enhanced conductivity of Naþions in NYZS was elucidated using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and theoretical simulations,revealing two migration routes facilitated by the synergistic effect of increased Naþion vacancies and improved chemical environment due to Zr^(4+)substitution.NYZS extends the list of suitable solid-state electrolytes and enables the facile synthesis of stable,low-cost Naþion silicate electrolytes.

Long-term cattle manure application to saline-sodic soil increases maize yield by decreasing key obstacle factors in the black soil region of Northeastern China

Poor soil physical properties, serious salinization and low soil nutrients are the limiting factors for crop yield in saline-sodic soil. Long-term cattle manure application is an important measure that can affect the physicochemical properties and increase the maize yield of saline-sodic soil. This experiment included five treatments according to the history of cattle manure application: a control treatment with no cattle manure (CK) and treatments with cattle manure application for 14 years (14 a), 17 years (17 a), 20 years (20 a), and 25 years (25 a). The results indicated that compared with the CK treatment, long-term cattle manure application to saline-sodic soil resulted in significant increases in soil organic matter (SOM), soil total nitrogen (TN) and available nutrients at the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depths (p<0.05). The soil physical properties improved significantly, and cattle manure application significantly decreased the soil bulk density (ρb) and soil density (ρd) and increased the soil total porosity (ft) and water-holding capacity (WHC). With the number of years of cattle manure application, the soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR1:5) decreased significantly, and the maize yield gradually increased over time from 8690 kg/hm2 in the CK treatment to 14 690 kg/hm2 in the 25a treatment. There were significant differences among all treatments (p<0.05). The results showed that long-term cattle manure application decreased the soil ρb and saline-alkaline properties, which was the main factor that affected the maize yield in the saline-sodic soil, especially for soil ρb.

Tribological characteristics of dimpled surfaces filled with dopamine-modified MoS_(2)

To improve the tribological characteristics of dimples on the surface of 45 steel,the dimples were filled with MoS_(2)and MoS_(2)modified by dopamine(MoS_(2)@DA),and ball-disk friction and wear tests were conducted.Specifically,the dimple filling gap,abrasion depth,and surface cross-sectional area of 45 steel were measured.The wear morphology of the friction ball and exfoliation of MoS_(2)in the dimples and the bending characteristics of the specimens were studied.The surface friction coefficient of MoS_(2)@DA-filled specimen was 17.9%lower than MoS_(2)-filled specimen,and the dimple filling gap was 70.1%lower,the surface abrasion depth was 5.8%lower,and the abrasion cross-sectional area was 17.7%smaller.Moreover,the bending strength of the MoS_(2)@DA specimen was 3.27 times greater than that of the MoS_(2)specimen,and the exfoliation of MoS_(2)was slowed by filling with the MoS_(2)@DA.Finally,the tribological characteristics were also superior for the specimens prepared with MoS_(2)@DA.

Geochronology and Geochemistry of Middle–Late Ordovician Granites and Gabbros in the Erguna Region,NE China:Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of the Erguna Massif

Zircon U-Pb ages, Hf isotope data and whole-rock major and trace element data for the Middle to Late Ordovician gabbros and granites in the Erguna Massif, NE China were presented in this paper. The petrogenesis of these rocks and the Early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the massif were discussed. Zircons from the granites and gabbros are of magmatic origin based on their cathodoluminescence（CL） images. The 206Pb/238 U ages obtained from 20 spots on zircons from the granites range from 446±9 to 464±10 Ma, yielding a weighted mean age of 455±10 Ma; and 16 spots on zircons from the gabbros range from 465±10 to 466±7 Ma, yielding a weighted mean age of 465±2 Ma. Chemically, the Late Ordovician granites in the Erguna Massif are weakly peraluminous and similar to A-type granites. The granites and gabbros are all enriched in light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements（e.g., Rb, K）, and depleted in heavy rare earth elements and high field strength elements（e.g., Nb, Ta, and Ti）; they all exhibit marked negative Eu anomalies. Their zircon εHf（t） values range mainly from ＋1.86 to ＋6.21（for the granites） and ＋1.39 to ＋3.89（for the gabbros）, except for one spot with a value of-0.27（for a gabbro）. The TDM1 ages for the gabbros and TDM2 ages for the granites vary from 928 to 1 091 Ma and from 1 287 to 1 675 Ma, respectively. It is concluded that the primary magma of the granites could have been derived by partial melting of Mesoproterozoic newly accreted crustal material, whereas the primary magma of the gabbros originated by partial melting of a depleted mantle wedge that had been metasomatized by fluids derived from a subducted slab. These Middle-Late Ordovician granites and gabbros constitute a typical bimodal igneous rock association, implying an extensional environment that was probably related to the post-collisional development of the Erguna and Xing＇an massifs in the early Early Paleozoic.

Longitudinal Compression Behavior of Functionally Graded Ti–6Al–4V Meshes

The compressive deformation behavior in the longitudinal direction of graded Ti–6Al–4V meshes fabricated by electron beam melting was investigated using experiments and finite element methods（FEM）.The results indicate that the overall strain along the longitudinal direction is the sum of the net strain carried by each uniform mesh constituent and the deformation behavior fits the Reuss model well. The layer thickness and the sectional area have no effect on the elastic modulus, whereas the strength increases with the sectional area due to the edge effect of each uniform mesh constituent. By optimizing3 D graded/gradient design, meshes with balanced superior properties, such as high strength, energy absorption and low elastic modulus, can be fabricated by electron beam melting.

Quality Control:Internal Defects Formation Mechanism of Selective Laser Melting Based on Laser-powder-melt Pool Interaction:A Review

Selective laser melting(SLM)is a 3D printing technology with a high near-net-shape ability and forming accuracy.However,the inevitable internal defects significantly hinder its development.Therefore,it is essential to fully understand the causes of internal defects in SLM processing and minimize the defects to achieve quality control accordingly.This work reviews the recent studies on internal defects in SLM,presenting the main internal defects of SLM as impurities,lack of fusion,gas pores,and micro-crack.These internal defects occur on the various phenomena in the laser-powder-melt pool(LPMP)stage.The formation of SLM internal defects is mainly affected by oxidation,denudation,balling,spatter,and keyholes;here,balling,spattering,and the keyhole phenomenon are the main factors causing internal defects in LPMP.Hence,this paper focuses on reviewing the balling effect,spatter behavior,and keyhole phenomenon,introducing the action mechanism of the above three phenomena under different process conditions.Additionally,the spatter behavior when forming internal defects is proposed.This review also considers the correlation between the spatter behavior and keyhole phenomenon and makes an important contribution to understanding and reducing SLM internal defects.It presents a reliable opinion on real-time monitoring and machine intelligent learning for SLM processing in the future,as well as supporting a systematic thinking for the suppression of defect formation in SLM.

Optimization of Calcium Addition to High-strength Low-alloy Steels

Nozzle blockage is a common problem during continuous casting of Al-killed steel, and calcium treatment is widely used to resolve it. In consideration of the production costs, the technology of nonmetallic inclusion control was studied to optimize the Ca consumption. The proposed process of slag washing was employed, and the refining slag composition, deoxidation conditions and alloying systems were optimized. Using these measures, the steel cleanliness before Ca addition was improved significantly, and the corresponding Ca consumption was reduced. More- over, the continuous casting could be conducted smoothly.

Large enhancement of magnetocaloric effect induced by dual regulation effects of hydrostatic pressure in Mn_(0.94)Fe_(0.06)NiGe compound

MM'X(M,M'=transition metals,X=carbon or boron group elements)compounds could exhibit large magnetocaloric effect due to the magnetostructural transition,and the composition regulation has been widely studied to realize the magnetostructural transition.Moreover,the magnetostructural transition is also sensitive to the pressure.Herein,the effect of hydrostatic pressure on magnetostructural transformation and magnetocaloric effect has been investigated in Mn_(0.94)Fe_(0.06)NiGe compound.Dual regulation effect of lowering structural transition temperature and strengthening ferromagnetic(FM)state of martensite is realized by applying hydrostatic pressure,which would greatly improve the magnetocaloric effect of Mn_(0.94)Fe_(0.06)NiGe compound.Moreover,the first-principles calculations have also been performed to discuss the origin of the regulation effect under hydrostatic pressure,and it indicates that the hydrostatic pressure can stabilize the hexagonal structure and decrease the structural transition temperature.The maximum isothermal entropy change increases by 109%from 4.3 J/(kg K)under 0 GPa to 9.0 J/(kg K)under 0.402 GPa for a magnetic field change of 0-3 T.This work proves that the hydrostatic pressure is an effective method to regulate the magnetostructural transition and enhance magnetocaloric effect in MM'X compounds.