Feature extraction and selection for defect classification of pulsed eddy current NDT

Pulsed eddy current (PEC) is a new emerging nondestructive testing (NDT) technique using a broadband pulse excitation with rich frequency information and has wide application potentials. This technique mainly uses feature points and response signal shapes for defect detection and characterization, including peak point, frequency analysis, and statistical methods such as principal component analysis (PCA). This paper introduces the application of Hilbert transform to extract a new descending feature point and use the point as a cutoff point of sampling data for detection and feature estimation. The response signal is then divided by the conventional rising, peak, and the new descending points. Some shape features of the rising part and descending part are extracted. The characters of shape features are also discussed and compared. Various feature selection and integrations are proposed for defect classification. Experimental studies, including blind tests, show the validation of the new features and combination of selected features in defect classification. The robustness of the features and further work are also discussed

The Status of the Local Community in Mining Sustainable Development beyond the Triple Bottom Line

Mineral products provide essential fuels and raw materials for industrialization and our daily life, but their influences on other aspects of life need to be taken into consideration. While the whole world benefits from mining\u27s contributions, most of the resulting detrimental impacts on the environment and society fall on the local communities. The participation of the local community is one solution to decrease the risks from community-related problems. Subsequently, the requirements of mining sustainable development can be met. A literature review was conducted on mining sustainability and stakeholder participation, and the shortcomings of existing research and difficulties of further study were discussed in detail. This study covers a broad understanding of mining sustainability from a mining community\u27s perspective. In addition, it offers a new mining sustainability scope based on the literature review. Besides the balance of economic, environmental, and social aspects, the mine owner and local community have to be engaged in the new mining sustainability scope. This literature review could improve community engagement and help mining companies to better understand local mining communities

Molecular cloning and characterization of a cytoplasmic cyclophilin gene in sugarcane

Cyclophilins are ubiquitous proteins with an enzymatic activity of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase), which play important roles in a variety of stress responsiveness. In this study, we reported the cloning and characterization of a full-length cytoplasmic cyclophilin gene in sugarcane. Sequence analysis showed the cDNA of this gene (GenBank accession number:GQ246462), termed as Sc-CyP, was 904 bp long, including a 519 bp complete ORF, the 5’ UTR of 74 bp and 3’UTR of 311 bp, plus a typical AATAA motif and poly (A) tail. It encoded the 172 amino acid polypeptide with a molecular weight of 18.4 KD and the isoelectric point of 8.68. The Sc-CyP encoding protein had the conserved site Trp128 (W128) ubiquitious of all cyclophilins in eukaryotes and the KSGKPLH48-54 region specific to cytoplasmic cyclophilins in plants. SDS-PAGE analysis and PPIase assay revealed that the expression product, with PPIase activity, was a fusion protein with a molecular weight about 25 and 18.4 kD of Sc- CyP plus 7 kD of His • Tag peptides. In real-time qPCR analysis, the Sc-CyP gene showed induced expression under PEG, NaCl, SA and H2O2 stresses, indicating it a stress-related gene for drought and salt stress, signal transduction and disease resistance response in sugarcane.Key words: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), cyclophilin, PPIase, real-time quantitative PCR

Differential Protein Expression in Sugarcane during Sugarcane-Sporisorium scitamineum Interaction Revealed by 2-DE and MALDI-TOF-TOF/MS

To understand the molecular basis of a specific plant-pathogen interaction, it is important to identify plant proteins that respond to the pathogen attack. Two sugarcane varieties, NCo376 and Ya71-374, were used in this study. By applying 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), the protein expression profile of sugarcane after inoculating with Sporisorium scitamineum was analyzed. In total, 23 differentially expressed proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF-TOF/MS. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the functions of these 20 differential proteins were associated with such functions as photosynthesis, signal transduction, and disease resistance, while the function of the remaining three proteins was not determined. From above, we can assume that the protein regulatory network during the interaction between sugarcane and S. scitamineum is complicated. This represents the first proteomic investigation focused on highlighting the alterations of the protein expression profile in sugarcane exposed to S. scitamineum, and it provides reference information on sugarcane response to S. scitamineum stress at the protein level

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a zeta-class glutathione S-transferase gene in sugarcane

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in stress tolerance in plants. This is the first report of cloning and characterization of a zeta-class GST gene in sugarcane (GenBank Accession number: GQ246461). Sequence analysis showed that the cDNA sequence of Sc-GST gene was 829 bp, contained a 621 bp open reading frame (ORF), the 5’ untranslated region (UTR) of 65 bp and 3’UTR of 143 bp, plus the typical AATAA region and poly (A) tail. It encoded the 206 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 23.1 KD and isoelectric point of 6.10. Protein domain prediction and multiple sequence alignment demonstrated that the conserved domain in Sc-GST at N-terminus was SSCXXRXRIA, while that at C-terminus was quebec platelet disorder (QPD), both of which were specific for zeta-type GST in eukaryotes. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis and enzyme activity assay indicated that the prokaryotic expression product was a fusion protein with a molecular weight of about 30 KD, which also possessed GST enzyme activity. It was revealed in real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis that the Sc-GST gene had induced expression under H2O2 and Ustilago scitaminea stresses, while it was inhibited and then induced by salicylic acid (SA) stress, suggesting that it is a type of stress-tolerant gene playing a certain role in sugarcane resistance response.Key words: Saccharum officinarum, glutathione S-transferase, homology, prokaryotic expression, real-time quantitative PCR

Effect of different drying methods on the protein and product quality of hairtail fish meat gel

Three different methods, namely hot air drying (HA), microwave vacuum drying (MV), and vacuum freeze drying (FD), were employed to investigate the effect of drying method on the quality of hairtail fish meat gel. Compared with HA and MV, FD samples showed a better quality in terms of moisture content, water absorption index, and water solubility index, and had the highest overall acceptance in sensory evaluation. FD preserved the protein from degradation and formed an ordered porous microstructure. The nitrogen fraction assay revealed that protein was degraded into 40–100 kDa fragments during drying in HA, which was almost not affected by MV and FD. Overall, FD was the most suitable method for drying of meat gel made from hairtail, followed by MV and HA

When Monte-Carlo Dropout Meets Multi-Exit: Optimizing Bayesian Neural Networks on FPGA

Bayesian Neural Networks (BayesNNs) have demonstrated their capability of providing calibrated prediction for safety-critical applications such as medical imaging and autonomous driving. However, the high algorithmic complexity and the poor hardware performance of BayesNNs hinder their deployment in real-life applications. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a novel multi-exit Monte-Carlo Dropout (MCD)-based BayesNN that achieves well-calibrated predictions with low algorithmic complexity. To further reduce the barrier to adopting BayesNNs, we propose a transformation framework that can generate FPGA-based accelerators for multi-exit MCD-based BayesNNs. Several novel optimization techniques are introduced to improve hardware performance. Our experiments demonstrate that our auto-generated accelerator achieves higher energy efficiency than CPU, GPU, and other state-of-the-art hardware implementations

Transcript Profiling Identifies Dynamic Gene Expression Patterns and an Important Role for Nrf2/Keap1 Pathway in the Developing Mouse Esophagus

Morphological changes during human and mouse esophageal development have been well characterized. However, changes at the molecular level in the course of esophageal morphogenesis remain unclear. This study aims to globally profile critical genes and signaling pathways during the development of mouse esophagus. By using microarray analysis this study also aims to determine how the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway regulates the morphogenesis of the esophageal epithelium.Gene expression microarrays were used to survey gene expression in the esophagus at three critical phases: specification, metaplasia and maturation. The esophagi were isolated from wild-type, Nrf2(-/-), Keap1(-/-), or Nrf2(-/-)Keap1(-/-) embryos or young adult mice. Array data were statistically analyzed for differentially expressed genes and pathways. Histochemical and immunohistochemical staining were used to verify potential involvement of the Wnt pathway, Pparβ/δ and the PI3K/Akt pathway in the development of esophageal epithelium.Dynamic gene expression patterns accompanied the morphological changes of the developing esophagus at critical phases. Particularly, the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway had a baseline activity in the metaplasia phase and was further activated in the maturation phase. The Wnt pathway was active early and became inactive later in the metaplasia phase. In addition, Keap1(-/-) mice showed increased expression of Nrf2 downstream targets and genes involved in keratinization. Microarray and immunostaining data also suggested that esophageal hyperkeratosis in the Keap1(-/-) mice was due to activation of Pparβ/δ and the PI3K/Akt pathway.Morphological changes of the esophageal epithelium are associated with dynamic changes in gene expression. Nrf2/Keap1 pathway activity is required for maturation of mouse esophageal epithelium