Online synchronous inspection and system optimization of flexible food packaging bags by using machine vision and sensing technique

Flexible food packaging in the market is increasingly favored, and its quality is essential and indispensable for safety and convenience.  However, quality inspection still stays in the manual stage, or partially manual inspection remains, in production, leading low efficiency, lack and even false inspection, hardly meeting the requirements of the modern output.  This paper proposes and optimizes the design of an automatic detection system with intelligence for flexible food packaging bag, which can effectively be adopted to check the quality of packaging trademark patterns, fillers, and sealing quality.  The inspection system runs with two-stage structure, machine vision, pressure sensing and synchronization to improve efficiency and ensure the normal production beat. Simplex Method is adopted to determine the best synchronous speeds online to achieve the best expectation. Comparison has been made between the manual inspection and our automatic operation, the sample of 10000 was statistically analyzed and results have shown that two workers were saved and the correctness rate of inspection raised up to 999.8‰

Image post-processing techniques of 64-slice CT in the diagnosis of external cardiac malformations

Abstract: Objective To discuss the value of Image post-processing techniques of 64-slice CT in the diagnosis of external cardiac malformations．Materials and methods Retrospective reviews of imaging data base were done which consisted of 59 patients with congenital cardiovascular malformations who presented to our hospital. The scanning data were carried on multiple planar reformation (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP) and volume rendering (VR) as needed. The operation results were taken as diagnostic standard to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice spiral CT. Results 69 external cardiac malformations (cardiovascular connection department and peripheral vascular malformations) were confirmed by operation in all 59 patients. 67 malformations correctly diagnosed and 2 malformations were incorrecty diagnos in 64-slice spiral CT. The accuracy in diagnosing cardiovascular connection department and peripheral vascular malformations were 97.10% (67/69). There was no significant difference in image scores compared with the three image post-processing techniques (P value were 0.612, 0.902 and 0.815, respectively). Conclusions 64-slice spiral CT may be used as a primary technique and as a substitute for the diagnosis imaging portion of cardiovascular connection and peripheral vascular malformations

Indolic Uremic Solutes Enhance Procoagulant Activity of Red Blood Cells through Phosphatidylserine Exposure and Microparticle Release

Increased accumulation of indolic uremic solutes in the blood of uremic patients contributes to the risk of thrombotic events. Red blood cells (RBCs), the most abundant blood cells in circulation, may be a privileged target of these solutes. However, the effect of uremic solutes indoxyl sulfate (IS) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on procoagulant activity (PCA) of erythrocyte is unclear. Here, RBCs from healthy adults were treated with IS and IAA (mean and maximal concentrations reported in uremic patients). Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure of RBCs and their microparticles (MPs) release were labeled with Alexa Fluor 488-lactadherin and detected by flow cytometer. Cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]) with Fluo 3/AM was analyzed by flow cytometer. PCA was assessed by clotting time and purified coagulation complex assays. We found that PS exposure, MPs generation, and consequent PCA of RBCs at mean concentrations of IS and IAA enhanced and peaked in maximal uremic concentrations. Moreover, 128 nM lactadherin, a PS inhibitor, inhibited over 90% PCA of RBCs and RMPs. Eryptosis or damage, by indolic uremic solutes was due to, at least partially, the increase of cytosolic [Ca2+]. Our results suggest that RBC eryptosis in uremic solutes IS and IAA plays an important role in thrombus formation through releasing RMPs and exposing PS. Lactadherin acts as an efficient anticoagulant in this process

The BR signaling pathway regulates primary root development and drought stress response by suppressing the expression of PLT1 and PLT2 in Arabidopsis thaliana

IntroductionWith the warming global climate, drought stress has become an important abiotic stress factor limiting plant growth and crop yield. As the most rapidly drought-sensing organs of plants, roots undergo a series of changes to enhance their ability to absorb water, but the molecular mechanism is unclear.Results and methodsIn this study, we found that PLT1 and PLT2, two important transcription factors of root development in Arabidopsis thaliana, are involved in the plant response to drought and are inhibited by BR signaling. PLT1- and PLT2-overexpressing plants showed greater drought tolerance than wild-type plants. Furthermore, we found that BZR1 could bind to the promoter of PLT1 and inhibit its transcriptional activity in vitro and in vivo. PLT1 and PLT2 were regulated by BR signaling in root development and PLT2 could partially rescue the drought sensitivity of bes1-D. In addition, RNA-seq data analysis showed that BR-regulated root genes and PLT1/2 target genes were also regulated by drought; for example, CIPK3, RCI2A, PCaP1, PIP1;5, ERF61 were downregulated by drought and PLT1/2 but upregulated by BR treatment; AAP4, WRKY60, and AT5G19970 were downregulated by PLT1/2 but upregulated by drought and BR treatment; and RGL2 was upregulated by drought and PLT1/2 but downregulated by BR treatment.DiscussionOur findings not only reveal the mechanism by which BR signaling coordinates root growth and drought tolerance by suppressing the expression of PLT1 and PLT2 but also elucidates the relationship between drought and root development. The current study thus provides an important theoretical basis for the improvement of crop yield under drought conditions

Minimising efficiency roll-off in high-brightness perovskite light-emitting diodes.

Efficiency roll-off is a major issue for most types of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and its origins remain controversial. Here we present investigations of the efficiency roll-off in perovskite LEDs based on two-dimensional layered perovskites. By simultaneously measuring electroluminescence and photoluminescence on a working device, supported by transient photoluminescence decay measurements, we conclude that the efficiency roll-off in perovskite LEDs is mainly due to luminescence quenching which is likely caused by non-radiative Auger recombination. This detrimental effect can be suppressed by increasing the width of quantum wells, which can be easily realized in the layered perovskites by tuning the ratio of large and small organic cations in the precursor solution. This approach leads to the realization of a perovskite LED with a record external quantum efficiency of 12.7%, and the efficiency remains to be high, at approximately 10%, under a high current density of 500 mA cm-2

MODMA dataset: a Multi-modal Open Dataset for Mental-disorder Analysis

According to the World Health Organization, the number of mental disorder patients, especially depression patients, has grown rapidly and become a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. However, the present common practice of depression diagnosis is based on interviews and clinical scales carried out by doctors, which is not only labor-consuming but also time-consuming. One important reason is due to the lack of physiological indicators for mental disorders. With the rising of tools such as data mining and artificial intelligence, using physiological data to explore new possible physiological indicators of mental disorder and creating new applications for mental disorder diagnosis has become a new research hot topic. However, good quality physiological data for mental disorder patients are hard to acquire. We present a multi-modal open dataset for mental-disorder analysis. The dataset includes EEG and audio data from clinically depressed patients and matching normal controls. All our patients were carefully diagnosed and selected by professional psychiatrists in hospitals. The EEG dataset includes not only data collected using traditional 128-electrodes mounted elastic cap, but also a novel wearable 3-electrode EEG collector for pervasive applications. The 128-electrodes EEG signals of 53 subjects were recorded as both in resting state and under stimulation; the 3-electrode EEG signals of 55 subjects were recorded in resting state; the audio data of 52 subjects were recorded during interviewing, reading, and picture description. We encourage other researchers in the field to use it for testing their methods of mental-disorder analysis

The Genomes of Oryza sativa: A History of Duplications

We report improved whole-genome shotgun sequences for the genomes of indica and japonica rice, both with multimegabase contiguity, or almost 1,000-fold improvement over the drafts of 2002. Tested against a nonredundant collection of 19,079 full-length cDNAs, 97.7% of the genes are aligned, without fragmentation, to the mapped super-scaffolds of one or the other genome. We introduce a gene identification procedure for plants that does not rely on similarity to known genes to remove erroneous predictions resulting from transposable elements. Using the available EST data to adjust for residual errors in the predictions, the estimated gene count is at least 38,000–40,000. Only 2%–3% of the genes are unique to any one subspecies, comparable to the amount of sequence that might still be missing. Despite this lack of variation in gene content, there is enormous variation in the intergenic regions. At least a quarter of the two sequences could not be aligned, and where they could be aligned, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rates varied from as little as 3.0 SNP/kb in the coding regions to 27.6 SNP/kb in the transposable elements. A more inclusive new approach for analyzing duplication history is introduced here. It reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication, a recent segmental duplication on Chromosomes 11 and 12, and massive ongoing individual gene duplications. We find 18 distinct pairs of duplicated segments that cover 65.7% of the genome; 17 of these pairs date back to a common time before the divergence of the grasses. More important, ongoing individual gene duplications provide a never-ending source of raw material for gene genesis and are major contributors to the differences between members of the grass family

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Learner support for distance learners : A study of six cases of ICT-based distance education institutions in China

This thesis focuses on learner support in Chinese distance education. It draws a picture of Chinese modern distance education, covering the major issues in the field of learner support, and small group work as peer support. The aim of the study is to find out whether or not the learner support, that distance students at university level obtained, has the tendency to support students’ deep learning. The aim has been achieved by examining learner support in six institutions of ICT-based distance education in China. Three other sources of learner support are investigated. The main objectives of the study are: 1) to describe the distance students’ characteristics; 2) to examine their learning habits, learning organizations, and their interactions; 3) to investigate the student support provided by the institutions; family support; societal support; and peer support in the form of small group work. The purpose of this study is to define current practices of learner support in the six distance education institutions, determining the extent of similarities and differences on learner support services among these institutions. The study is applying a case-study approach, using qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the six Chinese distance education institutions. During the first stage, several field visits were conducted in different research sites with on-site participant observation, non-participant observation and interviews for obtaining knowledge of Chinese distance education. In the second stage, a survey with a student questionnaire was distributed to students present and others online, in total 587. In addition, semi-structured interviews with staff members (administrators, instructors and tutors), individual students, and student focus groups were performed. The present research is one of the few in-depth case studies that focus on the relation between learner support system and different approaches to learning. On the basis of these research findings, the importance of a well-designed learner support system for the distance learner, a system for fostering creative, critical or independent thinking skills, or deep learning, in line with Chinese cultural and social conditions, is underlined