How can drones be used for crop diagnostics?

Non-Peer Reviewe

Abrupt global events in the Earth's history: a physics perspective

The timeline of the Earth's history reveals quasi-periodicity of the geological record over the last 542 Myr, on timescales close, in the order of magnitude, to 1 Myr. What is the origin of this quasi-periodicity? What is the nature of the global events that define the boundaries of the geological time scale? I propose that a single mechanism is responsible for all three types of such events: mass extinctions, geomagnetic polarity reversals, and sea-level fluctuations. The mechanism is fast, and involves a significant energy release. The mechanism is unlikely to have astronomical causes, both because of the energies involved, and because it acts quasi-periodically. It must then be sought within the Earth itself. And it must be capable of reversing the Earth's magnetic field. The last requirement makes it incompatible with the consensus model of the origin of the geomagnetic field - the hydromagnetic dynamo operating in the Earth's fluid core. In the second part of the paper, I show that a vast amount of seemingly unconnected geophysical and geological data can be understood in a unified way if the source of the Earth's main magnetic field is a ~200-km-thick lithosphere, repeatedly magnetized as a result of methane-driven oceanic eruptions, which produce ocean flow capable of dynamo action. The eruptions are driven by the interplay of buoyancy forces and exsolution of dissolved gas, which accumulates in the oceanic water masses prone to stagnation and anoxia. Polarity reversals, mass extinctions, and sequence boundaries are consequences of these eruptions. Unlike the consensus model of geomagnetism, this scenario is consistent with the paleomagnetic data showing that "directional changes during a [geomagnetic polarity] reversal can be astonishingly fast, possibly occurring as a nearly instantaneous jump from one inclined dipolar state to another in the opposite hemisphere".Comment: Final journal version. New title, significant changes. Supersedes v.

Proposed Diagnostic Criteria and Classification of Canine Mast Cell Neoplasms: A Consensus Proposal

Mast cell neoplasms are one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies in dogs. The clinical picture, course, and prognosis vary substantially among patients, depending on the anatomic site, grade and stage of the disease. The most frequently involved organ is the skin, followed by hematopoietic organs (lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and bone marrow) and mucosal sites of the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal tract. In cutaneous mast cell tumors, several grading and staging systems have been introduced. However, no comprehensive classification and no widely accepted diagnostic criteria have been proposed to date. To address these open issues and points we organized a Working Conference on canine mast cell neoplasms in Vienna in 2019. The outcomes of this meeting are summarized in this article. The proposed classification includes cutaneous mast cell tumors and their sub-variants defined by grading- and staging results, mucosal mast cell tumors, extracutaneous/extramucosal mast cell tumors without skin involvement, and mast cell leukemia (MCL). For each of these entities, diagnostic criteria are proposed. Moreover, we have refined grading and staging criteria for mast cell neoplasms in dogs based on consensus discussion. The criteria and classification proposed in this article should greatly facilitate diagnostic evaluation and prognostication in dogs with mast cell neoplasms and should thereby support management of these patients in daily practice and the conduct of clinical trials

Supernatural belief is not modulated by intuitive thinking style or cognitive inhibition

According to the Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, supernatural belief relies heavily on intuitive thinking—and decreases when analytic thinking is engaged. After pointing out various limitations in prior attempts to support this Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, we test it across three new studies using a variety of paradigms, ranging from a pilgrimage field study to a neurostimulation experiment. In all three studies, we found no relationship between intuitive or analytical thinking and supernatural belief. We conclude that it is premature to explain belief in gods as ‘intuitive’, and that other factors, such as socio-cultural upbringing, are likely to play a greater role in the emergence and maintenance of supernatural belief than cognitive style

Assessment of low-dose cisplatin as a model of nausea and emesis in beagle dogs, potential for repeated administration

Cisplatin is a highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy agent, which is often used to induce nausea and emesis in animal models. The cytotoxic properties of cisplatin also cause adverse events that negatively impact on animal welfare preventing repeated administration of cisplatin. In this study, we assessed whether a low (subclinical) dose of cisplatin could be utilized as a model of nausea and emesis in the dog while decreasing the severity of adverse events to allow repeated administration. The emetic, nausea-like behavior and potential biomarker response to both the clinical dose (70 mg/m2) and low dose (15 mg/m2) of cisplatin was assessed. Plasma creatinine concentrations and granulocyte counts were used to assess adverse effects on the kidneys and bone marrow, respectively. Nausea-like behavior and emesis was induced by both doses of cisplatin, but the latency to onset was greater in the low-dose group. No significant change in plasma creatinine was detected for either dose groups. Granulocytes were significantly reduced compared with baseline (P = 0.000) following the clinical, but not the low-dose cisplatin group. Tolerability of repeated administration was assessed with 4 administrations of an 18 mg/m2 dose cisplatin. Plasma creatinine did not change significantly. Cumulative effects on the granulocytes occurred, they were significantly decreased (P = 0.03) from baseline at 3 weeks following cisplatin for the 4th administration only. Our results suggest that subclinical doses (15 and 18 mg/m2) of cisplatin induce nausea-like behavior and emesis but have reduced adverse effects compared with the clinical dose allowing for repeated administration in crossover studies

Every child mattered in England: but what matters to children?

“Every Child Matters” under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children’s care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative led coalition and replaced by “More Great Childcare”. The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and therefore has obligations for legislation, policy and curriculum, specifically with regard to children’s rights and participation. On the 25th anniversary of the UNCRC, in practice there may be different levels of participation employed to engage children’s views in the development of policy about them. This project set out to ask children about what “matters” to them. Ninety finalist Early Childhood Studies students worked as co-researchers in this project. Five themes are discussed highlighting the powerful thoughts and ideas of children. A range of ‘child-friendly’ methods were used to collect data from children including role-play, interviews, drawings and artefacts, and story-telling

A digital waveguide-based approach for Clavinet modeling and synthesis

The Clavinet is an electromechanical musical instrument produced in the mid-twentieth century. As is the case for other vintage instruments, it is subject to aging and requires great effort to be maintained or restored. This paper reports analyses conducted on a Hohner Clavinet D6 and proposes a computational model to faithfully reproduce the Clavinet sound in real time, from tone generation to the emulation of the electronic components. The string excitation signal model is physically inspired and represents a cheap solution in terms of both computational resources and especially memory requirements (compared, e.g., to sample playback systems). Pickups and amplifier models have been implemented which enhance the natural character of the sound with respect to previous work. A model has been implemented on a real-time software platform, Pure Data, capable of a 10-voice polyphony with low latency on an embedded device. Finally, subjective listening tests conducted using the current model are compared to previous tests showing slightly improved results

The power of practice: simulation training improving the quality of neonatal resuscitation skills in Bihar, India.

BACKGROUND: Globally, neonatal mortality accounts for nearly half of under-five mortality, and intrapartum related events are a leading cause. Despite the rise in neonatal resuscitation (NR) training programs in low- and middle-income countries, their impact on the quality of NR skills amongst providers with limited formal medical education, particularly those working in rural primary health centers (PHCs), remains incompletely understood. METHODS: This study evaluates the impact of PRONTO International simulation training on the quality of NR skills in simulated resuscitations and live deliveries in rural PHCs throughout Bihar, India. Further, it explores barriers to performance of key NR skills. PRONTO training was conducted within CARE India's AMANAT intervention, a maternal and child health quality improvement project. Performance in simulations was evaluated using video-recorded assessment simulations at weeks 4 and 8 of training. Performance in live deliveries was evaluated in real time using a mobile-phone application. Barriers were explored through semi-structured interviews with simulation facilitators. RESULTS: In total, 1342 nurses participated in PRONTO training and 226 NR assessment simulations were matched by PHC and evaluated. From week 4 to 8 of training, proper neck extension, positive pressure ventilation (PPV) with chest rise, and assessment of heart rate increased by 14%, 19%, and 12% respectively (all p ≤ 0.01). No difference was noted in stimulation, suction, proper PPV rate, or time to completion of key steps. In 252 live deliveries, identification of non-vigorous neonates, use of suction, and use of PPV increased by 21%, 25%, and 23% respectively (all p < 0.01) between weeks 1-3 and 4-8. Eighteen interviews revealed individual, logistical, and cultural barriers to key NR skills. CONCLUSION: PRONTO simulation training had a positive impact on the quality of key skills in simulated and live resuscitations throughout Bihar. Nevertheless, there is need for ongoing improvement that will likely require both further clinical training and addressing barriers that go beyond the scope of such training. In settings where clinical outcome data is unreliable, data triangulation, the process of synthesizing multiple data sources to generate a better-informed evaluation, offers a powerful tool for guiding this process

From cylindrical to non‐cylindrical foreland basin: Pliocene–Pleistocene evolution of the Po Plain–Northern Adriatic basin (Italy)

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