In vivo and in vitro lipid accumulation inBorago officinalis L.

Seeds of 13 accessions of borage (Borago officinalis) varied in total fatty acid content from 28.6 to 35.1% seed weight, with linoleic, γ-linolenic, oleic and palmitic as the predominant fatty acids, averaging 38.1%, 22.8%, 16.3% and 11.3% of total fatty acids, respectively. There was an inverse relation between γ-linolenic acid (25.0 to 17.6%) and oleic acid (14.5 to 21.3%). Fatty acid content of leaf tissues was 9.1% dry weight, with α-linolenic acid 55.2% and γ-linolenic acid 4.4% of total fatty acids. Cotyledons were the major source of fatty acids in seeds. Seed fatty acid content increased from <1 mg at six days postanthesis to about seven mg at maturity (22 to 24 days). Individual fatty acid content of seed was relatively constant after day 8. When immature embryos from 6 to 16 days postanthesis were cultured in a liquid or semisolid basal medium, fatty acid composition was similar to that of in vivo-grown seeds. Growth of cultured embryos decreased as sucrose concentration was increased from 3 to 20% in the basal medium, and most embryos did not survive 30% sucrose; fatty acid as a percentage of dry weight was maximal at 6% sucrose.     

极限负荷

最近美国哥伦比亚特区、华盛顿的爱迪生电气协会63个成员单位对其变压器运行负载实际情况的一次调查，显示了有75%以上的变压器允许其短时间过负荷运行。该调查还显示了许多电力公司还采用了能够导致加速变压器老化过程的动态加载方法，以获得在突发事故的条件下变压器的附加出力。 配电变压器超额定功率运行是当前电力行业的一个主要课题。IEEE在1995年出版了“油浸变压器带负荷导则”(ANSI/IEEE C57-91-1995)，IEEE下属的专委会现正在修改这一导则以满足当前的工业实践和需求。 在60年代末和70年代投资的重点输配电项目中所…     

Phytoremediation of effluents from aluminum smelters: a study of Al retention in mesocosms containing aquatic plants

Four mesocosms were exposed to circumneutral and aluminum (Al)-rich wastewater during two successive summers (2000, 2001). The goals of the study were to measure the bioaccumulation of dissolved Al by the aquatic plants Typha latifolia, Lemna minor, Nuphar variegatum and Potamogeton epihydrus, and to evaluate their importance in the retention of Al by the mesocosms. In 2000, inlet concentrations of total monomeric Al were reduced by 56% and 29% at the Arvida and Laterrière mesocosms, respectively, whereas in 2001 inlet dissolved Al concentrations in the inlet decreased by 40% and 33%. L. minor had the highest Al uptake rate (0.8--17 mg Al g(-1)d(-1)). However, because T. latifolia (cattails) yielded the highest biomass, it was responsible for 99% of the Al uptake, largely in its root tissue. In 2001, Al uptake by macrophytes accounted for 2--4% and 15--54% of the total Al retained by the Laterrière and Arvida mesocosms, respectively. In the Laterrière mesocosms, Al uptake by cattails could account for 12% and 18% of the dissolved Al retained by both mesocosms. In contrast, dissolved Al was not significantly reduced in the Arvida enclosures, yet cattails did accumulate Al in their roots. Further research is needed to identify the species community composition that would optimize dissolved Al retention.     

Binge eating in obesity: Associated MMPI characteristics.

This study was conducted to determine if Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) characteristics are associated with binge-eating severity among obese women. Obese women (N?=?207) were administered the MMPI and Gormally's Binge Eating Scale. Binge scores varied along a continuum from nonbinging to very severe binging and were consistently and linearly associated with 12 of 17 MMPI scales. The Hypomania (Ma) scale and the Repression (R) and MacAndrew (Mac) scales were consistently unrelated to binge-eating severity, whereas the Hysteria and Masculinity/Femininity scales (Hy and Mf, respectively) were associated with binge severity in some analyses but not in others. MMPI scores accounted for 29% of the variance in binge scores, with the Psychasthenia scale (Pt) alone accounting for 23% of the variance. Results indicate that among obese women seeking treatment (a) there is much variability in binge severity, (b) MMPI characteristics are significantly related to binge severity, (c) as binge severity increases so does psychological disturbance, and (d) Scale Pt alone accounts for 23% of the variance in binge severity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coupling Image Restoration and Segmentation: A Generalized Linear Model/Bregman Perspective

We introduce a new class of data-fitting energies that couple image segmentation with image restoration. These functionals model the image intensity using the statistical framework of generalized linear models. By duality, we establish an information-theoretic interpretation using Bregman divergences. We demonstrate how this formulation couples in a principled way image restoration tasks such as denoising, deblurring (deconvolution), and inpainting with segmentation. We present an alternating minimization algorithm to solve the resulting composite photometric/geometric inverse problem. We use Fisher scoring to solve the photometric problem and to provide asymptotic uncertainty estimates. We derive the shape gradient of our data-fitting energy and investigate convex relaxation for the geometric problem. We introduce a new alternating split-Bregman strategy to solve the resulting convex problem and present experiments and comparisons on both synthetic and real-world images.     

Opacity Optimization for Surfaces

In flow visualization, integral surfaces rapidly tend to expand, fold and produce vast amounts of occlusion. While silhouette enhancements and local transparency mappings proved useful for semi‐transparent depictions, they still introduce visual clutter when surfaces grow more complex. An effective visualization of the flow requires a balance between the presentation of interesting surface parts and the avoidance of occlusions that hinder the view. In this paper, we extend the concept of opacity optimization to surfaces to obtain a global approach to the occlusion problem. Starting with a partition of the surfaces into patches, we compute per‐patch opacity as minimizer of a bounded‐variable least‐squares problem. For the final rendering, opacity is interpolated on the surfaces. The resulting visualization technique is interactive, frame‐coherent, view‐dependent and driven by domain knowledge.     

Postharvest physiology and technology of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is a subtropical evergreen tree whose fruit is consumed both fresh and processed. Loquat fruit is a good source of minerals and carotenoids, while the kernel is rich in protein and carbohydrates. It has been considered a non‐climacteric fruit, but there is evidence that some cultivars have a ripening pattern similar to that of climacteric fruits. The fruit has a short postharvest life at ambient temperatures and is susceptible to physical and mechanical damage, loss of moisture and nutrients, and decay. Low‐temperature storage extends the shelf life of loquat fruit, but some cultivars are severely affected by chilling injury and flesh browning during cold storage. Purple spot, browning and leatheriness are major postharvest disorders. The shelf life of loquat can be extended by modified or controlled atmosphere storage as well as by postharvest treatment with 1‐methyl cyclopropene or methyl jasmonate. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

How do time pressured drivers estimate speed and time?

The purpose of this laboratory study was to investigate the influence of time pressure on the perception of speed and duration in driving situations. Participants provided estimations of speed and performed both productions and reproductions of time durations, based on traffic films. The experimental films were made from a driver's point of view within a moving car, and audio-recorded instructions invited participants to imagine that they were driving while under time pressure or while relaxed. The results obtained using this within-participant design support the hypothesis that time pressure promotes fast driving, and may induce an underestimation of speed and trip-related durations, the latter of which suggests that time pressure modulates time perception. Some of these effects were mediated by the emotional impact of time pressure. Links between time perception and speed were also observed. The discussion makes reference to internal clock models and focuses on the practical consequences of these results.     

Crosswalk time estimation and time perception: An experimental study among older female pedestrians

Since the sense of time is strongly influenced by advancing age, this laboratory study aimed to find out more about older pedestrians’ decisions to cross the road, focusing on their estimates of how long it would take them to cross. The walking times of older female adults with or without any walking impairment and of healthy young adults were recorded on a walkway representing a road section. Participants also performed actual and imagined crossings of this “road” as well as a duration production task. Results showed that misestimated crossing times were related to the individual time base, with stronger time distortions in some older participants. A comparison between the older participants with disabilities and their age-paired counterparts without disabilities revealed an overestimation of crossing time in the former, affording them a bigger safety margin.     

A Bayes-true data generator for evaluation of supervised and unsupervised learning methods

Benchmarking pattern recognition, machine learning and data mining methods commonly relies on real-world data sets. However, there are some disadvantages in using real-world data. On one hand collecting real-world data can become difficult or impossible for various reasons, on the other hand real-world variables are hard to control, even in the problem domain; in the feature domain, where most statistical learning methods operate, exercising control is even more difficult and hence rarely attempted. This is at odds with the scientific experimentation guidelines mandating the use of as directly controllable and as directly observable variables as possible. Because of this, synthetic data possesses certain advantages over real-world data sets. In this paper we propose a method that produces synthetic data with guaranteed global and class-specific statistical properties. This method is based on overlapping class densities placed on the corners of a regular k-simplex. This generator can be used for algorithm testing and fair performance evaluation of statistical learning methods. Because of the strong properties of this generator researchers can reproduce each others experiments by knowing the parameters used, instead of transmitting large data sets.