Antifungal and antibacterial activities of eugenol and non-polar extract of Syzygium aromaticum L.

The antimicrobial activity of eugenol and the non-polar extract from cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), was tested against the Staphylococcus aureus strain resistant to cefotaxime, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans using the disc diffusion antibiotic sensitivity technique. Soxhlet extraction was performed to separate the essential oil and GCMS method was used to identify the eugenol which is the main component of the clove essential oil. The measured growth inhibition zones showed significant activity against the 3 microbes. To conclude, eugenol is the major active ingredient of the clove essential oil extract

REVIEW - A reference data set for retinal vessel profiles

This paper describes REVIEW, a new retinal vessel reference dataset. This dataset includes 16 images with 193 vessel segments, demonstrating a variety of pathologies and vessel types. The vessel edges are marked by three observers using a special drawing tool. The paper also describes the algorithm used to process these segments to produce vessel profiles, against which vessel width measurement algorithms can be assessed. Recommendations are given for use of the dataset in performance assessment. REVIEW can be downloaded from http://ReviewDB.lincoln.ac.uk

Seed coat phytochemistry of both resistant and susceptible seeds affords some protection against the granivorous beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

The seed coat lies at the interface between the internal structures of the seed and the external environment and thus represents a key arena in the study of seed-herbivore interactions. Callosobruchus maculatus is a cosmopolitan pest of legume seeds, and under post-harvest conditions, females interact directly with the seed testa prior to laying their eggs. Here we investigate the effect of chemical extracts of the seed coat of the resistant Phaseolus vulgaris and the susceptible Vigna unguiculata beans on egg laying preferences and larval development of C. maculatus. Seed coat extracts contained phenolic, glycoside and alkaloid compounds. Upon re-incorporation of extracts into artificial host beans it was found that that several seed coat extracts from both the resistant and susceptible varieties reduced female oviposition and disrupted larval growth and development. However, none of the extracts assayed resulted in complete ovipositional or developmental failure suggesting that complete resistance in P. vulgaris is derived from other physical or chemical properties of the seed and/or seed coat that function either alone or synergistically. Further work is required to elucidate the importance of synergistic interactions between different physiological defence mechanisms on overall plant (seed) resistance

Mobile Real-Time Grasshopper Detection and Data Aggregation Framework

nsects of the family Orthoptera: Acrididae including grasshoppers and locust devastate crops and eco-systems around the globe. The effective control of these insects requires large numbers of trained extension agents who try to spot concentrations of the insects on the ground so that they can be destroyed before they take flight. This is a challenging and difficult task. No automatic detection system is yet available to increase scouting productivity, data scale and fidelity. Here we demonstrate MAESTRO, a novel grasshopper detection framework that deploys deep learning within RBG images to detect insects. MAeStRo uses a state-of-the-art two-stage training deep learning approach. the framework can be deployed not only on desktop computers but also on edge devices without internet connection such as smartphones. MAeStRo can gather data using cloud storage for further research and in-depth analysis. In addition, we provide a challenging new open dataset (GHCID) of highly variable grasshopper populations imaged in inner Mongolia. the detection performance of the stationary method and the mobile App are 78 and 49 percent respectively; the stationary method requires around 1000 ms to analyze a single image, whereas the mobile app uses only around 400 ms per image. The algorithms are purely data-driven and can be used for other detection tasks in agriculture (e.g. plant disease detection) and beyond. This system can play a crucial role in the collection and analysis of data to enable more effective control of this critical global pest

The role of seed coat thickness in resistance/susceptibility of legumes to cowpea beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) infestation

The role of seed coat thickness in the resistance/susceptibility of V. unguiculata (black-eyed beans, Cultivar: Black-eyed peas) against infestation by the bruchid beetle C. maculatus (F.), was investigated. Decoated V. unguiculata beans were individually coated in one to four of previously removed seed coats or one layer of Phaseolus vulgaris (Red Kidney Beans-British Type) seed coat, before being offered to non-virgin C. maculatus females to oviposit on. Following incubation for several weeks, the total adult emergence was then used to determine egg-adult survival and the seed coat thickness for both types of beans was measured. The seed coat of P. vulgaris was approximately three times thicker than that of V. unguiculata. The survival of larvae in the four coats V. unguiculata treatment was similar to that of P. vulgaris seed coat, which showed the high correlation of seed coat thickness with V. unguiculata beans resistance to C. maculatus

A database for Arabic speech recognition ARABIC_D

This paper describes the creation of new Arabic Speech Corpus (ASC) for Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition (LVCSR) technology. It describes the steps of creation and the process of recording the database used for the ASC. The ASC is designed to be comparable to corpora of other natural languages. The corpus contains 4740 utterances from Six speakers (three males and three females). There are 620 statements for training and 171 statements for testing and evaluation for each speaker. There are 3622 words, with 27725 triphones, where 5034 of them are unique

An Arabic speech corpus: a database for Arabic speech recognition

This paper describes the creation of new Arabic Speech Corpus (ASC) for Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition (LVCSR) technology. It describes the steps of creation and the process of recording the database used for the ASC. The ASC is designed to be comparable to corpora of other natural languages. The corpus contains 4740 utterances from Six speakers (three males and three females). There are 620 statements for training and 171 statements for testing and evaluation for each speaker. There are 3622 words, with 27725 triphones, where 5034 of them are unique

Effect of seed moisture content and D-limonene on oviposition decisions of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) is a cosmopolitan pest of stored pulses and legumes. Under legume storage conditions neither adults nor larvae drink, with larvae obtaining their hydration from metabolic water. However, lack of water limits female fecundity and longevity, thus females might be expected to preferentially oviposit on seeds with high moisture content so as to minimize water stress on their offspring. This was tested by offering females a choice of seeds that differed in relation to their level of water content. After controlling for differences in seed size, females were found to preferentially oviposit on the driest seeds. Offspring size and larval survival were equivalent on seeds that differed in moisture content, which in combination with the preference to lay on the driest seeds would indicate that the egg laying decisions of C. maculatus females do not function to minimize larval water stress. Analysis of the chemical volatiles released by seeds that differed in their moisture content revealed a greater level of d-limonene in the environment surrounding high moisture seeds. d-limonene has known anti-herbivory properties, thus we suggest the observed female preference for dry seeds may be related to the observed difference in the level of d-limonene in the immediate vicinity of beans that differ with respect to their moisture content

Bioactivity of endosperm extracts from susceptible and resistant bean seeds against Callosobruchus maculatus

Due to their high nutritional value, seeds are often the target of herbivory. In response, plants have evolved a host of adaptations that physically and/or chemically reduce the likelihood of granivory. In grain legumes, the main chemical defences within the endosperm derive from anti-nutritional proteins such as lectins and protease inhibitors. However, less is known about the bioactivity of secondary metabolites found within seeds. Here, solvent extraction was used to identify the major classes of phytochemicals found within the endosperm of both resistant beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and susceptible beans (Vigna unguiculata). Phenols and terpenoids were recovered from the resistant P. vulgaris seeds only, whilst glycosides and flavonoids were recovered in greater amounts from P. vulgaris in comparison to V. unguiculata. To assess the bioactivity of the extracts against the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, the extracts were incorporated into artificial seeds and key life-history traits of the beetle determined. The results show the endosperm of both resistant and susceptible beans to contain an ensemble of secondary metabolites that deter oviposition (antixenosis) by adult beetles and disrupt the survival and development of the larvae (antibiosis). However, no extract resulted in complete resistance, indicating that the phytochemicals function alongside other anti-herbivory mechanisms such as α-amylase inhibitors and protease inhibitors. Breeding programmes could potentially select for key phytochemical groups such as terpenoids or glycosides in cultivars in order to optimise the trade-off between resistance and agronomic quality by harnessing the anti-herbivory properties of secondary metabolites in conjunction with anti- nutritional proteins