On-Site Calibration-Based Estimation Method of Forward Seabed Elevation Using Forward Scan Sonar

This paper addresses a novel calibration-based estimation method to measure the forward seabed elevation (FSE) where an area illuminated by forward scan sonar (FSS) for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The conventional method measures the FSE using one or two down-facing single-beam sonars; this method can, however, cause errors. In order to accurately measure the FSE, a sensor capable of measuring the 2D space of the seabed is needed, such as FSS. The method proposed in this work consists in estimating the FSE, by analyzing the acoustic beam distribution characteristics of FSS. A novel FSS beam distribution model is proposed, which simplifies beam distribution characteristics. Then, on-site calibration is conducted to estimate the parameters of this model. Based on the estimated model, templates can he generated and compared with FSS data acquired at the experiment in order to estimate geometrical information at the FSE. The FSE of the best matched template is the estimated FSE of the FSS data acquired in the experiment. In order to verify the performance of the proposed method, experiments using an UUV were carried out in an indoor water tank. We also verified that the proposed method performed well even when there were objects on the seabed.11Nsciescopu

Crosstalk Removal in Forward Scan Sonar Image Using Deep Learning for Object Detection

This paper proposes the detection and removal of crosstalk noise using a convolutional neural network in the images of forward scan sonar. Because crosstalk noise occurs near an underwater object and distorts the shape of the object, underwater object detection is limited. The proposed method can detect crosstalk noise using the neural network and remove crosstalk noise based on the detection result. Thus, the proposed method can be applied to other sonar-image-based algorithms and enhance the reliability of those algorithms. We applied the proposed method to a three-dimensional point cloud generation and generated a more accurate point cloud. We verified the performance of the proposed method by performing multiple indoor and field experiments.11Nsciescopu

Representative levels of blood lead, mercury, and urinary cadmium in youth: Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents (KorEHS-C), 2012–2014

AbstractBackgroundThis study examined levels of blood lead and mercury, and urinary cadmium, and associated sociodemographic factors in 3–18 year-old Korean children and adolescents.Materials and methodsWe used the nationally representative Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents data for 2012–2014 and identified 2388 children and adolescents aged 3–18 years. The median and 95th percentile exposure biomarker levels with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Multivariate regression analyses were performed on log transformed exposure biomarker levels adjusted for age, sex, area, household income, and father’s education level. The median exposure biomarker levels were compared with data from Germany, the US, and Canada, as well as the levels of Korean children measured at different times.ResultsThe median levels of blood lead and mercury, as well as urinary cadmium were 1.23μg/dL, 1.80μg/L, and 0.40μg/L (95% CIs, 1.21–1.25, 1.77–1.83, and 0.39–0.41, respectively). The blood lead levels were significantly higher in boys and younger children (p<0.0001) and children with less educated fathers (p=0.004) after adjusting for covariates. Urinary cadmium level increased with age (p<0.0001). The median levels of blood mercury and urinary cadmium were much higher in Korean children and adolescents than those in their peers in Germany, the US, and Canada. Blood lead levels tended to decrease with increasing age and divergence between the sexes, particularly in the early teen years. Median levels of blood lead and urinary cadmium decreased since 2010.ConclusionSociodemographic factors, including age, sex, and father’s education level were associated with environmental exposure to heavy metals in Korean children and adolescents. These biomonitoring data are valuable for ongoing surveillance of environmental exposure in this vulnerable population

A Putative Transcription Factor MYT2 Regulates Perithecium Size in the Ascomycete Gibberella zeae

The homothallic ascomycete fungus Gibberella zeae is a plant pathogen that is found worldwide, causing Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereal crops and ear rot of maize. Ascospores formed in fruiting bodies (i.e., perithecia) are hypothesized to be the primary inocula for FHB disease. Perithecium development is a complex cellular differentiation process controlled by many developmentally regulated genes. In this study, we selected a previously reported putative transcription factor containing the Myb DNA-binding domain MYT2 for an in-depth study on sexual development. The deletion of MYT2 resulted in a larger perithecium, while its overexpression resulted in a smaller perithecium when compared to the wild-type strain. These data suggest that MYT2 regulates perithecium size differentiation. MYT2 overexpression affected pleiotropic phenotypes including vegetative growth, conidia production, virulence, and mycotoxin production. Nuclear localization of the MYT2 protein supports its role as a transcriptional regulator. Transcriptional analyses of trichothecene synthetic genes suggest that MYT2 additionally functions as a suppressor for trichothecene production. This is the first study characterizing a transcription factor required for perithecium size differentiation in G. zeae, and it provides a novel angle for understanding sexual development in filamentous fungi

Sociodemographic gradients in breast and cervical cancer screening in Korea: the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS) 2005-2009

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer screening rates in Korea for five cancer types have increased steadily since 2002. With regard to the life-time cancer screening rates in 2009 according to cancer sites, the second highest was breast cancer (78.1%) and the third highest was cervical cancer (76.1%). Despite overall increases in the screening rate, disparities in breast and cervical cancer screening, based on sociodemographic characteristics, still exist.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from 4,139 women aged 40 to74 years from the 2005 to 2009 Korea National Cancer Screening Survey were used to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and receiving mammograms and Pap smears. The main outcome measures were ever having had a mammogram and ever having had a Pap smear. Using these items of information, we classified women into those who had had both types of screening, only one screening type, and neither screening type. We used logistic regression to investigate relationships between screening history and sociodemographic characteristics of the women.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Being married, having a higher education, a rural residence, and private health insurance were significantly associated with higher rates of breast and cervical cancer screening after adjusting for age and sociodemographic factors. Household income was not significantly associated with mammograms or Pap smears after adjusting for age and sociodemographic factors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Disparities in breast and cervical cancer screening associated with low sociodemographic status persist in Korea.</p

A Putative Transcription Factor MYT1 Is Required for Female Fertility in the Ascomycete Gibberella zeae

Gibberella zeae is an important pathogen of major cereal crops. The fungus produces ascospores that forcibly discharge from mature fruiting bodies, which serve as the primary inocula for disease epidemics. In this study, we characterized an insertional mutant Z39P105 with a defect in sexual development and identified a gene encoding a putative transcription factor designated as MYT1. This gene contains a Myb DNA-binding domain and is conserved in the subphylum Pezizomycotina of Ascomycota. The MYT1 protein fused with green fluorescence protein localized in nuclei, which supports its role as a transcriptional regulator. The MYT1 deletion mutant showed similar phenotypes to the wild-type strain in vegetative growth, conidia production and germination, virulence, and mycotoxin production, but had defect in female fertility. A mutant overexpressing MYT1 showed earlier germination, faster mycelia growth, and reduced mycotoxin production compared to the wild-type strain, suggesting that improper MYT1 expression affects the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and secondary metabolite production. This study is the first to characterize a transcription factor containing a Myb DNA-binding domain that is specific to sexual development in G. zeae

A Phenome-Based Functional Analysis of Transcription Factors in the Cereal Head Blight Fungus, Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is an important plant pathogen that causes head blight of major cereal crops. The fungus produces mycotoxins that are harmful to animal and human. In this study, a systematic analysis of 17 phenotypes of the mutants in 657 Fusarium graminearum genes encoding putative transcription factors (TFs) resulted in a database of over 11,000 phenotypes (phenome). This database provides comprehensive insights into how this cereal pathogen of global significance regulates traits important for growth, development, stress response, pathogenesis, and toxin production and how transcriptional regulations of these traits are interconnected. In-depth analysis of TFs involved in sexual development revealed that mutations causing defects in perithecia development frequently affect multiple other phenotypes, and the TFs associated with sexual development tend to be highly conserved in the fungal kingdom. Besides providing many new insights into understanding the function of F. graminearum TFs, this mutant library and phenome will be a valuable resource for characterizing the gene expression network in this fungus and serve as a reference for studying how different fungi have evolved to control various cellular processes at the transcriptional level

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Ending the global tobacco epidemic is a defining challenge in global health. Timely and comprehensive estimates of the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden are needed to guide tobacco control efforts nationally and globally. Methods We estimated the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden for 204 countries and territories, by age and sex, from 1990 to 2019 as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study. We modelled multiple smoking-related indicators from 3625 nationally representative surveys. We completed systematic reviews and did Bayesian meta-regressions for 36 causally linked health outcomes to estimate non-linear dose-response risk curves for current and former smokers. We used a direct estimation approach to estimate attributable burden, providing more comprehensive estimates of the health effects of smoking than previously available. Findings Globally in 2019, 1.14 billion (95% uncertainty interval 1.13-1.16) individuals were current smokers, who consumed 7.41 trillion (7.11-7.74) cigarette-equivalents of tobacco in 2019. Although prevalence of smoking had decreased significantly since 1990 among both males (27.5% [26. 5-28.5] reduction) and females (37.7% [35.4-39.9] reduction) aged 15 years and older, population growth has led to a significant increase in the total number of smokers from 0.99 billion (0.98-1.00) in 1990. Globally in 2019, smoking tobacco use accounted for 7.69 million (7.16-8.20) deaths and 200 million (185-214) disability-adjusted life-years, and was the leading risk factor for death among males (20.2% [19.3-21.1] of male deaths). 6.68 million [86.9%] of 7.69 million deaths attributable to smoking tobacco use were among current smokers. Interpretation In the absence of intervention, the annual toll of 7.69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking will increase over the coming decades. Substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of smoking tobacco use has been observed in countries from all regions and at all stages of development, but a large implementation gap remains for tobacco control. Countries have a dear and urgent opportunity to pass strong, evidence-based policies to accelerate reductions in the prevalence of smoking and reap massive health benefits for their citizens. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe