Nurturing Agribusiness: A Sustainable Farming System for Tomato Crop Management Leveraging Machine Learning

The agriculture industry is undergoing a transformative shift with the introduction of IoT technology, enabling global connectivity for farmers. This technology offers a plethora of advantages, ranging from precise seed selection based on soil analysis to efficient crop maintenance, water management, and enhanced marketing support for improved profitability. To further enhance tomato farming practices, we propose the implementation of a smart farmer marketing assistant that streamlines the process of segregating yield based on its growth stage, reducing labor and time requirements.Further, the frame work is capable of early-disease management system that can detect  diseases like early blight,light blight, buck eye rot and anthranose and suggest remedy.  By adopting this innovative approach, financial losses associated with traditional methods are minimized.The traditional practice of combining all categories of vegetables (ripened, unripened, and partially rotten) in a single container often results in reduced shelf life for the produce. In our framework, we employ color sorting to categorize the vegetables, ensuring proper packing into their respective bins. This valuable data is made accessible through a cloud environment, providing potential buyers with comprehensive information about the yield, its category, and pricing. This increased visibility empowers farmers to reach a global market and sell their produce at competitive prices. In this context, we present a case study focused on the tomato crop, where we have successfully developed a prototype utilizing ESP32, a color sensor, and Google Firebase. This comprehensive framework effectively harnesses the power of IoT, Machine Learning, and potential marketing strategies, transforming the way farmers manage their crops and connect with buyers on a global scale with highly accurate 87.9% experimental results

Observation of the exceptional-point-enhanced Sagnac effect

Exceptional points (EPs) are special spectral degeneracies of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians that govern the dynamics of open systems. At an EP, two or more eigenvalues, and the corresponding eigenstates, coalesce. Recently, it was predicted that operation of an optical gyroscope near an EP results in improved response to rotations. However, the performance of such a system has not been examined experimentally. Here we introduce a precisely controllable physical system for the study of non-Hermitian physics and nonlinear optics in high-quality-factor microresonators. Because this system dissipatively couples counter-propagating lightwaves within the resonator, it also functions as a sensitive gyroscope for the measurement of rotations. We use our system to investigate the predicted EP-enhanced Sagnac effect and observe a four-fold increase in the Sagnac scale factor by directly measuring rotations applied to the resonator. The level of enhancement can be controlled by adjusting the system bias relative to the EP, and modelling results confirm the observed enhancement. Moreover, we characterize the sensitivity of the gyroscope near the EP. Besides verifying EP physics, this work is important for the understanding of optical gyroscopes

EGFR interacts with the fusion protein of respiratory syncytial virus strain 2-20 and mediates infection and mucin expression.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of viral lower respiratory tract illness in children. In contrast to the RSV prototypic strain A2, clinical isolate RSV 2-20 induces airway mucin expression in mice, a clinically relevant phenotype dependent on the fusion (F) protein of the RSV strain. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a role in airway mucin expression in other systems; therefore, we hypothesized that the RSV 2-20 F protein stimulates EGFR signaling. Infection of cells with chimeric strains RSV A2-2-20F and A2-2-20GF or over-expression of 2-20 F protein resulted in greater phosphorylation of EGFR than infection with RSV A2 or over-expression of A2 F, respectively. Chemical inhibition of EGFR signaling or knockdown of EGFR resulted in diminished infectivity of RSV A2-2-20F but not RSV A2. Over-expression of EGFR enhanced the fusion activity of 2-20 F protein in trans. EGFR co-immunoprecipitated most efficiently with RSV F proteins derived from "mucogenic" strains. RSV 2-20 F and EGFR co-localized in H292 cells, and A2-2-20GF-induced MUC5AC expression was ablated by EGFR inhibitors in these cells. Treatment of BALB/c mice with the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib significantly reduced the amount of RSV A2-2-20F-induced airway mucin expression. Our results demonstrate that RSV F interacts with EGFR in a strain-specific manner, EGFR is a co-factor for infection, and EGFR plays a role in RSV-induced mucin expression, suggesting EGFR is a potential target for RSV disease

The Specifications and Ingredients Found in Commercially Available Toothpastes

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the specifications and ingredients of various commercially available toothpastes in Malaysia. Methods: Various toothpaste brand samples were collected from malls & pharmacies in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Each brand was studied and information regarding the presence or absence of fluoride, the fluoride content, whether the fluoride content was displayed on the packaging, the type of fluoride present, and the country of manufacture was noted. Using this information, a comprehensive list of commercially available toothpastes in the Malaysian market was prepared. Results: the 57 toothpastes collected, 12.3% (n = 7) did not state their fluoride contents, 15.8% (n = 9) were non-fluoridated, and 72% (n = 41) were fluoridated. From the 41 fluoridated toothpastes, 80% specified the type of fluoride present, with 60% containing sodium monofluorophosphate and 40% containing sodium fluoride. Of the 41 fluoridated toothpastes, only 38% specified the parts per million of fluoride. Conclusions: There is lack of standardisation regarding the labelling specifications amongst various toothpastes on the Malaysian market. This standard needs to be identified and should include information regarding the type of fluoride, concentration of fluoride, country of manufacture, and other necessary specifications printed on the toothpaste packaging

The specifications and ingredients found in commercially available toothpastes

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the specifications and ingredients of various commercially available toothpastes in Malaysia.Methods: Various toothpaste brand samples were collected from malls & pharmacies in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Each brand was studied and information regarding the presence or absence of fluoride, the fluoride content, whether the fluoride content was displayed on the packaging, the type of fluoride present, and the country of manufacture was noted. Using this information, a comprehensive list of commercially available toothpastes in the Malaysian market was prepared.Results: the 57 toothpastes collected, 12.3% (n = 7) did not state their fluoride contents, 15.8% (n = 9) were non-fluoridated, and 72% (n = 41) were fluoridated. From the 41 fluoridated toothpastes, 80% specified the type of fluoride present, with 60% containing sodium monofluorophosphate and 40% containing sodium fluoride. Of the 41 fluoridated toothpastes, only 38% specified the parts per million of fluoride. Conclusions: There is lack of standardisation regarding the labelling specifications amongst various toothpastes on the Malaysian market. This standard needs to be identified and should include information regarding the type of fluoride, concentration of fluoride, country of manufacture, and other necessary specifications printed on the toothpaste packaging

HIF-1α Plays a Critical Role in the Gestational Sidestream Smoke-Induced Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Mice.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and, in mice, gestational exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke (SS) induces BPD-like condition characterized by alveolar simplification, impaired angiogenesis, and suppressed surfactant protein production. Normal fetal development occurs in a hypoxic environment and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) regulate the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α that controls apoptosis and angiogenesis. To understand SS-induced BPD, we hypothesized that gestational SS affected alveolar development through HIF-1α.Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to air (control) or SS throughout the gestational period and the 7-day-old lungs of the progeny were examined.Gestational SS increased apoptosis of alveolar and airway epithelial cells. This response was associated with increased alveolar volumes, higher levels of proapoptotic factors (FOXO3a, HIPK2, p53, BIM, BIK, and BAX) and the antiangiogenic factor (GAX), and lower levels of antiapoptotic factors (Akt-PI3K, NF-κB, HIF-1α, and Bcl-2) in the lung. Although gestational SS increased the cells containing the proangiogenic bombesin-like-peptide, it markedly decreased the expression of its receptor GRPR in the lung. The effects of SS on apoptosis were attenuated by the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine.Gestational SS-induced BPD is potentially regulated by nAChRs and associated with downregulation of HIF-1α, increased apoptosis of epithelial cells, and increased alveolar volumes. Thus, in mice, exposure to sidestream tobacco smoke during pregnancy promotes BPD-like condition that is potentially mediated through the nAChR/HIF-1α pathway

PWM-Driven Thermally Tunable Silicon Microring Resonators: Design, Fabrication, and Characterization

Ring resonators are one of the fundamental building blocks of advanced integrated optical circuits. They find applications as nonlinear optical elements, filters, sensors, and switches among others. Here, a comprehensive optimization framework and experimental results of thermally tunable microring resonators in silicon photonics is presented, with a focus on standard silicon photonic foundry processes. In order to minimize the total power consumption, the ring resonators are tuned by applying a pulse-width-modulated electrical signal to the heaters. The thermal performance of integrated silicon and metal heaters are investigated and compared using an effective model validated by the measurement results. The heater power consumption is minimized by optimizing heater cross section, resistance, and metal contact configurations. Using the multiproject wafer run developed at CEA-LETI, it is demonstrated that a metal heater provides 30% lower power consumption compared to an integrated silicon one, reaching a power consumption of 27.53 mW per free spectral range. The measurements are in excellent agreement with the theoretically predicted thermal performance, with a deviation as low as 5%. The proposed framework, supported by the experimental results, will serve as a design guideline set that can be easily adapted for other thermo-optic switches in future silicon photonic applications

Mecamylamine attenuates the decreased expression of HIF-1α and increased alveolar volume in gestationally SS-exposed lungs.

<p><b>A:</b> WBs of the lung homogenates (70 μg) from 7-day old mice were probed with anti-HIF-1α and anti-HIF-2α antibodies (left panel). The concentration of HIF-1α was quantitated by densitometry (right panel; n = 6). <b>B:</b> Lung sections from control (FA), SS, and MM+SS were stained with anti-HIF-1α antibody followed by anti-rabbit Cy3 conjugated secondary antibody. Slides were counterstained with DAPI for nuclei. Images are representative of n = 6/group. HIF-1α (red) and nuclei (blue); scale bar = 10 um. <b>C:</b> Graphical representation of HIF-1α⁺ cells. Cells were counted blind over the randomly computer selected 7000 μm² areas by NDP. The experiment was repeated three times with different sets of animals. *, p ≤ 0.05; ***, p ≤ 0.001. <b>D:</b> Graphical representation of the differences in alveolar volumes between FA, SS, and MM+SS in 7-day old lungs. Data are presented as mean ± SD (<i>n</i> = 5). MM+SS vs FA = ns; MM+SS vs SS, p <i>≤</i> 0.05; SS vs FA, p ≤ 0.01.</p