José Manuel Alcalde-Llergo, Aurora Ruiz Mezcua, Rocío Ávila Ramírez, Andrea Zingoni, Juri Taborri, Enrique Yeguas-Bolívar
{"title":"Automatic Identification and Description of Jewelry Through Computer Vision and Neural Networks for Translators and Interpreters","authors":"José Manuel Alcalde-Llergo, Aurora Ruiz Mezcua, Rocío Ávila Ramírez, Andrea Zingoni, Juri Taborri, Enrique Yeguas-Bolívar","doi":"10.3390/app15105538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105538","url":null,"abstract":"Identifying jewelry pieces presents a significant challenge due to the wide range of styles and designs. Currently, precise descriptions are typically limited to industry experts. However, translators and interpreters often require a comprehensive understanding of these items. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach to automatically identify and describe jewelry using neural networks. This method enables translators and interpreters to quickly access accurate information, aiding in resolving queries and gaining essential knowledge about jewelry. Our model operates at three distinct levels of description, employing computer vision techniques and image captioning to emulate expert analysis of accessories. The key innovation involves generating natural language descriptions of jewelry across three hierarchical levels, capturing nuanced details of each piece. Different image captioning architectures are utilized to detect jewels in images and generate descriptions with varying levels of detail. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in recognizing diverse types of jewelry, we assembled a comprehensive database of accessory images. The evaluation process involved comparing various image captioning architectures, focusing particularly on the encoder–decoder model, crucial for generating descriptive captions. After thorough evaluation, our final model achieved a captioning accuracy exceeding 90%.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 10","pages":"5538-5538"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5538/pdf?version=1747310011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147892084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Plasma-Assisted Decoration of Gold Nanoparticles on Bioinspired Polydopamine Nanospheres as Effective Catalyst for Organic Pollutant Removal","authors":"Thu Minh Nguyen, Neha Kaushik, Loan Thu Nguyen, Giang Nguyen, Nguyen Hoang Tung, Huy H. Pham, Eun Ha Choi, Nagendra Kumar Kaushik, Linh Nhat Nguyen, Nagendra Kumar Kaushik, Nagendra Kumar Kaushik, Linh Nhat Nguyen, Linh Nhat Nguyen","doi":"10.3390/app15105280","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105280","url":null,"abstract":"Polydopamine (PDA) is an emerging biomimetic material that stimulates the distinctive physicochemical properties of the blue mussel byssus. In this study, we report a rapid and facile method for the decoration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto the mussel-inspired polydopamine nanospheres (PDA NSs) via cold atmospheric plasma treatment. After 10 min of plasma treatment, AuNPs with a size of 10.3 ± 2.0 nm were formed on the surface of PDA NSs. This reaction was performed without the need for any additional reducing agents, thereby eliminating the use of harsh chemicals during the process. The synthesized AuNP-decorated PDA nanohybrids (PDA-Au) exhibit effective catalytic activity for the decoloration of Rhodamine B, with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 1.405 min−1. The green synthesis approach in this work highlights the potential of plasma-assisted methods for decorating biomimetic materials with metallic nanoparticles for catalytic and environmental applications.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 10","pages":"5280-5280"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5280/pdf?version=1746782783","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147330688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chenkai Zhou, Mingmin Yuan, Cuifeng Huang, Qiqi Chen, Jiamin Wang, Xinting Chen, Hua Yang, Jun Fang, Bo Yang
{"title":"Enhancing Biomass Production of Chlorella vulgaris in Anaerobically Digested Swine Wastewater Using Carbon Supplementation and Simultaneous Lipid Production","authors":"Chenkai Zhou, Mingmin Yuan, Cuifeng Huang, Qiqi Chen, Jiamin Wang, Xinting Chen, Hua Yang, Jun Fang, Bo Yang","doi":"10.3390/app15095103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095103","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated anaerobically digested swine wastewater (ADSW) as a nutrient source for Chlorella vulgaris FACHB-8 cultivation under mixotrophic conditions with carbon supplementation. The microalgal strain was grown in ADSW supplemented with six carbon sources, followed by concentration optimization. Under optimized conditions (20 g/L glucose), FACHB-8 demonstrated a high biomass productivity (271.31 mg/L/day) and a specific growth rate of 0.42 per day. The system achieved an 88.70% total nitrogen removal and an 82.93% total phosphorus removal. The biomass contained 45.59% lipids, 29.72% proteins, and 13.05% carbohydrates, with fatty acid methyl esters showing balanced proportions of saturated (50.77%) and unsaturated fatty acids (49.23%). These findings highlight the potential of glucose-based mixotrophic cultivation for simultaneous wastewater treatment, renewable biomass production, and value-added lipid production. This work proposes a scalable swine wastewater treatment system that synergizes bioremediation and renewable energy production via carbon-enhanced microalgae cultivation, offering a dual-functional strategy for sustainable livestock wastewater reuse.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 9","pages":"5103-5103"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5103/pdf?version=1746336837","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147915060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Microstructures of Tetradesmus obliquus Biofilms Formed Under Different Nutrient Supplies","authors":"Hu Zhang, Chen Guan, Zhiying Sun, Xinru Zhang, Xinru Zhang, Zeyi Jiang, Xinxin Zhang, Xinxin Zhang","doi":"10.3390/app15095104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095104","url":null,"abstract":"The microstructures of microalgae biofilms affect biofilms’ growth, which is critical in developing efficient microalgae biofilm-based culture systems. Herein, the microstructures of Tetradesmus obliquus biofilms cultured under different nutrients were in situ observed with confocal laser scanning microscopes. The surface structures and internal pore structures for these biofilms were determined quantitatively. The results indicated that the surfaces of these biofilms were all wrinkled with many folds in micrometres. The biofilms cultured under BG11, BG11+glycerine, BG11+urea, and BG11+NH4Cl nutrients had small pores with diameters of 15~30 μm, whereas the biofilms formed under BG11+NaHCO3 and BG11+NaNO3 presented many large pores with diameters of 50~150 μm. The mechanism of forming different microstructures of these nutrients was interpreted by analyzing cell surface properties. We found that the cells cultured under BG11+NaHCO3 and BG11+NaNO3 had more hydrophobic surface groups. The high cell–cell interactions between hydrophobic cells made cells tend to aggregate together and form biofilms with more inner pores, which may be conducive to cell growth and biofilm development. The study offers new insights into understanding the microstructural characteristics of microalgae biofilms cultured under different nutrients, providing important guidance for the development of biofilm-based culture systems.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 9","pages":"5104-5104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5104/pdf?version=1746340958","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147908739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overcoming the pH Dependence of Iron-Based Catalysts and Efficient Generation of High-Valent Ferrite by Constructing a Neutral Microenvironment","authors":"Kangping Cui, Kangping Cui","doi":"10.3390/app15095100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095100","url":null,"abstract":"The reliance on acidic working environments presents a significant bottleneck in the development and widespread application of peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-activated high-valent iron-oxo systems and iron-based catalysts. In this study, we present a system of non-homogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate that is capable of overcoming the acidic environment in heterogeneous to generate continuous non-radicals for the selective degradation of organic pollutants such as sulfamethoxazole. The system takes advantage of amphiprotic hydroxides to create a homogeneous neutral pH microenvironment at the heterogeneous interface of the catalyst. The generation of the neutral pH microenvironment is capable of inducing the formation of high-valent iron-oxo species and a more stable cycling of iron ions in the iron-based material., promoting sustained catalytic activity A series of design quenching experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments, and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM) which were conducted to assess the selectivity of FeCo-LDH/PMS under high salt or natural organic conditions, as well as its effectiveness in treating real wastewater. These findings offer a novel approach to overcoming pH limitations and enhancing the selectivity of target pollutants in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 9","pages":"5100-5100"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5100/pdf?version=1746283439","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147334052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tomáš Merva, Peter Ján Sinčák, Róbert Rákay, Martin Varga, Michal Kelemen, Ivan Virgala
{"title":"Simulation-Guided Path Optimization for Resolving Interlocked Hook-Shaped Components","authors":"Tomáš Merva, Peter Ján Sinčák, Róbert Rákay, Martin Varga, Michal Kelemen, Ivan Virgala","doi":"10.3390/app15094944","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15094944","url":null,"abstract":"Manipulators performing pick-and-place tasks with objects of complex shapes must consider not only how to grasp the objects but also how to maneuver them out of a bin. In this paper, we explore the industrial challenge of picking hook-shaped components, whose interlocking nature often leads to failed attempts at safely retrieving a single component at a time. Rather than explicitly modeling contact-rich interactions within optimization-based motion planners, we tackle this challenge by leveraging recent advances in sampling-based optimization and parallelizable physics simulators to predict the impact of motion on the separating subgoal, aimed at resolving interlocking. The proposed framework generates candidate trajectories initialized from a user-provided demonstration, which are then simulated and evaluated in a physics simulator to optimize robot trajectories in joint space while considering the entire planning horizon. We validate our approach through real-world experiments on a manipulator, demonstrating improved success rates in terms of separating interlocked objects compared to the industrial baseline.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 9","pages":"4944-4944"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/4944/pdf?version=1745942315","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147908916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on the Effects of Poly(Styrene-co-Butyl Acrylate) Emulsions on the Mechanical and Fracture Characteristics of Mortar","authors":"Guolei Miao, Peng Jiang, Wenxun Guan, Wenlin Ma, Guanzhi Cheng, Xiangtao Li, Yangyang Gao","doi":"10.3390/app15094822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15094822","url":null,"abstract":"A series of poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) (PSA) emulsions with different monomer ratios were synthesized and characterized, and corresponding polymer-modified mortars were prepared. The effects of polymers with different rigidities on the properties of modified mortars, including the hydration heat, mechanical strength, compressive–flexural ratio, fracture energy, and fracture toughness, were investigated. The results indicate that, as the content of hard monomers in the polymer increases, the fracture energy of the modified mortar first increases and then decreases, consistent with the changes in the polymer’s damping properties. The maximum fracture energy of 211.2 N/m was achieved at a St/BA mass ratio of 4:6 and a polymer-to-cement ratio (P/C) of 15%, which was 2.4 times higher than that of the control mortar group. The fracture toughness of the modified mortar decreased with an increasing polymer doping and decreasing hard monomer content. The compressive–flexural ratio of the modified mortar decreased only with increasing the polymer emulsion dosage, showing no significant correlation with the polymer’s molecular structure.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 9","pages":"4822-4822"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/4822/pdf?version=1745757771","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147330492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changes in Physicochemical Properties and In Vitro Digestibility of Broken Rice Starch by Ultrasound and Quercetin Dual Treatment","authors":"Ping Yang, Changhao Qiu, Na Zhang","doi":"10.3390/app15084203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15084203","url":null,"abstract":"Applying physical modification methods to raise the resistant starch content is a feasible strategy for developing foods with a low glycemic index (GI) and regulating postprandial hyperglycemia. Here, broken rice starch (C) was modified via ultrasound and quercetin complexation (US-Q). The structure, physicochemical properties, and in vitro digestibility of the US-Q product were subsequently determined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the modification changed the starch granules’ morphology, forming a more compact and stable structure. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy images revealed the interaction between the starch and quercetin. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that the crystallinity of the US-Q was lower than that of the C, indicating that the combined modification with ultrasound and quercetin disrupted the long-range ordered structure of the starch and facilitated the formation of a short-range ordered structure from amylose. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) images showed that both the molecular weight (from 72,080.96 kDa to 85,141.95 kDa) and amylose content (from 15.94% to 26.76%) increased significantly, while the branching degree and average degree of polymerization of amylopectin decreased, suggesting that the ultrasonic treatment processing method had a significant impact on the formation of the quercetin–starch complexes. In terms of in vitro digestion, the resistant starch content of the US-Q was significantly increased from 6.57% to 20.23%, whereas the hydrolysis rate was decreased from 92.6% to 78.35%, indicating that the presence of quercetin reduced the digestibility of the starch complexes by inhibiting the starch-hydrolyzing enzyme activity. Overall, this study improves the understanding of ultrasound and quercetin dual treatment of broken rice starch, providing a theoretical basis for the development of low-GI starch foods for industrial applications.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 8","pages":"4203-4203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4203/pdf?version=1744337488","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147332668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shaotao Xu, Xu Liang, Senhao Wang, Hanxi Wang, Hanxi Wang, Sunhua Deng, Han Wang, Han Wang
{"title":"Facilitation Effects of Acidic Chlorinated Salts on Reservoir Unblocking During In Situ Conversion of Huadian Oil Shale","authors":"Shaotao Xu, Xu Liang, Senhao Wang, Hanxi Wang, Hanxi Wang, Sunhua Deng, Han Wang, Han Wang","doi":"10.3390/app15084225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15084225","url":null,"abstract":"In order to explore the potential catalysts for kerogen pyrolysis and to clear away obstacles to product liberation in product recovery, the facilitation effects of acidic chlorinated salts (MnCl2·4H2O, AlCl3·6H2O, CrCl3·6H2O, and MoCl5) on pyrolysis behavior of Huadian oil shale (OS) were investigated. Two different ways of wet mixing and dry mixing were used, and indoor pyrolysis experiments were carried out to characterize the different products collected by multiple analyses. The acidic chloride solution could effectively remove large amounts of calcite from OS during wet mixing, whereas the calcite in the dry-mixed samples decomposed significantly during pyrolysis, releasing significant amounts of CO2. AlCl3 could improve the pore space by removing carbonates, which can promote the pyrolysis of kerogen and increase oil yield. The improved pore space can also promote the conversion of kerogen and the release of hydrocarbon products, while the large amounts of CO2 released during pyrolysis of dry-mixed samples can promote the migration of heavy fractions. This study emphasizes the great potential of acid chlorates in counteracting reservoir blockage and facilitating pyrolysis for OS in situ exploitation.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 8","pages":"4225-4225"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4225/pdf?version=1744368698","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147890207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tianyu Hu, Boyu Liu, Sailing He, Yuanjie Teng, Zaifa Pan
{"title":"Fluorescent Sandwich ELISA Method for Specific and Ultra-Sensitive Trace Detection of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 in Bovine Colostrum Powders","authors":"Tianyu Hu, Boyu Liu, Sailing He, Yuanjie Teng, Zaifa Pan","doi":"10.3390/app15073972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/app15073972","url":null,"abstract":"Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a regulatory factor closely associated with diabetes, obesity, and breast cancer, and it also acts as one of the most abundant growth factors in bovine colostrum. Current methods generally have the problem of low sensitivity, a time-consuming nature, and low stability, which makes it difficult to crack down on the false advertising of IGF-1 content in dairy products. In this work, an ultrasensitive fluorescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is proposed, where the antibody and the target are combined in the form of a “sandwich” to ensure the accuracy and specificity of the assay. IGF-1 is quantified based on an effective hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) probe with 10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine (ADHP) as the fluorogenic substrate. The proposed fluorescent sandwich ELISA has a low limit of detection (LOD) of 77.29 pg/mL, fast experimental process within 1 h, and stable signal of 1 h. Furthermore, multi-step pretreatment methods for bovine colostrum powders are established to remove interfering substances, including fat, casein, and binding proteins, achieving the accurate and specific detection of IGF-1. IGF-1 recovery studies on treated bovine colostrum powders exhibit good recovery rates ranging from 91.71% to 102.32%, which proves the feasibility of detecting IGF-1 in real bovine colostrum.","PeriodicalId":8224,"journal":{"name":"Applied Sciences","volume":"15 7","pages":"3972-3972"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3972/pdf?version=1743693541","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147890439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}