Induction of stimulative parthenocarpy in Vitis vinifera L.

Stimulative parthenocarpy was induced in two varieties of Vitis vinifera L. Flame Tokay and Rose Muscat (local variety) out of eight varieties studied.In F l a m e T o k a y the delay or inhibition of bhe abscission of the calyptra and parthenocarpic development of the berries, was obtained with pre-bloom treatments (3 days before beginning of bloom) of 4CPA 30 ppm + KGA3 30 ppm. Induction and growth ,of parthenocarpic berries was most pronounced after post-bloom sprays (7 days after the end of bloom) with BA 1500 ppm + KGA3 80 ppm or 4CPA 30 ppm. A parthenocarpic development of the berries was also obtained with postbloom treatments of KGA3 at concentrations of 50 to 100 ppm. BA (Benzyladenine) alone had only a slight effect on the development of parthenocarpic berries. However, the results were surprisingly satisfactory when applied in combination with gibberellin (KGA3 80 ppm) or auxins. Treatments at bloom or after bloom with BA 800 ppm + KGA3 80 ppm increased bhe number of berries and cluster weight. Applications of BA 800 ppm + KGA3 80 ppm to Rose Musca t at the beginning of bloom resulted in clusters with practically all berries seedless. The artificially accelerated growth of the berries may provoke abortion of all the recently fecundated ovules and the non viability of the not fecundated ones. Clusters of the treated plants with an average of 520 flowers originated 501 parbhenocarpic berries (96%), whereas the control with an average 635 flowers per cluster gave a percentage of seeded + seedless berries of 14% only {95 berries per cluster). BA applied with auxin or gibberellin-like substances in full-bloom or after bloom produced seedless berries, which were smaller in size than the seeded berries of unsprayed clusters

Technical Confrontation of Two Prototypes of Dielectric Drying Wood using Radio Frequency

Partiendo de la premisa de que el secado endógeno dieléctrico es el que mejores resultados proporciona al aplicarlo a madera, se confrontaron dos prototipos diferentes desde las perspectivas de la filosofía de diseño de la tecnología de 50Ω y la de bomba de calor; de los resultados obtenidos en un proceso de secado para una probeta de madera, se identificó que el prototipo implementado con tecnología de 50Ω obtuvo mejores resultados con respecto a la eficiencia del proceso de secado. Este trabajo abre la brecha a futuras investigaciones en torno a este tipo de aplicaciones industriales de la Radiofrecuencia (RF), con miras al diseño a escala de un prototipo de horno industrial de bajo costo para el secado de madera.Starting from the premise that dielectric endogenous drying method is the one that gives better results on wood, there will be a confrontation between two different prototypes from the perspectives of the design philosophy and outcome results in a wooden probe. This work opens the gap for future research around this type of industrial RF applications, in order to design a prototype scale industrial furnace for wood drying

Vessel-CAPTCHA: An efficient learning framework for vessel annotation and segmentation

Deep learning techniques for 3D brain vessel image segmentation have not been as successful as in the segmentation of other organs and tissues. This can be explained by two factors. First, deep learning techniques tend to show poor performances at the segmentation of relatively small objects compared to the size of the full image. Second, due to the complexity of vascular trees and the small size of vessels, it is challenging to obtain the amount of annotated training data typically needed by deep learning methods. To address these problems, we propose a novel annotation-efficient deep learning vessel segmentation framework. The framework avoids pixel-wise annotations, only requiring weak patch-level labels to discriminate between vessel and non-vessel 2D patches in the training set, in a setup similar to the CAPTCHAs used to differentiate humans from bots in web applications. The user-provided weak annotations are used for two tasks: (1) to synthesize pixel-wise pseudo-labels for vessels and background in each patch, which are used to train a segmentation network, and (2) to train a classifier network. The classifier network allows to generate additional weak patch labels, further reducing the annotation burden, and it acts as a second opinion for poor quality images. We use this framework for the segmentation of the cerebrovascular tree in Time-of-Flight angiography (TOF) and Susceptibility-Weighted Images (SWI). The results show that the framework achieves state-of-the-art accuracy, while reducing the annotation time by 77% w.r.t. learning-based segmentation methods using pixel-wise labels for training

Chirping compact stars: gravitational radiation and detection degeneracy with binary systems A conceptual pathfinder for space-based gravitational-wave observatories

Compressible, Riemann S-type ellipsoids can emit gravitational waves (GWs) with a chirp-like behavior (hereafter chirping ellipsoids, CELs). We show that the GW frequency-amplitude evolution of CELs (mass $\sim 1$~M$_\odot$, radius $\sim10^3$~km, polytropic equation of state with index $n\approx 3$) is indistinguishable from that emitted by double white dwarfs (DWDs) and by extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) composed of an intermediate-mass (e.g.~$10^3~M_\odot$) black hole and a planet-like (e.g.~$10^{-4}~M_\odot$) companion, in a specific frequency interval within the detector sensitivity band in which the GWs of all these systems are quasi-monochromatic. We estimate that for reasonable astrophysical assumptions, the rates in the local Universe of CELs, DWDs and EMRIs in the mass range considered here, are very similar, posing a detection-degeneracy challenge for space-based GW detectors. The astrophysical implications of this CEL-binary detection degeneracy by space-based GW-detection facilities, are outlined.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Grey matter sublayer thickness estimation in the mouse cerebellum

The cerebellar grey matter morphology is an important feature to study neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or Down’s syndrome. Its volume or thickness is commonly used as a surrogate imaging biomarker for such diseases. Most studies about grey matter thickness estimation focused on the cortex, and little attention has been drawn on the morphology of the cerebellum. Using ex vivo highresolution MRI, it is now possible to visualise the different cell layers in the mouse cerebellum. In this work, we introduce a framework to extract the Purkinje layer within the grey matter, enabling the estimation of the thickness of the cerebellar grey matter, the granular layer and molecular layer from gadolinium-enhanced ex vivo mouse brain MRI. Application to mouse model of Down’s syndrome found reduced cortical and layer thicknesses in the transchromosomic group

SU(4)_L X U(1)_X three-family model for the electroweak interaction

An extension of the gauge group $SU(2)_L\otimes U(1)_Y$ of the standard model to the symmetry group $SU(4)_L\otimes U(1)_X$ (3-4-1 for short) is presented. The model does not contain exotic electric charges and anomaly cancellation is achieved with a family of quarks transforming differently from the other two, thus leading to FCNC. By introducing a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry we obtain a consistent fermion mass spectrum, and avoid unitarity violation of the CKM mixing matrix arising from the mixing of ordinary and exotic quarks. The neutral currents coupled to all neutral vector bosons are studied, and by using CERN LEP and SLAC Linear Collider data at Z-pole and atomic parity violation data, we bound parameters of the model related to tree-level $Z-Z^\prime$ mixing. These parameters are further constrained by using experimental input from neutral meson mixing in the analysis of sources of FCNC present in the model. Constraints coming from the contribution of exotic particles to the one-loop oblique electroweak parameters $S$, $T$ and $U$ are also briefly discussed. Finally, a comparison is done of the predictions of different classes of 3-4-1 models without exotic electric charges.Comment: 26 pages, 6 tables, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Pulsar acceleration by asymmetric emission of sterile neutrinos

A convincing explanation for the observed pulsar large peculiar velocities is still missing. We argue that any viable particle physics solution would most likely involve the resonant production of a non-interacting neutrino $\nu_s$ of mass $m_{\nu_s}\sim 20$--50 keV. We propose a model where anisotropic magnetic field configurations strongly bias the resonant spin flavour precession of tau antineutrinos into $\nu_s$. For internal magnetic fields B_{int} \gsim 10^{15} G a $\bar\nu_\tau$-$\nu_s$ transition magnetic moment of the order of $10^{-12}$ Bohr magnetons is required. The asymmetric emission of $\nu_s$ from the core can produce sizeable natal kicks and account for recoil velocities of several hundred kilometers per second.Comment: 14 pages, AASTEX, 2 figures (uses epsfig). Minor typos corrected. Added acknowledgments to the funding institutes BID and Colciencia

Lactic Acid Yield Using Different Bacterial Strains, Its Purification, and Polymerization through Ring-Opening Reactions

Laboratory-scale anaerobic fermentation was performed to obtain lactic acid from lactose, using five lactic acid bacteria: Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. delbrueckii, L. plantarum, and L. delbrueckii lactis. A yield of 0.99 g lactic acid/g lactose was obtained with L. delbrueckii, from which a final concentration of 80.95 g/L aqueous solution was obtained through microfiltration, nanofiltration, and inverse osmosis membranes. The lactic acid was polymerized by means of ring-opening reactions (ROP) to obtain poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA), with a viscosity average molecular weight (Mv) of 19,264 g/mol