A natural history study of Kurkur Oasis, Libyan Desert, Egypt. IV. The vegetation

In the first paper of this series, Reed (1964, p. 13-18) gave a history of exploration and scientific research at Kurkur Oasis…

Deep transfer learning classification of apple fruit diseases

This paper applies deep convolution neural networks (DCNN) to apple fruit disease classification. Twelve DCNN methods (SqueezeNet, GoogleNet, InceptionV3, DenseNet201, ReaNet50, ResNet101, Xception, InceptionResnetV2, EfficientnetB0, AlexNet, VGG16, and VGG19) have been used. These methods have been trained to classify apples into four categories: normal, blotch, rot, and scab. A dataset of 5179 images, including 3472 for normal, 171 for blotch, 1166 for rot, and 370 for scab, has been used. A practical test on 120 images (30 for each category) has been applied. Seven of these DCNNs—InceptionV3, DenseNet201, ResNet101, ResNet50, GoogleNet, AlexNet, and VGG16—have the best accuracy. InceptionV3 is the highest. It has achieved an accuracy of 100% for all categories. The used dataset is unbalanced and small. So, it's necessary to use data augmentation to overcome any overfitting that may cause. After applying data augmentation, the dataset is balanced and contains 13888 images (3472 for each category). The seven DCNNs are retrained by the balanced dataset and retested by the same 120 images. All DCNN's accuracy has enhanced except InceptionV3, which has decreased. On the other hand, RasNet101 has achieved an accuracy of 100% for all categories. Therefore, ResNet101 has been recommended for apple fruit disease classification

Zirconia toughened SiC whisker reinforced alumina composites small business innovation research

The objective of this phase 1 project was to develop a ceramic composite with superior fracture toughness and high strength, based on combining two toughness inducing materials: zirconia for transformation toughening and SiC whiskers for reinforcement, in a controlled microstructure alumina matrix. The controlled matrix microstructure is obtained by controlling the nucleation frequency of the alumina gel with seeds (submicron alpha-alumina). The results demonstrate the technical feasibility of producing superior binary composites (Al2O3-ZrO2) and tertiary composites (Al2O3-ZrO2-SiC). Thirty-two composites were prepared, consolidated, and fracture toughness tested. Statistical analysis of the results showed that: (1) the SiC type is the key statistically significant factor for increased toughness; (2) sol-gel processing with a-alumina seed had a statistically significant effect on increasing toughness of the binary and tertiary composites compared to the corresponding mixed powder processing; and (3) ZrO2 content within the range investigated had a minor effect. Binary composites with an average critical fracture toughness of 6.6MPam sup 1/2, were obtained. Tertiary composites with critical fracture toughness in the range of 9.3 to 10.1 MPam sup 1/2 were obtained. Results indicate that these composites are superior to zirconia toughened alumina and SiC whisker reinforced alumina ceramic composites produced by conventional techniques with similar composition from published data

Particle production and chemical freezeout from the hybrid UrQMD approach at NICA energies

The energy dependence of various particle ratios is calculated within the Ultra-Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics approach and compared with the hadron resonance gas (HRG) model and measurements from various experiments, including RHIC-BES, SPS and AGS. It is found that the UrQMD particle ratios agree well with the experimental results at the RHIC-BES energies. Thus, we have utilized UrQMD in simulating particle ratios at other beam energies down to 3 GeV, which will be accessed at NICA and FAIR future facilities. We observe that the particle ratios for crossover and first-order phase transition, implemented in the hybrid UrQMD v3.4, are nearly indistinguishable, especially at low energies (at large baryon chemical potentials or high density).Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, one reference is added and one paragraph is rephrased. To appear in EPJ

Diamond/diamond-like carbon coated nanotube structures for efficient electron field emission

The present invention is directed to a nanotube coated with diamond or diamond-like carbon, a field emitter cathode comprising same, and a field emitter comprising the cathode. It is also directed to a method of preventing the evaporation of carbon from a field emitter comprising a cathode comprised of nanotubes by coating the nanotube with diamond or diamond-like carbon. In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of preventing the evaporation of carbon from an electron field emitter comprising a cathode comprised of nanotubes, which method comprises coating the nanotubes with diamond or diamond-like carbon

Clinical impact of double protease inhibitor boosting with Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Amprenavir as part of salvage antiretroviral therapy

Purpose: Double protease inhibitor (PI) boosting is being explored as a new strategy in salvage antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. However, if a negative drug interaction leads to decreased drug levels of either or both PIs, double PI boosting could lead to decreased virologic response. A negative drug interaction has been described between amprenavir (APV) and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r). This observational cohort study assessed the virologic impact of the addition of APV to a salvage ARV regimen, which also contains LPV/r, compared to a regimen containing LPV/r alone. Method: Patients initiated on a salvage ARV regimen that included LPV/r obtained from the expanded access program in Toronto, Canada, were evaluated. APV (600-1,200 mg bid) was added at the discretion of the treating physician. Results: Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, we found that the addition of APV to a LPV/r-containing salvage regimen was not significantly associated with time to virologic suppression (< 50 copies/mL; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.75, p = .12) or with time to virologic rebound (adjusted HR = 1.46, p = .34). Those patients who received higher doses of APV had an increased chance of virologic suppression (p = .03). In a subset of 27 patients, the median LPV Ctrough was significantly lower in patients receiving APV (p = .04), and the median APV Ctrough was reduced compared to reported controls. Conclusion: Our data do not support an additional benefit in virologic reduction of double boosting with APV and LPV/r relative to LPV/r alone in salvage ARV therapy. Our study's limitations include its retrospective nature and the imbalance between the two groups potentially confounding the results. Although these factors were adjusted for in the multivariate analysis, a prospective randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm our findings

Tioconazole and Chloroquine Act Synergistically to Combat Doxorubicin-Induced Toxicity via Inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Mediated ROS-Dependent Apoptosis and Autophagic Flux Inhibition in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Cancer is a complex devastating disease with enormous treatment challenges, including chemo- and radiotherapeutic resistance. Combination therapy demonstrated a promising strategy to target hard-to-treat cancers and sensitize cancer cells to conventional anti-cancer drugs such as doxorubicin. This study aimed to establish molecular profiling and therapeutic efficacy assessment of chloroquine and/or tioconazole (TIC) combination with doxorubicin (DOX) as anew combination model in MCF-7 breast cancer. The drugs are tested against apoptotic/autophagic pathways and related redox status. Molecular docking revealed that chloroquine (CQ) and TIC could be potential PI3K and ATG4B pathway inhibitors. Combination therapy significantly inhibited cancer cell viability, PI3K/AkT/mTOR pathway, and tumor-supporting autophagic flux, however, induced apoptotic pathways and altered nuclear genotoxic feature. Our data revealed that the combination cocktail therapy markedly inhibited tumor proliferation marker (KI-67) and cell growth, along with the accumulation of autophagosomes and elevation of LC3-II and p62 levels indicated autophagic flux blockage and increased apoptosis. Additionally, CQ and/or TIC combination therapy with DOX exerts its activity on the redox balance of cancer cells mediated ROS-dependent apoptosis induction achieved by GPX3 suppression. Besides, Autophagy inhibition causes moderately upregulation in ATGs 5,7 redundant proteins strengthened combinations induced apoptosis, whereas inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway with Beclin-1 upregulation leading to cytodestructive autophagy with overcome drug resistance effectively in curing cancer. Notably, the tumor growth inhibition and various antioxidant effects were observed in vivo. These results suggest CQ and/or TIC combination with DOX could act as effective cocktail therapy targeting autophagy and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and hence, sensitizes cancer cells to doxorubicin treatment and combat its toxicity