Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) Using Socket IO Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices to the Internet that are provided with unique identifiers which has the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to- human or human-to- computer interaction. Raspberry pi-3 a popular, cheap, small and powerful computer with built in Wi-Fi can be used to make any devices smart by connecting to that particular device and embedding the required software to Raspberry pi-3 and connect it to Internet. It is difficult to install a full Linux OS inside a small devices like light switch so in that case to connect to a Wi-Fi connection a model was proposed known as Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) which is a simple Wi-Fi connectivity software for a Debian compatible Linux OS). The objective of this paper is to make the interactive user interface for Wi-Fi connection in Raspberry Pi touch display by providing live updates using Socket IO technology. The Socket IO technology enables real-time bidirectional communication between client and server. Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) is compatible with every platform, browser or device.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, published with Global Research and Development Journal for Engineerin

A SWEET solution to rice blight

Bacterial blight is an important disease of rice that is particularly destructive in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, exacerbated by the heavy rains of the monsoon seasons. Estimated crop loss due to bacterial blight may be as high as 75%, with millions of hectares of rice affected annually. In this issue, an international team of researchers describes the use of CRISPR editing to generate rice plants that are broadly resistant to the main pathogen that causes rice blight, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo)1. To enhance the durability and management of resistance, the team has also developed a kit to trace the disease, and its virulence and resistance alleles2

The effects of lithium on reticulo-rumen motility of sheep and goats

Lithium salts are used experimentally to induce food aversions and as a marker for measuring the intake of supplements (Ralphs, 1992)

Annual Variation in Northern Bobwhite Survival and Raptor Migration

We estimated survival of radio-marked northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on a managed prairie site in northeast Mississippi during 2 disparate winters (15 Sep-14 Apr 2000–2002). We retrospectively examined factors that may influence bobwhite survival. Pooled survival rates differed substantially between years (S 1⁄4 0.03 6 0.02 in 2000–2001 and S 1⁄4 0.36 6 0.16 in 2001–2002). Regional relative abundance of 3 species of raptors thought to be important predators of bobwhite was greater during 2000 compared to 2001 based on kriging of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data. We demonstrate an approach for characterizing annual variation in spatial distribution of migratory raptors and suggest that annual variation in local winter predator context may be useful for explaining annual variation in winter survival of local bobwhite populations

Pharmacokinetics of a Single Feeding of Pelleted Cannabidiol in Horses

Claims about cannabidiol (CBD) supplementation improving health and behavior are extensive, but research is lacking. Some studies have shown decreased anxiety behavior in rats, and increased activity in osteoarthritic dogs supplemented with CBD, but even less research exists on horses. This study monitored pharmacokinetics and short-term safety for 3 CBD dosages. Eighteen Quarter Horse geldings were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups: 50 mg (TXT1), 100 mg (TXT2), and 250 mg (TXT3). Dosage was derived from manufacturer recommendations and existing literature on other species. Horses were fed a single dose of CBD pellets. Blood was collected pre- and post-treatment at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 12 hr. Serum was analyzed for CBD and serum chemistry, and plasma was analyzed for a complete blood chemistry (CBC) evaluation. Statistics were completed on serum chemistry using PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. Serum chemistry and CBC results were within normal parameters; however, treatment differences were observed for BUN (TXT1=15.50, TXT2=16.52, TXT3=18.61; P≤0.03) and creatinine (TXT1=1.41, TXT2=1.22, TXT3=1.49; P≤0.01). In other species, peak CBD concentrations occur approximately 2 hr post treatment. Peak serum concentrations were detected in 1 of 6 TXT2 horses and 5 of 6 TXT3 horses at 2 hr post treatment. This data can be used to support further research to determine correct and safe doses of CBD in horses

Evaluating new therapies in gastrointestinal stromal tumor using in vivo molecular optical imaging

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors in the US. The majority (~85%) of GISTs possess gain-of-function mutations in KIT or PDGFRA, causing constitutive activation of the kinase receptor. GIST management has been transformed by the identification of tumor driver mutations leading to unprecedented disease control of advanced GIST with the introduction of imatinib mesylate (IM). Despite IM’s efficacy, most patients experience primary and/or secondary resistance within 2 y of treatment. Additional therapies and methods to optimize screening of novel approaches in preclinical studies are warranted. Clinically, treatment efficacy is typically assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) guidelines or Choi criteria. Both require a period of time on therapy before changes indicative of response can be observed. In addition, neither informs directly about cell death. We evaluated the use of molecular imaging technology in an animal model using near-infrared (NIR) imaging probes together with three-dimensional fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) for assessing therapeutic response and ultimately optimizing our understanding of the biologic effects of these agents. We determined the potential of NIR probes (PSVue(TM)794 and cell-penetrating KcapQ647) for detecting distinct markers of apoptosis and compare this to tumor size measured by MRI in response to IM treatment in GIST-T1 xenografts. Our studies revealed statistically significant increases in apoptosis due to IM treatment using both probes as early as 24 h post IM treatment which was confirmed by IHC. Molecular imaging will allow for faster and more effective screening of novel therapies in preclinical GIST models

Specification, design and evaluation of an automated agrochemical traceability system

Traceability through all the stakeholders in food production is an issue of increasing importance, being specifically required by the regulations for food safety and quality (EC 178/2002), and for compliance with environmental protection. The agricultural market perceives a need for systems and technologies to automate the currently manual process of producing records of agrochemical inputs loaded into a spraying machine. A novel prototype Automated Agrochemical Traceability System (AACTS) to identify and weigh agrochemicals as they are loaded into crop sprayer has been designed, constructed, fitted to a machine and evaluated with commercial operators. The functional blocks of the system are a 13.56 MHz RFID reader, 1.4 litre self cleaning weighing funnel mounted on a 3 kg load cell, a user interface with a screen and three user command buttons (Yes, No, Back), and a progress bar made of 8 coloured LED’s (green, amber, red). The system is able to trace individual agrochemical containers, associate the product identity with national agrochemical databases, quantify the required amount of product, assist the sprayer operator and control workflow, generate records of sprayer inputs and interoperate with (recommending extensions to) task management standards as set out in ISO 11783-10. The evaluation of the quantity weighing has demonstrated that with such a system, the principal noise component is in the range of 33–83 Hz, induced by the operating tractor engine. A combined 3 Hz low pass digital filter with a second stage rolling mean of 5 values improves performance to allow a practical resolution of 1 gram (engine switched off) to 3.6 grams (sprayer fully operational) with a response appropriate to suit human reaction time. This is a significant improvement over the ±10 grams of the work of Watts (2004). An experiment with 10 sprayer operators has proved that in the majority of cases (92%) an accuracy equal or better than ±5% is achieved regardless of dispensing speed. The dispensed amounts (100.36% of target) and recorded (100.16%) are in accordance with prescribed values (100%; LSD(5%) 2.166%), where amounts dispensed by manual methods (92.61%) differ significantly from prescribed and recorded value (100%). The AACTS delivers a statistically similar work rate (211.8 s/task) as manual method (201.3 s/task; Δt = 10.5 s/task; LSD(5%) 28.2 s/task) in combined loading and recording cycle. Considering only the loading time (181.2 s/task) of manual method, the difference is 30.6 s/task (LSD(5%) 30.1 s/task). In practice this difference is believed to be marginal compared to the time required to load the water, random external events during the spraying session and in time moving, checking and storing paper records. The integrated weighing funnel concept is another significant improvement over previous work. Using this system, the mean duration of measuring per container for all tasks (34.0 s) is approximately half the time (68.5 s) achieved by Watts (2004). The AACTS was rated to be safer than the manual method regarding operator health and safety and risk of spillage. All operators who evaluated the AACTS were interested in purchasing such a system. The work confirmed that an RFID system was an appropriate media for agrochemical identification performing more than 250 product identification operations during operator tests without failure, with a speed of operation <1 s per cycle and reading distance of 100 mm. A specific format for RFID tag data is proposed for adoption, using low cost tags, that combines item level traceability with identification of products independently without access to worldwide databases. The AACTS follows ISO 11783 task management logic where a job is defined in a prepared electronic task file. It is proposed to extend the ISO 11783-10 task file to integrate the records provided by AACTS by handling the tank loads as individual products resulting from loading task and allocating them to spraying tasks. It is recommended to produce a production prototype following the design methodology, analysis techniques and performance drivers presented in this work and develop the features of user interface and records of tank content into software for ISO 11783-10 cabin task controller to deliver business benefits to the farming industry. The results with RFID encourage the adoption of RFID labelling of agrochemical containers. The reader may wish to read this thesis in parallel with Gasparin (2009) who has considered the business and industry adoption aspects of the AACTS.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

LIGO detector characterization in the second and third observing runs

The characterization of the Advanced LIGO detectors in the second and third observing runs has increased the sensitivity of the instruments, allowing for a higher number of detectable gravitational-wave signals, and provided confirmation of all observed gravitational-wave events. In this work, we present the methods used to characterize the LIGO detectors and curate the publicly available datasets, including the LIGO strain data and data quality products. We describe the essential role of these datasets in LIGO–Virgo Collaboration analyses of gravitational-waves from both transient and persistent sources and include details on the provenance of these datasets in order to support analyses of LIGO data by the broader community. Finally, we explain anticipated changes in the role of detector characterization and current efforts to prepare for the high rate of gravitational-wave alerts and events in future observing runs