Billy Baxter\u27s Boogieman

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/3848/thumbnail.jp

Instrument Bias Correction With Machine Learning Algorithms: Application to Field-Portable Mass Spectrometry

In situ sensors for environmental chemistry promise more thorough observations, which are necessary for high confidence predictions in earth systems science. However, these can be a challenge to interpret because the sensors are strongly influenced by temperature, humidity, pressure, or other secondary environmental conditions that are not of direct interest. We present a comparison of two statistical learning methods—a generalized additive model and a long short-term memory neural network model for bias correction of in situ sensor data. We discuss their performance and tradeoffs when the two bias correction methods are applied to data from submersible and shipboard mass spectrometers. Both instruments measure the most abundant gases dissolved in water and can be used to reconstruct biochemical metabolisms, including those that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide. Both models demonstrate a high degree of skill at correcting for instrument bias using correlated environmental measurements; the difference in their respective performance is less than 1% in terms of root mean squared error. Overall, the long short-term memory bias correction produced an error of 5% for O2 and 8.5% for CO2 when compared against independent membrane DO and laser spectrometer instruments. This represents a predictive accuracy of 92–95% for both gases. It is apparent that the most important factor in a skillful bias correction is the measurement of the secondary environmental conditions that are likely to correlate with the instrument bias. These statistical learning methods are extremely flexible and permit the inclusion of nearly an infinite number of correlates in finding the best bias correction solution

Bleaching in foraminifera with algal symbionts: implications for reef monitoring and risk asessment

Reef-dwelling larger foraminifers share key characteristics with reefbuilding corals: they are prolific producers of calcium carbonate, they are physiologically dependent upon algal endosymbionts, and representatives of both groups have suffered bleaching episodes in recent decades. Since 1991, bleaching has been observed in populations of Amphistegina in all subtropical oceans, with peak bleaching in 1992 and secondary peaks in 1998 and 2005. Amphistegina populations exhibiting chronic, intermediate-intensity bleaching characteristically show anomalously high incidences of shell breakage, shell deformities, evidence of predation, and microbial infestation. Asexual reproduction is profoundly affected; broods from partly bleached parents typically have fewer individuals, many of which are anomalous in shape and size. Key differences between bleaching in corals and Amphistegina are that corals typically bleach by expelling their symbionts, while Amphistegina bleach when damaged symbionts are digested, and that mass coral bleaching requires high light but correlates most consistently with elevated temperatures, while bleaching in Amphistegina is induced by light. Amphistegina are particularly sensitive to the shorter (300-490 nm) wavelengths of solar radiation, which have increased in intensity relative to longer visible wavelengths (>;490-700 nm) in clear reef waters over the past 30 years as a consequence of stratospheric ozone depletion. Abundances and visual assessments of Amphistegina populations can be used as a low-cost risk-assessment tool. These protists are sensitive to environmental conditions over days to weeks, and provide a method to quickly distinguish between water quality (local) and photo-oxidative (global) stresses. Risk assessments based on the combined use of in situ measurements and low-cost indicators can provide resource managers with essential information to decide when more costly chemical or molecular procedures are needed to determine local sources of stress

Effect of Inoculation Pressure on Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus Strain-A Disease Incidence, Severity and Titer in Sorghum.

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Innovation and valorization in supply chain network

Organizations, institutions and new governance mechanisms are taking place in the domain of innovation and valorization of the agrifood sector. Though not new in the literature, this topic is capturing the interest of scholars. It refers to the analysis of new organizations and governance frameworks in the agribusiness. Since this subject needs a deeper analysis, a platform of scientific-based discussion has been built, namely through the eleventh conference of the Wageningen International Conference on Chain and Network Management (WICaNeM) that was held in Capri (Italy) in June 2014 thanks to joining forces of three universities: Wageningen (NL), Bonn (DE) and Naples Federico II (ITA). WICaNeM is a well-known conference concerning management, economics, innovation, valorization and organization of chains and networks in a Life Sciences context. Thanks to Agricultural and Food Economics journal the 2014 conference benefits of a special issue where a selection of five papers were selected. In this short paper a brief presentation of those papers is provided

Fourteen propositions for resilience, fourteen years later

In 2006, Walker et al. published an article titled, “A Handful of Heuristics and Some Propositions for Understanding Resilience in Social-ecological Systems.” The article was incorporated into the Ecology and Society special feature, Exploring Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems. Walker et al. identified five heuristics and posed 14 propositions for understanding resilience in social-ecological systems. At the time, the authors hoped the paper would promote experimentation, critique, and application of these ideas in resilience and social-ecological systems research. To determine the extent to which these propositions have achieved the authors’ hopes, we reviewed the scientific literature on socialecological systems since the article was published. Using Scopus, we identified 627 articles that cited the Walker et al. article. We then identified and assessed the articles relative to each proposition. In addition, we conducted a more general Scopus review for articles that did not cite the Walker et al. article specifically but incorporated a proposition’s concepts. Overall, articles often cite Walker et al. as a reference for a definition of a heuristic or ecological resilience generally and not to reference a specific proposition. Nonetheless, every proposition was at least mentioned in the literature and used to advance resilience scholarship on social-ecological systems. Eleven propositions were tested by multiple articles through application of case studies or other research, and 7 of the 11 propositions were substantially discussed and advanced. Finally, three propositions were heavily critiqued either as concepts in resilience literature or in their application

Quantitative coronary CT angiography: absolute lumen sizing rather than %stenosis predicts hemodynamically relevant stenosis

This full day tutorial will use lectures and demonstrations from leading researchers and museum practitioners to present the principles and practices for robust photography-based digital techniques in museum contexts. The tutorial will present many examples of existing and cutting-edge uses of photography-based imaging including Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), Algorithmic Rendering (AR), camera calibration, and methods of imaged-based generation of textured 3D geometry. The tutorial will also explore a framework for Leading museums are now adopting the more mature members of this family of robust digital imaging practices. These practices are part of the emerging science known as Computational Photography (CP). The imaging family’s common feature is the purpose-driven selective extraction of information from sequences of standard digital photographs. The information is extracted from the photographic sequences by computer algorithms. The extracted information is then integrated into a new digital representations containing knowledge not present in the original photogs, examined either alone or sequentially. The tutorial will examine strategies that promote widespread museum adoption of empirical acquisition technologies, generate scientifically reliable digital representations that are ‘born archival’, assist this knowledge’s long-term digital preservation, enable its future reuse for novel purposes, aid the physical conservation of the digitally represented museum materials, and enable public access and research

Additive Pressures of Elevated Sea Surface Temperatures and Herbicides on Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera

Elevated ocean temperatures and agrochemical pollution individually threaten inshore coral reefs, but these pressures are likely to occur simultaneously. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the combined effects of elevated temperature and the photosystem II (PSII) inhibiting herbicide diuron on several types of symbiotic algae (diatom, dinoflagellate or rhodophyte) of benthic foraminifera in hospite. Diuron was shown to evoke a direct effect on photosynthetic efficiency (reduced effective PSII quantum yield ΔF/F′m), while elevated temperatures (>30°C, only 2°C above current average summer temperatures) were observed to impact photosynthesis more indirectly by causing reductions in maximum PSII quantum yield (Fv/Fm), interpreted as photodamage. Additionally, elevated temperatures were shown to cause bleaching through loss of chlorophyll a in foraminifera hosting either diatoms or dinoflagellates. A significant linear correlation was found between reduced Fv/Fm and loss of chlorophyll a. In most cases, symbionts within foraminifera proved more sensitive to thermal stress in the presence of diuron (≥1 µg L−1). The mixture toxicity model of Independent Action (IA) described the combined effects of temperature and diuron on the photosystem of species hosting diatoms or dinoflagellates convincingly and in agreement with probabilistic statistics, so a response additive joint action can be assumed. We thus demonstrate that improving water quality can improve resilience of symbiotic phototrophs to projected increases in ocean temperatures. As IA described the observed combined effects from elevated temperature and diuron stress it may therefore be employed for prediction of untested mixtures and for assessing the efficacy of management measures

Disruption of RFX family transcription factors causes autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, and dysregulated behavior

Purpose We describe a novel neurobehavioral phenotype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) associated with de novo or inherited deleterious variants in members of the RFX family of genes. RFX genes are evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that act as master regulators of central nervous system development and ciliogenesis. Methods We assembled a cohort of 38 individuals (from 33 unrelated families) with de novo variants in RFX3, RFX4, and RFX7. We describe their common clinical phenotypes and present bioinformatic analyses of expression patterns and downstream targets of these genes as they relate to other neurodevelopmental risk genes. Results These individuals share neurobehavioral features including ASD, intellectual disability, and/or ADHD; other frequent features include hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli and sleep problems. RFX3, RFX4, and RFX7 are strongly expressed in developing and adult human brain, and X-box binding motifs as well as RFX ChIP-seq peaks are enriched in the cis-regulatory regions of known ASD risk genes. Conclusion These results establish a likely role of deleterious variation in RFX3, RFX4, and RFX7 in cases of monogenic intellectual disability, ADHD and ASD, and position these genes as potentially critical transcriptional regulators of neurobiological pathways associated with neurodevelopmental disease pathogenesis