Min Of Data Collection Research Articles

The Manitoba Agriculture Mesonet: Technical Overview

AbstractEstablished primarily to improve weather monitoring across the agricultural regions of the province, the Manitoba Agriculture Weather Program (MAWP) began officially in 2005 with funding from the provincial government for the establishment of a network of 28 automated weather monitoring stations. The network steadily grew to 46 stations between 2007 and 2014 as a result of partnership with local commodity and research groups. In response to the Manitoba flood of 2011, more stations were installed and the network grew to 108 weather stations in 2019. The stations are solar powered, and scheduled maintenance is conducted at each station twice per year. Weather parameters monitored include air temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, relative humidity, soil moisture, soil temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction using research-grade sensors. The observations are transmitted via cellular telemetry every 15 min in the spring, summer, and fall but hourly in the winter to conserve energy supply due to reduced daylight and below-freezing temperatures. The data can be viewed by the public within 1 min of data collection. The data are used to generate agronomic-related maps such as thermal unit computation of growing degree-days and corn heat units as well as disease risk maps such as Fusarium head blight. Beyond agriculture, the data have been used for aviation investigation and for undergraduate course instruction among other applications.

Practical considerations for using K3 cameras in CDS mode for high-resolution and high-throughput single particle cryo-EM

Detector technology plays a pivotal role in high-resolution and high-throughput cryo-EM structure determination. Compared with the first-generation, single-electron counting direct detection camera (Gatan K2), the latest K3 camera is faster, larger, and now offers a correlated-double sampling mode (CDS). Importantly this results in a higher DQE and improved throughput compared to its predecessor. In this study, we focused on optimizing camera data collection parameters for daily use within a cryo-EM facility and explored the balance between throughput and resolution. In total, eight data sets of murine heavy-chain apoferritin were collected at different dose rates and magnifications, using 9-hole image shift data collection strategies. The performance of the camera was characterized by the quality of the resultant 3D reconstructions. Our results demonstrated that the Gatan K3 operating in CDS mode outperformed standard (nonCDS) mode in terms of reconstruction resolution in all tested conditions with 8 electrons per pixel per second being the optimal dose rate. At low magnification (64kx) we were able to achieve reconstruction resolutions of 149% of the physical Nyquist limit (1.8 Å with a 1.346 Å physical pixel size). Low magnification allows more particles to be collected per image, aiding analysis of heterogeneous samples requiring large data sets. At moderate magnification (105kx, 0.834 Å physical pixel size) we achieved a resolution of 1.65 Å within 8-h of data collection, a condition optimal for achieving high-resolution on well behaved samples. Our results also show that for an optimal sample like apoferritin, one can achieve better than 2.5 Å resolution with 5 min of data collection. Together, our studies validate the most efficient ways of imaging protein complexes using the K3 direct detector and will greatly benefit the cryo-EM community.

An operando spatially resolved study of alkaline battery discharge using a novel hyperspectral detector and X-ray tomography.

An experimental technique is described for the collection of time-resolved X-ray diffraction information from a complete commercial battery cell during discharging or charging cycles. The technique uses an 80 × 80 pixel 2D energy-discriminating detector in a pinhole camera geometry which can be used with a polychromatic X-ray source. The concept was proved in a synchrotron X-ray study of commercial alkaline Zn-MnO2 AA size cells. Importantly, no modification of the cell was required. The technique enabled spatial and temporal changes to be observed with a time resolution of 20 min (5 min of data collection with a 15 min wait between scans). Chemical changes in the cell determined from diffraction information were correlated with complementary X-ray tomography scans performed on similar cells from the same batch. The clearest results were for the spatial and temporal changes in the Zn anode. Spatially, there was a sequential transformation of Zn to ZnO in the direction from the separator towards the current collector. Temporally, it was possible to track the transformation of Zn to ZnO during the discharge and follow the corresponding changes in the cathode.

The diminishing dominance of the dominant hemisphere: Language fMRI in focal epilepsy.

“Which is the dominant hemisphere?” is a question that arises frequently in patients considered for neurosurgery. The concept of the dominant hemisphere implies uniformity of language lateralisation throughout the brain. It is increasingly recognised that this is not the case in the healthy control brain, and it is especially not so in neurological diseases such as epilepsy.In the present work we adapt our published objective lateralisation method (based on the construction of laterality curves) for use with sub-lobar cortical, subcortical and cerebellar regions of interest (ROIs). We apply this method to investigate regional lateralisation of language activation in 12 healthy controls and 18 focal epilepsy patients, using three different block design language fMRI paradigms, each tapping different aspects of language processing. We compared lateralisation within each ROI across tasks, and investigated how the quantity of data collected affected the ability to robustly estimate laterality across ROIs.In controls, lateralisation was stronger, and the variance across individuals smaller, in cortical ROIs, particularly in the Inferior Frontal (Broca) region. Lateralisation within temporal ROIs was dependent on the nature of the language task employed. One of the healthy controls was left lateralised anteriorly and right lateralised posteriorly. Consistent with previous work, departures from normality occurred in ~ 15–50% of focal epilepsy patients across the different ROIs, with atypicality most common in the Lateral Temporal (Wernicke) region. Across tasks and ROIs the absolute magnitude of the laterality estimate increased and its across participant variance decreased as more cycles of task and rest were included, stabilising at ~ 4 cycles (~ 4 min of data collection).Our data highlight the importance of considering language as a complex task where lateralisation varies at the subhemispheric scale. This is especially important for presurgical planning for focal resections where the concept of ‘hemispheric dominance’ may be misleading. This is a precision medicine approach that enables objective evaluation of language dominance within specific brain regions and can reveal surprising and unexpected anomalies that may be clinically important for individual cases.

Towards point-of-care detection of polymicrobial infections: Rapid colorimetric response using a portable spectrophotometer

Infectious diseases spread rapidly because current diagnostic methods are slow, expensive, and require technical expertise. Biosensors have recently been used as devices that can be deployed at the point-of-care for rapid and accurate diagnosis. Here, we show that a “chemical nose” biosensor based on gold nanoparticles can be coupled with a portable spectrophotometer to detect monomicrobial and polymicrobial solutions of pathogenic bacteria within 2min of data collection. The design presented here exploits the rapid kinetics of gold nanoparticle aggregation around bacteria, which leads to a dramatic color change. The “chemical nose” produces unique signals based on the surface characteristics of the bacteria—such as the presence of extracellular polymeric substances, distribution of charged lipids, and localization of proteins—and hence provides a versatile platform for detection. We present a biosensor design that can easily be translated to the point-of-care because of its rapid response and simple output.

Comparison of direct and indirect bronchoprovocation testing using ventilator-acquired pulmonary mechanics in healthy cats and cats with experimental allergic asthma

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a key feature of asthma and can be measured using bronchoprovocation. Direct (methacholine, MCh) or indirect (adenosine-5-monophosphate, AMP; or mannitol) bronchoprovocants are used in human patients, the latter inducing AHR only with pre-existing airway inflammation. The present study compared the responses to direct (MCh) and indirect (mannitol, AMP) bronchoprovocation in healthy and asthmatic cats (n=6/group). The order of bronchoprovocant was randomized using a published table of random numbers and there was a 1-month washout before crossover to the next treatment. Pulmonary mechanics were measured in anesthetized and mechanically ventilated cats using a critical care ventilator. Saline at baseline and increasing doses of each bronchoprovocant were aerosolized for 30s, followed by 4min of data collection between doses. The endpoint for each bronchoprovocant was reached when airway resistance exceeded 200% of baseline values (EC200Raw).There was a significant difference (P<0.001) in the airway response of asthmatic vs. healthy cats over the range of MCh concentrations, despite there being no significant difference in the EC200Raw between the groups. Response to MCh was significantly greater (P<0.05) in asthmatic than in healthy cats at MCh concentrations as low as 0.0625mg/mL. For AMP, a small subset of asthmatics (n=2/6) responded at low concentrations; four asthmatic cats and all healthy cats failed to respond even to the highest concentrations of AMP. One asthmatic cat but no healthy cats responded to mannitol. In conclusion, MCh discriminated asthmatic from healthy cats but neither AMP nor mannitol was an effective bronchoprovocant in this model.

Time-Resolved Spectroscopic Studies of the AppA Blue-Light Receptor BLUF Domain from Rhodobacter sphaeroides

AppA is a blue-light and redox-responding regulator of photosynthesis gene expression in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Detailed time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and subpicosecond transient absorption spectroscopy study of the BLUF domain is presented for wild-type AppA (AppAwt) and a photoinactive Y21F mutant of AppA. The main findings discussed here are that (1) time-resolved laser excitation studies on dark-adapted protein show that AppAwt and Y21F mutant protein exhibits a fluorescence decay with a lifetime of 0.6 ns. Dark-adapted AppAwt but not Y21F also exhibits slower fluorescence decay with a lifetime of 1.7 ns. Analysis of AppAwt that was light-excited to a stable light-adapted form prior to data collection shows monoexponential fluorescence decay with a lifetime of 1.0 ns. This component disappeared after 1 min of data collection after which the original "dark-adapted" values were recovered, demonstrating the presence of a approximately 1 min lifetime intermediate during the return of AppA from light- to dark-adapted form. (2) Transient absorption spectral analysis reveals a very fast rising of transient absorption (<1 ps) for AppAwt. This fast component is missing in the Y21F mutant, which lacks Tyr21, giving rise to a slower transient absorption at 4-6 ps. In the AppAwt transient spectra, most ground states recover within approximately 30 ps, compared to approximately 90-130 ps in the mutant Y21F. We propose that a temporary electron transfer occurs from Tyr21 to the N5 of flavin in AppAwt and is a triggering event for subsequent hydrogen-bond rearrangements. Dynamics of the AppA photocycle is discussed in view of the currently solved crystallographic structure of AppA.

Evaluation of a dispersive Raman spectrometer with a Ge array detector and a 1064 nm laser for the study of explosives

We report on the coupling of an NIR laser operating at 1064 nm with a dispersive Raman spectrometer using a germanium array detector to measure the Stokes-shifted Raman spectra of explosives. By using a Ge array detector, spectral features from 250 to 1800 cm −1 could clearly be observed for the majority of compounds studied. Spectra were routinely obtained with 1–2 min of data collection. The utility of this instrument is compared to other previous identified instrumental approaches, with particular regard to fieldability of a Raman-based explosive analyzer.

Influence of lesion level on the cardioventilatory adaptations in paraplegic wheelchair athletes during muscular exercise.

To characterize the influence of neurological lesion level on the cardiorespiratory and ventilatory responses of two groups of paraplegic athletes during incremental exercise on a treadmill and in the usual conditions for wheelchair exercise. Cardioventilatory responses evaluated in two groups of paraplegic wheelchair sportsmen designated as high paraplegic athletes (HPA) and low paraplegic athletes (LPA). After 2 min of data collection at rest and 3 min of warm-up at 4 km x h(-1), treadmill speed was increased by 1 km x h(-1) every minute until exhaustion. During this test, ventilation and its components, as well as respiratory exchanges, were measured breath by breath (C.P.X. Medical Graphics) every minute by taking the mean of the last 20 s of each increment. Spirometric values presented no significant differences between groups. At rest, no significant difference was observed between the two groups for all cardiorespiratory and ventilatory values obtained during the treadmill test. At submaximal exercise, all variables increased with the augmentation in workload. With the exception of R, there were no significant differences in the classic cardiorespiratory parameters (VO2, VCO2, HR, VE) between the two groups of paraplegics. For the ventilatory parameters, we observed significant differences between the two groups, with values of f and It/Trf significantly higher (0.01<P<0.001) and values of Trf and Vt significantly lower (0.01<P<0.001) for HPA versus LPA. We observed changes in breathing pattern, ie, in f, Vt, Trc and It/Trc, were significantly different between groups, with significantly higher values of f and It/Trc for HPA. We noted a ventilatory disturbance which was manifested by values of breathing frequency and tidal volume during exercise that were significantly different between groups. During maximal exercise, we observed no significant differences between the two groups concerning cardiorespiratory and ventilatory values. Despite the absence of significant differences, the more linear time course of the ensemble of HPA flows, the achievement of a greater number of work loads, and the higher maximal values indicate a better capacity for adaptation to exercise in the group of lower thoracic paraplegics. These results raise questions about the influence of neurological level and further research is needed to define with more precision the capacities of readaptation of the different cardiovascular and respiratory functions, as well as the training methods best adapted to the optimization of physical capacities.

Measurement Reliability and Reactivity Using Repeated Measurements of Resting Energy Expenditure with a Face Mask, Mouthpiece, and Ventilated Canopy

This investigation evaluated the measurement reliability and reactivity of repeated measurements of resting energy expenditure using different methods of data collection. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to either face mask, mouthpiece/nose clip, or ventilated canopy collection systems for 45 min a day over 3 days. Results indicated that there were no significant differences among data collection systems nor were there any differences either within or between systems over time. Across all three days of measurement, the first 5 min of data collection on all systems were reactive compared to the subsequent 40 min of assessment. Analyses indicated that acceptable reliability coefficients were obtained after 20 min of continuous data collection in the ventilated canopy and after 40 min with the face mask after a 5-min acclimation period. The results suggest that, following an acclimation period, a single 20-min assessment of resting energy expenditure in both a face mask and ventilated canopy are stable and reliable.

Stimulated Raman scattering from 20-Å layers of silicon on sapphire

We have developed a novel triply modulated stimulated Raman gain spectrometer which reduces unwanted background effects by over 105. This has allowed the high resolution (Δν=1 cm−1) measurement of 20 Å of Si on sapphire with a signal-to-noise ratio of 100, with only 2 min of data collection. This sensitivity is several orders of magnitude larger than spontaneous Raman scattering.