WPU-Net: Boundary Learning by Using Weighted Propagation in Convolution Network

Deep learning has driven a great progress in natural and biological image processing. However, in material science and engineering, there are often some flaws and indistinctions in material microscopic images induced from complex sample preparation, even due to the material itself, hindering the detection of target objects. In this work, we propose WPU-net that redesigns the architecture and weighted loss of U-Net, which forces the network to integrate information from adjacent slices and pays more attention to the topology in boundary detection task. Then, the WPU-net is applied into a typical material example, i.e., the grain boundary detection of polycrystalline material. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method achieves promising performance and outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Besides, we propose a new method for object tracking between adjacent slices, which can effectively reconstruct 3D structure of the whole material. Finally, we present a material microscopic image dataset with the goal of advancing the state-of-the-art in image processing for material science.Comment: technical repor

Agonist versus antagonist protocol in induction of ovulation and its outcome

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist produces immediate suppression of gonadotrophins secretion without the initial stimulatory effect of premature luteinizing hormone (LH) .The aim of the study was to compare the agonist and the antagonist protocol in the induction of ovulation.Methods: The study is a comparative study conducted from 01 November 2011 to 31 August 2013. All patients of primary or secondary infertility underwent a baseline transvaginal sonography on day 2 or day 3rd of the menstrual cycle for follicle count and endometrial thickness.  All patients received oral contraceptive pills from day 5 for 21 days of menstrual cycle and were assigned to two categories; the agonist and the antagonist group.Results: A total of 380 patients, 190 patients of agonist group 52 had a positive β hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) report (27.3%) compared to the 60 patients of 190 antagonist group (31.5%). The P value was 0.44 which is statistically insignificant. Age group were similar and mean age of agonist group was27.96+3.21 where as in antagonist group 28.11+3.24. The number of oocyte retrieved was found to be better in the antagonist group compared to agonist group (mean±sd 10.71+6.41 versus 8.62±5.65, P value<0.001). The patients in the agonist group had a slightly more number of transfers performed (2.78±0.94), in comparison to the antagonist group (2.75±0.97). P-value was 0.789 which was statistically insignificant.Conclusions: The GnRH antagonist therefore seems to be a more patient friendly protocol for the first choice in ART cycle with lower incidence of side effects and similar pregnancy rate. It is also time saving and simple protocol with good clinical outcome

Effects of Calcium Treatment on Dragon Fruit [Hylocereus Polyrhizus (F.A.C. Weber) Britton & Rose] Quality and Activities of Polygalacturonase and Pectin Methylesterase

Effects of different concentrations of calcium (Ca) from calcium chloride (CaCl2) on activities of two cell wall degrading enzymes; polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) and fruit quality of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) were evaluated. Dragon fruit in this study were obtained from a commercial farm in Batang Benar in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. Before any Ca treatments were given, it was important to establish the optimum temperature and pH for PG and PME enzymes as these were the two very important physical parameters influencing activity of an enzyme. PG and PME were assayed with different pH range of buffer solutions (pH 3.0 – 8.0) and different temperatures (30 – 70 °C) and results obtained were used in further experimentations. The activities of PG and PME were measured on dragon fruit of different maturity indices; index 3, 4 and 5. This study was carried out using a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. To determine the effect of Ca on PG and PME activities, different Ca concentrations (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 g/L Ca from CaCl2) were then treated to dragon fruit of two maturity indices (index 3 and 5) and stored for seven days at ± 20 °C. The experiment was conducted in a randomized completely block design (RCBD) with three replications. Effect of varying concentrations of Ca from CaCl2 (0, 2.5 and 7.5 g/L Ca from CaCl2) and dipping duration (0, 4, 8 and 12 mins) on PG and PME activities and fruit quality parameters (firmness, color, pH, calcium content, ascorbic acid content, titratable acidity and soluble solids concentration) of fresh-cut dragon fruit after five days of storage at 12 ± 1 oC were also examined. The experiment was carried out using RCBD with three replications. Results showed that the activity of PG was highest at 41 ºC (6.233 nkat/g) and at pH 6.0 (4.818 nkat/g) while PME activity reaches its maximum level at 47.8 ºC (60.864 neqv g-1 s-1) and at pH 5.8 (72.782 neqv g-1 s-1). Fruits of varying maturity indices have different activity of PG and PME activities. A very low PG activity was found in unripe H. polyrhizus (Index 3), but the activity of the enzymes increased as the fruit ripened (Indices 4 and 5) with their values being 1.26, 2.57 and 3.04 nkat/g respectively. In contrast, PME activity was higher in unripened fruit (Index 3) than fruit with maturity Index 4 and Index 5 being 25.73, 22.57 and 17.19 neqv g-1 s-1, respectively. It is proven that increasing calcium concentrations markedly reduced the activities of PG and PME enzymes in dragon fruit. At 7.5 g/L Ca from CaCl2, the activities of PG and PME were lowest followed by fruit treated with 5, 2.5 and 0 g/L Ca from CaCl2. The significant interaction between Ca concentration and duration of dipping showed the effect of Ca on the activity of PG and PME and dependent on duration of exposure to the chemical. Overall, dragon fruit treated with 7.5 g/L Ca from CaCl2 and eight minutes dipping significantly reduced the activities of PG and PME enzyme the lowest compared to other treatments. Duration of dipping did not affect fruit color, pH, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content while soluble solids concentration and calcium content increased at a longer duration of dipping. There was an interaction found between Ca concentration and duration of dipping on firmness. The firmness of fruit slices treated at the highest Ca concentration (7.5 g/L) increased at the beginning of the treatment (2.31 N) but decreased as the duration increased to 8 and 12 mins being 1.91 and 2.18 N respectively. A correlation between parameters measured in this study showed that both PG and PME activities were negatively correlated with the fruit Ca content. The correlation result also showed that fruits with high Ca concentration contained low ascorbic acid content. Understanding on the cell wall degrading enzymes would give us a better opportunity to manipulate their activities, thus allowing us to extend the fruit economic life

On SDE systems with non-Lipschitz diffusion coefficients

This thesis is a compilation of two papers. In the first paper we investigate a class of two dimensional stochastic differential equations related to susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic models with demographic stochasticity. While preserving the key features of the model considered in \cite{Mao}, where an \emph{ad hoc} approach has been utilized to prove existence, uniqueness and non explosivity of the solution, we consider an encompassing family of models described by a stochastic differential equation with random and H\"older continuous coefficients. We prove the existence of a unique strong solution by means of a Cauchy-Euler-Peano approximation scheme which is shown to converge in the proper topologies to the unique solution. In the second paper we link a general method for modeling random phenomena using systems of stochastic differential equations to the class of affine stochastic differential equations. This general construction emphasizes the central role of the Duffie-Kan system \cite{DK} as a model for first order approximations of a wide class of nonlinear systems perturbed by noise. We also specialize to a two dimensional framework and propose a direct proof of the Duffie-Kan theorem which does not pass through the comparison with an auxiliary process. Our proof produces a scheme to obtain an explicit representation of the solution once the one dimensional square root process is assigned

Cell Wall Enzymes Activities and Quality of Calcium Treated Fresh-cut Red Flesh Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of post-cut application of CaCl2 on activity of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) and quality of fresh-cut dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus). Fruit slices were prepared from fully matured fruits before being dipped into three levels of calcium concentration (CaCl2: 0, 2.5 & 7.5 g L-1) at four durations of dipping (0, 4, 8 & 12 min). The activities of PG and PME enzymes of fruits extract were lower when treated with high concentration of CaCl2 for a longer duration of dipping. The Ca treatment did not cause any marked effects on colour, pH, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content. Soluble solids content and Ca content in cut fruit were affected by duration of dipping. The firmness of fruit slices treated at the highest CaCl2 concentration (7.5 g L-1) increased at the beginning of the treatment but reduced as the durations of dipping were extended to 8 and 12 min. Lack of a linear increase in tissue firmness of fresh-cut dragon fruit in response to high concentrations of CaCl2 post-cut application showed that treatment should be administered with a great care to appropriate concentration of CaCl2 duration of exposure are applied

Saberes y prácticas curativas de la medicina ancestral Maya desde la interculturalidad: Estudio realizado con curanderas del municipio de Olintepeque, Quetzaltenango.

El trabajo de investigación se titula "Saberes y Prácticas Curativas de la Medicina Ancestral Maya desde la Interculturalidad" fue ejecutado en el municipio de Olintepeque, departamento de Quetzaltenango. El estudio se efectuó con 24 curanderas del municipio. El objetivo fue sistematizar los saberes y prácticas curativas de la medicina ancestral maya de las curanderas desde la interculturalidad. Se plantearon dos hipótesis: alternativa y nula. Para el efecto se utilizaron dos variables: dependiente e independiente. El enfoque utilizado fue cualitativo de tipo descriptivo. El instrumento aplicado en la recolección de datos fue la guía de entrevista. El muestreo utilizado es no probabilístico por conveniencia. En consecuencia, se estableció que los saberes y prácticas curativas de la medicina ancestral maya desde la interculturalidad están en uso porque las personas poseedoras del conocimiento en este caso las curanderas, si lo practican por lo tanto, se rechaza la hipótesis nula y se acepta la alternativa. El estudio permite concluir que las curanderas tienen conocimientos sobre: las propiedades curativas de las plantas medicinales, el momento adecuado para su recolección, formas de preparación, uso apropiado de animales, minerales y aceites, prácticas dirigidas a diagnosticar, prevenir, tratar y curar enfermedades, reconocidas por la cultura maya. Dentro de las curaciones más comunes, se encuentran: mal de ojo, empacho, alboroto de lombrices, caída de la mollera, susto, dolor de garganta, tos, resfriado, dolor de cabeza y cólicos. Asimismo, se define que es fundamental conocer, valorar, aplicar, compartir los saberes y prácticas curativas de la medicina ancestral maya desde la interculturalidad para combatir las inequidades étnicas y su conservación a las futuras generaciones

Home delivery and newborn care practices among urban women in western Nepal: a questionnaire survey

BACKGROUND: About 98% of newborn deaths occur in developing countries, where most newborns deaths occur at home. In Nepal, approximately, 90% of deliveries take place at home. Information about reasons for delivering at home and newborn care practices in urban areas of Nepal is lacking and such information will be useful for policy makers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the immunisation clinics of Pokhara city, western Nepal during January and February, 2006. Two trained health workers administered a semi-structured questionnaire to the mothers who had delivered at home. RESULTS: A total of 240 mothers were interviewed. Planned home deliveries were 140 (58.3%) and 100 (41.7%) were unplanned. Only 6.2% of deliveries had a skilled birth attendant present and 38 (15.8%) mothers gave birth alone. Only 46 (16.2%) women had used a clean home delivery kit and only 92 (38.3%) birth attendants had washed their hands. The umbilical cord was cut after expulsion of placenta in 154 (64.2%) deliveries and cord was cut using a new/boiled blade in 217 (90.4%) deliveries. Mustard oil was applied to the umbilical cord in 53 (22.1%) deliveries. Birth place was heated throughout the delivery in 88 (64.2%) deliveries. Only 100 (45.8%) newborns were wrapped within 10 minutes and 233 (97.1%) were wrapped within 30 minutes. Majority (93.8%) of the newborns were given a bath soon after birth. Mustard oil massage of the newborns was a common practice (144, 60%). Sixteen (10.8%) mothers did not feed colostrum to their babies. Prelacteal feeds were given to 37(15.2%) newborns. Initiation rates of breast-feeding were 57.9% within one hour and 85.4% within 24 hours. Main reasons cited for delivering at home were 'preference' (25.7%), 'ease and convenience' (21.4%) for planned deliveries while 'precipitate labor' (51%), 'lack of transportation' (18%) and 'lack of escort' during labor (11%) were cited for the unplanned ones. CONCLUSION: High-risk home delivery and newborn care practices are common in urban population also. In-depth qualitative studies are needed to explore the reasons for delivering at home. Community-based interventions are required to improve the number of families engaging a skilled attendant and hygiene during delivery. The high-risk traditional newborn care practices like delayed wrapping, bathing, mustard oil massage, prelacteal feeding and discarding colostrum need to be addressed by culturally acceptable community-based health education programmes

A model local interpretation routine for deep learning based radio galaxy classification

Radio galaxy morphological classification is one of the critical steps when producing source catalogues for large-scale radio continuum surveys. While many recent studies attempted to classify source radio morphology from survey image data using deep learning algorithms (i.e., Convolutional Neural Networks), they concentrated on model robustness most time. It is unclear whether a model similarly makes predictions as radio astronomers did. In this work, we used Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanation (LIME), an state-of-the-art eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) technique to explain model prediction behaviour and thus examine the hypothesis in a proof-of-concept manner. In what follows, we describe how \textbf{LIME} generally works and early results about how it helped explain predictions of a radio galaxy classification model using this technique.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted summary paper for URSI GASS 2023 J0