Residues and dissipation kinetics of two imidacloprid nanoformulations on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under field conditions

The current study investigates the dissipation kinetics of two imidacloprid (IMI) nanoformulations (entitled: Nano-IMI and Nano-IMI/TiO2) on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds under field conditions and compares them with 35% Suspension Concentrate (SC) commercial formulation. To do so, it sprays P. vulgaris plants at 30 and 60 g/ha within green bean stage, sampling them during the 14-day period after the treatment. Following extraction and quantification of IMI residues, dissipation data have been fitted to simple-first order kinetic model (SFOK) and to first-order double-exponential decay (FODED) models, with 50% and 90% dissipation times (DT50 and DT90, respectively) assessed along the pre-harvest interval (PHI). With the exception of Nano-IMI at 60 g/ha, other decline curves are best fitted to the FODED model. In general, dissipation is faster for Nano-IMI (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.09 days, DT90 = 4.30 days, PHI = 1.23 days; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 1.29 days, DT90 = 4.29 days, PHI = 2.95 days) and Nano-IMI/TiO2 (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.15 days, DT90 = 4.40 days, PHI = 1.08 days; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 0.86 days, DT90 = 4.92 days, PHI = 3.02 days), compared to 35% SC (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.58, DT90 = 6.45, PHI = 1.93; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 1.58 days, DT90 = 14.50 days, PHI = 5.37 days). These results suggest the suitability of Nano-IMI and Nano-IMI/TiO2 application at both rates in terms of their residues on P. vulgaris seeds

Study of wind waves using satellite altimetry in the coast of south-western Caspian Sea (Gilan Province)

576-581Waves are an important phenomena in the sea but in view of complicated nature are difficult to study. This research, with the aim of showing a primary research on satellite altimetry, studied significant wave height in offshore waters near Gilan province in the south-east of Caspian region during 2014. So wave’s data including significant wave height and wind speed were obtained in a time interval from satellite. The significant wave height data were verified with buoy significant wave height data and their graphs generated. Using wave data and SPM method, the significant wave height and wave period obtained. The contour figure of significant wave height was depicted. The comparison of satellite significant wave height data and result of SPM method by buoy data showed that the satellite data has less error than SPM method result. The result of this research has shown that the effective parameters on wind waves are formation of high and low pressure atmospheric system. The maximum value of mean altimetry significant wave height is 0.70 m in November and 0.80 m in December. The maximum of significant wave height occurs in north portion of study region. The dominate direction of waves is north-western in coasts of Gilan province

Automatic detection of equiaxed dendrites using computer vision neural networks

Equaixed dendrites are frequently encountered in solidification. They typically form in large numbers, which makes their detection, localization, and tracking practically impossible for a human eye. In this paper, we show how recent progress in the field of machine learning can be leveraged to tackle this problem and we present computer vision neural network to automatically detect equiaxed dendrites. Our network is trained using phase-field simulation results, and proper data augmentation allows to perform the detection task in solidification conditions entirely different from those simulated for training. For example, here we show how they can successfully detect dendrites of various sizes in a microgravity solidification experiment. We discuss challenges in training such a network along with our solutions for them, and compare the performance of neural network with traditional methods of shapes detection

Investigating the Security of EV Charging Mobile Applications As an Attack Surface

The adoption rate of EVs has witnessed a significant increase in recent years driven by multiple factors, chief among which is the increased flexibility and ease of access to charging infrastructure. To improve user experience, increase system flexibility and commercialize the charging process, mobile applications have been incorporated into the EV charging ecosystem. EV charging mobile applications allow consumers to remotely trigger actions on charging stations and use functionalities such as start/stop charging sessions, pay for usage, and locate charging stations, to name a few. In this paper, we study the security posture of the EV charging ecosystem against remote attacks, which exploit the insecurity of the EV charging mobile applications as an attack surface. We leverage a combination of static and dynamic analysis techniques to analyze the security of widely used EV charging mobile applications. Our analysis of 31 widely used mobile applications and their interactions with various components such as the cloud management systems indicate the lack of user/vehicle verification and improper authorization for critical functions, which lead to remote (dis)charging session hijacking and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against the EV charging station. Indeed, we discuss specific remote attack scenarios and their impact on the EV users. More importantly, our analysis results demonstrate the feasibility of leveraging existing vulnerabilities across various EV charging mobile applications to perform wide-scale coordinated remote charging/discharging attacks against the connected critical infrastructure (e.g., power grid), with significant undesired economical and operational implications. Finally, we propose counter measures to secure the infrastructure and impede adversaries from performing reconnaissance and launching remote attacks using compromised accounts

Mammography Social Support for Women Living in a Midwestern City: Toward Screening Promotion via Social Interactions

Notwithstanding recommendations and interventions, the percentage of 50 – 74-year-old U.S. women who reported having had a mammography in the past two years remained below target coverage. Social interactions may influence mammography rates. To measure characteristics of social interactions in a Midwestern city as they relate to social support for mammography received by women older than 40 years of age. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bloomington, Indiana, sending mail surveys to 3,000 telephone directory addresses selected by simple random sampling. An anonymous, self-administered, closed-ended, questionnaire with eight checklist items (for demographics) and six multipart semantic differential scale items (for social support), derived from validated instruments, was used. Social support for mammography in women who had undergone regular screening was analyzed using chi-square test and logistic regression. Of 450 respondents with valid responses, 91% were white; 47% were older than 80; 92% had good health insurance coverage; and 82% had undergone regular mammography. Healthcare workers provided the highest support, followed by children, siblings, and relatives. Friends, neighbors, and co-workers were least supportive. In social interactions, emotional support was the most prominent, followed by informational, appraisal, and instrumental supports. Having higher income and being married were associated with receiving greater support. Although mammography provides limited benefits after age 74, women older than 80 years of age received the highest support. Identifying the structural and functional characteristics of social interactions is important for: 1) designing interventions that enhance social support, and 2) expanding breast cancer screening via personalized approaches using existing social interactions

Global Perspectives for Strengthening Health Education: A Mixed-Methods Study

This study aimed to identify the knowledge, experiences, and attitudes about current practices of health education (HE) among government-affiliated high-profile health administrators in developed and developing nations. Respondents (N = 21) were purposively selected based on their affiliation as a health administrator at the national level, with roles in high-profile decision-making for devising policies/programs and allocating funding or advocating strategies to advance HE. Information was gathered using a web-based cross-sectional survey in 5 languages, consisting of 14 closed-ended and 8 open-ended questions. A majority were males (70%) and spoke English (57%), 45% had postgraduate degrees, and 57% were from high-income countries. Participants recognized the importance of HE in their countries and estimated percentages of adults who received health information through various sources. Participants also rated population subgroups that benefit from HE. They highly rated these health issues for HE: control/prevention of communicable diseases, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and tobacco and other drugs. Only 40% reported having enough resources and funding available for HE. For the qualitative questions, irrespective of being from developed or developing countries, most respondents identified the need for invigorating HE that could be categorized into seven key areas: HE program evaluation, actions to strengthen HE, organizations responsible for identifying HE priorities, job titles of health educators, how ministry collects information on HE needs, high priority health issues and ensuring equity, and ways nongovernmental organizations can strengthen HE. Findings were helpful to identify: high priority HE issues across countries; status of HE programs among government entities; status of funding for HE programs; and how countries can provide more effective program outcomes. Further studies with higher response rate are needed to address these specific issues

Analysis of Longitudinal Cracks in Crest of Doroodzan Dam

Doroodzan earth dam is located in 85 km north western of Shiraz. Because of the unusual seepage flow in the left abutment, in 1992 an impermeable vane was grouted there. Soon after that, obvious changes in water Table profile occurred and simultaneously some incremental number of cracks in left abutment crest was appeared. In present study seepage through left abutment has been analyzed by considering water Table changes. Different phreatic surface line was carried out from recent 20 years in order to find the most vulnerable one. In addition, Seismic loading used to get proper perception of seismic stability. First, by gathering data from piezometric head through the left abutment, most critical phreatic line in left abutment section of dam was observed. Then by using present phreatic surface in numerical modeling of critical section in the left abutment of dam, long term stability of downstream in different situation were calculated. The conditions were changed by increasing the saturation zone and the time which saturation zone stay through the downstream body

A SECOND-ORDER BPF USING A MINIATURIZED- ELEMENT FREQUENCY SELECTIVE SURFACE

Abstract-A new type of low-profile frequency selective surface (FSS) with an overall thickness of λ/40 and a second-order band pass frequency response is presented. The proposed FSS is composed of two metal layers, separated by a thin dielectric substrate. Each layer is a two-dimensional periodic structure with sub-wavelength periodic unit cells. By printing the same topology on each side of the substrate, a second-order frequency response is realized. To provide a physical insight into the operating mechanism, equivalent circuit networks are also investigated in each step of design procedure. Using the proposal technique, low profile and reduced sensitivity to angle of incident wave for both TE and TM polarizations are obtained and the overall thickness of the substrate is fairly thin. FSS samples are designed, fabricated, and installed in waveguide operating at X-band and a good agreement between the simulated and measured results is achieved

Comparison of Shoulder Kinematics and Muscle Activation of Female Elite Handball Players With and Without Pain—An Explorative Cross-Sectional Study

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