EndNet: Sparse AutoEncoder Network for Endmember Extraction and Hyperspectral Unmixing

Data acquired from multichannel sensors are a highly valuable asset to interpret the environment for a variety of remote sensing applications. However, low spatial resolution is a critical limitation for previous sensors, and the constituent materials of a scene can be mixed in different fractions due to their spatial interactions. Spectral unmixing is a technique that allows us to obtain the material spectral signatures and their fractions from hyperspectral data. In this paper, we propose a novel endmember extraction and hyperspectral unmixing scheme, so-called EndNet, that is based on a two-staged autoencoder network. This well-known structure is completely enhanced and restructured by introducing additional layers and a projection metric [i.e., spectral angle distance (SAD) instead of inner product] to achieve an optimum solution. Moreover, we present a novel loss function that is composed of a Kullback-Leibler divergence term with SAD similarity and additional penalty terms to improve the sparsity of the estimates. These modifications enable us to set the common properties of endmembers, such as nonlinearity and sparsity for autoencoder networks. Finally, due to the stochastic-gradient-based approach, the method is scalable for large-scale data and it can be accelerated on graphical processing units. To demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method, we conduct extensive experiments on several well-known data sets. The results confirm that the proposed method considerably improves the performance compared to the state-of-the-art techniques in the literature

Comparison of the sugar and organic acid components of seventeen table grape varieties produced in Ankara (Türkiye): a study over two consecutive seasons

Sugars and organic acids not only have a significant impact on taste balance and sensory acceptance by consumers but also play a crucial role in the chemical equilibrium of grape juices and wines. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the content and composition of sugars and organic acids in 17 grape varieties over two consecutive years using high-performance liquid chromatography. The variability in all the parameters studied was strongly influenced by both the grape cultivars and specific years (p ≤ 0.05). In grape berries, the primary sugars identified were fructose and glucose, which ranged from 6.50 to 11.10 g/L and from 5.83 to 12.12 g/L, respectively, over the two years. However, sucrose was not detected in any of the grape varieties examined. For the two respective years, the highest titratable acidity (TA) was found in Tekirdağ Çekirdeksizi (TeCe) (0.89 and 0.90 g/L), while the lowest was detected in Victoria (Vi) (0.48 and 0.51 g/L). Total soluble solids (TSS) peaked in Horoz Karası (HoKA) (21.90 °Brix), whereas it reached its lowest point in Big Perlon (BiPe) (14.1 °Brix). The tartaric acid content in the grape berries, ranging from 1.48 to 10.33 g/L for the two years, exhibited similar characteristics to malic acid, which ranged from 1.09 to 9.62 g/L and from 1.03 to 9.68 g/L for the two respective years. The succinic, malic, tartaric, citric, and oxalic acid contents were notably higher in the Kyoho (Ky) variety than in the other varieties. When examining the dendrogram of the contents of organic acid and sugar for similarities, it was evident that 16 out of the 17 grape varieties had a high degree of similarity, except for Alphonse Lavallée (AlLa) and HoKa. The similarity levels among the varieties ranged from 99.49% to 72.36%. The highest similarity (99.49%) was observed between the AlLa and Barış (Ba) varieties. The lowest similarity was observed among the AlLa, HoKa, and Ky varieties. In summary, this study underscores that certain table grape varieties grown in Ankara exhibit significant variations in valuable organic acids and sugars, which are associated with potential health benefits when considering human consumption

Rupture of the meniscofibular ligament

The meniscofibular ligament is an anatomically defined ligament of the knee in humans. However, there are no data regarding the prognosis following injury to this ligament. Our case was a 42-year-old man who presented at our clinic with pain of the lateral side of his left knee. MRI of his left knee revealed the rupture of the meniscofibular ligament. The mechanism of injury was consistent with anatomical and mechanical studies of the meniscofibular ligament. The patient was treated conservatively for 1 year, but his pain did not resolve completely. A case series of patients with the same injury is required to establish an effective treatment for this rare injury

Plantas silvestres comestibles en la provincia de Ağrı, Turquía oriental

Wild edible plant species found in Ağrı are nutritionally and economically relevant. Plants are collected by the villagers and brought to the market for sale in the spring. Interest in these plants responds to the increasing demand for organic and natural food. In this study, 350 in-depth face-to-face interviews with villagers about the edible plants used in Ağrı (7 districts, 35 villages) were conducted in the region from April 2016 to October 2017. The species, parts used and their consumption and preservation techniques were analyzed and documented. Some of the wild edible plant species are consumed cured or canned, raw or cooked, dried, and some are frozen. The collected 100 wild edible species belong to 25 different plant families. Species are consumed as vegetables (91), spices (19), beverages (16), subterranean parts (5), fruits (3), seeds (3) and exudates (2). The most important species according to their cultural importance were: Amaranthus retroflexus, Beta trigyna, Gundelia tournefortii, Mentha longifolia, Polygonum persicaria, Rumex scutatus, Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. longirostris, and Urtica dioica. Leaves and young shoots were the most frequently used parts. Our study shows that wild edible plants are still well known and used by the local people of Ağrı as a food source. The documented data on these plants herein could be used as baseline information for further investigations on nutritional contents, as they could have the potential to become valuable nutrition sources.Las plantas silvestres comestibles que se encuentran alrededor de Ağrı siguen siendo importantes para la alimentación y la economía local. Estas plantas son recolectadas por la población local y vendidas en el mercado en primavera. El interés por las plantas silvestres comestibles ha aumentado debido a la creciente demanda de alimentos orgánicos y naturales. En este estudio se realizaron 350 entrevistas cara a cara entre abril de 2016 y octubre de 2017 a habitantes de la región de Ağrı (7 distritos, 35 pueblos). Se analizaron y documentaron las especies empleadas, la partes comestibles y sus modos de preparación, conservación y consumo. La mayoría se consumen, pero también se toman crudas. También se procesan en forma de conservas, se secan o se congelan. Las 100 especies registradas pertenecen a 25 familias y se usan como verduras (91), condimentos (19), bebidas (16), órganos subterráneos (5), frutos (3), semillas (3 ) y exudados (2). Según su importancia cultural, las plantas más importantes son: Amaranthus retroflexus, Beta trigyna, Gundelia tournefortii, Mentha longifolia, Polygonum persicaria, Rumex scutatus, Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. longirostris, y Urtica dioica. Las hojas y brotes jóvenes son las partes más utilizadas. Estos resultados muestran que las plantas silvestres comestibles todavía son muy conocidas y utilizadas por la población local de Ağrı como fuente de alimento. Además, los datos recopilados sobre estas plantas podrían usarse para futuras investigaciones sobre sus contenidos nutricionales, ya que tienen el potencial de convertirse en valiosas fuentes de nutrientes

Correlation between oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) and oral disorders in a Turkish patient population

Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to determine the nature of the complaints that bring patients to our clinic and to what degree these complaints affect their quality of life (QoL). We also aimed to determine any associations between gender, education or harmful habits and each patient?s oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL). Methods: A total of 1090 patients, consisting of 651 females (59.7 %) and 439 males (40.3 %), were included in this study. Of these patients, 220 constituted healthy controls. Two patient-centered outcome measures, the 14 item OHIP-14 and the 16 item OHQoL-UK measures were used. Results: Most of the patients presented with toothache and caries (50.1 %), 11.2 % had suffered tooth loss and had denture needs, 9.2 % had periodontal problems, 1.8 % had temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, 3.8 % had buried third molars, 2.4 % had orthodontic and aesthetic disorders, 1.3 % had suffered injury due to trauma, and 20.2 % came only for control checkups. OHQoL was best in the control group and the worst in patients who had suffered trauma. In addition, we noted correlations between gender, education and harmful habits, and that of the patient?s oral health-related quality of life. Conclusion: According to our results, OHQoL is associated with the oral complaints of patients. Furthermore, OHQoL may not only be associated with the oral health status of patients, but factors such as gender, education and harmful habits may also play a role

SELECTION OF SEEDLING ROOTSTOCK FOR APRICOT

The aim of this study is to select promising wild apricot rootstocks among wild apricot populations propagated by seeds naturally found in Malatya, Erzincan, Nev?ehir, Sivas and Elaz?g provinces. In the first stage, land scans were carried out between 2007 and 2009 and 756 genotypes were determined which could be suitable for the characteristics of the rootstock by considering the phenotypic characteristics. On land surveys,  the wild apricot trees that are healthy, productive, bitter seeds, thornless, dwarth growth habit and smooth trunk structure was selected. Among the marked wild apricot types were selected 240 types in 2008, 262 types in 2009 and 254 types in 2010. Seeds taken from these determined wild apricot trees were planted for 2 years in Erzincan and Malatya locations and germination experiments were carried out. In the study, Hasanbey and Hac?halilo?lu apricot varieties were used as control plants. Seed germination percentage, seedling diameter, height, diameter and high homogeneity were determined. At the end of three years of germination experiments were evaluated according to weighting ranking score and finally 8 types that has hight score selected for Malatya location and 18 types for Erzincan location. In the second step, these 26 types after selected in germination tests, was grafted by cv. Hac?halilo?lu in Malatya and by cv. Hasanbey in Erzincan. After grafting success, shoot diameter, homogenity, shoot length and homogenity were evaluated. Then, the data was selected according to weighting ranking score and finally 7 types (58/6, 58/7, 24/111, 24/7, 24/25, 24/33 and 44/8) that has hight score selected for Malatya and Erzincan locations, and transferred to the third stage. In third stage, collection orchards will be established and rootstocks-scion, yield, phenological observations, pomological analysis, tree growth and habit will be evaluated.&nbsp

Folding Pathways of Prion and Doppel

The relevance of various residue positions for the stability and the folding characteristics of the prion protein are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations of models exploiting the topology of the native state. Highly significant correlations are found between the most relevant sites in our analysis and the single point mutations known to be associated with the arousal of the genetic forms of prion disease (caused by the conformational change from the cellular to the scrapie isoform). Considerable insight into the conformational change is provided by comparing the folding process of prion and doppel (a newly discovered protein) sharing very similar native state topology: the folding pathways of the former can be grouped in two main classes according to which tertiary structure contacts are formed first enroute to the native state. For the latter a single class of pathways leads to the native state. Our results are consistent and supportive of the recent experimental findings that doppel lacks the scrapie isoform and that such remarkably different behavior results from differences in the region containing the two $\beta-$strands and the intervening helix.Comment: 16 pages, 2 tables, 5 figure

Testing simplified protein models of the hPin1 WW domain

The WW domain of the human Pin1 protein for its simple topology and the large amount of experimental data is an ideal candidate to assess theoretical approaches to protein folding. The purpose of the present work is to compare the reliability of the chemically-based Sorenson/Head-Gordon (SHG) model and a standard native centric model in reproducing through molecular dynamics simulations some of the well known features of the folding transition of this small domain. Our results show that the G\={o} model correctly reproduces the cooperative, two-state, folding mechanism of the WW-domain, while the SHG model predicts a transition occurring in two stages: a collapse followed by a structural rearrangement. The lack of a cooperative folding in the SHG simulations appears to be related to the non-funnel shape of the energy landscape featuring a partitioning of the native valley in sub-basins corresponding to different chain chiralities. However the SHG approach remains more reliable in estimating the $\Phi$-values with respect to G\={o}-like description. This may suggest that the WW-domain folding process is stirred by energetic and topological factors as well, and it highlights the better suitability of chemically-based models in simulating mutations.Comment: RevTex4: 12 pages and 13 eps-figure file