Influence of cage culture on methylmercury in water column of reservoir

To understand the influence of cage culture on the methylmercury production and distribution in water column of reservoir, water samples were collected from four cage culture sites in Wujiangdu Reservoir in September (warm season), 2010 and in March (cool season), 2011, taking the sites with a distance of 100-200 m from the culture sites and at the center of the reservoir as the reference sites. In warm season, the total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in cage culture sites were 2.04 ±0.53 ng·L-1 and 0.146 ±0.231 ng·L-1, and those in reference sites were 3.33±2.39 ng·L-1 and 0.380±0.577 ng·L-1, respectively; in cool season, the corresponding values were 3.04±1.53 ng·L-1 and 0.047±0.028 ng·L-1, and 3.24±1.23 ng·L-1 and 0.046±0.013 ng·L-1, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the concentrations of THg and MeHg (for THg, n = 35, P =0.875, and for MeHg, n =35, P =0.091) between cage culture sites and corresponding reference sites. The analysis on the water parameters total phosphorus, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, temperature, and chlorophyll-a at the cage culture sites and reference sites showed that the MeHg production and distribution in the water column were affected by the water discharge and water exchange activities in the reservoir rather than by the cage culture activities, whereas the anaerobic condition of bottom water and the variation of water temperature caused by the seasonal stratification of water column could be the main factors affecting the methylmercury production and distribution

Digital image processing technology applied in level measurement and control system

AbstractAs the diversity of industrial processes, the common level meter devices are more impacted by external factors. This paper presents a new type of digital image processing technology for the level control system, combining with CCD camera technology as one of the measurement method. The fixed beam for measuring needs generated by the laser measurements, shape a special light point on the object surface, We can measure according to the changing scope of these points, or moving distance. From the experiment we can see, the CCD-based level measurement method not only has strong anti-interference ability, good usability, easy adaptability, but also applies to variety of more complex industrial applications

LogicNet: A Logical Consistency Embedded Face Attribute Learning Network

Ensuring logical consistency in predictions is a crucial yet overlooked aspect in multi-attribute classification. We explore the potential reasons for this oversight and introduce two pressing challenges to the field: 1) How can we ensure that a model, when trained with data checked for logical consistency, yields predictions that are logically consistent? 2) How can we achieve the same with data that hasn't undergone logical consistency checks? Minimizing manual effort is also essential for enhancing automation. To address these challenges, we introduce two datasets, FH41K and CelebA-logic, and propose LogicNet, an adversarial training framework that learns the logical relationships between attributes. Accuracy of LogicNet surpasses that of the next-best approach by 23.05%, 9.96%, and 1.71% on FH37K, FH41K, and CelebA-logic, respectively. In real-world case analysis, our approach can achieve a reduction of more than 50% in the average number of failed cases compared to other methods

Comparative Mitogenomic Analysis of Damsel Bugs Representing Three Tribes in the Family Nabidae (Insecta: Hemiptera)

BACKGROUND: Nabidae, a family of predatory heteropterans, includes two subfamilies and five tribes. We previously reported the complete mitogenome of Alloeorhynchus bakeri, a representative of the tribe Prostemmatini in the subfamily Prostemmatinae. To gain a better understanding of architecture and evolution of mitogenome in Nabidae, mitogenomes of five species representing two tribes (Gorpini and Nabini) in the subfamily Nabinae were sequenced, and a comparative mitogenomic analysis of three nabid tribes in two subfamilies was carried out. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nabid mitogenomes share a similar nucleotide composition and base bias, except for the control region, where differences are observed at the subfamily level. In addition, the pattern of codon usage is influenced by the GC content and consistent with the standard invertebrate mitochondrial genetic code and the preference for A+T-rich codons. The comparison among orthologous protein-coding genes shows that different genes have been subject to different rates of molecular evolution correlated with the GC content. The stems and anticodon loops of tRNAs are extremely conserved, and the nucleotide substitutions are largely restricted to TψC and DHU loops and extra arms, with insertion-deletion polymorphisms. Comparative analysis shows similar rates of substitution between the two rRNAs. Long non-coding regions are observed in most Gorpini and Nabini mtDNAs in-between trnI-trnQ and/or trnS2-nad1. The lone exception, Nabis apicalis, however, has lost three tRNAs. Overall, phylogenetic analysis using mitogenomic data is consistent with phylogenies constructed mainly form morphological traits. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This comparative mitogenomic analysis sheds light on the architecture and evolution of mitogenomes in the family Nabidae. Nucleotide diversity and mitogenomic traits are phylogenetically informative at subfamily level. Furthermore, inclusion of a broader range of samples representing various taxonomic levels is critical for the understanding of mitogenomic evolution in damsel bugs

Identification of a peripheral blood long non-coding RNA (Upperhand) as a potential diagnostic marker of coronary artery disease

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to be involved in the pathologi­cal processes of multiple diseases. However, the characteristic expression of lncRNAs in peripheral blood of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and whether some of these lncRNAs can be used as diagnostic biomarkers for CAD requires further investigation. Methods: Six healthy and CAD individuals were selected for microarray analysis, and 5 differentially expressed lncRNAs were selected and confirmed in the second cohort consisting of 30 control individu­als and 30 CAD patients with different SYNTAX scores. Upperhand were verified in the third cohort consisting of 115 controls and 137 CAD patients. Results: Thirty one lncRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups, among whom, 25 were upregulated in the CAD group and 6 were downregulated. Four of the selected five lncRNAs were significantly upregulated in the CAD group, and Upperhand had the largest area under the curve (AUC). The diagnostic value of Upperhand was tested further, and it remained having a high diagnostic value. Conclusions: The expression level of Upperhand in peripheral blood of CAD patients is significantly higher than in control individuals, and is correlated with severity of CAD. Upperhand is a potential diagnostic biomarker of CAD, and when combined with TCONS_00029157, diagnostic value slightly increased