Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An In vitro Study on the Postinfection Activities of Hydrated Lime and Lime Sulphur against Apple Scab (Venturia inaequalis)

The activities of hydrated lime and lime sulphur to stop infections of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) were evaluated at 20°C using an in vitro test system based on isolated cuticles and scab conidia. Treatments were applied 24 or 48 h after inoculation that is 16 or 40 h after a predicted infection period, respectively. Efficacy of the postinfection treatments was assessed 72 h after inoculation by counting living primary stromata, which fluoresced brightly green when stained with fluorescein diacetate (FDA). A suspension of hydrated lime (5 g/l) as well as lime sulphur (1.5%) applied 16 h after infection killed early infection structures and stopped further development. Lime sulphur reduced the percentage of penetration to below 10% even with treatments 40 h after infection. The activity of hydrated lime is due to its alkaline pH of 12.45. Suspensions of calcium carbonate (6.75 g/l) showed no effect on percentage of penetration. Up to pH 12.0 effects of potassium hydroxide solutions on vitality of germinated conidia and percentage of'penetration were weak. Values of pH 12.4 or higher were necessary to kill germinated conidia of V. inaequalis and their primary penetration structures. At pH 12.4 activity of KOH was comparable with the effect of hydrated lime. It is argued that the high pH disrupts the spore membranes. This is supported by the fact that dead spores and germ tubes did not fluoresce with FDA, which requires integrity of the membranes. For an individual spore the disruption of the spore membrane is an all-or-nothing event.
Mode Modulation Based Multi-Mode Transmitter for Line-of-Sight Propagation

As an emerging solution for line-of-sight (LOS) wireless communications, recently, mode division multiplexing (MDM) based orbit angular momentum (OAM) has attracted considerable attention due to its high spectral efficiency (SE). Since the high complexity in OAM modulations and the request for great radio frequency (RF) chains, the implementation of a mode division multiplexing-multiple-input multiple-output (MDM-MIMO) system is confusing. To address this problem, we proposed a low complexity mode modulation based multi-mode (4M) wireless communication system by utilising the positional information of none-zero source symbols to transmit additional data symbols. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed 4M system outperforms conventional MDM-MIMO systems. Furthermore, the 4M scheme possesses higher robustness than MDM-MIMO systems in long-range transmissions.
Subarray antenna fed by analog beamforming network for 5G picocell applications

In this paper a subarray fed by an analog beamforming network for 5G picocell applications is proposed. Design requirements are presented taking into account frequency band operation, bandwidth, radiation pattern shape and both, antenna element and transmission line technologies. The synthesis and implementation of the analog beamforming network are described, and the final subarray architecture is provided. The proposed antenna, verified by simulation, operates at 26 GHz with a bandwidth larger than 25%. The subarray gain is higher than 16 dB with cross-polarization better than -28 dB. Its radiation pattern in elevation fulfills the desired csc2shape with side lobe level below -15 dB. The performance of the proposed antenna meets the requirements of the defined application.
Measurements of a Dynamic 60 GHz Radio Channel in an Open-Space Office

In this work, we study the dynamic 60 GHz radio propagation channel conducted by measurements in an open-space office. These measurements quantify the effect of natural people movements on the path loss before and during working hours. Thus, it’s possible to compare the effect produced by these movements with the static case when the office is empty of people. Measurements were performed using a vector network analyzer (VNA) operating on 2 GHz bandwidth. 9900 measures of power loss were recorded over eleven hours of measurements for each receiver position. Five receiver positions were considered to study three cases of receiver positions type: the line-of-sight (LOS), the obstructed-line-of-sight (OLOS) and the non-line-of-sight (NLOS). The obtained results allow to compute successively the channel path loss (PL), its probability density function (PDF) and its cumulative distribution function (CDF). Finally we compare the evolution of the dynamic channel in the presence of people at 5.8 GHz and at 60 GHz in the same environment. The dynamic channel propagation measurements provide a statistical characterization for the power loss into a realistic environment and will be useful for the deployment of wireless local and personal area networks (WLAN/WPAN) operating in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands.
A Numerical Study on Tomographic Imaging Using Guided Electromagnetic Waves

Guided electromagnetic waves (GEW) have many interesting properties for structural health monitoring of technical structures. In this work, we study the tomographic imaging capabilities of GEW for a metallic plate using a sparse and distributed sensor array. Therefore, we have developed a 2-dimensional numerical model in CST Microwave Studio with flat bottom holes at different spatial locations. The resulting simulated data have been processed for tomographic damage imaging. In addition, we included a description of the signals in the pristine and damaged structure as well as an analysis of the signal difference coefficient (SDC).
Biology of the sugarcane mealybug, Dysmicoccus carens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)

Biology of the sugarcane mealybug, Dysmicoccus carens Williams was studied on different sugarcane genotypes, viz, Co 740, Co 7704, C 6806, CoC 671, and Co 6907, under laboratory conditions. The pkst was observed to be viviparous with four nymphal instars preceding the adult stage. The life cycle ranged from 48.2 to 63.8 days as a result of rearing on CoC 671 and Co 740, respectively. The mean fecundity was lowest (117.6 crawlers/adult female) when the insect was reared on Co 6907 and highest (230.6 crawlers/adult female) due to rearing on Co 740. The longevity of male was only 3–4 days. The females reared on Co 740 lived for longer duration i.e., 32.3 days and the lowest (18.0 days) on CoC 671. The mean duration of the first instar as observed on different genotypes varied from 4.8 days in CoC 671 to 6.1 days in Co 6806. The duration of second instar was least i.e. 4.1 days due to rearing on CoC 671 and maximum (5.8 days) on Co 7704. The span of third instar reared on CoC 671 was least (5.1 days), whereas on Co 6806 it was maximum (6.1 days). The duration of fourth instar ranged from 13.5 days in Co 6907 to 15 days in Co 7704.
Temperature Analysis Based on Multi-Coupling Field and Ampacity Optimization Calculation of Shore Power Cable Considering Tide Effect

Shore power system that powers berthing ships is gradually becoming widely used worldwide because it helps reduce air and noise pollution. However, due to the bad environment of the port, the influence of the port tide on the temperature distribution and the ampacity of the shore power cable connecting the ship and shore can’t be ignored. Therefore, in this paper, a thermal field calculation model of shore power cable based on electromagnetic-thermal-flow coupling field is presented, in which the impact of tide has been considered. And the validity of the coupling model is verified by thermal circuit method base on IEC(International Electrotechnical Commission) 60287 standard. Then, the influence of cable immersion depth, water velocity and temperature, wind speed and air temperature on the temperature distribution of shore power cable was analyzed based on the multi-field coupling model. Finally, the ampacity of shore power cable in different environments is calculated by the combined Newton iterative and numerical simulation method. The results indicate that the conductor temperature firstly decreases and then increases with the immersion depth. And when the immersion depth is small, the wind speed dominates the temperature of the conductor. While the water flow speed plays a leading role in the conductor temperature when the immersion depth is deeper. In addition, the relationship between ambient temperature and capacity of shore power cable is approximately linear.
The biogeographic regions reconsidered

Aim To evaluate the internal consistency and appropriateness of Takhtajan’s system of world-wide floral Kingdoms in the light of modern knowledge, and similarly to re-examine the Wallacean system of mammal biogeographic regions. Main conclusions It is suggested that Takhtajan’s Cape and Antarctic floral Kingdoms should be deleted, and their constituent parts allocated to the neighbouring Kingdoms. The mammal biogeographic regions are to be restricted to the continents, as defined by the edges of the continental shelves, and the name ‘Wallacea’ is accepted for the area between the Southeast Asian and Australian continental shelves. Modifications are suggested for the names of some of the floral Kingdoms and mammal biogeographic regions.
A Tendon-Driven Robot Gripper With Passively Switchable Underactuated Surface and its Physics Simulation Based Parameter Optimization

In this letter, we propose a single-actuator gripper that can lift thin objects lying on a flat surface, in addition to the ability as a standard parallel gripper. The key is a crawler on the fingertip, which is underactuated together with other finger joints and switched with a passive and spring-loaded mechanism. While the idea of crawling finger is not a new one, this letter contributes to realize the crawling without additional motor. The gripper can passively change the mode from the parallel approach mode to the pull-in mode, then finally to the power grasp mode, according to the grasping state. To optimize the highly underactuated system, we take a combination of black-box optimization and physics simulation of the whole grasp process. We show that this simulation-based approach can effectively consider the pre-contact motion, in-hand manipulation, power grasp stability, and even failure mode, which is difficult for the static-equilibrium-analysis-based approaches. In the last part of the letter, we demonstrate that a prototype gripper with the proposed structure and design parameters optimized under the proposed process successfully power-grasped a thin sheet, a softcover book, and a cylinder lying on a flat surface.
Design of a Dual-Circularly-Polarized Stacked Patch Antenna for SOTM application at Ka-band

A dual-circularly-polarized stacked patch antenna subarray block for satellite on the move (SOTM) applications at Ka-band is presented. The proposed multilayer antenna is designed for the downlink band operating in the region of 18 to 20 GHz with compliant scan performance up to ± 40° in both E- and H- planes. The subarray includes a highly integrated miniaturised 90° hybrid such that the antenna can operate in switchable circular polarisation. It also includes an integrated power splitting network based on Wilkinson. The antenna element size is 8.0 mm x 8.0 mm x 2 mm and achieves an impedance bandwidth and circular polarization bandwidth (3-dB axial ratio) of 2 GHz (18 – 20) GHz.
A New Broadband MIMO Antenna System for Sub 6 GHz 5G Cellular Communications

A new MIMO antenna system with broadband antenna radiators is introduced for sub 6 GHz fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications. The proposed design contains four pairs of compact coplanar-waveguide (CPW)-fed antennas with polarization diversity that are symmetrically placed at four corners of the smartphone printed circuit board (PCB). Therefore, the proposed 5G antenna design contains four horizontally polarized and four vertically-polarized antenna elements in total. A low-cost FR-4 substrate ($\varepsilon_{r} = 4.4$, $\delta = 0.02$) with a dimension of $75 \times150$ mm2 is employed as the mainboard substrate. The proposed design offers good isolation, dual-polarized full radiation coverage, and sufficient efficiencies. In addition, a wide impedance bandwidth ($S_{11} \le -10 dB$) of 3.3 to 6 GHz has been obtained for each antenna radiator. Moreover, the proposed design exhibits sufficient performance in the presence of the human-hand.
Age-Related Differences in Fixation Pattern on a Companion Robot

Recent studies have addressed the various benefits of companion robots and expanded the research scope to their design. However, the viewpoints of older adults have not been deeply investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the distinctive viewpoints of older adults by comparing them with those of younger adults. Thirty-one older and thirty-one younger adults participated in an eye-tracking experiment to investigate their impressions of a bear-like robot mockup. They also completed interviews and surveys to help us understand their viewpoints on the robot design. The gaze behaviors and the impressions of the two groups were significantly different. Older adults focused significantly more on the robot’s face and paid little attention to the rest of the body. In contrast, the younger adults gazed at more body parts and viewed the robot in more detail than the older adults. Furthermore, the older adults rated physical attractiveness and social likeability of the robot significantly higher than the younger adults. The specific gaze behavior of the younger adults was linked to considerable negative feedback on the robot design. Based on these empirical findings, we recommend that impressions of older adults be considered when designing companion robots.
Polychaete systematics: Past and present

In this paper, we first demonstrate the historical background for the current unsatisfactory state of systematics of the polychaetes. We then briefly discuss our knowledge of internal and external structures. A review of the polychaete families makes up the third section; 81 families are treated in detail. Five families have been recently synonymized with others, and six families are too poorly known to be sufficiently characterized. Fossil polychaetes are briefly mentioned, with specific attention to problems associated with incorporating them in recent systematics.
A Dual-Polarized Rectenna with High Efficiency at Low Input Power Density

This paper presents a new 2.45-GHz rectenna with ±° dual polarization for low-power-input microwave power transmission. By utilizing a ±45 ° dual-linearly-polarized antenna element, the rectenna is available for receiving incident power with arbitrary polarization angle, while avoiding 3-dB CP-to-LP polarization loss. In this way, the requirement of the receiving end to the placement angle is greatly liberated. Differential rectifier structure is utilized. The effect of cross connected load of two branches, which create DC voltage with opposite polarities, are studied. An integrated rectenna design is formed, fabricated and measured. Peak power conversion efficiency of 74.76% is found at input power density of 106.19 $\mu$W/cm2 in the measurement. The power conversion efficiency of the rectenna stays higher than 58.4% regardless of the incident angle under the input power density of 67 $\mu$W/cm2.
Production of prostaglandin F by rabbit granulosa cells and thecal tissue.

Prostaglandin production within the Graafian follicle may be of importance in relation to steroido-genesis and ovulation (see Lindner et al., 1974). In culture, human and rabbit follicles synthesize prostaglandin (PG) F, and this capacity can be stimulated by exogenous gonadotrophins (Plunkett, Moon, Zamecnik & Armstrong, 1975; Moon, Zamecnik & Armstrong, 1974). However, the cell type responsible for this prostaglandin production has not been established. Previous studies showed that granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles of the rabbit secreted PGF when cultured as a monolayer for 10 days (Challis, Erickson & Ryan, 1974), but the activity of thecal tissue was not examined. In the present study we have compared the capacity of granulosa and thecal cells to produce PGF in tissue culture, and have observed the effects on this capacity of exogenous gonadotrophin, arachidonic acid and oestradiol. The animals were killed by cervical dislocation, and the ovaries removed and placed at 4°Cin McCoy's 5a culture medium (Erickson, Ryan, Granulosa cells were isolated and cultured in 5 ml McCoy's 5a medium (modified) for 2 days a humidified 95 % air/5 % C02 incubator 37°C. The details of this procedure and the composition of the medium have published Each culture contained the granulosa cells from 4 preovulatory Graafian follicles (1000-1200 µ diameter). Thecal tissue from 4 preovulatory follicles
Climate‐driven changes in winter abundance of a migratory waterbird in relation to EU protected areas

Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and distribution of the Smew Mergellus albellus, a migratory waterbird species listed on Annex I (EU Birds Directive) that overwinters exclusively in European wetlands, changed during 1990–2011, the role of global warming in driving distributional changes and the effectiveness of the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs, EU Birds Directive) in the context of climate change.
Kaempferol Protects Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Cardiac Damage Through the Regulation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

This study examined whether or not the ER stress and Bcl-2 proteins are linked to the protective effect of kaempferol, a phytoestrogen, on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced cardiac damage. In order to determine if kaempferol modifies the I/R-induced response in H9c2 cardiac muscle cells, the cells were exposed to kaempferol followed by ischemia 12h/reperfusion 4h. kaempferol had a protective effect on the apoptosis induced by I/R in the cardiac muscle cells. The Kaempferol treatment significantly increased the expression level of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, but decreased the level of the pro-apoptotic protein, bax. Kaempferol down-regulated the expressions of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress proteins, GRP78, ATF-6alpha, XBP-2, IRE1-alpha, phosphor-eIF-2alpha and CHOP. In ex vivo-Langendorff experiment, the kaempferol treatment regulated the expression of ER stress proteins-CHOP and GRP78. The kaempferol also improved the post-ischemic LVEDP and LVDP significantly after 20, 30, 40 and 50 min of reperfusion compared with the untreated control hearts, which shows that kaempferol offers protection against I/R-associated cardiac dysfunction.
Multi-Band/Wide Band Printed Quad Helical Antenna

A technique is proposed for designing multiband and/or wide band printed quadritilar helical antennas. This technique uses a microstrip line tuning section in the vicinity of the feeding ports. This section contains an elongated body and a tail member extending away from the body. A geometry of the tail member is selected for modifying an impedance of the radiating element and broadening the antenna resonance bandwidth. A four port antenna is designed for operating in wide band (24%, Sll <-15dB) or in three frequency bands, with one of the frequency bands being more than 24% (Sll <-10dB): 1.88-2.12GHz (E-UTRA 39), 2.3-2. 4GHz (E-UTRA 40) and 3.4-3.8GHz (E-UTRA 42 and 43).
Courage, Fortitude, and Effective Leadership of Surgical Teams During COVID-19

The world as we once knew it has been drastically altered secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The impact of these changes, particularly for those practicing in the medical profession, extends beyond the physical to the psychological, emotional, and spiritual. We discuss the factors that contribute to these stresses, way to manage them, and how we as leaders of our teams can inspire resilience and help our colleagues endure these most difficult times.
Improving lysine production through construction of an Escherichia coli enzyme‐constrained model

Microbial cell factories are widely used for the production of high‐value chemicals. However, maximizing production titers is made difficult by the complicated regulatory mechanisms of these cell platforms. Here, kcat values were incorporated to construct an Escherichia coli enzyme‐constrained model. The resulting ec_iML1515 model showed that the protein demand and protein synthesis rate were the key factors affecting lysine production. By optimizing the expression of the 20 top‐demanded proteins, lysine titers reached 95.7 ± 0.7 g/L, with a 0.45 g/g glucose yield. Moreover, adjusting NH4+ and dissolved oxygen levels to regulate the synthesis rate of energy metabolism‐related proteins caused lysine titers and glucose yields to increase to 193.6 ± 1.8 g/L and 0.74 g/g, respectively. The ec_iML1515 model provides insight into how enzymes required for the biosynthesis of certain products are distributed between and within metabolic pathways. This information can be used to accurately predict and rationally design lysine production.
Ecological importance of intermediate windstorms rivals large, infrequent disturbances in the northern Great Lakes

Exogenous disturbances are critical agents of change in temperate forests capable of damaging trees and influencing forest structure, composition, demography, and ecosystem processes. Forest disturbances of intermediate magnitude and intensity receive relatively sparse attention, particularly at landscape scales, despite influencing most forests at least once per generation. Contextualizing the spatial extent and heterogeneity of such damage is of paramount importance to increasing our understanding of forested ecosystems. We investigated patterns of intermediate wind disturbance across a forested landscape in the northern Great Lakes, USA. A vegetation change tracker (VCT) algorithm was utilized for processing near-biennial Landsat data stacks (1984–2009) spanning forests sustaining damage from four recent windstorms. VCT predominantly maps stand-clearing disturbance and regrowth patterns, which were used to identify forest boundaries, young stands, and disturbance patterns across space and time. To map wind damage severity, we compared satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values calculated from pre- and post-storm Landsat imagery. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to derive wind damage predictor variables from VCT, digital terrain, soils/landform, land cover, and storm tracking data. Hierarchical and random forests regressions were applied to rank the relative importance of predictor variables in influencing wind damage. A conservative estimate of aggregate damage from the intermediate windstorms (extrapolated to ∼150,000 ha, ∼25,500 severe) rivaled individual large, infrequent disturbances in the region. Damage patterns were relatively congruent among storms and became more spatially heterogeneous with increasing disturbance intensity. Proximity to forest-nonforest edge, stand age, and soils/landform were consistently important damage predictors. The spatial extent and distribution of the first two damage predictors are extremely sensitive to anthropogenic modifications of forested landscapes, the most important disturbance agent in the northern Great Lakes. This provides circumstantial evidence suggesting anthropogenic activities are augmenting and/or diminishing the ecological effects of the natural wind disturbance regime. Natural disturbances of intermediate size and intensity are significant agents of change in this region, and likely in other regions, deserving more attention from ecologists and biogeographers.