236 research outputs found
Lobelia alanae Pérez-Pérez & Ayers & Amith 2022, sp. nov.
No full textLobelia alanae sp. nov. M. A. Pérez-Pérez & T. J. Ayers (Figures 1–2) Type:— MEXICO. Puebla. Municipality of Ayotoxco de Guerrero. Copales. In a site called Espinazo del Diablo, near the Apulco river, 153 m elevation, 20.09053°N, 97.45086°W. 20 September 2016, M. Jiménez-Chimil and M. Gorostiza-Salazar 31421 (holotype: US!, isotypes: HUAP, IEB!, K!, MEXU, MO!). Diagnosis: Similar to Lobelia porphyrea, but with cauline leaves, a hemispheric hypanthium, calyx lobes with 1–2 pair of elongate, purple teeth at margins and one apical purple tooth and a spherical capsule 5–7 mm in diameter. Perennial herb from a woody caudex. Stems erect, branched well above base or unbranched, to 80 cm high, greenish, hirtellous. Leaves cauline, alternate, subsessile or petiolate, petioles 2–22 mm long; blades ovate to ovatelanceolate, 3–11.5 cm long, 0.9–4.3 cm wide, abruptly reduced above; base long-attenuate; apex apiculate-acuminate; margins minutely serrulate or biserrate, with white callosities at tips of teeth; glabrous to hirtellous especially along veins abaxially and near margins. Inflorescence racemose, bracteate; bracts sessile, linear-lanceolate, 5–9 mm long, 0.4–1.5 mm wide; apex apiculate; margins continuous with extremely small wings on stem; margins serrate, tipped with purple, elongate, callose teeth. Flowers pedicellate; pedicels 0.6–1.4 cm long, bi-bracteolate at base; bracteoles 1–2 mm long with a prominent purple apical gland, hirtellous or ciliate; hypanthium hemispheric, ca. 1.2–2.0 mm long, 2.3–2.9 mm wide, hirtellous, prominently veined; calyx lobes subulate, the two laterals often curved upward and overlapping the dorsal lobe in flower, 1.3–2.5 mm long, 0.5–0.7 mm wide, with 1 purple apical callosity, and 1–2 pair of marginal elongate pubescent purple callosities near base or middle; corolla bilabiate, pink; tube cylindrical, 10–16 mm long, ca. 4 mm in diameter, slit dorsally except for ca. 3 mm at base, outer surface, hirtellous; limb bilabiate, bent upward ca. 45 degrees in bud; upper lobes oblong-spatulate, 3.3–4.3 mm long, 1.4–1.6 mm wide, acute, margins entire to irregularly undulate when dry, hirtellous along veins or glabrate; lower lobes obovate, 6.9–7.3 mm long, 3.3–4.5 mm wide, cuspidate, margins entire to irregularly undulate when dry, pink with a white patch at throat, hirtellous along veins or glabrate; stamens shorter than corolla tube; filaments white, free at base for 5–7 mm then connate into a tube ca. 4 mm long, the anthers blue-black, connate, 1.6–2.0 mm long, the three upper anthers covered with minute greyish hairs, the two lower anthers glabrous except for the numerous minute linear trichomes at apex; ovary bilocular, one-half inferior in flower, the style 10–12 mm long, the stigma lobes with minute whiteish hairsbelow. Capsule spherical, pendant on a reflexed pedicel, three-quarters or more inferior, 5–7 mm in diameter, strongly 10-veined, the veins persistent; seeds ca. 36, yellow to brown, ellipsoid, ca. 1 mm long, elongate-scabrate to reticulate-foveolate, shiny. Chromosome number: unknown. Specimens examined: MEXICO. Puebla. Municipality of Jonotla, Xiloxochit. Densely wooded hillside above Apulco river at a site called “Isla” near El Porvenir, about 20 minute walk from the Copalco chapel. 176 m, 20.10131° N, 97.45608° W, 28 May 2015, Ceferino Salgado-Castañeda 2540 (HUAP, MEXU, US!). Municipality of Ayotoxco de Guerrero. Copales.At a site called Espinazo del Diablo, alongside the road to Atsalan, 177 m, 20.09024°N, 97.45182°W, 01 July 2016, M. Jiménez-Chimil and M. Gorostiza-Salazar 31381 (ASC!, HUAP, MEXU, MO, US). Veracruz, Municipality of Mecatlán, to the north of the municipality, near the location of the antennas, 663 m, 20.20633°N, 97.67272° W, 7 May 2017, Osbel López-Francisco and Ceferino Salgado-Castañeda 76078 (ASC!, HUAP, MEXU, US); Municipality of Coahuitlán, along the major road Coahuitlán-Crucero, at the entrance to the village of Coahuitlán, 701 m, 20.25681° N, 97.73054° W, 10 August 2017, Osbel López-Francisco and Ceferino Salgado-Castañeda 76237 (ASC!, MEXU, US). Etymology: This species is named in the honor of Alana Amith who assisted her father, Jonathan Amith, in his work on the “Comparative Mesoamerican Ethnobiology of the Sierra Norte de Puebla ”. Habitat and conservation: Secondary Forest, tropical dry forest, and cloud forest. The primary botanical elements associated with Lobelia alanae are Bursera Jacquin ex Linnaeus (1762: 471), Leucaena Bentham (1842: 416–417), Ceratozamia Brongniart (1846: 7–8), Saurauia Willdenow (1801: 407), Inga Miller (1754: 498), and Cecropia obtusifolia Bertoloni (1840: 141). The Sierra Norte of Puebla is an important coffee region in Mexico. The coffee plantations are agroecosystems that include 256 native and 63 introduced species (Martinez et al. 2007). The type locality of L. alanae is at 153 meters elevation in a heavily shaded area about 20 meters above the Apulco river. The two other lowland collections (176 m) were also near the same river at a distance of 100 and 50 m. The two higher elevation collections in Veracruz (663 and 701 m) were not associated with a water way and, unlike the previous collections, they occurred in a relatively disturbed environment. Lobelia alanae is distributed in two Mexican states (Figure 3). The field teams noted that L. alanea grew in colonies. According to the amplitude of the range represented by the species distribution (less than 5% of the Mexican territory), this taxon is categorized as very restricted (SEMARNAT, 2010).Published as part of Pérez-Pérez, Miguel A., Ayers, Tina J. & Amith, Jonathan D., 2022, A new species of Lobelia (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from the Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico, pp. 1-7 in Phytotaxa 568 (1) on pages 2-5, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.568.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/718422
Achieving 100% roof-top based PV penetration in a low voltage distribution network
No full textGiven the merits of photovoltaic technology (PV), rooftop PV systems are becoming more prevalent in residential and commercial areas. As a result of the growing number of photovoltaic systems connected to low voltage (LV) distribution grids, a significant portion of power flow from photovoltaic arrays to the LV grid, As the PV penetration increases, this effect becomes more severe. This reversal of power flow (from the load side to the grid side) results in a voltage rise problem along the distribution feeder. Such an issue is more pronounced near the point of common coupling (PCC). Overvoltages are not desired as they can damage consumers’ electronic devices, burn the insulation and can trip protective equipment, causing sudden power outages. The principal objective of this study is to achieve 100% PV penetration in a low voltage distribution network while maintaining voltages within the grid constraints by employing numerous voltage control techniques. To conduct PV penetration studies, the European low-voltage distribution benchmark network developed by CIGRE is selected. PV systems of various configurations are designed and integrated into the CIGRE LV network. The results of the PV penetration analysis on the CIGRE network suggest that with the increase in the distance between the source and the load, the penetration level decreases drastically. The worst-case network model in which the penetration level is reduced to 65% is selected for employing voltage control strategies. Two main strategies have been used to improve PV penetration. In the first category of methods, the reactive power is controlled by the PV system so that voltages at the PCCs are within the grid voltage limits. Four different reactive power control methods are employed. The second category of methods are based on active power control, in which the voltages are controlled by batteries/electrolyzers by absorbing excess power generated by the PV system, avoiding reverse power flow into the grid. The results obtained reveal that all the techniques employed are successful at increasing PV penetration to 100% without violating grid voltage limits. However, it is concluded that, batteries/electrolyzer systems provide better value in terms of effectiveness in solving the voltage rise issue. They also offers lower losses, and multiple-use cases.Electrical Engineering | Sustainable Energy Technolog
Evaluation of mechanical properties of hybrid fiber (hemp, jute, kevlar) reinforced composites
No full textDigital Image Processing for Quality Assessment of Fruits
No full textThis Dissertation / Report is the outcome of investigation carried out by the creator(s) / author(s) at the department/division of Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore mentioned below in this page
Role of vitreous humor biochemistry in forensic pathology
No full textVitreous humor is a fluid that is relatively well protected from postmortem degradation and contamination. Due to its postmortem stability, vitreous humor has high utility in forensic pathology. Vitreous humor biochemical constituents, especially potassium, have been widely used in the postmortem interval (PMI) estimations. The time dependant rise of vitreous potassium levels in the postmortem period has been considered to be helpful in PMI determinations. The relative stability of vitreous biochemistry is useful in assessing the antemortem metabolic status and in predicting the antemortem serum biochemistry of an individual. However, the validity of vitreous biochemistry in forensic applications has been questioned in light of the reported concentration differences of various biochemical constituents in the same pair of eyes at identical PMI. This study hypothesized that the concentration of vitreous biochemical constituents in the same pair of eyes change at the same rate and this change that occurs in a time dependent fashion may be utilized in accurately estimating the PMI. It was further hypothesized that postmortem vitreous humor biochemistry closely mimics antemortem serum biochemistry and may be a useful aid in establishing a postmortem diagnoses of hyperglycemia.
To test these hypotheses, vitreous humor samples were collected from a total of 103 autopsies (Female, 35 and Male, 68; Mean Age ± SD, 60.6 ± 17.6) conducted at Royal University Hospital morgue between January 2003 to February 2005. In 61 of these subjects, the precise time of death was known. Right and left eye vitreous humor samples were collected separately through a scleral puncture at the lateral canthus. Most of the biochemical analyses were carried out immediately post-extraction. After centrifugation, the supernatant of the fluid were analyzed for sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, urea, creatinine, glucose and lactate on an LX-20 Analyzer (Beckman-Coulter). Osmolality was measured on an Osmometer model 3900 (Advanced Instruments Inc.). Vitreous humor hypoxanthine and xanthine were analyzed using a colorimetric method (Amplex® Red Xanthine/ Xanthine Oxidase Assay Kit, Molecular Probes Inc.). Vitreous humor lipid hydroperoxides were measured using the Ferrous Oxidation in Xylenol Orange assay version 2 (FOX 2). The data was statistically analyzed by paired t-test, linear regression analysis and Mann-Whitney test using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows™ version 13.0.
The results of this study indicated that there were no significant between-eye differences for all of the vitreous biochemical constituents that were studied. It was observed that there was a significant correlation between vitreous potassium (R, 0.731; P
Instrumented Hip Implant: A Review
No full textAbout 20% of people older than forty years old face more bone degenerative diseases. The older population is increasing quite rapidly than before which increases the need for knee or hip implants tremendously. One of the major problems of the current implants is their short lifetime and their impact on the surrounding human tissue. The short life can be attributed to implant wear, loosening, and misalignment, which often cause pain and discomfort to the patient. Functional failure of the implant may be followed by a revision surgery, which is often painful and has a relatively low success rate. Moreover, to avoid unexpected failure and unnoticed deterioration of the implant, it is important to make provision for monitoring implants' performance. Instrumented implants can provide accurate monitoring of the loosening state of the implant, which can delay the revision surgeries and its consequences. This study provides a comprehensive review of the technological development of instrumented hip implants to monitor the status of the implants. The main requirements for the implants are highlighted by reviewing different aspects of the instrumented hip implant systems. In-vivo studies reported in the literature were summarized. Vibration and Acoustic Emission (AE) measurement based loosening detection were found to be the most common methods for in-vitro studies. A comprehensive review of power supply and communication modules was presented. Despite the advancement in this field, current systems are not yet able to provide effective monitoring of the implant's status during the daily activities of patients. 2001-2012 IEEE.Manuscript received November 24, 2020; accepted December 10, 2020. Date of publication December 16, 2020; date of current version February 17, 2021. This work was supported in part by the Qatar National Research Fund under Grant NPRP11S-0102-180178 and in part by a member of the Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar. The associate editor coordinating the review of this article and approving it for publication was Prof. Kea-Tiong (Samuel) Tang. (Corresponding author: Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury.) Yazan Qiblawey, Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury, and Amith Khandakar are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]).Scopu
Purification and characterization of a highly glucose tolerant β-glucosidase isozyme from a new strain of Paecilomyces variotii MG3 : A highly glucose tolerant β-glucosidase isozyme from Paecilomyces variotii MG3
No full textIsolation and purification of a highly glucose tolerant β -glucosidase by a novel isolate Paecilomyces variotii MG3 was achieved through a three step purification strategy. The purification steps used were ammonium sulphate fractionation, column chromatography using Sephacryl S 300 HR and anion exchange chromatography using DEAE-cellulose.
The fungus produced two isozymes of β –glucosidase. Vmax values of isozyme I and II were 0.2497U/ml and 0.3519U/ml respectively. The Km value of isozyme I was 0.08839mM and that of isozyme II was 0.2710mM. Isozyme I exhibited a Ki of 901.6mM and was found to be insensitive to glucose concentration as high as 2M. The isozymes were tolerant to ethyl alcohol concentration up to 30% and displayed synergism with commercially available cellulase in cellulose degradation.
Dose Guidance for Radiotherapy-Oriented Deep Learning Segmentation
No full textDeep learning-based image segmentation for radiotherapy is intended to speed up the planning process and yield consistent results. However, most of these segmentation methods solely rely on distribution and geometry-associated training objectives without considering tumor control and the sparing of healthy tissues. To incorporate dosimetric effects into segmentation models, we propose a new training loss function that extends current state-of-the-art segmentation model training via a dose-based guidance method. We hypothesized that adding such a dose-guidance mechanism improves the robustness of the segmentation with respect to the dose (i.e., resolves distant outliers and focuses on locations of high dose/dose gradient). We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on Gross Tumor Volume segmentation for glioblastoma treatment. The obtained dosimetry-based results show reduced dose errors relative to the ground truth dose map using the proposed dosimetry-segmentation guidance, outperforming state-of-the-art distribution and geometry-based segmentation losses
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY IN CdCr2Se4
No full textOn a mesuré les variations de la photoconductivité (PC) avec la température (T) entre 80° et 330 °K, dans le cas de CdCr2Se4 dopé de In, avec, ou sans lacunes de Se. Sans In ou bien dans le cas d'absence de lacunes de Se, la PC est un phénomène activé. En présence de tous les deux la PC varie d'une façon plus compliqué. Les variations de la PC sont attribuées aux changements de la durée de vie plutôt qu'aux changements de la mobilité. L'anomalie dans la courbe de P C en fonction de T-1 observée au voisinage de Tc indique que la durée de vie dépend de l'ordre magnétique.The temperature (T) dependence of the photoconductivity (PC) in CdCr2Se4 has been measured as a function of In doping with and without Se deficiencies from 80 to 330 °K. In the absence of Se deficiencies or In, the PC is an activated process over much of the T range. When both are present, the PC behavior is more complicated. The PC variations are attributed to lifetime effects rather than to mobility changes. A break in the PC versus T-1 curve, observed near Tc, reflects a dependence of lifetime processes on magnetic ordering
Are story outlines confined within seven basic plots?
No full textThis research will discuss on a unique method to model story plot data by analyzing the pattern of events in the text content and then clustering the story plots into seven categories that would imply a story outline. Processing the story outlines and categorizing stories based on pattern of events in stories will aid in improving recommender systems. The idea behind this type of a model is to cluster data based on context from the text data rather than just topic words present in the data. In this research a FrameNet classifier is modeled to classify the sentences into frames. the frame classifier model was built using a Linear Kernal SVM. The model showed a 67% accuracy predicting the frames. The sequence of frames are transformed into numeric representations and then clustered using k means clustering algorithm to fit within seven clusters. The model was evaluated using an elbow test and silhouette analysis to verify the number of clusters chosen which showed a good result of 6 as optimal number of clusters
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