Scatteract: Automated extraction of data from scatter plots

Charts are an excellent way to convey patterns and trends in data, but they do not facilitate further modeling of the data or close inspection of individual data points. We present a fully automated system for extracting the numerical values of data points from images of scatter plots. We use deep learning techniques to identify the key components of the chart, and optical character recognition together with robust regression to map from pixels to the coordinate system of the chart. We focus on scatter plots with linear scales, which already have several interesting challenges. Previous work has done fully automatic extraction for other types of charts, but to our knowledge this is the first approach that is fully automatic for scatter plots. Our method performs well, achieving successful data extraction on 89% of the plots in our test set.Comment: Submitted to ECML PKDD 2017 proceedings, 16 page

Large-scale stability and astronomical constraints for coupled dark-energy models

The physics of the dark energy and the dark matter is still an open issue in cosmology. The dark energy occupies about 68.5% of the total energy density of the universe today [1], and is believed to accelerate its observed expansion, but the physical nature, origin, and time evolution of this dark energy remain unknown. On the other hand, the dark matter sector (occupying almost 27.5% of the total energy density of the present-day universe) appears to be the principal gravitational in uence on the formation of large-scale structure in the universe and its existence is supported by direct evidence from the spiral galaxy rotation curves and cluster dynamics [2]. At present, we have a many dark-energy models [3, 4] and, according to syntheses of all the current observational data, -cosmology appears to be the simplest cosmological model that can explain the bulk of the evidence. However, the unexplained numerical value of the cosmological constant, and the coincidences between the present densities of the di erent dark and luminous components of the universe, provoke us to search for new cosmological scenarios in which the observed state of a airs is more natural. In this work we will explore cosmologies where dark energy interacts and exchanges energy with dark matter

Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells into Cells with Corneal Keratocyte Phenotype

Corneal transparency depends on a unique extracellular matrix secreted by stromal keratocytes, mesenchymal cells of neural crest lineage. Derivation of keratocytes from human embryonic stem (hES) cells could elucidate the keratocyte developmental pathway and open a potential for cell-based therapy for corneal blindness. This study seeks to identify conditions inducing differentiation of pluripotent hES cells to the keratocyte lineage. Neural differentiation of hES cell line WA01(H1) was induced by co-culture with mouse PA6 fibroblasts. After 6 days of co-culture, hES cells expressing cell-surface NGFR protein (CD271, p75NTR) were isolated by immunoaffinity adsorption, and cultured as a monolayer for one week. Keratocyte phenotype was induced by substratum-independent pellet culture in serum-free medium containing ascorbate. Gene expression, examined by quantitative RT-PCR, found hES cells co-cultured with PA6 cells for 6 days to upregulate expression of neural crest genes including NGFR, SNAI1, NTRK3, SOX9, and MSX1. Isolated NGFR-expressing cells were free of PA6 feeder cells. After expansion as a monolayer, mRNAs typifying adult stromal stem cells were detected, including BMI1, KIT, NES, NOTCH1, and SIX2. When these cells were cultured as substratum-free pellets keratocyte markers AQP1, B3GNT7, PTDGS, and ALDH3A1 were upregulated. mRNA for keratocan (KERA), a cornea-specific proteoglycan, was upregulated more than 10,000 fold. Culture medium from pellets contained high molecular weight keratocan modified with keratan sulfate, a unique molecular component of corneal stroma. These results show hES cells can be induced to differentiate into keratocytes in vitro. Pluripotent stem cells, therefore, may provide a renewable source of material for development of treatment of corneal stromal opacities. © 2013 Chan et al

BioPartsDB: a synthetic biology workflow web-application for education and research

Synthetic biology has become a widely used technology, and expanding applications in research, education and industry require progress tracking for team-based DNA synthesis projects. Although some vendors are beginning to supply multi-kilobase sequence-verified constructs, synthesis workflows starting with short oligos remain important for cost savings and pedagogical benefit. We developed BioPartsDB as an open source, extendable workflow management system for synthetic biology projects with entry points for oligos and larger DNA constructs and ending with sequence-verified clones

Charge transfer complexes and radical cation salts of chiral methylated organosulfur donors

The single crystal X-ray structure of the all-axial conformer of the (R,R,R,R) enantiomer of the chiral donor tetramethyl-BEDT-TTF (TM-BEDT-TTF) was described and compared to the all-equatorial conformer. (S,S,S,S)-Tetramethyl-BEDT-TTF formed crystalline 1 : 1 complexes with TCNQ and TCNQ-F4, as well as a THF solvate of the TCNQ complex. Donors bis((2S,4S)-pentane-2,4-dithio)tetrathiafulvalene and (ethylenedithio)((2S,4S)-pentane-2,4-dithio)tetrathiafulvalene, which contain seven-membered rings bearing chirally oriented methyl groups, only formed complexes with TCNQ-F4. The TCNQ-F4 complexes contain planar organosulfur systems, in contrast to the TCNQ complexes in which there is minimal charge transfer. A variety of crystal packing modes were observed. Electrocrystallization experiments with both enantiomers and the racemic form of tetramethyl-BEDT-TTF afforded mixed valence radical cation salts with the AsF6 and SbF6 anions formulated as (TM-BEDT-TTF)2XF6 (X = As, Sb). Electrical conductivity was only found in one charge transfer complex, while the radical cation salts are all semiconducting

Editorial: The adaptation and response of aquatic animals in the context of global climate change

Editorial on the Research Topic The adaptation and response of aquatic animals in the context of global climate change Anthropogenic climate change has brought on widespread changes in marine environments, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, the development and expansion of hypoxic zones. These environmental changes represent major threats to marine life, challenging the survival and adaptation of marine organisms. The adverse effects of these changes can interact in synergistic, additive or antagonistic ways (Huo et al., 2019a; Huo et al., 2019b; Small et al., 2020; Collins et al., 2021), evidencing different biological influence compared to their individual action (Huo et al., 2021a). Such influence can vary across populations and species as a consequence of differences in phenotypic plasticity and physiological tolerances shaped by their specific environmental and genetic backgrounds (Gaitán-Espitia et al., 2017a; Gaitán-Espitia et al., 2017b). These factors ultimately modulate the ecological response and evolutionary adaptation of marine organisms to climate change. From an ecological perspective, changes in the marine environment are likely to have significant negative phenotypic effects (e.g., physiology, behavior, gene/protein expression), across levels of biological organization (i.e., from individuals, populations, to species). These changes can alter the ingestion, digestion, respiration and growth of aquatic animals (Huo et al., 2018), potentially influencing demographic and genetic declines driven, for instance, by massive mortality (Huo et al., 2021b). From an adaptive evolution perspective, phenotypic plasticity appears to be a suitable strategy to cope with these changes, at least in the short-term, through behavioral, physiological, life-history and morphological adjustments (Gaitán-Espitia et al., 2017b). However, there are limits for plastic adjustments beyond which populations and species require genetic and cellular modifications to adapt to the unfavorable environmental conditions. These adaptive responses include microevolutionary changes of transcriptional, translational and post-translational mechanisms underpinning phenotypic responses (Huo et al., 2021b). Through the study of these mechanisms, we can gain better understanding of the costs and trade-offs of adaptive evolution in marine animals under climate change

Synthesis of new chiral organosulfur donors with hydrogen bonding functionality and their first charge transfer salts

The syntheses of a range of enantiopure organosulfur donors with hydrogen bonding groups are described including TTF related materials with two, four, six and eight hydroxyl groups and multiple stereogenic centres and a pair of chiral N-substituted BEDT-TTF acetamides. Three charge transfer salts of enantiopure poly-hydroxy-substituted donors are reported, including a 4:1 salt with the meso stereoisomer of the dinuclear [Fe2(oxalate)5 ]4- anion in which both cation and anion have chiral components linked together by hydrogen bonding, and a semiconducting salt with triiodide

Electromagnetic device design based on RBF models and two new sequential optimization strategies

We present two new strategies for sequential optimization method (SOM) to deal with the optimization design problems of electromagnetic devices. One is a new space reduction strategy; the other is model selection strategy. Meanwhile, radial basis function (RBF) and compactly supported RBF models are investigated to extend the applied model types for SOM. Thereafter, Monte Carlo method is employed to demonstrate the efficiency and superiority of the new space reduction strategy. Five commonly used approximate models are considered for the discussion of model selection strategy. Furthermore, by two TEAM benchmark examples, we can see that SOM with the proposed new strategies and models can significantly speed the optimization design process, and the efficiency of SOM depends a little on the types of approximate models. © 2006 IEEE

Multiscale combined radial basis function collocation method for eddy currents analysis in high-speed moving conductors

A novel multiscale combined radial basis function (RBF) collocation method, as a truly meshless method, is presented to overcome the shortage of general RBF collocation method and is applied to analyze eddy currents in high-speed moving conductors in this paper. A typical example is set here to illustrate the accuracy and affectivity of the proposed method, including a comparison with general RBF collocation method and finite element method (FEM). © 2009 IEEE

Spatial, Temporal, and Human-Induced Variations in Suspended Sediment Concentration in the Surface Waters of the Yangtze Estuary and Adjacent Coastal Areas

To delineate temporal and spatial variations in suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the Yangtze (Changjiang) Estuary and adjacent coastal waters, surface-water samples were taken twice daily from 10 stations over periods ranging from 2 to 12 years (total number of samples \u3e 28,000). Synoptic measurements in 2009 showed an increase in surface SSC from 0.058 g/l in the upper sections of the estuary to similar to 0.6 g/l at the Yangtze River turbidity maximum at the river mouth, decreasing seaward to 0.057 g/l. Annual periodicities reflect variations in the Yangtze discharge, which affect the horizontal distribution and transport of SSC, and seasonal winds, which result in vertical resuspension and mixing. Over the past 10-20 years, annual surface SSC in the lower Yangtze River and the upper estuary has decreased by 55%, due mainly to dam construction in the upper and middle reaches of the river. The 20-30% decrease in mean surface SSC in the lower estuary and adjacent coastal waters over the same period presumably reflects sediment resuspension, in part due to erosion of the subaqueous Yangtze Delta. SSCs in the estuary and adjacent coastal waters are expected to continue to decline as new dams are constructed in the Yangtze basin and as erosion of the subaqueous delta slows in coming decades