Reproductive tract disease in Irish grazing dairy cows: Retrospective observational study examining its association with reproductive performance and accuracy of 2 diagnostic tests

The detection of reproductive tract disease (RTD) 3 wk postpartum is important because of its effect on subsequent reproductive outcomes. Numerous methods for the diagnosis of RTD are described, some of which are more practical and instantaneous in terms of diagnosis. Two of these methods involve identification of purulent vaginal discharge (PVD) and evidence of ultrasonographic uterine changes indicative of endometritis (UE). The objectives of our retrospective observational study were (1) to assess the association of PVD or UE score at the prebreeding examination (PBE) with the hazard of pregnancy within the subsequent breeding season; (2) to determine the test sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) at the point of sampling of both tests using a Bayesian latent class model; and (3) to determine the effect of varying positivity thresholds on test accuracy. To achieve these objectives, we analyzed an initial data set of 5,049 PBE from 2,460 spring-calved cows in 8 herds between 2014 and 2018. Each PBE was conducted once between 25 and 86 d in milk. At each PBE, vaginal discharge was obtained with a Metricheck device (Simcro) whereas uterine contents were assessed using transrectal ultrasonography. Purulent vaginal discharge was scored on a scale of 0 to 3 depending on discharge character, and UE was scored on a scale of 0 to 4 depending on the presence and consistency of intraluminal fluid. Cows with scores of ≥2 in either test had received treatment. Fertility data were available from 4,756 PBE after data exclusion. The association between PVD or UE score at the PBE and subsequent hazard of pregnancy was analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Cows with a PVD score of 2 or 3 were less likely to conceive than cows with a PVD score 0 [score 2 hazard ratio (HR) = 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59–0.94; score 3 HR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.51–0.84]. Cows with a UE score of 1, 2, 3, or 4 were less likely to conceive than cows with a UE score of 0 (score 1 HR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73–0.93; score 2 HR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.62–1.00; score 3 HR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.43–0.90; score 4 HR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.26–0.58). To determine the Se and Sp of PVD or UE score for diagnosis of RTD at the time of PBE, a Bayesian latent class model was fitted on 2,460 individual cow PBE. Flat priors were used for the Se and Sp of UE, whereas informative priors were used for PVD Se (mode = 65%, 5th percentile = 45%) and Sp (mode = 90%, 5th percentile = 80%) and RTD prevalence (mode = 20%, 5th percentile = 10%). Posterior estimates (median and 95% Bayesian probability intervals; BPI) were obtained using ‘rjags' (R Studio). The optimal test thresholds (PVD and UE score ≥1) were selected by assessing the effect of different thresholds on test estimates and using a misclassification cost analysis. Based on these, median (95% BPI) Se for PVD and UE score ≥1 were 44% (29–60%) and 67% (33–100%), respectively. Median Sp for PVD and UE score ≥1 were 90% (86–93%) and 91% (86–93%), respectively. Higher scores in both tests were associated with impaired fertility, and UE scoring with a threshold of ≥1 had the highest test Se and Sp estimates although test Se was conditional on days in milk when the PBE occurred.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 3D-printed nano-silica reinforced alumina cores

Ceramic cores are an important component in the preparation of hollow turbine blades for aero-engines. Compared with traditional hot injection technology, 3D printing technology overcomes the disadvantages of a long production cycle and the difficulty in producing highly complex ceramic cores. The ceramic cores of hollow turbine blades require a high bending strength at high temperatures, and nano-mineralizers greatly improve their strength. In this study, nano-silica-reinforced alumina-based ceramic cores were prepared, and the effects of nanopowder content on the microstructure and properties of the ceramic cores were investigated. Alumina-based ceramic cores contained with nano-silica were prepared using the vat photopolymerization 3D printing technique and sintered at 1500 °C. The results showed that the linear shrinkage of ceramic cores first increased and then decreased as the nano-silica powder content increased, and the bending strength showed the same trend. The fracture mode changed from intergranular to transgranular. The open porosity and bulk density fluctuated slightly. The weight loss rate was approximately 20%. When the nano-silica content was 3%, the bending strength reached a maximum of 46.2 MPa and 26.1 MPa at 25 °C and 1500 °C, respectively. The precipitation of the glass phase, change in the fracture mode of the material, pinning crack of nanoparticles, and reduction of fracture energy due to the interlocking of cracks, were the main reasons for material strengthening. The successful preparation of 3D printed nano-silica reinforced alumina-based ceramic cores is expected to promote the preparation of high-performance ceramic cores with complex structures of hollow turbine blades.     

Display illumination with modulated directional backlight

Illumination is essential for modern life as colorful world is perceived by human visionary system. Display technology has been developing rapidly in recent decades, and the basic principle is related to the way that the image is illuminated and light is emanated. Traditional illumination is provided by different types of light sources, and the display image is visible in large viewing space until the emanating light decays to zero. This work proposes and demonstrates a novel illumination scheme for a display in which the displaying images are visible only in specific spatial regions. The directional backlight ensures the image propagating to specific direction while imaging visibility can be controlled to terminate abruptly at certain distance from the display screen while exerting no influence to nearby regions. The working principle for such an illumination scheme is the use of the modulated coherent directional backlight through an axicon lens. It is shown that the illumination scheme can robustly deliver carried image information to the designated viewing region. This new illumination scheme has many advantages over conventional illumination, including its usage for personal display, very lower energy consumption, as well as minimizing light hazard pollution.     

Scallops as a new source of food protein: high-intensity ultrasonication improved stability of oil-in-water emulsion stabilised by myofibrillar protein

In this study, the effect of high-intensity ultrasound (HIUS) (200 and 400 W for 0, 5, 10 and 15 min respectively) on conformational changes, physicochemical, rheological and emulsifying properties of scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) myofibrillar protein (SMP) was investigated. HIUS-treated SMP had lower α-helix content and higher β-sheet content compared with the native SMP. HIUS treatment induced the unfolding of SMP and increased the surface hydrophobicity. The particle size of SMP decreased and the absolute zeta-potential increased after ultrasonication, which in turn increased the solubility of SMP. The conformational changes and the improvement of physicochemical properties of SMP increased the ability for SMP to lower the interfacial tension at the oil–water interface and increased the percentage of adsorbed protein. As a result, the emulsifying properties, rheological properties of SMP and storage stability of emulsions were also improved. In conclusion, HIUS treatment has future potential for improving the emulsifying properties of SMP.     

A computational approach to nutrition science reveals the dynamics of the protein content of human milk

To study the computational aspects of collecting available data in a systematically organized database is becoming a matter of urgency in Nutrition & Food Science. Indeed, major projects on developing big datasets have attempted to fill this gap, but so far with limitations on important facets of food composition such as its temporal variation and uncertainty quantification. The need for methodological data processing, from data acquisition, digital storage, statistics and visualization, via pattern recognition and modelling to prediction and optimization is key to make objective and knowledge-based decisions on scientific and technological issues for food industry, academy and regulation. This study aims to demonstrate the use of a recently developed database on the composition of human milk, the first and easily the most complex food in one's life. We show that the purpose-built ontology of the database, with novelties like considering the food composition as a temporal and stochastic response, can help to recognize patterns in the variation of its protein content.Industrial relevance textThis study highlights the need (i) for introducing ISO-like standards how to digitize food composition data; (ii) for computational methods to explore and utilize such databases to their full potentials.     

Microstructure and some properties of powder-pack borided Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy with special attention to the microstructure at the interface TiB/substrate

The borided layer was prepared on the surface of the Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy by powder-pack boriding at 1000°C-10h. SEM, EPMA and TEM were used to investigate the effects of alloying elements (Al, V, Mo and Cr) on the growth of TiB whiskers in the borided Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy. Wear properties of borided Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy were investigated using dry reciprocating friction tests. SEM results show that the thickness of boride layer in Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy is thinner than that in the Cp-Ti. This is attributed to the enrichment of alloying elements especially V in TiB/substrate by TEM, which hinders the diffusion of B atoms, thus resulting in the short and thick TiB whiskers in Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy. Borided Ti–5Mo–5V–8Cr–3Al alloy has the better wear resistance than as-received alloy.     

Retinal microaneurysms detection using adversarial pre-training with unlabeled multimodal images

The detection of retinal microaneurysms is crucial for the early detection of important diseases such as diabetic retinopathy. However, the detection of these lesions in retinography, the most widely available retinal imaging modality, remains a very challenging task. This is mainly due to the tiny size and low contrast of the microaneurysms in the images. Consequently, the automated detection of microaneurysms usually relies on extensive ad-hoc processing. In this regard, although microaneurysms can be more easily detected using fluorescein angiography, this alternative imaging modality is invasive and not adequate for regular preventive screening.In this work, we propose a novel deep learning methodology that takes advantage of unlabeled multimodal image pairs for improving the detection of microaneurysms in retinography. In particular, we propose a novel adversarial multimodal pre-training consisting in the prediction of fluorescein angiography from retinography using generative adversarial networks. This pre-training allows learning about the retina and the microaneurysms without any manually annotated data. Additionally, we also propose to approach the microaneurysms detection as a heatmap regression, which allows an efficient detection and precise localization of multiple microaneurysms. To validate and analyze the proposed methodology, we perform an exhaustive experimentation on different public datasets. Additionally, we provide relevant comparisons against different state-of-the-art approaches. The results show a satisfactory performance of the proposal, achieving an Average Precision of 64.90%, 31.36%, and 33.55% in the E-Ophtha, ROC, and DDR public datasets. Overall, the proposed approach outperforms existing deep learning alternatives while providing a more straightforward detection method that can be effectively applied to raw unprocessed retinal images.     

基于FLAC3D的破碎围岩巷道支护效果分析

为了解破碎围岩分别采用锚杆支护、锚喷支护以及锚喷+锚索耦合三种支护方式下的支护效果,进而为破碎围岩巷道选择合理的支护方式提供参考。通过借助FLAC^3D软件建立数值模型,分析不同支护条件下的破碎围岩巷道位移量、应力分布以及塑性区的时空演化特征。结果表明,采用锚喷+锚索耦合支护时,可以较好的控制巷道围岩的位移量、减小应力集中效应、缩小塑性区的影响范围。