Journal articles on the topic 'Matrix Barksdale and Harris'

ABSTRACTIn 1979, Edward C. Harris invented and published his eponymous matrix for visualizing stratigraphy, creating an indispensable tool for generations of archaeologists. When presenting his matrix, Harris also detailed his four laws of archaeological stratigraphy: superposition, original horizontal, original continuity, and stratigraphic succession. In 2017, I created the first stratigraphic matrix for software, using as a test the 2016 video game No Man's Sky (Hello Games). Software (games or otherwise) obeys all four of Harris's laws, software applications/programs themselves being digital archaeological sites. I study the archaeology of the recent past, which includes digital technology, specifically that which is ephemeral: software. This article describes my underlying theory of software stratigraphy and explains how (and why) the Harris matrix is appropriate for documenting software development in a visual way. The article includes my complete data set as well as screen captures, plus overall and detail photos of my hand-drawn software matrix prototype, followed by a bullet-pointed how-to guide for others to use when documenting the history of any computer program. I also include Harris's personal comments that he shared with me after reviewing my preliminary results.

Achondrogenesis type IA (Houston-Harris) is an extremely rare lethal chondrodysplasia with a characteristic severe disarrangement of endochondral ossification. The growth plate cartilage completely lacks columnar-zone formation and shows chondrocyte expansion due to intracellular vacuoles. This article on a new case of achondrogenesis type IA confirms these findings and demonstrates, on the ultrastructural level, the retention of fine fibrillar material within the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER). Molecular analysis in the presented case of achondrogenesis type IA did not reveal mutations in the COL2A1 and SLC26A2 genes, which are known to cause achondrogenesis types IB and type II. Although the extracellular cartilage matrix was severely altered, all of the investigated matrix molecules (collagens, aggrecan, matrilins, cartilage oligomeric protein [COMP]) showed a normal distribution pattern. The only exception was type-X collagen, which was significantly reduced. Overall, our study suggests a disturbance in cartilage matrix assembly in the present case due to the retention of some sort of matrix component within the rER. Presumably, as a consequence of this event, processes of chondrocyte maturation and differentiation and endochondral bone formation are severely affected in this case of achondrogenesis type IA.

Consider the ordinary linear matrix differential systemψ(x) is a scalar mapping, X and A(x) are n by n matrices. Both belong to C1([a,∞)) for some integer l. The stability and asymptotic behaviour of its solutions have been subject to much investigation. See Bellman [2], Levinson [24], Hartman and Wintner [20], Devinatz [9], Fedoryuk [11], Harris and Lutz [16,17,18] and Cassell [30]. The special interest in eigenvalue problems and in the deficiency index problem stimulated a continued interest in asymptotic integration. See e.g. Naimark [36], Eastham and Grundniewicz [10] and [8,9]. Harris and Lutz [16,17,18] succeeded in explaining how to derive many known theorems in asymptotic integration by repeatedly using certain “(1 + Q)” linear transformations.

The traditional Harris detector are sensitive to noise and resolution because without the property of scale invariant. In this research, The Harris corner detector algorithm is improved, to work with multi resolution images, the technique has also been working with poor lighting condition by using histogram equalization technique. The work we have done addresses the issue of robustly detection of feature points, detected multiple of local features are characterized by the intensity changes in both horizontal and vertical direction which is called corner features. The goal of this work is to detect the corner of an object through the Harris corner detector with multiple scale of the same image. The scale invariant property applied to the Harris algorithm for improving the corner detection performance in different resolution of the same image with the same interest point. The detected points represented by two independent variables (x, y) in a matrix (x, y) and the dependent variable f are called intensity of interest points. Through these independent variable, we get the displacement and velocity of object by subtracting independent variable f(x,y) at current frame from the previous location f ̀((x,) ̀(y,) ̀) of another frame. For further work, multiple of moving object environment have been taken consideration for developing algorithms.

The traditional Harris detector are sensitive to noise and resolution because without the property of scale invariant. In this research, The Harris corner detector algorithm is improved, to work with multi resolution images, the technique has also been working with poor lighting condition by using histogram equalization technique. The work we have done addresses the issue of robustly detection of feature points, detected multiple of local features are characterized by the intensity changes in both horizontal and vertical direction which is called corner features. The goal of this work is to detect the corner of an object through the Harris corner detector with multiple scale of the same image. The scale invariant property applied to the Harris algorithm for improving the corner detection performance in different resolution of the same image with the same interest point. The detected points represented by two independent variables (x, y) in a matrix (x, y) and the dependent variable f are called intensity of interest points. Through these independent variable, we get the displacement and velocity of object by subtracting independent variable f(x,y) at current frame from the previous location f ̀((x,) ̀(y,) ̀) of another frame. For further work, multiple of moving object environment have been taken consideration for developing algorithms.

In the present article, we aim to broaden our understanding of the phenomenon of terror in terms of group-analytic and psychoanalytic conceptualizations (Freud, 1915; Shadach et al., 2017; Harris and Meltzer, 1976; Hopper, 2003a, 2003b, 2009). We present a conceptualization of what we call a ‘dynamic terror matrix’ and characterize its unique features using Da’esh1 as an illustrative example. As Da’esh is an extremist organization (Lahoud, 2014; Omer and Schweitzer, 2016; Ryan, 2015), with a systematic and future-oriented ideology it constitutes a social phenomenon that exemplifies major features of the ‘dynamic terror matrix’.

The present paper constitutes a brief advance of much longer and more detailed ongoing work on the concept of “trace” in contemporary linguistic theory, particularly in syntax. It is commonly believed that the idea was coined by Noam Chomsky. However, we already detect its use, with a very accurate value, in the early work of Zellig Harris on mathematical linguistics or, to be more precise, on mathematical structures of language. In its origins, rather than being an index responsible for marking the location occupied by a unit previous to its syntactic movement (which always takes the form of fronting ), the trace was the result of a matrix product between n-adic functions. Thus, in Harris the trace is primarily a concept anchored in matrix calculus, or, put it differently, an algebraic notion. Chomsky’s notion, on its turn, is closely related with the LISP programming language. This text seeks to provide a preliminary analysis of the conceptual complexity implied in the concept of trace, which linguists should become aware of, for otherwise they will be doomed to be entangled in misunderstandings unfruitful to our discipline for decades to come.

The estimation of the fundamental matrix (F) is to determine the epipolar geometry and to establish a geometrical relation between two images of the same scene or elaborate video frames. In the literature, we find many techniques that have been proposed for robust estimations such as RANSAC (random sample consensus), least-squares median (LMeds), and M estimators as exhaustive. This article presents a comparison between the different detectors that are (Harris, FAST, SIFT, and SURF) in terms of detected points number, the number of correct matches and the computation speed of the ‘F’. Our method based first on the extraction of descriptors by the algorithm (SURF) was used in comparison to the other one because of its robustness, then set the threshold of uniqueness to obtain the best points and also normalize these points and rank it according to the weighting function of the different regions at the end of the estimation of the matrix''F'' by the technique of the M-estimator at eight points, to calculate the average error and the speed of the calculation ''F''. The results of the experimental simulation were applied to the real images with different changes of viewpoints, for example (rotation, lighting, and moving object), give a good agreement in terms of the counting speed of the fundamental matrix and the acceptable average error. The results of the simulation show this technique of use in real-time applications

Connective tissue cells synthesize and secrete a group of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), all of which are capable of degrading the extracellular-matrix components. One of them, MMP-3 (stromelysin) has been shown to degrade purified basement-membrane components, collagen IV and laminin [Okada, Y., Nagase, H. & Harris, E. D., Jr. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 14245-14255]. Here we report that MMP-3 degrades collagen IV and laminin in intact basement membranes from bovine glomeruli (GBM) and bovine anterior-lens capsules (LBM). Degradation products were analysed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis to determine the number and sizes of polypeptide fragments. Immunoblotting techniques were used to identify the origins of the fragments, i.e. collagen IV or laminin. The fragments of collagen IV were further mapped using specific antibodies that recognize the N-terminal (7 S) domain, the C-terminal (NC-1) domain, or the major triple-helical region between the terminal domains. Degradation of collagen IV was extensive; many fragments were found, from both GBM and LBM, in the Mr range 25,000-380,000. A large fragment of laminin (Mr greater than 380,000) was found in the GBM digests without reduction, but it dissociated into 220,000-Mr chains upon reduction. The results suggest that MMP-3 plays an important role in the catabolism of basement membranes.

We propose a nonparametric estimation theory for the occupation density, the drift vector, and the diffusion matrix of multivariate diffusion processes. The estimators are sample analogues to infinitesimal conditional expectations constructed as Nadaraya-Watson kernel averages. Mild assumptions are imposed on the statistical properties of the multivariate system to obtain limiting results. Harris recurrence is all that we require to show consistency and asymptotic (mixed) normality of the proposed functional estimators. The identification method and asymptotic theory apply to both stationary and nonstationary multivariate diffusion processes of the recurrent type.

This paper describes a new method for the detection of moving objects from moving camera image sequences using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor. Motion detection systems with vision sensors have become a global research subject recently. However, detecting moving objects from a moving camera is a difficult task because of egomotion. In the proposed method, the interesting points are extracted by a Harris detector, and the background and foreground are classified by epipolar geometry. In this procedure, an IMU sensor is used to calculate the initial fundamental matrix. After the feature point classification, a transformation matrix is obtained from matching background feature points. Image registration is then applied to the consecutive images, and a difference map is extracted to find the foreground region. Finally, a minimum bounding box is applied to mark the detected moving object. The proposed method is implemented and tested with numerous real-world driving videos, which show that it outperforms the previous work.

This article is framed into the theoretical and methodological background of virtual archaeology. The advantages of virtual archaeology and its weak points have long been discussed in academia, formulating theoretical foundations and principles to be followed in order to guarantee scientific results, where data are traceable, transparent and verifiable. Gathering the inheritance of the last 30 years of debates and research, this work proposes implementing these principles through the formulation of a methodological approach, to virtual reconstruction of archaeological contexts, consisting of an application protocol articulated in five steps. In particular, the proposed methodology is grounded in the Extended Matrix (EM), a formal language and tools entirely developed and tested by the Virtual Heritage lab of the CNR ISPC. The EM takes its cue from the Matrix of Harris and adapts its system to the specific needs arising in the fields of virtual reconstruction and scientific visualisation. This protocol, which ranges from fieldwork to the publication of scientific data, has been tested and systematised in over ten years of activity on various complex and significant archaeological contexts. In the article, each methodological step is supported by case studies described in detail and accompanied by a graphic apparatus that clearly illustrates the results obtained. These case studies led to the definition of version 1.2 of the EM as described in the methods section.

The paper presents some reflexions concerning an interdisciplinary project between Medieval Archaeologists from the University of Florence (Italy) and ICT researchers from CNRS LSIS of Marseille (France), aiming towards a connection between 3D spatial representation and archaeological knowledge. It is well known that Laser Scanner, Photogrammetry and Computer Vision are very attractive tools for archaeologists, although the integration of representation of space and representation of archaeological time has not yet found a methodological standard of reference. We try to develop an integrated system for archaeological 3D survey and all other types of archaeological data and knowledge through integrating observable (material) and non-graphic (interpretive) data. Survey plays a central role, since it is both a metric representation of the archaeological site and, to a wider extent, an interpretation of it (being also a common basis for communication between the 2 teams). More specifically 3D survey is crucial, allowing archaeologists to connect actual spatial assets to the stratigraphic formation processes (i.e. to the archaeological time) and to translate spatial observations into historical interpretation of the site. <br><br> We propose a common formalism for describing photogrammetrical survey and archaeological knowledge stemming from ontologies: Indeed, ontologies are fully used to model and store 3D data and archaeological knowledge. Xe equip this formalism with a qualitative representation of time. Stratigraphic analyses (both of excavated deposits and of upstanding structures) are closely related to E. C. Harris theory of “Stratigraphic Unit” (“US” from now on). Every US is connected to the others by geometric, topological and, eventually, temporal links, and are recorded by the 3D photogrammetric survey. However, the limitations of the Harris Matrix approach lead to use another representation formalism for stratigraphic relationships, namely Qualitative Constraints Networks (QCN) successfully used in the domain of knowledge representation and reasoning in artificial intelligence for representing temporal relations.

Conventional Harris corner detector is a desirable detector but it requires significantly more computation time. For MIC detector proposed by Trajkovic, the minimal computational demands of its operator make it well-suited for real-time applications, however the Trajkovic’s operator responses too readily to certain diagonal edges. For this reason, the paper proposed a new corner detection algorithm. The new corner detection algorithm adopted multigrid algorithm and preprocessed the lower resolution revision of the original image to obtain the potential corners, subsequently used autocorrelation matrix to get the corner response function for the corresponding points of the potential corner. The test results indicate the new corner detection algorithm can decrease edge responses and the number of textural corners effectively. Furthermore, it can satisfy the demands of real-time applications.

Non-linear Hawkes processes with memory kernels given by the sum of Erlang kernels are considered. It is shown that their stability properties can be studied in terms of an associated class of piecewise deterministic Markov processes, called Markovian cascades of successive memory terms. Explicit conditions implying the positive Harris recurrence of these processes are presented. The proof is based on integration by parts with respect to the jump times. A crucial property is the non-degeneracy of the transition semigroup which is obtained thanks to the invertibility of an associated Vandermonde matrix. For Lipschitz continuous rate functions we also show that these Markovian cascades converge to equilibrium exponentially fast with respect to the Wasserstein distance. Finally, an extension of the classical thinning algorithm is proposed to simulate such Markovian cascades.

Aclassic model for tissue morphogenesis is the formation of ligament-like straps between explants of fibroblasts placed in collagen gels. The patterns arise from mechanical forces exerted by cells on their substrates (Harris et al., 1981). However, where do such straps come from, and how are slow local movements of cells transduced into dramatic long-distance redistributions of collagen? We embedded primary mouse skin and human periodontal ligament fibroblasts in collagen gels and measured the time course of patterning by using a novel computer algorithm to calculate anisotropy, and by tracking glass beads dispersed in the gel. As fibroblasts began to spread into their immediate environments, a coordinated rearrangement of collagen commenced throughout the gel, producing a strap on a time scale of minutes. Killing of cells afterwards resulted in a partial relaxation of the matrix strain. Surprisingly, relatively small movements of collagen molecules on the tensile axis between two pulling explants induced a much larger concomitant compression of the gel perpendicular to the axis, organizing and aligning fibers into a strap. We propose that this amplification is due to the geometry of the collagen matrix, and that analogous amplified movements may drive morphological changes in other biological meshes, both outside and inside the cell.

ResumenEl análisis estratigráfico constituye una herramienta de diagnosis indispensable en obras de arqueología, que permite descifrar a arqueólogos, historiadores y antropólogos la disposición e interrelación entre los diferentes estratos y la ordenación cronológica de los restos hallados. En este campo, la fotogrametría realizada con cámara digital convencional y software de amplia difusión constituye una alternativa versátil, eficiente y asequible frente a las técnicas convencionales de representación, basadas en procedimientos artesanales y cargadas de subjetividad, cuyas principales limitaciones son analizadas. En este artículo se establecen una sencilla metodología y un modelo sistemático para la documentación y preservación de unidades estratigráficas en excavaciones arqueológicas, compatibles con la técnica de análisis estratigráfico basada en la matriz Harris. La validez y posibilidades del método han sido constatadas en el proyecto de intervención arqueológica desarrollado en la Capilla Real de la Catedral de Sevilla.AbstractThe stratigraphic analysis constitutes an essential diagnostic tool in archelogy works, which allows the archaeologists, historians and anthropologists to decipher the arrangement and interrelation between the different strata and the chronological ordering of the remains found. In this field, the photogrammetry realized with conventional digital camera and software of wide diffusion constitutes a versatile alternative, efficient and affordable in front of the conventional techniques of representation, based on artisan and loaded procedures of subjectivity, whose main limitations are analyzed. This article establishes a simple methodology and a systematic model for the documentation and preservation of stratigraphic units in archaeological excavations, compatible with the technique of stratigraphic analysis based on the Harris matrix. The validity and possibilities of the method have been verified in the project of archaeological intervention developed in the Royal Chapel of the Cathedral of Seville.

AbstractA virus isolated from obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), larvae collected in an apple, Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae), orchard of Saint-Joseph-du-Lac (Quebec, Canada) was studied. Microscopic studies revealed that it was a uninucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus from the family Baculoviridae. Larval mortality was approximately 75% (0% mortality in control group) in larvae infected as third instars immersed in a suspension of 1.7 × 108 occlusion bodies/mL. The average time for larval mortality was 23 ± 3 d after treatment. The majority (95.5%) of infected larvae died as fifth or sixth instars. Infection was observed primarily in fat body cells, and occasionally in the tracheal matrix and epidermis. Mean larval development time of infected larvae surviving to pupae was 20 ± 3 d, significantly greater than the 18 ± 3 d observed in control larvae. Adult emergence was significantly lower in pupae of treated larvae (73.6%) than in the control group (93.5%). Our work constitutes the first baseline study of naturally occurring virus of the obliquebanded leafroller.

The pose measurement of cannon barrel (vertical angle and azimuth angle) is a difficulty and emphasis in the precision analysis of SPAAG fire control system. To solve this problem, this paper presents a contactless measuring method based on computer vision. Before measurement, fix a checked planar faceplate on the cannon barrel as a marker. Firstly, get the coordinate of X corner points using Harris Corner Detection Algorithm to calibrate the camera, and chalk up the cameras intrinsic parameters based on Extended Kalman Filter. Secondly, get the corner points from the image of test position, then calculate the extrinsic parameter matrix of the corresponding position combining with LSE algorithm. Finally, according to the motion model of cannon barrel and the position relative to the marker, derive the constraint equations between extrinsic parameter and vertical angle and azimuth angle, then figure out the two angles. Experiment validate the maneuverability and veracity of this method, and the results indicate that the measuring precision of this method is less than 1mil.

One of the most encouraging sorts of renewable energy is ocean wave energy. In spite of a large number of investigations in this field during the last decade, wave energy technologies are recognised as neither mature nor broadly commercialised compared to other renewable energy technologies. In this paper, we develop and optimise Power Take-off (PTO) configurations of a well-known wave energy converter (WEC) called a point absorber. This WEC is a fully submerged buoy with three tethers, which was proposed and developed by Carnegie Clean Energy Company in Australia. Optimising the WEC’s PTO parameters is a challenging engineering problem due to the high dimensionality and complexity of the search space. This research compares the performance of five state-of-the-art metaheuristics (including Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy, Gray Wolf optimiser, Harris Hawks optimisation, and Grasshopper Optimisation Algorithm) based on the real wave scenario in Sydney sea state. The experimental achievements show that the Multiverse optimisation (MVO) algorithm performs better than the other metaheuristics applied in this work.

We have isolated a cDNA clone that encodes rat glutathione S-transferase (GST) subunit 13, a GST originally isolated from rat liver mitochondrial matrix by Harris, Meyer, Coles and Ketterer [(1991) Biochem. J. 278, 137–141]. The 896 bp cDNA contains an open reading frame of 678 bp encoding a deduced protein sequence of which the first 33 residues (excluding the initiation methionine residue) correspond to the N-terminal sequence reported by Harris et al. Hence like many other nuclear-encoded, mitochondrially located proteins, there is no cleavable mitochondrial presequence at the N-terminus. GST subunit 13 was originally placed into the Theta class of GSTs on the basis of sequence identity at the N-terminus; however, this is the only identity with the Theta class and in fact GST subunit 13 shows little sequence similarity to any of the known GST classes. Most importantly it lacks the SNAIL/TRAIL motif that has so far been a characteristic of soluble GSTs, although it does possess a second motif (FGXXXXVXXVDGXXXXXF) reported for GST-related proteins (Koonin, Mushegian, Tatusov, Altschul, Bryant, Bork and Valencia [(1994) Protein Sci. 3, 2045–2054]. Southern and Northern blot analyses of rat DNA and mRNA are consistent with GST subunit 13's being the product of a single hybridizing gene locus. Searches of EST databases identified numerous similar human DNA sequences and a single pig sequence. We have derived a human cDNA sequence from these EST sequences which shows a high nucleotide similarity (77%) to rat GST subunit 13. The largest open reading frame is identical in length with subunit 13 and yields a deduced protein sequence identity of 70%. Most unusually the 3´ non-coding nucleotide sequence identity is also 77%. We conclude that these cDNAs belong to a novel GST class hereby designated Kappa, with the rat GST subunit 13 gene designated rGSTK1 and the human gene being called hGSTK1.

Hip resurfacing arthroplasty is known to improve quality of life (QoL) and allow increased activity levels in young patients. It is, however, traditionally offered to the younger age group of patients, largely those aged under 60 years. We studied 42 consecutive patients (42 hips) aged 60 years or over (mean age 64) and 41 consecutive patients (42 hips) under this age (mean age 49), all of whom had undergone a metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty. A modified Harris hip score was translated to QoL scores using the Rosser Index Matrix immediately pre-operatively and at six weeks, six months, one year and four years after surgery. We found a significant improvement in QoL for both groups (p<0.0001) but no difference between the two groups. The maximum improvement was reached one year after surgery. Implant survival at four years was also similar (97.6% for group I and 100% for group II). We thus conclude that in carefully selected active patients aged 60 years and over, hip resurfacing arthroplasty provides significant and equal QoL improvement as it does for those under this age with similar implant survival. For this reason, age alone should not influence a surgeon's decision to proceed with a hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

This study focuses on modeling the fourth dimension of historic architectures with an HBIM approach and special regard to stratigraphic analysis. The goal is to push the limits of current technology to understand the history of buildings, with impacts on protecting their authenticity; it is pursued with a practitioners-oriented methodology able to make aware models of their phases. The target audience are experts in the field of heritage conservation, while the outcome is to support long-term strategies for the sustainable management of heritage. Contents follow this structure: (1) Introduction: this section frames the benefits of affirming heritage’s physical authenticity and managing risks; it clarifies assumptions and the research aim; (2) State of the Art: this highlights the topic relevance, which is not yet fully resolved, focusing on semantics, critical-interpretative data control, and on the automation of some crucial results; (3) Materials and Methods: this describes the integrated workflow, including the photogrammetric acquisition, modeling, and data enrichment, the semi-automatic Harris matrix construction, and the optimization of laser data; (4) Results: this presents the results of modelling stratigraphic units, enriching them with information according to a semantics coherent with the conservation process, to govern the temporal relations while automating key outputs; (5) Discussion: this section refines the implemented solutions and introduce future works.

Costameres, the vinculin-rich, sub-membranous transverse ribs found in many skeletal and cardiac muscle cells (Pardo, J. V., J. D. Siciliano, and S. W. Craig. 1983. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 80:363-367.) are thought to anchor the Z-lines of the myofibrils to the sarcolemma. In addition, it has been postulated that costameres provide mechanical linkage between the cells' internal contractile machinery and the extracellular matrix, but direct evidence for this supposition has been lacking. By combining the flexible silicone rubber substratum technique (Harris, A. K., P. Wild, and D. Stopak. 1980. Science (Wash. DC). 208:177-179.) with the microinjection of fluorescently labeled vinculin and alpha-actinin, we have been able to correlate the distribution of costameres in adult rat cardiac myocytes with the pattern of forces these cells exert on the flexible substratum. In addition, we used interference reflection microscopy to identify areas of the cells which are in close contact to the underlying substratum. Our results indicate that, in older cell cultures, costameres can transmit forces to the extracellular environment. We base this conclusion on the following observations: (a) adult rat heart cells, cultured on the silicone rubber substratum for 8 or more days, produce pleat-like wrinkles during contraction, which diminish or disappear during relaxation; (b) the pleat-like wrinkles form between adjacent alpha-actinin-positive Z-lines; (c) the presence of pleat-like wrinkles is always associated with a periodic, "costameric" distribution of vinculin in the areas where the pleats form; and (d) a banded or periodic pattern of dark gray or close contacts (as determined by interference reflection microscopy) has been observed in many cells which have been in culture for eight or more days, and these close contacts contain vinculin. A surprising finding is that vinculin can be found in a costameric pattern in cells which are contracting, but not producing pleat-like wrinkles in the substratum. This suggests that additional proteins or posttranslational modifications of known costamere proteins are necessary to form a continuous linkage between the myofibrils and the extracellular matrix. These results confirm the hypothesis that costameres mechanically link the myofibrils to the extracellular matrix. We put forth the hypothesis that costameres are composite structures, made up of many protein components; some of these components function primarily to anchor myofibrils to the sarcolemma, while others form transmembrane linkages to the extracellular matrix.

The formation of crystalline zinc soaps (zinc salts of fatty acids) in oil paint layers is a common sign of paint degradation. In this study, we have used infrared spectroscopy to systematically identify differences in structure and composition of crystalline zinc soap phases, and report data analysis methods for structure attribution in challenging oil paint samples. Supported by reported crystal structures, it was possible to distinguish two distinct types of zinc soap geometry: a highly symmetrical packing for long-chain saturated soaps (type B) and an alternating packing for zinc soaps with short, unsaturated, or dicarboxylic chains (type A). These two types of packing can be identified by a single or split asymmetric COO stretch vibration band. With this new information, we studied the structure and composition of zinc soaps formed in a zinc white model paint and in a cross-section from the painting Equations in Space by Lawren Harris. Using non-negative matrix factorization, band integration and band position maps, it was possible to clearly identify zinc azelate in the model paint and map its spatial distribution. The same methods showed that the paint cross-section contained both types of zinc soap structure within the same paint layer, with the less symmetrical structure appearing only at the interface with the ground layer. The results give valuable information on the internal chemistry of oil paint layers, and the demonstrated methods can find widespread application for in-depth analysis of infrared microscopy data.

The hyaluronan (HA) receptor for endocytosis (HARE; Stab2) clears 14 systemic ligands, including HA and heparin. Here, we used NF-κB promoter-driven luciferase reporter assays to test HARE-mediated intracellular signaling during the uptake of eight ligands, whose binding sites in the HARE ectodomain were mapped by competition studies (Harris, E. N., and Weigel, P. H. (2008) Glycobiology 18, 638–648). Unique intermediate size Select-HATM, heparin, dermatan sulfate, and acetylated LDL stimulated dose-dependent HARE-mediated NF-κB activation of luciferase expression, with half-maximal values of 10–25 nm. In contrast, chondroitin sulfate types A, C, D, and E did not stimulate NF-κB activation. Moreover, degradation of endogenous IkB-α (an NF-κB inhibitor) was stimulated only by the signaling ligands. The stimulatory activities of pairwise combinations of the four signaling ligands were additive. The four nonstimulatory chondroitin sulfate types, which compete for HA binding, also effectively blocked HA-stimulated signaling. Clathrin siRNA decreased clathrin expression by ∼50% and completely eliminated NF-κB-mediated signaling by all four ligands, indicating that activation of signaling complexes occurs after endocytosis. These results indicate that HARE not only binds and clears extracellular matrix degradation products (e.g. released normally or during infection, injury, tumorigenesis, or other stress situations) but that a subset of ligands also serves as signaling indicator ligands. HARE may be part of a systemic tissue-stress sensor feedback system that responds to abnormal tissue turnover or damage as a danger signal; the signaling indicator ligands would reflect the homeostatic status, whether normal or pathological, of tissue cells and biomatrix components.

Abstract While SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) features are used to match High-Resolution (HR) remote sensing urban images captured at different phases with large scale and view variations, feature points are few and the matching accuracy is low. Although replacing SIFT with fully affine invariant features ASIFT (Affine-SIFT) can increase the number of feature points, it results in matching inefficiency and a non-uniform distribution of matched feature point pairs. To address these problems, this paper proposes the novel matching method ICA-ASIFT, which matches HR remote sensing urban images captured at different phases by using an Independent Component Analysis algorithm (ICA) and ASIFT features jointly. First, all possible affine deformations are modeled for the image transform, extracting ASIFT features of remote sensing images captured at different times. The ICA algorithm reduces the dimensionality of ASIFT features and improves matching efficiency of subsequent ASIFT feature point pairs. Next, coarse matching is performed on ASIFT feature point pairs through the algorithms of Nearest Vector Angle Ratio (NVAR), Direction Difference Analysis (DDA) and RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC), eliminating apparent mismatches. Then, fine matching is performed on rough matched point pairs using a Neighborhoodbased Feature Graph Matching algorithm (NFGM) to obtain final ASIFT matching point pairs of remote sensing images. Finally, final matching point pairs are used to compute the affine transform matrix. Matching HR remote sensing images captured at different phases is achieved through affine transform. Experiments are used to compare the performance of ICA-ASFIT and three other algorithms (i.e., Harris- SIFT, PCA-SIFT, TD-ASIFT) on HR remote sensing images captured at different times in different regions. Experimental results show that the proposed ICA-ASFIT algorithm effectively matches HR remote sensing urban images and outperforms other algorithms in terms of matching accuracy and efficiency.

The class Kappa family of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) currently comprises a single rat subunit (rGSTK1), originally isolated from the matrix of liver mitochondria [Harris, Meyer, Coles and Ketterer (1991) Biochem. J. 278, 137–141; Pemble, Wardle and Taylor (1996) Biochem. J. 319, 749–754]. In the present study, an expressed sequence tag (EST) clone has been identified which encodes a mouse class Kappa GST (designated mGSTK1). The EST clone contains an open reading frame of 678 bp, encoding a protein composed of 226 amino acid residues with 86% sequence identity with the rGSTK1 polypeptide. The mGSTK1 and rGSTK1 proteins have been heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Both mouse and rat transferases were found to exhibit GSH-conjugating and GSH-peroxidase activities towards model substrates. Analysis of expression levels in a range of mouse and rat tissues revealed that the mRNA encoding these enzymes is expressed predominantly in heart, kidney, liver and skeletal muscle. Although other soluble GST isoenzymes are believed to reside primarily within the cytosol, subcellular fractionation of mouse liver demonstrates that this novel murine class Kappa GST is associated with mitochondrial fractions. Through the use of bioinformatics, the genes encoding the mouse and rat class Kappa GSTs have been identified. Both genes comprise eight exons, the protein coding region of which spans approx. 4.3 kb and 4.1 kb of DNA for mGSTK1 and rGSTK1 respectively. This conservation in primary structure, catalytic properties, tissue-specific expression, subcellular localization and gene structure between mouse and rat class Kappa GSTs indicates that they perform similar physiological functions. Furthermore, the association of these enzymes with mitochondrial fractions is consistent with them performing a specific conserved biological role within this organelle.

Abstract: Worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes has continued to increase rapidly. This gives rise to concerns regarding appropriate diabetes management to ensure optimal glycemic control. Untreated or uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a host of complications, such as cardiovascular diseases, an increased likelihood of morbidity and mortality (Deshpande, Harris-Hayes, & Schootman, 2008). A challenging problem which arises in diabetes management is the limitations of current blood glucose monitoring techniques. Electronic medical devices can potentially overcome the persistent problems in the healthcare industry. Thus, for this study, it was of interest to investigate whether advanced machine learning methods and Anura, a smartphone-based transdermal optical imaging technology (TOI) that assess health markers, can be a viable solution for diabetes management. Objectives: To examine the validity of TOI and a novel machine algorithm for diabetes prediction (i.e diabetes and non-diabetes). We compared the diabetes classification from TOI’s obtained glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) concentrations against data obtained from FDA approved blood immunoassay. Methods: In the present study, we used a kitchen sink random forest machine algorithm for diabetes prediction. The data set was obtained from 513 participants recruited during their annual physical examination at the Health Management Center of The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, China. This included participant’s TOI and blood immunoassay determined HbA1c concentrations. To validate the model, pristine testing was done on 400 pristine participants pseudo randomly selected during 20 trials of training/testing. Results: The confusion matrix found TOI to have a classification accuracy of 66%, and the ROC curve of the RF classifier found TOI to have a ROC AUC of 0.69. Conclusions: The present study provides evidence for the potential use of the TOI technology, Anura, for contactless, non-invasive, and inexpensive assessments of diabetes.

Two active forms (Mr 45,000 and 28,000) of a metalloendopeptidase that digest proteoglycans and other extracellular matrix components of connective tissues have previously been purified from rheumatoid synovial cells and characterized [Okada, Nagase & Harris (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 14245-14255]. To study the mechanisms of activation the precursor of this metalloendopeptidase has now been purified. The final products are homogeneous on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and identified as a set of zymogens of Mr 57,000 and 59,000, in which the latter form is probably the product of post-translational glycosylation of the Mr 57,000 zymogen, as it binds to concanavalin A. The zymogen can be activated by trypsin, chymotrypsin, plasma kallikrein, plasmin and thermolysin, but not by thrombin. Although the activated metalloendopeptidase is further degraded by trypsin, plasma kallikrein and thermolysin during a prolonged incubation, it is relatively stable against plasmin and chymotrypsin. Activation with 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate is dependent on its concentration. It requires the reaction with the zymogen, possibly through thiol groups, and the continued presence of the agent. During this treatment the zymogen undergoes a sequential processing; first it becomes active without changing its apparent molecular mass, and then it is processed to low-Mr species of Mr 46,000, 45,000 (HMM) and 28,000 (LMM). The rate of conversion of the precursor into an initial intermediate of Mr 46,000 follows first-order kinetics (t1/2 2.0 h with 1.5 mM-4-amino-phenylmercuric acetate at 37 degrees C) and is independent of the initial concentration of the zymogen or the presence of up to a 676-fold molar excess of substrate, whereas the generation of HMM and LMM species is affected by these parameters. These results indicate that activation of the prometalloendopeptidase by an organomercurial compound is initiated by the molecular perturbation of the zymogen that results in conversion into the 46,000-Mr intermediate by an intramolecular action; the subsequent processing of this intermediate in HMM and LMM species is a bimolecular reaction. In vivo it is probable that the precursor of this metalloendopeptidase is activated either by direct limited proteolysis by tissue or plasma endopeptidases, or, alternatively, by factors that cause certain conformational changes in the zymogen molecule.

AbstractThis manuscript analyses the data generated by a Zero Length Column (ZLC) diffusion experimental set-up, for 1,3 Di-isopropyl benzene in a 100% alumina matrix with variable particle size. The time evolution of the phenomena resembles those of fractional order systems, namely those with a fast initial transient followed by long and slow tails. The experimental measurements are best fitted with the Harris model revealing a power law behavior.

The records of archaeological stratigraphic data and the relationships between stratigraphic units are fundamental to understanding the overall cohesiveness of the archaeological archive of an excavation. The information about individual units of excavation identified on sites with complex stratigraphy is most often held in the site database records and stratigraphic matrix diagrams, usually documenting relationships based on the laws of stratigraphic superposition and the Harris matrix conventions (Harris 1979). However, once the matrix diagram has been used to record the information during excavation, there is far less consistency in how those stratigraphic records, and any associated phasing information, are finally deposited in the archives. For that valuable data to be successfully identified and re-used (particularly if the rest of the data is in a database), the stratigraphic and phasing data needs to be in a format that can be interrogated as part of the database. In practice, often only a (paper) copy of the matrix diagrams make the archive. This means that the critical temporal and spatio-temporal relationships upon which the phasing of sites is built, cannot usually be interrogated or (re)used without lengthy and wasteful re-keying of that data into another version of the database. The stratigraphic, sequencing and temporal information held in a matrix is fundamental in further studies of the site records and in working out how the site may relate to other excavated sites of similar or related dates and phases. This article will suggest ways in which the stratigraphic data from excavations and the reasoning processes carried out in subsequent analysis could be better managed, to make matrices (re)useable as part of a more integrated digital archive. This article examines how conceptual reference modelling, particularly using temporal relationships, can be used to explore these issues and how associated technologies could enable semantically-enriched deductions about the spatio-temporal and purely temporal relationships that fundamentally link archaeological data together. It will also consider where further work is needed both to deal with analysis of spatial or temporal records and to enhance Bayesian chronological modelling and associated temporal reasoning, and how this may form the basis for new linkages between archaeological information across space-time.

AbstractA micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) scanning mirror accelerates the raster scanning of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM). However, the nonlinear tilt angular-voltage characteristic of a MEMS mirror introduces distortion into the maximum back-projection image. Moreover, the size of the airy disk, ultrasonic sensor properties, and thermal effects decrease the resolution. Thus, in this study, we proposed a spatial weight matrix (SWM) with a dimensionality reduction for image reconstruction. The three-layer SWM contains the invariable information of the system, which includes a spatial dependent distortion correction and 3D deconvolution. We employed an ordinal-valued Markov random field and the Harris Stephen algorithm, as well as a modified delay-and-sum method during a time reversal. The results from the experiments and a quantitative analysis demonstrate that images can be effectively reconstructed using an SWM; this is also true for severely distorted images. The index of the mutual information between the reference images and registered images was 70.33 times higher than the initial index, on average. Moreover, the peak signal-to-noise ratio was increased by 17.08% after 3D deconvolution. This accomplishment offers a practical approach to image reconstruction and a promising method to achieve a real-time distortion correction for MEMS-based OR-PAM.

This technical brief presents a dynamic model based on the traditional transfer matrix method (TMM) and Jones–Harris nonlinear rolling bearing model to study the effects of the extended structure parameters on the vibration behavior of a high-speed motorized spindle-bearing system. The first critical speed and the dynamic stiffness of the high-speed motorized spindle-bearing system are systematically studied. A design sensitivity analysis of the structure parameters is then conducted to identify the main factor to affect the first critical speed of the spindle-bearing system. The results show that the processing condition, the shaft shoulder, the dimension of motor, and the bearing arrangement are sensitive to the spindle dynamic behavior. The TMM model of the spindle-bearing system is verified by measuring the high-speed motorized spindle overall dynamic stiffness.

The target of the registration process is to get the disagreement between two captured images for the same area to candidate the transformation matrix that is used to map the points in one image to its congruent in the other image for the same area. A dynamic method is demonstrated in this paper to improve registration process of SAR images. At first, smoothing filtering is used for noise reduction based on gaussian-kernel filter to set aside the pursue-up amplification of noise. Then; area based matching method, cross correlation, is used to perform a coarse registration. The output of the coarse registration is directly applied to the regular step gradient descent (RSGD) optimizer as a fine registration process. The performance of the demonstrated method was evaluated via comparison with the common used corner detectors (Harris, Minimum Eigenvalues, and FAST). Mean square error (MSE) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) are the main factors for the comparison. The results show that the demonstrated approach preserves the robustness of the registration process and minimizes the image noise.

AbstractRecovering brain connectivity from tract tracing data is an important computational problem in the neurosciences. Mesoscopic connectome reconstruction was previously formulated as a structured matrix regression problem (Harris et al. in Neural Information Processing Systems, 2016), but existing techniques do not scale to the whole-brain setting. The corresponding matrix equation is challenging to solve due to large scale, ill-conditioning, and a general form that lacks a convergent splitting. We propose a greedy low-rank algorithm for the connectome reconstruction problem in very high dimensions. The algorithm approximates the solution by a sequence of rank-one updates which exploit the sparse and positive definite problem structure. This algorithm was described previously (Kressner and Sirković in Numer Lin Alg Appl 22(3):564–583, 2015) but never implemented for this connectome problem, leading to a number of challenges. We have had to design judicious stopping criteria and employ efficient solvers for the three main sub-problems of the algorithm, including an efficient GPU implementation that alleviates the main bottleneck for large datasets. The performance of the method is evaluated on three examples: an artificial “toy” dataset and two whole-cortex instances using data from the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas. We find that the method is significantly faster than previous methods and that moderate ranks offer a good approximation. This speedup allows for the estimation of increasingly large-scale connectomes across taxa as these data become available from tracing experiments. The data and code are available online.

Poor crop establishment is one of the major constraints to obtain the higher potential of rice, particularly in areas prone to environmental stresses. Therefore, present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of potassium nitrate on germination dynamics, seedling growth and associated physiological and biochemical events of two rice cultivars. For this purpose, various seed priming treatments were tested in lab and greenhouse. The percent concentrations of potassium nitrate were 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 in both lab evaluation and greenhouse experiment. Non-primed seeds were maintained as a control for comparison. The results depicted that soaking rice seeds at higher concentrations of KNO3 could delay emergence time and final emergence (%) in both cultivars under lab and greenhouse conditions. Seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 significantly increased the stand establishment and seedling vigor attributes of both cultivars compared with other concentrations and naked rice seeds both in lab evaluation and greenhouse screening. Similarly, highest values for photosynthesis rate, evaporation rate and CO2 index were observed in experimental units receiving primed seeds with 0.75% KNO3 under greenhouse screening. Interestingly, no variance was observed among both rice cultivars. Overall, higher seed emergence, seedling vigor and associated biochemical attributes due to seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 was associated with decrease in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDH) activities in lab and greenhouse screening. Keywords: Seed priming, potassium nitrate, seed quality, stand establishment, vigor Introduction Rice is an important cereal crop that serve as staple food for almost half of the world population (Chun et al. 2020; Zafar et al. 2020). Its germination is affected under various environmental stresses which causes poor yield (Zafar et al. 2015; Zafar et al. 2018). Poor germination is the problem often faced by different farmers of rice, especially when the seed is broadcasted in dry condition. Under unfavorable and harsh environmental condition, seed priming method is the best technique which help the seed to germinate easily. It enhances the germination chances and boost up the process (Ahmed et al., 2019), and is a cheaper solution to overcome poor stand establishment (Farooq et al., 2009; Harris et al., 1999). It has been reported that the seed priming is very helpful in improving germination rate of many crops i.e., rice, wheat, maize and canola (Basra et al., 2005). The germination percentage and dry weight of seedlings of safflower was increased by seed priming (Razaji et al., 2012). It has been reported that the inferior quality of wheat could also grow well after seed priming (Hussian et al., 2013). Increase in germination rate, uniformity in process, improved plant growth and yield, and better physiological performance are included in the beneficial aspects of seed priming (Farooq et al., 2007; Ruan et al., 2002). The seed priming principle is based on the behavior of seed towards water absorption; water is very important factor for seed germination and growth. The water intake of seed is divided into three phases. First phase includes the intake of water by seed and activation of enzymes. In 2nd phase, after activation of enzymes, several processes such as food deprivation, cell membrane restructuring and biosynthesis of starch occur to support seedling and root growth. In final phase, the growth of root and shoot organs i.e., radicle and plumule takes place (Bewley et al., 2013). There are three categories of seed priming techniques; (1) hydro-priming – priming with simple water, (2) solid-matrix priming – priming with solid organic material and (3) osmopriming – priming with priming solutions e.g., potassium nitrate (KNO3), potassium chloride (KCl) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) (McKersie, 2002; Mohammadi, 2009). PEG and KNO3 are commonly used in priming studies, but PEG is more expensive than KNO3. In a previous study, it was demonstrated that the osmopriming of seed of soybean with KNO3 at the concentration of 6 g/L increased the germination percentage and dry weight of seedling (Ahmadvand et al., 2012). Similarly, seed priming with 1.0% KNO3 for 24 h at 20°C enhance the germination rate and improved the physiological quality of soybean (Mohammadi, 2009). Moreover, it has also been reported that the seed priming could improve the protein synthesis during early growth of embryo (Xu et al., 2009). Here in this study, the aim was to evaluate the effect of seed priming with different concentrations of KNO3 (0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.0% and 1.25% (w/v) KNO3 for 1 day at 25°C) on the stand establishment, seedling vigor, physiological and biochemical attributes of two rice cultivars. Materials and Methods Seed Source: Seed of Indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars viz., Basmati-515 and Basmati-385 were obtained from Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Punjab, Pakistan. The initial germination and seed moisture content prior to seed treatment was ˃80% and 12% respectively on dry weight basis. Seed Priming Treatments: Rice seeds were primed with 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.0% and 1.25% (w/v) KNO3 for 24 h at 25°C. Pre-weighed seeds (5g) were placed on two blotter papers in 9-cm diameter petri dishes saturated with appropriate concentration of osmotic solutions followed by covering of dishes with aluminum foil. Non-primed rice seeds were maintained as control for comparison. Seeds were stored at -4°C in paper bags, prior to experimentation. Experimental Site and Conditions: Lab experiment was conducted in the growth chamber of Seed Preservation Lab, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan during September 2019 to October 2019. While, greenhouse experiment was conducted at the research station of National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan during September 2019 to November 2019. Well pulverized soil was collected from the field of research station and each plastic pot 35cm×25cm×15cm in size was filled with 6kg of soil. After leveling the soil surface in each pot, moisture was applied up to field capacity. In each pot, 40 seeds were equally sown on the soil surface in both experiments. Both experiments were laid out in a completely randomized design with four replications. For lab screening, all the trays were placed in the growth chamber with a constant temperature of 25°C and a light period of 12h. The relative humidity during the complete execution of lab experiment was maintained at 65%. For greenhouse experiment, all the trays were placed in greenhouse under natural environmental conditions. Moisture was applied to each try when declined. Stand Establishment: Emergence was recorded on daily basis until a constant was achieved. Final emergence (%) was taken at the end of experiment (AOSA, 1990). Mean emergence time (days) was recorded as per the equation of ISTA (2015). Seedling Vigor: Seedling length of five randomly selected from each treatment was measured with the help of measuring tape and averaged to get mean length. Similarly, fresh and dry weight of these plants was measured on a weighing balance. For dry weight, plants were dried at 70°C till constant weight in an oven (Zafar et al., 2015). Physiological Parameters: Measurements of CO2 index (µmol mol-1), net photosynthetic rate (µmol CO2 m-2 s-1) and evaporation rate (µmol H2O m-2 s-1) were made on a fully expanded leaf from top by using an open system LCA-4 ADC (USA) portable infrared gas analyzer. Biochemical Attributes: To determine the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase, seedling samples were ground and detected by an alcohol dehydrogenase assay kit and a pyruvate decarboxylase test kit. Statistical Analysis: The data from growth chamber and greenhouse experiments are presented as the mean value ± standard error of four replicates. By using Statistix 9.0, analysis of variance for all the treatments was performed. Graphical presentation of data was performed by using SigmaPlot 14.0. Results Lab Screening Stand Establishment: Seed priming treatments maximally improved the final emergence (%) of both rice cultivars under well-controlled conditions. Highest values for final emergence (%) were recorded in experimental units (Cultivar 1 (V1)=96%, Cultivar 2 (V2)=98%) receiving rice seed primed with 0.75% KNO3 as compared to control. Seed priming with 1% KNO3 was also proved to be beneficial in both cultivars (V1=89%, V2=90%) for improving final emergence (%). No variance in final emergence was observed among experimental units receiving rice seed primed 0.50% and 1% KNO3 in V2 cultivar (Fig. 1a). Similarly, minimum mean emergence time (MET) was recorded in rice seeds primed with 0.75% followed by 1% KNO3. Highest values for MET was recorded in control in both cultivars (Fig. 1b). Collectively, statistical analysis of data revealed that seed primed with KNO3 proved better in improving stand establishment of both rice cultivars as compared to control. Seedling Vigor: Seedling length of both rice cultivars is graphically presented in Fig. 2a and data revealed that maximum seedling vigor in both cultivars was achieved in rice seeds primed with 0.75% (V1=8.10cm, V2=8.24cm) followed by 1% (V1=7.88cm, V2=7.91cm) and 0.50% (V1=7.43cm, V2=7.69cm) KNO3 solutions as compared to control (V1=6.83cm, V2=6.71cm) (Fig. 2a). Seed priming with KNO3 also proved effective in improving the seedling fresh and dry weight, nonetheless effect of different cultivars was not pronounced. Plants in both cultivars raised from seeds treated with 0.75% KNO3 depicted highest values for seedling fresh (V1=34.45mg, V2=37.67mg) (Fig. 2b) and dry weight (V1=18.12mg, V2=19.01mg) as compared to other treatments and control (Fig. 2c). No apparent difference in seedling fresh and dry weight was observed among rice seed treated with 0.50% and 1.0% KNO3 in both cultivars. Greenhouse Screening Stand Establishment: A variable trend of primed and non-primed final emergence (%) was observed in both cultivars under greenhouse screening. Rice seed in both cultivars treated with 0.75% KNO3 steadily depicted highest values for final emergence (V1=95%, V2=98%), while an opposite drift was examined in control (V1=77%, V2=80%). Rice seeds treated with 1% KNO3 also proved to be successful in both cultivars (V1=88%, V2=91%) for improving final emergence (%) under greenhouse conditions. No variance in final emergence was observed among experimental units receiving rice seed primed 0.50% and 1% KNO3 in both cultivars (Fig. 3a). However, minimum mean emergence time (MET) was recorded in rice seeds primed with 0.75% followed by 1% KNO3 in both cultivars compared to other treatments and control. In addition, both cultivars showed highest values for MET in experimental units receiving control (Fig. 3b). Seedling Vigor: Statistical analysis of data pertaining to seedling vigor depicted that the effect of seed priming treatments was significant in both cultivars. However, both cultivars did not exhibit pronounced effect on seedling vigor. All priming treatments significantly improved the seedling length in both cultivars, whereas maximum seedling was achieved in rice seed primed with 0.75% (V1=7.90cm, V2=8.09cm) followed by 1% (V1=7.65cm, V2=7.74cm) KNO3 solutions. Furthermore, lowest vales for seedling length in both cultivars was observed in control (V1=6.41cm, V2=6.51cm) (Fig. 3a). Plants in both cultivars raised from seeds treated with 0.75% KNO3 depicted highest values for seedling fresh (V1=33.45mg, V2=36.54mg) (Fig. 3b) and dry weight (V1=16.78mg, V2=19.99mg) as compared to other treatments and control (Fig. 3c). Overall, statistical analysis of data revealed that seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 proved successful in improving seedling vigor of both rice cultivars as compared to other treatments and control. Physiological and Biochemical Attributes: Analysis of variance of data showed that seed priming treatments significantly improved the physiological and biochemical attributes of both cultivars, while effect of cultivars was not significant. Highest photosynthesis rate, evaporation rate and CO2 were observed in rice seeds treated with 0.75% KNO3, whereas lowest values were examined in non-treated control. Statistical analysis of data demonstrated that PDH and ADH activities were significantly influenced by seed priming treatments. Though all the seed priming treatments proved successful for improving the biochemical attributes however lowest values were observed in experimental units receiving rice seed treated with 0.75% KNO3 under greenhouse screening. Highest values for PDH and ADH activities were observed in control (Table 1). Figure 3. Effect of seed priming with KNO3 on stand establishment of two rice cultivars in greenhouse. V1=Basmati-515, V2=Basmati=385: T0=Control, T1=0.25% KNO3, T2=0.50% KNO3, T3=0.75% KNO3, T4=1.0% KNO3, T5=1.25% KNO3. Seedling Vigor: Statistical analysis of data pertaining to seedling vigor depicted that the effect of seed priming treatments was significant in both cultivars. However, both cultivars did not exhibit pronounced effect on seedling vigor. All priming treatments significantly improved the seedling length in both cultivars, whereas maximum seedling was achieved in rice seed primed with 0.75% (V1=7.90cm, V2=8.09cm) followed by 1% (V1=7.65cm, V2=7.74cm) KNO3 solutions. Furthermore, lowest vales for seedling length in both cultivars was observed in control (V1=6.41cm, V2=6.51cm) (Fig. 4a). Plants in both cultivars raised from seeds treated with 0.75% KNO3 depicted highest values for seedling fresh (V1=33.45mg, V2=36.54mg) (Fig. 4b) and dry weight (V1=16.78mg, V2=19.99mg) as compared to other treatments and control (Fig. 4c). Overall, statistical analysis of data revealed that seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 proved successful in improving seedling vigor of both rice cultivars as compared to other treatments and control. Figure 4. Seedling vigor attributes of two cultivars of rice under the influence of seed priming with KNO3 in greenhouse. V1=Basmati-515, V2=Basmati=385: T0=Control, T1=0.25% KNO3, T2=0.50% KNO3, T3=0.75% KNO3, T4=1.0% KNO3, T5=1.25% KNO3. Table 1. Variations in physiological and biochemical attributes of two rice cultivars under the influence of seed priming with KNO3 in lab. Cultivars Treatments Physiological attributes Biochemical attributes Photosynthesis rate (µmol CO2 m-2 s-1) Evaporation rate (µmol H2O m-2 s-1) CO2 index (µmol mol-1) Alcohol dehydrogenase (Ug-1 FW) Pyruvate decarboxylase (U g -1 FW) Basmati-515 T0 10.67±0.05 c 0.91±0.09 c 120.33±5.5 d 1.72±0.09 a 1.62±0.09 a T1 12.67±0.08 bc 1.09±0.09 bc 131.33±6.2 cd 1.44±0.07 ab 1.33±0.05 ab T2 14.83±0.06 abc 1.31±0.08 b 148.33±5.2 bc 1.29±0.06 bc 1.17±0.08 bc T3 17.67±0.04 a 1.72±0.06 a 172.00±5.3 a 1.11±0.08 c 1.02±0.04 c T4 15.83±0.06 ab 1.40±0.06 ab 154.33±4.8 ab 1.33±0.06 bc 1.24±0.07 bc T5 14.00±0.07 abc 1.33±0.08 b 142.67±4.8 bc 1.54±0.09 ab 1.43±0.06 ab LSD at p≤0.05 1.23 0.31 18.71 0.31 0.29 Basmati-385 T0 9.69±0.05 c 1.02±0.08 c 122.33±5.12 c 1.82±0.08 a 1.73±0.08 a T1 11.63±0.08 bc 1.19±0.06 bc 132.67±5.98 bc 1.51±0.09 abc 1.42±0.09 abc T2 13.89±0.06 abc 1.39±0.09 b 152.33±4.82 ab 1.40±0.08 bc 1.29±0.08 bc T3 16.64±0.04 a 1.81±0.05 a 174.00±5.83 a 1.22±0.05 c 1.10±0.05 c T4 14.88±0.06 ab 1.51±0.07 ab 155.33±4.89 ab 1.43±0.06 bc 1.31±0.06 bc T5 13.01±0.07 abc 1.40±0.05 b 144.00±5.01 bc 1.65±0.07 ab 1.56±0.07 ab LSD at p≤0.05 1.03 0.34 28.00 0.32 0.31 Discussion Osmopriming of seed by KNO3 affected the seed emergence and the speed of seed germination. Osmopriming induces the reduction in intake of water in phase-I of germination, causing prolonged duration of phase-2, resulting commencement of major event before the emergence of radicle (Nonogaki and Nonogaki, 2016). This major event includes metabolic changes such as repair of DNA and increase in biosynthesis of RNA (Bray, 2017), and enhancement in the respiration process of seed (Singh et al., 2013). It indicates that the time of seed imbibition is very important for osmopriming. For the study of osmopriming of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed with different levels of KNO3, therefore it is important to know about the emergence percentage and mean emergence time (MET). The results of present study indicate that the performance of osmopriming of both cultivars of rice with 0.75% KNO3 was appreciable in lab screening as well as greenhouse (Fig. 1 and 3). The pattern of seedling emergence (%) and MET was almost same in both cultivars as well as both sites (lab and greenhouse). The time of water intake by the seed during priming can very within the cultivars which can affect the performance of osmoticum (KNO3) (Kiers et al., 2008), but in our study the difference between the performance of both cultivars was non-significant. Emergence of the seed is the stage where it is determined that either the seedling will further grow or not. The emergence percentage is calculated from the number of emerged seedlings from number of primed seeds sown (International Seed Testing Association, 2015). The data shown in figure 1 and 3 depicts that the osmopriming of rice seed with 0.75% KNO3 is better than all other treatments in term of emergence percentage and MET. Our study is in correspondence with another study who revealed that emergence percentage of wheat seed was decreased with the increase in KNO3 concentration (Shafiei Abnavi and Ghobadi, 2012). This indicates that the KNO3 concentration above than a certain level may not be appropriate for cereals. Osmopriming with 1% KNO3 was found useful in term of emergence percentage in sorghum (Shehzad et al., 2012). Besides, soybean seed priming with 1% KNO3 for 1 day enhanced the emergence percentage as compared to untreated seeds, both in lab and field experiments (Mohammadi, 2009). Seedling vigor is the combine result of the emerged seeds in a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors (International Seed Testing Association, 2015). Seedling vigor is not a single measurable entity, but it is a sum of many growth parameters such as seedling length, seedling fresh weight and seedling dry weight (International Seed Testing Association, 2015). Maximum vigor was observed when seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 was done (Fig. 2 and 4). Our study is in line with another study in which seedling vigor of wheat was improved by the priming with KNO3 (Shafiei Abnavi and Ghobadi, 2012). Similar results were found in corn when the osmopriming of seed was done with 1% KNO3 (Hadinezhad et al., 2013). Our findings are similar with other studies, in which the shoot length of tomato and watermelon was increased by the osmopriming with KNO3 (Demir and Van De Venter, 1999; Mirabi & Hasanabadi, 2012). Seed priming with KNO3 can cause significant increase in seedling vigor of wheat crop as compared to hydro-priming or dry broadcasting (Basra et al., 2003). The growth and development of plant is based upon a process; photosynthesis. While its performance is mostly dependent on the opening/closing of stomata, causing decrease in photosynthetic rate, respiration rate and CO2 index (Shu et al., 2016). The results of present study revealed that the maximum photosynthesis rate, evaporation rate and CO2 index was observed in the rice seeds which were primed with 0.75% KNO3 (Table 1). Whereas the seedlings of control treatments showed inferior results as compared to other osmopriming treatments. Our study is in corroboration with another study in which the increased photosynthetic rate, respiration rate and CO2 index of cucumber seedlings as the result of seed priming with KNO3 was reported (Anwar et al., 2020). Photosynthesis rate of the seedlings has a positive correlation with the growth of seedling (Anwar et al., 2020). A previous study indicated that the leaf nitrogen and chlorophyll contents have a positive correlation, and can derive the photosynthesis rate being a key molecule for photosynthesis (De Castro et al., 2014). The results of present study revealed that the biochemical attributes e.g. alcohol dehydrogenase (Ug-1 FW) and pyruvate decarboxylase (Ug-1 FW) of rice were suppressed by osmopriming of seed with KNO3. Maximum suppression was observed in those seedlings who were treated with 0.75%% KNO3, while minimum suppression was seen in non-primed seedlings. A previous study expressed that seed priming with potassium nitrate (KNO3) improved the biochemical indices of Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) (Dehkordi et al., 2012). Conclusion Good quality seed is always in demand by the farmers and seed industry. Therefore, present study was conducted to improve the rice seed quality by seed priming with KNO3. The results depicted that seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 proved successful in improving stand establishment, vigor and physiological attributes. The improved performance might by linked with better activities of ADH and PDH. Therefore, present research provides basis for further transcriptomics/metabolomics/proteomics basis of primed seeds with KNO3