Temperature Influences on Powdery Mildew Susceptibility and Development in the Hop Cultivar Cascade

The hop cultivar Cascade possesses partial resistance to powdery mildew (Podosphaera macularis) that can be overcome by recently emerged, virulent isolates of the fungus. Given that hop is a long-lived perennial and that brewers still demand Cascade, there is a need to better understand factors that influence the development of powdery mildew on this cultivar. Growth chamber experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of constant, transient, and fluctuating temperature on Cascade before, concurrent to, and after inoculation as contrasted with another powdery mildew susceptible cultivar, Symphony. Exposure of plants to supraoptimal temperature (26 and 32°C) prior to inoculation led to more rapid onset of ontogenic resistance in intermediately aged leaves in Cascade as compared to Symphony. Cascade was overall less susceptible to powdery mildew when exposed to constant temperature ranging from 18 to 32°C directly after inoculation. However, cultivar also interacted with temperature such that proportionately fewer and smaller colonies developed on Cascade than Symphony at supraoptimal yet permissive temperatures for disease. When plants were inoculated and then exposed to high temperature, colonies became progressively more tolerant to temperatures of 26 to 30°C with increasing time from inoculation to exposure, as moderated by cultivar, the specific temperature, and their interaction. Subjecting plants to simulated diurnal temperature regimes at the time of inoculation or 24 h later indicated Cascade and Symphony responded proportionately similar on days predicted to be marginally unfavorable or marginally favorable for powdery mildew, although Cascade was quantitatively less susceptible than Symphony. In sum, this research indicates that Cascade is overall less susceptible to powdery mildew than Symphony, and supraoptimal temperature before, concurrent to, or after infection may interact differentially to moderate disease risk in Cascade. Therefore, cultivar-specific risk assessments for powdery mildew appear warranted.

Investigation on the Ignition of Self-Regulating Heating Cables due to Overheating

Owing to the self-regulating heating cables installed to prevent freeze-up, hundreds of fires are reported annually. According to the Fire Statistical Yearbook of 2020, provided by the National Fire Agency of Korea, a total of 2,245 fires occurred due to seasonal equipment, of which 240 were caused by heating wires. It is reported that the fires due to the self-regulating heating cables are mainly caused by short circuit, heat storage, poor contact, and electric leakage. Herein, the possibility of ignition in self-regulating heating cables owing to overheating is investigated. Test samples were prepared according to the IEC 60738 standard, and the resistance characteristics and surface conditions were analyzed at varying temperatures. It was found that the self-temperature control function of these cables was lost at a specific temperature. In addition, the ignition of self-regulating heating cables was confirmed through a fire reproduction test at the experimental temperature.

Remote video monitoring for offshore sea farms: Reliability and availability evaluation and image quality assessment via laboratory tests

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p class="Abstract">In this article, the availability and reliability of a remote video monitoring system for offshore sea farming plants are studied and tested in laboratory. The scope of the system is to ensure a video surveillance infrastructure so to supervise breeding cages along with the fish inside them, in order to contrast undesired phenomena like fish poaching as well as cages damages. The system is installed on a cage floating structure: it is mainly composed of an IP camera that is controlled by a Raspberry Pi Zero which is the core of the system. Images are streamed thanks to a 3G/4G dongle, while the overall system is powered via two photovoltaic panels charging a backup battery. Simulations are carried out considering two seasonal functioning periods (i.e., winter and summer): each of them is characterised by temperature trends defined according to the average temperatures of the system deployment site, 8 km offshore the city of Piombino, Italy. In order to optimise power consumption without hindering application scenario requirements, the system operates according to a duty cycle of 2 minutes out of 15 (i.e., 8 minutes of operation per hour). The performances of the system are then tested in laboratory exploiting a climatic chamber so to simulate different environmental conditions: variations on image quality are then analysed in order to identify possible dependencies on critical situations related to specific temperature and relative humidity values and to the presence of salt in the air.</p></div></div></div></div>

Changes in Crystal Structure and Accelerated Hydrolytic Degradation of Polylactic Acid in High Humidity

Highly crystallized polylactic acid (PLA) is suitable for industrial applications due to its stiffness, heat resistance, and dimensional stability. However, crystal lamellae in PLA products might delay PLA decomposition in the environment. This study clarifies how the initial crystal structure influences the hydrolytic degradation of PLA under accelerated conditions. Crystallized PLA was prepared by annealing amorphous PLA at a specific temperature under reduced pressure. Specimens with varied crystal structure were kept at 70 °C and in a relative humidity (RH) of 95% for a specific time. Changes in crystal structure were analyzed using differential calorimetry and wide-angle X-lay diffraction. The molecular weight (MW) was measured with gel permeation chromatography. The crystallinity of the amorphous PLA became the same as that of the initially annealed PLA within one hour at 70 °C and 95% RH. The MW of the amorphous PLA decreased faster even though the crystallinity was similar during the accelerated degradation. The low MW chains of the amorphous PLA tended to decrease faster, although changes in the MW distribution suggested random scission of the molecular chains for initially crystallized PLA. The concentrations of chain ends and impurities, which catalyze hydrolysis, in the amorphous region were considered to be different in the initial crystallization. The crystallinity alone does not determine the speed of hydrolysis.

On the Impact of Build Envelope Sizes on E-PBF Processed Pure Iron

In additive manufacturing, the thermal history of a part determines its final microstructural and mechanical properties. The factors leading to a specific temperature profile are diverse. For the integrity of a parameter setting established, periphery variations must also be considered. In the present study, iron was processed by electron beam powder bed fusion. Parts realized by two process runs featuring different build plate sizes were analyzed. It is shown that the process temperature differs significantly, eventually affecting the properties of the processed parts.

A Water Loop Design for the CRAFT Project towards the Testing of CFETR Water-Cooled Blanket and Divertor

As one of the tasks of the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT), a High Heat Flux (HHF) testing device will be built to test the blanket and divertor of Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor (CFETR). The water loop is a key system of the HHF testing device. The main objective of the water loop is to provide deionized water at specific temperature, pressure, and flow rate for different testing experiments of the water-cooled blanket and water-cooled divertor components. The design of the water loop has been through three major steps. Firstly, the water cooled blanket and divertor were designed and analyzed, in detail, for CFETR. Secondly, thermal hydraulic features of the prototypes were abstracted from the analyses results. Then, the experiment plan was made so that the preliminary design of the water loop was carried out. The third step was the engineering design, which was conducted through cooperation with an industrial enterprise with certifications. At present, the water loop is ready for fabrication and construction. The water loop will be completed, for commissioning operation, by August 2022, as scheduled. After that, the experiments will be carried out step by step and provide solid technical base to CFETR.

New Copper Alloys Used to Make Products Intended for Contact with Drinking Water

This article presents the results of tests conducted as part of a research project with the primary objective of developing new copper alloys with limited lead content. The new group of materials were created in a production plant. As part of tests, a group of 22 alloys were selected for testing in castability, structural characteristics and hardness. Based on the test results obtained, the group of alloys under study was narrowed down to nine. The mechanical properties of these alloys were determined in static tensile tests as well as in uniaxial upsetting tests at elevated temperature, on the basis of which the group of alloys under investigation was further narrowed to three. Further studies involved technological verification of the application of these alloys under industrial conditions. These alloys were subject to numerical forging analyses, along with forging tests, under semi-industrial conditions, where the degree of filling of a die impression at a specific temperature was measured using an optic scanner. The quality of production of the obtained forgings was evaluated macroscopically with simultaneous observations of the microstructure.

Extraction and Characterization of Chitin and Chitosan Biopolymer as Wound Healing Material Using Shrimp Shells

Wound refers to any damage or disruption to the normal anatomical structure. In our everyday pathology, wounds remains one of the demanding clinical problems with it related complications which increases mortality and morbidity rate yearly. In this study, chitin and chitosan were extracted from shrimp shells waste by chemical method, treated with an acid and an alkali which gave a yield of 12 % and 66.57 % respectively. The chemical extraction method included demineralization where the sample was treated with hydrochloric acid (HCL) under a specific temperature. The sample was then treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to remove all the protein in the material at a specific temperature. To obtain the chitosan, the chitin was treated with 50% NaOH at a temperature of 1000C. E.coli proved to be more susceptible in antimicrobial studies with a value of 11.67± 0.47. The FTIR spectra gave a characteristic bands of –NH at 3430.09 cm-1, OH at 3256.32 cm-1.At 2960.75 cm-1, NH was attached to a single bond. The characteristics of produced chitosan were in accordance with the commercial standard that showed a higher percentile yield posing many properties of commercial value and greater scope of industrial applications. This study revealed that shrimp shell waste could be effectively utilized for the extraction of chitin, chitosan, and chitooligomer for industrial applications. The zone of inhibition study of E.coli shows that chitosan and COS may have a high antimicrobial property hence it usefulness in the wound healing management.

T-dependent RMF Model Applied to Ternary Fission Studies

Ternary decay is comparatively a rare phenomenon. The yield distribution for the thermal neutroninduced fission of 236U was investigated within the Temperature-dependent Relativistic Mean Field (TRMF) approach and statistical theory. Binding energy obtained from TRMF for the ground state and at a specific temperature is used to evaluate the fragment excitation energy, which is needed to calculate the nuclear level density. Using the ternary convolution, the yield for α-accompanied fission of 236U* is calculated. Initial results are presented which shows a maximum yield for the fragment pair Tc + Ag +α. Further, the ternary pre-existence probability for the spontaneous fission of 236U was studied considering fixed third fragments of α,10Be and 14C using the area of the overlapping region. No significant change in the yield distribution was observed when fragment deformations are considered. However, the heavy group for the probable pair remains as 132Sn with a change in mass number of the lighter fragment.

Associations between Perceptions and Measures of Weather and Walking, United States—2015

Introduction: Weather can be a barrier to walking. Understanding how perceptions of weather as a barrier and measured temperature are associated with walking can inform monitoring and promotion strategies. The objective of this study is to examine the association between perceptions of weather as a barrier to walking and measured weather with the volume of leisure and transportation walking. Methods: The 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) assessed participation in and volume of walking (transportation, leisure) in the past week and frequency of reporting weather as a barrier to walking. Data were collected over the entire year. In 2019, we merged month-specific temperature data from the PRISM climate group with individual NHIS records. We examined associations using logistic (participation) and linear regression models (volume). Results: Participation in walking increased as frequency of reporting weather as a barrier to walking decreased, from ‘almost always’ (transportation: 23%, leisure: 42%) to ‘a little of the time’ (transportation: 40%, leisure: 67%). Among adults reporting walking, walking volume increased as frequency of reporting weather as a barrier decreased from ‘almost always’ (transportation: 51 min/week, leisure: 64 min/week) to ‘never’ (transportation: 69 min/week, leisure: 98 min/week). Month-specific temperature was significantly associated with leisure walking with lower participation at the lowest and highest temperature quintiles, although the strength of the association differed by frequency of reporting weather as a barrier. Conclusions: In general, prevalence and volume of leisure and transportation walking decreased as the perception of weather as a barrier increased. Low and high temperature conditions were also associated with leisure walking participation, particularly among adults with increased perceptions of weather as a barrier. Our findings highlight the importance of including strategies to help adults overcome perceived and actual weather-related barriers in walking promotion efforts.