Substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) bandpass filter with novel microstrip-CPW-SIW input coupling

A Substrate integrated waveguide bandpass filter is presented with a novel CPW-to-SIW transition at both the input and output ports which also served as the input and output couplings into the filter. The CPW-to-SIW transition structures presented here exploited the step impedance between the 50 ohms input/output feedline and the transition to control the input/output couplings of the filter. The SIW filter is also shown to have very minimum milling or etching requirement which reduces the fabrication error. The proposed SIW filter has been validated experimentally and results presented. The results show that a simulated return loss of 15 dB and an initial measured return loss of 16 dB were achieved. An improved measured return loss of 22 dB was later achieved after some tuining adjustments were performed on the filter input and output couplings. A minimum insertion loss of 1.3 dB was also achieved across the band

Changes in suspected adverse drug reaction reporting via the Yellow Card scheme in Wales following the introduction of a National Reporting Indicator

AIMS: This study aimed to assess the impact of a National Reporting Indicator (NRI) on rates of reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions using the Yellow Card scheme following the introduction of the NRI in Wales (UK) in April 2014. METHODS: Yellow Card reporting data for general practitioners and other reporting groups in Wales and England for the financial years 2014–15 (study period 1) and 2015–16 (study period 2) were obtained from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and compared with those for 2013–14 (pre‐NRI control period). RESULTS: The numbers of Yellow Cards submitted by general practitioners in Wales were 271, 665 and 870 in the control period, study period 1 and study period 2, respectively. This is equivalent to an increase of 145% in study period 1 and 221% in study period 2 compared with the 12‐month control period (2013–14). Corresponding increases in England were 17% and 37%, respectively (P < .001 chi–squared test). The numbers of Yellow Cards submitted by other groups in Wales were 906, 795 and 947 in each of the study periods. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of the NRI corresponded with a significant increase in the number of Yellow Cards submitted by general practitioners in Wales. General practitioner reporting rates continued to increase year on year through to 2018–19 with the NRI still in place. No concomitant change was found in reporting rates by other groups in the health boards in Wales

Thru-reflect-line calibration for substrate integrated waveguide devices with tapered microstrip transitions

One of the main problems when exciting or measuring substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) devices lies in the need of a good interconnection with planar structures. In this reported work, the negative effects produced by the connectors and the tapered microstrip-to-SIW transitions are de-embedded from the measurements of the SIW structure by a thru-reflect-line calibration with an adequate and cheap SIW calibration kit.Díaz Caballero, E.; Belenguer Martínez, Á.; Esteban González, H.; Boria Esbert, VE. (2013). Thru-reflect-line calibration for substrate integrated waveguide devices with tapered microstrip transitions. Electronics Letters. 49(2):132-133. doi:10.1049/el.2012.3027S132133492Deslandes, D., & Wu, K. (2001). Integrated microstrip and rectangular waveguide in planar form. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, 11(2), 68-70. doi:10.1109/7260.914305Henry, M., Free, C. E., Izqueirdo, B. S., Batchelor, J., & Young, P. (2009). Millimeter Wave Substrate Integrated Waveguide Antennas: Design and Fabrication Analysis. IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging, 32(1), 93-100. doi:10.1109/tadvp.2008.2011284Chen, X.-P., Wu, K., & Li, Z.-L. (2007). Dual-Band and Triple-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Filters With Chebyshev and Quasi-Elliptic Responses. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 55(12), 2569-2578. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2007.909603Deslandes, D., & Ke Wu. (2005). Analysis and design of current probe transition from grounded coplanar to substrate integrated rectangular waveguides. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 53(8), 2487-2494. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2005.852778Engen, G. F., & Hoer, C. A. (1979). Thru-Reflect-Line: An Improved Technique for Calibrating the Dual Six-Port Automatic Network Analyzer. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 27(12), 987-993. doi:10.1109/tmtt.1979.1129778Chih-Jung Chen, & Tah-Hsiung Chu. (2009). Measurement of Noncoaxial Multiport Devices Up to the Intrinsic Ports. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 57(5), 1230-1236. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2009.201735

Predicting soil fungal communities from chemical and physical properties

Introduction: Biogeography describes spatial patterns of diversity and explains why organisms occur in given conditions. While it is well established that the diversity of soil microbes is largely controlled by edaphic environmental variables, microbiome community prediction from soil properties has received less attention. In this study, we specifically investigated whether it is possible to predict the composition of soil fungal communities based on physicochemical soil data using multivariate ordination. Materials and Methods: We sampled soil from 59 arable fields in Switzerland and assembled paired data of physicochemical soil properties as well as profiles of soil fungal communities. Fungal communities were characterized using long-read sequencing of the entire ribosomal internal transcribed spacer. We used redundancy analysis to combine the physical and chemical soil measurements with the fungal community data. Results: We identified a reduced set of 10 soil properties that explained fungal community composition. Soil properties with the strongest impact on the fungal community included pH, potassium and sand content. Finally, we evaluated the model for its suitability for prediction using leave-one-out validation. The prediction of community composition was successful for most soils, and only 3/59 soils could not be well predicted (Pearson correlation coefficients between observed and predicted communities of <0.5). Further, we successfully validated our prediction approach with a publicly available data set. With both data sets, prediction was less successful for soils characterized by very unique properties or diverging fungal communities, while it was successful for soils with similar characteristics and microbiome. Conclusions: Reliable prediction of microbial communities from chemical soil properties could bypass the complex and laborious sequencing-based generation of microbiota data, thereby making soil microbiome information available for agricultural purposes such as pathogen monitoring, field inoculation or yield projections

Soil microbiome indicators can predict crop growth response to large-scale inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Alternative solutions to mineral fertilizers and pesticides that reduce the environmental impact of agriculture are urgently needed. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance plant nutrient uptake and reduce plant stress; yet, large-scale field inoculation trials with AMF are missing, and so far, results remain unpredictable. We conducted on-farm experiments in 54 fields in Switzerland and quantified the effects on maize growth. Growth response to AMF inoculation was highly variable, ranging from -12% to +40%. With few soil parameters and mainly soil microbiome indicators, we could successfully predict 86% of the variation in plant growth response to inoculation. The abundance of pathogenic fungi, rather than nutrient availability, best predicted (33%) AMF inoculation success. Our results indicate that soil microbiome indicators offer a sustainable biotechnological perspective to predict inoculation success at the beginning of the growing season. This predictability increases the profitability of microbiome engineering as a tool for sustainable agricultural management

Microarray-based comparative genomic profiling of reference strains and selected Canadian field isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae</it>, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia, is a highly contagious respiratory pathogen that causes severe losses to the swine industry worldwide. Current commercially-available vaccines are of limited value because they do not induce cross-serovar immunity and do not prevent development of the carrier state. Microarray-based comparative genomic hybridizations (M-CGH) were used to estimate whole genomic diversity of representative <it>Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae </it>strains. Our goal was to identify conserved genes, especially those predicted to encode outer membrane proteins and lipoproteins because of their potential for the development of more effective vaccines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using hierarchical clustering, our M-CGH results showed that the majority of the genes in the genome of the serovar 5 <it>A. pleuropneumoniae </it>L20 strain were conserved in the reference strains of all 15 serovars and in representative field isolates. Fifty-eight conserved genes predicted to encode for outer membrane proteins or lipoproteins were identified. As well, there were several clusters of diverged or absent genes including those associated with capsule biosynthesis, toxin production as well as genes typically associated with mobile elements.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although <it>A. pleuropneumoniae </it>strains are essentially clonal, M-CGH analysis of the reference strains of the fifteen serovars and representative field isolates revealed several classes of genes that were divergent or absent. Not surprisingly, these included genes associated with capsule biosynthesis as the capsule is associated with sero-specificity. Several of the conserved genes were identified as candidates for vaccine development, and we conclude that M-CGH is a valuable tool for reverse vaccinology.</p

Plant secondary metabolite-dependent plant-soil feedbacks can improve crop yield in the field.

Plant secondary metabolites that are released into the rhizosphere alter biotic and abiotic soil properties, which in turn affect the performance of other plants. How this type of plant-soil feedback affects agricultural productivity and food quality in the field in the context of crop rotations is unknown. Here, we assessed the performance, yield and food quality of three winter wheat varieties growing in field plots whose soils had been conditioned by either wild type or benzoxazinoid-deficient bx1 maize mutant plants. Following maize cultivation, we detected benzoxazinoid-dependent chemical and microbial fingerprints in the soil. The benzoxazinoid fingerprint was still visible during wheat growth, but the microbial fingerprint was no longer detected. Wheat emergence, tillering, growth, and biomass increased in wild type conditioned soils compared to bx1 mutant conditioned soils. Weed cover was similar between soil conditioning treatments, but insect herbivore abundance decreased in benzoxazinoid-conditioned soils. Wheat yield was increased by over 4% without a reduction in grain quality in benzoxazinoid-conditioned soils. This improvement was directly associated with increased germination and tillering. Taken together, our experiments provide evidence that soil conditioning by plant secondary metabolite producing plants can increase yield via plant-soil feedbacks under agronomically realistic conditions. If this phenomenon holds true across different soils and environments, optimizing root exudation chemistry could be a powerful, genetically tractable strategy to enhance crop yields without additional inputs

An initial event in insect innate immune response: structural and biological studies of interactions between β-1,3-glucan and the N-terminal domain of β-1,3-glucan recognition protein

In response to invading microorganisms, insect β-1,3-glucan recognition protein (βGRP), a soluble receptor in the hemolymph, binds to the surfaces of bacteria and fungi and activates serine protease cascades that promote destruction of pathogens by means of melanization or expression of antimicrobial peptides. Here we report on the NMR solution structure of the N-terminal domain of βGRP (N-βGRP) from Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella), which is sufficient to activate the prophenoloxidase (proPO) pathway resulting in melanin formation. NMR and isothermal calorimetric titrations of N-βGRP with laminarihexaose, a glucose hexamer containing β-1,3 links, suggest a weak binding of the ligand. However, addition of laminarin, a glucose polysaccharide (~ 6 kDa) containing β-1,3 and β-1,6 links that activates the proPO pathway, to N-βGRP results in the loss of NMR cross-peaks from the backbone 15N-1H groups of the protein, suggesting the formation of a large complex. Analytical ultra centrifugation (AUC) studies of formation of N-βGRP:laminarin complex show that ligand-binding induces sel-fassociation of the protein:carbohydrate complex into a macro structure, likely containing six protein and three laminarin molecules (~ 102 kDa). The macro complex is quite stable, as it does not undergo dissociation upon dilution to sub-micromolar concentrations. The structural model thus derived from the present studies for N-βGRP:laminarin complex in solution differs from the one in which a single N-βGRP molecule has been proposed to bind to a triple helical form of laminarin on the basis of an X-ray crystallographic structure of N-βGRP:laminarihexaose complex [Kanagawa, M., Satoh, T., Ikeda, A., Adachi, Y., Ohno, N., and Yamaguchi, Y. (2011) J. Biol. Chem. 286, 29158-29165]. AUC studies and phenoloxidase activation measurements carried out with the designed mutants of N-βGRP indicate that electrostatic interactions involving Asp45, Arg54, and Asp68 between the ligand-bound protein molecules contribute in part to the stability of N-βGRP:laminarin macro complex and that a decreased stability is accompanied by a reduced activation of the proPO pathway. Increased β-1,6 branching in laminarin also results in destabilization of the macro complex. These novel findings suggest that ligand-induced self-association of βGRP:β-1,3-glucan complex may form a platform on a microbial surface for recruitment of downstream proteases, as a means of amplification of the initial signal of pathogen recognition for the activation of the proPO pathway

A Repeated Measures Experiment of Green Exercise to Improve Self-Esteem in UK School Children

Exercising in natural, green environments creates greater improvements in adult's self-esteem than exercise undertaken in urban or indoor settings. No comparable data are available for children. The aim of this study was to determine whether so called 'green exercise' affected changes in self-esteem; enjoyment and perceived exertion in children differently to urban exercise. We assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run) and self-reported physical activity (PAQ-A) in 11 and 12 year olds (n = 75). Each pupil completed two 1.5 mile timed runs, one in an urban and another in a rural environment. Trials were completed one week apart during scheduled physical education lessons allocated using a repeated measures design. Self-esteem was measured before and after each trial, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and enjoyment were assessed after completing each trial. We found a significant main effect (F (1,74), = 12.2, p<0.001), for the increase in self-esteem following exercise but there was no condition by exercise interaction (F (1,74), = 0.13, p = 0.72). There were no significant differences in perceived exertion or enjoyment between conditions. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.26, p = 0.04) between habitual physical activity and RPE during the control condition, which was not evident in the green exercise condition (r = -0.07, p = 0.55). Contrary to previous studies in adults, green exercise did not produce significantly greater increases in self-esteem than the urban exercise condition. Green exercise was enjoyed more equally by children with differing levels of habitual physical activity and has the potential to engage less active children in exercise. © 2013 Reed et al