Automated Brittle Fracture Rate Estimator for Steel Property Evaluation Using Deep Learning After Drop-Weight Tear Test

This study proposes an automated brittle fracture rate (BFR) estimator using deep learning. As the demand for line-pipes increases in various industries, the need for BFR estimation through dropweight tear test (DWTT) increases to evaluate steel's property. Conventional BFR or ductile fracture rate (DFR) estimation methods require an expensive 3D scanner. Alternatively, a rule-based approach is used with a single charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. However, it is sensitive to the hyper-parameter. To solve these problems, we propose an approach based on deep learning that has recently been successful in the fields of computer vision and image processing. The method proposed in this study is the first to use deep learning approach for BFR estimation. The proposed method consists of a VGG-based U-Net (VU-Net) which is inspired by U-Net and fully convolutional network (FCN). VU-Net includes a deep encoder and a decoder. The encoder is adopted from VGG19 and transferred with a pre-trained model with ImageNet. In addition, the structure of the decoder is the same as that of the encoder, and the decoder uses the feature maps of the encoder through concatenation operation to compensate for the reduced spatial information. To analyze the proposed VU-Net, we experimented with different depths of networks and various transfer learning approaches. In terms of accuracy used in real industrial application, we compared the proposed VU-Net with U-Net and FCN to evaluate the performance. The experiments showed that VU-Net was the accuracy of approximately 94.9 %, and was better than the other two, which had the accuracies of about 91.8 % and 93.7 %, respectively.11Ysciescopu

Water-Soluble Epitaxial NaCl Thin Film for Fabrication of Flexible Devices

We studied growth mechanisms of water-soluble NaCl thin films on single crystal substrates. Epitaxial growth of NaCl(100) on Si(100) and domain-matched growth of NaCl(111) on c-sapphire were obtained at thicknesses below 100 nm even at room temperature from low lattice mismatches in both cases. NaCl thin film, which demonstrates high solubility selectivity for water, was successfully applied as a water-soluble sacrificial layer for fabrication of several functional materials, such as WO3 nano-helix and Sn doped In2O3 nano-branches.111Ysciescopu

Whole Genome Analysis of the Red-Crowned Crane Provides Insight into Avian Longevity

The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is an endangered, large-bodied crane native to East Asia. It is a traditional symbol of longevity and its long lifespan has been confirmed both in captivity and in the wild. Lifespan in birds is known to be positively correlated with body size and negatively correlated with metabolic rate, though the genetic mechanisms for the red-crowned crane's long lifespan have not previously been investigated. Using whole genome sequencing and comparative evolutionary analyses against the grey-crowned crane and other avian genomes, including the long-lived common ostrich, we identified red-crowned crane candidate genes with known associations with longevity. Among these are positively selected genes in metabolism and immunity pathways (NDUFA5, NDUFA8, NUDT12, SOD3, CTH, RPA1, PHAX, HNMT, HS2ST1, PPCDC, PSTK CD8B, GP9, IL-9R, and PTPRC). Our analyses provide genetic evidence for low metabolic rate and longevity, accompanied by possible convergent adaptation signatures among distantly related large and long-lived birds. Finally, we identified low genetic diversity in the red-crowned crane, consistent with its listing as an endangered species, and this genome should provide a useful genetic resource for future conservation studies of this rare and iconic species

Reverberation Mapping of PG 0934+013 with the Southern African Large Telescope

We present the variability and time lag measurements of PG 0934+013 based on a photometric and spectroscopic monitoring campaign over a two year period. We obtained 46 epochs of data from the spectroscopic campaign, which was carried out using the Southern African Large Telescope with $\sim$1 week cadence over two sets of 4 month-long observing period, while we obtained 80 epochs of \textit{B}-band imaging data using a few 1-m class telescopes. Due to the seven month gap between the two observing periods, we separately measured the time lags of broad emission lines including H$\beta$, by comparing the emission line light curve with the \textit{B}-band continuum light curve using the cross-correlation function techniques. We determined the H$\beta$ lag, $\tau_{\rm cent} = 8.46^{+2.08}_{-2.14}$ days in the observed-frame based on Year 2 data, while the time lag from Year 1 data was not reliably determined. Using the rms spectrum of Year 2 data, we measured the \Hb\ line dispersion \sigmaline = 668 $\pm$ 44 \kms\ after correcting for the spectral resolution. Adopting a virial factor f = 4.47 from Woo et al. 2015, we determined the black hole mass M$_{BH}$ = $3.13 ^{+0.91} _{-0.93} \times 10^{6}$ \msun based on the \Hb\ time lag and velocity.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, ApJ in pres

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) polymorphisms associated with carcass traits of meat in Korean cattle

Abstract Background Cold carcass weight (CW) and longissimus muscle area (EMA) are the major quantitative traits in beef cattle. In this study, we found several polymorphisms of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) gene and examined the association of polymorphisms with carcass traits (CW and EMA) in Korean native cattle (Hanwoo). Results By direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean cattle, we identified 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms within the 9 kb full gene region, including the 1.5 kb promoter region. Among them, six polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in our beef cattle (n = 428) and five marker haplotypes (frequency > 0.1) were identified. Statistical analysis revealed that -4241A>T showed significant associations with CW and EMA. Conclusion Our findings suggest that polymorphisms in GHRH might be one of the important genetic factors that influence carcass yield in beef cattle. Sequence variation/haplotype information identified in this study would provide valuable information for the production of a commercial line of beef cattle.</p

Genomic profile analysis of diffuse-type gastric cancers

Background: Stomach cancer is the third deadliest among all cancers worldwide. Although incidence of the intestinal-type gastric cancer has decreased, the incidence of diffuse-type is still increasing and its progression is notoriously aggressive. There is insufficient information on genome variations of diffuse-type gastric cancer because its cells are usually mixed with normal cells, and this low cellularity has made it difficult to analyze the genome. Results: We analyze whole genomes and corresponding exomes of diffuse-type gastric cancer, using matched tumor and normal samples from 14 diffuse-type and five intestinal-type gastric cancer patients. Somatic variations found in the diffuse-type gastric cancer are compared to those of the intestinal-type and to previously reported variants. We determine the average exonic somatic mutation rate of the two types. We find associated candidate driver genes, and identify seven novel somatic mutations in CDH1, which is a well-known gastric cancer-associated gene. Three-dimensional structure analysis of the mutated E-cadherin protein suggests that these new somatic mutations could cause significant functional perturbations of critical calcium-binding sites in the EC1-2 junction. Chromosomal instability analysis shows that the MDM2 gene is amplified. After thorough structural analysis, a novel fusion gene TSC2-RNF216 is identified, which may simultaneously disrupt tumor-suppressive pathways and activate tumorigenesis. Conclusions: We report the genomic profile of diffuse-type gastric cancers including new somatic variations, a novel fusion gene, and amplification and deletion of certain chromosomal regions that contain oncogenes and tumor suppressors.open121

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns in horse

Background: DNA methylation is an epigenetic regulatory mechanism that plays an essential role in mediating biological processes and determining phenotypic plasticity in organisms. Although the horse reference genome and whole transcriptome data are publically available the global DNA methylation data are yet to be known. Results: We report the first genome-wide DNA methylation characteristics data from skeletal muscle, heart, lung, and cerebrum tissues of thoroughbred (TH) and Jeju (JH) horses, an indigenous Korea breed, respectively by methyl-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing. The analysis of the DNA methylation patterns indicated that the average methylation density was the lowest in the promoter region, while the density in the coding DNA sequence region was the highest. Among repeat elements, a relatively high density of methylation was observed in long interspersed nuclear elements compared to short interspersed nuclear elements or long terminal repeat elements. We also successfully identified differential methylated regions through a comparative analysis of corresponding tissues from TH and JH, indicating that the gene body regions showed a high methylation density. Conclusions: We provide report the first DNA methylation landscape and differentially methylated genomic regions (DMRs) of thoroughbred and Jeju horses, providing comprehensive DMRs maps of the DNA methylome. These data are invaluable resource to better understanding of epigenetics in the horse providing information for the further biological function analyses.open1

Changes in the gut microbiome due to diarrhea in neonatal Korean indigenous calves

Studies on gut microbiome changes in neonatal Korean indigenous calves with diarrhea are rare. In this study, 14 normal calves and 11 calves with diarrhea were selected from Korean indigenous calves up to 30 days of age and classified into three groups at 10-day intervals (1–10, 11–20, and 21–30 days). Feces from 25 calves were collected, and the diversity, similarity, structure, and correlation of the gut microbiome were analyzed. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were predominant in the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome of the calves regardless of the presence of diarrhea. However, Proteobacteria increased and Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria decreased in calves with diarrhea. In addition, calves with diarrhea showed a significant decrease in the diversity of the gut microbiome, especially for anaerobic microorganisms Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Gemmiger formicilis, and Collinsella aerofaciens. The microbial communities in calves with diarrhea and normal calves were distinct. By analyzing the microorganisms that showed correlation with diarrhea and age using linear discriminant analysis effect size, at the genus level, Prevotella and Lachnospiraceae_uc were significantly related in the normal (11–20 days) group whereas Enterobacterales, Gammaproteobacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia, and Proteobacteria were significantly associated with diarrhea in the 11–20 days group. Futhermore, the normal (21–30 days) group showed significant correlation with Blautia, Provotellaceae, Muribaculaceae, Christensenellaceae, and Catenella, whereas the diarrhea (21–30 days) group showed significant correlation with Dorea. The microorganisms associated with diarrhea in calves were mainly known as harmful microorganisms, we confirmed that there is a relationship between the increase in harmful bacteria and diarrhea. These results show that diarrhea significantly affects the gut microbiome of Korean indigenous calves. The changes in the gut microbiome of Korean indigenous calves observed in this study could be helpful in predicting and managing diarrhea calves, and furthermore, in establishing preventive measures for calf diarrhea through management of gut microbiome