Deep learning-based approach for tomato classification in complex scenes

Tracking ripening tomatoes is time consuming and labor intensive. Artificial intelligence technologies combined with those of computer vision can help users optimize the process of monitoring the ripening status of plants. To this end, we have proposed a tomato ripening monitoring approach based on deep learning in complex scenes. The objective is to detect mature tomatoes and harvest them in a timely manner. The proposed approach is declined in two parts. Firstly, the images of the scene are transmitted to the pre-processing layer. This process allows the detection of areas of interest (area of the image containing tomatoes). Then, these images are used as input to the maturity detection layer. This layer, based on a deep neural network learning algorithm, classifies the tomato thumbnails provided to it in one of the following five categories: green, brittle, pink, pale red, mature red. The experiments are based on images collected from the internet gathered through searches using tomato state across diverse languages including English, German, French, and Spanish. The experimental results of the maturity detection layer on a dataset composed of images of tomatoes taken under the extreme conditions, gave a good classification rate

School exclusion in children with psychiatric disorder or impairing psychopathology: a systematic review

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties on 20 August 2014, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13632752.2014.945741Childhood psychiatric disorders are associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes including poor academic attainment. For some children these difficulties are recognised through school Special Educational Need procedures (SEN) but many others may remain unidentified and/or unsupported. In Britain, government data suggests disproportionate representation of children with a SEN among children permanently excluded from school. This review asks whether school-aged children with impairing psychopathology were more likely to be excluded from school than those without. Databases covering education, social sciences, psychology and medicine were searched, experts were contacted and bibliographies of key papers were hand-searched. Studies were included if the population covered school-aged children, and if validated diagnostic measures had been used to assess psychopathology. Children with impairing psychopathology had greater odds of exclusion compared to the rest of the school-age population: odds ratios range from 1.13 (95% CI: 0.55–2.33) to 45.6 (95% CI: 3.8–21.3). These findings however need to be considered in light of the paucity of the literature and methodological weaknesses discussed.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for the South West Peninsula

Multiple component interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries among older people: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Limited attention has been paid in the literature to multiple component fall prevention interventions that comprise two or more fixed combinations of fall prevention interventions that are not individually tailored following a risk assessment. The study objective was to determine the effect of multiple component interventions on fall rates, number of fallers and fall-related injuries among older people and to establish effect sizes of particular intervention combinations. METHODS: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Cochrane, AMED, UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio, Current Controlled Trials register and Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials register were systematically searched to August 2013 for randomised controlled trials targeting those aged 60 years and older with any medical condition or in any setting that compared multiple component interventions with no intervention, placebo or usual clinical care on the outcomes reported falls, number that fall or fall-related injuries. Included studies were appraised using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Estimates of fall rate ratio and risk ratio were pooled across studies using random effects meta-analysis. Data synthesis took place in 2013. RESULTS: Eighteen papers reporting 17 trials were included (5034 participants). There was a reduction in the number of people that fell (pooled risk ratio = 0.85, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.80 to 0.91) and the fall rate (pooled rate ratio = 0.80, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.89) in favour of multiple component interventions when compared with controls. There was a small amount of statistical heterogeneity (I(2) =20%) across studies for fall rate and no heterogeneity across studies examining number of people that fell. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials found evidence that multiple component interventions that are not tailored to individually assessed risk factors are effective at reducing both the number of people that fall and the fall rate. This approach should be considered as a service delivery option.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for the South West Peninsul

Randomized multicentre pilot study of sacubitril/valsartan versus irbesartan in patients with chronic kidney disease: United Kingdom Heart and Renal Protection (HARP)- III—rationale, trial design and baseline data

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk of progression to end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular disease. Data from other populations and animal experiments suggest that neprilysin inhibition (which augments the natriuretic peptide system) may reduce these risks, but clinical trials among patients with CKD are required to test this hypothesis. METHODS: UK Heart and Renal Protection III (HARP-III) is a multicentre, double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing sacubitril/valsartan 97/103 mg two times daily (an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor) with irbesartan 300 mg one time daily among 414 patients with CKD. Patients ≥18 years of age with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of ≥45 but <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and urine albumin:creatinine ratio (uACR) >20 mg/mmol or eGFR ≥20 but <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 (regardless of uACR) were invited to be screened. Following a 4- to 7-week pre-randomization single-blind placebo run-in phase (during which any current renin-angiotensin system inhibitors were stopped), willing and eligible participants were randomly assigned either sacubitril/valsartan or irbesartan and followed-up for 12 months. The primary aim was to compare the effects of sacubitril/valsartan and irbesartan on measured GFR after 12 months of therapy. Important secondary outcomes include effects on albuminuria, change in eGFR over time and the safety and tolerability of sacubitril/valsartan in CKD. RESULTS: Between November 2014 and January 2016, 620 patients attended a screening visit and 566 (91%) entered the pre-randomization run-in phase. Of these, 414 (73%) participants were randomized (mean age 63 years; 72% male). The mean eGFR was 34.0 mL/min/1.73 m2 and the median uACR was 58.5 mg/mmol. CONCLUSIONS: UK HARP-III will provide important information on the short-term effects of sacubitril/valsartan on renal function, tolerability and safety among patients with CKD

The effects of ubiquitous computing on student learning: A systematic review. E-Learn 2007

Abstract: As technology use in education increases, interest in and implementations of ubiquitous computing initiatives have also increased. One-toone laptop initiatives have sprung up throughout North America at the school, district, and state or province levels. This paper is an attempt to synthesize available studies of one-to-one initiatives at the K-12 level using both quantitative and narrative techniques. It is hoped that by so doing, best practices of these types of implementations can be identified

Insights Into the Inhibition of MOX-1 \u3b2-Lactamase by S02030, a Boronic Acid Transition State Inhibitor

The rise of multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria has accelerated the development of novel inhibitors of class A and C \u3b2-lactamases. Presently, the search for novel compounds with new mechanisms of action is a clinical and scientific priority. To this end, we determined the 2.13-\uc5 resolution crystal structure of S02030, a boronic acid transition state inhibitor (BATSI), bound to MOX-1 \u3b2-lactamase, a plasmid-borne, expanded-spectrum AmpC \u3b2-lactamase (ESAC) and compared this to the previously reported aztreonam (ATM)-bound MOX-1 structure. Superposition of these two complexes shows that S02030 binds in the active-site cavity more deeply than ATM. In contrast, the SO3 interactions and the positional change of the \u3b2-strand amino acids from Lys315 to Asn320 were more prominent in the ATM-bound structure. MICs were performed using a fixed concentration of S02030 (4 \u3bcg/ml) as a proof of principle. Microbiological evaluation against a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli expressing MOX-1 revealed that MICs against ceftazidime are reduced from 2.0 to 0.12 \u3bcg/ml when S02030 is added at a concentration of 4 \u3bcg/ml. The IC50 and Ki of S02030 vs. MOX-1 were 1.25 \ub1 0.34 and 0.56 \ub1 0.03 \u3bcM, respectively. Monobactams such as ATM can serve as informative templates for design of mechanism-based inhibitors such as S02030 against ESAC \u3b2-lactamases

A novel role for thrombopoietin in regulating osteoclast development in humans and mice

Emerging data suggest that megakaryocytes (MKs) play a significant role in skeletal homeostasis. Indeed, osteosclerosis observed in several MK-related disorders may be a result of increased numbers of MKs. In support of this idea, we have previously demonstrated that MKs increase osteoblast (OB) proliferation by a direct cell-cell contact mechanism and that MKs also inhibit osteoclast (OC) formation. As MKs and OCs are derived from the same hematopoietic precursor, in these osteoclastogenesis studies we examined the role of the main MK growth factor, thrombopoietin (TPO) on OC formation and bone resorption. Here we show that TPO directly increases OC formation and differentiation in vitro. Specifically, we demonstrate the TPO receptor (c-mpl or CD110) is expressed on cells of the OC lineage, c-mpl is required for TPO to enhance OC formation in vitro, and TPO activates the mitogen-activated protein kinases, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription, and nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathways, but does not activate the PI3K/AKT pathway. Further, we found TPO enhances OC resorption in CD14+CD110+ human OC progenitors derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and further separating OC progenitors based on CD110 expression enriches for mature OC development. The regulation of OCs by TPO highlights a novel therapeutic target for bone loss diseases and may be important to consider in the numerous hematologic disorders associated with alterations in TPO/c-mpl signaling as well as in patients suffering from bone disorders

Attention Restoration Theory: A Systematic Review of the Attention Restoration Potential of Exposure to Natural Environments

All authors contributed to the design of this review, critically revised the article, and approved the final versions. HO contributed to all stages of the systematic review (searching, screening, data extraction, quality appraisal and synthesis) and drafted the article. MW and BW contributed to double data extraction and preparation of the article. AB devised the search strategy, ran the literature searches, carried out citation searching, and contributed to double screening. OU and VN provided statistical advice and designed and conducted the meta-analyses. RG conceived the idea for the review, contributed to double screening, double data extraction, quality appraisal, and preparation of the article, and is the guarantor

Thirty Years After Michael E. Porter: What Do We Know About Business Exit?

Although a business exit is an important corporate change initiative, the buyer’s side seems to be more appealing to management researchers than the seller’s because acquisitions imply growth, i.e., success. Yet from an optimistic viewpoint, business exit can effectively create value for the selling company. In this paper we attempt to bring the relevance of the seller’s side back into our consciousness by asking: What do we know about business exit? We start our exploration with Porter (1976), focusing on literature that investigates the antecedents of, barriers to, and outcomes of business exit. We also include studies from related fields such as finance and economics.1 Through this research we determine three clusters of findings: factors promoting business exit, exit barriers, and exit outcomes. Overall, it is the intention of this paper to highlight the importance of business exit for research and practice. Knowing what we know about business exits and their high financial value we should bear in mind that exit need not mean failure but a new beginning for a corporation

Prediction and validation of exenatide risk marker effects on progression of renal disease:Insights from EXSCEL

Aim To assess whether the previously developed multivariable risk prediction framework (PRE score) could predict the renal effects observed in the EXSCEL cardiovascular outcomes trial using short-term changes in cardio-renal risk markers. Materials and Methods Changes from baseline to 6 months in HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), body mass index (BMI), haemoglobin, total cholesterol, and new micro- or macroalbuminuria were evaluated. The renal outcomes were defined as a composite of a sustained 30% or 40% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Relationships between risk markers and long-term renal outcomes were determined in patients with type 2 diabetes from the ALTITUDE study using multivariable Cox regression analysis, and then applied to short-term changes in risk markers observed in EXSCEL to predict the exenatide-induced impact on renal outcomes. Results Compared with placebo, mean HbA1c, BMI, SBP and total cholesterol were lower at 6 months with exenatide, as was the incidence of new microalbuminuria. The PRE score predicted a relative risk reduction for the 30% eGFR decline + ESRD endpoint of 11.3% (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.83-0.94), compared with 12.7% (HR 0.87; 0.77-0.99) observed risk reduction. For the 40% eGFR decline + ESRD endpoint, the predicted and observed risk reductions were 11.0% (HR 0.89; 0.82-0.97) and 13.7% (HR 0.86, 0.72-1.04), respectively. Conclusions Integrating short-term risk marker changes into a multivariable risk score predicted the magnitude of renal risk reduction observed in EXSCEL