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Abstract: Nonparametric rank-based statistics depending only on linear orderings of the observations are extended to fuzzy data. The approach relies on the definition of a fuzzy partial order based on the necessity index of strict dominance between fuzzy numbers, which is shown to contain, in a well-defined sense, all the ordinal information present in the original data. A concept of fuzzy set of linear extensions of a fuzzy partial order is introduced, allowing the approximate computation of fuzzy statistics alpha-cutwise using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation approach. The usual notions underlying significance tests are also extended, leading to the concepts of fuzzy p-value, and graded rejection of the null hypothesis (quantified by a degree of possibility and a degree of necessity) at a given significance level. This general approach is demonstrated in two special cases: Kendall''s rank correlation coefficient, and Wilcoxon''s two-sample rank sum statistic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Erwinia amylovora and Pseudomonas syringae are bacterial phytopathogens responsible for considerable yield losses in commercial pome fruit production. The pathogens, if left untreated, can compromise tree health and economically impact entire commercial fruit productions. Historically, the choice of effective control methods has been limited. The use of antibiotics was proposed as an effective control method. The identification of these pathogens and screening for the presence of antibiotic resistance is paramount in the adoption and implementation of disease control methods. Molecular tests have been developed and accepted for identification and characterization of these disease-causing organisms. We improved existing molecular tests by developing methods that are equal or superior in robustness for identifying E. amylovora or P. syringae while being faster to execute. In addition, the real-time PCR-based detection method for E. amylovora provided complementary information on the susceptibility or resistance to streptomycin of individual isolates. Finally, we describe a methodology and results that compare the aggressiveness of the different bacterial isolates on four apple cultivars. We show that bacterial isolates exhibit different behaviors when brought into contact with various apple varieties and that the hierarchical clustering of symptom severity indicates a population structure, suggesting a genetic basis for host cultivar specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A large number of End-Of-Life (EOL)-Liquid Crystals Displays (LCD) (65700) was used to extract the LCs mixtures. • Dielectric measurements were carried out over a wide range of frequencies (0.1 to 106 Hz) and temperatures (100 to −20 °C). • Dielectric and electrical properties of recycled nematic LC mixtures were determined. • The frequency and temperature evolution of the spectra recorded for recycled LCs were found comparable to those of commercial LCs. The dielectric behavior and the electrical conductivity response of recycled nematic Liquid Crystals (LCs) were studied over a wide range of frequencies (0.1 to 106 Hz) and temperatures (100 to −20 °C) with a broadband dielectric spectroscopy technique. These LC mixtures were extracted from a total of 65700 End-Of-Life (EOL)-Liquid Crystals Displays (LCD) such as computers, tablets and TVs of various sizes, brands, and production years. After a stage of purification, the recycled LC blends seemed to possess similar physical properties as conventional nematic LCs. In this report, two types of anchoring of LC molecules, obtained with homeotropic or homogeneous alignment cells, were investigated. All dielectric data were analyzed with adapted models: Havriliak-Negami and Almond West formalisms for the frequency dependence of the data, as well as Arrhenius and Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann models for their temperature dependence. In this article, it is demonstrated that despite the wide variety of EOL-LCD devices used leading to a large number of LC molecules, the frequency and temperature evolution of the recorded spectra are comparable to those of commercial LC mixtures as reported in the literature. Therefore, their future reuse could be envisaged for display applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, the dielectric properties of recycled liquid crystals (LCs) (non-purified, purified, and doped with diamond nanoparticles at 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 wt%) were investigated. The studied LC mixtures were obtained from industrial recycling of end-of-life LC displays presenting mainly nematic phases. Dielectric measurements were carried out at room temperature on a frequency range from 0.1 to 106 Hz using an impedance analyzer. The amplitude of the oscillating voltage was fixed at 1 V using cells with homogeneous and homeotropic alignments. Results show that the dielectric anisotropy of all purified samples presents positive values and decreases after the addition of diamond nanoparticles to the LC mixtures. DC conductivity values were obtained by applying the universal law of dielectric response proposed by Jonscher. In addition, conductivity of the doped LC mixtures is lower than that of the undoped and non-purified LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]