Predicting the potential distribution of Dendrolimus punctatus and its host Pinus massoniana in China under climate change conditions

IntroductionDendrolimus punctatus, a major pest endemic to the native Pinus massoniana forests in China, displays major outbreak characteristics and causes severe destructiveness. In the context of global climate change, this study aims to investigate the effects of climatic variations on the distribution of D. punctatus and its host, P. massoniana. MethodsWe predict their potential suitable distribution areas in the future, thereby offering a theoretical basis for monitoring and controlling D. punctatus, as well as conserving P. massoniana forest resources. By utilizing existing distribution data on D. punctatus and P. massoniana, coupled with relevant climatic variables, this study employs an optimized maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model for predictions. With feature combinations set as linear and product (LP) and the regularization multiplier at 0.1, the model strikes an optimal balance between complexity and accuracy.ResultsThe results indicate that the primary climatic factors influencing the distribution of D. punctatus and P. massoniana include the minimum temperature of the coldest month, annual temperature range, and annual precipitation. Under the influence of climate change, the distribution areas of P. massoniana and its pests exhibit a high degree of similarity, primarily concentrated in the region south of the Qinling−Huaihe line in China. In various climate scenarios, the suitable habitat areas for these two species may expand to varying degrees, exhibiting a tendency to shift toward higher latitude regions. Particularly under the high emission scenario (SSP5-8.5), D. punctatus is projected to expand northwards at the fastest rate. DiscussionBy 2050, its migration direction is expected to closely align with that of P. massoniana, indicating that the pine forests will continue to be affected by the pest. These findings provide crucial empirical references for region-specific prevention of D. punctatus infestations and for the rational utilization and management of P. massoniana resources

Detection of Fuchs’ Uveitis Syndrome From Slit-Lamp Images Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks in a Chinese Population

Fuchs’ uveitis syndrome (FUS) is one of the most under- or misdiagnosed uveitis entities. Many undiagnosed FUS patients are unnecessarily overtreated with anti-inflammatory drugs, which may lead to serious complications. To offer assistance for ophthalmologists in the screening and diagnosis of FUS, we developed seven deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) to detect FUS using slit-lamp images. We also proposed a new optimized model with a mixed “attention” module to improve test accuracy. In the same independent set, we compared the performance between these DCNNs and ophthalmologists in detecting FUS. Seven different network models, including Xception, Resnet50, SE-Resnet50, ResNext50, SE-ResNext50, ST-ResNext50, and SET-ResNext50, were used to predict FUS automatically with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) that ranged from 0.951 to 0.977. Our proposed SET-ResNext50 model (accuracy = 0.930; Precision = 0.918; Recall = 0.923; F1 measure = 0.920) with an AUC of 0.977 consistently outperformed the other networks and outperformed general ophthalmologists by a large margin. Heat-map visualizations of the SET-ResNext50 were provided to identify the target areas in the slit-lamp images. In conclusion, we confirmed that a trained classification method based on DCNNs achieved high effectiveness in distinguishing FUS from other forms of anterior uveitis. The performance of the DCNNs was better than that of general ophthalmologists and could be of value in the diagnosis of FUS

A Global View of Cancer-Specific Transcript Variants by Subtractive Transcriptome-Wide Analysis

BACKGROUND: Alternative pre-mRNA splicing (AS) plays a central role in generating complex proteomes and influences development and disease. However, the regulation and etiology of AS in human tumorigenesis is not well understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A Basic Local Alignment Search Tool database was constructed for the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from all available databases of human cancer and normal tissues. An insertion or deletion in the alignment of EST/EST was used to identify alternatively spliced transcripts. Alignment of the ESTs with the genomic sequence was further used to confirm AS. Alternatively spliced transcripts in each tissue were then subtractively cross-screened to obtain tissue-specific variants. We systematically identified and characterized cancer/tissue-specific and alternatively spliced variants in the human genome based on a global view. We identified 15,093 cancer-specific variants of 9,989 genes from 27 types of human cancers and 14,376 normal tissue-specific variants of 7,240 genes from 35 normal tissues, which cover the main types of human tumors and normal tissues. Approximately 70% of these transcripts are novel. These data were integrated into a database HCSAS (http://202.114.72.39/database/human.html, pass:68756253). Moreover, we observed that the cancer-specific AS of both oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are associated with specific cancer types. Cancer shows a preference in the selection of alternative splice-sites and utilization of alternative splicing types. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These features of human cancer, together with the discovery of huge numbers of novel splice forms for cancer-associated genes, suggest an important and global role of cancer-specific AS during human tumorigenesis. We advise the use of cancer-specific alternative splicing as a potential source of new diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, and therapeutic tools for human cancer. The global view of cancer-specific AS is not only useful for exploring the complexity of the cancer transcriptome but also widens the eyeshot of clinical research

Simulation and experimental study on size effect in steel micro milling machining process

Size effect is a critical factor that needs to be considered when conducting micro mechanical machining processes. In this paper, a cutting process simulation technology is used to simulate a single tooth\u27s engagement with work piece from the entry point to the exit point in a slot milling operation. The obtained specific cutting forces from simulation are employed to analyze the size effect and the minimum chip thickness with variable radii of tool edges. Micro machining experiments with different machining conditions are implemented by use of a high speed and high precision machining spindle to investigate the size effect on machined surface integrity and burr width. The optimal cutting parameters have been analyzed based on the simulation and cutting test results. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland

Experimental investigation of mechanical micro machining for AL6061-T6 material

This paper is to experimentally investigate the mechanical micro machining properties of AL6061-T6 using tungsten-carbide micro end mills. The cutting simulation based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method is also conducted to estimate cutting forces, cutting temperature, and minimum chip thicknesses. The simulation results are used for the determination of experimental machining conditions such as depth of cut, feed rates and cutting speeds. A number of slot micro-milling experiments were performed using 400um diameter micro end mills on a 3 Axis CNC machining center attached with a high precision and high speed spindle unit. The machined surface quality, geometric feature shape, cutting burr generation as well as build-up edges are observed in the cutting experiments. Optimum cutting parameters for a better surface quality and smaller burr sizes are suggested. © (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland

ANALYSIS ON STRENGTH FOR THE MILL PRESSURE SCREW PAIRS BASED ON THERMAL-STRUCTURAL COUPLING

The three-dimensional model of the pressure screw pairs is established based on the finite element software ANSYS,the bearing characteristic of the pressure screw pairs structure is calculated at room temperature. By extracting the maximum value of each fastening screw tooth root of equivalent stress,verify the mill pressure screw pairs under equivalent stress distribution is in a U shape rules. The indirect coupling method was used for calculating the bearing characteristic of the pressure screw pairs are under thermal-structure coupling at 60℃ 、100℃ temperature. Comparison of equivalent stress of screw tooth and contact pressure of screw tooth surface under different temperature. The results show that the maximum contact pressure and equivalent stress occurred in the first fastening screw tooth,and when the temperature is at 100 ℃,the maximum equivalent stress of the nut is close to yield limit of the nut material

The Modification of WO₃ for Lithium Batteries with Nickel-Rich Ternary Cathode Materials

Nickel-rich ternary cathode materials (NRTCMs) have high energy density and a long cycle life, making them one of the cathode materials of LIB that are currently receiving much attention. However, it has shortcomings such as poor cycling performance (CP) and a high-capacity decay rate. Because of this, the study analyzed the modification effect of WO3 on NRTCM lithium batteries by preparing WO3-modified poly-crystal and single-crystal NCM622 materials under the existing conditions of better original cathode materials as reference samples. The results showed that in the morphology and structure testing, with the increase of WO3 addition, the c/a values of all NCM622-WO3 samples were greater than 4.95. In the analysis of cycling and rate performance (CRP), as W increased, the rate performance (RP) of the NCM622-W4.0 sample had a discharge specific capacity ratio of 86.2% at 10.0 C/1.0 C. In cyclic voltammetry testing, when the addition amount of WO3 was 1.0%, the polarization degree of SC-NCM622 sample was the weakest. In the AC impedance test, after six cycles, compared with the original sample, the Ret and R + Rct values of the NCM622-W sample modified with WO3 showed a significant downward trend. The above results prove that WO3 modification can lower the polarization of the material, effectively raising the CRP of the battery. It provides a reference path for the further progress of high capacity and stability ternary cathode materials

Review of Artificial Intelligence Adversarial Attack and Defense Technologies

In recent years, artificial intelligence technologies have been widely used in computer vision, natural language processing, automatic driving, and other fields. However, artificial intelligence systems are vulnerable to adversarial attacks, which limit the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in key security fields. Therefore, improving the robustness of AI systems against adversarial attacks has played an increasingly important role in the further development of AI. This paper aims to comprehensively summarize the latest research progress on adversarial attack and defense technologies in deep learning. According to the target model’s different stages where the adversarial attack occurred, this paper expounds the adversarial attack methods in the training stage and testing stage respectively. Then, we sort out the applications of adversarial attack technologies in computer vision, natural language processing, cyberspace security, and the physical world. Finally, we describe the existing adversarial defense methods respectively in three main categories, i.e., modifying data, modifying models and using auxiliary tools

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease presenting as acute angle closure glaucoma at onset

Background: To investigate the clinical features of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease presenting as acute angle closure glaucoma at onset. Design: Retrospective non-comparative case series. Participants: Four hundred and eighty-six VKH patients seen from February 2001 to March 2010. Methods: The history and clinical findings of all patients were reviewed. Auxiliary examinations, including ultrasound biomicroscopy, fundus fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography, were performed in certain cases. Corticosteroids with or without cyclosporine A were used to treat these patients. Main Outcome Measure: Patients' demographics, clinical presentation and auxiliary examination findings. Results: Eight out of 486 VKH patients were misdiagnosed as acute angle closure glaucoma. The mean age of these eight patients was 55.6 years. Six patients were female. The mean intraocular pressure (IOP) at disease onset was 32.9 mmHg. All of these patients had a shallow anterior chamber and a narrow or closed angle at their first visit. The complaints of these patients were mostly headache and sudden decreased vision in both eyes. Alterations shown on ultrasound biomicroscopy included detachment of the ciliary body and peripheral choroid. The increased IOP did not respond to anti-glaucoma therapy, but resolved following treatment with corticosteroids. The eye of one patient was enucleated after failed trabeculectomies prior to referral to our uveitis centre. Conclusion: VKH disease presenting with a bilateral increased IOP mostly occurs in older women. The strikingly decreased visual acuity associated with mild to moderate increased IOP is a clue to the diagnosis. The increased IOP responded well to corticosteroids but not to anti-glaucoma treatment