Performance of modulating retro-reflector-assisted ground-HAP-satellite uplink laser communication system.

Satellite-ground laser communication has attracted wide attention due to its advantages of rich spectrum resources, fast communication speed, strong anti-interference ability, and high security. Therefore, this paper proposes to use a modulating retro-reflector (MRR) and assemble it on the HAP to improve the performance of the ground-satellite uplink laser communication system. Since the influence of the hovering fluctuation of the HAP on the system cannot be ignored, this paper introduces the angle of arrival jitter to represent the influence of the random jitter of the HAP in the air on the channel and considers the light intensity scintillation, beam wander, atmospheric attenuation, pointing error. The combined effect of the system is analyzed. At the same time, the influence of key factors such as beam width, zenith angle, HAP position distance, wind speed, and cloud visibility on the performance of the ground-HAP-satellite system under different MRR effective areas is simulated and analyzed and compared with the ground-HAP-satellite system without MRR. The results show that the MRR-assisted ground-HAP-satellite system has better communication performance. The work of this paper provides a good theoretical basis for the engineering implementation of the MRR-assisted ground-HAP-satellite laser communication system.

Protocatechuic acid supplement alleviates allergic airway inflammation by inhibiting the IL-4Rα-STAT6 and Jagged 1/Jagged2-Notch1/Notch2 pathways in allergic asthmatic mice.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To clarify the effects of dietary supplementation of protocatechuic acid (PCA) and in-depth mechanisms on allergic asthma in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mice. MATERIALS: Female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10 in each group): control group, OVA-induced allergic asthma group, and OVA plus PCA group. TREATMENT: Dietary supplementation of PCA was achieved by adding 50 mg/kg PCA to AIN 93G diet for 25 days. METHODS: Peripheral blood cells, pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration, the levels of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), the mRNA levels of Th2-related genes in the lungs, and the protein expressions of the IL-4Rα-STAT6 and the Jagged1/Jagged2-Notch1/Notch2 signaling pathways were measured. RESULTS: Significantly reduced inflammatory cells infiltration and mucosal hypersecretion in the lung tissues, repaired levels of interleukin IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 in the BALF, and decreased mRNA expression of IL-4, IL-5, and GATA3 were observed in OVA plus PCA group. Moreover, PCA treatment down-regulated the protein levels of IL-4Rα-STAT6 and Jagged1/Jagged2-Notch1/Notch2 signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplement of PCA alleviated allergic asthma partly through suppressing the IL-4Rα-STAT6 and Jagged1/Jagged2-Notch1/Notch2 signaling pathways in mice. Our study provided the theoretic basis of PCA used as functional food in preventing allergic asthma.

Enhancing skin lesion segmentation with a fusion of convolutional neural networks and transformer models.

Accurate segmentation is crucial in diagnosing and analyzing skin lesions. However, automatic segmentation of skin lesions is extremely challenging because of their variable sizes, uneven color distributions, irregular shapes, hair occlusions, and blurred boundaries. Owing to the limited range of convolutional networks receptive fields, shallow convolution cannot extract the global features of images and thus has limited segmentation performance. Because medical image datasets are small in scale, the use of excessively deep networks could cause overfitting and increase computational complexity. Although transformer networks can focus on extracting global information, they cannot extract sufficient local information and accurately segment detailed lesion features. In this study, we designed a dual-branch encoder that combines a convolution neural network (CNN) and a transformer. The CNN branch of the encoder comprises four layers, which learn the local features of images through layer-wise downsampling. The transformer branch also comprises four layers, enabling the learning of global image information through attention mechanisms. The feature fusion module in the network integrates local features and global information, emphasizes important channel features through the channel attention mechanism, and filters irrelevant feature expressions. The information exchange between the decoder and encoder is finally achieved through skip connections to supplement the information lost during the sampling process, thereby enhancing segmentation accuracy. The data used in this paper are from four public datasets, including images of melanoma, basal cell tumor, fibroma, and benign nevus. Because of the limited size of the image data, we enhanced them using methods such as random horizontal flipping, random vertical flipping, random brightness enhancement, random contrast enhancement, and rotation. The segmentation accuracy is evaluated through intersection over union and duration, integrity, commitment, and effort indicators, reaching 87.7 % and 93.21 %, 82.05 % and 89.19 %, 86.81 % and 92.72 %, and 92.79 % and 96.21 %, respectively, on the ISIC 2016, ISIC 2017, ISIC 2018, and PH2 datasets, respectively (code: https://github.com/hyjane/CCT-Net).

Effects of deep frying and baking on the quality attributes, water distribution, and flavor characteristics of duck jerky.

Introduction: The nutritional value of duck meat is well acknowledged due to its low cholesterol and high protein content. Nevertheless, the impacts of deep-frying and baking on its quality characteristics are not extensively documented in literature. Methods: The objective of this study is to examine the effects of deep-frying, pre-boilingdeep-frying, baking, and pre-boiling-baking on the quality attributes, water distribution, microstructure, and flavor characteristics of duck jerky. Results and discussion: The findings revealed that the deep-frying group had better quality attributes than the baking, pre-boiling-deep-frying, and pre-boiling-baking groups. The deepfried duck jerky had a higher a* value (4.25) and a lower b* value (5.87), with a more appropriate texture profile, and had the highest comprehensive impression score (5.84). Moreover, the drying rate was faster, and the intensity of the free water and oil signal was significantly elevated in the deep-frying group. The microstructure results indicated that the muscle fibers in the deep-frying group were closely packed, whereas those in the baking group were relatively loose. Furthermore, the GC-IMS test revealed that the deep-fried duck jerky had a wider range of volatile flavor compounds, including 11 unique compounds that were only found in this particular product.

In Situ Polymerization of Methylene Blue on Bacterial Cellulose for Photodynamic/Photoelectricity Synergistic Inhibition of Bacterial Biofilm Formation.

In the context of long-term antimicrobial treatment, the emergence of bacterial resistance poses a significant challenge. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop novel antimicrobial materials and methods that can effectively and safely combat microbial infections. This study focuses on the synthesis of bacterial cellulose-polymethylene blue (BC-PMB) with integrated photodynamic and photoelectric antimicrobial properties. The polymerization of methyl blue (MB) onto bacterial celluloses (BC) was achieved, and through comprehensive computational analyses using density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics simulations, it was confirmed that this polymerization greatly enhanced the binding efficiency between methylene blue and BC. Additionally, polymethylene blue (PMB) exhibited superior photoexcitation efficiency and conductivity compared to its precursor. When BC-PMB was exposed to a 30 mW 660 nm light source for 30 min, the material demonstrated a remarkable antimicrobial efficacy of 93.99% against Escherichia coli and 98.58% against Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of photodynamic and photoelectric antimicrobial mechanisms exhibited long-term inhibitory capabilities against bacterial biofilms.

Betanin Dose-Dependently Ameliorates Allergic Airway Inflammation by Attenuating Th2 Response and Upregulating cAMP-PKA-CREB Pathway in Asthmatic Mice.

Allergic asthma is a refractory disease that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Betanin is a natural plant-derived nutrient and possesses health-promoting properties. The effects of betanin on allergic asthma remain unknown. Herein, the effects and mechanisms of betanin on allergic asthma were explored in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced BALB/c mice. Betanin in doses of 0, 20, 60, and 180 mg/kg was applied. Peripheral inflammatory cells, IgE, pulmonary pathology, T cell subsets, cytokine levels, protein expressions of the cAMP-PKA-CREB/CREM pathway, and gut microbial profile were measured. The 60 and 180 mg/kg/day betanin doses significantly downregulated IgE, eotaxin, eosinophil infiltration, mucus hyperproduction, and Th2. A 180 mg/kg/day betanin dose also significantly reduced percentages of Th17, Tc17, and Tc2 and Th2- and Th17-signature cytokines and upregulated the cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway. Additionally, 20 mg/kg/day betanin altered the gut microbial profile. In conclusion, betanin dose-dependently alleviated allergic asthma and upregulated the cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway in mice. This study provides a novel nutritional strategy to treat allergic asthma.

Tetrahydrocurcumin alleviates allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic mice by modulating the gut microbiota.

Dietary factors can reshape the gut microbiota and consequently affect disease progression. We previously reported that tetrahydrocurcumin (THC), the major active metabolite of curcumin (Cur), could ameliorate allergic inflammation in asthmatic mice. Herein, we aimed to investigate whether THC or Cur exerts anti-inflammatory effects on allergic asthma via modulating gut microbiota. Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice were treated with Cur or THC, and the gut microbiota profiles were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from Cur- or THC-fed donor mice was administered to OVA-induced asthmatic mice. Nasal symptoms and inflammation patterns of lungs and colons were evaluated in control, OVA-induced and Cur-or THC-treated mice. Both Cur and THC treatment could alter the compositions of the gut microbiota in asthmatic mice, characterized by a significant decrease in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes; Cur or THC supplementation also reduced the relative abundances of pro-inflammatory bacteria, e.g., Proteobacteria, Intestinimonas, Unidentified-Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae, in OVA-induced mice. The relative abundances of Unidentified-Ruminococcaceae, Romboutsia, Intestinimonas, Akkermansia, and Mucispirillum were positively associated with the levels of Th2-related factors in asthmatic mice upon Cur or THC treatment. Moreover, THC-FMT showed better preventive effects than Cur-FMT on the development of allergic inflammation in OVA-induced mice, resulting in a reduction in symptoms and Th2-mediated inflammation in both lung and colon tissues. The results reveal that Cur- or THC-mediated alleviation of airway allergic inflammation is dependent on gut microbiota modulation. THC-induced gut microbiota may have therapeutic potential for asthma treatment.