Attaching a wireless transmission system comprising a radio frequency (RF)-chip and a dipole antenna to dielectric material of largely different permittivity leads to strong variation of the antenna feed impedance. Due to the severe impedance mismatch between the RF-chip and the antenna, the performance of the system may deteriorate drastically. The proposed antenna provides three feed points, which show respective feed-point match to 100 Ohm balanced feeds for three different dielectric environments (free-space and half-spaces of permittivity 4 and 42, respectively). Thereby, the RF-chip incorporates three 100 Ohm balanced output ports that are connected to the antenna from whom only one can be selected to provide the output signal. The respective other two output ports are shorted by an internal switching circuit that is controlled by external DC voltages. The measurement of the reflection coefficient of the stand-alone antenna and the chip agree well with the simulations, allowing to interconnect these two components. Further, the radiation pattern of the whole system is measured for two different scenarios showing good functionalities.

The present note was prompted by Weber’s approach to proving Cantor’s theorem, i.e., the claim that the cardinality of the power set of a set is always greater than that of the set itself. While I do not contest that his proof succeeds, my point is that he neglects the possibility that by similar methods it can be shown also that no non-empty set satisfies Cantor’s theorem. In this paper unrestricted abstraction based on a cut free Gentzen type sequential calculus will be employed to prove both results. In view of the connection between Priest’s three-valued logic of paradox and cut free Gentzen calculi this, a fortiori, has an impact on any paraconsistent set theory built on Priest’s logic of paradox.

Inspired by a remarkable work of Félix, Halperin, and Thomas on the asymptotic estimation of the ranks of rational homotopy groups, and more recent works of Wu and the authors on local hyperbolicity, we prove two asymptotic formulae for torsion rank of homotopy groups, one using ordinary homology and one using K-theory. We use these to obtain explicit quantitative asymptotic lower bounds on the torsion rank of the homotopy groups for many interesting spaces after suspension, including Moore spaces, Eilenberg–MacLane spaces, complex projective spaces, complex Grassmannians, Milnor hypersurfaces, and unitary groups.

Let $\mathcal {S}$ be a family of nonempty sets with VC-codensity less than $2$. We prove that, if $\mathcal {S}$ has the $(\omega ,2)$-property (for any infinitely many sets in $\mathcal {S}$, at least two among them intersect), then $\mathcal {S}$ can be partitioned into finitely many subfamilies, each with the finite intersection property. If $\mathcal {S}$ is definable in some first-order structure, then these subfamilies can be chosen definable too.

This is a strengthening of the case $q=2$ of the definable $(p,q)$-conjecture in model theory [9] and the Alon–Kleitman–Matoušek $(p,q)$-theorem in combinatorics [6].

Traditionally, the formulae in modal logic express properties of possible worlds. Prior introduced “egocentric” logics that capture properties of agents rather than of possible worlds. In such a setting, the article proposes the modality “know how to tell apart” and gives a complete logical system describing the interplay between this modality and the knowledge modality. An important contribution of this work is a new matrix-based technique for proving completeness theorems in an egocentric setting.

Severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) strand-specific assay can be used to identify active SARS-CoV-2 viral replication. We describe the characteristics of 337 hospitalized patients with at least 1 minus-strand SARS-CoV-2 assay performed >20 days after illness onset. This test is a novel tool to identify high-risk hospitalized patients with prolonged SARS-CoV-2 replication.

In this paper, we propose a modified Kudla–Rapoport conjecture for the Krämer model of unitary Rapoport–Zink space at a ramified prime, which is a precise identity relating intersection numbers of special cycles to derivatives of Hermitian local density polynomials. We also introduce the notion of special difference cycles, which has surprisingly simple description. Combining this with induction formulas of Hermitian local density polynomials, we prove the modified Kudla–Rapoport conjecture when $n=3$. Our conjecture, combining with known results at inert and infinite primes, implies the arithmetic Siegel–Weil formula for all non-singular coefficients when the level structure of the corresponding unitary Shimura variety is defined by a self-dual lattice.

The current study aimed to investigate biofortification of maize grown under different irrigation intervals, i.e. 15, 20 and 25 days (hereinafter referred to as IR15, IR20 and IR25, respectively), using foliar application treatments (silicon (Si), zinc (Zn), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), Si + Zn, Si + AgNPs, Zn + AgNPs and Si + Zn + AgNPs) in two growing seasons, 2020 and 2021. A split-plot design with four replications was used, where irrigation intervals and foliar treatments were assigned in main plots and subplots, respectively. IR15 received a total of 7925 m3/ha irrigation water divided over seven irrigations, while IR20 received 5690 m3/ha divided over five irrigations and IR25 received 4564 m3/ha divided over four irrigations. The highest yield and grain quality were observed in plants irrigated at 15-day intervals. Spraying the canopy with Si, Zn and AgNPs, either individually or in combination, reduced the negative impact of water stress caused by longer irrigation intervals on plant growth, yield, yield components and grain protein content. In IR15 + AgNPs + Zn, most of the studied parameters, except for proline content, showed a high positive impact, especially on 100-kernel weight (KW). In contrast, IR25 + Si + AgNPs + Zn showed the highest positive effects on proline and protein contents but a negative impact on the harvest index. Collectively, IR15 + Si + AgNPs + Zn resulted in the highest values of all studied parameters, followed by IR15 + Si + AgNPs and IR15 + Si + Zn. In conclusion, our results suggest that an irrigation interval of 15 days combined with application of Si, Zn and AgNPs has the potential to improve yield and quality of maize under water deficit stress.

In recent years, Lebanon has been struggling with a socioeconomic crisis exacerbated by population displacement after the Syrian crisis, which put a significant burden on its healthcare system. An additional challenge has been the response to a cholera outbreak- a deadly waterborne disease transmitted through the fecal-oral route that usually manifests as severe watery diarrhea and can rapidly progress to death. After reports of a cholera outbreak in Syria were disclosed in September 2022, the Northern Governorate of Lebanon too began reporting cases immediately after, and the first case was confirmed on October 6, 2022. The outbreak rapidly spread to other parts of the country. As of December 9, 2022, a total of 5105 suspected cholera cases with 23 associated deaths were reported across Lebanon. An estimated 45% of these cases were of children and adolescents below the age of 15 years. With the start of the vaccination campaign, awareness programs emphasizing adequate sanitation and clean water sources have become an urgent need.

Historians of Islamic occult science and post-Mongol Persianate kingship in the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires have in recent years made clear just how central this body of knowledge was to the exercise of imperial power. Alongside, scholarship on tantra has pointed to its diffuse persistence in the early modern period. But what dynamics beyond courts and elite initiates did these investments in occult science and tantra unleash? Through a focus on the seventeenth-century Mughal court and the Rajput polity of Marwar in the eighteenth century, this article weaves together the history of animals with that of harmful magic by non-courtly actors. It demonstrates the blended histories of tantra, Islamicate occult sciences, and folk magic to argue that attributions of liminality encoded people, animals, and things with occult potential. For some, like the owl, this liminality could invite violence and death and for others, like expert male practitioners, it could generate authority. By the eighteenth century, the deployment of practical magic towards harmful or disruptive ends was a political tool wielded not only by kings and elite adepts for state or lineage formation but also by non-courtly subjects and “low”-caste specialists in local social life. States and sovereigns responded to the popular use of harmful magic harshly, aiming to cut off non-courtly access to this resource. If the early modern age was one of new ideologies of universal empire, the deployment of occult power outside the court was inconsistent with the ambitions of the kings of this time.

The claim that the illicit trade in antiquities is the third largest, second only to arms and narcotics, is widely repeated. But where does this claim originate and what is the evidence for its veracity? The authors present a ‘stratigraphic excavation’ of the claim by systematically searching through academic articles, popular press and policy literature to reveal the factoid's use and reuse over the past five decades. The authors find that the claim is not based on any original research or statistics, and it does not originate with any competent authorities. The analysis demonstrates how the uncritical repetition of unsubstantiated ‘facts’ can undermine legitimate efforts to prevent looting, trafficking and illicit sale of antiquities.

We investigate how men and women fare in the managerial labor market in the plausibly exogenous circumstance of their firms being acquired when most target-firm managers (about 90%) are displaced. These career disruptions result in a larger drop in rank and compensation for female managers, despite similar job search attributes. Gender differences are mitigated when hiring firms have more women in upper-echelon positions. Rich managerial experience and external board service also reduce gender-related differences. Overall, results point to a (implicit) “gender penalty” in terms of managerial job mobility, but also indicate contexts in which penalty is alleviated, and even reversed.

The study of polymorphism of glutenin makes it possible to identify and isolate desirable genotypes with higher grain quality. In the last few years, only a part of the genetic diversity among the modern and popular wheat germplasm and varieties based on the polymorphism of glutenin subunits are captured. To address this 107 wheat varieties released across different agricultural zones in India, were used to investigate HMW-GS and LMW-GS allele polymorphism, gene diversity and genetic variation in the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci. Among the different HMW-GS, the highest genetic variation was observed at the Glu-D1 locus with both Glu-D1a and Glu-D1d possessing genetic variation of 0.490, 0.484 respectively. The highest genetic variation at the Glu-A3 locus was observed at the Glu-A3c and GluA3b possessing a genetic variation of 0.463, 0.411 respectively. This was followed by the Glu-B3j having a genetic variation of 0.386 at the Glu-B3 locus. Over 20 years a remarkable increase in the Glu-D1d allele is observed in the newly released varieties in India. Among all the zones, Glu-A1-null is the least frequent allele at the Glu-1 locus, however, it is present as the predominant allele in the NHZ of India. This study elucidates the relationships of these HMW and LMW allelic frequencies and genetic variation with their geographical distribution over the two different periods. This study provides reference data that can be used to assist the breeding, quality evaluation and development of good-quality wheat varieties.

Both the theories coming out of the linguistic turn and those running away from it have placed special emphasis on human language (or human symbolic thinking) as a matter of convention and shared meanings. Yet there are other histories that link language and humanness through invention, deceit, and secrecy rather than through convention and publicness. These alternate models have been used as diagnostic of humanness in a range of contexts, from the colonial past into the technologized present. I examine here the ways in which the unshared, non-public symbol has stood at the center of two disparate contexts in which the humanness of speakers of novel languages are put in question. The first case examines the ways in which Christian missionaries started to see Tok Pisin, a novel pidginized language spoken by indentured laborers in colonial Papua New Guinea, as a possible language of evangelism when it became associated with deceit and moral dissolution. The second case examines a 2017 moral panic in the United States about two chatbots that were reported to have invented their own language and then used it to lie to one another. In contrast to the first case, one of the ways that bots get figured as beyond-human is in the fear that there is no way to impose a moral order, no colonial evangelism that could be used to encompass them. By taking on the symbolic while withholding public meanings, the speakers of these unshared symbols sit at the boundaries of humanness.

Despite its destructiveness, disaster clears the way to accomplish a set of goals. That was why the Gold Coast governor and officials welcomed the 1939 earthquake as an opportunity to rebuild Accra. However, mishandling their reconstruction plan proved disadvantageous. The aftermath of the disaster, including an unprecedented rehousing project, exacerbated urban discontent. How everyday urban residents responded to rehousing further exposed the weakness of the colonial state and gave momentum to nationalism. The paper introduces natural disasters and relief programs into the scholarly narratives that have demonstrated that anticolonial nationalism emerged from a chain of grievances from amongst colonial subjects, some of which were unfulfilled social and economic expectations. The experiences of rehousing following the earthquake powerfully informed local perspectives and contributed to the chain of events leading to formal decolonization.