Physicochemical properties and biological activities of polysaccharides from the peel of Dioscorea opposita Thunb.extracted by four different methods

Polysaccharides are the important biologically active components found in the peel of Dioscorea opposita Thunb.(DTTP).The influences of 4 extraction methods,namely hot water extraction(W),acidic extraction(HA),hot-compressed water extraction(HCW)and enzyme-assisted extraction(EAE),on the yields,physicochemical properties,hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from DTTP were studied and compared.Among these DTTP polysaccharides,DTTP-HA was outstanding in several respects.DTTP-HA was the most water soluble;it had the highest total carbohydrate content(85.08%),the highest uronic acid(13.20%)and the highest thermal stability.DTTP-HA and DTTP-W possessed a triple-helix structure.These 4 kinds of polysaccharides have the same types of monosaccharides,but in different molar percentages.Extraction method had a significant impact on the microstructures of the extracted polysaccharides.DTT-HA exhibited irregular structure with many holes.Among the 4 extracted methods,the DTTP-HA and DTTP-W initially exhibited higher hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities.The better bioactivities of DTTP-HA may be related to the above factors.The findings indicated that acid extraction is an effective method to extract polysaccharides with high biological activities from DTTP.

Preparation methods,biological activities,and potential applications of marine algae oligosaccharides:a review

Marine algae are valuable sources of health-promoting molecules that have been consumed by Asians for decades.Among aquatic flora,marine algae stand out in terms of high content of marine algae polysaccharides(MAP)such as carrageenan,alginate,fucoidan,laminaran,agarose,rhamnan,and ulvan.When hydrolyzed,MAP generate marine algae oligosaccharides(MAO),which have attracted interest in recent years due to their superior solubility compared with MAP.Besides,MAO have been demonstrated numerous biological activities including antioxidant,antidiabetic,anti-inflammatory,antimicrobial,and prebiotic activities.Thus,this review summarizes the main chemical classes of MAO,their sources,and the main processes used for their production(i.e.,physical,chemical,and biological methods),coupled with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.Highlights of the biological activities of MAO and their potential applications in food,nutraceutical,and pharmaceuticals would also be discussed and summarized.

A comparison study on structure-function relationship of polysaccharides obtained from sea buckthorn berries using different methods:antioxidant and bile acid-binding capacity

In this study,the structural characters,antioxidant activities and bile acid-binding ability of sea buckthorn polysaccharides(HRPs)obtained by the commonly used hot water(HRP-W),pressurized hot water(HRP-H),ultrasonic(HRP-U),acid(HRP-C)and alkali(HRP-A)assisted extraction methods were investigated.The results demonstrated that extraction methods had significant effects on extraction yield,monosaccharide composition,molecular weight,particle size,triple-helical structure,and surface morphology of HRPs except for the major linkage bands.Thermogravimetric analysis showed that HRP-U with filamentous reticular microstructure exhibited better thermal stability.The HRP-A with the lowest molecular weight and highest arabinose content possessed the best antioxidant activities.Moreover,the rheological analysis indicated that HRPs with higher galacturonic acid content and molecular weight showed higher viscosity and stronger crosslinking network(HRP-C,HRP-W and HRP-U),which exhibited stronger bile acid binding capacity.The present findings provide scientific evidence in the preparation technology of sea buckthorn polysaccharides with good antioxidant and bile acid binding capacity which are related to the structure affected by the extraction methods.

FIXED/PREASSIGNED-TIME SYNCHRONIZATION OF QUATERNION-VALUED NEURAL NETWORKS INVOLVING DELAYS AND DISCONTINUOUS ACTIVATIONS: A DIRECT APPROACH

The fixed-time synchronization and preassigned-time synchronization are investigated for a class of quaternion-valued neural networks with time-varying delays and discontinuous activation functions. Unlike previous efforts that employed separation analysis and the real-valued control design, based on the quaternion-valued signum function and several related properties, a direct analytical method is proposed here and the quaternion-valued controllers are designed in order to discuss the fixed-time synchronization for the relevant quaternion-valued neural networks. In addition, the preassigned-time synchronization is investigated based on a quaternion-valued control design, where the synchronization time is preassigned and the control gains are finite. Compared with existing results, the direct method without separation developed in this article is beneficial in terms of simplifying theoretical analysis, and the proposed quaternion-valued control schemes are simpler and more effective than the traditional design, which adds four real-valued controllers. Finally, two numerical examples are given in order to support the theoretical results.

Model Change Active Learning in Graph-Based Semi-supervised Learning

Active learning in semi-supervised classification involves introducing additional labels for unlabelled data to improve the accuracy of the underlying classifier.A challenge is to identify which points to label to best improve performance while limiting the number of new labels."Model Change"active learning quantifies the resulting change incurred in the classifier by introducing the additional label(s).We pair this idea with graph-based semi-supervised learning(SSL)methods,that use the spectrum of the graph Laplacian matrix,which can be truncated to avoid prohibitively large computational and storage costs.We consider a family of convex loss functions for which the acquisition function can be efficiently approximated using the Laplace approximation of the posterior distribution.We show a variety of multiclass examples that illustrate improved performance over prior state-of-art.

TRACING METHOD OF NATURAL SEDIMENTS BY NEUTRON ACTIVATION

A new method of NAA for sediment movement study is presented in this paper. Through analyzing the natural sediment, the information about natural tracing agents has been obtained, which can show the direction of sediment movement and relative discharge of sediment transportation. Test results in some areas, such as Shantou Harbour and Hangzhou Bay, are in good agreement with those from normal hydrologic measurements and some results are not obtainable with the latter. The NAA is economical, practical and reliable, and should be widely used in engineering practice.

Impact of climate change and human activities on the spatiotemporal dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province, China

Understanding the dynamics of surface water area and their drivers is crucial for human survival and ecosystem stability in inland arid and semi-arid areas.This study took Gansu Province,China,a typical area with complex terrain and variable climate,as the research subject.Based on Google Earth Engine,we used Landsat data and the Open-surface Water Detection Method with Enhanced Impurity Control method to monitor the spatiotemporal dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province from 1985 to 2022,and quantitatively analyzed the main causes of regional differences in surface water area.The findings revealed that surface water area in Gansu Province expanded by 406.88 km2 from 1985 to 2022.Seasonal surface water area exhibited significant fluctuations,while permanent surface water area showed a steady increase.Notably,terrestrial water storage exhibited a trend of first decreasing and then increasing,correlated with the dynamics of surface water area.Climate change and human activities jointly affected surface hydrological processes,with the impact of climate change being slightly higher than that of human activities.Spatially,climate change affected the'source'of surface water to a greater extent,while human activities tended to affect the'destination'of surface water.Challenges of surface water resources faced by inland arid and semi-arid areas like Gansu Province are multifaceted.Therefore,we summarized the surface hydrology patterns typical in inland arid and semi-arid areas and tailored surface water'supply-demand'balance strategies.The study not only sheds light on the dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province,but also offers valuable insights for ecological protection and surface water resource management in inland arid and semi-arid areas facing water scarcity.

Problem and Improvement of Kissinger Method──New Method on Measuring Crystallization Activation Energy of Amorphous Alloy

By measuring and analyzing the crystallization activation energy (CAE) of Fe-based amorphous alloy Fe79B16Si5 and Fe78B13Si9, it is reconfirmed and further analyzed that the conventional Kissinger method does not conform with the premise of Kissinger equation, namely, samples with different heating rates should keep a constant fraction of transformation at the exothermal peak temperature Tp of DSC thermogram. The XRD equal first peak height (EFPH) method is applied to CAE measurement of Fe-based amorphous alloy for the first time. It is shown again that the EFPH method coincides with the premise of Kissinger equation. The procedure of EFPH method is introduced in detail in this paper. The accuracy in determining CAE of amorphous alloy may be improved by applying the EFPH method. As a result, the mechanism of embrittlement of amorphous alloy may be better elucidated.

Changes of coastline and tidal flat and its implication for ecological protection under human activities: Take China’s Bohai Bay as an example

The change processes and trends of shoreline and tidal flat forced by human activities are essential issues for the sustainability of coastal area,which is also of great significance for understanding coastal ecological environment changes and even global changes.Based on field measurements,combined with Linear Regression(LR)model and Inverse Distance Weighing(IDW)method,this paper presents detailed analysis on the change history and trend of the shoreline and tidal flat in Bohai Bay.The shoreline faces a high erosion chance under the action of natural factors,while the tidal flat faces a different erosion and deposition patterns in Bohai Bay due to the impact of human activities.The implication of change rule for ecological protection and recovery is also discussed.Measures should be taken to protect the coastal ecological environment.The models used in this paper show a high correlation coefficient between observed and modeling data,which means that this method can be used to predict the changing trend of shoreline and tidal flat.The research results of present study can provide scientific supports for future coastal protection and management.

Measurement of ^(232)Th(n,2n)^(231)Th reaction cross-sections at neutron energies of 14.1 MeV and 14.8 MeV using neutron activation method

In this study, the activation cross-sections were measured for ^(232)Th(n,2n)^(231)Th reactions at neutron energies of 14.1 and 14.8 MeV, which were produced by a neutron generator through a T(d,n)~4He reaction. Induced gamma-ray activities were measured using a low background gamma ray spectrometer equipped with a high resolution HPGe detector. In the cross-section calculations, corrections were made regarding the effects of gamma-ray attenuation, dead-time, fluctuation of the neutron flux, and low energy neutrons. The measured cross-sections were compared with the literature data, evaluation data(ENDF-B/VII.1, JENDL-4.0 and CENDL-3.1), and the results of the model calculation(TALYS1.6).

Neutron activation method in the analysis of environmental objects

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The forecasting efficiency under different selected regions by Pattern Informatics Method and seismic potential estimation in the North-South Seismic Zone

In 2022,four earthquakes with M_(S)≥6.0 including the Menyuan M_(S)6.9 and Luding M_(S)6.8 earthquakes occurred in the North-South Seismic Zone(NSSZ),which demonstrated high and strong seismicity.Pattern Informatics(PI)method,as an effective long and medium term earthquake forecasting method,has been applied to the strong earthquake forecasting in Chinese mainland and results have shown the positive performance.The earthquake catalog with magnitude above M_(S)3.0 since 1970 provided by China Earthquake Networks Center was employed in this study and the Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC)method was applied to test the forecasting efficiency of the PI method in each selected region related to the North-South Seismic Zone systematically.Based on this,we selected the area with the best ROC testing result and analyzed the evolution process of the PI hotspot map reflecting the small seismic activity pattern prior to the Menyuan M_(S)6.9 and Luding M_(S)6.8 earthquakes.A“forward”forecast for the area was carried out to assess seismic risk.The study shows the following.1)PI forecasting has higher forecasting efficiency in the selected study region where the difference of seismicity in any place of the region is smaller.2)In areas with smaller differences of seismicity,the activity pattern of small earthquakes prior to the Menyuan M_(S)6.9 and Luding M_(S)6.8 earthquakes can be obtained by analyzing the spatio-temporal evolution process of the PI hotspot map.3)The hotspot evolution in and around the southern Tazang fault in the study area is similar to that prior to the strong earthquakes,which suggests the possible seismic hazard in the future.This study could provide some ideas to the seismic hazard assessment in other regions with high seismicity,such as Japan,Californi,Turkey,and Indonesia.

UV,five wavelengths fusion and electrochemical fingerprints combined with antioxidant activity for quality control of antiviral mixture

Aiming to ensure the consistency of quality control of Traditional Chinese Medicines(TCMs),a combination method of high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),ultraviolet(UV),electrochemical(EC)was developed in this study to comprehensively evaluate the quality of Antiviral Mixture(AM),and Comprehensive Linear Quantification Fingerprint Method(CLQFM)was used to process the data.Quantitative analysis of three active substances in TCM was conducted.A fivewavelength fusion fingerprint(FWFF)was developed,using second-order derivatives of UV spectral data to differentiate sample levels effectively.The combination of HPLC and UV spectrophotometry,along with electrochemical fingerprinting(ECFP),successfully evaluated total active substances.Ultimately,a multidimensional profiling analytical system for TCM was developed.

Study on extracting alumina from fly ash by compound additive activation method

According to the chemical and mineral composition characteristics of the fly ash,alumina can be extracted from fly ash through the calcining method by using sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate additives.The effects on leaching rate of alumina have been investigated. The results showed that the fly ash can be activated effectively and the leaching rate of alumina can be improved to more than 92% through this method. The best process parameters were the ratio of raw materials,i. e. the material weight ratio of fly ash,calcium carbonate and sodium carbonate was 1. 0∶1. 2∶0. 9. The activating temperature was 850℃-900℃,activating time was 3 h. This process has a potential application prospect and improves the value of comprehensive utilization of fly ash.

THE ACTIVATION METHOD FOR DISCRETIZED CONSERVATIVE NONLINEAR STABILITY PROBLEMS WITH MULTIPLE PARAMETER AND STATE VARIABLES

For nonlinear stability problems of discretized conservative systems with multiple parameter variables and multiple state variables, the activation method is put forward, by which activated potential functions and activated equilibrium equations are derived. The activation method is the improvement and enhancement of Liapunov-Schmidt method in elastic stability theory. It is more generalized and more normalized than conventional perturbation methods. The activated potential functions may be transformed into normalized catastrophe potential functions. The activated equilibrium equations may be treated as bifurcation equations. The researches in this paper will motivate the combination of elastic stability theory with catastrophe theory and bifurcation theory

Study on Component Synthesis Active Vibration Suppression Method Using Zero-placement Technique

The component synthesis active vibration suppression method （CSVS） can be applied to suppress the vibration of flexible systems. By this method, several same or similar time-varying components are arranged according to certain rules along the time axis. The synthesized command can suppress the arbitrary unwanted vibration harmonic while achieving the desired rigid body motion. The number of the components increases rapidly when the number of harmonic vibration is growing. In this article, the CSVS based on zero-placement technique is used to construct the synthesized command to suppress the multi-harmonics simultaneously in the discrete domain. The nature of zero-placement method is to put enough zeros to cancel system poles at necessary points. The designed synthesized command has equal time intervals between each component and which is much easier to be implemented. Using this method, the number of components increases linearly with the increasing of the number of being suppressed harmonics. For the spacecraft with flexible appendages, CSVS based on zero-placement is used to design the time optimal large angle maneuver control strategy. Simulations have verified the validity and superiority of the proposed approach.

Effects of Different Nitrogen Application Methods on Enzyme Activities in Leaves at Late Growth Stage of Spring Maize

[Objective] This paper aimed at exploring the effects of different nitrogen application methods on the enzyme activities of leaves at ear position in late growth stage of maize. [Method] By pot experiment, the superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity, peroxidase （POD） activity, malonyl dialdehyde （MDA） content and soluble protein content were determined. [Result] At the filling stage and ripening stage, with the increasing of nitrogen application rate, MDA content gradually decreased, while SOD activity, POD activity and soluble protein content increased. MDA content with two topdressing nitrogen was lower than that with one top dressing nitrogen at the same nitrogen application rate, while SOD activity, POD activity and soluble protein content with two topdressing nitrogen were higher than that with one topdressing nitrogen. [Conclusion] Different nitrogen application methods have relatively significant effects on the MDA content, SOD activity, POD activity and soluble protein content, which is of certain directive significance for preventing spring maize prematuration.

Total phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of flour, noodles, and steamed bread made from different colored wheat grains by three milling methods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of wheat variety, food processing, and milling method on antioxidant properties. Black wheat variety Heibaoshi 1 had the highest total phenolic content(659.8 μg gallic acid equivalents g-1), total flavonoid content(319.3 μg rutin equivalents g-1), and antioxidant activity, whereas light purple wheat variety Shandongzimai 1 had the lowest total flavonoid content(236.2 μg rutin equivalents g-1) and antioxidant activity. Whole wheat flour and partially debranned grain flour had significantly higher total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity than refined flour(P < 0.05). Compared with flour, total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity decreased in noodles and steamed bread, whereas noodles had slightly higher total phenolic and flavonoid content than steamed bread. Antioxidant activities(by ferric reducing ability of plasma assay) of steamed bread made from whole wheat flour, partially debranned grain flour, and refined flour were 23.5%, 21.1%, and 31.6% lower, respectively, than the corresponding values of flour. These results suggested that black whole wheat flour and partially debranned grain flour are beneficial to human health.

Grain Size and Photocatalytic Activity of Nanometer TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Transparent anatase TiO2 nanometer thin films with photocatalytic activity were prepared via the sol-gel method on soda-lime glass. The thickness , crystalline phase, grain size, surface hydroxyl amount and so on were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) , X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy ( TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectrophotometer ( UV-VIS). The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 thin films was evaluated for the photocatalytic decolorization of aqueous methyl orange . The effects of film thickness on the crystalline phase, grain size, transmittance and photocatalytic activity of nanometer Ti02 thin films were discussed.

Rapid communication Preparation of TiO_2 nanometer thin films with high photocatalytic activity by reverse micellar method

Two kinds of TiO_2 nanometer thin films were prepared on stainless steel bythe reverse micellar and sol-gel methods, respectively. The calcined TiO_ 2 thin films werecharacterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), BET surface area and X-rayphotoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalyticdecoloration of methyl orange aqueous solution. The results showed that the TiO_2 thin filmsprepared by reverse micellar method (designated as RM-TiO_2 films) showed higher photocatalyticactivity than those by sol-gel method (designated as SG-TiO_2 films). This is attributed to the factthat the former is composed of smaller monodispersed spherical particles with a size of about 15 nmand possesses higher surface areas.