bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of biochar, compost and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in the management of tomato early blight disease
Authors: Rasool Mujahid , Akhter Adnan , Soja Gerhard , Haider Muhammad Saleem 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe individual role of biochar, compost and PGPR has been widely studied in increasing the productivity of plants by inducing resistance against phyto-pathogens. However, the knowledge on combined effect of biochar and PGPR on plant health and management of foliar pathogens is still at juvenile stage. The effect of green waste biochar (GWB) and wood biochar (WB), together with compost (Comp) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR; Bacillus subtilis) was examined on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) physiology and Alternaria solani development both in vivo and in vitro. Tomato plants were raised in potting mixture modified with only compost (Comp) at application rate of 20% (v/v), and along with WB and GWB at application rate of 3 and 6% (v/v), each separately, in combination with or without B. subtilis. In comparison with WB amended soil substrate, percentage disease index was significantly reduced in GWB amended treatments (Comp + 6%GWB and Comp + 3%GWB; 48.21 and 35.6%, respectively). Whereas, in the presence of B. subtilis disease suppression was also maximum (up to 80%) in the substrate containing GWB. Tomato plant growth and physiological parameters were significantly higher in treatment containing GWB (6%) alone as well as in combination with PGPR. Alternaria solani mycelial growth inhibition was less than 50% in comp, WB and GWB amended growth media, whereas B. subtilis induced maximum inhibition (55.75%). Conclusively, the variable impact of WB, GWB and subsequently their concentrations in the soil substrate was evident on early blight development and plant physiology. To our knowledge, this is the first report implying biochar in synergism with PGPR to hinder the early blight development in tomatoes.
Current challenges in thermodynamic aspects of rubber foam
Authors: Suethao Supitta , Ponloa Worachai , Phongphanphanee Saree , Wong-Ekkabut Jirasak , Smitthipong Wirasak 
Published: March 2021

AbstractNatural rubber (NR) foam can be prepared by the Dunlop method using concentrated natural latex with chemical agents. Most previous studies have focused on the thermodynamic parameters of solid rubber in extension. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the NR matrix concentration on the static and dynamic properties of NR foams, especially the new approach of considering the thermodynamic aspects of NR foam in compression. We found that the density and compression strength of NR foams increased with increasing NR matrix concentration. The mechanical properties of NR foam were in agreement with computational modelling. Moreover, thermodynamic aspects showed that the ratio of internal energy force to the compression force, Fu/F, and the entropy, S, increased with increasing matrix concentration. The activation enthalpy, ∆Ha, also increased with increasing matrix concentration in the NR foam, indicating the greater relaxation time of the backbone of the rubber molecules. New scientific concepts of thermodynamic parameters of the crosslinked NR foam in compression mode are proposed and discussed. Our results will improve both the knowledge and the development of rubber foams based on the structure–properties relationship, especially the new scientific concept of the thermodynamical parameters under compression.
Solvent assisted evolution and growth mechanism of zero to three dimensional ZnO nanostructures for dye sensitized solar cell applications
Authors: Ramya M. , Nideep T. K. , Nampoori V. P. N. , Kailasnath M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe report the structural engineering of ZnO nanostructures by a consistent solution method using distinct solvents such as ethylene glycol, 1-butanol, acetic acid and water. The growth kinetics are found to depend strongly on the physicochemical properties of the solvent and zeta potential of the colloidal solution. Furthermore, the resulting nanostructures as a photoanode material, displayed a prominent structure dependent property in determining the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The fabricated solar cell with ZnO nanostructures based photoanode exhibited improved conversion efficiency. Moreover, the nanoflower based DSSCs showed a higher conversion efficiency of 4.1% compared to the other structures. The excellent performance of ZnO nanoflower is attributed to its better light-harvesting ability and increased resistance to charge-recombination. Therefore ZnO nanostructures can be a promising alternative for TiO2 in DSSCs. These findings provide new insight into the simple, low cost and consistent synthetic strategies for ZnO nanostructures and its outstanding performance as a photoanode material in DSSCs.
The mechanical properties of tibiofemoral and patellofemoral articular cartilage in compression depend on anatomical regions
Authors: Li Heng , Li Jinming , Yu Shengbo , Wu Chengwei , Zhang Wei 
Published: March 2021

AbstractArticular cartilage in knee joint can be anatomically divided into different regions: medial and lateral condyles of femur; patellar groove of femur; medial and lateral plateaus of tibia covered or uncovered by meniscus. The stress–strain curves of cartilage in uniaxially unconfined compression demonstrate strain rate dependency and exhibit distinct topographical variation among these seven regions. The femoral cartilage is stiffer than the tibial cartilage, and the cartilage in femoral groove is stiffest in the knee joint. Compared with the uncovered area, the area covered with meniscus shows the stiffer properties. To investigate the origin of differences in macroscopic mechanical properties, histological analysis of cartilage in seven regions are conducted. The differences are discussed in terms of the cartilage structure, composition content and distribution. Furthermore, the commonly used constitutive models for biological tissues, namely Fung, Ogden and Gent models, are employed to fit the experimental data, and Fung and Ogden models are found to be qualified in representing the stiffening effect of strain rate.
Non-precious metal carbamates as catalysts for the aziridine/CO2 coupling reaction under mild conditions
Authors: Bresciani Giulio , Zacchini Stefano , Marchetti Fabio , Pampaloni Guido 
Published: March 2021

A novel Nb+V complex emerged as an effective homogeneous catalysts for aziridine/CO2 coupling to afford 5-aryl-oxazolidin-2-ones with small N-substituents under ambient conditions.
MiR-92d-3p suppresses the progression of diabetic nephropathy renal fibrosis by inhibiting the C3/HMGB1/TGF-β1 pathway
Authors: Zhang Yuhua 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has not been fully elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the onset and development of DN renal fibrosis. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of miR-92d-3p on the progression of DN renal fibrosis. We used qRT-PCR to detect the expression levels of miR-92d-3p in the kidneys of patients with DN. Then, after transfecting lentiviruses containing miR-92d-3p into the kidneys of a DN mouse model and HK-2 cell line, we used qRT-PCR to detect the expression levels of miR-92d-3p, C3, HMGB1, TGF-β1, α-SMA, E-cadherin, and Col I. The expression levels of interleukin (IL) 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the HK-2 cells were detected through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used in detecting the expression levels of fibronectin, α-SMA, E-cadherin, and vimentin. Results showed that the expression levels of miR-92d-3p in the kidney tissues of patients with DN and DN animal model mice decreased, and C3 stimulated HK-2 cells to produce inflammatory cytokines. The C3/HMGB1/TGF-β1 pathway was activated, and epithelial-to-interstitial transition (EMT) was induced in the HK-2 cells after human recombinant C3 and TGF-β1 protein were added. miR-92d-3p inhibited inflammatory factor production by C3 in the HK-2 cells and the activation of the C3/HMGB1/TGF-β1 pathway and EMT by C3 and TGF-β1. miR-92d-3p suppressed the progression of DN renal fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of the C3/HMGB1/TGF-β1 pathway and EMT.
A User's Guide for Understanding and Addressing Telepractice Technology Challenges via ZOOM
Authors: McGill Megann , Fiddler Kimberly 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
Telepractice has been used as an alternative service delivery model in speech-language pathology across various settings and the scope of practice. Despite its utility and increasing demands resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic, some clinicians and clients continue to report apprehension to adopting telepractice service delivery model due to discomfort with technology. Among currently available telepractice platforms, “ZOOM” is one of the popular platforms among speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States because of its usability and subscription cost. However, many challenges have been experienced by clinicians and clients when ZOOM is used. The purpose of this article was twofold. The first goal of this article was to address barriers and challenges to implement successful telepractice SLP services. The second goal of this article was to develop four step-by-step troubleshooting manuals (one for client and one for clinician in both English and Spanish) to enhance its utility for users.

Conclusion
Preliminary qualitative data showed that the manuals developed by the authors were useful and functional for graduate SLP students.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14044091
Attention‐based novel neural network for mixed frequency data
Authors: Li Xiangpeng , Yu Hong , Xie Yongfang , Li Jie 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIt is a common fact that data (features, characteristics or variables) are collected at different sampling frequencies in some fields such as economic and industry. The existing methods usually either ignore the difference from the different sampling frequencies or hardly take notice of the inherent temporal characteristics in mixed frequency data. The authors propose an innovative dual attention‐based neural network for mixed frequency data (MID‐DualAtt), in order to utilize the inherent temporal characteristics and select the input characteristics reasonably without losing information. According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use the attention mechanism to process mixed frequency data. The MID‐DualAtt model uses the frequency alignment method to transform the high‐‐frequency variables into observation vectors at low frequency, and more critical input characteristics are selected for the current prediction index by attention mechanism. The temporal characteristics are explored by the encoder‐decoder with attention based on long‐ short‐term memory networks (LSTM). The proposed MID‐DualAtt has been tested in practical application, and the experimental results show that it has better prediction ability than the compared models.
A highly accurate and robust deep checkerboard corner detector
Authors: Wu Hao , Wan Yi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCheckerboard corners are routinely used during tasks such as camera calibration, and accurate detection of them is essential. Traditional methods such as those based on the Harris corner detector are usually affected by image artefacts such as noise and blur. The more recently proposed deep network approach also suffers from the lack of accurate training data. In this article, we make the following contributions: First, we propose a synthetic training data generation method that simulates the real imaging process, with the most notable being that the exact sub‐pixel corner positions in the image become readily available. Second, we design a relatively simple deep network and train it using the synthetic data generated by the proposed method. Finally, because the exact sub‐pixel corner positions can be obtained in the proposed method, this article paves a way for objectively comparing different checkerboard corner detectors in terms of metrics such as the mean Euclidean location error. Experimental results using both synthetic and real data show that the proposed detector significantly outperforms typical methods, including the commonly used Matlab camera calibration toolbox, the OpenCV checkerboard corner detectors, and the more recently proposed deep learning‐based methods.
LBTS‐Net: A fast and accurate CNN model for brain tumour segmentation
Authors: Abdullah Mohammed A. M. , Alkassar Sinan , Jebur Bilal , Chambers Jonathon 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAn accurate tumour segmentation in brain images is a complicated task due to the complext structure and irregular shape of the tumour. In this letter, our contribution is twofold: (1) a lightweight brain tumour segmentation network (LBTS‐Net) is proposed for a fast yet accurate brain tumour segmentation; (2) transfer learning is integrated within the LBTS‐Net to fine‐tune the network and achieve a robust tumour segmentation. To the best of knowledge, this work is amongst the first in the literature which proposes a lightweight and tailored convolution neural network for brain tumour segmentation. The proposed model is based on the VGG architecture in which the number of convolution filters is cut to half in the first layer and the depth‐wise convolution is employed to lighten the VGG‐16 and VGG‐19 networks. Also, the original pixel‐labels in the LBTS‐Net are replaced by the new tumour labels in order to form the classification layer. Experimental results on the BRATS2015 database and comparisons with the state‐of‐the‐art methods confirmed the robustness of the proposed method achieving a global accuracy and a Dice score of 98.11% and 91%, respectively, while being much more computationally efficient due to containing almost half the number of parameters as in the standard VGG network.
Time‐dependent lane change trajectory optimisation considering comfort and efficiency for lateral collision avoidance
Authors: Li Xianyu , Guo Zhongyin , Su Donglan , Liu Qiang 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLateral collision is one of the top two accidents in the world and often occurs in the lane change. Trajectory optimisation is an effective method to solve traffic conflicts in the lane‐changing process. However, current trajectory optimisation methods are not friendly to human‐computer‐based driving assistance. This study proposes a time‐dependent lanechange trajectory optimisation considering comfort and efficiency. First, spacing constraints between the lane‐changing vehicle and surrounding vehicles are determined and quantified. Second, lane‐changing trajectory data are obtained by driving simulation experiments and extracted by data features. Third, a quintic multinomial model of lane‐changing trajectory is proposed. The results reveal that the predicted trajectory is close to the observed value. Then, the obtained trajectory is optimised by the objective function considering lane‐changing efficiency and comfort. Finally, a case study is used to demonstrate the application of the model. When a lane‐changing vehicle changes a lane at an initial speed of 90 km/h to the faster lane at the terminal speed of 110 km/h, the optimal lane‐changing time is 3.4 s, with the lateral acceleration 1.79 m/s2 and the maximum yaw angle 0.081 rad.
Evolution test by improved genetic algorithm with application to performance limit evaluation of automatic parallel parking system
Authors: Gao Feng , Zhang Qiang , Han Zaidao , Yang Yiheng 
Published: March 2021

AbstractPerformance limit evaluation of automatic driving system before putting into the market is critical for driving safety. The evolution test by genetic algorithm (GA) is a method by iteratively generating new test scenarios according to the last test results. To avoid its blind search for better efficiency, a scenario complexity index is proposed to measure the test effectiveness indirectly and guide the evolution process under the assumption that a complex scenario is more challenging to realise automatic driving. The traditional crossover and mutation operators are modified to generate more complex scenarios to improve the test efficiency. The advantage of the improved crossover/mutation operators in increasing the offspring's scenario complexity index is analysed in theory. Moreover, the influence of the design parameters on the evolution test process and the global convergence are also discussed. The new evolution test by this improved GA has been applied to find the collision condition of a parallel automatic parking system to validate its effectiveness.
Design of a compact microstrip balanced‐to‐balanced filtering power divider with real impedance‐transformation functionality
Authors: Wang Xuedao , Wang Min , Zhang Gang , Zhu Lei , Choi Wai‐Wa , Wang Jianpeng 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA microstrip balanced‐to‐balanced filtering power divider (FPD) design with impedance transformation via a coupled three‐line balun structure is proposed. The even/odd mode‐analysis method is used to construct a three‐port balun bandpass filter (BPF) with stub‐loaded resonators and a three‐line output structure after analysis and design to prescribe the filtering response of a proposed balanced‐to‐balanced FPD. To realize good isolation between the differential output ports, a complex impedance‐isolation network is loaded by means of coupled lines in the input‐feeding section. Theoretical formulas characterized by the coupling factors are provided with a specified source and load impedance ratio under the condition of perfect impedance matching at the centre frequency. According to the calculated S‐parameters, design rules are summarized to determine the overall circuit size according to desired bandwidth and return loss. For validation, two balanced‐to‐balanced FPDs centred at 2.4 GHz with 50‐to‐50 Ω matching and 50‐to‐100 Ω transformation are designed, fabricated and tested. Good agreement between the simulated and tested results of the designed balanced‐to‐balanced impedance‐transforming FPDs indicates not only high common‐mode rejection but also good port‐to‐port isolation and good matching at all ports.
Dynamic augmentation of scattering cross‐section by a conducting polycylinder coated with varactor‐loaded metasurface
Authors: Shang Yuping , Wang Sihao , Liao Cheng , Hu Jiaqi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThrough reconfigurable scattering pattern assisted by a varactor‐loaded polycylindrical metasurface, augmentation of backscattering as well as bistatic scattering cross‐section of a conducting polycylinder is presented in this study. The tunable reflection phase gradient and the resultant redirection of the dominant scattering that are enabled by the direct‐current‐biased varactors serve as the basis of the agile scattering pattern reconfiguration of the polycylindrical metasurface. To achieve compactness and facilitate biasing, the metasurface unit cell comprises an outer conducting grid frame and an inner rectangular conducting patch grounded with a via hole, while a surface‐mounted varactor is soldered across the gap between them. It is demonstrated that the polycylinder coated with the designed reconfigurable metasurface can generate scattering behaviour very similar to a conducting plate with specific dimensions and orientation towards the plane's electromagnetic wave incidence. As a result, augmentation relative to the polycylinder without coating is observed for both backscattering and bistatic scattering cross‐section. The agreement between simulated and measured scattering cross‐section results validates the observations.
Compact 3D‐printed reflector antenna for radar applications at K‐band
Authors: Reis João R. , Ribeiro Carlos , Caldeirinha Rafael F. S. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA compact parabolic reflector antenna aiming at radar applications in the K‐band is presented. It is mainly composed of a thermoplastic material and using classical additive techniques (also known as 3D printing), the proposed high‐gain antenna exhibits a novel and unique form factor, particularly of interest for applications with low payload capacity, for example unmanned aerial vehicles. The antenna is composed of four parts: (i) a paraboloid shape embodied in a supporting polylactic acid (PLA) material; (ii) a metallic coating applied to the paraboloid surface of (i), to enable it with electromagnetic reflecting properties; (iii) a PLA spacer that ensures the physical separation (i.e. focal distance) between parts (i) and (iv) and, finally, (iv) a microstrip patch antenna with a reduced ground plane to reduce feed blockage. Subsequently to an overview on the theoretical formulation of parabolic reflector antennas, an antenna targeting 20 dBi and a minimum bandwidth of 500 MHz operating in the 24 GHz ISM radar band have been dimensioned, optimised in CST Microwave Studio and validated against measurements performed on a physical prototype. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement with the prototype yielding 18.3 dBi of gain and 2.2 GHz of useful bandwidth, clearly demonstrating the potential of the proposed antenna design.
Research and verification of similar laws in valveless piezoelectric micropumps
Authors: He Xiuhua , Shan Chunming , Yang Hang 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDue to the constraints of actual conditions, large‐scale research and analysis of micropumps are difficult to achieve. In this paper, the micropump is divided into a vibrating part and a flowing part through a similar theory research method, and the two parts of the mathematical model are simplified and dimensionless‐processed. Then, the similar relationship between the prototype machine and the model machine is proposed, the conversion relationship between the prototype machine and the model machine is obtained. In order to verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis, this paper uses ANSYS CFX analysis software to perform numerical analysis on a pair of prototype machines and model machines when the angle of diffusion and contraction is 30°. The size ratio of the prototype and model is 1/2. At the same time, experiments were used to verify the accuracy of numerical analysis by comparing the experimental value and the simulated value of the micropump outlet flow when the frequency is 100 Hz and the voltages are 25Vpp, 50Vpp, 75Vpp, 100Vpp, and 125Vpp. The results obtained by numerical simulation and experimental methods are consistent with theoretical analysis, thus verifying the accuracy of similar theories. The research results can provide the theoretical basis for the experimental research of the piezoelectric pump and also provide guidance for the design of the piezoelectric pump
Nature of ductile shear banding under shock loading
Authors: Zhao Feng 
Published: March 2021

AbstractUnder shock loading, the plastic flow of polycrystalline material tends to localise into shear bands. As shear bands form, most materials dramatically lose their strain hardening property and quickly fail. Here, we present the experimental and microstructural evidence of a new shear banding mode–ductile shear band, in magnesium alloy at high temperature under shock loading. The results show that magnesium alloy could exhibit high strength and good plasticity even after ductile shear bands occurred and contributes to improve understanding of the strain rate‐dependent of failure modes in magnesium alloy.