Effect of green manure crops and organic amendments on incidence of nematode-borne tobacco rattle virus

Tobacco rattle tobravirus (TRV) may infect several ornamental bulb crops and is transmitted by trichodorid nematodes. Paratrichodorus teres, P. pachydermus and Trichodorus similis are the main vectors in the Netherlands. In field experiments the effects of various pre-crops and organic amendments on the TRV Infection Potential of Soils (TRV-IPS) and on disease level in tulip and gladiolus were studied. Organic matter amendment of soil at a rate of 1% dry weight has been shown to reduce the host finding activity of P. teres under laboratory conditions. In a field containing viruliferous P. teres dahlia, italian ryegrass, white mustard and fodder radish were grown or the soil was kept fallow and the resulting TRV-IPS prior to the bulbous test crops was measured by a soil dilution bait test method. The application of organic matter was tested after dahlia as pre-crop. Household waste compost (GFT compost) was applied as a soil mix or planting furrow treatment at 12 tons dry weight per ha for tulip and gladiolus. Spent mushroom compost (Champost) was added as planting furrow treatment at 17 or 12 tons dw/ha, respectively, for tulip and gladiolus. The percentage of TRV diseased plants was determined at flowering in all pre-crop and organic amendment treatments. Champost in the planting furrow and fodder radish as a preceding crop reduced the percentage infection in tulip under favourable conditions for TRV infection. In gladiolus most organic amendments, fodder radish as pre-crop and keeping the soil fallow reduced the TRV infection rate of the plants during the first growing season, but not of the plants grown from the corms in the next year

Automated Seismic Source Characterisation Using Deep Graph Neural Networks

Most seismological analysis methods require knowledge of the geographic location of the stations comprising a seismic network. However, common machine learning tools used in seismology do not account for this spatial information, and so there is an underutilised potential for improving the performance of machine learning models. In this work, we propose a Graph Neural Network (GNN) approach that explicitly incorporates and leverages spatial information for the task of seismic source characterisation (specifically, location and magnitude estimation), based on multi-station waveform recordings. Even using a modestly-sized GNN, we achieve model prediction accuracy that outperforms methods that are agnostic to station locations. Moreover, the proposed method is flexible to the number of seismic stations included in the analysis, and is invariant to the order in which the stations are arranged, which opens up new applications in the automation of seismological tasks and in earthquake early warning systems

Bonding bare die LEDs on PET foils for lighting applications: thermal design modeling and bonding experiments

Integration of LEDs on flexible foil substrates is of interest for flexible lighting applications and flexible photonic devices. A matrix of LEDs on a foil combined with a diffuser can be a potential alternative for flexible OLED lighting devices. Preferably, these LEDs are integrated in an unpackaged, bare die form as it reduces cost, footprint and thickness. As a substrate, preferably low cost materials like polyesters (PET) are being used, especially for large area devices. However, the use of these materials imposes some limitations. Most notably, the low temperature stability (<100 degrees C continuous use temperature) of these materials limits the maximum temperatures during the manufacturing process and poses constraints on the thermal design of the device. The current paper describes the results of research on possibilities for integrating bare die LEDs with low cost flexible PET foils. Finite element (FE) thermal modeling has been performed of possible designs of adhesively bonded LED-on-foil and laminated LED-in-foil configurations. The role of the different materials and the effect of their geometries on the temperature distribution in the simulated devices are discussed. The results give insight in measures that can be taken to keep the temperature of all the components of the device within operational limits. For LEDs bonded on Cu-PET foil the modeled temperature distributions are compared to experimentally observed temperature distributions in LED on PET foil reference devices using infrared thermal imaging. Besides this, initial studies on directly bonding LEDs on etched Cu on PET substrates using anisotropic conducting adhesives and isotropic conducting adhesives were performed. An experimental comparison is made between the different techniques based on temperature/humidity reliability and flexural stability of the bonded LEDs, based on these preliminary results

Charge injection from carbon nanofibers into hexane under ambient conditions

The observation of charge injection from carbon nanofibers (CNFs) into liquid hexane under ambient conditions is reported. A CNF-coated electrode and a counter electrode are brought into micrometer proximity in a quasi-parallel geometry using a strain-gauge-based proximity sensor. Controlled charge injection is obtained at interelectrode distances of 4, 6, 9, and 15 μm. The resulting emission current shows an onset of about 3 V/μm , and it follows the Fowler-Nordheim behavior. The work reported here opens new applications for free electron chemistry in liquids and novel liquid field emitter devices

A comparison between rate-and-state friction and microphysical models, based on numerical simulations of fault slip

Rate-and-state friction (RSF) is commonly used for the characterisation of laboratory friction experiments, such as velocity-step tests. However, the RSF framework provides little physical basis for the extrapolation of these results to the scales and conditions of natural fault systems, and so open questions remain regarding the applicability of the experimentally obtained RSF parameters for predicting seismic cycle transients. As an alternative to classical RSF, microphysics-based models offer means for interpreting laboratory and field observations, but are generally over-simplified with respect to heterogeneous natural systems. In order to bridge the temporal and spatial gap between the laboratory and nature, we have implemented existing microphysical model formulations into an earthquake cycle simulator. Through this numerical framework, we make a direct comparison between simulations exhibiting RSF-controlled fault rheology, and simulations in which the fault rheology is dictated by the microphysical model. Even though the input parameters for the RSF simulation are directly derived from the microphysical model, the microphysics-based simulations produce significantly smaller seismic event sizes than the RSF-based simulation, and suggest a more stable fault slip behaviour. Our results reveal fundamental limitations in using classical rate-and-state friction for the extrapolation of laboratory results. The microphysics-based approach offers a more complete framework in this respect, and may be used for a more detailed study of the seismic cycle in relation to material properties and fault zone pressure-temperature conditions

Familial Cortical Myoclonic Tremor and Epilepsy, an Enigmatic Disorder: From Phenotypes to Pathophysiology and Genetics. A Systematic Review

Background: Autosomal dominant familial cortical myoclonic tremor and epilepsy (FCMTE) is characterized by distal tremulous myoclonus, generalized seizures, and signs of cortical reflex myoclonus. FCMTE has been described in over 100 pedigrees worldwide, under several different names and acronyms. Pathological changes have been located in the cerebellum. This systematic review discusses the clinical spectrum, treatment, pathophysiology, and genetic findings. Methods: We carried out a PubMed search, using a combination of the following search terms: cortical tremor, myoclonus, epilepsy, benign course, adult onset, familial, and autosomal dominant; this resulted in a total of 77 studies (761 patients; 126 pedigrees) fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Phenotypic differences across pedigrees exist, possibly related to underlying genetic differences. A “benign” phenotype has been described in several Japanese families and pedigrees linked to 8q (FCMTE1). French patients (5p linkage; FCMTE3) exhibit more severe progression, and in Japanese/Chinese pedigrees (with unknown linkage) anticipation has been suggested. Preferred treatment is with valproate (mind teratogenicity), levetiracetam, and/or clonazepam. Several genes have been identified, which differ in potential pathogenicity. Discussion: Based on the core features (above), the syndrome can be considered a distinct clinical entity. Clinical features may also include proximal myoclonus and mild progression with aging. Valproate or levetiracetam, with or without clonazepam, reduces symptoms. FCMTE is a heterogeneous disorder, and likely to include a variety of different conditions with mutations of different genes. Distinct phenotypic traits might reflect different genetic mutations. Genes involved in Purkinje cell outgrowth or those encoding for ion channels or neurotransmitters seem good candidate genes