In automotive digital development, 3D prototype creation is a team effort of designers and engineers, each contributing with ideas and technical evaluations through means of computer simulations. To support the team in the 3D design ideation and exploration task, we propose an interactive design system for assisted design explorations and faster performance estimations. We utilize the advantage of deep learning-based autoencoders to create a low-dimensional latent manifold of 3D designs, which is utilized within an interactive user interface to guide and strengthen the decision-making process.

In two dimensions, the problem governing a homogeneous phoretic swimmer of circular cross-section is ill-posed because of the logarithmic divergence associated with a purely diffusive solute transport. We address here the well-posed problem that is devised by introducing a slight inhomogeneity in the interfacial chemical activity. With the radial symmetry being perturbed, phoretic motion is animated by diffusio-osmosis. Solute advection, associated with that motion, becomes comparable to diffusion at large distances. The singular problem associated with that scale disparity is analysed using matched asymptotic expansions for arbitrary values of the Damköhler number $\textit {Da}$ and the intrinsic Péclet number $\textit {Pe}$. Asymptotic matching provides an implicit equation for the particle velocity in terms of these two parameters. The velocity exhibits a non-trivial dependence upon the sign $M$ of the slip coefficient. For $M=-1$, we observe the appearance of several solutions beyond a $\textit {Da}$-dependent critical value of $\textit {Pe}$. We also address the respective limits of small and large $\textit {Da}$ for fixed $\textit {Pe}$ and arbitrary inhomogeneity, and illuminate their linkage to the limit of weak inhomogeneity.

We document and quantify one of the oldest predator–prey interactions between naticid gastropods and molluscan prey, on the basis of drill holes in shells, from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) beds of Kutch, western India. Previously, many workers recorded naticid-like drill holes on prey taxa from the Triassic and the Jurassic, but in the absence of associated naticid body fossils, they remained equivocal.

The present gastropod community is dominated by turritellines (98% of the sample) that form the turritelline-dominated assemblage, and the naticid drilling predation is restricted almost entirely to turritellines among gastropods. Confamilial naticid predation takes place occasionally. Within the bivalve community, corbulids and nuculids are most abundant and are drilled more often than other taxa. These observations indicate that prey selection was opportunistic and based solely on availability. Drilling intensities at both assemblage and lower taxon levels are low. Behavioral stereotypy of naticid predation in some cases is moderately high.

Turritellines are often the preferred prey of naticid gastropods since the late Early Cretaceous. These two groups form a recurrent association reflecting prey–predator interaction. Here we suggest that both turritellines and naticids evolved during the Jurassic, and the prey–predator interaction between them was established shortly thereafter. Among bivalves, corbulids also became important prey of naticids in the same spatiotemporal framework. Corbulids are older than naticids and first appeared during the Middle Jurassic. After their first encounter with naticids, corbulids evolved conchiolin layers within the valves to resist predation.

Taxonomic status of several members of the family Naticidae is extremely vague because of its simple shell morphology. Conventional taxonomic classification schemes suggest that most of the morphological characters tend to be homoplastic and exhibit convergence. Such morphological convergence complicates naticid taxonomy and makes it difficult to understand the evolutionary history of this group; several unrelated taxa are often misidentified as naticids, thereby exaggerating the actual diversity of this group. Here, we employ a standard landmark-based approach to understand the pattern of morphological evolution of this family. Ordination methods such as principal components analysis and canonical variate analysis were used to create morphospaces, and disparity was quantified using variance and range. Our results reveal that when naticids are compared with their sister taxon, Ampullinidae, the two families show significant differences in their average shapes, despite their superficial resemblances. Among naticids, although the mean shapes of the individual subfamilies are different, overall, the family Naticidae has displayed extreme morphological conservatism from the Jurassic to the Holocene. Interestingly, this conservatism has been unaffected by taxonomic changes—neither the extinction of the subfamily Gyrodinae nor the appearance of the subfamily Sininae affected this morphological conservatism. Naticids have always shown strong ecological preference toward an infaunal mode of life and strict behavioral selectivity in handling and preying upon infaunal organisms, and this ecological and behavioral conservatism could have enabled them to diversify without undergoing a change in their basic Bauplan.

Background: Preliminary reports and subsequent immediate management decisions of radiological scans are often performed by emergency physicians and on-call radiology residents. Many academic hospitals have resident-only coverage for after-hour shifts. Generally, these preliminary reports are eventually reviewed by a staff radiologist, during which discrepancies may be identified. Depending on the severity of the discrepancy and the time taken to notify the treating physician, there is potential for significant impact on the patient's care. Aim Statement: In an attempt to identify and minimize errors in radiological readings, and to improve the communication of discrepancies, our project aims to retrospectively audit all radiological discrepancies that have occurred at The Ottawa Hospital's emergency departments from April 2018 to May 2019. Measures & Designs: A systematic review of all cases with noted radiological discrepancies was obtained from the Picture Archive and Communication System software and EPIC platform. Analysis of these cases will allow us to define when errors occur, what is the type and severity of the error, how long it took to relay the discrepancy to a treating physician, and what was the subsequent management impact. Evaluation/Results: We discovered 712 cases with radiological reading discrepancies, 168 major, 527 minor, and 17 incidentals. Interestingly, a significant portion of major (severely affecting care/life-threatning) discrepancies were reported from radiology residents, especially on CT images, although emergency physicians had the most discrepancies (mostly minor). Radiology residents were seen to have more discrepant reports during after-hour services while emergency physicians did not show any specific pattern of discrepant reporting. The average time to report a major discrepancy to a treating physician is 8.8 hours, where the maximum time taken was 104 hours and the minimum was 0.2 hours. 56% of reports with major discrepancies made no mention of who was notified. Discussion/Impact: By identifying weak points in radiological reporting, our results will allow us to provide suggestions at an administration and teaching level to minimize discrepancies. It is critical to create a workflow where mistakes are mitigated, and communication is efficient and standardized to prevent patient harm from delayed or incorrect diagnosis.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a planned large radio interferometer designed to operate over a wide range of frequencies, and with an order of magnitude greater sensitivity and survey speed than any current radio telescope. The SKA will address many important topics in astronomy, ranging from planet formation to distant galaxies. However, in this work, we consider the perspective of the SKA as a facility for studying physics. We review four areas in which the SKA is expected to make major contributions to our understanding of fundamental physics: cosmic dawn and reionisation; gravity and gravitational radiation; cosmology and dark energy; and dark matter and astroparticle physics. These discussions demonstrate that the SKA will be a spectacular physics machine, which will provide many new breakthroughs and novel insights on matter, energy, and spacetime.

The efficacy of eight essential oils (EOs) (Solidago canadensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Pelargonium asperum, Ocimum basilicum, Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon citratus and Cymbopogon martinii) against gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) was evaluated using eggs collected from naturally infected cattle and cultured infective larvae (L3). The larvae species cultured from the faecal samples and subjected to two in vitro tests were Haemonchus spp. (55.5%), Trichostrongylus spp. (28.0%), Cooperia spp. (15.0%) and Oesophagostomum spp. (1.5%). The genus of EO Cymbopogon (C. citratus and C. martinii) showed the highest anthelmintic activity at the dose of 8.75 mg/ml, for the egg hatch, the larval migration and mortality assays. All of the EOs tested reduced egg hatching to rates <19.0%, compared to the controls (water and water + Tween 20) that had rates >92.0%. Cymbopogon citratus and C. martinii treatments resulted in 11.6 and 8.1% egg hatch, had the lowest migration of larvae through sieves, 60.5 and 54.9%, and the highest mortality rates, 63.3 and 56.3%, respectively. Dose–response tests showed that EO from C. citratus had the lowest larval LC50 and migration inhibition concentration (IC50) values of 3.89 and 7.19 mg/ml, respectively, compared to two other EOs (C. martinii and O. basilicum). The results suggest that EOs from the genus Cymbopogon can be interesting candidates for nematode control in cattle, although it may prove challenging to deliver concentrations to the gastrointestinal tract sufficient to effectively manage GINs.

Greenhouse and outdoor container experiments were conducted to determine garden spurge and large crabgrass emergence when seeds were placed either on top of or below three different mulch materials [pine bark (PB), hardwood (HW), or pine straw (PS)] applied at five depths (0, 1.3, 2.5, 5.1, and 10.2 cm). To elucidate mulch characteristics that contributed to weed control, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was recorded underneath each mulch layer, moisture retention was monitored for 24 h following irrigation, and particle size was determined using standard soil sieves. HW reduced PAR (97%) more than did PB (90%) or PS (92%) at 1.3 cm, but few or no differences were noted between mulches at greater mulch depths. HW also contained the highest percentage of small particles and consequently retained more water (29%), than PB (14%) or PS (22%) 24 h following a simulated irrigation event. Emergence of large crabgrass and garden spurge was consistently greater when seeds were placed on top of the mulch, compared to seeds placed below. Emergence of both species also tended to respond to increasing depth in a quadratic manner, indicating that once a critical level of mulch was applied (2.5 to 5 cm), further reductions in weed emergence would not be observed, at least over the short term (12 wk). PB and PS tended to provide a greater reduction in emergence of both species compared to HW. This research also indicates that larger particle materials such as PB or PS would be advantageous because of their ability to suppress weed emergence regardless of seed position.

Weed management in container crops is primarily accomplished through frequent PRE herbicide applications and supplemental hand weeding. However, many ornamental species are sensitive to herbicides, and a significant number of tropical plants, ornamental grasses, and foliage crops have not been screened for herbicide tolerance. As nursery crops are produced in inert substrates that are largely composed of bark or peat, strategic fertilizer placement has the potential to significantly reduce weed growth in container-grown ornamentals. Growth and reproduction of three common container nursery weed species, eclipta [Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.], large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.], and spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata L.), were evaluated following fertilization via alternative methods, including subdressing or dibbling in comparison with industry standard practices of topdressing or incorporating a controlled-release fertilizer (17-5-11 [8 to 9 mo.]) to each 3.8-L container at 36.5 g per container. Fertilizer placement had little to no effect on germination of Eclipta prostrata or D. sanguinalis, but incorporation increased E. maculata germination by 77% to 183% compared with other placements or a nonfertilized control. Subdressing reduced seed production by 94%, 63%, and 92% for Eclipta prostrata, D. sanguinalis, and E. maculata, respectively, compared with the average number of seeds produced in the conventional placement methods (average of incorporation and topdressing). Dibbling fertilizer resulted in similar decreases in the case of D. sanguinalis and E. maculata, while Eclipta prostrata produced no seeds when fertilizer was dibbled. Similar to reductions observed in reproduction, subdressing fertilizer resulted in biomass decreases of 90%, 81%, and 85% compared with the average biomass of the incorporation and topdressed placements. Results suggest alternative fertilizer placements could be implemented as part of an integrated weed management program in container production to reduce weed growth.

A non-perturbative nonlinear theory for moderately dense gas–solid suspensions is outlined within the framework of the Boltzmann–Enskog equation by extending the work of Saha & Alam (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 833, 2017, pp. 206–246). A linear Stokes’ drag law is adopted for gas–particle interactions, and the viscous dissipation due to hydrodynamic interactions is incorporated in the second-moment equation via a density-corrected Stokes number. For the homogeneous shear flow, the present theory provides a unified treatment of dilute to dense suspensions of highly inelastic particles, encompassing the high-Stokes-number rapid granular regime ($St\rightarrow \infty$) and its small-Stokes-number counterpart, with quantitative agreement for all transport coefficients. It is shown that the predictions of the shear viscosity and normal-stress differences based on existing theories deteriorate markedly with increasing density as well as with decreasing Stokes number and restitution coefficient.

Naticid taxonomy is in a state of flux owing to non-descript shell morphology and frequent convergence. Inadequate preservation of naticid body fossils has further complicated the matter in determining the true affinity and the exact time of origin of the clade. As a result, a plethora of classificatory schemes of naticid phylogeny and times of origin has been proposed. In many previous studies, true naticid affinities of fossils have been sought based on single or a few morphological characters, which are susceptible to poor preservation. In the present paper, we have attempted a holistic reappraisal of naticid taxonomy based on an extensive database of shell morphological characters and identified many distinct family- and subfamily-specific characters that survived fossilization. This approach has enabled us to identify three new naticid species from the Late Jurassic horizons of Kutch, India, thus extending back the time of origin of the family Naticidae by 30 Ma.

Analysis of character matrix data reveals that the present species—Gyrodes mahalanobisi new species, Euspira jhuraensis new species, and Euspira lakhaparensis new species—belong to two subfamilies, Gyrodinae and Polinicinae. The occurrence of typical naticid drill holes on various coeval gastropod and bivalve taxa along with these body fossils provides strong supporting evidence for the naticid affinity of these forms.

UUID http://zoobank.org/94188d64-075b-4bd0-8303-1ce9a0d86eb0

Transport properties, performance, and durability of a proton exchange fuel cell (PEMFC) highly depend on microstructure and spatial distribution of components in the gas diffusion layer (GDL), microporous layer (MPL), and catalyst layers (CLs) of the fuel cell. Modeling of transport properties and understanding of these effects are challenging due to limited understanding of actual three-dimensional (3D) structure of the components, especially over a wide range of length scales. In this work, 3D imaging on multiple scales, namely electron tomography on a nanoscale, focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy on a microscale, and 3D X-ray microscopy on a macroscale, was applied to obtain 3D reconstructions of the actual CL, MPL, and GDL microstructure. Direct numerical simulations on 3D data sets with an upscaling approach were applied to demonstrate the capability to simulate overall electrical conductivity of the system. Details of the process, challenges, and results are described.

Lung surfactant (LS), a thin layer of phospholipids and proteins inside the alveolus of the lung is the first biological barrier to inhaled nanoparticles (NPs). LS stabilizes and protects the alveolus during its continuous compression and expansion by fine-tuning the surface tension at the air-water interface. Previous modelling studies have reported the biophysical function of LS monolayer and its role, but many open questions regarding the consequences and interactions of airborne nano-sized particles with LS monolayer remain. In spite of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) having a paramount role in biomedical applications, the understanding of the interactions between bare AuNPs (as pollutants) and LS monolayer components still unresolved. Continuous inhalation of NPs increases the possibility of lung ageing, reducing the normal lung functioning and promoting lung malfunction, and may induce serious lung diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and more. Different medical studies have shown that AuNPs can disrupt the routine lung functions of gold miners and promote respiratory diseases. In this work, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are performed to gain an understanding of the interactions between bare AuNPs and LS monolayer components at the nanoscale. Different surface tensions of the monolayer are used to mimic the biological process of breathing (inhalation and exhalation). It is found that the NP affects the structure and packing of the lipids by disordering lipid tails. Overall, the analysed results suggest that bare AuNPs impede the normal biophysical function of the lung, a finding that has beneficial consequences to the potential development of treatments of various respiratory diseases.

Resin acid-enriched composition (RAC) mainly containing tall oil fatty acid with an active component of resin acid (RA) can improve the microbial population in the digestive system, change the microbial fermentation, and improve the feed conversion ratio. We investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of RAC on sow colostrum yield (CY), colostrum composition and gut microbiota. Tall oil fatty acid and RA are commonly termed RAC and CLA, pinolenic, abietic, dehydrobiotic acids are characteristic components of RAC. The experiment was conducted in three trials in three respective herds. Sows were fed with a control diet and the same diet supplemented with 5 g RAC/day per sow during the last week of gestation. The 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing technique was used to assess sows’ faecal microbiota populations at farrowing. Colostrum nutritional composition, acute phase proteins (APPs) and immunoglobulin (Ig) content were also assessed. Individual piglets were weighed at birth and 24 h after the birth of first piglets in order to calculate CY and later at 3 to 4 weeks to calculate average daily gain. The RAC-fed sows had significantly higher IgG levels (P<0.05) in all three herds but treatment did not influence colostrum IgA and IgM concentration. There were no significant differences in colostrum protein, lactose and fat content in sows of the two diet groups (P>0.05), but those fed RAC had higher levels of colostrum serum amyloid A. Colostrum yield was significantly higher in RAC-fed sows in herds 2 and 3 with heavier piglets between 3 and 4 weeks of age (P<0.05), but not in herd 1 (P>0.05). Resin acid-enriched composition supplementation significantly increased some beneficial and fermentative bacteria (Romboutsia and Clostridium sensu stricto) than the control diet (P<0.01) while some opportunistic pathogens (Barnesiella, Sporobacter, Intestinimonas and Campylobacter), including Proteobacteria, were suppressed. Therefore, RAC added to the sow diet at late pregnancy increases colostrum IgG, colostrum availability for neonate piglets, and seems to promote better maternal intestinal microbial sources.

Agriculture in the Central Himalayan Region depends on the availability of suitable germplasm as well as natural conditions. Due to extreme weather conditions, food and nutrition security is a major issue for communities inhabiting these remote and inaccessible areas. Millets are common crops grown in these areas. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv) is an important crop and forms a considerable part of the diet in this region. The aim of the present study was to explore, collect, conserve and evaluate the untapped genetic diversity of foxtail millet at the molecular level and discover variability in their nutritional traits. A total of 30 accessions having unique traits of agronomic importance were collected and molecular profiling was performed. A total of 63 alleles were generated with an average of 2.52 alleles per locus and average expected heterozygosity of 0.37 ± 0.231. Significant genetic variability was revealed through the genetic differentiation (Fst) and gene flow (Nm) values. Structure-based analysis divided whole germplasm into three sub-groups. Rich variability was found in nutritional traits such as dietary fibre in husked grains, carbohydrate, protein, lysine and thiamine content. The collected germplasm may be useful for developing nutritionally rich and agronomically beneficial varieties of foxtail millet and also designing strategies for utilization of unexploited genetic diversity for food and nutrition security in this and other similar agro-ecological regions.

Turritellid gastropods are important components of many Cretaceous–Recent fossil marine faunas worldwide. Their shell is morphologically simple, making homoplasy widespread and phylogenetic analysis difficult, but fossil and living species can be recognized based on shell characters. For many decades, it has been the consensus that the oldest definite representatives of Turritellidae are from the Lower Cretaceous, and that pre-Cretaceous forms are homeomorphs. Some morphological characters of the present turritelline species resemble those of mathildoids, but many diagnostic characters clearly separate these two groups. We here describe and/or redescribe—based on examination of more than 2600 near complete specimens—four species from the Upper Jurassic Dhosa Oolite Member of the Chari Formation in Kutch, western India, and demonstrate that they are members of Turritellidae, subfamily Turritellinae, on the basis of diagnostic characters including apical sculptural ontogeny (obtained from SEM study), spiral sculpture, and growth line patterns. The four species are in order of abundance, Turritella jadavpuriensis Mitra and Ghosh, 1979; Turritella amitava new species; Turritella jhuraensis Mitra and Ghosh, 1979, and Turritella dhosaensis new species. The turritelline assemblages occur only on the northeastern flank of the Jhura dome (23°24’47.57”N, 69°36’09.26”E). Age of the Dhosa Oolite has recently been confirmed based on multiple ammonite species. All these points indicate that these fossils are the oldest record of the family Turritellidae—by almost 30 million years—in the world.