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Being inspired by the biological eye, event camera is a novel asynchronous technology that poses a paradigm shift in acquisition of visual information. This paradigm enables event cameras to capture pixel-size fast motions much more naturally compared to classical cameras.In this paper, we present a new asynchronous event-driven algorithm for detection of high-frequency pixel-size periodic signals using an event camera. Development of such new algorithms to efficiently process the asynchronous information of event cameras is essential to utilize its special properties and potential, and being a main challenge in the research community.It turns out that this algorithm, which was developed in order to satisfy the new paradigm, is related to an untreated theoretical problem in probability: Let 0 ≤ τ1 ≤ τ2 ≤⋯ ≤ τm ≤ 1 originated from an unknown distribution. Let also 휖,δ ∈ ℝ, and d ∈ ℕ. What can be said about the probability Φ(m,d) of having more than d adjacent τi-s pairs that the distance between them is δ, up to an error 휖? This problem, which reminds the area of order statistic, shows how the new visualization paradigm is also an opportunity to develop new areas and problems in mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternaria black spot of pomegranate (Punica granatum) was reported for the first time in Italy. In spring 2023, an outbreak of this disease was noticed in commercial pomegranate 'Wonderful' orchards of the municipality of Misterbianco (Sicily), following an unusually rainy period. A total of 30 randomly selected Alternaria isolates recovered from typical necrotic spots of leaves and fruits were characterized. Based on the colony morphology on solid agar media (PDA and MEA), isolates were separated into three distinct morphotypes (1, 2, and 3). The first two morphotypes comprised only isolates from fruits, while morphotype 3 comprised only isolates from leaves. Multigene phylogenetic analysis of four DNA regions, including internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (EF-1α), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and a SCAR marker (OPA10–2), identified the isolates of morphotypes 1 and 2 as Alternaria alternata and morphotype 3 isolates as A. arborescens. In pathogenicity tests on unwounded leaves and fruit, the isolates of all three morphotypes produced symptoms on the leaves of three pomegranate cultivars, 'Acco', 'Wonderful', and 'Etna'. The symptoms on 'Acco' leaves were the least severe. Conversely, the fruits of 'Acco' were the most susceptible. The isolates of morphotypes 2 and 3 were not pathogenic on the fruits of 'Wonderful' and 'Etna'. This is the first report of Alternaria black spot in Italy and of A. arborescens associated with Alternaria black spot of pomegranate worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Physical and psychosocial demands (e.g., serving, cleaning, fulfilling orders) can lead to work-related musculoskeletal pain (WRMSP). OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of WRMSP in the upper quadrant and lower back among skilled male Arab waiters; to evaluate the disability related to WRMSP; to evaluate the association between work demands and WRMSP with related disability. METHODS: 100 skilled male Arab waiters working full-time, aged 18–60, participated in the cross-sectional study. Participants completed basic demographics and working conditions; the NDI; QuickDASH; the OswestryQ; workload, burnout, and job satisfaction at work; the adjusted NordicQ; and the TaskQ, compiled especially for this study. RESULTS: A 12-month pain prevalence, pain frequency, and work avoidance were high: neck- 42%, 60.5%, 89.5%; shoulders –53%, 78.2%, 94.4%; elbows- 46%, 78.6%, 83.3%; lower back- 45%, 44%, 78.7%, respectively. Pain prevalence in at least one site was 83%. The OswestryQ, QuickDASH, and NDI revealed mild-moderate pain and disability (14.85/50, 25.54/75, 13.74/50, respectively). Burnout score was positively associated with OswestryQ, QuickDASH, and NDI. Job satisfaction was negatively associated with 12 months of pain in the lower back, hands, arms, shoulders, and hands (NordicQ). TaskQ was positively associated with OswestryQ. CONCLUSION: Male Arab waiters who work in physically and psychologically challenging conditions report high levels of WRMSP with a high frequency and related work avoidance. Many of them must keep their jobs as they are their families' primary or sole providers. It is possible that they are trying to prevent more severe disabilities in the future by ensuring temporary rest and pain prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronamycin is a complex of novel peptide antibiotics with activity against pythiaceous fungi and the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. It is also active against the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, with an IC(50) of 9.0 ng ml(-1). Coronamycin is produced by a verticillate Streptomyces sp. isolated as an endophyte from an epiphytic vine, Monstera sp., found in the Manu region of the upper Amazon of Peru. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the fermentation broths of this endophyte on silica gel and HPLC chromatography yielded two principal, inseparable, peptides with masses of 1217.9 and 1203.8 Da. Three other minor, but related components, are also present in the preparation. Amino acid analysis of coronamycin revealed residues of component 1, component 2, methionine, tyrosine and leucine at a ratio of 2:2:1:1:3. Other compounds with antifungal activities are also produced by this endophytic streptomycete.

Species distribution models are widely used to estimate the potential geographic distribution of species habitat. They are also used to predict the impact of climate change on species distributions. In this study, we examined the distribution of Mal Secco disease, an infective disease of citrus caused by the fungus Plenodomus tracheiphilus. To model the Mal Secco distribution under current and two future (2050 and 2070) climatic scenarios in the Mediterranean basin, eight climate variables were incorporated into the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model. All three model distributions had high AUC values (0.97), indicating excellent performance. The precipitation during the wettest month and the minimum temperature during the coldest month contributed the most to the model. The suitable areas for the Mal Secco disease were predicted to decrease by up to 23% by the year 2070. For each of the three scenarios, the change in the proportion of suitable areas along the longitudinal (west–east) and latitudinal (south–north) geographical axes of the Mediterranean basin showed a similar trend. Our study highlights the supposition that while climate change is likely to reduce the extent of suitable areas, no range shift is expected to occur in the Mediterranean basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 20% of human cancers worldwide are associated with infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Various methods have been used to identify human tumor viruses, including electron microscopic observations of viral particles, immunologic screening, cDNA library screening, nucleic acid hybridization, consensus PCR, viral DNA array chip, and representational difference analysis (RDA). With the Human Genome Project, a large amount of genetic information from humans and other organisms has accumulated over the last decade. Utilizing the available genetic databases, Patrick S. Moore, Yuan Chang, and colleagues developed digital transcriptome subtraction (DTS), an in silico method to sequentially subtract human sequences from tissue or cellular transcriptome, and discovered Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) from Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Here we review the background and methods underlying the human tumor virus discoveries and explain how DTS was developed and used for the discovery of MCV.