Managing bacterial wilt, caused by Erwinia tracheiphila, on muskmelon with early control of striped cucumber beetle ( Acalymma vittatum (F)), and through varietal selection

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L), is an important vegetable crop in the United States. It is grown throughout the US, and Indiana ranked 4th in production after California, Arizona and Georgia with 12.4 thousand metric tons and market value of $7.6 million in 2015. Bacterial wilt of cucurbits, which is caused by Erwinia tracheiphila (E. F. Smith), and vectored by striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum (F)), is one of the most serious diseases of muskmelon that influences muskmelon quality and yield. Many cultivars of muskmelon are grown around the United States, especially in the Midwest. Muskmelon cultivars differ in attractiveness to the striped cucumber beetle (SCB) and susceptibility to BW, but no known cultivar resistant to BW has been introduced. The primary method for managing BW is controlling the striped cucumber beetle before it can infect the plant. However, it is not known whether there is a critical stage during early plant growth when muskmelon plants are more susceptible to infection and therefore control of striped cucumber beetle is especially important. We conducted three field experiments at two locations (Lafayette and Vincennes, IN) in 2013 and 2014 to investigate whether there is a critical period for striped cucumber beetle control sometime during the first three weeks after muskmelons are transplanted to the field. We found that using row covers that exclude beetles, seed treatment or soil drenches with insecticide thiamethoxam significantly reduces the beetle numbers and wilt and increases the number of marketable fruits yield compared to not controlling striped cucumber beetle. However, the length of time row covers were left on the plants (for 7, 14, or 21 days after transplanting, DAT), or the period beetles were permitted to feed on plants (0-7, 7-14, or 14-21 DAT), or the time when beetles began to feed on plants (0, 7, or 14 DAT) did not significantly influence disease influence or yield in a consistent manner. This suggests that there is no clear ‘critical period’ during early muskmelon growth when controlling striped cucumber beetles is especially important. The data show that maximum severity of bacterial wilt occurred in June and July, which corresponds to development of disease transmitted by feeding of overwintered beetles plus additional transmission by the first generation of adults to emerge in the summer. We also conducted field studies in 2015 and 2016 with 10 to 12 cultivars at three locations (Lafayette, Wanatah and Vincennes, Indiana) to identify those most and least attractive to SCB and susceptible to BW. Replicated plots of each cultivar were grown and natural populations of SCB allowed to feed. At one location, additional plots of each cultivar were populated with 5 SCB per plant, and row covers applied to keep the SCB near the plants for 3 weeks. Results differed among locations. Without row covers, cultivars ‘Diplomat’, ‘Dream Dew’ and ‘RML 9818’ attracted higher numbers of SCBs than most other cultivars at one location each. ‘Dream Dew’ (at all locations) and ‘RML 9818’ (at two locations) had significantly higher percentages of BW than the least susceptible cultivars. Without row covers, ‘Superstar’, ‘Aphrodite’ and ‘Wrangler’ produced significantly greater yield than the lowest yielding cultivars at all locations. With row covers, early season beetle populations did not differ among cultivars and BW was greatest in ‘Dream Dew’ and least in ‘Superstar’ with other cultivars intermediate. With row covers, ‘Athena’ and ‘Superstar’ produced greater yield than many other cultivars. Over all ‘Diplomat’ and ‘Dream Dew’ were the most attractive to beetles and susceptible to BW. ‘Aphrodite’, ‘Athena’ and especially ‘Superstar’ were less attractive to beetles and showed more tolerance to BW in both 2015 and 2016. We found cucurbitacin A in leaves of ‘Athena’ and ‘RML9818’, and cucurbitacin B only in leaves and stems of ‘Dream Dew’ and ‘RML9818’. All cultivars had cucurbitacin I in both leaves and stems. In leaves the highest level of cucurbitacin I was found in ‘Hales Best’ followed by ‘Afg1’ and ‘Superstar’, and the highest level of cucurbitacin A was found in ‘RML9818’. Stems of ‘Diplomat’ had the most cucurbitacin I, followed ‘Superstar’, ‘Dream Dew’ and ‘Hales Best’. Cucurbitacin B was the highest in stems of both ‘Dream Dew’ and ‘RML9818’. Cucurbitacin E was present at similar levels in the stems of ‘Diplomat’, ‘Hales Best’ and ‘Afg2’

Optimisation de la Conception du Moteur Synchrone à Excitation Hybride pour Véhicules Électriques à Haut Performance

Since 1970, the ever-growing concerns of human community for the life-threatening environmental changes have pushed the policy makers to decarbonize those sectors with high energy demands, including the transportation industry. Optimal designs of Electric Vehicles (EVs) can contribute to today’s exigent car market, and take the leading role for future sustainable transportation of human and goods. At the heart of electromechanical energy conversion lays the electrical machines, which have attracted lots of interests and efforts for efficiency increase and cost reduction. In this thesis, a methodology is proposed and implemented to design and optimize the cost and efficiency of a Hybrid Excitation Synchronous Machine (HESM) for a given vehicle and a desired driving cycle. Hybridization in the excitation system can combine the favorable qualities of high-torque at low-speed with superior overloading capability, exceptional flux weakening and extended Constant Power Speed Range (CPSR), high efficiency, and flexible controllability in motoring and generation modes. With HESM technology, we can also shift from the rare-earth magnets towards the cheap ferrite magnets and guaranty the supply for motor industry. The designed HESM in this work responds to three requirements of the vehicle, namely, the maximum cruising speed, acceleration time, and gradeability, with the least or null overdesign in the drivetrain. At the same time, it will have the maximum global efficiency over the driving cycle, and the minimum cost for the material. The optimization is conducted at either of the component and system levels. The optimization at component-level is developed based on the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). A new formulation for the objective functions is proposed, which deals with the design optimization and cost minimization, simultaneously. To maximize the efficiency, a system-level search is conducted to find the optimum HESM with the highest global efficiency over a given driving cycle. Due to the 3D direction of magnetic flux in the selected HESM topology, the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was very time- and process-consuming. To be able to evaluate the objective functions during the optimization, a new model has been developed based on a 3D Magnetic Equivalent Circuit (MEC) network. This model predicts well the non-linearity of magnetic materials, as compared with the FEA simulations. At last, the final optimized HESM is evaluated by the virtue of FEA technique.Depuis 1970, les préoccupations de l’humanité envers les changements climatiques ont poussé les chercheurs à faire des études approfondies pour optimiser les machines électriques pour avoir des véhicules électriques plus performants et moins énergivores. La conception optimale de véhicules électriques (EV) peut contribuer pour un marché automobile plus exigeant et jouer un rôle principal pour le futur du transport durable des biens et des personnes. Les machines électriques se trouvent au cœur de la conversion d'énergie électromécanique, qui ont suscité beaucoup d'intérêts et d’efforts pour augmenter leur rendement et réduire leur coût. Cette thèse propose une méthodologie et une mise en œuvre pour minimiser le coût et maximiser l’efficacité d’une machine synchrone à excitation hybride (HESM) pour un véhicule donné et un cycle de conduite sélectionné. L'hybridation du système d’excitation peut combiner les qualités favorables comme un couple élevé à basse vitesse avec une capacité de surcharge supérieure, un défluxage exceptionnelle et une plage de vitesse prolongée de puissance constante (CPSR), une efficacité élevée et une contrôlabilité flexible dans les modes de traction et de freinage régénératif. Avec la technologie HESM, nous pouvons également passer des aimants de terres rares aux aimants en ferrite bon marché, et garantir l’approvisionnement pour l’industrie automobile. Le HESM conçu dans ce travail répond à trois exigences du véhicule : la vitesse de croisière maximale, le temps d’accélération et la capacité de monter une pente, avec un surdimensionnement minimal ou nulle de la chaîne de traction. Une optimisation multiniveau avec une interaction entre la vision composant et la vision système est proposée et validée. L’optimisation au niveau du composant est développée sur la base de l’algorithme génétique de tri non dominé (NSGA-II). Une nouvelle formulation pour les fonctions objectives est proposée pour l’optimisation simultanée de la conception de la machine et de la minimisation de son coût. Après avoir optimisés onze HESM au niveau du composant, pour maximiser l’efficacité, une optimisation au niveau du système est réalisée pour trouver le HESM optimal avec le plus haut rendement global sur le cycle de conduite donné. Une validation de la conception finale de la HESM présente un meilleur rendement global sur le cycle de conduite de 18,65% en relation à une machine synchrone à excitation séparée équivalente et 15,8% en relation à une à aiment permanent. En raison de la direction 3D du flux magnétique dans la topologie HESM sélectionnée, l’analyse par éléments finis (FEA) prenait beaucoup de temps et de ressources computationnelles. Afin d’évaluer les fonctions objectives lors de l’optimisation, un nouveau modèle a été développé basé sur un réseau de circuits magnétiques équivalents 3D (MEC). Ce modèle prédit bien la non-linéarité des matériaux magnétiques, par rapport aux simulations FEA. Enfin, le HESM optimisé final est évalué grâce à la technique FEA

Comparison of Attractiveness and Reaction of Melon Cultivars to the Striped Cucumber Beetle and Bacterial Wilt, 2015

This is a compilation of 21 research trial reports from four land-grant universities in the Midwestern United States. Crops include cantaloupe, pickling cucumber, pepper, potato, pumpkin, summer squash and zucchini, sweet corn, tomato, and watermelon. Somecrops were evaluated in high tunnels or hoophouses. Most trials evaluated different cultivars or varieties. One report addressed plant spacing for sweet corn and one addressed soil block for production of tomato seedlings. A list of vegetable seed sources and a list of other online sources of vegetable trial reports are also included

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO