African yam bean (AYB) is an underutilized legume with significant potential for food security in sub-Saharan Africa, yet limited research exists on optimizing its seed yield through selective breeding. In this study, the seed yield (SY) performance and relative importance of some yield-related traits on SY in AYB were assessed. One hundred and ninety-six accessions of AYB were evaluated for 2 years in three agro-ecologies of Nigeria. The experimental design was a 14 × 14 lattice design with three replicates. Data were recorded on SY and 13 SY-related traits. Positive significant genotypic correlations were found between SY and 11 of these traits. Pod length (PL) had a negative significant relationship (rg = −0.44**) with SY. Path coefficient analysis identified days to maturity (DM), pod weight (PW), shelling percentage (SP), number of seeds per pod (NSPD), 100-seed weight (HSW) and seed thickness (ST) as traits with positive direct effects on SY. The additive main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis revealed highly significant accession, environment, accession × environment interaction and interaction principal components effects for SY. Accessions TSs-119, TSs-101, 138A, TSs-4, TSs-157A and TSs-61 were identified as superior and stable, and should be considered for further breeding purposes. Selection criteria for improved SY in AYB should include DM, PW, SP, NSPD, HSW and ST. The identified stable, high-yielding accessions and key yield-related traits provide a framework for accelerating AYB improvement across diverse agro-ecologies.

Triploid, parthenogenetic forms of the lungfluke, Paragonimus westermani, occur in Japan, Korea and China. The origin(s) of triploidy has been debated over the years. Sequences of two regions in the mitochondrial DNA, i.e. partial lrRNA (16S), and a portion of the non-coding region, were obtained from natural populations of P. westermani. All triploid individuals (Japan, Korea, China) and a single tetraploid individual (China) had identical sequences in the 16S region studied. Some sequence variation was observed among diploids, with those from Taiwan being distinct from the remainder. Both neighbour joining and parsimony trees using the 16S region placed diploid individuals from southwestern Japan close to the triploids and the tetraploid. The fragment amplified from the mitochondrial non-coding region showed dimorphism. One form (type A) consisted of 239bp comprising two identical tracts of 70bp separated by a tract of 93bp. The second form (Type B) consisted of only a single 70bp tract. All diploid individuals from Taiwan, China and Korea possessed type A, while those from Japan were polymorphic; individuals from Oita and Hyogo had type B, those from Chiba had type A, but both types were found in Mie. On the other hand, all of the triploid individuals and two tetraploid individuals possessed type B. Both the form present in the non-coding region and the 16S sequence suggest an affinity between a south-eastern group of diploid populations in Japan and the triploid form. A possible mechanism responsible for the origin of the triploid is discussed.

Studies on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) related to the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) introduction in Asia are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and microbiological determinants of hospitalised CAP and PP after PCV13 was introduced in Japan. This observational hospital-based surveillance study included children aged ⩽15 years, admitted to hospitals in and around Chiba City, Japan. Participants had bacterial pneumonia based on a positive blood or sputum culture for bacterial pathogens. Serotype and antibiotic-susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae isolates from patients with bacterial pneumonia were assessed. The CAP hospitalisation rate per 1000 child-years was 17.7, 14.3 and 9.7 in children aged <5 years and 1.18, 2.64 and 0.69 in children aged 5–15 years in 2008, 2012 and 2018, respectively. There was a 45% and 41% reduction in CAP hospitalisation rates, between the pre-PCV7 and PCV13 periods, respectively. Significant reductions occurred in the proportion of CAP due to PP and PCV13 serotypes. Conversely, no change occurred in the proportion of CAP caused by H. influenzae. The incidence of hospitalised CAP in children aged ⩽15 years was significantly reduced after the introduction of PCV13 in Japan. Continuous surveillance is necessary to detect emerging PP serotypes.

A novel multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) fractal antenna excited by a coplanar waveguide was investigated in this study. A novel technique was used to improve the isolation of 20 dB between the dual radiating elements by inserting a strip line into the outer edges of the ground plane. A sunflower structure was used to configure the antenna in three steps. At each step, an additional sunflower structure was added with half the size of that used in the previous step to enhance the impedance bandwidth. The measured values of envelop correlation coefficient and total active reflection coefficient indicated that the proposed MIMO antenna has high-diversity performance between radiating elements. Wide dual operating bands of 2–2.9 and 5–10 GHz were obtained, which can support different wireless communications, such as 3G, LTE (2.6 GHz), WLAN (2.4 GHz/5 GHz), WiMAX (2.4 GHz/5GHz), ISM (2.4 GHz/5 GHz), 5G (5–6 GHz), and satellite communications (6–8 GHz). The MIMO fractal antenna with a small size achieved a maximum efficiency of 85% and a peak value gain of 6 dBi, low-channel capacity loss of 0.15–0.4 b/s/Hz, and high isolation between radiating elements is suitable for portable communication devices.

There have been significant changes in the diagnostic criteria for diffuse gliomas in the 2016 WHO CNS tumor classification, with the incorporation of molecular criteria into a number of definitions. This has placed a greater emphasis on the availability of key immunohistochemical and molecular tests. In order to determine the effect that these changes have had on neuropathology practice and the access of different centres to these tests, we designed a survey that was sent to all members of the Canadian Association of Neuropathology member list in the fall of 2017. This survey asked a number of questions relating to the approach to glioma diagnosis, immunohistochemical/molecular test ordering patterns, in-house test availability, and need to send out for testing. In this presentation we will present preliminary results from this survey, with a focus on institutional testing capabilities. This provides a valuable resource that could ultimately need to a national database of immunohistochemical and molecular test availability for each neuropathology centre.

This paper describes and analyzes a new technique used in Q-slot antenna to generate circular polarization (CP). The CP characteristics were investigated carefully by studying the surface current distribution, the phase difference between the left hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right hand circular polarization (RHCP) at some resonant frequencies, and the measured values of the axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW). Normal arms (E1 and E2) were cut in the upper elliptical feeding strip line to form an open-mouth structure. The arms E1 and E2 were made equal in length and set perpendicular to each other to have normal electric fields, leading to the generation of CP radiation. A formula was modified for the dual resonant frequencies f1, f2 of the modes TM010 and TM001. The measured values of the ARBW indicated that the antenna has a wide ARBW of 4.8–5.93 GHz, which is approximately 52% of the 3rd operating band of 4.7–6.8 GHz. The wide ARBW in a small size indicated that the design of the Q-slot antenna overcame the limits of designing antennas with wide ARBW in small size and low profile. A formula for normalized field was driven according to the complementary of the Q-slot antenna.

The crystal structure of charoite was investigated mainly by using selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). SAED and XRD patterns indicate that the structure has a monoclinic cell: a = 32.296, b = 19.651, c = 7.16 Å, β = 96.3° and V = 4517 Å3. The space group inferred from systematic absences and HREM images is P21/m. A model of the charoite structure is proposed that is based on the features of related Ca-alkaline silicate structures and HREM images. The structure of charoite consists of three different silicon-oxygen radicals (polymerized SiO4 tetrahedra) which are located between Ca polyhedra. Two of these radicals form continuous tubular structures comprising pectolite-like tetrahedral chains. Calcium polyhedra are joined to form blocks, each of which consists of four columns sharing edges and apices. Potassium and H2O molecules are probably located inside the tubular silicate radicals. From these results, a general formula is derived: K6-7(Ca,Na)18[(Si6O17)(Si12O30)(Si18O45)](OH,F)2.nH2O with two formula units in the unit cell (Z = 2).

We used a bivariate animal model to investigate the genetic correlations between yield traits or days open (DO) as characters measured in cows and semen production traits as characters measured in bulls. Lactation records of 305-day milk, fat, and protein yields, and DO, from 386 809 first-lactation Holstein cows in Hokkaido, Japan, that calved between 2008 and 2014 were used. Semen production records were collected between 2005 and 2014 and included volume per ejaculate (VOL), sperm concentration (CON), number of sperm per ejaculate (NUM), progressive motility index of sperm (MOT), and MOT after freeze-thawing (A-MOT). Number of sperm per ejaculate was log-transformed into a NUM score (NUMS). A total of 30 373 semen production records from 1196 bulls were obtained. The pedigree file used for analysing the records was involving 885 345 animals. Heritability was estimated for VOL (0.42), CON (0.12), NUMS (0.37), MOT (0.08), and A-MOT (0.11). Weak and negative genetic correlations were recorded between yield traits measured in cows and VOL, CON or NUMS measured in bulls. Moderate and negative genetic correlations were obtained between DO and MOT (–0.42) or A-MOT (–0.43). Selection focused on MOT or A-MOT measured in bulls may therefore improve DO measured in cows.

Tensile fracture strengths of fine-grained compressed high-density snow, of compressed and metamorphosed high-density snow-ice, of fine-grained naturally settled snow, and of snow-ice artificially made from the settled snow by freezing with absorbed water, were obtained at constant deformation speeds (constant strain-rates) in a temperature range of 264 to 270K. No remarkable temperature dependence of fracture stresses was observed in this temperature range. A critical deformation speed in a tensile test above which all the snow samples, except settled snow, fractured, was 4.2 × 10–7 m s–1. The fracture strength ρ (in N m–2) varied with snow density ρ (kg m–3) as σ = 2.5 × 104 × 1.004 6ρ. In a power-law relationship between strain-rate and maximum stress, ∝ σn, the constant n obtained was 5.3 for all the unfractured snow samples.

Coupled records of Sr/Ca and oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) of coral skeletons have been used to produce quantitative estimates of paleo-sea surface temperature (SST) and δ18O of surface seawater that can in some cases be converted to sea surface salinity (SSS). Two fossil corals from Kikai Island in the subtropical northwestern Pacific, a location affected by East Asian summer and winter monsoons, were analyzed to investigate differences between mid-Holocene and present-day SST and SSS. At 6180 cal yr BP, SSTs were roughly the same as today, both in summer and winter; δ18Oseawater and SSS values were higher both in summer (+ 0.5‰, +1.1 psu) and in winter (+ 0.2‰, + 0.6 psu) than modern values. At 7010 cal yr BP, SSTs were slightly cooler both in summer and winter (−0.8 and −0.6 °C), whereas δ18Oseawater and SSS had higher values in summer (+ 0.3‰, + 0.6 psu) and in winter (+ 0.8‰, + 1.9 psu) than present-day values. These results are consistent with other marine records for the mid-Holocene of the low and midlatitudes in the northwestern Pacific. Such regional conditions indicate that the East Asian summer and winter monsoons were more intense in the mid-Holocene, which was likely a function of the mid-Holocene insolation regime.

We report on the formation of shallow junctions with high activation in both n+/p and p+/n Ge junctions using ion implantation and Flash Lamp Annealing (FLA). The shallowest junction depths (Xj) formed for the n+/p and p+/n junctions were 7.6 nm and 6.1 nm with sheet resistances (Rs) of 860 ohms/sq. and 704 ohms/sq., respectively. By reducing knocked-on oxygen during ion implantation in the n+/p junctions, Rs was decreased by between 5% and 15%. The lowest Rs observed was 235 ohms/sq. with a junction depth of 21.5 nm. Hall measurements clearly revealed that knocked-on oxygen degraded phosphorus activation (carrier concentration). In the p+/n Ge junctions, we show that ion implantation damage induced high boron activation. Using this technique, Rs can be reduced from 475 ohms/sq. to 349 ohms/sq. These results indicate that the potential for forming ultra-shallow n+/p and p+/n junctions in the nanometer range in Ge devices using FLA is very high, leading to realistic monolithically-integrated Ge CMOS devices that can take us beyond Si technology.

The transport equation for the mean turbulent energy dissipation rate $\overline{{\it\epsilon}}$ along the centreline of a fully developed channel flow is derived by applying the limit at small separations to the two-point budget equation. Since the ratio of the isotropic energy dissipation rate to the mean turbulent energy dissipation rate $\overline{{\it\epsilon}}_{iso}/\overline{{\it\epsilon}}$ is sufficiently close to 1 on the centreline, our main focus is on the isotropic form of the transport equation. It is found that the imbalance between the production of $\overline{{\it\epsilon}}$ due to vortex stretching and the destruction of $\overline{{\it\epsilon}}$ caused by the action of viscosity is governed by the diffusion of $\overline{{\it\epsilon}}$ by the wall-normal velocity fluctuation. This imbalance is intrinsically different from the advection-driven imbalance in decaying-type flows, such as grid turbulence, jets and wakes. In effect, the different types of imbalance represent different constraints on the relation between the skewness of the longitudinal velocity derivative $S_{1,1}$ and the destruction coefficient $G$ of enstrophy in different flows, thus resulting in non-universal approaches of $S_{1,1}$ towards a constant value as the Taylor microscale Reynolds number, $R_{{\it\lambda}}$, increases. For example, the approach is slower for the measured values of $S_{1,1}$ along either the channel or pipe centreline than along the axis in the self-preserving region of a round jet. The data for $S_{1,1}$ collected in different flows strongly suggest that, in each flow, the magnitude of $S_{1,1}$ is bounded, the value being slightly larger than 0.5.

The supposed universality of the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia has been seriously challenged. It is now widely accepted that the life-time prevalence and incidence of this disorder vary considerably in time and place. As a result, there has been renewed interest in environmental causation of schizophrenia. There are few extant formulations that have successfully integrated the available new evidence into a coherent theory for its causation. The outgroup intolerance hypothesis is an attempt to integrate this evidence. It proposes that schizophrenia is the result of a mismatch between the social brain as shaped by evolution and the new social conditions of the post-neolithic. The hypothesis can provide an explanation for (i) the higher risk to migrants, (ii) the ethnic density phenomenon, (iii) the increased risk to individuals who have grown up in cities and (iv) the putative low risk in hunter-gatherer societies. Evidence is presented from a range of disciplines and sources including epidemiology, psychopathology, social psychology and clinical trials in support of this hypothesis. A range of testable predictions follow from the hypothesis.