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Drought stress is widely recognized as a highly detrimental abiotic stress factor that significantly impacts crop growth, development, and agricultural productivity. In response to external stimuli, plants activate various mechanisms to enhance their resistance or tolerance to abiotic stress. The common bean, a most important legume according to the FAO, serves as a staple food for millions of people worldwide, due to its rich protein, carbohydrate, and fiber content, concurrently, and water scarcity is the main factor limiting common bean production. The process of domestication and on-farm conservation has facilitated the development of genotypes with varying degrees of drought stress resistance. Consequently, using landraces as biological material in research can lead to the identification of variants with superior resistance qualities to abiotic stress factors, which can be effectively integrated into breeding programs. The central scope of this research was to find out if different geographic origins of common bean genotypes can determine distinct responses at various levels. Hence, several analyses were carried out to investigate responses to water scarcity in three common bean genotypes, M-2087 (from the Mesoamerican gene pool), A-1988 (from the Andean gene pool) and Lechinta, known for its high drought stress resistance. Plants were subjected to different water regimes, followed by optical assessment of the anatomical structure of the hypocotyl and epicotyl in each group; furthermore, the morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters and molecular data (quantification of the relative expression of the thirteen genes) were assessed. The three experimental variants displayed distinct responses when subjected to 12 days of water stress. In general, the Lechinta genotype demonstrated the highest adaptability and drought resistance. The M-2087 landrace, originating from the Mesoamerican geographic basin, showed a lower resistance to water stress, compared to the A-1988 landrace, from the Andean basin. The achieved results can be used to scale up future research about the drought resistance of plants, analyzing more common bean landraces with distinct geographic origins (Mesoamerican/Andean), which can then be used in breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature is commonly acknowledged as one of the primary forces driving ectotherm vector populations, most notably by influencing metabolic rates and survival. Although numerous experiments have shown this for a wide variety of organisms, the vast majority has been conducted at constant temperatures and changes therein, while temperature is far from constant in nature, and includes seasonal and diurnal cycles. As fluctuating temperatures have been described to affect metabolic processes at (sub)cellular level, this calls for studies evaluating the relative importance of temperature fluctuations and the changes therein. To gain insight in the effects of temperature fluctuations on ectotherm development, survival, and sex ratio, we developed an inexpensive, easily reproducible, and open‐source, Arduino‐based temperature control system, which emulates natural sinusoidal fluctuations around the average temperature. We used this novel setup to compare the effects of constant (mean) temperatures, most commonly used in experiments, block schemes, and natural sinusoidal fluctuations as well as an extreme variant with twice its amplitude using the cosmopolitan mosquito species Culex pipiens s.l. as a study organism. Our system accurately replicated the preprogrammed temperature treatments under outdoor conditions, even more accurately than traditional methods. While no effects were detected on survival and sex ratio within the ranges of variation evaluated, development was sped up considerably by including temperature fluctuations, especially during pupation, where development under constant temperatures took almost a week (30%) longer than under natural fluctuations. Doubling the amplitude further decreased development time by 1.5 days. These results highlight the importance of including (natural) oscillations in experiments on ectotherm organisms – both aquatic and terrestrial – that use temperature as a variable. Ultimately, these results have major repercussions for downstream effects at larger scales that may be studied with applications such as ecological niche models, disease risk models, and assessing ecosystem services that rely on ectotherm organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes the use of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD &T) information from STEP AP242 for robotic manufacturing applications. This information can be directly added to the relevant features of the 3D model as per Model Based Definition methodology during the design phase of the product life cycle. STEP AP242 neutral exchange files enable the availability of product definition at the downstream operations, thus completing the Digital Thread as part of Industry 4.0 practices. This article discusses two methods; using custom Unicode strings and the standard entities; for including GD &T using the STEP AP242 Edition 2 neutral file exchange format. A method to form a single Unicode string to add all the GD &T information to the STEP files is described in this paper. The GD &T information in the Unicode string is fully semantic and can easily be parsed to extract the relevant PMI for tolerance analysis. A novel process of extracting and interpreting the relevant PMI for robotic manufacturing applications is described in detail. This article discusses various applications of this information for robotic manufacturing through two use-cases using the second edition of the STEP AP242 standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change may exacerbate the impact of invasive parasites from warmer climates through pre‐existing temperature adaptations. We investigated temperature impacts on two closely related marine parasitic copepod species that share the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) as host: Mytilicola orientalis has invaded the system from a warmer climate <20 years ago, whereas its established congener Mytilicola intestinalis has had >90 years to adapt. In laboratory experiments with temperatures 10–26°C, covering current and future temperatures as well as heat waves, the development of both life cycle stages of both species accelerated with increasing temperature. In the parasitic stages, the growth of the established invader increased evenly from 10°C to 22°C, whereas the recent invader barely grew at all at 10°C and grew faster already at 18°C. In contrast, temperature had little effect on the transition success between life cycle stages. However, the highest temperature (26°C) limited the egg development success of the established invader and the host entry success of both species, whereas the infection success of the established invader increased at 18°C and 22°C. In general, our experiments indicate that the main effect of temperature on both species is through development speed and not life cycle stage transition success. Based on regional long‐term temperature data and predictions, the numbers of completed life cycles per year will increase for both parasites. The established invader seems better adapted for low current temperatures (around 10°C), whereas the more recent invader barely develops at these temperatures but can cope in high temperatures (around 26°C). Hence, pre‐existing temperature adaptations of the recent invader may allow the species to better cope with heat waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a major factor affecting coffee production, and different genotypes exhibit varying degrees of resistance to drought stress. We examined root traits and biomasses of drought‐resistant (74110, Angafa, Bultum, Chala, and Gawe) and drought‐sensitive (75227, Koti, Melko CH2, Menasibu, and Mokah) Coffea arabica varieties at seedling stage under contrasting watering regimes (water stressed and well watered) for 30 days followed by 15 days of recovery to identify the association between drought resistance and root traits and dry matter partitioning, and the impact of drought stress on growth performance of arabica coffee varieties. We used a split‐plot design with three blocks, where watering regime was the whole‐plot factor and variety was the subplot factor. During water‐stress and recovery periods, the interaction effect between watering regime and variety significantly affected root traits and dry matter partitioning, while the watering‐regime main effect affected biomass. We observed a higher (1) tap root diameter (0.34 cm), lateral root number (80.7), and root volume (4.7 cm−3) for 74110; (2) lateral root number (79.3), specific root length (24.8 cm g−1), and root‐mass ratio (0.41 g g−1) for Bultum; and (3) root length density (3.3–5.2 cm cm−3), root angle (42.6°–47.8°), root‐mass ratio (0.40–0.42 g g−1), and root‐shoot ratio (0.67–0.72 g g−1) for Angafa, Chala, and Gawe under water‐stressed condition. During both study periods, biomasses were much lower under water‐stressed than under well‐watered condition. The findings show the association between drought resistance and root traits and dry matter partitioning, and the impact of drought stress on growth performance of young arabica coffee. Core Ideas: Root traits and biomass production of arabica coffee varieties under drought stress were studied.Watering regime and variety interaction effect significantly affected root traits and dry matter partitioning.The main effect of watering regime on biomass production was significant.Drought‐resistant varieties showed higher tap root diameter, lateral root number, root length density, specific root length, root volume, root‐mass ratio, and root‐shoot ratio under drought condition.Biomass production was lower under drought condition than under well‐watered condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pennsylvanian unconformity, which is a detrital surface, separates the beds of the Permian-aged strata from the Lower Paleozoic in the Central Basin Platform. Seismic data interpretation indicates that the unconformity is an angular unconformity, overlying multiple normal faults, and accompanied with a thrust fault which maximizes the region's structural complexity. Additionally, the Pennsylvanian angular unconformity creates pinch-outs between the beds above and below. We computed the spectral decomposition and reflector convergence attributes and analyzed them to characterize the angular unconformity and faults. The spectral decomposition attribute divides the broadband seismic data into different spectral bands to resolve thin beds and show thickness variations. In contrast, the reflector convergence attribute highlights the location and direction of the pinch-outs as they dip south at angles between 2° and 6°. After reviewing findings from RGB blending of the spectrally decomposed frequencies along the Pennsylvanian unconformity, we observed channel-like features and multiple linear bands in addition to the faults and pinch-outs. It can be inferred that the identified linear bands could be the result of different lithologies associated with the tilting of the beds, and the faults may possibly influence hydrocarbon migration or act as a flow barrier to entrap hydrocarbon accumulation. The identification of this angular unconformity and the associated features in the study area are vital for the following reasons: 1) the unconformity surface represents a natural stratigraphic boundary; 2) the stratigraphic pinch-outs act as fluid flow connectivity boundaries; 3) the areal extent of compartmentalized reservoirs' boundaries created by the angular unconformity are better defined; and 4) fault displacements are better understood when planning well locations as faults can be flow barriers, or permeability conduits, depending on facies heterogeneity and/or seal effectiveness of a fault, which can affect hydrocarbon production. The methodology utilized in this study is a further step in the characterization of reservoirs and can be used to expand our knowledge and obtain more information about the Goldsmith Field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative soft robotic grippers, such as granular grippers, enable the automated handling of a wide spectrum of different geometries, increasing the flexibility and robustness of industrial production systems. Granular grippers vary in their design as well as in their configuration, which affects the specific characteristics and capabilities regarding grippable objects. Relevant aspects are the selection of granulates and membranes, as they affect the deformability. This influences the achievable gripping forces, which vary with the gripped objects geometry. On the basis of experimental studies, the modeling of interpolations as well as through experimental validations, the present research investigates the influences of different configurations on the achievable gripping forces for a specific concept of an innovative vacuum-based granular gripper. Specifically, the focus lies on design as well as configuration parameters, which could influence the achievable gripping force. Influencing parameters are determined based on a literature review of similar gripping concepts. Various adjustment possibilities are identified, such as materials of granulates or membranes. The possible configuration options are experimentally analyzed with a one-factor-at-a-time approach. The possibility of modelling the effects of their interrelations on the achievable gripping force is examined with approaches for linear models and compared to interpolations based on Machine Learning. Especially the granulate filling level and the membrane configuration exhibit the largest influences, which were best predicted with the approach based on artificial neural networks. A selection of an optimized gripper configuration for a specified object set as well as possible further developments such as a continuous expandability of the approaches and integrations with simulations are discussed. As a result of these analyses, this research provides methodologies for an optimized selection of a gripper configuration for an improved object-specific achievable gripping force and allows for more efficient handling processes with the examined type of vacuum-based granular gripper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The present investigates were executed to decide the effects of citrus or banana peels extract on the growth and metabolic activities of two wheat cultivars Sakha 94 and Giza 168 grown under different drought stress conditions. Furthermore, to detect the drought tolerance of wheat cultivars and the roles of citrus or banana peels in alleviating drought stress, a pot experiment was carried out using drought stress levels and extracts of citrus 3% or banana peels 3%. The growth parameters of the two tested cultivars decreased with increasing drought stress levels especially at higher levels. This diminishing growth in Sakha 94 was related to the decline in soluble sugars and potassium in roots and spikes, soluble proteins in the three organs, and proline in shoots and spikes. In Giza 168, this reduction was coincided at 30% drought stress levels with the depletion in the soluble protein in shoots and spikes, potassium and proline in spikes. Exogenous application of citrus or banana extracts alleviates the inhibitory effects of drought stress in growth parameters and chemical constituents in two wheat cultivars. Potassium increased significantly as increasing drought stress levels with citrus and banana treatments in Sakha 94, while it was declined in Giza 168. Exogenous application of Citrus or Banana mostly increased anthocyanin, ascorbic acids in the two wheat cultivars while total phenolic compounds and flavonoids did not change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mordenite (MOR) zeolite, an important industrial catalyst exists in two, isostructural variants defined by their port-size, small and large-port. Here we show for the first time how a systematic, single-parameter variation influences the synthesis out-come on the final MOR material leading to distinctly different catalysts. The cation identity has a direct impact on the synthesis mechanism with potassium cations generating the more constrained, small-port MOR variant compared to the large-port obtained with sodium cations. This was expressed by different degrees of accessibility ascertained with a combination of toluene breakthrough and temperature programmed desorption (TPD), propylamine TPD, as well as sterically sensitive isobutane conversion. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffractograms elucidated the preferential siting of the smaller sodium cations in the constricted 8-ring, from which differences in Al distribution follow. Note, there are no organic structure directing agents utilized in this synthesis pointing at the important role of inorganic structure directing agents (ISDA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shallow coastal environments are becoming more susceptible to marine heatwaves, particularly in Atlantic Canada, which is experiencing higher rates of ocean warming compared with the global average. Understanding bivalves' tolerance to heatwaves in Atlantic Canada is especially important, given the magnitude of bivalve aquaculture in this region. In this study, the physiological state of four commercially important bivalve species—blue mussel (Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758), eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791)), soft shell clam (Mya arenaria Linnaeus, 1758), and hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758))—was observed during a naturally occurring heatwave in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The metabolism, feeding physiology, and scope for growth of each species were compared. Results from this study, and comparisons with the literature, show interspecific variability in the metabolic rate and feeding physiology between species, but generally oysters, soft shell clams, and hard clams were less impacted during the heatwave compared with the blue mussels. Additionally, only the scope for growth of mussels declined throughout this experiment, which may be explained by cumulative heat stress, as temperatures experienced during this heatwave exceeded the thermal tolerance limits of mussels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants cultivated in areas of the world with acidic soils exhibit difficulties adapting to low phosphorus (P) availability, along with aluminum (Al) toxicity, causing yield loss. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of an increase in P supply level on the agronomic, phenological, and physiological performance of two common bean breeding lines grown in acidic soil, with low fertility and under high temperature conditions, in a screenhouse. A randomized complete block (RCB) design was used under a factorial arrangement (five levels of P × 2 genotypes) for a total of 10 treatments with four replications. The factors considered in the experiment were: (i) five P supply levels (kg ha−1): four levels of P0, P15, P30, and P45 through the application of rock phosphate (RP), and one P level supplied through the application of organic matter (PSOM) corresponding to 25 kg P ha−1 (P25); and (ii) two advanced bean lines (BFS 10 and SEF10). Both bean lines were grown under the combined stress conditions of high temperatures (day and night maximum temperatures of 42.5 °C/31.1 °C, respectively) and acidic soil. By increasing the supply of P, a significant effect was found, indicating an increase in the growth and development of different vegetative organs, as well as physiological efficiency in photosynthesis and photosynthate remobilization, which resulted in higher grain yield in both bean lines evaluated (BFS 10 and SEF10). The adaptive responses of the two bean lines were found to be related to phenological adjustments (days to flowering and physiological maturity; stomatal development), as well as to heat dissipation strategies in the form of heat (NPQ) or unregulated energy (qN) that contributed to greater agronomic performance. We found that, to some extent, increased P supply alleviated the negative effects of high temperature on the growth and development of the reproductive organs of bean lines. Both bean lines (BFS 10 and SEF 10) showed adaptive attributes suited to the combined stress conditions of high temperature and acidic soil, and these two lines can serve as useful parents in a bean breeding program to develop multiple stress tolerant cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Water deficit is one of the most significant abiotic factors affecting rice and agricultural production worldwide. In hybrid rice, cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is an important technique for creating high-yielding crop based on heterosis. The phytohormone kinetin (Kin) regulates cell division in plant during the early stages of grain formation, as well as flow assimilation and osmotic regulation under water stress. The present study performed to estimate the effects of irrigation intervals (irrigation each six days (I6), nine days (I9), twelve days (I12) and fifteen days (I15) against continuous flooding (CF, each three days)) and kinetin exogenously application (control, 15 mg L−1 and 30 mg L−1) on hybrid rice (L1, IR69625A; L2, G46A and R, Giza 178 R) seed production. Results: Leaves traits (Chlorophyll content (CHC), relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (SC), Leaf temperature (LT) and transpiration rate (TR)), floral traits such as style length (SL) and total stigma length (TSL), in addition to root traits (i.e., root length (RL), root volume (RV), root: shoot ratio (RSR), root thickness (RT), root xylem vessels number (RXVN) and root xylem vessel area (RXVA) were evaluated and a significant enhancement in most traits was observed. Applying 30 mg L−1 kinetin significantly and positively enhanced all growth, floral and roots traits (RV and RXVA recorded the most increased values by 14.8% and 23.9%, respectively) under prolonging irrigation intervals, in comparison to non-treated plants. Conclusions: Subsequently, spraying kinetin exogenously on foliar could be an alternative method to reduce the harmful influences of water deficiency during seed production in hybrid rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Active citizen participation, especially as collective prosumers in energy communities or as individual prosumers, is vital for a sustainable energy transition. As such, it is explicitly supported by European Union policy. It is the aim of policy-makers that a large proportion of the residential energy demand will be met in this way. At present, there is limited analysis on the macroeconomic impacts of such an increase in prosumers. In this study, we develop and apply an approach for assessing the macroeconomic impacts of transformation pathways, which depict potential developments of individual and collective prosumers. Results: The paper methodologically demonstrates how to macroeconomically assess scenarios and transformation pathways originating from cross-impact balance analyses by means of an input–output analysis. In particular, it is shown how qualitative data on future developments can be transformed into financial flows so as to enable an input–output analysis. Based on the assessment of two transformation pathways, our main findings suggest that there might be positive regional and national effects on net value added and employment as well as reductions in CO2 emissions. We find that the scale of the effects strongly depends on the spatial distribution of heterogeneous households and the underlying economic structure. Conclusions: Our study represents a methodological advancement by showing how scenarios and transformation pathways can be assessed in terms of their macroeconomic consequences. This study shows that energy communities and individual prosumers might generate positive effects on value added and on employment. Given that households fix their energy supply options for decades, political decisions to support the energy transition in the residential sector should be taken as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predators can affect parasite–host interactions when directly preying on hosts or their parasites. However, predators may also have non‐consumptive indirect effects on parasite–host interactions when hosts adjust their behaviour or physiology in response to predator presence.In this study, we examined how chemical cues from a predatory marine crab affect the transmission of a parasitic trematode from its first (periwinkle) to its second (mussel) intermediate host.Laboratory experiments revealed that chemical cues from crabs lead to a threefold increase in the release of trematode cercariae from periwinkles as a result of increased periwinkle activity. This positive effect on transmission was contrasted by a 10‐fold reduction in cercarial infection rates in the second intermediate host when we experimentally exposed mussels to cercariae and predator cues. The low infection rates were caused by a substantial reduction in mussel filtration activity in the presence of predator cues, preventing cercariae from entering the mussels. To assess the combined net effect of both processes, we conducted a transmission experiment between infected periwinkles and uninfected mussels. Infection levels of mussels in the treatments with crab cues were sevenfold lower than in mussels without crab chemical cues. This suggests that predation risk effects on mussel susceptibility can counteract the elevated parasite release from first intermediate hosts, with negative net effects on parasite transmission.These experiments highlight that predation risk effects on parasite transmission can have opposing directions at different stages of the parasite's life cycle. Such complex non‐consumptive predation risk effects on parasite transmission may constitute an important indirect mechanism affecting prevalence and distribution patterns of parasites in different hosts across their life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detrimental effects of drought have adverse impacts on the crop yield as global climatic changes put unusual pressure on water resources. The challenge of attaining water security is key for the sustainable development of crops. Zinc (Zn2+) is an important nutrient that helps to alleviate drought stress by modulating the growth and yield of crops. Recently, zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) have been used as a novel strategy for the fertilization of crops. This study was specifically developed to observe the comparative effects of ZnNPs and conventional zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) at diverse concentration levels (0.01%, 0.05%, and 0.1%) that could effectively decrease the injurious effect of drought stress on turnip plants. In experiments on the golden turnip variety, drought stress caused a significant reduction in all growth and biochemical attributes, and increased antioxidant enzymatic activity. In a comparison with the conventional fertilizer ZnSO4, the foliar application of 0.1% ZnNPs significantly improved plant height, biomass, root/turnip length, turnip diameter, antioxidant defense system, secondary metabolites, and photosynthetic pigments in the leaves under drought stress. Based on the collected results, it is suggested that the foliar application of ZnNPs, instead of ZnSO4, under drought stress is helpful in increasing the growth and yield of turnip plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology has become a popular tool in provenance studies during the past two decades. However, similar zircon crystallization ages from different source regions greatly hamper the interpretation of sediment dispersal and recycling processes. The Alleghenian–Ouachita–Marathon (AOM) foreland and vicinity in North America is a region where some dominant DZ age groups could come from both the southern Appalachians in the eastern United States and the Gondwanan terranes in Mexico. In this study, we present 1045 new DZ U–Pb ages and 81 DZ core–rim age pairs in lower Permian sandstone in the Permian Basin and Miocene sandstone in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). These new data were integrated with published DZ single U–Pb age and core–rim ages from syn‐ to post‐orogenic strata in the Permian Basin, Marathon foldbelt, southern Appalachian foreland basin and eastern GOM to interpret the sediment‐dispersal models in the AOM foreland and eastern GOM. Our models show that during the Leonardian Stage, sediments derived from the Appalachians were first delivered to the US midcontinent and then recycled to the Permian Basin; during the Miocene, sediment from the Appalachians fluxed to the eastern GOM, with no longshore mixing from the western GOM. These models based on the integration of single U–Pb and core–rim ages are consistent with published results that used other methods, including zircon single U–Pb age, zircon Hf isotopic data, zircon (U–Th)/He age, sedimentology and stratigraphy. Our results demonstrate that although some limitations exist, zircon core–rim age is a powerful tool, adding an extra constraint on the interpretation of sediment‐dispersal systems. This tool is particularly applicable to the post‐orogenic stage, during which the sediment pathways are more complicated because of the dominant input from distal sources. Insights gained in this study imply that this novel strategy of using core and rim ages could be integrated with other methods to better understand sediment dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are anaerobic bacteria that form biofilm and induce corrosion on various material surfaces. The quorum sensing (QS) system that employs acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-type QS molecules primarily govern biofilm formation. Studies on SRB have reported the presence of AHL, but no AHL synthase have been annotated in SRB so far. In this computational study, we used a combination of data mining, multiple sequence alignment (MSA), homology modeling and docking to decode a putative AHL synthase in the model SRB, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH). Through data mining, we shortlisted 111 AHL synthase genes. Conserved domain analysis of 111 AHL synthase genes generated a consensus sequence. Subsequent MSA of the consensus sequence with DvH genome indicated that DVU_2486 (previously uncharacterized protein from acetyltransferase family) is the gene encoding for AHL synthase. Homology modeling revealed the existence of seven α-helices and six β sheets in the DvH AHL synthase. The amalgamated study of hydrophobicity, binding energy, and tunnels and cavities revealed that Leu99, Trp104, Arg139, Trp97, and Tyr36 are the crucial amino acids that govern the catalytic center of this putative synthase. Identifying AHL synthase in DvH would provide more comprehensive knowledge on QS mechanism and help design strategies to control biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root system architecture is important for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) adaptability to diverse environments. Beans employ complex adaptive root mechanisms for coping with multiple stresses in production environments. Understanding genetic control of root traits is central to improvement of common bean for adaptation to marginal environments. The objectives of this study were to (i) determine combining ability of root and agronomic traits and (ii) estimate the heritability and genetic correlation of root and agronomic traits in common bean. Four bean lines with superior root traits were crossed with four locally adapted varieties in a North Carolina II mating scheme to generate 16 crosses. The 16 F1s were selfed and advanced to F2 generation. Eight parents and their F2 progenies were evaluated in an alpha‐Lattice design with two replications. General and specific combing ability mean squares were significant (p ≤.05) for all traits measured. General predictability ratios ranged from.47 to.68 across locations suggesting that both additive and non‐additive gene action modulate root traits and seed yield. Positive and significant (p ≤.05) phenotypic and genetic correlations revealed significant association between root traits and yield. Moderate to high heritability estimates of between.43 and.67 were realized. Such estimates point to possible deployment of a successful selection programme. Genotype AFR398 displayed significant positive GCA effects among its crosses for both root and agronomic traits hence a potential candidate genotype for inclusion in a bean genetic improvement programme for marginal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genotype-by-environment (GEI) analysis guides the recommendation of best-performing crop genotypes and production environments. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of GEI on seed yield in tepary bean for genotype recommendation and cultivation in drought-prone environments. Forty-five genetically diverse tepary bean genotypes were evaluated under non-stressed and drought-stressed conditions for two seasons using a 9 × 5 alpha lattice design with three replications in four testing environments. Data were collected on seed yield (SY) and days to physiological maturity (DTM) and computed using a combined analysis of variance, the additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), the best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs), the yield stability index (YSI), the weighted average of absolute scores (WAASB) index, the multi-trait stability index (MTSI), and a superiority measure. AMMI analysis revealed a significant (p < 0.001) GEI, accounting for 13.82% of the total variation. Genotype performance was variable across the test environments, allowing the selection of best-suited candidates for the target production environment. The environment accounted for a substantial yield variation of 52.62%. The first and second interaction principal component axes accounted for 94.8 and 4.7% of the total variation in the AMMI-2 model, respectively, of surmountable variation due to GEI. The AMMI 2 model family was sufficient to guide the selection of high-yielding and stable genotypes. Based on best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs), yield stability index (YSI), superiority measure (Pi), and broad adaptation, the following tepary bean genotypes were identified as high-yielding and suited for drought-prone environments: G40138, G40148, G40140, G40135, and G40158. The selected tepary bean genotypes are recommended for cultivation and breeding in Malawi or other related agroecologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an optimized differential evolution algorithm based on kinematic limitations and structural complexity constraints to solve the trajectory tracking problem for a mobile manipulator robot. The traditional method mainly involves obtaining the speed of the control variable based on the Jacobian inverse or linearization of the robot's kinematic model, which cannot avoid the singularity position and/or self-collision phenomena. To address these problems, we directly design an optimized differential evolution algorithm to solve the trajectory planning problem for mobile manipulator robots. First, we analyze various constraints on the actual movement and describe them specifically using various equations or inequalities, including non-holonomic constraints on the mobile platform, the physical limitations of the driving motors, self-collision avoidance restriction, and smoothly traversing the singularity position. Next, we re-define the trajectory tracking of a mobile manipulator robot as an optimization problem under multiple constraints, including the trajectory tracking task and various constraints simultaneously. Then, we propose a new differential evolution (DE) algorithm by optimizing some critical operations to solve the optimization problem, such as improving the population's distribution, limiting the population distribution range, and adding a success index. Additionally, we design two simple trajectories and two complex trajectories to determine the performance of the optimized DE algorithm in solving the trajectory tracking problem. The results demonstrate that the optimized DE algorithm can effectively realize the high-precision trajectory tracking task of a differential wheeled mobile manipulator robot through the consideration of kinematic limitations and self-collision avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the concept of operation and methods of using laser trackers in robotics. So far, a small amount of research on software for sharing and exchanging data with trackers has been done. As a result of the identified demand, a proprietary application for communication between the laser tracker and robots, as well as other software, was developed. The developed solution is based on the software development kit (SDK) provided by Leica and the Python language. The structure and functioning of the developed software were described in detail. The software meets the goals set at the beginning of the design process regarding online communication with the tracker and using the universal, popular TCP/IP standard. The functioning of the developed software was shown in the paper in a few examples related to manipulating robots and mobile robots. The capabilities of the developed software were described, as well as the planned work on its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of two different surface matrices, that is, zeolite‐Y and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), on the electrocatalytic ability of Ni(OH)2 combined with MnO2 has been studied. The Ni and Mn loaded in different ratio exhibited different current density with respect to the change in the nature of support. The MnO2−Ni(OH)2 catalyst decorated like a fish in a net‐stock at the interface of the zeolite‐Y and the MWCNT with high Ni(II) content provided the highest current density of 3.8 Amg−1 and 3.6 Amg−1 with platinum and graphitic rod as counter electrode, respectively. The study revealed that both the concentration of the Ni(II) as well as the nature of the support influenced the electrochemical behaviour of MnO2−Ni(OH)2. The electrochemical surface area as well as the durability of the catalyst having two different supports showed higher values in comparison to those in single matrix. The plot of current density vs. square root of scan rate showed diffusion control methanol oxidation process. The results predicted that the MnO2−Ni(OH)2 catalyst containing both zeolite‐Y and MWCNT surface indicated that under the highly basic condition it can withstand for long period without significant loss in current density during the methanol oxidation reaction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty common bean accessions of multiple genetic background trait attribution regarding drought tolerance were selected based on mean yield performance from an earlier field test evaluation conducted using augmented RCBD. The various bean genotypes were further evaluated with phosphorus and water treatment interactions at two different levels for each factor. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 2 × 40 factorial using RCBD with three replications under screen-house conditions at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kumasi-Ghana. The objective was to select drought- and low phosphorus-tolerant common bean genotypes; which are suitable for tropical climatic conditions. The results showed that common bean with drought and heat trait tolerance survived, developed flowers and podded with seeds to physiological maturity, whilst genotypes with no heat trait tolerance had impaired reproductive structural development and growth disruption; thus, flowers could not develop into pods with seeds. This reproductive developmental anomaly was due to prevailing average daytime and nighttime high temperatures of 35.45 °C and 29.95 °C, respectively, recorded during the growth period, which reduced pollen fertility. Among the 478 experimental bean plants (two plants were missing) analyzed, 141 (29.5%) did not flower, 168 (35.18%) had their pods dropped whilst 99 (20.7%) podded with seeds to achieve physiological maturity. The podded-seed bean genotypes were of the SEF-line pedigrees, which were shown to be heat and drought-tolerant. Meanwhile, bean accessions with SMC, SMN and SMR code prefixes did not pod into seed despite possessing drought-tolerant traits. The effects of interactions between phosphorus and water treatments on the root characteristics of drought-tolerant common bean were as follows: root length, root surface area, average root diameter and root volume growth extensions doubled dimensionally under optimum conditions (P2W2) compared to stressed conditions (P1W1). The results from the present study identified four SEF-bean genotypes, namely, SEF15, SEF 47, SEF 60 and SEF 62, as superior yield performers, even under low soil phosphorus and in extreme high temperature conditions. Therefore, breeding for the selection of drought- and low-P-tolerant common bean for tropical agro-ecological environments must also consider concomitant heat stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global climate change has dramatically impacted the ocean, severe temperature elevation and a decline in primary productivity has frequently occurred, which has affected the structure of coastal biomes. In this study, the sex-specific responses to temperature change and food availability in mussels were determined in terms of digestive performance. The thick-shelled mussels Mytilus coruscus (male and female) were exposed to different temperature and nutritional conditions for 30 days. The results showed that the digestive enzymes of mussels were significantly affected by temperature, food, sex, and their interactions. High temperature (30°C) and starvation significantly decreased amylase, lysozyme, and pepsase activities of female mussels, while trypsin and trehalase did not change significantly at the experimental end. The activity of amylase, trypsin, and trehalase was significantly reduced in males at high temperature (30°C) under starvation treatment, but high temperature (30°C) elevated pepsase. Unsurprisingly, starvation caused the reduction of lysozyme and pepsase under 25°C in males. Amylase, lipase, and trehalase were higher in female mussels compared with males, while the enzymatic activities of lysozyme, pepsase, and trypsin were higher in male mussels than females. Principal component analysis showed that different enzyme activity indexes were separated in male and female mussels, indicating that male and female mussels exhibited significantly different digestive abilities under temperature and food condition change. The study clarified sex-specific response difference in mussel digestive enzymes under warming and starvation and provided guidance for the development of mussel aquaculture (high temperature management and feeding strategy) under changing marine environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feeding activity of bivalves is understood to change in response to a suite of environmental conditions, including food quantity and quality. It has been hypothesized that, by varying feeding rates in response to the available diet, bivalves may be able to maintain relatively stable ingestion rates, allowing them to have constant energy uptake despite changes in food availability. The purpose of this study was to determine if the blue mussel Mytilus edulis responds to fluctuations in natural diets by changing feeding rates to maintain constant ingestion rates. Three four-day experiments were conducted to measure pumping and ingestion rates in response to natural fluctuations in food concentration (chlorophyll a). Experiments were conducted in a flow-through system over the spring season in south-western Norway. Pumping and ingestion rates were measured with high temporal resolution (every 20 min), which permitted the observation of the intra- and interindividual variability of feeding rates. Results show pumping rates varying within individuals over 4 days, and some individuals pumping on average at high rates (~5 Lh−1), and some at low (~1 Lh−1), despite being held in similar conditions. The pumping rate was generally not related to changes in food availability, and population-level ingestion rates increased with increasing food availability. These results suggest that, for this population of M. edulis, feeding rates may not vary with the available diet to produce constant ingestion over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress is one of the major yield limiting factors in grain legumes. The severity and intensity of drought stress are predicted to increase in the future. Drought stress in grain legumes at any stage causes significant yield reduction owing to a decrease in stand establishment (misfunctioning of germination enzymes like proteases and amylases), and nutrient uptake (decreasing water use efficiency), growth (disrupting cell division and leaf expansion), and yield formation (inhibiting photosynthesis). In this review, the major challenges of drought stress for grain legumes as germination and stand establishment, growth and development, light-harvesting and carbon fixation, yield formation, grain quality, and nutrient uptake are discussed. The options for crop improvement (breeding, OMICs, genomic, and transgenic) and crop management (agronomic options) have also been discussed. The crop improvement strategies as germplasm screening, using proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and use of biotechnological approaches along with crop management such as seed enhancement, adjustment of sowing time and planting geometry, soil amendments, and application of plant growth promoting microbes can help improve the field performance and productivity of grain legumes under drought stress. Water use can be economized with the use of information on soil water balance and crop phenological models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chemie Ingenieur Technik (CIT) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyzes smallholder farmers' decisions to adopt beans with higher levels of dietary iron developed through a conventional breeding technique called biofortification. We approach this study by applying spatial econometric techniques to estimate neighborhood influence and to determine the factors driving the adoption of iron‐biofortified beans (IBB). We employ a cross‐sectional, nationally representative survey of bean producing households from 2015 bean growing season B in Rwanda, and present results for growers of both bush and climbing varieties of beans. The results show geographic diffusion of iron bean planting material occurs among neighboring farmers that exhibit interdependent decision‐making patterns, as well as similar characteristics relative to the group. Some policy implications can be drawn from the results. First, a differentiated geographical targeting strategy for bush and climbing bean varieties as a function of farmer and farm characteristics should increase iron bean adoption rates. Second, strengthening partnerships with delivery agents and extensionists should stimulate the adoption of IBB varieties. And finally, technology‐promotion programs that consider progressive farmers and strengthen social interactions and group activities among peer networks should increase the spread of information and diffusion of IBB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate trajectory tracking is a critical property of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) due to system nonlinearities, under-actuated properties and constraints. Specifically, the use of unmanned rotorcrafts with accuracy trajectory tracking controllers in dynamic environments has the potential to improve the fields of environment monitoring, safety, search and rescue, border surveillance, geology and mining, agriculture industry, and traffic control. Monitoring operations in dynamic environments produce significant complications with respect to accuracy and obstacles in the surrounding environment and, in many cases, it is difficult to perform even with state-of-the-art controllers. This work presents a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) with collision avoidance for hexacopters' trajectory tracking in dynamic environments, as well as shows a comparative study between the accuracies of the Euler–Lagrange formulation and the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) models in order to find the precise representation of the system dynamics. The proposed controller includes limits on the maneuverability velocities, system dynamics, obstacles and the tracking error in the optimization control problem (OCP). In order to show the good performance of this control proposal, computational simulations and real experiments were carried out using a six rotary-wind unmanned aerial vehicle (hexacopter—DJI MATRICE 600). The experimental results prove the good performance of the predictive scheme and its ability to regenerate the optimal control policy. Simulation results expand the proposed controller in simulating highly dynamic environments that showing the scalability of the controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an indispensable grain crop, foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is becoming a functional food in China because of its abundant nutrients. However, low rainfall and uneven precipitation limit its growth and production, especially in northwest China. Understanding the root phenotypic characteristics of foxtail millet is critical for utilizing its root characteristics to breed new millet varieties with improved resource-use efficiency and better adaptation to harsh environments. The present study characterized the variability of the root morphological traits at the seedling stage of 65 millet genotypes selected from four ecological regions across seven provinces in China. The plants were assessed after 21 days of growth in the germination pouches, and 48 root and shoot traits were measured. The results showed a large variation among the genotypes in the growth and functional traits. Among the measured traits, root dry mass, maximal root length, root surface area, and root tissue density contributed the most to the principal components. Root surface area ratio and root volume ratio were significantly correlated with root length ratio, respectively, while root length density and root weight density were negatively correlated with root diameter (p < 0.01). Shoot dry mass, root number, root length, root dry mass, and total dry mass were closely correlated with each other. Root length and root surface area in each 5-cm sections decreased from the top to the bottom along the root system. Among the four ecological regions, genotypes from the early maturing area of northwest China had the greatest root length, shoot dry mass, root dry mass, and root density, while those from the early maturing area of northwest China generally had the largest root system, with about 2.2 times more root length and dry weight than those from the early maturing area of northeast China (the shortest root system). The genotypic variability in root traits and correlations among shoot and root traits form a basis for breeding new millet cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environments shared with humans, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) should be designed with human-aware motion-planning skills. Even when AMRs can effectively avoid humans, only a handful of studies have evaluated the human perception of mobile robots. To establish appropriate non-verbal communication, robot movement should be legible and should consider the human element. In this paper, a study that evaluates humans' perceptions of different AMR courtesy behaviors at industrial facilities, particularly at crossing areas, is presented. To evaluate the proposed kinesic courtesy cues, we proposed five tests (four proposed cues—stop, deceleration, retreating, and retreating and moving aside—and one control test) with a set of participants taken two by two. We assessed three different metrics, namely, the participants' self-reported trust in AMR behavior, the legibility of the courtesy cues in the participants' opinions, and the behavioral analysis of the participants related to each courtesy cue tested. The retreating courtesy cue, regarding the legibility of the AMR behavior, and the decelerate courtesy cue, regarding the behavioral analysis of the participants' signs of hesitation, are better perceived from the forward view. The results obtained regarding the participants' self-reported trust showed no significant differences in the two participant perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has two major origins of domestication, Andean and Mesoamerican, which contribute to the high diversity of growth type, pod and seed characteristics. The climbing growth habit is associated with increased days to flowering (DF), seed iron concentration (SdFe), nitrogen fixation, and yield. However, breeding efforts in climbing beans have been limited and independent from bush type beans. To advance climbing bean breeding, we carried out genome-wide association studies and genomic predictions using 1,869 common bean lines belonging to five breeding panels representing both gene pools and all growth types. The phenotypic data were collected from 17 field trials and were complemented with 16 previously published trials. Overall, 38 significant marker-trait associations were identified for growth habit, 14 for DF, 13 for 100 seed weight, three for SdFe, and one for yield. Except for DF, the results suggest a common genetic basis for traits across all panels and growth types. Seven QTL associated with growth habits were confirmed from earlier studies and four plausible candidate genes for SdFe and 100 seed weight were newly identified. Furthermore, the genomic prediction accuracy for SdFe and yield in climbing beans improved up to 8.8% when bush-type bean lines were included in the training population. In conclusion, a large population from different gene pools and growth types across multiple breeding panels increased the power of genomic analyses and provides a solid and diverse germplasm base for genetic improvement of common bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The backgrounds for the establishment of an Institute of Silicate Research in Germany after World War I are outlined. The focus of research changed during the regime of the National Socialists, in particular after the outbreak of World War II. Publications are listed giving an insight into the research topics in the 20s and 30s. Furthermore, projects are outlined in conjunction with military applications. Finally, the destiny of scientists is described who had to quit the Institute due to political or racial reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental - Agriambi is the property of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The mesopores formation in zeolite crystals has long been considered to occur through the stochastic hydrolysis and removal of framework atoms. Here, we investigate the NH4F etching of representative small, medium, and large pore zeolites and show that the zeolite dissolution behavior, therefore the mesopore formation probability, is dominated by zeolite architecture at both nano‐ and sub‐nano scales. At the nano‐scale, the hidden mosaics of zeolite structure predetermine the spatio‐temporal dissolution of the framework, hence the size, shape, location, and orientation of the mesopores. At the sub‐nano scale, the intrinsic micropore size and connectivity jointly determine the diffusivity of reactant and dissolved products. As a result, the dissolution propensity varies from removing small framework fragments to consuming nanodomains and up to full digestion of the outmost part of zeolite crystals. The new knowledge will lead to new understanding of zeolite dissolution behavior and new adapted strategies for tailoring hierarchical zeolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change, causing large parts of the world to become drier with longer drought periods, severely affects production of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The bean is worldwide the most produced and consumed food grain legume in the human diet. In common beans, adapted to moderate climates, exposure to drought/heat stress not only results in significant reduction of bean yield but also the nutritional value. This review explores the contribution of common beans to food and nutrient security as well as health. Also discussed is the existing knowledge of the impact of drought/heat stress, associated with a changing climate, specifically on iron (Fe) and phytic acid (PA) that are both among the most important mineral and anti‐nutritional compounds found in common beans. Further discussed is how the application of modern "omics" tools contributes in common beans to higher drought/heat tolerance as well as to higher Fe and reduced PA content. Finally, possible future actions are discussed to develop new common bean varieties with both improved drought/heat tolerance and higher mineral (Fe) content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict global warming impacts on parasitism, we should describe the thermal tolerance of all players in host–parasite systems. Complex life-cycle parasites such as trematodes are of particular interest since they can drive complex ecological changes. This study evaluates the net response to temperature of the infective larval stage of Himasthla elongata, a parasite inhabiting the southwestern Baltic Sea. The thermal sensitivity of (i) the infected and uninfected first intermediate host (Littorina littorea) and (ii) the cercarial emergence, survival, self-propelling, encystment, and infection capacity to the second intermediate host (Mytilus edulis sensu lato) were examined. We found that infection by the trematode rendered the gastropod more susceptible to elevated temperatures representing warm summer events in the region. At 22 °C, cercarial emergence and infectivity were at their optimum while cercarial survival was shortened, narrowing the time window for successful mussel infection. Faster out-of-host encystment occurred at increasing temperatures. After correcting the cercarial emergence and infectivity for the temperature-specific gastropod survival, we found that warming induces net adverse effects on the trematode transmission to the bivalve host. The findings suggest that gastropod and cercariae mortality, as a tradeoff for the emergence and infectivity, will hamper the possibility for trematodes to flourish in a warming ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting the implications of ongoing ocean climate warming demands a better understanding of how short‐term thermal variability impacts marine ectotherms, particularly at beyond‐optimal average conditions during summer heatwaves.Using a globally important model species, the blue mussel Mytilus, in a 5‐week‐long experiment, we (a) assessed growth performance traits under 12 scenarios, consisting of four thermal averages (18.5, 21, 23.5 and 26℃) imposed as constant or daily fluctuating regimes with amplitudes of 2 or 4℃. Additionally, we conducted a short‐term assay using different mussel individuals to (b) test for the species capacity for suppression and recovery of metabolic performance traits (feeding and aerobic respiration) when exposed to a 1‐day thermal fluctuation regime (16.8–30.5℃). Using this high‐resolution data, we (c) generated short‐term thermal metabolic performance curves to predict and explain growth responses observed in the long‐term experiment.We found that daily high‐amplitude thermal cycles (4℃) improved mussel growth when fluctuations were imposed around an extreme average temperature of 26℃, representing end‐of‐century heatwaves. In contrast, thermal cycles negatively affected mussel growth at a less extreme average temperature of 23.5℃, resembling current peak summer temperature scenarios. These results suggest that fluctuations ameliorate heat stress impacts only at critically high average temperatures. The short‐term assay demonstrated that during the warming phase, animals stopped feeding between 24 and 30℃ while gradually suppressing respiration. In the subsequent cooling phase, feeding and respiration partially and fully recovered to pre‐heating rates respectively. Furthermore, nonlinear averaging of short‐term feeding responses (upscaling) well‐predicted longer term growth responses to fluctuations.Our findings suggest that fluctuations can be beneficial to or detrimental for the long‐term performance of ectothermic animals, depending on the fluctuations' average and amplitude. Furthermore, the observed effects can be linked to fluctuation‐mediated metabolic suppression and recovery. In a general framework, we propose various hypothetical scenarios of fluctuation impacts on ectotherm performance considering inter‐ or intra‐species variability in heat sensitivity. Our research highlights the need for studying metabolic performance in relation to cyclic abiotic fluctuations to advance the understanding of climate change impacts on aquatic systems. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi‐natural habitats (SNHs) are becoming increasingly scarce in modern agricultural landscapes. This may reduce natural ecosystem services such as pest control with its putatively positive effect on crop production. In agreement with other studies, we recently reported wheat yield reductions at field borders which were linked to the type of SNH and the distance to the border. In this experimental landscape‐wide study, we asked whether these yield losses have a biotic origin while analyzing fungal seed and fungal leaf pathogens, herbivory of cereal leaf beetles, and weed cover as hypothesized mediators between SNHs and yield. We established experimental winter wheat plots of a single variety within conventionally managed wheat fields at fixed distances either to a hedgerow or to an in‐field kettle hole. For each plot, we recorded the fungal infection rate on seeds, fungal infection and herbivory rates on leaves, and weed cover. Using several generalized linear mixed‐effects models as well as a structural equation model, we tested the effects of SNHs at a field scale (SNH type and distance to SNH) and at a landscape scale (percentage and diversity of SNHs within a 1000‐m radius). In the dry year of 2016, we detected one putative biotic culprit: Weed cover was negatively associated with yield values at a 1‐m and 5‐m distance from the field border with a SNH. None of the fungal and insect pests, however, significantly affected yield, neither solely nor depending on type of or distance to a SNH. However, the pest groups themselves responded differently to SNH at the field scale and at the landscape scale. Our findings highlight that crop losses at field borders may be caused by biotic culprits; however, their negative impact seems weak and is putatively reduced by conventional farming practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop production is threatened by low phosphorus (P) availability and weed interference. Obtaining plant genotypes that can utilize Phosphite (Phi) as fertilizer can supplement phosphates (Pi) while providing an environmentally friendly means of weed control. The study was conducted to determine the tolerance and enzymatic behavior of five potato genotypes to PO3. Explants were regenerated in vitro from two nodal cuttings and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium under controlled conditions for 30 days. Matured plantlets were subcultured for 20 days in MS medium containing (0.25, 0.5 mM) Phi and Pi and No-P (-Phi + -Pi). The results showed significant genotypic variation in tolerance indices among the five genotypes. Atlantic showed greater tolerance to Phi, with highest total root length (50.84%), root projected area (75.09%), root surface area (68.94%), root volume (33.49%) and number of root forks (75.66%). Phi induced an increasing trend in the levels of hydrogen peroxide in the genotypes with the least effect in Atlantic. The comprehensive evaluation analysis confirmed the tolerance of Atlantic genotype with this ranking; Atlantic, Longshu3, Qingshu9, Longshu6 and Gannong2. Antioxidant enzyme activities and proline content also increased significantly under Phi and No-P treatments. The results suggested that potato genotypes with larger root systems may be more tolerant to Phi than genotypes with smaller root systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assembly tasks executed by a robot have been studied broadly. Robot assembly applications in industry are achievable by a well-structured environment, where the parts to be assembled are located in the working space by fixtures. Recent changes in manufacturing requirements, due to unpredictable demanded products, push the factories to seek new smart solutions that can autonomously recover from failure conditions. In this way, new dual arm robot systems have been studied to design and explore applications based on its dexterity. It promises the possibility to get rid of fixtures in assembly tasks, but using less fixtures increases the uncertainty on the location of the components in the working space. It also increases the possibility of collisions during the assembly sequence. Under these considerations, adding perception such as force/torque sensors have been done to produce useful data to perform control actions. Unfortunately, the interaction forces between mating parts produced non-linear behavior. Consequently, machine learning algorithms have been considered an alternative tool to avoid the non-linearity. In this work we introduce an assembly strategy for an industrial dual arm robot based on the combination of a discrete event controller and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to solve the peg-in-hole assembly. Our results show the difference between the use of DNN with one and with two force/torque sensors during the assembly task and demonstrate a 30% increase in the assembly success ratio when using a double force/torque sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars for cover cropping have remained unchanged in the western United States over the past century. Although breeding efforts have improved grain production across much of the world, improvement of the crop for cover crop applications (e.g., biomass production at the flowering stage) remains understudied. Therefore, a trial of nine newly developed faba bean lines from the USDA‐ARS and four commercial checks ('Bell Bean', 'V4', 'V5', and 'Windsor') was established to evaluate cover crop traits across six diverse testing environments. The experiment revealed significant genotype × environment interactions for winter vigor, nitrogen (N) concentration, and aboveground N yield. Significant genotypic variation was observed for important cover crop traits including winter vigor, spring vigor, aboveground biomass, and aboveground N yield, whereas variation for percentage of N derived from the atmosphere was primarily determined by the testing environment. The study also identified a strong association between early plant vigor and aboveground biomass (r =.71), which offers potential increases in breeding efficiencies. In addition, advanced faba bean lines from the USDA‐ARS were shown to produce twice the biomass of Bell Bean across testing environments, and faba bean line PS18301 produced at least 20% more aboveground N yield in five out of the six environments than the conventionally used cover crop cultivars Windsor and Bell Bean. Faba bean lines in this study may be used by cover crop breeders as parent materials. Core Ideas: Breeding efforts have potential to improve faba bean materials for cover cropping.Significant genotype x environment interactions were observed for many cover crop traits.Trait–trait associations may improve breeding efficiency for cover crop faba bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea level is thought to be the primary driver of alternating deposition of carbonate and siliciclastic sediment in shelf settings, with carbonates dominating during transgressive/highstands and siliciclastics during lowstands. Although sediment supply is critically important for shelf‐margin growth in siliciclastic systems, few studies demonstrate its impact on mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic systems. The Permian Basin in Texas, United States, provides an opportunity to investigate the basin evolution regarding the source, sediment routing and particularly shelf/slope growth from syn‐ to postorogenic phases during alternating carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentation. Published detrital zircon data show that the proportion of orogen‐related sources decreased significantly from an earliest Permian synorogenic phase (ca. 298 Ma) to a Leonardian (ca. 280–271 Ma) postorogenic phase, in concert with a grain‐size change from fine‐ to medium‐grained sand to silt. Although along‐strike lateral variabilities exist on the shelf margin, the shelf‐margin evolution characteristics show a significant difference among the Northern Shelf, Eastern Shelf and Central Basin Platform. The synorogenic Eastern Shelf exhibits a significant higher progradation rate than does the postorogenic Northern Shelf. The progradation and aggradation ratio of siliciclastic‐rich intervals in the Eastern Shelf is significantly higher than those of carbonate‐rich intervals in the Eastern Shelf and carbonate‐ or siliciclastic‐rich intervals in the Northern Shelf. In contrast, the Central Basin Platform, with no siliciclastic sediment supply, records almost no progradation regardless of orogenic phases. There is an increase in slope gradient with decreasing sediment supply during this second‐order sequence from the Permian Cisuralian Series to the end of the Guadalupian Series. This study demonstrates that tectonically driven siliciclastic sediment supply was the main mechanism controlling the shelf and slope evolution in alternating siliciclastic and carbonate deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing of large-scale structural components is still dominated by manual labor in many sectors of the modern composite industry. Efforts are being made to establish an automated layup technology for complex structural elements. Processing dry non-crimp fiber fabrics (NCF) offers great cost opportunities and high deposition rates, compared to prepreg-based technologies like automated fiber placement (AFP). Here, the fabric architecture is considered during the draping of the plane textile on curved surfaces. In this paper, the development of a draping unit for balancing fabric tension and consolidating continuously across the layup width is presented. We introduce a geometrical process model to achieve a fabric-friendly draping of the used unidirectional NCF. The shape of the resulting draping front depends on the surface geometry, the shearing of the previously laid-up textile, and the positioning of the material feed. To consolidate the fabric at the altering draping front in an automated layup process, the shape of the continuous consolidation element can be controlled by the elongation of serial soft actuators, manipulated by parallel robot kinematics. The shape replication ability of the draping unit is promising for the implementation of a continuous, fabric-friendly draping process for complex surface geometries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a powder metallurgy technique that employs the use of fast sintering kinetics to produce final consolidated components in a matter of minutes. In order to use blended powders in SPS to obtain fully alloyed parts, diffusion during sintering must be understood. An investigation into the effects of current on the diffusion of copper and nickel was performed using SPS. Bulk specimens were used to generate diffusion couples in SPS in alternating orientations with respect to the direction of the current. Control samples were produced using a horizontal insertion vacuum furnace. Experiments were performed at temperatures between 850 °C and 1000° C for 3h. Concentration profiles were obtained by the use of both energy-dispersive spectroscopy and a Monte Carlo simulated correction curve. Diffusion coefficients and activation energies were calculated for samples produced by SPS and annealing without current. It was shown that, at temperatures near 0.9Tm, the application of current in SPS inhibits diffusion between copper and nickel due to the re-orientation of electrons caused by the loss of ferromagnetism in nickel. Activation energy for diffusion is, however, decreased due to the temperature gradients arising from the difference in resistivity between the two species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]