School dropouts and conditional cash transfers: evidence from a randomized controlled trial in rural China's junior high schools.

Recent anecdotal reports suggest that dropout rates may be higher and actually increasing over time in poor rural areas. There are many reasons not to be surprised that there is a dropout problem, given the fact that China has a high level of poverty among the rural population, a highly competitive education system and rapidly increasing wages for unskilled workers. The overall goal of this study is to examine if there is a dropout problem in rural China and to explore the effectiveness that a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program could have on dropouts (and mechanism by which the CCT might affect drop outs). To meet this objective, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a CCT using a sample of 300 junior high school students in a nationally-designated poor county in Northwest China. Using our data, we found that the annual dropout rate in the study county was high, about 7.0%. We find, however, that a CCT program reduces drop outs by 60%; the dropout rate is 13.3% in the control group and 5.3 % in the treatment group. The program is most effective in the case of girls, younger students and the poorest performing students.

School Dropouts and Conditional Cash Transfers: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural China’s Junior High Schools.

Recent anecdotal reports suggest that dropout rates may be higher and actually increasing over time in poor rural areas. There are many reasons not to be surprised that there is a dropout problem, given the fact that China has a high level of poverty among the rural population, a highly competitive education system and rapidly increasing wages for unskilled workers. The overall goal of this study is to examine if there is a dropout problem in rural China and to explore the effectiveness that a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program could have on dropouts (and mechanism by which the CCT might affect drop outs). To meet this objective, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a CCT using a sample of 300 junior high school students in a nationally-designated poor county in Northwest China. Using our data, we found that the annual dropout rate in the study county was high, about 7%. We find, however, that a CCT program reduces drop outs by 60%; the dropout rate is 13.3% in the control group and 5.3 % in the treatment group. The program is most effective in the case of girls, younger students and the poorest performing students.

Design features and bruise evaluation of an apple harvest and in-filed presorting machine

In-field presorting of apples, in combination with the harvest aid function, would have advantages of cost savings in postharvest handling and storage, reduced postharvest pest and disease problems, and better inventory management, while also enhancing harvest productivity. A new apple harvest and in-field presorting prototype was developed to help apple growers achieve these potential benefits. The prototype sorts and grades fruit based on color and size, using a machine vision-based sorting system with an innovative fruit singulating and rotating design (SRD), and it handles the graded fruit in the bins using newly designed automatic bin fillers. Bruise damage by impact is a critical factor in the development of the apple harvest and in-field presorting prototype. This article reports on the major design features of the prototype and experimental evaluation of the prototype for potential bruise damage. Experiments were conducted on ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apples to evaluate bruise damage potential under both empty and partially filled bin conditions. An impact recording device (IRD) was used to measure the impact magnitude in terms of peak acceleration (G) at all critical points of the machine, including harvest conveyors, main conveyor, flat conveyor, SRD, cup conveyor, bin filler, and bins. It was found that bruise damage mainly occurred during bin filling. The number of impacts recorded for the partially filled bin was reduced by 60%, compared to that for the empty bin, indicating that the impact between apples and the wooden bin’s floor was a major cause of bruising. The maximum G value for the partially filled bin was measured at 34.5, while the measured G values were less than 20 from start to the point just before the bin filler, indicating no bruise damage. Bruise evaluation showed that no more than 9% of the test apples would be downgraded from ‘Extra Fancy’ grade for the partially filled bin condition. Higher G values for the empty bin condition suggested the need for further improvement to the discharge of apples from the bin filler to the bin to further reduce bruise damage

Pulmonary DWCNT Exposure Causes Sustained Local and Low-Level Systemic Inflammatory Changes in Mice

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent promising vectors to facilitate cellular drug delivery and to overcome biological barriers, but some types may also elicit persistent pulmonary inflammation based on their fibre characteristics. Here, we show the pulmonary response to aqueous suspensions of block copolymer dispersed, double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNT, length 1–10 lm) in mice by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) analysis, and BAL and blood cytokine and lung antioxidant profiling. The intratracheally instilled dose of 50 lg DWCNT caused significant pulmonary inflammation that was not resolved during a 7- day observation period. Light microscopy investigation of the uptake of DWCNT agglomerates revealed no particle ingestion for granulocytes, but only for macrophages. Accumulating macrophage, multinucleated macrophage and lymphocyte numbers in the alveolar region further indicated ineffective resolution with chronification of the inflammation. The local inflammatory impairment of the lung was accompanied by pulmonary antioxidant depletion and haematological signs of systemic inflammation. While the observed inflammation during its acute phase was dominated by neutrophils and neutrophil recruiting cytokines, the contribution of macrophages and lymphocytes with related cytokines became more significant after day 3 of exposure. This study confirms that acute pulmonary toxicity can occur on exposure of high doses of DWCNT agglomerates and offers further insight for improved nanotube design parameters to avoid potential long-term toxicity

High-Precision Fruit Localization Using Active Laser-Camera Scanning: Robust Laser Line Extraction for 2D-3D Transformation

Recent advancements in deep learning-based approaches have led to remarkable progress in fruit detection, enabling robust fruit identification in complex environments. However, much less progress has been made on fruit 3D localization, which is equally crucial for robotic harvesting. Complex fruit shape/orientation, fruit clustering, varying lighting conditions, and occlusions by leaves and branches have greatly restricted existing sensors from achieving accurate fruit localization in the natural orchard environment. In this paper, we report on the design of a novel localization technique, called Active Laser-Camera Scanning (ALACS), to achieve accurate and robust fruit 3D localization. The ALACS hardware setup comprises a red line laser, an RGB color camera, a linear motion slide, and an external RGB-D camera. Leveraging the principles of dynamic-targeting laser-triangulation, ALACS enables precise transformation of the projected 2D laser line from the surface of apples to the 3D positions. To facilitate laser pattern acquisitions, a Laser Line Extraction (LLE) method is proposed for robust and high-precision feature extraction on apples. Comprehensive evaluations of LLE demonstrated its ability to extract precise patterns under variable lighting and occlusion conditions. The ALACS system achieved average apple localization accuracies of 6.9 11.2 mm at distances ranging from 1.0 m to 1.6 m, compared to 21.5 mm by a commercial RealSense RGB-D camera, in an indoor experiment. Orchard evaluations demonstrated that ALACS has achieved a 95% fruit detachment rate versus a 71% rate by the RealSense camera. By overcoming the challenges of apple 3D localization, this research contributes to the advancement of robotic fruit harvesting technology

Mitochondrial genomes of two Barklice, Psococerastis albimaculata and Longivalvus hyalospilus (Psocoptera: Psocomorpha): contrasting rates in mitochondrial gene rearrangement between major lineages of Psocodea

The superorder Psocodea has ∼10,000 described species in two orders: Psocoptera (barklice and booklice) and Phthiraptera (parasitic lice). One booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila and six species of parasitic lice have been sequenced for complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes; these seven species have the most rearranged mt genomes seen in insects. The mt genome of a barklouse, lepidopsocid sp., has also been sequenced and is much less rearranged than those of the booklouse and the parasitic lice. To further understand mt gene rearrangements in the Psocodea, we sequenced the mt genomes of two barklice, Psococerastis albimaculata and Longivalvus hyalospilus, the first representatives from the suborder Psocomorpha, which is the most species-rich suborder of the Psocodea. We found that these two barklice have the least rearranged mt genomes seen in the Psocodea to date: a protein-coding gene (nad3) and five tRNAs (trnN, trnS1, trnE, trnM and trnC) have translocated. Rearrangements of mt genes in these two barklice can be accounted for by two events of tandem duplication followed by random deletions. Phylogenetic analyses of the mt genome sequences support the view that Psocoptera is paraphyletic whereas Phthiraptera is monophyletic. The booklouse, L. bostrychophila (suborder Troctomorpha) is most closely related to the parasitic lice. The barklice (suborders Trogiomorpha and Psocomorpha) are closely related and form a monophyletic group. We conclude that mt gene rearrangement has been substantially faster in the lineage leading to the booklice and the parasitic lice than in the lineage leading to the barklice. Lifestyle change appears to be associated with the contrasting rates in mt gene rearrangements between the two lineages of the Psocodea

Mitochondrial genome organization varies among different groups of the booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila: Poster

The booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila is an important stored pest worldwide. The mt genome of an asexual strain (Beibei, China) of the booklouse, L. bostrychophila, comprises two chromosomes; each chromosome contains approximate half of the 37 genes typically found in animals. The mt genomes of two sexual strains of L. bostrychophila, however, comprise five and seven chromosomes respectively; each chromosome contains one to six genes. To understand mt genome evolution in L. bostrychophila, we sequenced the mt genomes of six strains of asexual L. bostrychophila collected from different locations in China, Croatia and USA. The mt genomes of all of the six asexual strains of L. bostrychophila collected in China, Croatia and USA have two chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis of mt genome sequences divided nine strains of L. bostrychophila into four groups. Each group has a distinct mt genome organization and substantial sequence divergence (48.7-87.4%) from other groups. Furthermore, the seven asexual strains of L. bostrychophila including the published Beibei strain are more closely related to two other species of booklice, L. paeta and L. sculptilis, than to the sexual strains of L. bostrychophila. Our results revealed highly divergent mt genomes in the booklouse, L. bostrychophila, and indicated that L. bostrychophila is a cryptic species.The booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila is an important stored pest worldwide. The mt genome of an asexual strain (Beibei, China) of the booklouse, L. bostrychophila, comprises two chromosomes; each chromosome contains approximate half of the 37 genes typically found in animals. The mt genomes of two sexual strains of L. bostrychophila, however, comprise five and seven chromosomes respectively; each chromosome contains one to six genes. To understand mt genome evolution in L. bostrychophila, we sequenced the mt genomes of six strains of asexual L. bostrychophila collected from different locations in China, Croatia and USA. The mt genomes of all of the six asexual strains of L. bostrychophila collected in China, Croatia and USA have two chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis of mt genome sequences divided nine strains of L. bostrychophila into four groups. Each group has a distinct mt genome organization and substantial sequence divergence (48.7-87.4%) from other groups. Furthermore, the seven asexual strains of L. bostrychophila including the published Beibei strain are more closely related to two other species of booklice, L. paeta and L. sculptilis, than to the sexual strains of L. bostrychophila. Our results revealed highly divergent mt genomes in the booklouse, L. bostrychophila, and indicated that L. bostrychophila is a cryptic species

Regulated dicing of pre-mir-144 via reshaping of its terminal loop.

Although the route to generate microRNAs (miRNAs) is often depicted as a linear series of sequential and constitutive cleavages, we now appreciate multiple alternative pathways as well as diverse strategies to modulate their processing and function. Here, we identify an unusually profound regulatory role of conserved loop sequences in vertebrate pre-mir-144, which are essential for its cleavage by the Dicer RNase III enzyme in human and zebrafish models. Our data indicate that pre-mir-144 dicing is positively regulated via its terminal loop, and involves the ILF3 complex (NF90 and its partner NF45/ILF2). We provide further evidence that this regulatory switch involves reshaping of the pre-mir-144 apical loop into a structure that is appropriate for Dicer cleavage. In light of our recent findings that mir-144 promotes the nuclear biogenesis of its neighbor mir-451, these data extend the complex hierarchy of nuclear and cytoplasmic regulatory events that can control the maturation of clustered miRNAs