The luminescence of Sm2+ in alkaline earth borophosphates

The temperature-dependent luminescence of Sm2+ ions in MBPO5 (M = Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+) was studied. At low temperature, Sm2+ in this series shows 4f(6) --> 4f(6) luminescence with only a single emission line observed for the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition, revealing that only one crystallographic cationic site is available for Sm2+ in all the hosts. With increasing temperature, the emission intensity of the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition increases whereas that of the D-5(0) --> 7F(1) transitions decreases. The D-5(1) --> F-7(0) transitions of Sm2+ were observed in BaBPO5 and its intensity increases with increasing temperature. At 450 K, a broad band of the 4f(5)5d --> 4f(6) luminescent transition of Sm2+ in SrBPO5 and BaBPO5 with maximum at similar to600 ran appears due to the thermal population. The lifetime of the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition Sm2+ was recorded at different temperatures, showing a single exponential decay for in SrBPO5 and BaBPO5,but a nonsingle-exponential decay in CaBPO5. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Luminescence Properties of Sm2+-Activated Barium Chloroborates

The luminescence properties of Sm2+-activated stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric Ba2B5O9Cl were investigated from 16 to 450 K. In stoichiometric Ba2B5O9Cl, the emission spectra of Sm2+ are composed of 4f6-4f6 transitions over the 16-450K temperature range studied. Luminescence was observed from Sm2+ in four inequivalent cationic sites at 16K andtwo inequivalent sites at room temperature. In the non-stoichiometric compound, the emission is characterized by 4f6-4f6 transitions at low temperature and 4f->5d1-4f6 transitions at high temperature. The Sm2+ doped into the Ca2+ and Sr 2+ analogues in the M2B5O9Cl series shows the broadband 4f->5d1-4f6 luminescence in both the stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric compounds due to the increased ligand field caused by the smaller ionic radii of the metal ions

A Gyro Signal Characteristics Analysis Method Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition

It is difficult to analyze the nonstationary gyro signal in detail for the Allan variance (AV) analysis method. A novel approach in the time-frequency domain for gyro signal characteristics analysis is proposed based on the empirical mode decomposition and Allan variance (EMDAV). The output signal of gyro is decomposed by empirical mode decomposition (EMD) first, and then the decomposed signal is analyzed by AV algorithm. Consequently, the gyro noise characteristics are demonstrated in the time-frequency domain with a three-dimensional (3D) manner. Practical data of fiber optic gyro (FOG) and MEMS gyro are processed by the AV method and the EMDAV algorithm separately. The results indicate that the details of gyro signal characteristics in different frequency bands can be described with the help of EMDAV, and the analysis dimensions are extended compared with the common AV. The proposed EMDAV, as a complementary tool of the AV, which provides a theoretical reference for the gyro signal preprocessing, is a general approach for the analysis and evaluation of gyro performance

Particle velocity profile in an inclined rotating drum

Various experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to study the velocity profiles of the particles inside horizontal rotating drums, but little emphasis has been laid on inclined rotating drums, though these drums are extensively used in granular process industries. In this study, velocity profiles of the particles in a rotating drum with 0o, 5o, 10o, and 15o inclinations have been studied by using the discrete element method. It was found that at the locations of the drum with the volumetric fill in the range of 0.2 0.8, the inclined rotating drum has a similar variation of velocity with the radial height to the horizontal rotating drum. However, the variation of the average particle velocity along the length of the drum differs for horizontal and inclined drums. Furthermore, for the inclined rotating drum, the average velocity increases with the increase in the volumetric fill

Towards Large-Scale Small Object Detection: Survey and Benchmarks

With the rise of deep convolutional neural networks, object detection has achieved prominent advances in past years. However, such prosperity could not camouflage the unsatisfactory situation of Small Object Detection (SOD), one of the notoriously challenging tasks in computer vision, owing to the poor visual appearance and noisy representation caused by the intrinsic structure of small targets. In addition, large-scale dataset for benchmarking small object detection methods remains a bottleneck. In this paper, we first conduct a thorough review of small object detection. Then, to catalyze the development of SOD, we construct two large-scale Small Object Detection dAtasets (SODA), SODA-D and SODA-A, which focus on the Driving and Aerial scenarios respectively. SODA-D includes 24828 high-quality traffic images and 278433 instances of nine categories. For SODA-A, we harvest 2513 high resolution aerial images and annotate 872069 instances over nine classes. The proposed datasets, as we know, are the first-ever attempt to large-scale benchmarks with a vast collection of exhaustively annotated instances tailored for multi-category SOD. Finally, we evaluate the performance of mainstream methods on SODA. We expect the released benchmarks could facilitate the development of SOD and spawn more breakthroughs in this field. Datasets and codes are available at: \url{https://shaunyuan22.github.io/SODA}

Identification and characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms in 12 chicken growth-correlated genes by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography

The genes that are part of the somatotropic axis play a crucial role in the regulation of growth and development of chickens. The identification of genetic polymorphisms in these genes will enable the scientist to evaluate the biological relevance of such polymorphisms and to gain a better understanding of quantitative traits like growth. In the present study, 75 pairs of primers were designed and four chicken breeds, significantly differing in growth and reproduction characteristics, were used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) using the denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) technology. A total of 283 SNP were discovered in 31 897 base pairs (bp) from 12 genes of the growth hormone (GH), growth hormone receptor (GHR), ghrelin, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), insulin-like growth factor I and II (IGF-I and -II), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2), insulin, leptin receptor (LEPR), pituitary-specific transcription factor-1 (PIT-1), somatostatin (SS), thyroid-stimulating hormone beta subunit (TSH-β). The observed average distances in bp between the SNP in the 5'UTR, coding regions (non- and synonymous), introns and 3'UTR were 172, 151 (473 and 222), 89 and 141 respectively. Fifteen non-synonymous SNP altered the translated precursors or mature proteins of GH, GHR, ghrelin, IGFBP-2, PIT-1 and SS. Fifteen indels of no less than 2 bps and 2 poly (A) polymorphisms were also observed in 9 genes. Fifty-nine PCR-RFLP markers were found in 11 genes. The SNP discovered in this study provided suitable markers for association studies of candidate genes for growth related traits in chickens

The genetic effects of the dopamine D1 receptor gene on chicken egg production and broodiness traits

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The elevation of egg production and the inhibition of incubation behavior are the aims of modern poultry production. Prolactin (<it>PRL</it>) gene is confirmed to be critical for the onset and maintenance of these reproductive behaviors in birds. Through PRL, dopamine D1 receptor (DRD1) was also involved in the regulation of chicken reproductive behavior. However, the genetic effects of this gene on chicken egg production and broodiness have not been studied extensively. The objective of this research was to evaluate the genetic effects of the <it>DRD1 </it>gene on chicken egg production and broodiness traits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, the chicken <it>DRD1 </it>gene was screened for the polymorphisms by cloning and sequencing and 29 variations were identified in 3,342 bp length of this gene. Seven single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) among these variations, including a non-synonymous mutation (A+505G, Ser169Gly), were located in the coding region and were chosen to analyze their association with chicken egg production and broodiness traits in 644 Ningdu Sanhuang individuals. Two SNPs, G+123A and C+1107T, were significantly associated with chicken broody frequency (P < 0.05). Significant association was also found between the G+1065A - C+1107T haplotypes and chicken broody frequency (P < 0.05). In addition, the haplotypes of G+123A and T+198C were significantly associated with weight of first egg (EW) (P = 0.03). On the other hand, the distribution of the <it>DRD1 </it>mRNA was observed and the expression difference was compared between broodiness and non-broodiness chickens. The <it>DRD1 </it>mRNA was predominantly expressed in subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat of non-broodiness chicken, and then in heart, kidney, oviduct, glandular stomach, hypothalamus, and pituitary. In subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat, the level of non-broodiness was 26 to 28 times higher than that of broodiness. In pituitary, it was 5-fold higher. In heart, oviduct, and kidney, a 2-3 times decrease from non-broodiness to broodiness was displayed. In glandular stomach and hypothalamus, the level seen in non-broodiness and broodiness was almost the same.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The polymorphisms of the <it>DRD1 </it>gene and their haplotypes were associated with chicken broody frequency and some egg production traits. The mRNA distribution was significant different between broodiness and non-broodiness chickens.</p