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A generic intelligent tomato classification system based on DenseNet-201 with transfer learning was proposed and the augmented training sets obtained by data augmentation methods were employed to train the model. The trained model achieved high classification accuracy on the images of different quality, even those containing high levels of noise. Also, the trained model could accurately and efficiently identify and classify a single tomato image with only 29 ms, indicating that the proposed model has great potential value in real-world applications. The feature visualization of the trained models shows their understanding of tomato images, i.e., the learned common and high-level features. The strongest activations of the trained models show that the correct or incorrect target recognition areas by a model during the classification process will affect its final classification accuracy. Based on this, the results obtained in this study could provide guidance and new ideas to improve the development of intelligent agriculture.

The lipid and fatty acid (FA) contents of abalone Haliotis discus hannai from Fujian, Qingdao, and Rongcheng, China were studied over four seasons. In spring, the lipid content of abalone from Rongcheng was significantly higher than Qingdao and Fujian, and there was no significant difference in other seasons. Palmitic acid was the major saturated fatty acid (SFA) in all seasons. Oleic acid was identified as the major monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). Arachidonic acid (ARA) was the major polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and C18:0 was the major dimethyl acetals (DMA) in all zones. Lipid composition changed significantly over the different zones according to the season. In Fujian, higher total lipid content was observed in the summer, whereas PUFA content peaked in spring. The highest fat content was observed in spring and autumn in Qingdao and Rongcheng, respectively. Abalone contains docosapentaenoic acid and trace amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which was recorded in small quantities during the summer. In general, the DMA content was higher in spring and summer than in autumn and winter. These findings can be useful for identifying the origin of abalone and evaluating the utilization of by-products of this species in the future.

The oyster is well-known for its delicious taste and nutritional benefits. However, the taste of oysters in the market is relatively monotonous at present. In order to develop more tastes of oysters, this study explored the taste compounds (organic-acids, 5′-nucleotides and free amino acids) of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas, triploid oyster) obtained from aquaculture at three different salinities (25‰, 28‰ and 32‰). The results showed that the contents of 5′-nucleotides (52.59 mg/100 g) in the test samples from the aquaculture salinity of 28‰ were higher than those in the salinity of 25‰ and 32‰. The contents of free amino acids (1760.47 mg/100 g) in the 32‰ sample were higher than those in the salinity of 25‰ and 28‰ ones. In addition, the taste activity value (TAV) and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) of three samples were calculated. The relationship between EUC and sensory evaluation was also investigated. The results showed that the highest TAV of the major free amino acids and 5′-nucleotides was observed in the 28‰ salinity oyster sample. A positive relationship was established between EUC and sensory score of overall taste as well as umami, respectively. Our results suggested that 28‰ was the optimal aquaculture salinity with regards to the oyster’s taste, and it was the most commonly accepted. The study may be helpful to guide rational development of diversified flavors of oyster.

Cisplatin is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents used for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers. However, cisplatin has been associated with nephrotoxicity, which limits its application in clinical treatment. Various studies have indicated the protective effect of phospholipids against acute kidney injury. However, no study has focused on the different effects of phospholipids with different fatty acids on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and on the combined effects of phospholipids and cisplatin in tumour-bearing mice. In the present study, the potential renoprotective effects of phospholipids with different fatty acids against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity were investigated by determining the serum biochemical index, renal histopathological changes, protein expression level and oxidative stress. The results showed that docosahexaenoic acid-enriched phospholipids (DHA-PL) and eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phospholipids (EPA-PL) could alleviate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by regulating the caspase signaling pathway, the SIRT1/PGC1α pathway, and the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathway and by inhibiting oxidative stress. In particular, DHA-PL exhibited a better inhibitory effect on oxidative stress and apoptosis compared to EPA-PL. Furthermore, DHA-PL exhibited an additional effect with cisplatin on the survival of ascitic tumor-bearing mice. These findings suggested that DHA-PL are one kind of promising supplement for the alleviation of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity without compromising its antitumor activity.

International audience; The development of high-efficiency photoelectrodes at low manufacturing cost is of great interest for the production of renewable and green hydrogen through solar-driven water splitting. In this work, we use structural, optical, and photoelectrochemical characterizations to study the performance of unprotected epitaxial GaAs/Si photoelectrodes during photocorrosion. More specifically, we demonstrate that photoanodes including 1-µm thick GaAs epitaxially grown thin film on a low-cost Si substrate can produce a higher photocurrent than those measured for expensive commercial GaAs wafers. Based on photoelectrochemical experiments under monochromatic excitation, we show that the improved photocurrent has to be related to the dual-bandgap operation of the GaAs/Si photoelectrode, benefiting from both GaAs and Si photo-generated carriers. This result opens new possibilities to further design efficient and low-cost dual-bandgap photoelectrodes.

Salinity stress during depuration of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) leads to degradation in quality; therefore, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating dynamic changes during depuration is needed. Here, C. gigas was depurated for 72 h at salinities ranging from 26 to 38 g/L, a ± 10-20% fluctuation from that in the production area, and the gill proteomes were analyzed by sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH-MS). Of the 1218 proteins analyzed, 241 were differentiating proteins (DPs). Salinity stress led to increased levels of DPs associated with glycolysis and the extracellular matrix-receptor interaction pathway, and decreased levels of DPs associated with the citric acid cycle, lipid metabolism, genetic information processing, and cell transformation, especially in oysters exposed to 38 g/L salinity (+20%). Controlling salinity fluctuation within ± 10% of the production area during depuration was conducive to maintaining quality in C. gigas.

To access the nutritional quality of the Ruditapes philippinarum, a comprehensive quality evaluation procedure is always important to be established. In this study, fifteen nutritional quality evaluation indicators of R. philippinarum from 7 months were analyzed, and the most important indicators were determined using a combination of multiple chemometric methods such as correlation analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and system cluster analysis (SCA). Significant differences in nutritional quality were observed across the 7 months, as per the ANOVA results (P 1 were obtained with PCA, and a cumulative contribution of 92.11% was achieved. In addition, four essential quality indicators were extracted using SCA. Using these four indicators, a simple and efficient procedure can be applied for quality control in aquaculture. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13197-020-04796-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Due to the large breeding density and the influence of seasonal changes, the quality of oysters declined. Oysters are often fattened with specific microalgae before sale to improve their quality. Here, the purpose of this study was to study the effects of different microalgae diets on the flavor characteristics of Crassostrea gigas (C. gigas) after three weeks of fattening. The result showed that there was a certain correlation between the fatty acid composition of C. gigas and microalgae. The equivalent umami concentration values of C. gigas fed with Chlorella vulgaris and Pavlova viridis (5.34 and 4.91 g/100 g, respectively) were significantly higher than that of the control group. Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry analysis showed 48 volatile organic compounds, and the principal component analysis plot showed an obvious separation between the C. gigas. These results indicated that diets had a significant effect on the flavor components of oysters.

Background Depuration is an important process performed to ensure the safety of oyster consumption, and the effect of salinity stress on physiological and ecological characteristics of oyster remains unknow. In this study, the simulated depuration of Crassostrea gigas was performed with the salinities varying from ±10% to ±20% away from that of production area (26, 28, 32, 35, and 38 g L-1 ), as well as respiratory metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, and apoptosis were analyzed. Results (i) The oxygen consumption rate, ammonia discharge rate and enzyme activities related to respiratory metabolism were decreased significantly at salinities of 38 g L-1 , indicating that salinity stress triggered the abnormal respiratory metabolism of C. gigas, further, glycolysis was enhanced. (ii) Glycogen decomposition, lactic acid increase, and fatty acid composition modifications were caused by adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) -mediated during salinity stress. (iii) There was a clear decrease of the condition index and meat yield of C. gigas after 72 h of depuration, especially in salinity 38 g L-1 . (iv) Salinity stress would lead to the increase of cytochrome c levels, then cause apoptosis of C. gigas, while heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) would interfere with this process. Conclusion Salinity stress had a significant effect on the physiological and ecological response of C. gigas during the depuration process, including respiratory metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, and apoptosis. In general, the low depuration salinity fluctuation (±10%) is helpful to maintain quality of C. gigas, as well as the optimal depuration time was 48 h. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Prevention of acute kidney injury caused by drugs is still a clinical problem to be solved urgently. Astaxanthin (AST) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are important marine-derived active ingredients, and they are reported to exhibit renal protective activity. It is noteworthy that the existing forms of AST in nature are mainly fatty acid-acylated AST monoesters and diesters, as well as unesterified AST, in which DHA is an esterified fatty acid. However, no reports focus on the different bioactivities of unesterified AST, monoesters and diesters, as well as the recombination of DHA and unesterified AST on nephrotoxicity. In the present study, vancomycin-treated mice were used to evaluate the effects of DHA-acylated AST monoesters, DHA-acylated AST diesters, unesterified AST, and the recombination of AST and DHA in alleviating nephrotoxicity by determining serum biochemical index, histopathological changes, and the enzyme activity related to oxidative stress. Results found that the intervention of DHA-acylated AST diesters significantly ameliorated kidney dysfunction by decreasing the levels of urea nitrogen and creatinine, alleviating pathological damage and oxidative stress compared to AST monoester, unesterified AST, and the recombination of AST and DHA. Further studies revealed that dietary DHA-acylated AST esters could inhibit the activation of the caspase cascade and MAPKs signaling pathway, and reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings indicated that the administration of DHA-acylated AST esters could alleviate vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity, which represented a potentially novel candidate or therapeutic adjuvant for alleviating acute kidney injury.

Background Oysters are mainly consumed in the raw form, so it is important to get rid of bacteria and other harmful substances. Ultraviolet sterilization depuration is a commonly used method and doesn't produce chemical residues or act directly on shellfish, resulting in minimal adverse effects on flavor. This study simulated the industrial depuration process using UV sterilization to depurate Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas). The effects of different temperatures (15, 20, and 25 °C) on the quality and taste components of C. gigas were investigated by measuring changes in physiological and biochemical indexes in C. gigas tissue samples. Results At the end of depuration, no oyster mortality occurred, but it was up to 55% at 25°C at 84h. Glycogen content decreased the most at 25 °C at 48h. The fatty acid content was higher at 20 and 25 °C. Succinic acid content decreased significantly and was higher at 20 and 25°C at 48h with no significant difference. Total free amino acid (FAAs) content was significantly higher at 20°C, however, there were no significant differences in nucleotide content at any temperature at 48 h. Adenylate energy charge (AEC) values decreased, with higher values at 15 and 25°C, and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) values increased, with higher values at 20 and 25°C. Conclusion Considering the changes in flavor substances and mortality rate, 20 °C is the appropriate temperature for ultraviolet sterilization depuration of C. gigas to produce better edible quality. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content is used to evaluate Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) freshness. In this work, hyperspectral imaging (HSI; 400–1000 nm) was used to measure the TVB-N content in Pacific oysters. Accordingly, Pacific oyster samples stored in 15 °C water were assessed at intervals after 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 days. Minimum noise separation processing of the hyperspectral images was performed before determining the region of interest for data dimension reduction. The effects of multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) on the obtained data were then investigated. To simplify the calibration model, 12 characteristic wavelengths were selected from the Pacific oyster hypercube using the correlation coefficient method. Finally, multiple linear regression (MLR) and back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) models were built from the selected wavelengths. The experimental results showed that the correlation coefficients between the corrected, predicted, and cross-validated datasets were lower in the MLR model than in the BP-ANN. However, the MLR model outperformed the BP-ANN in terms of the root-mean-square errors of correction, prediction, and interaction verification. Overall, both the MLR and BP-ANN models demonstrated that the combination of HSI with chemometric methods can be used to detect and accurately predict Pacific Oyster freshness during storage.

International audience; Here, the structural, electronic and optical properties of the GaP 1-x Sb x /Si tandem materials association are determined in view of its use for solar water splitting applications. The GaPSb crystalline layer is grown on Si by Molecular Beam Epitaxy with different Sb contents. The bandgap value and bandgap type of GaPSb alloy are determined on the whole Sb range, by combining experimental absorption measurements with tight binding (TB) theoretical calculations. The indirect (X-band) to direct (Γ-band) cross-over is found to occur at 30% Sb content. Especially, at a Sb content of 32%, the GaP 1-x Sb x alloy reaches the desired 1.7eV direct bandgap, enabling efficient sunlight absorption, that can be ideally combined with the Si 1.1 eV bandgap. Moreover, the band alignment of GaP 1-x Sb x alloys and Si with respect to water redox potential levels has been analyzed, which shows the GaPSb/Si association is an interesting combination both for the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions. These results open new routes for the development of III-V/Si low-cost high-efficiency photoelectrochemical cells.

Hybrid materials taking advantage of the different physical properties of materials are highly attractive for numerous applications in today's science and technology. Here, it is demonstrated that epitaxial bi‐domain III–V/Si are hybrid structures, composed of bulk photo‐active semiconductors with 2D topological semi‐metallic vertical inclusions, endowed with ambipolar properties. By combining structural, transport, and photoelectrochemical characterizations with first‐principle calculations, it is shown that the bi‐domain III–V/Si materials are able within the same layer to absorb light efficiently, separate laterally the photo‐generated carriers, transfer them to semimetal singularities, and ease extraction of both electrons and holes vertically, leading to efficient carrier collection. Besides, the original topological properties of the 2D semi‐metallic inclusions are also discussed. This comb‐like heterostructure not only merges the superior optical properties of semiconductors with good transport properties of metallic materials, but also combines the high efficiency and tunability afforded by III–V inorganic bulk materials with the flexible management of nano‐scale charge carriers usually offered by blends of organic materials. Physical properties of these novel hybrid heterostructures can be of great interest for energy harvesting, photonic, electronic or computing devices., Here, it is demonstrated that epitaxial bi‐domain III–V/Si are hybrid structures, composed of bulk photo‐active semiconductors with 2D topological semi metallic vertical inclusions, endowed with ambipolar properties. Operating III–V/Si photoelectrodes confirm that this hybrid material can by itself photogenerate and laterally separate carriers, which are efficiently extracted afterward from the photoelectric device.

International audience; Highly polar materials are usually preferred over weakly polar ones to study strong electron–phonon interactions and its fascinating properties. Here, we report on the achievement of simultaneous confinement of charge carriers and phonons at the vicinity of a 2D vertical homovalent singularity (antiphase boundary, APB) in an (In,Ga)P/SiGe/Si sample. The impact of the electron–phonon interaction on the photoluminescence processes is then clarified by combining transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ab initio calculations, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence experiments. 2D localization and layer group symmetry properties of homovalent electronic states and phonons are studied by first-principles methods, leading to the prediction of a type-II band alignment between the APB and the surrounding semiconductor matrix. A Huang–Rhys factor of 8 is finally experimentally determined for the APB emission line, underlining that a large and unusually strong electron–phonon coupling can be achieved by 2D vertical quantum confinement in an undoped III–V semiconductor. This work extends the concept of an electron–phonon interaction to 2D vertically buried III–V homovalent nano-objects and therefore provides different approaches for material designs, vertical carrier transport, heterostructure design on silicon, and device applications with weakly polar semiconductors.

International audience; Here we clarify the central role of the miscut during group III-V/group IV crystal growth. We show that the miscut impacts the initial antiphase domain distribution, with two distinct nucleation-driven (miscut typically >1°) and terraces-driven (miscut typically

The effects of heat treatment on the proteome of Apostichopus japonicus have been evaluated using label-free quantitative proteomics by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight (UHPLC-Q/TOF) mass spectrometry with sequential window acquisition of all the theoretical fragment ion (SWATH) acquisition mode. Chemometric tools are integrated to reveal proteomic changes by mining the protein quantitation data from fresh and differently heat-treated samples. SWATH allows the quantitation of 548 proteins, of which 24 proteins are significantly sensitive to heat treatment and 13 proteins vary significantly responding to different heat procedures (boiling, steaming, and microwave heating), and 5 of them are sharing proteins. Gene ontology (GO) annotation of the differentiating proteins highlights most of them are relevant to molecular functions. The results can be favorable to evaluate the effects of heat treatment on the nutrition and function of processed sea cucumbers and facilitate the selection of an optimal thermal treatment.

International audience; Hydrogen produced using artificial photosynthesis, i.e. solar splitting of water, is a promising energy alternative to fossil fuels. Efficient solar water splitting demands a suitable band gap to absorb near full spectrum solar energy and a photoelectrode that is stable in strongly alkaline or acidic electrolytes. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time, a perfectly relaxed GaP0.67Sb0.33 monocrystalline alloy grown on a silicon substrate with a direct band gap of 1.65 eV by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) without any evidence of chemical disorder. Under one Sun illumination, the GaP0.67Sb0.33 photoanode with a 20 nm TiO2 protective layer and 8 nm Ni co-catalyst layer shows a photocurrent density of 4.82 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V and an onset potential of 0.35 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 1.0 M KOH (pH = 14) aqueous solution. The photoanode yields an incident-photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) of 67.1% over the visible range between wavelengths 400 nm to 650 nm. Moreover, the GaP0.67Sb0.33 photoanode was stable over 5 h without degradation of the photocurrent under strong alkaline conditions under continuous illumination at 1 V versus RHE. Importantly, the direct integration of the 1.65 eV GaP0.67 Sb0.33 on 1.1 eV silicon may pave the way for an ideal tandem photoelectrochemical system with a theoretical solar to hydrogen efficiency of 27%.

The shelf-life of live oysters is a quality-concerned issue along with the supply chain of the products. In present study, mass spectrometry-based peptidomics has been employed to investigate changes of endogenous peptides of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) occurred during anhydrous preservation with the purpose of discovering shelf-life indicators of live oysters. Samples of Crassostrea gigas harvested freshly were acclimated to laboratory environment first and then put under defined anhydrous preservation conditions (being packaged in sterile plastic bags and stored at 4 ± 1 °C in low-temperature incubators). After regular intervals, samples were randomly collected for peptidomics analysis using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and potential peptide markers were mined by chemometric tools and verified by a multi-reaction monitoring method with ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Approximately 8526 peptides, in total, were characterized and 4 endogenous peptides, SSSTGEVGTYSGTTN, TARNEANVNI, VGIIKGSSSEEA, and TARNEANVNIY, were finally proposed as potential markers for shelf-life evaluating. The proposed markers were applied to real-life samples and expected trends of the markers during anhydrous preservation were observed, implying applicability of the endogenous peptides for shelf-life evaluating. The findings of this study provide favorable evidences of mass spectrometry-based peptidomics in quality assessing for aquaculture products.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized with progressive memory loss and severe cognitive impairments, which affect everyday life and human health in the elderly. It is required that an effective and safe protective reagent against AD should be developed. It has been reported that humanin (HN) exerts neuroprotective effects against AD. In this study, we investigated the effect of a novel and more effective HN derivative, Colivelin (CLN) on AD. Methods: PDAPPV717I transgenic AD model mice (derived from parental C57/BL6 mice) were used in our study as AD model. Morris water maze test was used to test the memory impairment of AD mice and the levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 were determined by an Elisa assay. We used an Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence staining method to check the GFAP and MAP2 positive cells, and TUNEL to assess the apoptotic cells. Western blot assay was used to check the expression and phosphorylation level of p38. Results: We found that CLN improved the memory impairment induced by AD and reduced the deposit of Aβ40 and Aβ42. CLN also inhibited cell apoptosis and activation of caspase 3 in brain tissues of AD mice. Inflammation in AD mice was alleviated by CLN treatment, including the accumulation of GFAP positive cells and the inflammatory cytokines. With both structure of AGA-HNG and ANDF, CLN exhibited significantly stronger effects than synchronously administration of AGA-HNG and ADNF, suggesting CLN as a novel potential effective therapeutic reagent for AD patients. Finally, we found that CLN inhibited phosphorylation of p38 in AD mice and p38 inhibitor, SB203580 weakened the therapeutic effect of CLN. Conclusion: CLN effectively improved the memory dysfunction in PDAPP mice, and our data suggests CLN as a novel and effective reagent which may have great potentials in AD therapy.

With the gradual depletion of fossil energy and the increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, the combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) microgrid with renewable energy sources which with high energy efficiency, less pollution emissions and flexible operation control have become research hotspots. In this paper, the optimal planning of CCHP microgrid with renewable energy sources is studied, and the mathematical model of optimal configuration of the system is established with the minimum total cost as the objective function, then the separated production (SP) system is used as a reference to compare the optimal configuration results of the CCHP microgrid system under the two modes of following the thermal load (FTL) and following the electric load (FEL). After that, the optimization configuration results of the two schemes of whether the CCHP microgrid system is equipped with the thermal storage tank (TST) in the same operating mode are compared. The simulation result shows that the system with TST under the FEL mode is more economical, energy-saving and environmentally friendly. Finally, the effects of natural gas price and electricity price on the optimal configuration results of the system in two operating modes are studied.

Magnitude and duration are two main features used to characterize voltage sags. Many studies have been done in analyzing the factors that only impact the magnitude of the sags. As another feature of voltage sags, the duration is determined by the coordination of protection system. The faults causing the sags are usually assumed to be cleared by the primary protection system simply, the impact of protection coordination on voltage sags duration is not considered by existing studies. In order to estimate voltage sags duration more precisely, this paper firstly uses the concept of Markov state space to establish the probabilistic modeling of protection coordination according to protection configuration, and then estimates voltage sags frequency by utilizing the protection coordination probability and setting value of protection system. In addition, the proposed method was applied to the IEEE 57-bus test system, the simulation results show that the proposed method is simple and can give more accurate answers on voltage sags frequency corresponding to different duration.