Comprehensive meta-analysis of QTL and gene expression studies identify candidate genes associated with resistance in maize.

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination, caused by , compromises the food safety and marketability of commodities, such as maize, cotton, peanuts, and tree nuts. Multigenic inheritance of AF resistance impedes conventional introgression of resistance traits into high-yielding commercial maize varieties. Several AF resistance-associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and markers have been reported from multiple biparental mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in maize.

Experimental data from the simulation of on-chip communication architectures using simulation environment.

This article presents data from an extensive set of simulation-based experiments to compare the performance of on-chip communication architectures. These experiments were performed using the simulation environment [1], which is described in the article entitled ': an open-source multi-platform simulation environment for performance evaluation of Networks-on-Chip' [2]. In the experiments presented here, several intra-chip communication architectures were compared under different traffic patterns.

Physical exercise during pregnancy minimizes PTZ-induced behavioral manifestations in prenatally stressed offspring.

Stress during gestation has been shown to affect susceptibility and intensity of seizures in offspring. Environmental stimuli, such as maternal physical exercise, have shown to be beneficial for brain development. Although studies have demonstrated the deleterious influence of stress during pregnancy on seizure manifestation in offspring, very little is known on how to minimize these effects.

Hippocampal microRNA-mRNA regulatory network is affected by physical exercise.

Background: It is widely known that physical activity positively affects the overall health and brain function. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potential regulators of numerous biological processes within the brain. These molecules modulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by inducing mRNA degradation and inhibiting the translation of target mRNAs.

Image Coding Using Generalized Predictors Based on Sparsity and Geometric Transformations.

Directional intra prediction plays an important role in current state-of-the-art video coding standards. In directional prediction, neighbouring samples are projected along a specific direction to predict a block of samples. Ultimately, each prediction mode can be regarded as a set of very simple linear predictors, a different one for each pixel of a block.

Intra Predictive Depth Map Coding Using Flexible Block Partitioning.

A complete encoding solution for efficient intra-based depth map compression is proposed in this paper. The algorithm, denominated predictive depth coding (PDC), was specifically developed to efficiently represent the characteristics of depth maps, mostly composed by smooth areas delimited by sharp edges. At its core, PDC involves a directional intra prediction framework and a straightforward residue coding method, combined with an optimized flexible block partitioning scheme.

In vitro metabolism of the alkaloid piplartine by rat liver microsomes.

Because piplartine (PPT) has demonstrated biological activities, such as cytotoxic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antifungal and antiplatelet activities, this molecule is a relevant drug candidate. The metabolic fate of drug candidates is an essential requirement in assessing their safety and efficacy. Based on this requirement, the biotransformation of PPT by cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) was investigated for the first time.

Multiscale image fusion using the undecimated wavelet transform with spectral factorization and nonorthogonal filter banks.

Multiscale transforms are among the most popular techniques in the field of pixel-level image fusion. However, the fusion performance of these methods often deteriorates for images derived from different sensor modalities. In this paper, we demonstrate that for such images, results can be improved using a novel undecimated wavelet transform (UWT)-based fusion scheme, which splits the image decomposition process into two successive filtering operations using spectral factorization of the analysis filters.

Recursive algorithms for bias and gain nonuniformity correction in infrared videos.

Infrared focal-plane array (IRFPA) detectors suffer from fixed-pattern noise (FPN) that degrades image quality, which is also known as spatial nonuniformity. FPN is still a serious problem, despite recent advances in IRFPA technology. This paper proposes new scene-based correction algorithms for continuous compensation of bias and gain nonuniformity in FPA sensors.

Production of lactobionic acid and sorbitol from lactose/fructose substrate using GFOR/GL enzymes from Zymomonas mobilis cells: a kinetic study.

In this work, we have investigated the kinetics of the biotechnological production of lactobionic acid (LBA) and sorbitol by the catalytic action of glucose-fructose oxidoreductase (GFOR) and glucono-δ-lactonase (GL) enzymes. The cells of bacterium Zymomonas mobilis ATCC 29191 containing this enzymatic complex were submitted to permeabilization and reticulation procedures. The effect of the concentration of substrates on the rate of product formation using a mobilized cell system was investigated.

No-reference blur assessment of digital pictures based on multifeature classifiers.

In this paper, we address the problem of no-reference quality assessment for digital pictures corrupted with blur. We start with the generation of a large real image database containing pictures taken by human users in a variety of situations, and the conduction of subjective tests to generate the ground truth associated to those images. Based upon this ground truth, we select a number of high quality pictures and artificially degrade them with different intensities of simulated blur (gaussian and linear motion), totalling 6000 simulated blur images.

Application of the Nernst-Planck approach to lead ion exchange in Ca-loaded Pelvetia canaliculata.

Ca-loaded Pelvetia canaliculata biomass was used to remove Pb(2+) in aqueous solution from batch and continuous systems. The physicochemical characterization of algae Pelvetia particles by potentiometric titration and FTIR analysis has shown a gel structure with two major binding groups - carboxylic (2.8 mmol g(-1)) and hydroxyl (0.

Scanned compound document encoding using multiscale recurrent patterns.

In this paper, we propose a new encoder for scanned compound documents, based upon a recently introduced coding paradigm called multidimensional multiscale parser (MMP). MMP uses approximate pattern matching, with adaptive multiscale dictionaries that contain concatenations of scaled versions of previously encoded image blocks. These features give MMP the ability to adjust to the input image's characteristics, resulting in high coding efficiencies for a wide range of image types.

On ECG signal compression with 1-D multiscale recurrent patterns allied to preprocessing techniques.

This paper presents the results of a multiscale pattern-matching-based ECG encoder, which employs simple preprocessing techniques for adapting the input signal. Experiments carried out with records from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Beth Israel Hospital database show that the proposed scheme is effective, outperforming some state-of-the-art schemes described in the literature.

On dictionary adaptation for recurrent pattern image coding.

In this paper, we exploit a recently introduced coding algorithm called multidimensional multiscale parser (MMP) as an alternative to the traditional transform quantization-based methods. MMP uses approximate pattern matching with adaptive multiscale dictionaries that contain concatenations of scaled versions of previously encoded image blocks. We propose the use of predictive coding schemes that modify the source's probability distribution, in order to favour the efficiency of MMP's dictionary adaptation.

ECG signal compression based on Dc equalization and complexity sorting.

In this brief, we present new preprocessing techniques for electrocardiogram signals, namely, dc equalization and complexity sorting, which when applied can improve current 2-D compression algorithms. The experimental results with signals from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Beth Israel Hospital (MIT-BIH) database outperform the ones from many state-of-the-art schemes described in the literature.

On EMG signal compression with recurrent patterns.

In this paper, the multidimensional multiscale parser (MMP) is employed for encoding electromyographic signals. The experiments were carried out with real signals acquired in laboratory and show that the proposed scheme is effective, outperforming even wavelet-based state-of-the-art schemes present in the literature in terms of percent root mean square difference x compression ratio.