Novel approaches to plant pest risk assessment

Pest risk assessment is an essential yet problematic stage in pest risk analysis (PRA) that concerns the likelihood and consequences of pest introduction. The aim of this study was to develop methodologies for risk assessment and to explore different approaches that could lead to the development of new methods for practical PRA in line with the requirement of "scientific justification" by World Trade Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Current international practices were discussed and research reviewed on qualitative and quantitative approaches to risk assessment. It was proposed that risk assessment be divided into two steps: Pest risk identification (PRI) and pest risk evaluation (PRE). Mind Mapping was a valuable tool for PRI that reduced ambiguity and increased transparency. Approaches to PRE were proposed that facilitated the scoring and weighting of risk factors, and the subsequent combining of risk scores. Several methods were developed to incorporate weighting into PRA, which included subjectively assigned weighting and Delphi technique-derived weighting. Metrics for combining risk scores into an overall risk value were also explored, compared and evaluated. Correlation and interaction between risk factors were analysed, which revealed that some risk factors were highly correlated and some were relatively independent, which meant there was some information redundancy, and therefore simplification of risk assessment was possible. Cluster analysis was applied to risk factor scores and different clusters of risk factors were identified: some more appropriate for preliminary assessment; some for determining the level of risk; and some could be eliminated. A method to apply Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to derive weighting for individual risk factors was developed. PCA could be applied to historical data of pest introductions, previous PRA cases, or expert opinion. Genetic algorithms implemented in the software BEAGLE, were applied to PRA data. The rules obtained could distinguish high-risk situations with high accuracy, which was useful in predicting the risk of an organism by using a simplified set of conditions. The results showed that weightings and rules differed for different taxonomic groups. Therefore it was implausible to develop a generic scheme in this way. However, it may be possible to develop patterns based on taxonomy. The results of applying several different techniques all suggested that by grouping risk factors for different purposes, risk assessment could be simplified without compromising rigor, because a) some factors were redundant; b) some factors are more important than others; and c) high risk situation could be predicted with a few key factors

Jesters in Shakespeare’s Plays

This paper is intended to give a brief survey on medieval European jesters and Shakespearean fools in general, and then analyzes the jesters’ functions in Shakespeare’s plays

Data Poisoning Attacks in Contextual Bandits

We study offline data poisoning attacks in contextual bandits, a class of reinforcement learning problems with important applications in online recommendation and adaptive medical treatment, among others. We provide a general attack framework based on convex optimization and show that by slightly manipulating rewards in the data, an attacker can force the bandit algorithm to pull a target arm for a target contextual vector. The target arm and target contextual vector are both chosen by the attacker. That is, the attacker can hijack the behavior of a contextual bandit. We also investigate the feasibility and the side effects of such attacks, and identify future directions for defense. Experiments on both synthetic and real-world data demonstrate the efficiency of the attack algorithm.Comment: GameSec 201

Analysis on Application of Traditional Architectural Elements in Modern Architectural Design

In modern architectural design, the scientific use and development of Chinese traditional architectural elements is an issue studied in-depth by every building designer. Exploration is made from the application of humanity concept in traditional Chinese architectural culture. The traditional architectural space design applications, the use of traditional architecture symbols, traditional architectural elements applications and other aspects, have important significance to implant traditional Chinese architectural elements into the development of modern architecture

On the English Translation of Tang Poetry under the “Harmony-Guided Three-Level Poetry Translation Criteria”-A Case Study of “Farewell to Uncle Yun, Imperial Librarian, At Xie Tiao Pavilion in Xuancheng”

As Tang poetry is one of the quintessences of Chinese literature, this article adopts Dr. Wang Feng’s “Harmony-Guided Three-Level Poetry Translation Criteria” as a guide to analyze twelve English versions of Li Bai’s “Farewell to Uncle Yun, Imperial Librarian, at Xie Tiao Pavilion in Xuancheng” by Witter Bynner, Lancelot Granmer-Byng, John Scott, Innes Herdan, Sun Dayu, Wang Yushu, Soame Jenyns, Xu Yuanchong, Zhang Bingxing, Gong Jinghao, Xie Yanming and Wang Fulin. After analysis and comparison of the twelve English translations, it finds that the translation of Tang poetry should convey the poetic and artistic beauty under the guidance of “Harmony-Guided Three-Level poetry translation criteria” to blaze abroad classical Chinese culture

Single-shot real-time femtosecond imaging of temporal focusing

While the concept of focusing usually applies to the spatial domain, it is equally applicable to the time domain. Real-time imaging of temporal focusing of single ultrashort laser pulses is of great significance in exploring the physics of the space–time duality and finding diverse applications. The drastic changes in the width and intensity of an ultrashort laser pulse during temporal focusing impose a requirement for femtosecond-level exposure to capture the instantaneous light patterns generated in this exquisite phenomenon. Thus far, established ultrafast imaging techniques either struggle to reach the desired exposure time or require repeatable measurements. We have developed single-shot 10-trillion-frame-per-second compressed ultrafast photography (T-CUP), which passively captures dynamic events with 100-fs frame intervals in a single camera exposure. The synergy between compressed sensing and the Radon transformation empowers T-CUP to significantly reduce the number of projections needed for reconstructing a high-quality three-dimensional spatiotemporal datacube. As the only currently available real-time, passive imaging modality with a femtosecond exposure time, T-CUP was used to record the first-ever movie of non-repeatable temporal focusing of a single ultrashort laser pulse in a dynamic scattering medium. T-CUP’s unprecedented ability to clearly reveal the complex evolution in the shape, intensity, and width of a temporally focused pulse in a single measurement paves the way for single-shot characterization of ultrashort pulses, experimental investigation of nonlinear light-matter interactions, and real-time wavefront engineering for deep-tissue light focusing

Role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in preconditioning-induced protection of retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma

PURPOSE: We recently demonstrated in a mouse model of glaucoma that endogenous epigenetic mechanisms can be activated by a repetitive hypoxic preconditioning (RHP) stimulus to provide robust retinal ganglion cell (RGC) protection. Although we also provided evidence that RHP prevents or delays the apoptotic demise of the RGC soma, the mechanisms responsible for signaling this epigenetic response, as well as the effectors of the glaucoma-tolerant phenotype at the somatic and axonal levels, remain unidentified. In the present study, we used conditional mutant mice lacking hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in RGCs (HIF-1α RGC-knockout [KO] mice) to test the hypothesis that RHP-mediated activation of this transcription factor in these cells protects them from glaucomatous injury. METHODS: Adult HIF-1α RGC-KO mice, generated by mating floxed HIF-1α mice with math5-Cre mice, were used. Experimental glaucoma was induced unilaterally in the HIF-1α RGC-KO mice and matched wild-types by elevating the intraocular pressure to 16–20 mmHg for 3 consecutive weeks, secondary to episcleral vein ligation. Mice of each genotype were randomized to either an RHP protocol (six total exposures to systemic hypoxia [11% oxygen], interspersed over a 2-week period, completed 3 days before ligation surgery) or to an untreated group. RGC soma and axon injury was quantified with Neuronal Nuclei (NeuN) immunohistochemistry in retinal flat mounts and SMI32 immunohistochemistry in cross sections of the post-laminar optic nerve, respectively. RESULTS: HIF-1α RGC-KO mice exhibited normal retinal function and morphology, and crosses of math5-Cre mice with floxed ROSA26 reporter mice confirmed Cre recombinase activity was confined to the RGC axons and soma. Untreated wild-type mice exhibited a 30±2% loss of RGC soma and a 31±3% loss of RGC axons after 3 weeks of intraocular hypertension (both p<0.05 versus fellow eye). The 90% and 81% improvement in soma and axon survival, respectively, observed in the wild-type mice treated with RHP (both p<0.05 versus the glaucoma eye in the untreated mice) was still observed to a near identical extent in the RHP-treated HIF-1α RGC-KO mice. RHP had no effect on the magnitude of intraocular pressure elevation in either the KO or wild-type groups, indicating that protection was realized in both genotypes in the face of ongoing intraocular hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the robust, glaucomatous protection of the RGC soma and axons induced by RHP does not require HIF-1α-mediated transcription of survival genes and other adaptive responses within the RGCs themselves. Rather, we infer that RGC survival is augmented secondary to the activation of other hypoxia-sensitive transcription factors in RGCs and/or the action of diffusible HIF-1α target gene proteins released from neighboring retinal cells. Ideally, the involvement of such autocrine- and/or paracrine-based mechanisms would be confirmed in future studies, but distinct components of the integrated, pleiotropic, and multicellular basis of this endogenous epigenetic response may prove difficult to demonstrate experimentally, as we found in the present study

Label-free high-throughput photoacoustic tomography of suspected circulating melanoma tumor cells in patients in vivo

Significance: Detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), a key determinant of metastasis, are critical for determining risk of disease progression, understanding metastatic pathways, and facilitating early clinical intervention. Aim: We aim to demonstrate label-free imaging of suspected melanoma CTCs. Approach: We use a linear-array-based photoacoustic tomography system (LA-PAT) to detect melanoma CTCs, quantify their contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and measure their flow velocities in most of the superficial veins in humans. Results: With LA-PAT, we successfully imaged suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo, with a CNR >9. CTCs were detected in 3 of 16 patients with stage III or IV melanoma. Among the three CTC-positive patients, two had disease progression; among the 13 CTC-negative patients, 4 showed disease progression. Conclusions: We suggest that LA-PAT can detect suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo and has potential clinical applications for disease monitoring in melanoma

Multiview optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy

Optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), while providing high lateral resolution, has been limited by its relatively poor acoustically determined axial resolution. Although this limitation has been tackled in recent works by using either broadband acoustic detection or nonlinear photoacoustic effects, a flexible solution with three-dimensional optical resolution in reflection mode remains desired. Herein we present a multiview OR-PAM technique. By imaging the sample from multiple view angles and reconstructing the data using a multiview deconvolution method, we have experimentally demonstrated an isotropic optical resolution in three dimensions