Analysis Of Banana Plant Disease Characterization Using Thermal Camera With Tressolding Method

Banana is a fruit plant that is widely produced in Indonesia. Unfortunately, this plant is very susceptible to diseases which can reduce the quality and quantity of the crop. This paper proposes disease detection in banana plants using a thermal camera. The detection is carried out using image processing techniques with multilevel thresholding methods. The image is captured using a thermal camera, then the image is preprocessed to suit what is desired. After that, so that the position is the same as the image taken using a digital camera, the image produced by the thermal camera is carried out by an image registration process. The image processing result is compared with the ground truth image obtained from a digital camera to determine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is measured using the parameters Recall, Precision, F-measure, and Accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed method is quite effective because it produces parameter values above 80%, namely the recall value of 86,59%, the Precision of 99,1%, the F-measure of 92%, and the accuracy of 89,78%

Morphological evaluation of the protective role of dark soy sauce against acrylamide induced neurotoxicity in albino rats

Background: Acrylamide (ACR) exposure is associated with neurotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity. The use of soy sauce as a condiment is common and it has been found that it possesses high antioxidant activity. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the protective role of dark soy sauce (DSS) against ACR-induced neurotoxicity in rats. Materials and methods: Thirty-five adult male rats were divided into four groups: control, ACR given for 4 weeks, DSS given for 4 weeks before ACR, and DSS given with ACR for 4 weeks. The trigeminal ganglia and cerebellum were dissected and processed for histological staining with haematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemistry for synaptophysin (SYP) and morphometric analysis. Results: In the trigeminal ganglia, ACR group showed central chromatolysis, degeneration and cell loss. DSS before ACR group had less marked changes in the neuronal architecture, while in ACR with DSS group, better preservation was observed. In the cerebellum, ACR group showed shrunken Purkinje cells and nuclear pyknosis. Spacing and dissociation between Purkinje layer and other layers was seen. DSS before ACR group showed few degenerated Purkinje cells with normal pattern of the other layers of cerebellar cortex. ACR with DSS group showed less disturbed cerebellar layers architecture. Cerebellar SYP immunoexpression and its area per cent were decreased in ACR group compared with the control. It increased in both DSS treated groups, specifically DSS concomitantly given with ACR. Conclusions: ACR exerted marked cellular degenerative effects and administration of DSS and ACR at the same time had neuroprotective effect. DSS treatment before ACR exposure gave only marginal improvement

Comparative study between cold leg and hot leg safety injection during SBLOCA in a 4-loop PWR NPP

This article presents a comparison between two operation modes for the emergency core cooling system during a Small Break Loss of Coolant Accident (SBLOCA) in the cold leg of 4-loop PWR Westinghouse design nuclear power plant. In the first mode, the cold leg safety injection is used to mitigate the consequences of the accident and in the second mode the hot leg safety injection is used. The best estimate light water reactor transient analysis system code RELAP5 Mod3.3 was used in calculations. The plant nodalization consists of two loops; the first one represents the broken loop and the second one represents the other three intact loops. The results show that, in the cold leg safety injection the primary pressure decreases with time and remains higher than the secondary pressure for a period of time (~ 500 sec) during whichthe steam generators remains as a heat sink for the primary side, the accumulators start late and functioning on remaining transient time, and a repeatable loop seal clearing and refill occurs. During the hot leg safety injection the primary pressure decreases rapidly but remains higher than the secondary pressure for a longer period of time (~ 600 sec), the accumulators start early and functioning on a part of the transient time before they are totally discharged, and there is no repeatable loop seal clearing and refill. In the two modes the maximum clad surface temperature does not violate the safety limit

The complete modulational instability gain spectrum of nonlinear QPM gratings

We consider plane waves propagating in quadratic nonlinear slab waveguides with nonlinear quasi-phase-matching gratings. We predict analytically and verify numerically the complete gain spectrum for transverse modulational instability, including hitherto undescribed higher order gain bands.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures expanded with more explanation and mathematical detai

Accurate switching intensities and length scales in quasi-phase-matched materials

We consider unseeded Type I second-harmonic generation in quasi-phase-matched (QPM) quadratic nonlinear materials and derive an accurate analytical expression for the evolution of the average intensity. The intensity-dependent nonlinear phase mismatch due to the QPM induced cubic nonlinearity is found. The equivalent formula for the intensity for maximum conversion, the crossing of which changes the nonlinear phase-shift of the fundamental over a period abruptly by $\pi$, corrects earlier estimates by more than a factor of 5. We find the crystal lengths necessary to obtain an optimal flat phase versus intensity response on either side of this separatrix intensity.Comment: 3 pages with 3 figure

Functional Differences Within a Guild of Tropical Mammalian Frugivores

Many plants interact with groups of mutualist pollinators and seed dispersers. A key issue for both basic ecology and conservation is whether the different species within these guilds of mutualist animals are functionally equivalent. Comparing the relative effects of sympatric mutualists is important for understanding the evolution of multispecies mutualisms and for predicting mutualism stability in the face of anthropogenic change. However, empirical comparisons of the population-level impacts of mutualist animals on their host plant are rare, particularly for seed dispersal mutualisms in species-rich ecosystems. We compared the influence of three seed-dispersing tropical mammals, lar gibbons (Hylobates lar), sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), and red muntjac deer (Muntiacus muntjak), on the demography of a shared host tree in Thailand, Choerospondias axillaris (Anacardiaceae). Sambar and muntjac dispersed far more C. axillaris seeds than did gibbons. While sambar deposited many seeds under female tree canopies, muntjac were the only disperser to move seeds to open microhabitats, where C. axillaris seed germination, seedling survival, and initial growth are enhanced. Using stage-based population models, we assessed how disperser-specific seed dispersal, variation in the frequency of canopy gap formation, and their interaction influenced the potential population growth of C. axillaris. Large differences in dispersal quantity and small differences in dispersal quality among sambar and gibbons resulted in similar and negligible impacts on the tree\u27s population dynamics. Muntjac, by taking some of the seeds to open microhabitats, are projected to have a greater positive impact on C. axillaris demography than either sambar or gibbons. Model comparisons of population-level species impacts may allow us to predict which ecological interactions are at risk from loss of critical species

Bushmeat Poaching Reduces the Seed Dispersal and Population Growth Rate of a Mammal-Dispersed Tree

Myriad tropical vertebrates are threatened by overharvest. Whether this harvest has indirect effects on nonhunted organisms that interact with the game species is a critical question. Many tropical birds and mammals disperse seeds. Their overhunting in forests can cause zoochorous trees to suffer from reduced seed dispersal. Yet how these reductions in seed dispersal influence tree abundance and population dynamics remains unclear. Reproductive parameters in long-lived organisms often have very low elasticities; indeed the demographic importance of seed dispersal is an open question. We asked how variation in hunting pressure across four national parks with seasonal forest in northern Thailand influenced the relative abundance of gibbons, muntjac deer, and sambar deer, the sole dispersers of seeds of the canopy tree Choerospondias axillaris. We quantified how variation in disperser numbers affected C. axillaris seed dispersal and seedling abundance across the four parks. We then used these data in a structured population model based on vital rates measured in Khao Yai National Park (where poaching pressure is minimal) to explore how variation in illegal hunting pressure might influence C. axillaris population growth and persistence. Densities of the mammals varied strongly across the parks, from relatively high in Khao Yai to essentially zero in Doi Suthep-Pui. Levels of C. axillaris seed dispersal and seedling abundance positively tracked mammal density. If hunting in Khao Yai were to increase to the levels seen in the other parks, C. axillaris population growth rate would decline, but only slightly. Extinction of C. axillaris is a real possibility, but may take many decades. Recent and ongoing extirpations of vertebrates in many tropical forests could be creating an extinction debt for zoochorous trees whose vulnerability is belied by their current abundance