Emerging threat of thrips-borne Melon yellow spot virus on melon and watermelon in Taiwan

The thrips-borne Melon yellow spot virus (MYSV) has recently been found infecting cucurbits in Taiwan. However, this virus was indistinguishable from another thrips-borne virus species Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV), which has been devastating on cucurbits in Taiwan for decades, when the antisera against their nucleocapsid proteins (NPs) were used for diagnosis. To understand the incidences of WSMoV and MYSV in melon and watermelon fields, a survey was conducted in central and southern Taiwan from July 2007 to December 2009. The samples collected from symptomatic plants were tested by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to the NP of WSMoV or MYSV and the reliability of the results was verified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using species-specific primers. Among a total of 10,480 melon samples collected, 6% and 18.2% of them were found singly infected with WSMoV and MYSV, respectively, and 0.16% infected with both viruses. On the other hand, among 1,811 watermelon samples assayed, 22.4% and 9.2% samples were singly infected with WSMoV and MYSV, respectively, and 0.17% were infected with both viruses. In addition, the aphid-borne viruses Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), Papaya ringspot virus watermelon type (PRSV-W) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) were also detected as prevalent viruses. Our results indicated that mixed infection with the two thrips-borne viruses is rare. Moreover, host preference for both viruses is different; WSMoV prevails on watermelon whereas MYSV is more widespread on melon. We conclude that MYSV has become a serious threat for watermelon and melon production in Taiwan and the possible control measures are discussed

Editorial: Sex and gender effects on power, status, dominance, and leadership – an interdisciplinary look at human and other mammalian societies

In human societies, men tend to have more power, status, dominance, and occupy leadership positions more often than women; similarly, in animal societies, power and dominance are often unequally distributed between males and females. Despite these similarities across societies of humans and animals, the scientific study of power, status, dominance, and leadership have (for the most part) progressed in isolation, with little cross-disciplinary exchange or fertilization between the natural and social sciences. In the social sciences, an extensive body of work has investigated the relation between gender (or sometimes sex) and power, status, dominance, and leadership outcomes (e.g., Eagly & Karau, 2002; Goldin, 2014; Eagly and Heilman, 2016; Meeussen et al., 2016; Hentschel et al., 2018; Von Rueden et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2020; Eckel et al., 2021; Shen et al., in press; Heilman et al., 2024). This effort notwithstanding, many questions remain. For example, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the contexts and circumstances that favor (or undermine) women’s advancement to powerful positions, and about why and when female and male leaders are evaluated differently (Williams and Tiedens, 2016; Cardador et al., 2022). In the natural sciences, empirical investigations in mammalian societies have primarily focused on the evolutionary origins and dynamics of male-female power asymmetries. Specifically, such investigations often focus on a few taxa with female dominance, such as bonobos, lemurs, and spotted hyenas (Kappeler, 1993; Lewis, 2018; Davidian et al., 2022; Smith et al. in this Research Topic). Notably, intersexual dominance–the distribution of power and status between the sexes—is often treated as a binary (i.e., a species is described as either male-dominant or female-dominant) and as a fixed (rather than flexible) trait of a given species (Lewis, 2018; Davidian, 2022). Contrary to this view, recent studies suggest the relative power of the sexes in some animal societies may be less biased in favor of one sex and more flexible than previously assumed (Kappeler et al.). With this Research Topic, we aim to facilitate academic exchange, to learn from perspectives that typically lie outside of each of our disciplinary boundaries, to draw comparisons and insights across these perspectives, and to promote an integrative understanding of gender and sex1 inequalities in power, status, dominance, and leadership. To do so, this Research Topic combines contributions from ecology, biology, psychology, and management. It houses a collection of 21 articles, including 10 articles from the social sciences and 11 articles from the natural sciences. We hope this trans-disciplinary Research Topic will not only deepen our understanding of the roots and origins of gender and sex inequalities in humans and non-humans, but also generate new insights into possible solutions for reducing sex and gender disparities

Precision Pion-Proton Elastic Differential Cross Sections at Energies Spanning the Delta Resonance

A precision measurement of absolute pi+p and pi-p elastic differential cross sections at incident pion laboratory kinetic energies from T_pi= 141.15 to 267.3 MeV is described. Data were obtained detecting the scattered pion and recoil proton in coincidence at 12 laboratory pion angles from 55 to 155 degrees for pi+p, and six angles from 60 to 155 degrees for pi-p. Single arm measurements were also obtained for pi+p energies up to 218.1 MeV, with the scattered pi+ detected at six angles from 20 to 70 degrees. A flat-walled, super-cooled liquid hydrogen target as well as solid CH2 targets were used. The data are characterized by small uncertainties, ~1-2% statistical and ~1-1.5% normalization. The reliability of the cross section results was ensured by carrying out the measurements under a variety of experimental conditions to identify and quantify the sources of instrumental uncertainty. Our lowest and highest energy data are consistent with overlapping results from TRIUMF and LAMPF. In general, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute SM95 partial wave analysis solution describes our data well, but the older Karlsruhe-Helsinki PWA solution KH80 does not.Comment: 39 pages, 22 figures (some with quality reduced to satisfy ArXiv requirements. Contact M.M. Pavan for originals). Submitted to Physical Review

Exact half-BPS Type IIB interface solutions I: Local solution and supersymmetric Janus

The complete Type IIB supergravity solutions with 16 supersymmetries are obtained on the manifold $AdS_4 \times S^2 \times S^2 \times \Sigma$ with $SO(2,3) \times SO(3) \times SO(3)$ symmetry in terms of two holomorphic functions on a Riemann surface $\Sigma$, which generally has a boundary. This is achieved by reducing the BPS equations using the above symmetry requirements, proving that all solutions of the BPS equations solve the full Type IIB supergravity field equations, mapping the BPS equations onto a new integrable system akin to the Liouville and Sine-Gordon theories, and mapping this integrable system to a linear equation which can be solved exactly. Amongst the infinite class of solutions, a non-singular Janus solution is identified which provides the AdS/CFT dual of the maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills interface theory discovered recently. The construction of general classes of globally non-singular solutions, including fully back-reacted $AdS_5 \times S^5$ and supersymmetric Janus doped with D5 and/or NS5 branes, is deferred to a companion paper.Comment: LaTeX, 69 pages, 3 figures, v2: references adde

Lepton Mixing Matrix in Standard Model Extended by One Sterile Neutrino

We consider the simplest extension of the standard electroweak model by one sterile neutrino that allows for neutrino masses and mixing. We find that its leptonic sector contains much less free physical parameters than previously realized. In addition to the two neutrino masses, the lepton mixing matrix in charged current interactions involves (n-1) free physical mixing angles for n generations. The mixing matrix in neutral current interactions of neutrinos is completely fixed by the two masses. Both interactions conserve CP. We illustrate the phenomenological implications of the model by vacuum neutrino oscillations, tritium beta decay and neutrinoless double beta decay. It turns out that, due to the revealed specific structure in its mixing matrix, the model with any n generations cannot accommodate simultaneously the data by KamLAND, K2K and CHOOZ.Comment: 14 pages, no figures; version 2: (1) added a short paragraph at the end of subsec 2.2 to record the counting of physical parameters for any numbers of generations and sterile neutrinos for completeness; (2) added a note in ref list, item [18] to quote and comment on an earlier work; (3) added the second paper to ref list, item [17]; (4) fixed typo

How Many CMEs Have Flux Ropes? Deciphering the Signatures of Shocks, Flux Ropes, and Prominences in Coronagraph Observations of CMEs

We intend to provide a comprehensive answer to the question on whether all Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) have flux rope structure. To achieve this, we present a synthesis of the LASCO CME observations over the last sixteen years, assisted by 3D MHD simulations of the breakout model, EUV and coronagraphic observations from STEREO and SDO, and statistics from a revised LASCO CME database. We argue that the bright loop often seen as the CME leading edge is the result of pileup at the boundary of the erupting flux rope irrespective of whether a cavity or, more generally, a 3-part CME can be identified. Based on our previous work on white light shock detection and supported by the MHD simulations, we identify a new type of morphology, the `two-front' morphology. It consists of a faint front followed by diffuse emission and the bright loop-like CME leading edge. We show that the faint front is caused by density compression at a wave (or possibly shock) front driven by the CME. We also present high-detailed multi-wavelength EUV observations that clarify the relative positioning of the prominence at the bottom of a coronal cavity with clear flux rope structure. Finally, we visually check the full LASCO CME database for flux rope structures. In the process, we classify the events into two clear flux rope classes (`3-part', `Loop'), jets and outflows (no clear structure). We find that at least 40% of the observed CMEs have clear flux rope structures. We propose a new definition for flux rope CMEs (FR-CMEs) as a coherent magnetic, twist-carrying coronal structure with angular width of at least 40 deg and able to reach beyond 10 Rsun which erupts on a time scale of a few minutes to several hours. We conclude that flux ropes are a common occurrence in CMEs and pose a challenge for future studies to identify CMEs that are clearly not FR-CMEs.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figs, to be published in Solar Physics Topical Issue "Flux Rope Structure of CMEs

Observations of Coronal Mass Ejections with the Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter

The Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter (CoMP) measures not only the polarization of coronal emission, but also the full radiance profiles of coronal emission lines. For the first time, CoMP observations provide high-cadence image sequences of the coronal line intensity, Doppler shift and line width simultaneously in a large field of view. By studying the Doppler shift and line width we may explore more of the physical processes of CME initiation and propagation. Here we identify a list of CMEs observed by CoMP and present the first results of these observations. Our preliminary analysis shows that CMEs are usually associated with greatly increased Doppler shift and enhanced line width. These new observations provide not only valuable information to constrain CME models and probe various processes during the initial propagation of CMEs in the low corona, but also offer a possible cost-effective and low-risk means of space weather monitoring.Comment: 6 figures. Will appear in the special issue of Coronal Magnetism, Sol. Phy

VUV/EUV ionising radiation and atoms and ions: dual laser plasma investigations

The interaction of ionising radiation with atoms and ions is a key fundamental process. This report concentrates on studies of photoexcitation/photoionisation using laser-produced plasmas as continuum sources and synchronised laser plasma plumes to provide the absorbing atom or ion species. Examples from studies of the interaction of ionising radiation with atoms and ions ranging from few-electron atomic and ionic systems to the many-electron high atomic number actinides are reviewed and illustrate the advantages and limitations of the Dual Laser Plasma technique

Comparative simulation study of coupled THM processes nearback-filled and open-drift nuclear waste repositories in Task D of theInternational DECOVALEX Project

As part of the ongoing international DECOVALEX project, fourresearch teams used five different models to simulate coupled thermal,hydrological, and mechanical (THM) processes near underground wasteemplacement drifts. The simulations were conducted for two genericrepository types, one with open and the other with back-filled repositorydrifts, under higher and lower post-closure temperature, respectively. Inthe completed first model inception phase of the project, a goodagreement was achieved between the research teams in calculating THMresponses for both repository types, although some disagreement inhydrological responses are currently being resolved. Good agreement inthe basic thermal-mechanical responses was also achieved for bothrepository types, even though some teams used relatively simplifiedthermal-elastic heat-conduction models that neglect complex near-fieldthermal-hydrological processes. The good agreement between the complexand simplified process models indicates that the basic thermal-mechanicalresponses can be predicted with a relatively high confidencelevel