Australian Wheat for the Sponge and Dough Bread Making Process

Established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Progra

Mixed bivalent transition metal complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline and 2-aminomethylthiophenyl-4-bromosalicylaldehyde Schiff base: Spectroscopic, molecular modeling and biological activities

Mixed ligand complexes of M(II) {M = Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II)} with 1,10-phenanthroline (1,10-Phen) and Schiff base namely 2-aminomethylthiophenyl-4-bromosalicylaldehyde (ATS) have been synthesized. These metal chelates have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR, 1H NMR, solid reflectance, magnetic moment and molar conductance. Spectral data showed that the 1,10-phenanthroline act as neutral bidentate ligand coordinating to the metal ion through two nitrogen donor atoms and Schiff base (ATS) acts as monobasic bidentate coordinating through through azomethine-N and phenolic-oxygen groups. The geometry of the studied M(II) complexes has been fully optimized. The metal chelates have been screened for their antimicrobial activities using the disc diffusion method against different selected types of bacteria and fungi. In vitro antitumor activity assayed against two human cell lines colon (HCT116) and larynx (HEP2) cancer cells. Solution equilibrium studies were also investigated

Stage Specific Glaucomatous Changes of the Macula recorded using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to compare the thickness of different macular retinal layers in glaucomatous eyes and healthy controls, and evaluate the diagnostic performance of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) parameters. METHODS In this cross-sectional comparative study, 48 glaucomatous eyes and 44 healthy controls were included. The thickness of the total retina and all retinal layers were obtained using the Early Treatment Diagnostic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid. The minimal and average values of outer and inner ETDRS-rings were calculated. The diagnostic performance for detection of glaucoma was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS The thickness of the total retina, ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner-plexiform layer (IPL) was significantly thinner in glaucomatous eyes in all sectors except the center (all p<0.05). The thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) was significantly thinner in the glaucoma group except in the center, nasal inner, and temporal outer sectors (all p<0.05). Layer thinning advanced with glaucoma severity. The minimal outer GCL thickness showed the highest AUC value for discrimination between glaucomatous eyes and healthy controls(0.955). The minimal outer IPL showed the highest AUC value for discriminating early-stage glaucomatous eyes from healthy controls (0.938). CONCLUSIONS Glaucomatous eyes were found to have significant thinning in the macular region. GCL and IPL showed high ability to discriminate glaucomatous and early-stage glaucomatous eyes from controls. Applying the minimal value to the ETDRS grid has the potential to provide good diagnostic abilities in glaucoma screening

Deterministic Policy Gradient Algorithms

International audienceIn this paper we consider deterministic policy gradient algorithms for reinforcement learning with continuous actions. The deterministic pol- icy gradient has a particularly appealing form: it is the expected gradient of the action-value func- tion. This simple form means that the deter- ministic policy gradient can be estimated much more efficiently than the usual stochastic pol- icy gradient. To ensure adequate exploration, we introduce an off-policy actor-critic algorithm that learns a deterministic target policy from an exploratory behaviour policy. We demonstrate that deterministic policy gradient algorithms can significantly outperform their stochastic counter- parts in high-dimensional action spaces

Replay across Experiments: A Natural Extension of Off-Policy RL

Replaying data is a principal mechanism underlying the stability and data efficiency of off-policy reinforcement learning (RL). We present an effective yet simple framework to extend the use of replays across multiple experiments, minimally adapting the RL workflow for sizeable improvements in controller performance and research iteration times. At its core, Replay Across Experiments (RaE) involves reusing experience from previous experiments to improve exploration and bootstrap learning while reducing required changes to a minimum in comparison to prior work. We empirically show benefits across a number of RL algorithms and challenging control domains spanning both locomotion and manipulation, including hard exploration tasks from egocentric vision. Through comprehensive ablations, we demonstrate robustness to the quality and amount of data available and various hyperparameter choices. Finally, we discuss how our approach can be applied more broadly across research life cycles and can increase resilience by reloading data across random seeds or hyperparameter variations

Employment Protection and Domestic Violence: Addressing Abuse in the Labor Grievance Process

The effects of domestic violence are not limited to the home environment. Its effects are felt in employment when abused employees are absent from work and when violent incidents erupt in the workplace. For example, a bruised employee might be too injured and embarrassed to attend work, or an estranged spouse might stalk and harass a victim on the job. Another issue arises in that employers often discipline victims of domestic violence for absenteeism and incidents of violence that occur in the workplace. Discipline of union members is governed by collective bargaining agreements and subject to the labor grievance process. These grievances often end in arbitration, where the union represents the battered employee. Because of this occurrence, employers, unions, and arbitrators must be educated about domestic violence to ensure victims of abuse receive adequate job protection

Characterization of lethal inhalational infection with Francisella tularensis in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

The intracellular Gram-negative pathogen Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularaemia and is prevalent in many countries in the northern hemisphere. To determine whether the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) would be a suitable non-human primate model of inhalational tularaemia, a pathophysiology study was undertaken. Ten animals were challenged with ∼102 c.f.u. F. tularensis strain SCHU S4 (F. tularensis subsp. tularensis). To look for trends in the infection, pairs of animals were sacrificed at 24 h intervals between 0 and 96 h post-challenge and blood and organs were assessed for bacteriology, pathology and haematological and immunological parameters. The first indication of infection was a raised core temperature at 3 days post-challenge. This coincided with a number of other factors: a rapid increase in the number of bacteria isolated from all organs, more pronounced gross pathology and histopathology, and an increase in the immunological response. As the disease progressed, higher bacterial and cytokine levels were detected. More extensive pathology was observed, with multifocal lesions seen in the lungs, liver and spleen. Disease progression in the common marmoset appears to be consistent with human clinical and pathological features of tularaemia, indicating that this may be a suitable animal model for the investigation of novel medical interventions such as vaccines or therapeutics

Chromium Cycling in Redox‐Stratified Basins Challenges δ ⁵³ Cr Paleoredox Proxy Applications

Chromium stable isotope composition (δ53Cr) is a promising tracer for redox conditions throughout Earth's history; however, the geochemical controls of δ53Cr have not been assessed in modern redox-stratified basins. We present new chromium (Cr) concentration and δ53Cr data in dissolved, sinking particulate, and sediment samples from the redox-stratified Lake Cadagno (Switzerland), a modern Proterozoic ocean analog. These data demonstrate isotope fractionation during incomplete (non-quantitative) reduction and removal of Cr above the chemocline, driving isotopically light Cr accumulation in euxinic deep waters. Sediment authigenic Cr is isotopically distinct from overlying waters but comparable to average continental crust. New and published data from other redox-stratified basins show analogous patterns. This challenges assumptions from δ53Cr paleoredox applications that quantitative Cr reduction and removal limits isotope fractionation. Instead, fractionation from non-quantitative Cr removal leads to sedimentary records offset from overlying waters and not reflecting high δ53Cr from oxidative continental weathering.ISSN:0094-8276ISSN:1944-800