Crop classification in South Korea for multitemporal PlanetScope imagery using SFC-DenseNet-AM

In this manuscript, a new methodology based on a deep learning model using a Siamese network and attention module was proposed to classify crop cultivation areas, such as onion and garlic, from multitemporal PlanetScope images in South Korea. To consider the seasonal characteristics of crops in the model, training data were constructed from multitemporal satellite images. It was generated using PlanetScope satellite imagery from January and April, corresponding to the seasonal growth period of onion and garlic, in South Korea. Image patches were generated by considering the ratio of crops to minimize the influence of imbalanced data in the training process. Siamese FC-DenseNet with an attention module model (SFC-DenseNet-AM) is proposed, and the attention module is used to classify cultivated crop areas. Based on the proposed network, we extract cultivated crop areas using preliminary cultivation information. The results of the experiment using PlanetScope images indicate that image classification for cultivated areas was effectively performed using the proposed deep learning model. The model\u27s performance, with F1-scores of 0.823 (garlic) and 0.774 (onion), was verified through an ablation study

Effects of Triclosan Exposures on Expression of Interleukin-1beta and Interleukin-6

Triclosan (TCS) is an antimicrobial compound widely used in personal hygiene products such as mouthwash and toothpaste; and has been found in human blood, breast milk, and urine. Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1 beta (IL-1β) are pro-inflammatory cytokines regulating cell growth, tissue repair, and immune function; increased levels of each have been associated with many diseases, including cancer. TCS at concentrations between 0.05-5 µM consistently increased the secretion of IL-1β and IL-6 from human immune cells within 24 h of exposure. This increase in secretion was not due simply to release of existing stores, as evidenced by monitoring both secreted and intracellular levels (cellular production) after 10 min, 30 min, 6 h, and 24 h of exposure to TCS. Production (secreted plus intracellular levels) of IL-1β and IL-6 was increased by exposure to one or more concentration of TCS at each length of exposure. TCS-induced stimulation of cytokine production was shown to be dependent on mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) (p38 and ERK 1/2). It was also shown that these TCS-induced increases in IL-1β and IL6 production were accompanied by increased mRNA for IL-1β and IL6. These results verified that TCS increases immune cell production of IL-1β and IL-6. The ability of TCS to increase production indicates that rather than activating a self-limiting process of depleting cells of already existing stores of IL-1β or IL-6, TCS can stimulate a process that has the capacity to provide sustained production of these cytokines and thus may lead to chronic inflammation and its pathological consequences

Optimization of K–12 Christian School Enrollment Factors: A Delphi Study

Those who operate Christian schools generally view Christian education as a ministry. If a Christian school is to survive for any length of time, however, it must also be operated using sound business principles. Market orientation theory posits that knowing and being responsive to the product or service demands of a target market results in a business’s increased profitability (or longevity in the case of a nonprofit). Harsh’s previously identified 12 factors of enrollment represent factors that are considered very important to families who either currently have children enrolled in a Christian school, are considering enrollment, or have considered it and elected not to enroll. By implementing or maximizing these 12 enrollment factors, and thus showing responsiveness to target market demand, schools should realize increased enrollment. Using the Delphi method, this study queried heads of schools across the state of Tennessee, resulting in consensus strategies to implement and maximize each of the 12 factors

Response patterns of simulated corn yield and soil nitrous oxide emission to precipitation change

Background Precipitation plays an important role in crop production and soil greenhouse gas emissions. However, how crop yield and soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission respond to precipitation change, particularly with different background precipitations (dry, normal, and wet years), has not been well investigated. In this study, we examined the impacts of precipitation changes on corn yield and soil N2O emission using a long-term (1981–2020, 40 years) climate dataset as well as seven manipulated precipitation treatments with different background precipitations using the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model. Results Results showed large variations of corn yield and precipitation but small variation of soil N2O emission among 40 years. Both corn yield and soil N2O emission showed near linear relationships with precipitation based on the long-term precipitation data, but with different response patters of corn yield and soil N2O emission to precipitation manipulations. Corn yield showed a positive linear response to precipitation manipulations in the dry year, but no response to increases in precipitation in the normal year, and a trend of decrease in the wet year. The extreme drought treatments reduced corn yield sharply in both normal and wet years. In contrast, soil N2O emission mostly responded linearly to precipitation manipulations. Decreases in precipitation in the dry year reduced more soil N2O emission than those in the normal and wet years, while increases in precipitation increased more soil N2O emission in the normal and wet years than in the dry year. Conclusions This study revealed different response patterns of corn yield and soil N2O emission to precipitation and highlights that mitigation strategy for soil N2O emission reduction should consider different background climate conditions

Synthesis and Characterization of U3O8 and Ag2o/SiO2 Nanocomposites and Sol-Gel

Clean drinking water quality declined during the rise of industry and urbanization. While these industries transformed our economy, they polluted our rivers, streams, and lakes. Numerous studies have revealed placing certain periodic table elements into the nanometer range can improve water filtration and purification. The sol-gel methodology allowed the sol-gel polymerization of Tetraethylorthosilicate to produce Si-OH groups called silanols. The silica formed linear crosslinked molecules at low pH levels, and the molecular chains will entangle and condensed silica species link to form a 3-dimensional network. Results indicated the material is proven to be pure; without additional catalysts such as Hydrochloric acid and acetic acid, crystalline alpha-phase was created. Moreover, this confirms the ambient conditions synthesized material will effectively break down organic molecules in an aqueous solution. Constructed composites were used as filter materials, demonstrating a decrease in colony-forming units per milliliter on the bacterial species E. coli

Attachment Mediates Effects of Childhood Emotional Abuse and Trust Among African Americans

Until recently, few researchers have examined the exact effect of parents’ emotional abuse of their offspring among minority groups. In accordance with existing literature and theory, Riggs (2010) proposed a model that follows the developmental consequences of emotional abuse experienced during childhood emotional abuse which recognizes attachment theory as a primary link to interpersonal functioning in adulthood. According to the model, the experience of childhood emotional abuse adds to insecure attachment. Additionally, research has illustrated that victims of childhood emotional abuse have a higher chance of developing psychological distress in emerging adulthood, including interpersonal deficits (Erozkan, 2016) marked by distrust (Rempel et al., 1985). The present study examined whether insecure attachment acted as a mediator between childhood emotional and romantic partner trust in adulthood among an African Americans. Participants were 214 adults in the general population, who completed measures of insecure attachment style, childhood emotional abuse, and romantic partner trust. Multiple mediation analyses were performed to examine the effects of the mediation models hypothesized in the study. Childhood emotional abuse was revealed to be a significant predictor of insecure attachment style; however, the variable was not a predictor of trust in romantic relationships. Consequently, evidence for a mediation effect was not supported. Taken cautiously, the findings both support and are inconsistent with prior literature