Search Results (22)

The article starts from Gilles Deleuze’s assumption of film being a philosophy in its own right and applies it to the horror genre. It reads Stanley Cavell’s concept of genre, Timothy Jay Walker’s work on the Horror of the Other (1) and Eugene Thacker’s understanding of philosophical horror (2). It researches horror film as philosophically relevant access to nothingness (3) and shifts to the operations of assigning places to nothingness according to its respective place of access (off screen, on screen, behind the screen/behind the camera) (4). It then gives short analyses of Midsommar (5), Hereditary (6), Tarantula (7), and The Conjuring (8). In Tarantula, the screen functions as a shield against the agent of nothingness residing behind it. Once surmounted from behind by nothingness, the screen is finally purged. In Hereditary and Midsommar, nothingness is always already here, in full light, constantly transforming everything into nothing. In The Conjuring, the morphings and vectorial movements have nothingness evaporate from the screen to what lies behind it, namely (digital) picture technology. The screen turns into a membrane between nothingness and its condition, technology. As a consequence, we have to switch from philosophical horror to technological horror as access to nothingness (9). Full article

(1) Background: Yield-monitoring systems are widely used in grain crops but are less advanced for hay and forage. Current commercial systems are generally limited to weighing individual bales, limiting the spatial resolution of maps of hay yield. This study evaluated an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based imaging system to estimate hay yield. (2) Methods: Data were collected from three 0.4 ha plots and a 35 ha hay field of red clover and timothy grass in September 2020. A multispectral camera on the UAV captured images at 30 m (20 mm pixel⁻¹) and 50 m (35 mm pixel⁻¹) heights. Eleven Vegetation Indices (VIs) and five texture features were calculated from the images to estimate biomass yield. Multivariate regression models (VIs and texture features vs. biomass) were evaluated. (3) Results: Model R² values ranged from 0.31 to 0.68. (4) Conclusions: Despite strong correlations between standard VIs and biomass, challenges such as variable image resolution and clarity affected accuracy. Further research is needed before UAV-based yield estimation can provide accurate, high-resolution hay yield maps. Full article

The problem of schism is one of the major issues in 1 Clement. To resolve this problem, the author of 1 Clement exhorts the Corinthian believers to submit to their leaders by using military imagery. While the use of military imagery is often understood in reference to the author’s emphasis on peace and concord, what remains to be explored is the way in which the militaristic imagery in 1 Clement 37 can be read alongside 2 Timothy 2:3–4. Although there is no clear evidence of whether Clement draws on 2 Timothy or vice versa, I suggest that the militaristic imagery in 2 Timothy 2:3–4 offers a helpful analog for understanding the meaning of the use of military imagery in 1 Clement 37. Full article

Crop identification at the field level using remote sensing data is a very important task. However, the use of multispectral data for the construction of vegetation indices is sometimes impossible or limited. For such situations, solutions based on the use of time series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) indices are promising, eliminating the problems associated with cloudiness and providing an assessment of crop development characteristics during the growing season. We evaluated the use of time series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) indices to characterize crop development during the growing season. The use of SAR imagery for crop identification addresses issues related to cloudiness. Therefore, it is important to choose the SAR index that is the most stable and has the lowest spatial variability throughout the growing season while being comparable to the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The presented work is devoted to the study of these issues. In this study, the spatial variabilities of different SAR indices time series were compared for a single region for the first time to identify the most stable index for use in precision agriculture, including the in-field heterogeneity of crop sites, crop rotation control, mapping, and other tasks in various agricultural areas. Seventeen Sentinel-1B images of the southern part of the Khabarovsk Territory in the Russian Far East at a spatial resolution of 20 m and temporal resolution of 12 days for the period between 14 April 2021 and 1 November 2021 were obtained and processed to generate vertical–horizontal/vertical–vertical polarization (VH/VV), radar vegetation index (RVI), and dual polarimetric radar vegetation index (DpRVI) time series. NDVI time series were constructed from multispectral Sentinel-2 images using a cloud cover mask. The characteristics of time series maximums were calculated for different types of crops: soybean, oat, buckwheat, and timothy grass. The DpRVI index exhibited the highest stability, with coefficients of variation of the time series that were significantly lower than those for RVI and VH/VV. The main characteristics of the SAR and NDVI time series—the maximum values, the dates of the maximum values, and the variability of these indices—were compared. The variabilities of the maximum values and dates of maximum values for DpRVI were lower than for RVI and VH/VV, whereas the variabilities of the maximum values and the dates of maximum values were comparable for DpRVI and NDVI. On the basis of the DpRVI index, classifications were carried out using seven machine learning methods (fine tree, quadratic discriminant, Gaussian naïve Bayes, fine k nearest neighbors or KNN, random under-sampling boosting or RUSBoost, random forest, and support vector machine) for experimental sites covering a total area of 1009.8 ha. The quadratic discriminant method yielded the best results, with a pixel classification accuracy of approximately 82% and a kappa value of 0.67. Overall, 90% of soybean, 74.1% of oat, 68.9% of buckwheat, and 57.6% of timothy grass pixels were correctly classified. At the field level, 94% of the fields included in the test dataset were correctly classified. The paper results show that the DpRVI can be used in cases where the NDVI is limited, allowing for the monitoring of phenological development and crop mapping. The research results can be used in the south of Khabarovsk Territory and in neighboring territories. Full article

With the steady increase in allergy prevalence worldwide, there is a strong need for novel diagnostic tools for precise, fast, and less invasive testing methods. Herein, a miniatured fluorescence-based biosensing system is developed for the rapid and quantitative detection of allergen-specific immunoglobulin-E. An antibody-based fluorescence assay in a microfluidic-patterned slide, combined with a custom-made portable fluorescence reader for image acquisition and user-friendly software for the data analysis, enables obtaining results for multiple allergens in just ~1 h with only 80 μL of blood serum. The multiplexed detection of common birch, timothy grass, cat epithelia, house dust mite, and dog epithelia shows quantitative IgE-mediated allergic responses to specific allergens in control serum samples with known total IgE concentration. The responses are verified with different control tests and measurements with a commercial fluorescence reader. These results open the door to point-of-care allergy screening for early diagnosis and broader access and for large-scale research in allergies. Full article

(1) Background. Coeliac disease (CD) often co-occurs with autoimmune conditions or genetic syndromes, but there are few studies on the co-existence of CD and immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergies. The purpose of this study was to assess sensitization to food and aero-allergens in pediatric patients with CD. (2) Methods. A multiplex ALEX^®2 test was used to determine specific IgEs (sIgEs). (3) Results. The study included 108 children newly diagnosed with CD. Allergen extract- and/or allergen molecule-sIgEs were detected in 49.1% of children. Most children (41.5%) were sensitized to both inhalant and food allergens. The three most common aero-allergens (timothy pollen, ryegrass, silver birch) were molecules Phl p 1, Lol p 1, and Bet v 1. The most common food allergens (hazelnut, apple, and peanut) were Cor a 1, Mal d 1, and Ara h 8 molecules of the PR-10 subfamily. Patients were not sensitized to cereal allergens containing gluten. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis of sensitized patients showed a significant positive relationship (r = 0.31) between the patients’ age and the occurrence of positive sIgEs (≥0.3 kU_A/L) for inhalant allergen molecules (p = 0.045). In sensitized patients, mainly symptoms of inhalant allergy were observed, such as hay fever, conjunctivitis, and bronchial asthma. (4) Conclusions. The current study indicates the co-occurrence of IgE sensitization to food and inhalant allergens in children with CD. The study highlights the need to take a closer look at the diagnosis of IgE-mediated allergy in patients with CD, which may help in their care and lead to a better understanding of the relationship between CD and IgE-mediated allergy. Full article

Background: CACNA1C gene encodes the alpha 1 subunit of the CaV1.2 L-type Ca2+ channel. Pathogenic variants in this gene have been associated with cardiac rhythm disorders such as long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome and Timothy syndrome. Recent evidence has suggested the possible association between CACNA1C mutations and neurologically-isolated (in absence of cardiac involvement) phenotypes in children, giving birth to a wider spectrum of CACNA1C-related clinical presentations. However, to date, little is known about the variety of both neurological and non-neurological signs/symptoms in the neurologically-predominant phenotypes. Methods and Results: We conducted a systematic review of neurologically-predominant presentations without cardiac conduction defects, associated with CACNA1C mutations. We also reported a novel de novo missense pathogenic variant in the CACNA1C gene of a children patient presenting with constructional, dressing and oro-buccal apraxia associated with behavioral abnormalities, mild intellectual disability, dental anomalies, gingival hyperplasia and mild musculoskeletal defects, without cardiac conduction defects. Conclusions: The present study highlights the importance of considering the investigation of the CACNA1C gene in children’s neurological isolated syndromes, and expands the phenotype of the CACNA1C related conditions. In addition, the present study highlights that, even in absence of cardiac conduction defects, nuanced clinical manifestations of the Timothy syndrome (e.g., dental and gingival defects) could be found. These findings suggest the high variable expressivity of the CACNA1C gene and remark that the absence of cardiac involvement should not mislead the diagnosis of a CACNA1C related disorder. Full article

In this article, I discuss reception history, its place within the history of historical critical methods, and social memory theory. I apply a reception historical lens buttressed by social memory theory to 1 Timothy 1:3–4. I show that the historical circumstances of this passage’s reception problematize using early understandings of it to reconstruct the referent behind “myths and endless genealogies”. I first show how the phrase “myths and endless genealogies” is ambiguous in the historical setting of the author. Then, I demonstrate that Irenaeus, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Chrysostom use this phrase against very different groups; however, all of these authors use 1 Timothy 1:4 for a (perceived) problem against their present group. Full article

To effectively utilize local fruit residue resources and regulate ethanol production in fermented feed, the impact of moisture adjustment, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant, and chemical additive on the fermentation characteristics and ethanol production of total mixed ration (TMR) containing apple pomace was studied. The TMR was prepared with apple pomace, corn, wheat bran, soybean meal, timothy, and alfalfa hay. The mixing proportion of apple pomace was 15% based on dry matter (DM). In experiment 1, the moisture in TMR was unadjusted (control) or adjusted to 45, 50, and 55%, respectively. TMR containing 55% moisture was used in experiment 2, and the treatments were control, homo-fermentative LAB (Lactobacillus plantarum, LP), hetero-fermentative LAB (Lactobacillus buchneri, LB), and calcium propionate (CaP). The laboratory-scale fermentation system was used to prepare TMR, and their fermentation characteristics were analyzed after 60 days of ensiling. In experiment 1, the pH of the various TMRs was around 4.1. As the moisture decreased, lactic acid increased (p < 0.05) and ammonia-N decreased (p < 0.05). The ethanol decreased significantly with moisture adjustment compared to the control and the TMR with 50% moisture had the lowest ethanol content (p < 0.05). In experiment 2, LP treatment increased lactic acid, and decreased acetic acid and ammonia-N significantly (p < 0.05), while LB treatment had no effect on fermentation. LP and LB each had no effect on the ethanol content. TMR treated with CaP significantly decreased the ethanol and acetic acid content (p < 0.05), but did not inhibit lactic acid production compared to control. The results confirmed that adjusting the moisture of TMR to 50% and adding CaP could effectively inhibit the excessive production of ethanol in TMR of apple pomace. Homofermentative LAB can better improve the fermentation quality of TMR than heterofermentative LAB, but neither can inhibit the production of ethanol. This is of great significance to the effective utilization of apple residue resources and the promotion of livestock production. Full article

Two experiments evaluated how grass silage quality can be manipulated by various management options. In Experiment 1, silage characteristics were evaluated at two dry matter (DM) contents and treated with additives presenting different modes of action. Timothy grass was ensiled at low (224 g/kg) and high (534 g/kg) DM contents and five additives were applied: 1. control (C), 2. homofermentative lactic acid bacteria inoculant (HO), 3. heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria inoculant (HE), 4. salt-based additive (SA) and 5. Formic- and propionic-acid-based additive (FPA). A higher DM content and FPA restricted silage fermentation, and additive effects were generally greater in low rather than high DM silages. The chemical additives SA and FPA resulted in the highest aerobic stability, while the HE improved it at a high DM content. In Experiment 2, the low DM content grass was ensiled utilizing resin acids, as follows: 1. C, 2. FPA, 3. Resin acid oil (FOR) at 13 L/t, 4. FOR at 26 L/t, 5. Resin acid soluble in water (ROS) at 13 L/t and 6. ROS at 26 L/t. Wilting combined with additives improved the preservation characteristics of grass silages (Experiment 1), but resin acid products failed to modify silage fermentation compared to the control (Experiment 2). Full article

Polygonum chinense Linn. is a medicinal and invasive plant that belongs to the family Polygonaceae. The pharmacological activities and phytochemical constituents of Polygonum chinense are well reported, but the allelopathic effects and potent allelopathic substances of P. chinense remain to be investigated. Hence, this experiment was conducted to separate and characterize potentially allelopathic substances from an extract of the Polygonum chinense plant. The Polygonum chinense plant extracts highly suppressed the growth of cress (Lepidium sativum L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) P. Beauv.), and timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) seedlings in a species- and concentration-dependent way. Two active substances were separated using a series of purification procedures and determined through spectral analysis as (−)-3-hydroxy-β-ionone and (−)-3-hydroxy-7,8-dihydro-β-ionone. These two compounds significantly suppressed the seedling growth of Lepidium sativum (cress) at concentrations of 0.01 and 1 mM, respectively. The extract concentrations necessary for 50% growth inhibition (I₅₀ values) of the cress hypocotyls and roots were 0.05 and 0.07 mM for (−)-3-hydroxy-β-ionone, respectively, and 0.42 and 1.29 mM for (−)-3-hydroxy-7,8-β-ionone, respectively. These findings suggest that these two compounds are in charge of the inhibitory effects of the Polygonum chinense extract and may serve as weed control agents. Full article

Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen is a major endemic allergen source responsible for severe allergic manifestations in IgE-sensitized allergic patients. It contains the major allergen Amb a 1 and cross-reactive allergen molecules, such as the cytoskeletal protein profilin, Amb a 8 and calcium-binding allergens Amb a 9 and Amb a 10. To assess the importance of Amb a 1, profilin and calcium-binding allergen, the IgE reactivity profiles of clinically well-characterized 150 ragweed pollen-allergic patients were analysed regarding specific IgE levels for Amb a 1 and cross-reactive allergen molecules by quantitative ImmunoCAP measurements, IgE ELISA and by basophil activation experiments. By quantifying allergen-specific IgE levels we found that Amb a 1-specific IgE levels accounted for more than 50% of ragweed pollen-specific IgE in the majority of ragweed pollen-allergic patients. However, approximately 20% of patients were sensitized to profilin and the calcium-binding allergens, Amb a 9 and Amb a 10, respectively. As shown by IgE inhibition experiments, Amb a 8 showed extensive cross-reactivity with profilins from birch (Bet v 2), timothy grass (Phl p 12) and mugwort pollen (Art v 4) and was identified as a highly allergenic molecule by basophil activation testing. Our study indicates that molecular diagnosis performed by the quantification of specific IgE to Amb a 1, Amb a 8, Amb a 9 and Amb a 10 is useful to diagnose genuine sensitization to ragweed pollen and to identify patients who are sensitized to highly cross-reactive allergen molecules present in pollen from unrelated plants, in order to enable precision medicine-based approaches for the treatment and prevention of pollen allergy in areas with complex pollen sensitization. Full article

This essay examines the kinship framework and lexemes in the directives for leadership in 1 Timothy, aiming to curb the influence of false teachers and to bolster internal cohesion in the communities. It explores the author’s appeal to household conduct, natural and fictive kinship, and group dynamics couched in filial parlance vis-à-vis the undisputed Pauline letters. The study sheds light on the authorial framework, and suggests that the notion of a departure from ‘love-patriarchalism’ or egalitarian Paul developing later into hierarchical kinship framework in 1 Timothy may be misleading. It becomes apparent that the letter’s kinship lexemes are consistent with what we find in the undisputed letters. Thus, the pseudonymous author, an associate of Paul, does not appeal to or use kinship lexemes any differently from the undisputed letters or elsewhere in Greco-Roman discourse. This does not establish Pauline authorship, but suggest that the notion that the kinship lexemes reflect an elevated hierarchical institutional development in a post-Pauline era, that is uncharacteristic of Paul in the authorship debate, may need to be reconsidered if not revised. Full article

Undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF) is becoming more widely recognized as an important fiber fraction in forage quality assessment because it explains a portion of NDF that is inaccessible to digestion in the ruminant digestive system and is, thus, important in modeling the digestion kinetics of the potentially degradable component of NDF. In experiment 1, uNDF was determined in several forage species in order to compare the accuracy of two reference methods: (1) a long-term in vitro ruminal fermentation (240 h) using an Ankom Daisy^II incubator and (2) a multi-step enzymatic method without ruminal fluid. The objective of experiment 2 was to construct predictive equations for uNDF estimation using acid detergent lignin (ADL) and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) in a pool (n = 264) of alfalfa hay, timothy hay, and tall fescue straw, using the most accurate reference method selected in experiment 1. Partial least squares regression analysis was used to calibrate the reference values against NIRS spectra. Several indicators were used to assess the performance of validation results, including standard error of cross-validation (SE_CrV), coefficient of determination of cross-validation (R²_CrV), and ratio percentage deviation (RPD). The findings of experiment 1 suggested that, relative to the in vitro ruminal methodology, the enzymatic approach overestimated uNDF concentration of forages. Repeatability coefficient was also greater when uNDF was determined using the in vitro versus enzymatic procedure, potentially disqualifying the enzymatic method for the uNDF analysis in forages. In experiment 2, a poor relationship was established between ADL and uNDF (R² < 0.60), suggesting the inadequacy of ADL parameter to represent the uNDF pool size in these forages. The best predictive equation using NIRS was obtained for alfalfa hay (R²_CrV = 0.92; SE_CrV = 1.16; RPD = 3.57), using the in vitro fermentation as a reference method. The predictive equations were moderately accurate for timothy hay (R²_CrV = 0.80; SE_CrV = 1.31; RPD = 2.08) and tall fescue straw (R²_CrV = 0.79; SE_CrV = 1.38; RPD = 2.18). Our findings suggested the inadequacy of the enzymatic procedure in accurately determining uNDF concentration of forages as compared with the in vitro rumen fermentation protocol. Although the NIRS equations developed using the alfalfa hay dataset were more accurate than that of timothy hay and tall fescue straw, the validation results verified applicability of the equations as a fast screening tool for qualitative prediction of uNDF in these forages, which is important in commercial settings. Full article

The phytotoxic potential of plants and the effect of their active components on another plant species is being explored as a potential alternative to synthetic herbicides for weed control. In the current study, we investigated the phytotoxic potential of the leaves of Dregea volubilis (L.f.) Benth. ex Hook.f. against four test plants [timothy (Phleum pratense L.), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)] and observed significant growth inhibition on those plants at concentrations >3 mg D.W. equivalent extract mL⁻¹. A bioassay-governed purification of the D. volubilis extracts using different chromatography phases produced two growth inhibitory compounds, 3-hydroxy-α-ionone (compound 1) and 5-hydroxy-3,4-dimethyl-5-pentylfuran-2(5H)-one (compound 2). The compounds retarded the growth of barnyard grass and cress (Lepidium sativum L.) with I₅₀ (concentration required for 50% growth suppression) values ranging from 0.098 to 0.450 mM for 3-hydroxy-α-ionone and 0.029 to 0.420 mM for 5-hydroxy-3,4-dimethyl-5-pentylfuran-2(5H)-one. Thus, the extracts and identified compounds may have the possibility to be utilized as bioagents for weed control. Full article