requirements are evolved, not predetermned: requirements design

Accurate and early crop-type maps are essential for agricultural policy development and food production assessment at regional and national levels. This study aims to produce a crop-type map with acceptable accuracy and spatial resolution in northern Mongolia by optimizing the combination of Sentinel-1 (S1) and Sentinel-2 (S2) images with the Google Earth Engine (GEE) environment. A total of three satellite data combination scenarios are set, including S1 alone, S2 alone, and the combination of S1 and S2. In order to avoid the impact of data gaps caused by clouds on crop classification, this study reconstructed the time series of S1 and S2 with a 10-day interval using the median composite method, linear moving interpolation, and Savitzky–Golay (SG) filter. Our results indicated that crop-type classification accuracy increased with the increase in data length to all three data combination scenarios. S2 alone has higher accuracy than S1 alone and the combination of S1 and S2. The crop-type map with the highest accuracy was generated using S2 data from 150 days of the year (DOY) (11 May) to 260 DOY (18 September). The OA and kappa were 0.93 and 0.78, respectively, and the F1-score for spring wheat and rapeseed were 0.96 and 0.80, respectively. The classification accuracy of the crop increased rapidly from 210 DOY (end of July) to 260 DOY (August to mid-September), and then it remained stable after 260 DOY. Based on our analysis, we filled the gap of the crop-type map with 10 m spatial resolution in northern Mongolia, revealing the best satellite combination and the best period for crop-type classification, which can benefit the achievement of sustainable development goals 2 (SDGs2).

OBJECTIVE: To describe demographic, genetic, and clinical characteristics of patients with neuronopathic Gaucher disease (NGD).

METHODS: All patients enrolled in the Neurological Outcomes Subregistry of the International Collaborative Gaucher Group (ICGG) Gaucher Registry as of June 2007 were identified.

RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 131 patients from 17 countries who were enrolled in the Neurological Outcomes Subregistry. The onset of neurological manifestations had occurred before 2 years of age in 47% (61 out of 131 patients), 2 years of age or older in 41% (54 out of 131), and could not be ascertained in the remaining 12% (16 out of 131). The most common manifestations were inability to look to the extreme up or down (45%, 55 out of 123), abnormally slow object tracking (43%, 53 out of 123), convergent squint (36%, 44 out of 121), and ataxia (15 to 20%, 18-27 out of 117). Seizures were reported in 19 out of 122 patients (16%), and myoclonic seizures were reported in 3 out of 121 patients (2%). The most common genotypes were L444P/L444P (76 out of 108, 70%), L444P/D409H (9 out of 108, 8%), D409H/D409H (8 out of 108, 7%), and L444P/rare allele (6 out of 108, 6%); full sequencing was not performed in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Neurological manifestations of GD often begin to appear before the age of 2 years. The most common neurological signs and manifestations are brainstem abnormalities and fine motor dysfunction. The most common genotype is L444P/L444P.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The antiviral lectin, Griffithsin (GRFT), has been shown to be both safe and efficacious against HSV-2 and HIV-1 infections in vivo. The goal of this work was to develop a multilayered nanoparticle (NP)-electrospun fiber (EF) composite to provide sustained-release of GRFT, and to examine its safety and efficacy in a murine model of lethal HSV-2 infection. Composites were fabricated from polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers surrounding polyethylene oxide (PEO) fibers that incorporated methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (mPEG-PLGA) GRFT NPs. GRFT loading and release were determined via ELISA, showing that NP-EF composites achieved high GRFT loading, and provided sustained-release of GRFT for up to 90 d. The in vitro efficacy of GRFT NP-EFs was assessed using HIV-1 pseudovirus assays, demonstrating complete in vitro protection against HIV-1 infection. Additionally, sustained-release NP-EFs, administered 24 h prior to infection, prevented against a lethal dose of HSV-2 infection in a murine model. In parallel, histology and cytokine expression from murine reproductive tracts and vaginal lavages collected 24 and 72 h post-administration were similar to untreated mice, suggesting that NP-EF composites may be a promising and safe sustained-delivery platform to prevent HSV-2 infection. Future work will evaluate the ability to provide prolonged protection against multiple virus challenges, and different administration times with respect to infection.