Comparative Analysis of Coding and Non-Coding Features within Insect Tolerance Loci in Wheat with Their Homologs in Cereal Genomes

Food insecurity and malnutrition have reached critical levels with increased human population, climate fluctuations, water shortage; therefore, higher-yielding crops are in the spotlight of numerous studies. Abiotic factors affect the yield of staple food crops; among all, wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus Norton) and orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana) are two of the most economically and agronomically harmful insect pests which cause yield loss in cereals, especially in wheat in North America. There is no effective strategy for suppressing this pest damage yet, and only the plants with intrinsic tolerance mechanisms such as solid stem phenotypes for WSS and antixenosis and/or antibiosis mechanisms for OWBM can limit damage. A major QTL and a causal gene for WSS resistance were previously identified in wheat, and 3 major QTLs and a causal gene for OWBM resistance. Here, we present a comparative analysis of coding and non-coding features of these loci of wheat across important cereal crops, barley, rye, oat, and rice. This research paves the way for our cloning and editing of additional WSS and OWBM tolerance gene(s), proteins, and metabolites.     

Renewable hydrogen energy regulations,codes and standards: Challenges faced by an EU candidate country

The European Union is one of the most important players in the field of world energy with an integrated and well-organized energy market. However, energy policies in the EU are not sustainable. The EU is the world’s largest importer of fossil fuels and is leading global action in accelerating the transition to renewable energy and low-carbon economy at present. Renewables make the second-largest contribution to domestic energy production after coal.     

Neutron dose transmission measurements for several new concrete samples including colemanite

We have prepared four baryte and four concrete samples having respectively 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% colemanite concentrations. Neutron dose transmission measurements have been done by using a source of mono-energetic neutrons (E_eff = 4.5 MeV–²⁴¹Am–Be). It has been shown that when colemanite percentages of the samples increase, neutron dose transmission values for the samples decrease. It is thus possible to enhance the neutron shielding property of baryte and ordinary concrete by adding different proportions of colemanite.     

Cost management through product design: target costing approach

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of target costing in managing product costs while promoting quality specifications that will meet customer requirements. In addition, it aims to develop a target costing module that will simplify implementation of target costing especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Tools of operations management such as quality function deployment (QFD) and value engineering (VE) have been considered and evaluated in terms of their integration into the target costing. In order to investigate the total effect, an implementation of the QFD deployment–target costing process (QFD–TC process) was conducted in a small manufacturing company. Previous studies on target costing were mostly conducted in lead companies. This study focuses on implementation of the QFD–TC process in SMEs. Overall, it was found that the QFD–TC process was an essential technique in managing the costs of both a product and the overall production process. Combining target costing with QFD and VE techniques provides companies with a competitive cost advantage.     

Hygrothermal Fracture Analysis of Orthotropic Materials Using J k -Integral

A new computational method based on the J _k -integral is put forward for the purpose of conducting fracture analysis of orthotropic materials subjected to hygrothermal stresses. By utilizing the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic hygrothermoelasticity, an alternative expression for the J _k -integral is derived to replace the general limit definition. A numerical procedure is developed and integrated into a finite element analysis software to implement the proposed form of the J _k -integral. Temperature and specific moisture concentration fields, which are required in fracture calculations, are also computed through finite element analysis. Numerical results are generated by considering an embedded crack in a polymer matrix fibrous composite laminate, that is subjected to steady-state hygrothermal loading. Comparisons of the mixed-mode stress intensity factors computed by the J _k -integral based method to those evaluated via the displacement correlation technique demonstrate that, the proposed form of the J _k -integral is domain independent and leads to numerical results of high accuracy. Presented parametric analyses illustrate the influences of the fiber volume fraction and the crack location on the modes I and II stress intensity factors, the energy release rate, and the T-stress.     

Branched chain derivatives of alkyl oleates: Tribological,rheological, oxidation,and low temperature properties

We report the evaluation of four previously prepared oleochemical branched chain ethers (1–4) and soybean oil methyl esters (SME) against cloud point, pour point, oxidation stability, kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, lubricity, and surface tension. Ethers 1–4 exhibited excellent low temperature, oxidation stability, and lubricity behavior; however, at low blend levels (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 wt%) in SME, 1–4 had minimal impact on cloud point and pour point of SME. The specific gravity and surface tension behavior of 1–4 are nearly identical to SME. Ethers 1–4 displayed increased viscosity when compared to SME, but were still within ASTM D 6751 specifications at low blend levels in SME. Conversely, ethers 3 and 4 at 2.0% in SME were out of specification for kinematic viscosity in EN 14214. Both SME and 1–4 exhibited excellent tribological properties, as evidenced by HFRR wear scar behavior well within prescribed ASTM and CEN petrodiesel specifications.     

Intracavity optogalvanic spectroscopy. An analytical technique for 14C analysis with subattomole sensitivity

We show a new ultrasensitive laser-based analytical technique, intracavity optogalvanic spectroscopy, allowing extremely high sensitivity for detection of (14)C-labeled carbon dioxide. Capable of replacing large accelerator mass spectrometers, the technique quantifies attomoles of (14)C in submicrogram samples. Based on the specificity of narrow laser resonances coupled with the sensitivity provided by standing waves in an optical cavity and detection via impedance variations, limits of detection near 10(-15) (14)C/(12)C ratios are obtained. Using a 15-W (14)CO2 laser, a linear calibration with samples from 10(-15) to >1.5 x 10(-12) in (14)C/(12)C ratios, as determined by accelerator mass spectrometry, is demonstrated. Possible applications include microdosing studies in drug development, individualized subtherapeutic tests of drug metabolism, carbon dating and real time monitoring of atmospheric radiocarbon. The method can also be applied to detection of other trace entities.     

Effects of cutting parameters on tool wear in drilling of polymer composite by Taguchi method

Polymer composite products can be obtained by primary manufacturing processes such as contact molding, vacuum bag molding, resin transfer molding, or sheet molding compound and secondary processes such as drilling and saw cutting. Drilling is generally employed to make bolted or riveted assembles in composite structures. In drilling, some defects like delamination and crack are seen, and also undesired hole surface roughness related to tool wear is an another problem frequently encountered. In this study, tool wear in drilling of sheet molding compound (SMC) composite, consisted of 30?wt.% glass fiber, 25?wt.% polyester, and 45?wt.% calcium carbonate, was investigated. SMC composite was drilled under different cutting speeds, feeds, and drill point angles. Taguchi design of experiments and analysis of variance were utilized to determine the optimal cutting parameters and to analyze the effects of them on the tool wear. The feed followed by the drill point angle were found to be the important factors while cutting speed was the least effective parameter. Chip volume was accepted as a criterion to compare obtained data. Increasing feed and decreasing drill point angle reduced the tool wear. Multivariable linear regression analysis was also employed to determine the correlations between the factors and the tool wear. Finally, a model was generated and a good approximation was achieved in the comparison of the experimental data and the predicted data obtained from the model.     

A slip-line approach to the machining with rounded-edge tool

In this paper, a new slip-line model approach for modeling the orthogonal cutting process with rounded-edge tools and its associated hodograph are proposed. This model consists of eight regions, which include a dead region in front of the rake face of tool. Dewhurst and Collins’s matrix technique for numerically solving the slip-line problem is employed in the mathematical formulation of the new model. The experimental results show that a small dead region is seen in front of the rake face of tool during cutting with a rounded-edge cutting tool. The unknown slip-line angle pair was solved depending on the force data obtained experimentally and variation of the subregions with cutting edge radius was determined. Cutting force, thrust force, and dead zone grow as cutting edge radius increases in cutting edge-radiused tools.     

Adaptive streaming of multi-view video over P2P networks

In this paper, we propose a novel solution for the adaptive streaming of 3D representations in the form of multi-view video by utilizing P2P overlay networks to assist the media delivery and minimize the bandwidth requirement at the server side. Adaptation to diverse network conditions is performed regarding the features of human perception to maximize the perceived 3D. We have performed subjective tests to characterize these features and determined the best adaptation method to achieve the highest possible perceived quality. Moreover, we provide a novel method for mapping from scalable video elementary stream to torrent-like data chunks for adaptive video streaming and provide an optimized windowing mechanism that ensures timely delivery of the content over yanl?? gibi. The paper also describes techniques generating scalable video chunks and methods for determining system parameters such as chunk size and window length.