ABSTRACT The yield of crops has a significant impact on economic and social development. It is significant to ensure the healthy growth of crops. Leaves can represent the growth of crops. Crop health can be monitored by analyzing a sufficient number of leaf images. But advanced farming techniques make leaves less susceptible to pests and diseases. Therefore, it is difficult to collect enough leaves with pests and diseases for image analysis. To solve this problem, this research proposed a method based on few-shot learning to identify crop leaf images and judge crop health status. The main structure of the method is a siamese network. The structure of its two subnetworks is the convolution neural network with an attention module. Each subnetwork outputs a feature vector. Measuring the distance of two feature vectors in the feature space, the similarity is calculated. Then the categories of leaf pests and diseases are judged. The experiments in this research were carried out on apple and potato leaves. The accuracy of identifying their pests and diseases reached 98.03% and 97.34% respectively. The experiment proved that when the sample size is small. The method proposed can effectively identify crop leaf pests and diseases.

In this work, the effects of electric pulse treatment on the discharge and electrochemical properties of rolled and extruded AZ61 as anode of Mg-air battery were studied. The microstructure, electrochemical behavior and surface morphology after discharge were discussed to relate the discharge performance. The experimental results show that compared with the original magnesium anode (rolled and extruded), the magnesium anode treated by electric pulse has more negative corrosion potential, lower impedance value, higher discharge voltage and better specific energy. This is because electric pulse treatment can cause the coarse second phase in magnesium anode to dissolve and the grains to become more uniform. In particular, in the discharge process, the surface of magnesium anode after electric pulse treatment will form micro cracks, which is beneficial to promote the self-stripping of discharge products. It is worth noting that the effect of electric pulse treatment on rolled anode is better than that of extruded anode. It may be due to the different dislocation density in the two anodes. During the electric pulse treatment, the dislocation density in the alloy is highly correlated with the dissolution rate of β-Mg17Al12, which ultimately affects the volume fraction of the second phase in the alloy.

In this work, the influence of rolling passes on microstructure, corrosion behavior, electrochemical performance, and battery performance of AZ31 magnesium alloy was studied. The experimental results show that the grain size decreases first and then increases with rolling passes. Among them, the grain size of three passes rolled sample is the smallest, while the grain size of the four passes rolled sample is obviously refined and evenly distributed, accompanied by a small number of twins. Therefore, it exhibits more muscular discharge activity. In addition, the corrosion products of the four passes rolled samples are distributed loosely and evenly on the surface during immersion, which is easy to fall off, thus reducing the polarization. The surface of the discharged four passes rolled sample is flat, indicating that the dissolution is uniform, conducive to promoting the self-peeling of discharge products. The results show that the samples with four passes of rolling have high electrochemical activity and anode efficiency. The average cell voltage and anodic efficiency of the four passes rolled anode for Mg-air battery within 5 h at 10 mA cm-2 were 1.065 V and 56.4%, respectively. Therefore, the electrochemical performance of the four passes rolled sample is the best, and the process is more suitable for preparing magnesium alloy anode plate.

Abstract We aimed to establish a method for the rapid identification of three common Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Micrococcus luteus) associated with foodborne diseases. MALDI-TOF-MS was used to determine the effects of sample pretreatment, culture medium, and culture time on the identification results. Then, MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS was used to establish an optimized method and further explore the effects of culture time on secondary proteins. Among the three sample pretreatment methods, formic acid extraction outperformed direct transfer and extended direct transfer, resulting in more protein peaks and higher peak intensity in B. cereus culture samples. However, with different culture times (1–7 d), ion peaks of all bacterial proteins were relatively stable according to MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS data. The protein peaks of B. cereus (1430 m/z), L. monocytogenes (2100 m/z), and M. luteus (2140 m/z) were split into small ion peaks at 1162, 1465, and 1625 m/z, respectively. After 7 d of culture, the secondary spectra, peak intensities, and peak values of formic acid-treated samples were relatively stable, indicating that secondary protein peaks were less affected by culture time. It provides a new approach for the routine identification and market supervision of food safety in China.

Resumo Esta pesquisa investiga a aplicabilidade de um conceito relativamente novo da linguística cognitiva, Gramática de Construção Radical (Radical Construction Grammar “RCG”) (Croft), como um modelo analítico no estudo do processo de tradução. Baseado nos conceitos fundamentais da RCG, este artigo apresenta uma visão construtiva da tradução e os seguintes seis princípios de tradução baseados na construção: o princípio de prioridade da função semântica, o princípio de prioridade do espaço conceitual, o princípio da Gestalt, o princípio da interatividade, o princípio taxonômico e o princípio de prioridade do protótipo. Estas concepções e princípios de tradução baseados em RCG serão detalhados e verificados com exemplos de tradução com a palavra polissêmica chinesa “yao” em diferentes construções, selecionadas a partir da tradução do clássico chinês A Dream of Red Mansions (Cao & Gao) [O Sonho da Câmara Vermelha]. Os resultados deste estudo mostram que a RCG pode fornecer um modelo linguístico inovador para estudos da tradução, particularmente para a questão da polissemia.

Abstract This research investigates the applicability of a relatively new concept from cognitive linguistics, Radical Construction Grammar (RCG) (Croft), as an analytical model in the study of the translation process. Based on the fundamental concepts of RCG, this article puts forward a construction-oriented view of translation and the following six construction-based translation principles: the semantic function priority principle, the conceptual space-based principle, the gestalt principle, the interactivity principle, the taxonomic principle, and the prototype priority principle. These RCG-based translation conceptions and principles will be detailed and verified in translation examples with the Chinese polysemic word ‘yao’ in different constructions, selected from the translation of the Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions (Cao & Gao). The results of this study show that RCG can provide an innovative linguistic model for translation studies, particularly for the issue of polysemy.

Abstract Genetically modified soybean strains are trade monitoring object by China. Currently, the genetically modified soybean MON89788 has been approved in China to be imported as processing raw material. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a method to quantitatively assess MON89788. This study used droplet digital PCR technology to quantitatively detect MON89788. The results showed that the genomic DNA concentration and its copy number of genetically modified soybeans showed a certain linear relationship. The formula was y = 2.5967x + 3.1437, where R2 = 0.999. When the same 4.5% genetically modified sample was contained, the results of the droplet digital PCR ratio and linear methods were 5.88% and 3.599%, respectively. Comparing the two results showed that the droplet digital PCR ratio method has a larger error than the linear relationship method. The novel droplet digital PCR linear relationship method established in this study has high sensitivity and specificity, and thus is a good prospect for quantitative research.

ABSTRACT: The binary typology of verb-framed language and satellite-framed language (Talmy 1991, 2000) has aroused much interest in the study of the motion event in the world’s languages in the last three decades. However, the simultaneous encoding of Path and Manner -two key semantic components of Talmy’s binary typology- has received relatively little attention, especially in Mandarin Chinese, a language that has abundant compound verbs that allow the composition between the morphemes of Path and Manner. This research focuses on developing a corpus of Path-Manner verbs (PMVs) that Mandarin Chinese lacks, taking as reference the PMVs of Spanish and English (Cifuentes 2008). The corpus obtained shows that, due to the productivity of the compound verb in Mandarin Chinese, the total number of PMVs in this language greatly exceeds that of Spanish and English.

RESUMEN: La tipología binaria de lengua de marco verbal y lengua de marco satélite (Talmy 1991, 2000) ha suscitado mucho interés por el estudio del evento de desplazamiento en las lenguas del mundo en las últimas tres décadas. Sin embargo, la codificación simultánea de Trayectoria y Manera -dos componentes semánticos claves de la tipología binaria de Talmy- ha recibido relativamente poca atención, sobre todo, en el chino mandarín, una lengua que posee abundantes verbos compuestos que posibilitan la composición entre los morfemas de Trayectoria y de Manera. La presente investigación se centra en elaborar un corpus de verbos de Trayectoria-Manera (VTMs) de que carece el chino mandarín, tomando como referencia los VTMs del español y el inglés (Cifuentes 2008). El corpus obtenido muestra que, debido a la productividad del verbo compuesto en el chino mandarín, el número total de VTMs de esta lengua supera ampliamente al del español e inglés.

ABSTRACT To improve the working performance of hammer mill, cutting-edge hammer and oblique hammer were designed in this study. The advantages of new hammers were theoretically analyzed. The grinding process of corn grain with different hammers was studied by discrete element method (DEM) and experiments. Discrete element simulation results showed that under same rotor speed conditions, the cutting-edge hammer had highest bond-breaking efficiency in corn grain model. The oblique hammer could reduce the incident angle of corn grain and improve sieving efficiency. The motion trajectory of corn grain in grinding chamber was relatively dispersed and similar when using common hammer and cutting-edge hammer, and the motion trajectory was more concentrated when oblique hammer was used. The experimental results showed that both cutting-edge hammer and oblique hammer could improve the working performance of hammer mill. The productivity of hammer mill could be improved by using cutting-edge hammer, electricity consumption per ton and temperature rise of feed could be reduced by using oblique hammer, and the experimental results were consistent with simulation results and theoretical analysis results. The research results can provide references for the design of new hammer and the grinding process simulation of other agricultural materials.

RESUMO Antecedentes: Fatores preditores de resultados após tratamento endovascular (TE) para hemorragia subaracnóide aneurismática (HSA) não estão bem definidos. Identificá-los seria útil para determinar quais pacientes podem se beneficiar de TE. Objetivo: Identificar os fatores preditivos de resultados ruins após TE para HSA. Métodos: 120 pacientes com aneurismas cerebrais rompidos foram submetidos à embolização endovascular entre janeiro de 2017 e dezembro de 2018. A variabilidade da pressão arterial foi examinada usando-se o desvio padrão da PA sistólica de 24 horas (DPPAS- 24h) e da PA diastólica de 24 horas (DPPAD-24h). Os fatores preditores foram identificados por meio de análises de regressão univariada e multivariada. Todos os pacientes foram acompanhados por três meses. Resultados: No acompanhamento, 86 pacientes (71,7%) tiveram bons resultados e 34 (28,3%) tiveram resultados ruins. Pacientes com resultados ruins apresentaram DPPAS-24h significativamente maior do que aqueles com bons resultados (19,3 ± 5,5 vs 14,1 ± 4,8 mmHg; P <0,001). O DPPAD-24h não diferiu significativamente entre os pacientes com bons resultados e aqueles com resultados ruins (9,5 ± 2,3 vs 9,9 ± 3,5 mmHg; P = 0,464). Os fatores de risco significativos para resultados ruins após embolização endovascular foram os seguintes: idade ≥ 65 anos (razão de probabilidade [OR] = 23,0; intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC]: 3,0-175,9; P = 0,002); escala de Hunt-Hess 3-4 (OR = 6,8; IC 95%: 1,1-33,7; P = 0,039); escala de Fisher 3-4 (OR = 47,1; IC 95%: 3,8-586,5; P = 0,003); complicações pós-operatórias (OR = 6,1; IC 95%: 1,1-34,8; P = 0,042); e DPPAS 24h ≥ 15 mmHg (OR = 14,9; IC 95%: 4,0-55,2; P <0,001). Conclusão: O DPPAS 24h elevado é um fator preditivo possivelmente tratável para resultados ruins após TE para HSA.

ABSTRACT Background: Predictors of outcomes following endovascular treatment (ET) for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) are not well-defined. Identifying them would be beneficial in determining which patients might benefit from ET. Objective: To identify the predictive factors for poor outcomes following ET for aSAH. Methods: 120 patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms underwent endovascular embolization between January 2017 and December 2018. Blood pressure variability was examined using the standard deviation of the 24-hour systolic blood pressure (24hSSD) and 24-hour diastolic blood pressure (24hDSD). Predictors were identified through univariate and multivariate regression analysis. All patients were followed up for three months. Results: At follow-up, 86 patients (71.7%) had good outcomes and 34 (28.3%) had poor outcomes. Patients with poor outcomes had significantly higher 24hSSD than those with good outcomes (19.3 ± 5.5 vs 14.1 ± 4.8 mmHg; P < 0.001). The 24hDSD did not differ significantly between patients with good outcomes and those with poor outcomes (9.5 ± 2.3 vs 9.9 ± 3.5 mmHg; P = 0.464). The following were significant risk factors for poor outcomes after endovascular embolization: age ≥ 65 years (odds ratio [OR] = 23.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.0-175.9; P = 0.002); Hunt-Hess grade 3-4 (OR = 6.8; 95% CI: 1.1-33.7; P = 0.039); Fisher grade 3-4 (OR = 47.1; 95% CI: 3.8-586.5; P = 0.003); postoperative complications (OR = 6.1; 95% CI: 1.1-34.8; P = 0.042); and 24hSSD ≥ 15 mmHg (OR = 14.9; 95% CI: 4.0-55.2; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Elevated 24hSSD is a possibly treatable predictive factor for poor outcomes after ET for aSAH.

SUMMARY: Lumbar disc herniation is considered to be the main pathological factor for the common clinical disease of low back pain. Biomechanical factor is an important cause of lumbar disc herniation, so it is urgent to analyze the stress/strain behavior of intervertebral disc under different loading condition. Slow repetitive loading is considered to be an important factor of spine and disc injuries, and the effect of fatigue load on internal displacement in the intervertebral disc was investigated by applying the optimized digital image correlation technique in this study. The first finding was that fatigue load had a significant effect on the displacement distribution in the intervertebral disc under compression. Superficial AF exhibited the largest axial displacements before fatigue load, while it exhibited the smallest axial displacements after fatigue load. Inner AF exhibited slightly smaller radial displacements than outer AF before fatigue load, while it exhibited significantly greater radial displacements than outer AF displacements after fatigue load. The second finding was that fatigue load had a certain effect on the internal displacement distribution in the flexed intervertebral disc under compression. Middle AF exhibited the smallest axial displacements before fatigue load, while deep AF exhibited the smallest axial displacements after fatigue load. The radial displacement distribution did not change before and after fatigue load, as the radial displacement in outer AF was the smallest, while the radial displacement in inner AF was the largest. The third finding was that with the increase in fatigue time and amplitude, the Young's modulus of the intervertebral disc increased significantly. This study can provide the basis for clinical intervertebral disc disease prevention and treatment? and is important for mechanical function evaluation of artificial intervertebral disc as well.

RESUMEN: La hernia de disco lumbar se considera el principal factor patológico para la enfermedad clínica común del dolor lumbar. El factor biomecánico es una causa importante de hernia de disco lumbar, por lo que es urgente analizar el comportamiento de esfuerzo / tensión del disco intervertebral bajo diferentes condiciones de carga. La carga repetitiva lenta se considera un factor importante de lesiones de columna y disco, y en este estudio el efecto de la carga de fatiga sobre el desplazamiento interno en el disco intervertebral se investigó mediante la aplicación de la técnica de correlación de imagen digital optimizada. El primer hallazgo fue que la carga de fatiga tuvo un efecto significativo en la distribución del desplazamiento en el disco intervertebral bajo compresión. El AF superficial exhibió los desplazamientos axiales más grandes antes de la carga de fatiga, mientras que exhibió los desplazamientos axiales más pequeños después de la carga de fatiga. El AF interno exhibió desplazamientos radiales ligeramente más pequeños que el AF externo antes de la carga de fatiga, mientras que exhibió desplazamientos radiales significativamente mayores que los desplazamientos AF externos después de la carga de fatiga. El segundo hallazgo fue que la carga de fatiga tenía un cierto efecto sobre la distribución del desplazamiento interno en el disco intervertebral flexionado bajo compresión. El AF medio exhibió los desplazamientos axiales más pequeños antes de la carga de fatiga, mientras que el AF profundo exhibió los desplazamientos axiales más pequeños después de la carga de fatiga. La distribución del desplazamiento radial no cambió antes ni después de la carga de fatiga, ya que el desplazamiento radial en la FA externa fue el más pequeño, mientras que el desplazamiento radial en la FA interna fue el más grande. El tercer hallazgo fue que con el aumento del tiempo de fatiga y la amplitud, el módulo de Young del disco intervertebral aumentó significativamente. Este estudio puede proporcionar la base para la prevención y el tratamiento clínico de la enfermedad del disco intervertebral, y también es importante para la evaluación de la función mecánica del disco intervertebral artificial.

OBJECTIVE: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is the risk stratification tool for thyroid nodules, and ultrasound elastography is not routinely used for the differential diagnosis of thyroid cancer. The current study aimed to compare the diagnostic parameters of ultrasound elastography and fine-needle aspiration cytology, using surgical pathology as the reference standard. METHODS: In total, 205 patients with abnormal thyroid function test results underwent ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology on the basis of the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging-Reporting and Data System classification and strain ultrasound elastography according to the ASTERIA criteria. Histopathological examination of the surgical specimens was performed according to the 2017 World Health Organization classification system. Moreover, a beneficial score analysis for each modality was conducted. RESULTS: Of 265 nodules, 212 measured ≥1 cm. The strain index value increased from benign to malignant nodules, and the presence of autoimmune thyroid diseases did not affect the results (p>0.05 for all categories). The sensitivities of histopathological examination, ultrasound elastography, and fine-needle aspiration cytology for detection of nodules measuring ≥1 cm were 1, 1, and 0.97, respectively. The working area for detecting nodule(s) in a single image was similar between strain ultrasound elastography and fine-needle aspiration cytology for highly and moderately suspicious nodules. However, for mildly suspicious, unsuspicious, and benign nodules, the working area for detecting nodule(s) in a single image was higher in strain ultrasound elastography than in fine-needle aspiration cytology. CONCLUSION: Strain ultrasound elastography for highly and moderately suspicious nodules facilitated the detection of mildly suspicious, unsuspicious, and benign nodules.

ABSTRACT To demonstrate the role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in yaks (Bos grunniens), we characterized the expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR) mRNA and protein. The level of GnRHR mRNA in the hypothalamus was higher than that in the pineal gland, pituitary gland, and ovary during estrus. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that GnRHR was expressed in the pinealocyte, synaptic ribbon, and synaptic spherules of the pineal gland and that melatonin interacts with GnRHR via nerve fibers. In the hypothalamus, GnRHR was expressed in the magnocellular neurons and parvocellular neurons. In the pituitary gland, GnRHR was expressed in acidophilic cells and basophilic cells. In the ovary, GnRHR was present in the ovarian follicle and Leydig cells. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor is located in the pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary, and gonad during estrus of yaks and is mainly expressed in the hypothalamus and ovaries during the estrus period.

Abstract Background: Phosphoinositide-3-kinase, regulatory subunit 1 (PIK3R1) could regulate cancer cell proliferation important for cancer cell proliferation; however, its role in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of PIK3R1 in HCC and examined the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: The expression of PIK3R1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR in a series of HCC tissues. The mRNA and protein expression of PIK3R1 was used by qRT-PCR and western blot assays in a series of human HCC cell lines, and then we choose MHCC97H and HCCLM3 cells as a model to investigate the effect of PIK3R1 on HCC progression. The effects of PIK3R1 knowdown on cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis of HCC were assessed by the MTT assay, clonogenic assays, wound healing assay and flow cytometry in vitro. Western blot assay was performed to assess the expression changes of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Results: Our results found that PIK3R1 was highly expressed in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Knockdown of PIK3R1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and promoted apoptosis of HCC cell lines. In addition, we proved that knockdown of PIK3R1 downregulated p-PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR expressions in MHCC97H and HCCLM3 cells. Conclusions: In conclusion, PIK3R1 providing potential novel targets for the treatment of HCC.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the expression levels of serum miRNAs in diabetic retinopathy and type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Serum miRNA expression profiles from diabetic retinopathy cases (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with diabetic retinopathy) and type 2 diabetes mellitus controls (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy) were examined by miRNA-specific microarray analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the significantly differentially expressed serum miRNAs from the microarray analysis of 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and 45 age-, sex-, body mass index- and duration-of-diabetes-matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. The relative changes in serum miRNA expression levels were analyzed using the 2-ΔΔCt method. RESULTS: A total of 5 diabetic retinopathy cases and 5 type 2 diabetes mellitus controls were included in the miRNA-specific microarray analysis. The serum levels of miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p differed significantly between the two groups in the screening stage; however, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction did not reveal significant differences in miRNA expression for 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and their matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p may not play important roles in the development of diabetic retinopathy; however, studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm our findings.

OBJECTIVES: Behcet’s disease is a form of systematic vasculitis that affects vessels of various sizes. Aortic pseudoaneurysm is one of the most important causes of death among patients with Behcet’s disease due to its high risk of rupture and associated mortality. Our study aimed to investigate the outcomes of Behcet’s disease patients with aortic pseudoaneurysms undergoing open surgery and endovascular aortic repair. METHODS: From January 2003 to September 2014, ten consecutive patients undergoing surgery for aortic pseudoaneurysm met the diagnostic criteria for Behcet’s disease. Endovascular repair was the preferred modality and open surgery was performed as an alternative. Systemic immunosuppressive medication was administered after Behcet’s disease was definitively diagnosed. RESULTS: Eight patients initially underwent endovascular repair and two patients initially underwent open surgery. The overall success rate was 90% and the only failed case involved the use of the chimney technique to reach a suprarenal location. The median follow-up duration was 23 months. There were 7 recurrences in 5 patients. The median interval between operation and recurrence was 13 months. No significant risk factors for recurrence were identified, but a difference in recurrence between treatment and non-treatment with preoperative immunosuppressive medication preoperatively was notable. Four aneurysm-related deaths occurred within the follow-up period. The overall 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 80%, 64% and 48%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both open surgery and endovascular repair are safe and effective for treating aortic pseudoaneurysm in Behcet’s disease patients. The results from our retrospective study indicated that immunosuppressive medication was essential to defer the occurrence and development of recurrent aneurysms.