Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Color Analysis of Leaf Images of Deficiencies and Excess Nitrogen Content in Soybean Leaves

Abstract-Deficiencies and excess of soybean's plant nitrogen is the key of soybean nutritional diagnosis. Applying image processing technique, this paper studied the leaf images of the six stages of soybean growth, which nitrogen fertilizer applied were 0%, 50%, 100% and 150%. Using image preprocessing, the noise of source image was removed and the areas of interest were enhanced, leaves and background were separated using minimum error threshold method. The color characters of soybean leaves were analyzed using the RGB and the HSI model. The standard of distinction between normal and excessive loss of soybean leaves was found, which proved technical basis of the diagnosis of deficiencies and excess of soybean's plant nitrogen.
Effect of endocardial trabeculae on left ventricular measurements and measurement reproducibility at cardiovascular MR imaging.

PURPOSE To prospectively assess the effect of including or excluding endocardial trabeculae in left ventricular (LV) measurements and the reproducibility of these measurements at cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with true fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was approved by the local ethics committee, and each subject gave informed consent before participating. Twenty healthy subjects and 20 consecutive patients underwent 1.5-T cardiovascular MR imaging. Seven to 12 short-axis views encompassing the entire LV were acquired by using true FISP. Endocardial and epicardial contours were traced manually. The data sets in each patient were analyzed twice: with inclusion of endocardial trabeculae in the LV cavity volume and with exclusion of endocardial trabeculae from the cavity volume. On the basis of these two contour sets, the end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) LV volumes, ejection fraction (EF), and LV mass were calculated. Additionally, interobserver and interexamination reproducibility was assessed by using Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS Compared with exclusion of trabeculae, inclusion of trabeculae in the LV cavity volume resulted in significantly larger ED and ES LV volumes (mean differences, 21 mL +/- 11 [standard deviation] and 19 mL +/- 33, respectively; P < .001) and lower EFs (mean difference, -2% +/- 2; P < .001). The calculated LV mass was significantly smaller with inclusion than with exclusion of trabeculae (mean difference, -21 g +/- 12; P < .001). All interobserver and interexamination limits of agreement based on inclusion of trabeculae, except those for EF measurements, were superior to those based on exclusion of trabeculae. At measurement reproducibility comparisons, differences in interobserver ED LV volume and LV mass and interexamination LV mass were statistically significant, favoring the inclusion of trabeculae in the LV cavity volume. CONCLUSION Trabeculae significantly affect quantifications of LV volume and mass. The superior reproducibility of LV measurements with the inclusion of endocardial trabeculae in the cavity volume favors this tracing algorithm for clinical use.
Distinct contributions of the thin and thick filaments to length-dependent activation in heart muscle

The Frank-Starling relation is a fundamental auto-regulatory property of the heart that ensures the volume of blood ejected in each heartbeat is matched to the extent of venous filling. At the cellular level, heart muscle cells generate higher force when stretched, but despite intense efforts the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. We applied a fluorescence-based method, which reports structural changes separately in the thick and thin filaments of rat cardiac muscle, to elucidate that mechanism. The distinct structural changes of troponin C in the thin filaments and myosin regulatory light chain in the thick filaments allowed us to identify two aspects of the Frank-Starling relation. Our results show that the enhanced force observed when heart muscle cells are maximally activated by calcium is due to a change in thick filament structure, but the increase in calcium sensitivity at lower calcium levels is due to a change in thin filament structure. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.24081. 001
Minocycline Down-Regulates Topical Mucosal Inflammation during the Application of Microbicide Candidates

An effective anti-human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) microbicide should exert its action in the absence of causing aberrant activation of topical immunity that will increase the risk of HIV acquisition. In the present study, we demonstrated that the vaginal application of cellulose sulfate (CS) gel induced topical mucosal inflammatory responses; the addition of minocycline to CS gel could significantly attenuate the inflammation in a mice model. The combined gel of CS plus minocycline not only reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines in cervicovaginal lavages (CVLs), also down-regulated the activation of CD4+ T cells and the recruitment of other immune cells including HIV target cells into vaginal tissues. Furthermore, an In vitro HIV-1 pseudovirus infection inhibition assay showed that the combined gel decreased the infection efficacy of different subtypes of HIV-1 pseudoviruses compared with that of CS gel alone. These results implicate that minocycline could be integrated into microbicide formulation to suppress the aberrant activation of topical mucosal immunity and enhance the safety profile during the application of microbicides.
Continuous Monitoring of Canopy Level Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence During the Growth of a Sorghum Field

A field platform dedicated to fluorescence measurements (INRA, Avignon, France) was used to monitor the fluorescence emission of a sorghum field during its growing period. The measurements were performed continuously at the canopy level, from seeding to maturity. A passive instrument based on three spectrometers was used to monitor the evolution of fluorescence fluxes and vegetation indexes such as Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Fluorescence fluxes were retrieved from radiances, using the filling-in of the atmospheric oxygen absorption bands, at 687 and 760 nm. In parallel, leaf fluorescence spectra, canopy height, and leaf chlorophyll contents were acquired during the growth. Both PRI and NDVI indexes varied with the development of the sorghum field: we observed that NDVI was more sensitive during the early stage of the growth. However, NDVI saturates before the PRI index. Fluorescence fluxes at 687 nm (Fs687) and 760 nm (Fs760) showed an overall increase: Fs687 increased more rapidly at the beginning of growth but trends to saturate while Fs760 still increase. During the growth, the Fs687/Fs760 ratio at the canopy level is found lower than at leaf level. At canopy level, the ratio decreased when the leaf chlorophyll content increases. A decrease was also observed at leaf level with a lower extend. This more important decrease of the fluorescence ratio at canopy level is attributed to a reabsorption of red fluorescence (Fs687) during its transfer through the canopy layers. In the context of forthcoming large-scale remote sensing application, the modification of the leaf level fluorescence emission by the structure of the canopy observed in this article is one of the major issues that must be addressed to interpret the fluorescence signal.
Development of a molecular biomarker for detecting intersex after exposure of male medaka fish to synthetic estrogen

Although intersex of fish species has been widely reported in aquatic environments, there is no appropriate biomarker of the effects to assess the occurrence of intersex. In the present study, mRNA expression profiles of 14 genes, which are either involved in ovary development and maintenance or have relatively high mRNA transcription levels in ovarian gene expression profiles in fish species, were comprehensively evaluated in male Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to 17α‐ethynylestradiol (EE2) to investigate their utility as indicators of the severity index of intersex. Of these 14 genes, mRNA expression of a novel gene, termed ovary structure protein 1 (OSP1) in the present study, showed female‐like expression pattern with the highest transcription levels, and displayed the most significantly positive correlation with the severity index of intersex (r2 = 0.8215, p < 0.0001). The full‐length mRNA sequence of OSP1 is 802 bp, with an open reading frame (ORF) of 642 bp that encodes a 214‐amino acid peptide. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization revealed that OSP1 was expressed exclusively in the ovaries, specifically in the oogonia and primary oocytes in ovaries and in testis with intersex. These results suggest that the analysis of mRNA expression of OSP1 can be used to indicate intersex in male medaka. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1765–1773. © 2012 SETAC
Development of Self-Healing System for Concrete with Selective Heating around Crack

A fundamental study was carried out to develop a kind of smart concrete that has a self-healing system that incorporates a heating device. Self-diagnosis composite is employed as the heating device used to heat up cracked parts in the concrete. This heating device and a pipe made of heat-plasticity organic film containing a repair agent are embedded in the concrete. The film is melted through suitable heating. Selective heat around a crack can melt the film to allow the repair agent to fill up the crack and harden the repair agent in the crack. Three-dimensional thermal analysis and an experimental study were carried out to confirm the proposed method.
Modeling Olfactory Bulb Evolution through Primate Phylogeny

Adaptive characterizations of primates have usually included a reduction in olfactory sensitivity. However, this inference of derivation and directionality assumes an ancestral state of olfaction, usually by comparison to a group of extant non-primate mammals. Thus, the accuracy of the inference depends on the assumed ancestral state. Here I present a phylogenetic model of continuous trait evolution that reconstructs olfactory bulb volumes for ancestral nodes of primates and mammal outgroups. Parent-daughter comparisons suggest that, relative to the ancestral euarchontan, the crown-primate node is plesiomorphic and that derived reduction in olfactory sensitivity is an attribute of the haplorhine lineage. The model also suggests a derived increase in olfactory sensitivity at the strepsirrhine node. This oppositional diversification of the strepsirrhine and haplorhine lineages from an intermediate and non-derived ancestor is inconsistent with a characterization of graded reduction through primate evolution.
Long-lasting reduction of excitability by a sodium-dependent potassium current in cat neocortical neurons.

1. The function and ionic mechanism of a slow outward current were studied in large layer V neurons of cat sensorimotor cortex using an in vitro slice preparation and single microelectrode voltage clamp. 2. With Ca2+ influx blocked, a slow relaxation ("tail") of outward current followed either (1) repetitive firing evoked for 1 s or (2) a small 1-s depolarizing voltage clamp step that activated the persistent Na+ current of neocortical neurons, INaP. When a depolarization that activated INaP was maintained, an outward current gradually developed and increased in amplitude over a period of tens of seconds to several minutes. An outward tail current of similar duration followed repolarization. The slow outward current was abolished by TTX, indicating it depended on Na+ influx. 3. With Ca2+ influx blocked, the onset of the slow Na+-dependent outward current caused spike frequency adaptation during current-evoked repetitive firing. Following the firing, the decay of the Na+-dependent current caused a slow afterhyperpolarization (sAHP) and a long-lasting reduction of excitability. It also was responsible for habituation of the response to repeated identical current pulses. 4. The Na+-dependent tail current had properties expected of a K+ current. Membrane chord conductance increased during the tail, and tail amplitude was reduced or reversed by membrane potential hyperpolarization and raised extracellular K+ concentration [( K+]0). 5. The current tail was reduced reversibly by the K+ channel blockers TEA (5-10 mM), muscarine (5-20 microM), and norepinephrine (100 microM). These agents also resulted in a larger, more sustained inward current during the preceding step depolarization. Comparison of current time course before and after the application of blocking agents suggested that, in spite of its capability for slow buildup and decay, the onset of the Na+-dependent outward current occurs within 100 ms of an adequate step depolarization. 6. With Ca2+ influx blocked, extracellular application of dantrolene sodium (30 microM) had no clear effect on the current tail or the corresponding sAHP. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Preoperative Testing for Hip Fracture Patients Delays Surgery, Prolongs Hospital Stays, and Rarely Dictates Care

Objectives: To determine how often preoperative testing is requested for geriatric hip fracture patients, to assess the extent to which preoperative testing is associated with delayed surgery, and to measure the frequency with which preoperative testing changes patient management. Design: Retrospective. Setting: Academic health system. Patients: Two hundred fifty consecutive geriatric hip fracture patients admitted through the emergency department and underwent surgery. Intervention: Hip fracture surgery. Main Outcome Measurements: The patients were categorized according to whether additional preoperative tests were requested. For each patient, the times of presentation and surgery were recorded, yielding a “time-to-surgery interval. ” The results of any tests, the actions resulting from testing, and the length of hospital stay were also noted. Results: Additional preoperative testing was performed for 67 patients (27%). For those patients, the mean time-to-surgery was 73 hours. For the 183 patients who had no testing, the mean time-to-surgery was 37 hours. Moreover, 42 of the 67 patients with testing (63%) had time-to-surgery greater than 48 hours, compared with only 37 of the 183 (20%) patients without testing. The mean length of stay for tested patients was 12.0 days compared with 9.0 days for nontested patients. In only 2 of the 67 tested patients was further care offered based on the test result. Conclusions: Testing was associated with greater time-to-surgery and length of stay. Furthermore, testing rarely influenced management. Patients might be able to have surgery more expeditiously and leave the hospital earlier if testing were deferred. Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Handbook of Plastics, Elastomers, and Composites

Preface Contributors About the Editor Chapter 1: Thermoplastics Chapter 2: Thermosets, Reinforced Plastics, and Composites Chapter 3: Elastomeric Materials and Processes Chapter 4: Composite Materials and Processes Chapter 5: Metal Matrix Composites, Ceramic Matrix Composites, Carbon Matrix Composites, and Thermally Conductive Polymer Matrix Composites Chapter 6: Plastics in Coatings and Finishes Chapter 7: Plastics and Elastomers in Adhesives Chapter 8: Plastics Joining Chapter 9: Design and Processing of Plastic Parts Chapter 10: Automotive Plastics and Elastomer Applications Chapter 11: Plastics in Packaging Chapter 12: Plastics Recycling Appendix A: Glossary of Terms and Definitions Appendix B: Some Common Abbreviations Used in the Plastics Industry Appendix C: Important Properties for Designing With Plastics Appendix D: Electrical Properties of Resins and Compounds Appendix E: Sources of Specifications and Standards for Plastics and Composites Index
Design of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements Using Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebars

This is Task 3: Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement. The corrosion resistance characteristics of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars make them a promising substitute for conventional steel reinforcing rebars in continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCPs). Studies are conducted on the effect of using GFRP rebars as reinforcement in CRCP on concrete stress development, which is directly related to the concrete crack formation that is inevitable in CRCP. Under restrained conditions, concrete volume change because of shrinkage and temperature variations is known to cause early-age cracks in CRCP. In this study, an analytical model has been developed to simulate the shrinkage and thermal stress distributions in concrete due to the restraint provided by GFRP rebars in comparison with the stresses induced by steel rebars. The results show that the stress level in concrete is reduced with GFRP rebars because of a low Young's modulus of GFRP. In addition, the analytical model has been used to estimate concrete strain variation in reinforced concrete slabs because of changes in concrete volume, and the results were compared with the experimental observation. Finite element (FE) methods are also developed to predict the stress distribution and crack width in the GFRP-reinforced CRCP section that is subjected to the concrete volume changes under various CRCP design considerations, such as the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of concrete, the friction from the pavement's subbase, and the bond-slip between concrete and reinforcement. Based on the results from the FE simulation along with the mechanistic analysis, a series of feasible designs of the GFRP-reinforced CRCP is proposed. The stress levels in the GFRP reinforcement, the crack widths, and the crack spacings of the proposed pavements are shown to be within the allowable design requirements.
Life-history traits maintain the genomic integrity of sympatric species of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) group on an isolated forest island

Identification of widespread species collected from islands can be challenging due to the potential for local ecological and phenotypic divergence in isolated populations. We sought to determine how many species of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) complex reside in Cypress Hills, an isolated remnant coniferous forest in western Canada. We integrated data on behavior, ecology, morphology, mitochondrial DNA, and simple sequence repeats, comparing Cypress Hills populations to those from other regions of North America to determine which species they resembled most. We identified C. fumiferana, C. occidentalis, C. lambertiana, and hybrid forms in Cypress Hills. Adult flight phenology and pheromone attraction were identified as key life-history traits involved in maintaining the genomic integrity of species. Our study highlights the importance of extensive sampling of both specimens and a variety of characters for understanding species boundaries in biodiversity research.
A Review on Dynamic Query Forms for Database Queries

— With rapid development of scientific databases and internet information databases are becoming very huge in size and complex in nature. These databases maintain large and heterogeneous data, with large number of relations and attributes. So it is very difficult to design a set of static question forms to answer various ad-hoc database queries on these modern databases. Thus there is need of such system which generate Query Forms dynamically according to the user's need at run time. The proposed system Dynamic Query Form i.e.DQF system going to provide a solution by the query interface in large and complex databases. In proposed system, the core concept is to capture user interests throughout user interactions and to adapt the question type iteratively. Every iteration consists of 2 sorts of user interactions: Query Form Enrichment and Query Execution. In Query Form Enrichment DQF would recommend a ranked list of query form component to user so he/she can select desired form components into current query form. In Query Execution user fills current query form and submit query, DQF going to show result and take feedback from user on provided query results. A user would have facility to fill the query form and submit queries to view the query result at each iteration. So that a query form could be dynamically refined till the user satisfies with the query results.
Adaptive Maximization of Pointwise Submodular Functions With Budget Constraint

We study the worst-case adaptive optimization problem with budget constraint that is useful for modeling various practical applications in artificial intelligence and machine learning. We investigate the near-optimality of greedy algorithms for this problem with both modular and non-modular cost functions. In both cases, we prove that two simple greedy algorithms are not near-optimal but the best between them is near-optimal if the utility function satisfies pointwise submodularity and pointwise cost-sensitive submodularity respectively. This implies a combined algorithm that is near-optimal with respect to the optimal algorithm that uses half of the budget. We discuss applications of our theoretical results and also report experiments comparing the greedy algorithms on the active learning problem.
Managing self-limiting respiratory tract infections: a qualitative study of the usefulness of the delayed prescribing strategy.

BACKGROUND Despite respiratory tract infections usually being viral and self-limiting, most primary care consultations still result in an antibiotic prescription. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) introduced the 'delayed prescribing' (DP) strategy. It remains unknown how useful UK clinicians find this approach. AIM To investigate how DP is used within UK primary care, and the benefits and challenges associated with this strategy. DESIGN AND SETTING Qualitative interview and focus group study in UK scheduled and unscheduled care primary care settings. METHOD Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews (n = 49) and six focus groups with GPs, trainee GPs, and nurse prescribers (NPs). An iterative analysis approach, using grounded theory principles, was used to generate themes from the dataset. RESULTS Prescribers were familiar with DP but used it infrequently. DP was often used to manage diagnostic uncertainty, although NPs, trainee GPs, and GPs working in unscheduled care services preferred patients to reconsult under these circumstances. Prescribers used DP to avoid conflict, although some had found more effective strategies to achieve this. Prescribers were generally uncomfortable giving clinical responsibility to patients, and DP was perceived to communicate a conflicting message to patients about antibiotic efficacy. CONCLUSION DP was not considered to be a helpful strategy for managing patients with self-limiting respiratory tract infections within primary care and the findings do not support the centrality of DP in NICE guidelines as a primary means of reducing antibiotic prescribing. Future training and guidelines should encourage alternative ways of communicating empathy, addressing patient beliefs, and encouraging self-management.