Extend the shallow part of Single Shot MultiBox Detector via Convolutional Neural Network

Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) is one of the fastest algorithms in the current object detection field, which uses fully convolutional neural network to detect all scaled objects in an image. Deconvolutional Single Shot Detector (DSSD) is an approach which introduces more context information by adding the deconvolution module to SSD. And the mean Average Precision (mAP) of DSSD on PASCAL VOC2007 is improved from SSD's 77.5% to 78.6%. Although DSSD obtains higher mAP than SSD by 1.1%, the frames per second (FPS) decreases from 46 to 11.8. In this paper, we propose a single stage end-to-end image detection model called ESSD to overcome this dilemma. Our solution to this problem is to cleverly extend better context information for the shallow layers of the best single stage (e.g. SSD) detectors. Experimental results show that our model can reach 79.4% mAP, which is higher than DSSD and SSD by 0.8 and 1.9 points respectively. Meanwhile, our testing speed is 25 FPS in Titan X GPU which is more than double the original DSSD.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Environmental impact analysis of food waste anaerobic digestion and products utilization process

Anaerobic digestion technology is a widely used technology for food waste treatment. It can produce clean fuel gas and realize harmless treatment of waste. Different ways of utilizing the digestion products vary depending on the market demand and production technology. In this paper, life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to analyse the environmental impacts of different processes in food waste anaerobic digestion treatment and compare different utilization strategies of digestion products especially the digestate. The results of this study indicated that the incineration of digestate had advantages in most environmental impacts except global warming potential (GWP), compared with composting as fertilizers. Besides that, incineration had the lower energy efficiency due to drying heat demand. The high energy conversion efficiency of internal combustion engine contributed much to reducing environmental impacts. It’s worth mentioning that the sufficient combustion performance of micro-turbine resulted in smaller global warming potential (GWP) and eutrophication potential (EP)

Design and Application of a Distribution Network Phasor Data Concentrator

The wide area measurement system (WAMS) based on synchronous phasor measurement technology has been widely used in power transmission grids to achieve dynamic monitoring and control of the power grid. At present, to better realize real-time situational awareness and control of the distribution network, synchronous phasor measurement technology has been gradually applied to the distribution network, such as the application of micro multifunctional phasor measurement units (μMPMUs). The distribution network phasor data concentrator (DPDC), as a connection node between the μMPMUs and the main station, is also gaining more attraction. This paper first analyzes the communication network structure of DPDCs and μMPMUs and compares and analyzes the differences in the installation locations, functions, communication access methods and communication protocols of the phasor technology devices of the distribution network and the transmission network. It is pointed out that DPDCs not only need the functions of data collection, storage, and forwarding like transmission network PDCs, but also should be able to access more μMPMUs, and can aggregate the phasor data of the same time scale from μMPMUs by different communication methods. The communication protocol selected by DPDC should be expanded to support remote control, telemetry, fault diagnosis and other functions of distribution automation. The application requirements of DPDCs are clarified, and the key indicators of DPDCs are given as a method to evaluate the basic performance of DPDCs. Then, to address the problems of more μMPMU access, abnormal communication, and data collection with different delays that DPDC encountered, a DPDC that considers multiple communication methods is designed. Based on the Linux system and the libuv library, the DPDC is designed with event-driven mechanism and structured programming, runs multiple threads to implement multitasking, and invokes callbacks to perform asynchronous non-blocking operations. The DPDC test system and test methods are designed. The performance of the designed DPDC is evaluated through the test and the test results are analyzed. Lastly, its real-world application is disclosed, which further confirmed the value of our DPDC

Biobased Anethole-Functionalized Poly(phenylene oxides): New Low Dielectric Materials with High <i>T</i>_g and Good Dimensional Stability

A series of modified poly­(phenylene oxides) (PPOs) with low dielectric constant, high <i>T</i>_g and good dimensional stability were developed. These polymers were synthesized by treating brominated PPOs with a biobased anethole and polymerized at a high temperature in the presence of a peroxide. When the molar ratios of anethole in the PPO were 0.2, 0.35 and 0.5, respectively, the cross-linked PPOs displayed low dielectric constants of less than 2.74 and high <i>T</i>_g (more than 220 °C). In particular, the PPO with 0.5 molar ratio of anethole exhibited a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE, 23.4 ppm/°C) that is comparable to copper foil (ca. 18 ppm/°C). This result indicated that the modified PPOs are suitable for the production of copper-cladded laminates in electronic industry. Moreover, compared to a commercial PPO having a <i>T</i>_g of 153 °C and CTE of 155.8 ppm/°C, the modified PPOs with anethole units possessed a higher thermostability. Considering that PPOs are widely used in the electronics industry, this contribution offers a new approach to prepare high-performance materials using a biobased feedstock

New Triazine-Based Polymers with Low Dielectric Constants and High Thermostability Derived from Biorenewable Anethole and Thermocrosslinkable Benzocyclobutene

A series of new triazine-based polymers derived from biorenewable anethole and thermocrosslinkable benzocyclobutene were developed. These polymers were formed via a thermoinduced Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction between anethole and benzocyclobutene, and they displayed good thermostability (5% weight loss) up to 425 °C, glass transition temperatures (<i>T</i>_gs) of up to 290 °C, and coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of less than 63 ppm/°C between 30 and 300 °C. These polymers also exhibited low dielectric constants of less than 2.85 for frequencies ranging from 0.1 to 30.0 MHz. The polymers with fluoro groups show the better dielectric properties with an average dielectric constant (<i>D</i>_k) of less than 2.76 and an average dissipation factor (<i>D</i>_f) of about 0.0025. When the fluoropolymers were kept in water at room temperature for 5 days, <i>D</i>_k was maintained below 2.90. When a biorenewable anethole was introduced to the benzocyclobutene-based polymers, the properties of the polymers were enhanced. These new polymers are suitable as high-performance resins in the microelectronic industry

An Atypical Thioredoxin Imparts Early Resistance to Sugarcane Mosaic Virus in Maize

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) causes substantial losses of grain yield and forage biomass in susceptible maize worldwide. A major quantitative trait locus, Scmv1, has been identified to impart strong resistance to SCMV at the early infection stage. Here, we demonstrate that ZmTrxh, encoding an atypical h-type thioredoxin, is the causal gene at Scmv1, and that its transcript abundance correlated strongly with maize resistance to SCMV. ZmTrxh alleles, whether they are resistant or susceptible, share the identical coding/proximal promoter regions, but vary in the upstream regulatory regions. ZmTrxh lacks two canonical cysteines in the thioredoxin active-site motif and exists uniquely in the maize genome. Because of this, ZmTrxh is unable to reduce disulfide bridges but possesses a strong molecular chaperone-like activity. ZmTrxh is dispersed in maize cytoplasm to suppress SCMV viral RNA accumulation. Moreover, ZmTrxh-mediated maize resistance to SCMV showed no obvious correlation with the salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-related defense signaling pathways. Taken together, our results indicate that ZmTrxh exhibits a distinct defense profile in maize resistance to SCMV, differing from previously characterized dominant or recessive potyvirus resistance genes.This is a manuscript published as Liu, Qingqing, Huanhuan Liu, Yangqing Gong, Yongfu Tao, Lu Jiang, Weiliang Zuo, Qin Yang et al. "An atypical thioredoxin imparts early resistance to Sugarcane Mosaic Virus in Maize." Molecular Plant 10, no. 3 (2017): 483-497. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2017.02.002. Posted with permission.</p

An atypical thioredoxin imparts early resistance to sugarcane mosaic virus in maize

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) causes substantial losses of grain yield and forage biomass in susceptible maize worldwide. A major quantitative trait locus, Scmv1, has been identified to impart strong resistance to SCMV at the early infection stage. Here, we demonstrate that ZmTrxh, encoding an atypical h-type thioredoxin, is the causal gene at Scmv1, and that its transcript abundance correlated strongly with maize resistance to SCMV. ZmTrxh alleles, whether they are resistant or susceptible, share the identical coding/proximal promoter regions, but vary in the upstream regulatory regions. ZmTrxh lacks two canonical cysteines in the thioredoxin active-site motif and exists uniquely in the maize genome. Because of this, ZmTrxh is unable to reduce disulfide bridges but possesses a strong molecular chaperone- like activity. ZmTrxh is dispersed in maize cytoplasm to suppress SCMV viral RNA accumulation. Moreover, ZmTrxhmediated maize resistance to SCMV showed no obvious correlation with the salicylic acid-and jasmonic acid-related defense signaling pathways. Taken together, our results indicate that ZmTrxh exhibits a distinct defense profile in maize resistance to SCMV, differing from previously characterized dominant or recessive potyvirus resistance genes

Machine learning predicts ecological risks of nanoparticles to soil microbial communities.

With the rapid development of nanotechnology in agriculture, there is increasing urgency to assess the impacts of nanoparticles (NPs) on the soil environment. This study merged raw high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data sets generated from 365 soil samples to reveal the potential ecological effects of NPs on soil microbial community by means of metadata analysis and machine learning methods. Metadata analysis showed that treatment with nanoparticles did not have a significant impact on the alpha diversity of the microbial community, but significantly altered the beta diversity. Unfortunately, the abundance of several beneficial bacteria, such as Dyella, Methylophilus, Streptomyces, which promote the growth of plants, and improve pathogenic resistance, was reduced under the addition of synthetic nanoparticles. Furthermore, metadata demonstrated that nanoparticles treatment weakened the biosynthesis ability of cofactors, carriers, and vitamins, and enhanced the degradation ability of aromatic compounds, amino acids, etc. This is unfavorable for the performance of soil functions. Besides the soil heterogeneity, machine learning uncovered that a) the exposure time of nanoparticles was the most important factor to reshape the soil microbial community, and b) long-term exposure decreased the diversity of microbial community and the abundance of beneficial bacteria. This study is the first to use a machine learning model and metadata analysis to investigate the relationship between the properties of nanoparticles and the hazards to the soil microbial community from a macro perspective. This guides the rational use of nanoparticles for which the impacts on soil microbiota are minimized.Environmental Biolog

First molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in dogs from Jiangxi, China

In this study, blood samples obtained from 162 dogs in Jiangxi, China, were employed in molecular screening of canine tick-borne pathogens by PCR and sequencing. Babesia spp. gene fragment was detected in 12 (7.41%) dogs. All samples were negative for Hepatozoon spp., Ehrlichia canis, Coxiella spp., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasma platys. Species-specific PCR analysis further confirmed that 8 (4.94%) and 4 (2.47%) dogs were infected by Babesia canis vogeli and Babesia gibsoni, respectively. Based on our analyses, Babesia spp. infection in Jiangxi appeared not related to age, gender, breed, usage, activity and health status or tick infestation history of the dogs. This is the first molecular report of Babesia canis vogeli and Babesia gibsoni in dogs from Jiangxi, China