65 research outputs found
First report of black rot caused by Xanthomonas nasturtii on watercress in Spain and Portugal
Xanthomonas nasturtii was first identified as the cause of black rot of watercress (Nasturtium officinale) on plants grown in Florida, USA (Vicente et al., 2017). Similar symptoms had been reported earlier in Hawaii (McHugh & Constantinides, 2004) and an unidentified Xanthomonas sp. was isolated in Portugal in 2003 from wild watercress (Cruz et al., 2017). Since 2017, watercress crops in southern Spain have occasionally exhibited small yellow leaf lesions around the hydathodes, leaf spots, V-shaped leaf lesions, wilt, distortion and senescence (Fig. 1). Symptoms were more frequent during mild and humid periods from November to February, reducing yields by up to 60% and leading to rejection of some crops (Lascelles, 2019). In 2021, symptoms were seen on watercress produced in Portugal and sold in the UK
Effects of Functionalization on Thermal Properties of Single-Wall and Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Nanocomposites
Carboxylic functionalization (-COOH groups) of carbon nanotubes is known to
improve their dispersion properties and increase the electrical conductivity of
carbon-nanotube - polymer nanocomposites. We have studied experimentally the
effects of this type of functionalization on the thermal conductivity of the
nanocomposites. It was found that while even small quantities of carbon
nanotubes (~1 wt%) can increase the electrical conductivity, a larger loading
fraction (~3 wt%) is required to enhance the thermal conductivity of
nanocomposites. Functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes performed the best
as filler material leading to a simultaneous improvement of the electrical and
thermal properties of the composites. Functionalization of the single-wall
carbon nanotubes reduced the thermal conductivity enhancement. The observed
trends were explained by the fact that while surface functionalization
increases the coupling between carbon nanotube and polymer matrix it also leads
to formation of defects, which impede the acoustic phonon transport in the
single wall carbon nanotubes. The obtained results are important for
applications of carbon nanotubes and graphene flakes as fillers for improving
thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of composites.Comment: 25 pages; 6 figure
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