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Accurate crop disease classification is crucial for ensuring food security and enhancing agricultural productivity. However, the existing crop disease classification algorithms primarily focus on a single image modality and typically require a large number of samples. Our research counters these issues by using pre-trained Vision–Language Models (VLMs), which enhance the multimodal synergy for better crop disease classification than the traditional unimodal approaches. Firstly, we apply the multimodal model Qwen-VL to generate meticulous textual descriptions for representative disease images selected through clustering from the training set, which will serve as prompt text for generating classifier weights. Compared to solely using the language model for prompt text generation, this approach better captures and conveys fine-grained and image-specific information, thereby enhancing the prompt quality. Secondly, we integrate cross-attention and SE (Squeeze-and-Excitation) Attention into the training-free mode VLCD(Vision-Language model for Crop Disease classification) and the training-required mode VLCD-T (VLCD-Training), respectively, for prompt text processing, enhancing the classifier weights by emphasizing the key text features. The experimental outcomes conclusively prove our method's heightened classification effectiveness in few-shot crop disease scenarios, tackling the data limitations and intricate disease recognition issues. It offers a pragmatic tool for agricultural pathology and reinforces the smart farming surveillance infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring precise segmentation of colorectal polyps holds critical importance in the early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, existing deep learning-based segmentation methods are fully supervised, requiring extensive, precise, manual pixel-level annotation data, which leads to high annotation costs. Additionally, it remains challenging to train large-scale segmentation models when confronted with limited colonoscopy data. To address these issues, we introduce the general segmentation foundation model—the Segment Anything Model (SAM)—into the field of medical image segmentation. Fine-tuning the foundation model is an effective approach to tackle sample scarcity. However, current SAM fine-tuning techniques still rely on precise annotations. To overcome this limitation, we propose WSPolyp-SAM, a novel weakly supervised approach for colonoscopy polyp segmentation. WSPolyp-SAM utilizes weak annotations to guide SAM in generating segmentation masks, which are then treated as pseudo-labels to guide the fine-tuning of SAM, thereby reducing the dependence on precise annotation data. To improve the reliability and accuracy of pseudo-labels, we have designed a series of enhancement strategies to improve the quality of pseudo-labels and mitigate the negative impact of low-quality pseudo-labels. Experimental results on five medical image datasets demonstrate that WSPolyp-SAM outperforms current fully supervised mainstream polyp segmentation networks on the Kvasir-SEG, ColonDB, CVC-300, and ETIS datasets. Furthermore, by using different amounts of training data in weakly supervised and fully supervised experiments, it is found that weakly supervised fine-tuning can save 70% to 73% of annotation time costs compared to fully supervised fine-tuning. This study provides a new perspective on the combination of weakly supervised learning and SAM models, significantly reducing annotation time and offering insights for further development in the field of colonoscopy polyp segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the self-developed "TCHFSM-I" large-size true triaxial fracturing seepage simulation device and fluid injection flow dynamic monitoring device, we studied the crack initiation and expansion law of multi-fractures under different perforation spacing conditions and revealed the mechanism of multi-fractures expanding from non-equilibrium to equilibrium on the basis of the evolution law of the injection pressure and characteristics of the distribution of the injection flow. The results show that when the perforation spacing is small (<60 mm), the central injection fracturing cracks are affected by the extension of the upper and lower injection cracks, and their extension lengths are shorter; on the contrary, the extension lengths of the upper, central and lower injection cracks are basically the same, and the three hydraulically fractured cracks shift from non-equilibrium to equilibrium extension. When the perforation spacing is small, the fracture initiation pressure of the middle perforation is much larger than that of the upper and lower perforations. However, as the perforation spacing increases, the fracture initiation pressure of the middle perforation gradually decreases. Its fracture initiation pressure is basically the same as that of the upper and lower perforations. The expansion of the three hydraulically fractured cracks is independent of each other. In addition, the evolution law of the injection flow rate can better reflect the multi-fracture fracture initiation and expansion pattern, and the evolution pattern of the injection flow rate can better reflect the synchronous fracture initiation and expansion mechanism of multi-fracture fracture. The results of the study can provide technical guidance for efficient coalbed methane extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cytoskeleton is a master organizer of the cellular cortex and membrane trafficking and therefore plays a crucial role in apico–basal polarity. Septins form a family of GTPases that assemble into non-polar filaments, which bind to membranes and recruit cytoskeletal elements such as microtubules and actin using their polybasic (PB) domains, to perform their broad biological functions. Nevertheless, the role of septins and the significance of their membrane-binding ability in apico–basal polarity remains under-investigated. Here, using 3D cultures, we demonstrated that septin 9 localizes to the basolateral membrane (BM). Its depletion induces an inverted polarity phenotype, decreasing β-catenin at BM and increasing transforming growth factor (TGFβ) and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) markers. Similar effects were observed after deleting its two PB domains. The mutant became cytoplasmic and apical. The cysts with an inverted polarity phenotype displayed an invasive phenotype, with src and cortactin accumulating at the peripheral membrane. The inhibition of TGFβ-receptor and RhoA rescued the polarized phenotype, although the cysts from overexpressed septin 9 overgrew and presented a filled lumen. Both phenotypes corresponded to tumor features. This suggests that septin 9 expression, along with its assembly through the two PB domains, is essential for establishing and maintaining apico–basal polarity against tumor development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency is one of the most limiting factors for Chinese fir growth and production. Moreover, continuous cultivation of Chinese fir for multiple generations led to the reduction of soil nutrients, which hindered the yield of Chinese fir in southern China. Although NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in plant development and abiotic stress resistance, it is still unclear how they regulate the response of Chinese fir to phosphate (Pi) starvation. Based on Pi-deficient transcriptome data of Chinses fir root, we identified a NAC transcription factor with increased expression under Pi deficiency, which was obtained by PCR and named ClNAC100. RT-qPCR confirmed that the expression of ClNAC100 in the root of Chinese fir was induced by phosphate deficiency and showed a dynamic change with time. It was positively regulated by ABA and negatively regulated by JA, and ClNAC100 was highly expressed in the roots and leaves of Chinese fir. Transcriptional activation assay confirmed that ClNAC100 was a transcriptional activator. The promoter of ClNAC100 was obtained by genome walking, which was predicted to contain a large number of stress, hormone, and growth-related cis-elements. Tobacco infection was used to verify the activity of the promoter, and the core promoter was located between −1519 bp and −589 bp. We identified 18 proteins bound to the ClNAC100 promoter and 5 ClNAC100 interacting proteins by yeast one-hybrid and yeast two-hybrid, respectively. We speculated that AHL and TIFY family transcription factors, calmodulin, and E3 ubiquitin ligase in these proteins might be important phosphorus-related proteins. These results provide a basis for the further study of the regulatory mechanism and pathways of ClNAC100 under Pi starvation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) pollution and uptake into the grains of developing rice plants represent a major threat to human health. Studies of specific genes can offer new insights into the functional roles of particular genes, highlighting candidate alleles that can be leveraged as DNA markers. Accordingly, the identification of novel Cd-related traits and sequence variants can provide new molecular markers for Cd resistance in rice. In the present study, a genetic diversity analysis was carried out on 85 rice varieties exhibiting varied Cd accumulation, and 436 single polymorphic sites (SNP) corresponding to 43 haplotypes were detected across 12 Cd-associated genes (CAL1, OsCADT1, Oscd1, OsHMA4, OsHMA9, OsNRAMP1, OsNRAMP2, OsNRAMP5, OsHMA2, OsHSMA3, OsPCR1, and OsABCG43). By utilizing the information of the SNPs, 85 rice varieties was classified the into 2 clusters with different source categories and Cd contents. Among the variants, 45 sites in 5 genes were significantly associated with the Cd content in rice grains, of which 8 alleles in OsPCR1, CAL1, and Oscd1 were negatively correlated with Cd accumulation. The results of haplotype aggregation analysis for OsPCR1, Oscd1, and CAL1 showed that 85 rice varieties were divided into 5 clusters. Interestingly, most of the varieties in Cluster A belonged to tropical type, which contained the aggregation of three favorable alleles, whereas the temperate varieties constituted the majority of Cluster B lacking favorable alleles. This observation suggests that the allelic combination found in tropical rice varieties may hold promise for reducing Cd accumulation levels in rice grains. The Cd-associated alleles identified in the present study can not only be used to check the Cd tolerance of rice varieties, but also serve as functional molecular markers to differentiate the source of the rice varieties, which provides a better understanding of the relationship between the sequence variation in Cd-related genes and Cd accumulation in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) is a widely grown gymnosperm in China. Phosphorus (P) is an indispensable nutrient for the growth of Chinese fir. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) deficiency exists in soils of many Chinese fir planting area regions, and the trees themselves have limited efficiency in utilizing P from the soil. Ethylene is important in regulation responses to nutrient deficiencies. However, little is known about how ethylene signals participate in Pi stress in Chinese fir. A total of six different treatments were performed to reveal the transcript levels of Chinese fir under Pi, ethephon (an ethylene-releasing compound), and CoCl2 (cobalt chloride, an ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor) treatments. We assembled a full-length reference transcriptome containing 22,243 unigenes as a reference for UMI RNA-seq (Digital RNA-seq). There were 586 Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) in the Pi starvation (NP) group, while DEGs from additional ethephon or CoCl2 in NP were 708 and 292, respectively. Among the DEGs in each treatment, there were 83 TFs in these treatment groups. MYB (v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog) family was the most abundant transcription factors (TFs). Three ERF (Ethylene response factor) family genes were identified when only ethylene content was imposed as a variable. Enrichment analysis indicated that the ascorbate and aldarate metabolism pathway plays a key role in resistance to Pi deficiency. This study provides insights for further elucidating the regulatory mechanism of Pi deficiency in Chinese fir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-uniform adsorption characteristics of coal strictly restrict the development and utilization of CBM, and the structure of coal is the fundamental reason for its non-uniform adsorption of methane. To investigate the fundamental causes of methane adsorption capacity differences in coal with various meso-structures, small coking coal and lean coal samples were subjected to isothermal adsorption, computed tomography (CT) scanning, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) to obtain the correlation between the meso-structure of coal and its non-uniform adsorption characteristics. The reasons for the differences in methane adsorption capacity between the specimens were summarized from the perspectives of material and structural heterogeneities, meso-morphology and pore size distribution. The following conclusions could be drawn: (1) The coal samples with different heterogeneity degrees exhibit varying methane adsorption capacities. (2) Compared to the specific surface area, the mineral composition exerts a greater influence on the adsorption capacity of the coal samples. (3) The gas adsorption capacities of the coal samples with similar meso-morphology and pore size distribution characteristics are similar, while among the coal samples with similar pore size distributions but different meso-morphologies, the gas adsorption capacities significantly differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved variational inequality strategy for dealing with variational inequality in a Hilbert space is proposed in this article as an alternative; if Hilbert space is used as the domain of interest, the original extra-gradient method is proposed for resolving variational inequality. This improved variational inequality strategy can be used as a substitute for the original extra-gradient method in some situations. Mann's mean value method, coupled with the widely used sub-gradient extra-gradient strategy, makes it possible to update all of the previous iterations in a single step, thus saving time and effort. All of this is made feasible via the use of Mann's mean value technique in conjunction with the convex hull of all prior iterations of the algorithm. It is guaranteed that the mean value iteration will result in an acceptable resolution of a variational inequality issue as long as one or more of the criteria for the averaging matrix are fulfilled. Numerous experiments were performed in order to demonstrate the correctness of the theoretical conclusion obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creep and stress relaxation behaviors of coal are common in coal mining. The unified constitutive model is suitable to describe and predict both the creep and relaxation evolution characteristics of rocks. The generalized Kelvin model is the core element for traditional and improved component models to reflect both the nonlinear creep and relaxation. In this paper, an improved core damage model, which could both reflect the creep and stress relaxation in relation to the damage evolution, was established based on a comparison of the traditional and improved component models, and the responding constitutive equations (creep and stress relaxation equation) at constant stress/strain were deduced. Then, the core damage model was validated to the uniaxial compressive multistage creep and stress relaxation test results of coal, showing that the model curves had great accordance with the experimental data. Moreover, the model comparisons on accuracy, parameter meaning, and popularization among the core damage model, hardening-damage model, and the fractional derivative model were further discussed. The results showed that the parameters in the core damage model had clear and brief physical significances. The core damage model was also popularized to depict the time-dependent behaviors of other rocks, showing great accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Computational Analysis of Variational Inequalities Using Mean Extra-Gradient Approach" has been retracted by the Mathematics Editorial Office. Concerns were raised about significant overlap with a previous publication by a different group. An investigation confirmed the overlap and lack of appropriate citation, leading to the decision to retract the article in accordance with MDPI's retraction policy and the Committee on Publication Ethics' retraction guidelines. The authors did not provide a comment on this decision. [Extracted from the article]

Wind turbines (WTs) participate in frequency regulation, which is one of the means to solve the problem of inadequate regulation capacity in power systems with a high proportion of renewable energy. The doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) can reserve part of power to achieve bidirectional regulation capability through rotor over-speed and increasing pitch angle. In this paper, it is pointed out that the available bidirectional regulation power of the WT is constrained by the maximum regulation power under the rotor speed regulation. The regulation power constraints under the pitch regulation considering the time scale are calculated. The adjustment coefficient of WT participating in frequency regulation is designed. Considering the regulation power constraints, the frequency difference interval in which the WT can provide the regulation power according to the adjustment coefficient is analyzed. The rotor speed and pitch coordinated control strategy of DFIG with different wind speeds is designed. Based on 24-hour measured data from a wind farm, the power constraints and their effects of WTs in the wind farm participating in frequency regulation are verified by simulation. The regulation power of the wind farm, frequency quality, and wind power utilization under the different control strategies are analyzed. The results show that the effects of bidirectional power constraints must be taken into account when evaluating the effectiveness of WTs in continuous frequency regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]