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Early stakeholder cohesion in wild-capture freshwater ornamental fisheries can support conservation outcomes
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An experimental evaluation of thermal conductivity of colloidal suspension of carbon‑rich fly ash microparticles and diamond‑nano powder (DNP) in Jet‑A fuel
No full textThis study investigates the enhancement of thermal conductivity in Jet‑A fuel by dispersing carbon‑based micro/nano materials, specifically Carbon Fly Ash (CFA) and Diamond Nano Powder (DNP). CFA, derived from heavy fuel oil combustion and rich in unburned carbon and inorganic oxides, possesses a porous structure, while DNP is renowned for its high thermal conductivity. Both materials were introduced into Jet‑A fuel to assess their impact on heat‑transfer properties. Colloidal suspensions were stabilized using a two‑step process involving surfactant addition and sonication, with stability lasting between 20 and 60 minutes, depending on particle concentration. Thermal conductivity measurements under controlled heat flux conditions revealed that a 2 wt.% DNP concentration increased thermal conductivity by 2 %, whereas a 3 wt.% CFA concentration resulted in an 8 % improvement, comparable to activated carbon nanoparticles. The significant enhancement by CFA is attributed to its porous structure and trace iron content, making it a promising additive for fuel‑performance improvements. This study highlights the potential of CFA and DNP to enhance thermal properties in Jet‑A fuel, while also identifying challenges in colloidal stability, particularly for DNP
Scheduling Telescope Observations for the European Southern Observatory
Get PDFThe European Southern Observatory (ESO) provides state-of-the-art large telescope facilities at three sites in Chile, supported by 16 European member states. Astronomers submit proposals for sets of observations which are reviewed and ranked based on scientific merit, then a schedule is constructed respecting the ranking and aiming to make the fullest use of the various telescopes and numerous instruments. Currently a schedule covers six months, but in the near future ESO will switch to annual schedules. Here we examine the most challenging scheduling problem encountered by ESO: scheduling the operations of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) on Paranal, Chile. Tasks to be scheduled include observations performed by ESO staff, `visitor mode' periods where astronomers visit the site to use the telescopes, various maintenance tasks, and reconfiguration tasks taking multiple days. Typically a VLTI six-month schedule would contain approximately 450 activities. We explore global constraint models and a SAT encoding of the problem
Optical coherence tomography for early detection of crop infection
Get PDFBackground
Fungal diseases are among the most significant threats to global crop production, often leading to substantial yield losses. Early detection of crop infection by fungus is the very first step to deploying a timely and effective treatment. Early and reliable detection is thus key to improving yields, sustainability, and achieving food security. Conventional diagnostic methods are however often destructive, slow, or requiring visible symptoms which appear late in the infection process. To overcome these challenges, we propose using optical coherence tomography (OCT) as an innovative imaging tool to provide cross-sectional and three-dimensional images of the plant internal microstructure non-invasively, in vivo, and in real-time.
Results
We demonstrate the use of low-cost OCT to monitoring wheat (cultivar AxC 169) when infected by Septoria tritici. We show that OCT analysis can effectively detect signs of infection before any external symptoms appear. Although OCT cannot directly visualize fungal hyphae, OCT reveals apparent morphological changes of the mesophyll where the fungal filaments are expected to develop. This study thus focuses on monitoring and correlating changes within the mesophyll structural organisation with the state of infection. It results in distinct statistical difference between intact and infected wheat plants two days only after infection. We then demonstrate the use of machine learning (ML) for high throughput segmentation of OCT scans, providing a foundation for future automated fungus-detection analysis.
Conclusions
This work highlights the potential of OCT, combined with ML tools, to enable rapid, non-invasive, and early diagnosis of crop fungal infections, opening new avenues for precision agriculture and sustainable disease management
A guide for fostering parent–child math talk and play during shared book-reading across diverse genres
Get PDFThis theoretical paper expands upon previous research and proposes a guide for promoting mathematical talk and play through shared book reading (SBR), with a focus on the home environment. Building on a previously developed classroom-based model, this article describes a design-based research approach to extend the guide to including diverse literary genres—such as narrative, informational, multicultural, and math-specific books in a home setting. Parent–child shared book-reading in authentic contexts can provide a rich platform for “math talk”, where references are made to mathematical words, concepts, and content, and may support children’s mathematical skills. SBR with quality children’s literature can play a promising role in motivating and engaging children’s interest and pleasure in both reading and mathematics. However, few studies have explored this with diverse literary genres in the home setting, as the main focus has been in the classroom and using books specifically written to teach math content such as counting or sorting books. The proposed guide provides direction and practical examples for fostering parent–child math talk and play activities that can be used to extend concepts covered during the SBR. The potential application of the SBR guide, and how it can encourage parent–child talk to support a full range of mathematical concepts, encourage home-preschool collaboration, promote effective SBR techniques, and facilitate parent–child conversations about math in new and confident ways is discussed
Anticoagulant potential of modified sulfated exopolysaccharides from deep-sea bacteria: toward non-animal heparin alternatives
Get PDFHeparin, a widely used polysaccharidic anticoagulant of animal origin, is associated with risks of contamination and adverse effects, notably bleeding and thrombocytopenia. These limitations have prompted interest in alternative sulfated polysaccharides with anticoagulant properties and improved safety profiles. This study explored the anticoagulant potential of two marine bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS), infernan and diabolican. It assessed whether chemical modifications (depolymerization, oversulfation) could enhance their anticoagulant properties compared to unfractionated and low molecular weight heparins. Native EPS were depolymerized to generate different molecular weights and then chemically oversulfated to increase negative charge density. Anticoagulant activities were evaluated using clotting and thrombin generation assays (TGA). Molecular docking was performed to model interactions with antithrombin and heparin cofactor II. Only highly sulfated derivatives significantly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time while showing negligible effect on thrombin time and anti-factor Xa activity. They present different structures, and their binding to antithrombin is not achieved via the classic pentasaccharide motif. In TGA, these derivatives inhibited thrombin formation at higher doses than heparin but induced a marked delay in clot generation. Docking analyses supported their ability to bind serpins, albeit with lower specificity than heparin. Their limited anti-Xa activity and non-animal origin position them as promising anticoagulant candidates
Ready, bid, go! On-demand delivery using fleets of drones with unknown, heterogeneous energy storage constraints
Get PDFUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are expected to transform logistics, reducing delivery time, costs, and emissions. This study addresses an on-demand delivery, in which fleets of UAVs are deployed to fulfil orders that arrive stochastically. Unlike previous work, it considers UAVs with heterogeneous, unknown energy storage capacities and assumes no knowledge of the energy consumption models. We propose a decentralised deployment strategy that combines auction-based task allocation with online learning. Each UAV independently decides whether to bid for orders based on its energy storage charge level, the parcel mass, and delivery distance. Over time, it refines its policy to bid only for orders within its capability. Simulations using realistic UAV energy models reveal that, counter-intuitively, assigning orders to the least confident bidders reduces delivery times and increases the number of successfully fulfilled orders. This strategy is shown to outperform threshold-based methods which require UAVs to exceed specific charge levels at deployment. We propose a variant of the strategy which uses learned policies for forecasting. This enables UAVs with insufficient charge levels to commit to fulfilling orders at specific future times, helping to prioritise early orders. Our work provides new insights into long-term deployment of UAV swarms, highlighting the advantages of decentralised energy-aware decision-making coupled with online learning in real-world dynamic environments
Sequence rules for a long SPOP-binding degron required for protein ubiquitylation.
Get PDFThe adaptor protein, Speckle-type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP), recruits substrates to the cullin-3-subclass of E3 ligase for selective protein ubiquitylation. The Myddosome protein, Myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88), is ubiquitylated by the SPOP-based E3 ligase to negatively regulate immune signaling, however, the sequence rules for SPOP-mediated substrate engagement and degradation are not fully understood. Here, we show that MyD88 interacts with SPOP through a long degron that contains the established SPOP-binding consensus and an N-terminal site that we name the Q-motif. Based on sequence similarity to MyD88, we show that additional substrates, including Steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3), SET domain-containing protein 2 (SETD2) and Caprin1, engage SPOP in this manner. We show that the Q-motif is a critical determinant of these interactions in mammalian cells and determine X-ray crystal structures that show the molecular basis of SPOP associations with these proteins. These studies reveal a new consensus sequence for substrate-binding to SPOP that is necessary for substrate ubiquitylation, thus expanding the sequence rules required for SPOP-mediated E3 ligase substrate recognition
Challenges and opportunities of using applied theatre in environmental decision-making: the views of practitioners
Get PDFApplied theatre techniques are emerging in the environmental realm as promising methods for better representing local people’s values in decision-making. These are dramaturgic activities conducted outside ordinary theatre institutions to discuss conflicts based on power differences. We purposively interviewed practitioners who have been part of environmental research projects that have implemented applied theatre techniques in the Global South, including professors, research assistants, postdoctoral researchers, and postgraduate students. Their projects explored aspects such as (a) the extent to which these techniques can enable dialogues on values and power differences, (b) the practicality of implementing these techniques, and (c) open spaces for transformation. Practitioners described how local people negotiated their plural values through applied theatre, and how the techniques create opportunities for reflection on how local people experience power differences, thus fostering some agency for people to bring their own experiences and needs to the discussion. As such, we identified applied theatre as a technique for fostering social-ecological transformations, and thus encouraging small but meaningful changes. However, to be successful, it requires creating “safe-enough” spaces for discussions and implementing an ethics of care. Despite the opportunities presented by these techniques in these projects, further research is needed on the long-term impacts of applied theatre on promoting social-ecological changes
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