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Maize production and productivity are affected by drought stress in tropical and subtropical ecologies, as the majority of the area under maize cultivation in these ecologies is rain-fed. The present investigation was conducted to study the physiological and biochemical effects of 24-Epibrassinolide (EBR) as a plant hormone on drought tolerance in maize. Two maize hybrids, Vivek hybrid 9 and Bio 9637, were grown under three different conditions: (i) irrigated, (ii) drought, and (iii) drought+EBR. A total of 2 weeks before the anthesis, irrigation was discontinued to produce a drought-like condition. In the drought+EBR treatment group, irrigation was also stopped, and in addition, EBR was applied as a foliar spray on the same day in the drought plots. It was observed that drought had a major influence on the photosynthesis rate, membrane stability index, leaf area index, relative water content, and leaf water potential; this effect was more pronounced in Bio 9637. Conversely, the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased in both hybrids under drought conditions. Specifically, Vivek hybrid 9 showed 74% higher CAT activity under drought conditions as compared to the control. Additionally, EBR application further enhanced the activity of this enzyme by 23% compared to plants under drought conditions. Both hybrids experienced a significant reduction in plant girth due to drought stress. However, it was found that exogenously applying EBR reduced the detrimental effects of drought stress on the plant, and this effect was more pronounced in Bio 9637. In fact, Bio 9637 treated with EBR showed an 86% increase in proline content and a 70% increase in glycine betaine content compared to untreated plants under drought conditions. Taken together, our results suggested EBR enhanced tolerance to drought in maize hybrids. Hence, pre-anthesis foliar application of EBR might partly overcome the adverse effects of flowering stage drought in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We map neutrinos to qubit and qutrit states of quantum information theory by constructing the Poincaré sphere using SU(2) Pauli matrices and SU(3) Gell-Mann matrices, respectively. The construction of the Poincaré sphere in the two-qubit system enables us to construct the Bloch matrix, which yields valuable symmetries in the Bloch vector space of two neutrino systems. By identifying neutrinos with qutrits, we calculate the measures of qutrit entanglement for neutrinos. We use SU(3) Gell-Mann matrices tensor products to construct the Poincaré sphere of two qutrits neutrino systems. The comparison between the entanglement measures of bipartite qubits and bipartite qutrits in the two neutrino system are shown. The result warrants a study of two qutrits entanglement in the three neutrino system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The rise of social media has led to the emergence of influencers and influencer marketing (IM) domains, which have become important areas of academic inquiry. However, despite its prominence as an area for study, several significant challenges must be addressed. One significant challenge involves identifying, assessing and recommending social media influencers (SMIs). This study proposes a semantic network model capable of measuring an influencer's performance on specific topics or subjects to address this issue. This study can assist managers in identifying suitable SMIs based on their estimated reach. Design/methodology/approach: Data from popular YouTube influencers and publicly available performance measures (views and likes) are extracted. Second, the titles of the past videos made by the influencer are used to develop a semantic network connecting all the videos to other videos based on similarity measures. Third, the nearest neighbor approach extracts the neighbors of the target title video. Finally, based on the set of neighbors, a range prediction is made for the views and likes of the target video with the influencer. Findings: The results show that the model can predict an accurate range of views and likes based on the suggested video titles and the content creator, with 69–78% accuracy across different influencers on YouTube. Research limitations/implications: The current study introduces a novel and innovative approach that exploits the textual association between a SMI's previous content to forecast the outcome of their future content. Although the findings are encouraging, this research recognizes various constraints that upcoming researchers may tackle. Forecasting views of posts concerning novel subjects and precisely adjusting video view counts based on their age constitute two primary limitations of this study. Practical implications: Managers interested in hiring influencers can employ the suggested approach to evaluate an influencer's potential performance on a specific topic. This research aids managers in making informed decisions regarding influencer selection, utilizing data-based metrics that are simple to comprehend and explain. Originality/value: The study contributes to outreach evaluation and better estimating the impact of SMIs using a novel semantic network approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian summer monsoon trough (MT) is a dynamically active region of the quasi-stationary feature extending from north-western India towards the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The eastern rim of the MT (EMT) is modulated by the embedded synoptic-scale monsoon low-pressure systems (LPSs) in north BoB. We examine the spatiotemporal variability of the convective storm (CS) in the EMT region, which lies along the pathway of LPSs. A Lagrangian-based objective-tracking method, Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis, and Nowcasting (TITAN), was injected into Kolkata S-band radar observations of nine wet seasons (June–September, 2009–2017). CSs frequently occur near the onshore areas and is linked to the formation and propagation of LPSs in the BoB. By examining the relationship of CS top heights with reflectivity lapse rate and fractional volume of 40 dBZ or more, three vertical categories of CS have been identified as shallow (SCS) below 5 km, medium depth (MDCS), and deep CS (DCS). The land–ocean contrast in the spatial distribution of MDCS and DCS and the contoured frequency by altitude diagram shows continental convective vigor. Although short-lived smaller CSs account for most storms in EMT, the bulk of the precipitation (75 % ) contributed from the infrequent largest storms. A weak (strong) linkage between the precipitation flux and CS top (area-time integral) gives a clue on the importance of CS voluminous organization rather than the linkage of heaviest rainfall to tallest CS. While most CSs propagate inland following the mass-weighted mean winds, the largest CS propagate offshore steered by the mid-level wind at 700 hPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the explosion of e-commerce, the potential for new internet portals to mislead or fool consumers has grown significantly. This study investigates the influence of these deceptive actions on customer privacy and their information-sharing behavior. We have used online experimental research to demonstrate the influence of deception on information privacy and information-sharing behavior. We demonstrate that misleading activities such as falsification, concealment and equivocation reduce customers' trust in the platform and increase their privacy concerns, resulting in a lower willingness to disclose any information on the platforms. We further explain the impact of several types of deceptive tactics in the online purchasing environment and present a mediation model to understand the impact of deception. The study has implications for category managers and consumers of e-commerce platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the diurnal cycle, propagation, and progression of convective storms (CSs) on the eastern edge of India's monsoon trough (MT) using 9 years of S-band radar measurements with satellite and reanalysis datasets. CSs initiate over ocean during midnight–early morning hours and propagate onshore in succeeding hours. CSs exhibit two semidiurnal peaks, one during afternoon hours over inland areas and another during midnight–early morning hours in oceanic/coastal locations. The deep and intense afternoon peak over inland regions is attributed to land surface heating and associated destabilization. The weak and shallower but organized midnight–morning peak and propagation of CSs toward the coast are attributed to the nocturnal land breeze and its interaction with prevailing onshore flow. The observed lead–lag of a few hours in the diurnal cycle of different cumulus modes correspond to the transition of congestus into deep and then, often, into overshooting modes. Moisture budget analysis showed atmospheric regulation of this transition through thermodynamic (congestus moistening) and dynamic processes (vertical advection). Theoretical time scales were invoked to estimate the relative role of vertical advective versus congestus moistening for promoting the afternoon transition from congestus to deeper modes. Comparing the time scales for congestus moistening (18–46 h) and dynamics (3 h) with the actual transition time scales (2–4 h) reveal that congestus moistening is too slow to explain the observed lead–lag in CS modes. Though both thermodynamic and dynamic processes moisten the midlevel prior to deep/overshooting convection, vertical advection is the dominant dynamic process for the observed congestus–deep–overshooting transition. Significance Statement: Tropical rainfall is usually linked with convection in the morning and afternoon hours. We look at the basic physical processes that lead to those convective activities peaks. The afternoon peak is linked to maximum heating, resulting in an unstable environment, whereas the morning peak is linked to the interaction of large-scale monsoon flow with a land breeze. Furthermore, daily solar heating visually shows a shallow-to-deep progression of convection. The moist midlevel environment was shown to precede such convective development in a day. The large-scale monsoon flow is a dominant cause of this moistening. The monsoon dynamic flow takes roughly 2–3 h to sufficiently moist shallow storms into deep storms, whereas the local thermodynamic moistening process takes about 18–46 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional agricultural practices rely heavily on chemical fertilizers to boost production. Among the fertilizers, phosphatic fertilizers are copiously used to ameliorate low-phosphate availability in the soil. However, phosphorus-use efficiency (PUE) for major cereals, including maize, is less than 30%; resulting in more than half of the applied phosphate being lost to the environment. Rock phosphate reserves are finite and predicted to exhaust in near future with the current rate of consumption. Thus, the dependence of modern agriculture on phosphatic fertilizers poses major food security and sustainability challenges. Strategies to optimize and improve PUE, like genetic interventions to develop high PUE cultivars, could have a major impact in this area. Here, we present the current understanding and recent advances in the biological phenomenon of phosphate uptake, translocation, and adaptive responses of plants under phosphate deficiency, with special reference to maize. Maize is one of the most important cereal crops that is cultivated globally under diverse agro-climatic conditions. It is an industrial, feed and food crop with multifarious uses and a fast-rising global demand and consumption. The interesting aspects of diversity in the root system architecture traits, the interplay between signaling pathways contributing to PUE, and an in-depth discussion on promising candidate genes for improving PUE in maize are elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Non-ideal high-speed rotors often exhibit the Sommerfeld effect characterized by nonlinear jumps and eventually gets destabilized. This paper presents a bifurcation analysis to attenuate the jumps in a non-ideal internally damped DC motor-driven shaft-disk system via magnetorheological (MR) fluid damper. Methods: A nonlinear hyperbolic tangent model of MR damper is proposed and linearized using equivalent linearization technique. To meet the demands of reliable engineering design, the system parameters of the proposed MR model are optimized using genetic algorithm (GA) with the consideration of parametric uncertainty. Then the system equations of the non-ideal rotor system are derived using Lagrangian formulation. Following, a characteristic equation of fifth-order polynomial in rotor speed is obtained through energy balance. The steady-state response is studied with the help of control current of the MR damper and subsequently verified through a bifurcation analysis with the help of root locus technique. A few results are also validated with earlier works. Results: The nonlinear jumps are found to be attenuated as the control current of MR damper increases. The root locus technique confirms the jump phenomena though the existence of multiplicity of roots of the characteristic equation considering supply voltage as a gain. The proposed saddle-node bifurcation study confirms the cessation of the Sommerfeld effect when two unstable (saddle) points are found to be degenerated into a stable node at a specific bifurcation value of the MR control current. Conclusion: The nonlinear jumps of non-ideal rotor can be attenuated by altering the control current of the MR damper. This study also suggests that MR-based semi-active strategy is more effective than the AMB-based active control as the former takes much lesser current to attenuate the jumps. MR-based attenuation is found to be safer and more reliable than its active counterpart, i.e., AMB as the overall natural frequency of MR-based non-ideal rotor is far more behind the instability threshold of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation (TBO) is characterized by a tendency for a relatively stronger monsoon to be followed by a relatively weaker one (positive) or vice-versa (negative). This study examines the distribution of different convective systems occurring during TBO phases over the Indian monsoon region. During negative TBO phase, convection is preferential over the Arabian Sea (AS), whereas during positive TBO phase, it is favoured over the land areas and Bay of Bengal (BoB). The isolated shallow convection (ISC) is dominated over the AS and Indian west coast during negative TBO years. A relatively stable environment (statically) capped with drier mid-troposphere results in abundant ISC over the AS. Broad stratiform rain (BSR) dominates over the central and east coast of India, BoB and Myanmar coast during positive TBO years and wide convective core (WCC) are present along the orographic regions, i.e., Myanmar coast and Western Ghats during negative TBO phase. The anomalous easterlies induced by the upper-ocean temperature gradient interact with the mean monsoon winds during positive TBO to provide pathways for developing BSR echoes. The deep-wide convection (DWC) are higher along the Himalayan foothills during positive TBO years. The moist low-level flow from the AS is trapped by dry mid-level flow from high latitudes, resulting in orographic lifting along the Himalayan foothills and form DWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several maize breeding programs in India have developed numerous inbred lines but the lines have not been characterized using high-density molecular markers. Here, we studied the molecular diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in a panel of 314 tropical normal corn, two sweet corn, and six popcorn inbred lines developed by 17 research centers in India, and 62 normal corn from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). The 384 inbred lines were genotyped with 60,227 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Most of the pair-wise relative kinship coefficients (58.5%) were equal or close to 0, which suggests the lack of redundancy in the genomic composition in the majority of inbred lines. Genetic distance among most pairs of lines (98.3%) varied from 0.20 to 0.34 as compared with just 1.7% of the pairs of lines that differed by <0.20, which suggests greater genetic variation even among sister lines. The overall average of 17% heterogeneity was observed in the panel indicated the need for further inbreeding in the high heterogeneous genotypes. The mean nucleotide diversity and frequency of polymorphic sites observed in the panel were 0.28 and 0.02, respectively. The model-based population structure, principal component analysis, and phylogenetic analysis revealed three to six groups with no clear patterns of clustering by centers-wise breeding lines, types of corn, kernel characteristics, maturity, plant height, and ear placement. However, genotypes were grouped partially based on their source germplasm from where they derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize is a heavy consumer of fertilizer nitrogen (N) which not only results in the high cost of cultivation but may also lead to environmental pollution. Therefore, there is a need to develop N-use efficient genotypes, a prerequisite for which is a greater understanding of N-deficiency stress adaptation. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was performed using leaf and root tissues from contrasting inbred lines, viz., DMI 56 (tolerant to N stress) and DMI 81 (susceptible to N stress) to delineate the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under low-N stress. The contrasting lines were grown hydroponically in modified Hoagland solution having either sufficient- or deficient-N, followed by high-throughput RNA-sequencing. A total of 8 sequencing libraries were prepared and 88–97% of the sequenced raw reads were mapped to the reference B73 maize genome. Genes with a p value ≤ 0.05 and fold change of ≥ 2.0 or ≤ − 2 were considered as DEGs in various combinations performed between susceptible and tolerant genotypes. DEGs were further classified into different functional categories and pathways according to their putative functions. Gene Ontology based annotation of these DEGs identified three different functional categories: biological processes, molecular function, and cellular component. The KEGG and Mapman based analysis revealed that most of the DEGs fall into various metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, signal transduction, amino acid metabolism, N-assimilation and metabolism, and starch metabolism. Some of the key genes involved in N uptake (high-affinity nitrate transporter 2.2 and 2.5), N assimilation and metabolism (glutamine synthetase, asparagine synthetase), redox homeostasis (SOD, POX), and transcription factors (MYB36, AP2-EREBP) were found to be highly expressed in the tolerant genotype compared to susceptible one. The candidate genes identified in the present study might be playing a pivotal role in low-N stress adaptation in maize and hence could be useful in augmenting further research on N metabolism and development of N-deficiency tolerant maize cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize is an important crop for billions of people globally. The existing immature embryo-based regeneration protocol of maize has major limitations due to the non-availability of explants throughout the year, limited durability for culturing, and its laborious nature. Mature embryos, especially in tropical maize, are considered recalcitrant towards tissue culture. Therefore, standardization of a robust regeneration and transformation protocol in tropical maize using mature embryos or seeds as starting material is long envisaged. Considering this, in this study, 28 diverse tropical maize genotypes were evaluated for their embryogenic callus induction potential using two different explants (nodal explants and split embryo region) under two different callusing media. Out of 28 genotypes, better callus induction was achieved in four genotypes (BML 6, DHM 117, DMRH 1301, and DMRH 1308) from nodal explants. Further, in vitro regeneration was standardized using 22 different combinations of various auxins and cytokinins. Out of 28 genotypes, two recently commercialized and high-yielding cultivars (DMRH 1301 and DMRH 1308) demonstrated the best callusing and regeneration capability with an average regeneration percentage of 60.4% and 53.6%, respectively. Using the nodal explants-derived embryogenic calli, the genetic transformation was successfully carried out using the 'Biolistic' approach, and up to ~ 5% transformation efficiency was achieved. This efficient regeneration and transformation protocol can overcome the major limitations associated with the existing immature embryo-based protocol in tropical maize as mature seeds can be obtained easily in ample quantity round the year. Such a generalized and reproducible protocol has the potential to be a major tool for maize improvement using transgenic and genome-edited techniques. Key message: The standardized protocol not only overcomes the major limitations associated with the existing and predominately used immature embryo-based protocol but it is easier, reproducible, and has either higher or comparable callusing, regeneration, and transformation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two flavor neutrinos are mapped to quantum bit states used in quantum information theory. Such qubits of the neutrino state can be encoded on a IBMQ computer using quantum computing as a tool. We discuss the implications of the implementation of bipartite entanglement in the two neutrino systems in the vacuum and in the uniform matter background on the IBM quantum processor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monsoon trough (MT) convection exhibits multiscale spatial variability ranging from cellular storms to large organized convective systems. Understanding the relationships between storm‐scale convection and the large‐scale environment is crucial for accurately representing the properties and effect of convection in climate models. We investigate these relationships using nine wet seasons (June–September of 2009–2017) of S‐band radar observations over a tropical location (Kolkata) in the Indian summer monsoon trough region. A Lagrangian‐based objective cell‐tracking method, Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis, and Nowcasting (TITAN), is applied to the volumetric reflectivity data to identify and track the convective storms. ERA5 hourly reanalysis products from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are utilized for the field variables representing the large‐scale environment. We focus on the relationships of radar‐derived storm properties with large‐scale dynamic, thermodynamic, and stability variables such as convergence, mid‐level humidity, convective available potential energy (CAPE), and convective inhibition (CIN). Storm‐scale convection shows a selective nature, characterized as embedded cells in their unique environment. Furthermore, storms are classified as storm cells (simple and intense) and multicellular (linear and nonlinear) based on their geometrical properties and intensity. MT convection is predominantly composed of storm cells and characterized by an environment of moist mid‐level, low‐to‐moderate CAPE, low CIN, and strong dynamic forcing, that is, vertical ascent. In dry and weak dynamic forcing (i.e., subsiding atmosphere) with high CAPE and CIN, the highest rain intensity is associated with a few linear and nonlinear multicellular storms. In the development of such major linear and nonlinear multicellular storms over the eastern flank of the MT, the mid‐troposphere acts as a dry capping inversion. It is observed that the storm‐scale convection varies with the large‐scale dynamic forcing. During weak (strong) dynamic forcing conditions, the CAPE (mid‐level humidity) relates well with the observed storm‐scale convection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the frequency limitation in designing microstrip circuits based on a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) and reports a novel technique for increasing its operating frequency, which makes the CSRR suitable for high-frequency applications. This study helps in synthesizing the dimensions of symmetric CSRR (SCSRR) and asymmetric CSRR (ACSRR) circuits, which shows the applicability of the proposed technique in designing mm-wave circuits. It is observed that the upper frequency limit of the microstrip-coupled SCSRR is mainly due to weak electric coupling. The weak coupling implicates radiation loss in the structure, and the frequency at which the SCSRR has maximum loss due to radiation is found to be much less than the cutoff frequency of the higher order mode of the microstrip line, thus effectively limiting the operating frequency range of the circuit. In this article, the type of coupling and associated electrical parameters, e.g., reflected power, transmitted power, radiated power, losses, quality factor, voltage standing wave ratio, and gain, are investigated in detail. The allowable bandwidth of the fundamental mode of the microstrip line can be utilized to design CSRR with improved coupling. It is found that the ACSRR enhances the coupling coefficient using the cross-coupling effect. At higher frequencies, where the electric coupling is becoming too weak for the SCSRR, it is possible to design a magnetically coupled ACSRR of the same dimensions as the SCSRR. Finally, the design profile for both the SCSRR and ACSRR is studied in detail, and the radiating condition is discussed as a function of the height and dielectric constant of the substrate. For practical-verification purposes, two circuit prototypes are fabricated on a 1.5-mm-thick Rogers RT5880 substrate, and the measured results are found to be in good agreement with the proposition. It is found that, for a given microwave substrate, the maximum allowable resonating frequency of the ACSRR structure is nearly twice that of the SCSRR structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an attractive resonant technique is devised for calculating the dielectric properties of arbitrary length material under test (ALMUT), which is partially filled inside a waveguide cavity sensor. The proposed technique exempts two major assumptions viz. the depolarization effect and the theory of images, which were neglected in earlier cavity perturbation methods. A numerical model of the depolarizing factor, which precisely considers the impact of the relative permittivity and the sinusoidal variation of the electric field, is also formulated. First, the technical modification and the numerical analysis are provided and after that, a new set of formulas for characterizing the complex permittivity of ALMUT is developed. The numerical results suggest the accuracy and validity of the scheme for a broad range of dielectric samples, including the typical case, i.e., the full-length dielectric sample. The novelty of the presented technique can be ascertained from the fact that it provides higher accuracy irrespective of the actual sample length when compared with standard cavity techniques. A few standard dielectric samples with the partially filled arrangement are measured using the WR90 cavity, and the results are compared with their corresponding values obtained using the earlier reported conventional and modified techniques. It is found that the results evaluated using the devised scheme are consistent and independent of the actual dimensions of ALMUT. On the other hand, error in estimated complex permittivity using the earlier reported approaches shows substantial dependence on the sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate and quantify bipartite and tripartite entanglement measures in two- and three-flavor neutrino oscillations. The bipartite entanglement is analogous to the entanglement swapping resulting from a beam splitter in quantum optics. We calculate various entanglement measures, such as the concurrence, negativity, and three-tangle for the three-neutrino system. The significant result is that a monogamy inequality in terms of negativity leads to a residual entanglement, implying genuine tripartite entanglement in the three-neutrino system. We establish an analogy of the three-neutrino state with a generalized W-state class in quantum optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a novel sensor for detecting and measuring angular rotation and proximity, intended for rapid prototyping machines. The sensor is based on a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) driven by a conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW). The sensor has a planar topology, which makes it simple and cost-effective to produce and accurate in measuring both physical quantities. The sensor has two components, a rotor and a stator: the first of these (the CSRR) can rotate around its axis and translate along the plane normal to the ground of the CBCPW. A detailed theoretical and numerical analysis, along with a circuit model, of the unique sensor design is presented. The proposed sensor exhibits linear response for measuring angular rotation and proximity in the range of 30°–60° and 0–200 μm, respectively. Another distinctive feature of the rotation and proximity sensor is the wide frequency band of applicability, which is an integral part of its novel design and is implemented through various dielectric material loadings on the CSRR. In the prototype of the proposed device, the stator (CBCPW) is fabricated on a 0.508-mm-thick RF-35 substrate, whereas the CSRR-based rotor is fabricated on TLY-5 and RF-35 substrates. The angular rotation, proximity, operating band selection, and sensitivity are measured using a vector network analyzer and are found to be good matches to the simulated and theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a technique based on a modified complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) to detect angular displacement and direction of rotation with high resolution and sensitivity over a wide dynamic range. The proposed microwave planar sensor takes advantage of the asymmetry of the sensor geometry and measures the angle of rotation in terms of the change in the relative phase of the reflection coefficients. The sensor consists of a movable modified CSRR (the rotor) and a microstrip line with a circular defect in the ground plane (the stator). By selecting the substrate material and the rotor thickness, the sensor can be designed to work at different operating frequencies. A theoretical model of the sensor is proposed and is followed by a detailed numerical analysis involving equivalent circuit simulations, full-wave computations, and measurement results. Using positioning error estimation and air-gap analysis, a technique based on phase-change measurements is found to be better than those based on magnitude measurements alone. The maximum sensitivity for measuring the angular rotation is found to be a 4.3° change in the relative phase of the reflection coefficient per 1° of rotation. The sensor has an angular measurement range from −90° to +90°. The sensor—a stator fabricated on a 0.5-mm-thick Rogers RT5880 substrate and three rotors fabricated on a 1.5-mm-thick Rogers RT5880, a 1-mm-thick FR4, and a 0.5-mm-thick Rogers RT5880—can effectively detect the direction of rotation, measure the angle of rotation and angular velocity with reasonable accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: While transgenic technology has heralded a new era in crop improvement, several concerns have precluded their widespread acceptance. Alternative technologies, such as cisgenesis and genome-editing may address many of such issues and facilitate the development of genetically engineered crop varieties with multiple favourable traits. Genetic engineering and plant transformation have played a pivotal role in crop improvement via introducing beneficial foreign gene(s) or silencing the expression of endogenous gene(s) in crop plants. Genetically modified crops possess one or more useful traits, such as, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, disease resistance, and nutritional improvement. To date, nearly 525 different transgenic events in 32 crops have been approved for cultivation in different parts of the world. The adoption of transgenic technology has been shown to increase crop yields, reduce pesticide and insecticide use, reduce CO2 emissions, and decrease the cost of crop production. However, widespread adoption of transgenic crops carrying foreign genes faces roadblocks due to concerns of potential toxicity and allergenicity to human beings, potential environmental risks, such as chances of gene flow, adverse effects on non-target organisms, evolution of resistance in weeds and insects etc. These concerns have prompted the adoption of alternative technologies like cisgenesis, intragenesis, and most recently, genome editing. Some of these alternative technologies can be utilized to develop crop plants that are free from any foreign gene hence, it is expected that such crops might achieve higher consumer acceptance as compared to the transgenic crops and would get faster regulatory approvals. In this review, we present a comprehensive update on the current status of the genetically modified (GM) crops under cultivation. We also discuss the issues affecting widespread adoption of transgenic GM crops and comment upon the recent tools and techniques developed to address some of these concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this paper is to attenuate the tracking error of a fractionally damped nonlocal simply supported nanobeam with harmonic excitation using fractional order PID controller via genetic algorithm. The nonlinear ordinary differential equation of motion of the nanobeam is derived using D'Alembert's principle via Eringen's nonlocal continuum approach. Thereafter a time varying control force is implemented based on fractional order PID approach such that the closed loop response of the beam follows a desired trajectory of a predefined random signal. Following an objective function is conceived to search for the optimal values of fractional PID parameters in order to minimize the tracking error via genetic algorithm. A special filter known as Oustaloup filter is employed to carry out the fractional order integration and differentiation numerically. Comparing the performance of the closed loop system with PID and fractional PID, it shows that the latter yields better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling of fractionally damped nanostructure is extremely important because of its inherent ability to capture the memory and hereditary effect of several viscoelastic materials extensively used in nanotechnology. The nonlinear free vibration characteristics of a simply-supported nanobeam with fractional-order derivative damping via nonlocal continuum theory are studied in this article. Using Newton's second law, the equation of motion for the nanobeam embedded in a viscoelastic matrix is derived. The Galerkin method is employed to transform the integro-partial differential equation of motion into a Duffing-type nonlinear ordinary differential equation. The fractional-order damping term is replaced by a combination of linear damping and linear stiffness term. The approximate analytical solution obtained via method of averaging is found to be in good agreement with solution obtained through numerical scheme. Detailed study of system parameters reveals that the fractional-order derivative damping has significant influence on the time response and effective natural frequency of the nanobeam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, Ka-band radars are opted for cloud studies as the radar signal at this frequency gets attenuated during rainy condition. In this work, an attenuation-based method is used to estimate the layer-averaged rain rate from vertically pointing Ka-band radar deployed at Mandhardev (18.04 °N, 73.87 °E, ∼1.3 km AMSL), a remote station in the hill-top of Western Ghats, India. At Ka-band, the rain rate retrieval depends on the linear relation between specific attenuation coefficient and rain rate. The specific attenuation coefficient is calculated from T-matrix scattering simulation performed at Ka-band frequency using the Joss–Waldvogel disdrometer (JWD) raindrop data. The radar retrieved rain rates for 0.5- and 1-km rain layer depths are evaluated with the collocated JWD rain rate measurements. The rain rates retrieved from 1-km rain layer depth shows higher correlation, 0.75, and small bias, 2.36 mm h–1, compared to 0.72 and 3.65 mm h–1, respectively, for 0.5-km rain layer depth retrievals. Further, the vertical profiles of rain rate are constructed for both 0.5- and 1-km rain layer depths. It is observed that the retrieval error decreases, with an increase in rain rates. The good comparison of the rain rate between the radar and the JWD validates the possibility of using cloud radar observations for the retrieval of the rain rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the system parameters of a nonlinear bistable energy harvester excited by Gaussian white noise was investigated. Using Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equation, the probability distribution functions of displacement and velocity of the oscillator are obtained. The effect of various system parameters on the probability distributions of displacement and velocity of the oscillator and the mean square of the output voltage are investigated when the time constant of the piezoelectric circuit takes a larger value to achieve maximum voltage gain. The maximum peak values of the joint probability distribution of displacement and velocity of the oscillator decrease with the larger values of noise strength. The effect of parameters of bistable potential function on mean square of output voltage was also investigated. The system equations are numerically solved and mean square value of output voltage is numerically estimated and is seen to be increased as noise intensity increases and decreased as viscous damping increases. The result also shows that better power output can be achieved when the time constant takes larger value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust cavity technique is proposed to quite accurately measure the complex permeability of the magnetic materials, which gives promising results for arbitrary length samples. This technique takes into account many factors such as magnetic field correction inside the sample under test, the effect of demagnetization, and the image theory, which was not considered in past. In this paper, a numerical model of the magnetometric demagnetization factor is developed, which precisely considers the effects of the relative permeability of sample and the nonuniform magnetic field over sample volume. The sensitivity of proposed technique is better than conventional and recently modified technique assuming arbitrary length sample. The proposed scheme typically provides 98% accurate result for the sample length greater than $0.15\times $ the width of the rectangular cavity. The proposed method is quite novel and can be appreciated due to the fact that it gives higher accuracy for all the cases when compared with other standard cavity techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Eccentric shaft-disk system with internal damping driven by a non-ideal power source exhibits Sommerfeld effect characterized by nonlinear jump phenomena of amplitude and rotor speed upon exceeding a critical power input around the critical speed. This effect causes instability in high speed rotors. So the diminution of such effect is extremely important in order to smooth running of the rotors at high speeds. The aim of this paper is to attenuate the Sommerfeld effect of an internally damped unbalanced flexible shaft-disk system via linearized active magnetic bearings. The shaft-disk system is excited through a brushed DC motor which acts as a non-ideal energy source. The characteristic equation of fifth order polynomial in rotor speed is obtained through energy balance of supplied power and the mechanical power dissipated at steady-state condition. Using MATLAB simulations, amplitude frequency responses are obtained close to system resonance for several values of bias current of active magnetic bearings. Thus the Sommerfeld effect is found to be attenuated as bias current increases gradually. The complete disappearance of Sommerfeld effect is also reported when the bias current reaches a specific value under certain conditions. A few numerical results are validated with established results when bias current is made to zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an attractive multi-band RF planar sensor, suitable for non-destructive testing of dispersive materials, is proposed. The proposed sensor is based on a number of complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) unit cells etched in the ground plane of the microstrip line. Each CSRR unit cell can be represented by a narrow band reject filter with its center frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of the respective CSRR cell. The proposed technique is used to design the two, three and four band microwave sensors operating at 1.5 GHz, 2.45 GHz, 3.8 GHz, and 5.8 GHz. The distance between the two adjoining CSRRs is minimized for each case without appreciably increasing the inter-cell coupling effect. The transcendental equations required for determining the complex permittivity of the material under test in terms of the resonant frequency are derived from the numerical data obtained using the electromagnetic solver, the CST studio. These numerical equations are then used to obtain the dielectric properties of various test samples, which are measured using the vector network analyzer. The detailed air gap analysis is also performed for checking the accuracy of the designed planar sensor under the real situation. The proposed sensors are fabricated on 0.8 mm thick FR4 substrates using the standard photolithography technique. A number of standard samples are tested using the fabricated sensors in multiple frequency bands, and a good agreement between the obtained results and the data available in literature shows the applicability of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The present work was conducted to assess the outcome of dexamethasonecyclophosphamide pulse (DCP) therapy in pemphigus. Methods The present work was designed as a retrospective tertiary urban hospital based, observational study during the period from Jan 2012 to Dec 2016. Data regarding clinical details about the disease, previous treatments, phases of therapy, remission, relapse, cure, default and reasons for default, death and causes of death and adverse effects of therapy were evaluated. Results Out of 102 patients of pemphigus on DCP therapy, majority (n=42) of them belonged to age group of 40 to 49years. Mean age of patients was 42.08 years with a range of 24 to 65 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1.48. Of the 102 patients, 30 patients were in phase I, 23 were in phase II, 12 were in phase III and 37 were in phase IV. Mean number of pulses required for remission, that is, for completion of phase I were 5.2 months (range, 2-15 months). Majority (n=47, 65.3%) of them needed 4-7 pulses to achieve remission. Among 72 patients who achieved remission, a total 15 patient relapsed. Infusion-related reactions were the most common immediate adverse effect and generalized weakness/malaise were the most common delayed adverse effect recorded. Nine (7.7%) patients died while on DCP therapy and the most common (n=5) cause of death was septicaemia. Conclusion The DCP therapy was found to be effective in inducing and maintaining remission in pemphigus, provided the patients receive regular and complete treatment. The costeffectiveness is definitely superior to other treatment modalities (biologics), which is of utmost importance in our setup as majority of patients belonged to poor socioeconomic strata, although the relapse rate and mortality rate were higher compared to other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the improved planar resonant sensors based on the generalized split ring resonator (SRR) configuration are proposed for the permittivity and the permeability testing of magneto-dielectric samples. It is observed that the proposed inter-digital capacitor-based SRR and the meandered line-based SRR provide better sensitivity for dielectric and magnetic measurement, respectively, when compared with the standard SRR-based microwave sensors. Both the sensors are first modeled under unloaded condition, using the full wave electromagnetic solver, the CST Microwave Studio, in order to ensure their operating frequency range near 2.45 GHz of industrial, scientific and medical band. In the next step, the numerical simulation of these sensors is carried out by loading them with a number of reference materials in order to develop empirical model for the determination of permittivity and permeability of test samples. Additionally, the equivalent circuit models of these sensors are obtained using the Advanced Design System circuit simulator and results are compared with the numerical simulation. All the sensors are designed and fabricated on 1.27-mm-thick RT/Duroid 6006 substrate, and testing is carried out using the network analyzer. A number of standard dielectric and magneto-dielectric samples are tested using the proposed scheme in order to retrieve their permittivity and permeability values. The measured data of each sample are in good match with the corresponding reference values available in literature having a typical error of less than 6%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, an attractive time-domain RF imaging technique is proposed for online monitoring of moving objects over conveyor belts. The proposed technique combines the strength of the time-domain approach and the Riccati equation-based ultrawideband reconstruction method in order to image the stratified lossy dielectric medium. The applicability of the proposed method is first tested under stationary condition by reconstructing the permittivity and conductivity image of the target area comprising of various standard samples placed in free space. For moving objects under real-world scenario, two antenna arrays comprised of ultra-wideband Vivaldi elements are designed and tested. These arrays are then employed to produce the 2-D microwave image of various wooden-based samples and human mannequins carrying metal object concealed behind the cloth. The obtained real-time microwave image of the test medium shows that the proposed RF imaging technique is best suited for online monitoring of stationary as well as moving targets, where the structural as well as the electrical properties of the test medium can be obtained through a nondestructive process without using any iterative scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This letter presents a novel microwave-based rotation sensor having a wide dynamic range to detect and measure the angular displacement in terms of the change in resonant frequency. The proposed sensor is based on the microstrip technology, where a rotor comprised of a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) placed on the ground plane of the microstrip line is free to rotate around its axis. The mechanical rotation of CSRR determines a change in the cross coupling between the microstrip line and the CSRR, thus changing the overall inductance. The proposed planar unloaded microwave sensor, working around ISM band of 5.8 GHz, is quite sensitive to detect angular rotation in the wide dynamic range of 0°–90°. The linearity in dynamic range is achieved in the range of 30°–60°. Operating frequency and bandwidth can be adjusted by loading the rotor with dielectric. Depending on the type of dielectric loading of CSRR, it is possible to select the center frequency from a wide range of 4.67–5.94 GHz, with the bandwidth ranging from 116 to 250 MHz. Due to its features, the proposed sensor can be useful for various industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel microwave noninvasive planar sensor based on the complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) is proposed for an accurate measurement of the complex permittivity of materials. The CSRR is etched in the ground plane of the planar microstrip line. Two CSRRs of rectangular and circular cross-sections are chosen for the sensitivity analysis, where the later is found to possess higher sensitivity and hence appears to be more appropriate for the sensor design. At resonance, the electric field induced along the plane of CSRR is found to be quite sensitive for the characterization of specimen kept in contact with the sensor. A numerical model is developed here for the calculation of the complex permittivity as a function of resonant frequency and the quality factor data using the electromagnetic simulator, the Computer Simulation Technology. For practical applications, a detailed air gap analysis is carried out to consider the effect of any air gap present between the test sample and the CSRR. The designed sensor is fabricated and tested, and accordingly the numerically established relations are experimentally verified for various reference samples e.g., teflon, polyvinyl chloride, plexiglas, polyethylene, rubber, and wood. Experimentally, it is found that the permittivity measurement using the proposed sensor is possible with a typical error of 3%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The applications of magnetic composites in electromagnetic shielding, resonance imaging, and biomedical drug research are growing rapidly. Therefore, there is a huge demand to characterize these materials in order to obtain their dielectric and magnetic properties in the microwave frequency range. In this paper, a novel rectangular cavity method is proposed to obtain the complex permeability and permittivity of the test sample placed in the $E$ -plane of the rectangular cavity. The proposed method eliminates the need of physical relocation of a specimen in the $H$ -plane, which is usually required in the case of presently available methods to characterize the magnetic samples. The closed-form formula for this unified approach is developed from the first principle, and is later modified to consider some practical consideration. The proposed method is first numerically tested and verified for various standard samples, where the data are taken from the literature. Thereafter, the $X$ -band rectangular cavity is designed and fabricated to measure a number of available samples. The significance of the proposed approach can be appreciated from the fact that even for finite-size samples, the permeability and permittivity can be extracted with the typical errors of 5% and 2%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel planar multilayered epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) tunnel sensor based on fully laminated surface integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is proposed for the microwave measurement of dispersive materials. The proposed sensor is designed and optimized using parametric analysis to obtain the multilayered ENZ tunnel dimensions. It is observed that the width of the upper tunnel of the designed two-tunnel sensor should be at least half of the SIW width of the actual SIW structure for the multiband operation. The complex permittivity measurement using the proposed sensor is possible at two frequencies with a single set of measurement data. The proposed method is based on perturbation of the squeezed electric field having constant magnitude and high intensity inside the multilayered ENZ tunnel, which eventually increases the sensitivity of the proposed sensor. The sensitivity and accuracy of the proposed sensor are tested using both the simulated and the experimented data. It is found that the proposed sensor is highly sensitive, and typically demonstrates 6% error under ideal conditions, thus making it a good candidate for the microwave measurement of dispersive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalized cavity method relaxing the major assumptions of conventional cavity perturbation technique is presented for characterization of the powdered sample in the microwave frequency range. The unified method, which is based on the inverse optimization technique, eliminates the complexity of measurement caused due to the existence of sample holder and produces an accurate result. In this paper, an attractive numerical calibration approach is proposed in lieu of the practical calibration technique which usually requires either a set of standards or a number of reference samples. The sample holder especially made of borosilicate glass is designed to contain the powdered samples, and the X-band rectangular cavity is fabricated. For verification of the proposed technique, the pulverized alumina and polyethylene oxide with various packing fractions are measured using the fabricated cavity and the vector network analyzer. The dielectric constant of these samples is extracted using the proposed unified approach which is found to be in good agreement with the theoretical data obtained by Landau-Lifshitz and Looyenga model. The accuracy of the proposed generalized cavity method for powdered samples is found to be better than the conventional resonator methods available in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved rectangular cavity (RC) approach is proposed for the accurate complex permeability determination of materials in the microwave frequency band. The proposed approach assumes the bar-shaped magnetic specimen to be placed along the width of the cavity to increase the sensitivity of the measurement. A generalized closed-form formula is derived accordingly to determine the complex permeability of these bar-shaped samples in terms of the cavity parameters measured under both loaded and unloaded conditions. The proposed formula is found to improve the accuracy of the original RC approach where samples are placed in the $H$ -plane traversing the maximum width of the cavity for permeability measurement. The improvement in accuracy is facilitated by considering the sinusoidal magnetic field variation over the test sample, which is otherwise neglected in most of the earlier approaches. The modified formula is numerically tested for a number of samples having wide range of permeability variations, and the obtained results are typically 40% more accurate than the values obtained using the original formula. Finally, the synthesized magnetic samples, viz., the carbonyl iron-epoxy composite and the manganese ferrite, are measured by placing them inside the fabricated X-band cavity with the help of a vector network analyzer. The proposed approach is quite advantageous for magnetic materials as finite-size samples having sample to cavity volume ratio of less than 3e-3 can be characterized quite accurately with typical errors of 2% and 3% in the real and imaginary parts of the complex permeability, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel split-ring resonator (SRR)-based microwave sensor for accurately determining the real parts of the complex permittivity and the complex permeability of magnetodielectric composites is proposed. The proposed sensor is realized using the microstrip technology, where two SRRs coupled magnetically with the microstrip line are printed on two sides of the line. The sensor is designed using the full-wave electromagnetic solver and its equivalent circuit model is obtained. A numerical model of the proposed sensor is developed for extracting the magnetic and the dielectric properties of the sample under test in terms of change in resonance frequency after loading the device with the test specimen. The proposed methodology is validated by fabricating the sensor on RT/duroid 6006 substrate and testing various standard dielectric and magnetodielectric samples viz. Teflon, Poly vinyl chloride, Plexiglas, Polyethylene, Carbonyl iron, Ni0.6Co0.4Fe2O4, and Cobalt (30%)/Polystyrene composite in S-band. The measured relative permeability and the relative permittivity of the test specimens are found to be in close agreement with their values available in literature with maximum error of less than 8%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel cavity-based unified approach to measure the complex permittivity of dielectric samples placed in the E-plane of a rectangular cavity is presented. The proposed generalized cavity method is not limited to test specimens of smaller electrical dimensions, and requires two basic steps. The first step modifies the conventional cavity perturbation technique, where the effects of possible air gap between the cavity slot and the test specimen are also considered. The second step of the proposed approach employs a numerical optimization scheme, where the actual 3-D geometry of the fabricated cavity is simulated using the numerical field simulator, the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio. The dielectric properties of the test specimen in this case are determined with the help of a MATLAB-based optimization routine, which calls the CST modules over the component object model interface and minimizes the error between the measured and the simulated scattering coefficients. The permittivity of the test specimen determined using the first step is provided as the initial guess to improve the convergence of the numerical optimization scheme. The proposed unified approach is validated by designing two rectangular cavities having different slot sizes operating in the TE107 mode. A number of standard dielectric samples are measured with the help of a vector network analyzer, and a very good agreement is observed between the measured permittivity values and the published data available in the literature having a typical error of less than 2% for samples of even larger dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]