Compressed correlation functions and fast aging dynamics in metallic glasses

We present x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy measurements of the atomic dynamics in a Zr67Ni33 metallic glass, well below its glass transition temperature. We find that the decay of the density fluctuations can be well described by compressed, thus faster than exponential, correlation functions which can be modeled by the well-known Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts function with a shape exponent {\beta} larger than one. This parameter is furthermore found to be independent of both waiting time and wave-vector, leading to the possibility to rescale all the correlation functions to a single master curve. The dynamics in the glassy state is additionally characterized by different aging regimes which persist in the deep glassy state. These features seem to be universal in metallic glasses and suggest a non diffusive nature of the dynamics. This universality is supported by the possibility of describing the fast increase of the structural relaxation time with waiting time using a unique model function, independently of the microscopic details of the system.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. To be published in J. Chem. Phy

Macroevolutionary Patterns In The Evolutionary Radiation Of Archosaurs (Tetrapoda: Diapsida)

The rise of archosaurs during the Triassic and Early Jurassic has been treated as a classic example of an evolutionary radiation in the fossil record. This paper reviews published studies and provides new data on archosaur lineage origination, diversity and lineage evolution, morphological disparity, rates of morphological character change, and faunal abundance during the Triassic–Early Jurassic. The fundamental archosaur lineages originated early in the Triassic, in concert with the highest rates of character change. Disparity and diversity peaked later, during the Norian, but the most significant increase in disparity occurred before maximum diversity. Archosaurs were rare components of Early–Middle Triassic faunas, but were more abundant in the Late Triassic and pre-eminent globally by the Early Jurassic. The archosaur radiation was a drawn-out event and major components such as diversity and abundance were discordant from each other. Crurotarsans (crocodile-line archosaurs) were more disparate, diverse, and abundant than avemetatarsalians (bird-line archosaurs, including dinosaurs) during the Late Triassic, but these roles were reversed in the Early Jurassic. There is no strong evidence that dinosaurs outcompeted or gradually eclipsed crurotarsans during the Late Triassic. Instead, crurotarsan diversity decreased precipitously by the end-Triassic extinction, which helped usher in the age of dinosaurian dominance

Production of micropropagated melon plantlets adapted to saline environment

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the behaviour on salt stress induced by sodium chloride of two melon clones obtained from micropropagation. Since arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi seem to increase salt tolerance in some crops, at acclimatisation melon plantlets were mycorrhizal with an AM fungus. The root systems of both mycorrhizal and non mycorrhizal plants were exposed to increasing salt concentrations and then placed in distilled water to study the wilting response and the recovery of plants. Observations were made on several morphological parameters, in particular to verify the modification of root system morphology caused by AM fungus, as demonstrated already by several studies. The analysis of infected roots was carried out following Phillips and Hayman's protocol (1970). Afterwards, the specimen was read using an optical microscope

Biobanking of vegetable genetic resources by in vitro conservation and cryopreservation

Today, application of in vitro culture by means of slow growth storage of shoot cultures and cryopreservation of organs, tissues and cells in liquid nitrogen presents a remarkable strategic tool to support medium- and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources. Over the last 30 years, considerable progresses have been made in the development of both methods that are currently considered as ex situ conservation strategies, complementary to traditional seed banks and in-field clonal collections. Efficient protocols were developed for the conservation of a large number of crops, including strategically-important vegetables, such as garlic, artichoke, asparagus, cassava, Jerusalem artichoke, mint, potato, sweet potato, chicory, taro, thyme and yam. As a consequence, more than 45,000 accessions of vegetable crops are maintained in 22 genetic resources conservation centers (biobanks), located in 16 countries and 6 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North and South America). Approximately 4/5 of these accessions are maintained in vitro by means of slow growth storage of shoot cultures, but cryopreservation is also constantly growing, with almost 8300 vegetable accessions being stored in liquid nitrogen at − 196 °C

Bioherbicidal potential of the essential oils from mediterranean lamiaceae for weed control in organic farming

In all farming systems, weeds are the most expensive pest to manage, accounting for 30% of potential losses. In organic farming, the problem may be further amplified by restrictions on herbicides, thus making weeds the main problem faced by organic farmers in the field. In this sense, much research is focusing on the allelopathic potential of plants as an ecological weed control tool. Many plant species can release allelopathic compounds with high phytotoxicity that can be used in weed control. Species belonging to the Lamiaceae family have been studied widely for this purpose, and their essential oils (EOs) appear to be promising bioherbicides. However, there are still many challenges for their development. Considering these aspects, a review of the bioherbicidal effect of EOs from Mediterranean Lamiaceae could help identify the most effective ones and the challenges for their actual development

A Non-Sequential Representation of Sequential Data for Churn Prediction

We investigate the length of event sequence giving best predictions when using a continuous HMM approach to churn prediction from sequential data. Motivated by observations that predictions based on only the few most recent events seem to be the most accurate, a non-sequential dataset is constructed from customer event histories by averaging features of the last few events. A simple K-nearest neighbor algorithm on this dataset is found to give significantly improved performance. It is quite intuitive to think that most people will react only to events in the fairly recent past. Events related to telecommunications occurring months or years ago are unlikely to have a large impact on a customer’s future behaviour, and these results bear this out. Methods that deal with sequential data also tend to be much more complex than those dealing with simple nontemporal data, giving an added benefit to expressing the recent information in a non-sequential manner

Conservative Management of Acute Lateral Ligaments of the Ankle Injuries : An Analytical Literature Review

Copyright © 2023, Maduka et al.Injuries to the lateral ligaments of the ankle are among the most frequent sporting injuries. These injuries constitute a significant portion of all sports-related injuries. Nearly all cases involve damage to either the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) or the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL). While they are generally considered to be mild injuries, without adequate rehabilitation and treatment, these injuries often result in lingering symptoms for many patients for a period ranging from 6 weeks to 18 months. Subsequently, this analysis seeks to assess the non-surgical, conservative approaches currently employed in managing lateral ligament injuries of the ankle. Therefore, this assessment explores the variations and effectiveness of conservative treatment approaches based on the injury's severity and the mechanisms of trauma. The study conducted an analytical literature review that relied on diverse sources, including orthopedic books, e-books, articles, journals, and internet databases, to accomplish this. The main sources were obtained from reputable databases such as UpToDate, NCBI, and PubMed. Collectively, these sources provide definitions, outlines, evaluations, and discussions related to the topic. As such, they facilitated the formulation of an informed conclusion on the approach to treating lateral ligament injuries of the ankle complex. The reviewed literature shows that early and effective initial treatment involving pain management, prompt resumption of weight-bearing activities, limited immobilisation, and targeted physical therapy yields favorable outcomes for minor-grade sprains and is an effective preventive measure against recurrent injuries. Accordingly, athletes who experience regular ankle sprains should consider prophylactic bracing or taping to lower the risk of re-injury while enhancing their functionality. Notably, the existing functional and conservative management methods demonstrate and yield positive post-treatment outcomes. Nonetheless, the efficiency and effectiveness of these treatments depend on the specific nature of the injury and the unique traits of the individuals who sustain it. Consequently, these factors must be considered for when determining the appropriate treatment approach.Peer reviewe

Identification of Structural Variation in Chimpanzees Using Optical Mapping and Nanopore Sequencing.

Recent efforts to comprehensively characterize great ape genetic diversity using short-read sequencing and single-nucleotide variants have led to important discoveries related to selection within species, demographic history, and lineage-specific traits. Structural variants (SVs), including deletions and inversions, comprise a larger proportion of genetic differences between and within species, making them an important yet understudied source of trait divergence. Here, we used a combination of long-read and -range sequencing approaches to characterize the structural variant landscape of two additional Pan troglodytes verus individuals, one of whom carries 13% admixture from Pan troglodytes troglodytes. We performed optical mapping of both individuals followed by nanopore sequencing of one individual. Filtering for larger variants (>10 kbp) and combined with genotyping of SVs using short-read data from the Great Ape Genome Project, we identified 425 deletions and 59 inversions, of which 88 and 36, respectively, were novel. Compared with gene expression in humans, we found a significant enrichment of chimpanzee genes with differential expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines and induced pluripotent stem cells, both within deletions and near inversion breakpoints. We examined chromatin-conformation maps from human and chimpanzee using these same cell types and observed alterations in genomic interactions at SV breakpoints. Finally, we focused on 56 genes impacted by SVs in >90% of chimpanzees and absent in humans and gorillas, which may contribute to chimpanzee-specific features. Sequencing a greater set of individuals from diverse subspecies will be critical to establish the complete landscape of genetic variation in chimpanzees