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Plasma bubbles can affect ground‐based augmentation system (GBAS) performance by posing large spatial ionospheric gradients between the aircraft and the airport, which makes it important to detect plasma bubbles effectively. In this study, we investigate the use of VHF radar to detect plasma bubbles and mitigate their potential impact on GBAS through a simulation. When the line‐of‐sight of a certain GPS satellite is determined to be passing through an area of plasma bubbles as detected by EAR, such GPS satellite shall be removed from the positioning calculation on board the aircraft. We set up different simulation scenarios by varying the satellite geometry, and airport coordinate. Results are described in the form of vertical protection level (VPL) and vertical position error (VPE), which we then analyse as a function of zonal and meridional distance. The results show that such a radar‐based monitoring system can be used to mitigate the effects of plasma bubbles on GBAS to cover surrounding airports within a certain range, especially in the meridional direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of dietary nutmeg oil (NO) on growth performance, blood parameters, lipid peroxidation and heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression in Korean native chicken (KNC) reared under hot temperature. We allocated 273 meat‐type KNCs (Hanhyup‐3, 4‐week‐old, body weight [BW] = 539.93 ± 1.75 g) to the following three treatments with seven replicate pens (13 birds/pen) per treatment. Three treatment diets were as follows: (a) Control, basal diet without NO supplementation; (b) NO 250; and (c) NO 500, basal diet supplemented with 250 and 500 ppm NO respectively. Diets and water were provided ad libitum throughout the 6‐week feeding trial. During overall period (0–6 weeks), no differences (p > 0.05) were observed in BW gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) among treatments. However, the FI at 0–3 weeks decreased (p < 0.05) quadratically with increasing NO levels. Most blood parameters did not differ (p > 0.05) among treatments, although the monocyte level of the NO 500 group was considerably lower (p > 0.05) than that of the other groups. Furthermore, dietary NO did not affect serum triglyceride, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (p > 0.05); however, it linearly decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level (p < 0.05). Additionally, serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration decreased (p < 0.05) and heart MDA concentration was lower (p = 0.08) with increasing dietary NO supplementation. After a 3‐hr heat (35°C) challenge, the rectal temperature (RT) reduced (p < 0.05) linearly with increasing NO levels. Dietary NO did not affect liver HSP70 (p > 0.05) gene expression. In conclusion, NO potentially enhanced the ability of chickens to alleviate heat stress. Furthermore, our findings suggest that lipid oxidation inhibition by dietary NO likely mediated the enhanced heat‐stress tolerance of the chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sekampung Hulu and Sangharus rivers were selected as target sites to study improved use and conservation of dam reservoir water because the region is an important source of fresh water, irrigation water for downstream agriculture and production of hydropower. The two rivers exhibited differences in average water quality. Most water quality parameters exhibited clear differences between the two rivers at each sampling event, with the relative differences not changing during the sampling period. Analysis of water quality based on land use percentage indicated that upland fields had a major impact on most water quality parameters. In addition, forest and plantation conditions had a major impact on the suspended solids concentrations. The results of the present study suggest that current management of these land use categories may not be adequate to prevent or even decrease erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing consumer awareness of the authenticity of products has led to a demand for rapid measurement methods to support the traceability of high‐value commodities. In this research, a front‐face method was used to obtain fluorescence excitation–emission matrix fingerprints of patchouli oil samples from different geographical origins in Indonesia. Principal component analysis (PCA) was then used to explore the excitation–emission matrix (EEM) data structure of the samples, and 3D eigenvector value thresholding was used to discriminate important variables. It was found that there were five important EEM regions representing the sample variation. A decision‐tree model with a subset of two important regions, i.e. regions 1 and 3, was then developed for the classification of patchouli oils from different Indonesian islands. These results show that front‐face fluorescence spectroscopy has the potential to be used as a supporting tool for the discrimination of the geographical origin of patchouli oils. The use of front‐face fluorescence spectroscopy combined with chemometric analysis has been introduced for authentication of Indonesian Patchouli oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In quantal density functional theory (Q-DFT), the mapping from either a ground or excited state of the interacting system to one of noninteracting fermions with equivalent density is such that the state of the latter model S system is arbitrary. Thus, in principle, there are an infinite number of local (multiplicative) effective potential energy functions that can reproduce the density of the interacting system. In the present work, we note that there is also an arbitrariness in the wave function of the model fermions when the S system is constructed in an excited state. Different wave functions lead to the same density. As the principal requirement of the model system is met, viz. to reproduce the interacting system density, these wave functions are all equally valid representations, irrespective of whether they are eigenfunctions of various symmetry operators. However, the corresponding nonlocal properties such as the Fermi and Coulomb hole charge distributions, and the resulting Pauli and Coulomb energies, will differ. This wave function arbitrariness within Q-DFT is demonstrated via the exactly solvable Hooke's atom. Finally, Q-DFT and Kohn–Sham DFT are contrasted with regard to the state and wave function arbitrariness of the model S system. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In quantal density functional theory (Q‐DFT), any nondegenerate or degenerate ground or excited state of a system of electrons may be mapped to one of noninteracting fermions such that the equivalent density, energy, and ionization potential are obtained. As these model fermions are noninteracting, their effective potential energy, a local (multiplicative) operator, is the same for a particular state of the model system. The state of the noninteracting fermions, however, is arbitrary in that they could be in a ground or excited state. Hence, within Q‐DFT, there exist, in principle, an infinite number of local effective potential energy functions that can generate the same density as that of the interacting electrons. In this article, we demonstrate this state arbitrariness by mapping a (nondegenerate) ground state of the Hookean atom to two different noninteracting fermion systems: one in a singlet ground state (1s2) and the other in a singlet first excited state (1s2s). In each case, the density and energy determined are equivalent to that of the Hookean atom in the ground state, with the highest occupied eigenvalues of the model system being the negative of the ionization potential. The contrast with the mapping within traditional Kohn–Sham and generalized adiabatic connection Kohn–Sham density functional theories is also made. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are three expressions for the kinetic energy density t(r) expressed in terms of its quantal source, the single‐particle density matrix: tA(r), the integrand of the kinetic energy expectation value; tB(r), the trace of the kinetic energy tensor; tC(r), a virial form in terms of the 'classical' kinetic field. These kinetic energy densities are studied by application to 'artificial atoms' or quantum dots in a magnetic field in a ground and excited singlet state. A comparison with the densities for natural atoms and molecules in their ground state is made. The near nucleus structure of these densities for natural atoms is explained. We suggest that in theoretical frameworks which employ the kinetic energy density such as molecular fragmentation, density functional theory, and information‐entropic theories, one use all three expressions on application to quantum dots, and the virial expression for natural atoms and molecules. New physics could thereby be gleaned. The kinetic energy of electrons can be expressed in terms of the kinetic energy density t(r): tA, the integrand of the kinetic energy expectation value; tB(r), the trace of the kinetic energy tensor; tC(r), a virial form in terms of the kinetic field. The quantal source of each expression is the single‐particle density matrix γ(rr′). These expressions are studied by application to two‐dimensional quantum dots in a ground and excited singlet state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Germination of brown rice can be completed by full soaking and partial soaking methods. This study aimed to analyse the influence of germination methods on the bioactive accumulations in germinated brown rice (GBR). Germination was conducted in four treatments: (i) membrane reactor with full (RFS) and (ii) partial soaking method soaking (RAG), (iii) manual soaking for complete germination (MFS) and (iv) partial manual soaking in combination with atmospheric germination (MAG). The results showed that soaking BR in membrane reactor accelerated the shoots' growth and increased GABA (γ‐aminobutyric acid) content compared with the manual soaking method. The RAG treatment achieved higher GABA content (up to 125 mg/100 g), total phenolic and flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity than other germination methods. The main finding of this research indicates that membrane reactor effectively enhances the growth of sprouts. The combination of partial soaking in membrane reactor and atmospheric germination (RAG) is a suited method to increase GABA accumulation in GBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Rice tungro disease (RTD) is a serious constraint in rice production across tropical Asia. RTD is caused by the interaction between Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) and Rice tungro bacilliform virus. RTSV resistance found in traditional cultivars has contributed to a reduction in the incidence of RTD in the field. Natural RTSV resistance is a recessive trait controlled by the translation initiation factor 4 gamma gene (eIF4G). The Y1059V1060V1061 residues of eIF4G are known to be associated with the reactions to RTSV. To develop new sources of resistance to RTD, mutations in eIF4G were generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the RTSV‐susceptible variety IR64, widely grown across tropical Asia. The mutation rates ranged from 36.0% to 86.6%, depending on the target site, and the mutations were successfully transmitted to the next generations. Among various mutated eIF4G alleles examined, only those resulting in in‐frame mutations in SVLFPNLAGKS residues (mainly NL), adjacent to the YVV residues, conferred resistance. Furthermore, our data suggest that eIF4G is essential for normal development, as alleles resulting in truncated eIF4G could not be maintained in homozygous state. The final products with RTSV resistance and enhanced yield under glasshouse conditions were found to no longer contain the Cas9 sequence. Hence, the RTSV‐resistant plants with the novel eIF4G alleles represent a valuable material to develop more diverse RTSV‐resistant varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a model C4 cereal for both basic and applied research. It has most of the traits of a model plant species: large embryos that are easy to rescue, moderate genome size of about 760 Mb, several unique traits not found in other species, plenty of seeds, and many important agronomic as well as commercial uses. However, it takes a long time to complete its breeding cycle. Other problems encountered during the research on sorghum breeding were early desiccation of embryos from mutants and wide hybridization, and the high-yielding cultivars and plants grown in controlled environments are usually uniculm, which limits their use in crossing to obtain both selfed and crossed seeds. The objective of this research was to find ways to obtain cross- and self-pollinated seeds from the same plant, conserve the vital embryos, and most important, shorten the breeding cycle. Two methods are reported here. The first method was to produce crossed as well as selfed seeds on the same panicle of the usually uni-culm plant. The second method was to carry out embryo rescue to save vital embryos as well as shorten the breeding cycle from the regular 17 to 11 wk. By these two methods, the breeding cycle of sorghum was made comparable or even shorter than that of other model crops, which would allow the development of breeding materials much faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten barnyard grass ( Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli) ecotypes collected from several locations in Malaysian and Indonesian granaries were tested for variation in their susceptibility to the leaf blight pathogen ( Exserohilum longirostratum). Four phenological growth stages of the ecotypes were sprayed with E. longirostratum at the rate of 1 × 107 conidia mL−1 under glasshouse conditions. The results of the study showed that plants inoculated with 1 × 107 conidia mL−1 and exposed for 24 h dew periods were severely infected and the percentage dry weight reduction of all ecotypes significantly increased. The 1–2 and 2–3-leaf stage plants were completely killed within 6 days after inoculation. However, susceptibility reactions among the ecotypes were observed at the 4–5-leaf stage, while the 6–7-leaf stage was resistant. The ecotypes, K-02, PK-04, KN-02, CJ-01, and L-01, were the most susceptible ecotypes as indicated by a higher area under disease progress curve value. The apparent disease progress rates for these ecotypes were significantly faster compared to the other ecotypes. The dry weight reduction among the four growth stages was variable. These findings show that the 1–2 and 2–3-leaf stages are the most susceptible, while the 6–7-leaf stage was resistant. This study has confirmed that a variable response to the fungal pathogen occurred within an intraspecific barnyard grass collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]