Branch Research Articles

Synthesis and antifungal activities of small molecule arylthiazolamine derivatives.

Developing new fungicides to compensate for the deficiencies of existing fungicides resistance in phytopathogenic fungi is a research hotspot in the field of pesticides. Aiming to discover novel template small molecules with excellent antifungal activity, thirty-eight arylthiazolamine derivatives were synthesized through bromination, cyclization, halogenation, and acylation reactions. The synthesized compounds were screened for antifungal activity against ten typical fungal pathogens, and some halogenated arylthiazolamines and amides exhibited excellent broad-spectrum antifungal activity, especially compounds 4m (3.96-47.76μg/mL), 5k (0.10-7.70μg/mL) and 5n (2.08-11.21μg/mL). Among them, compound 5k provided comparable protection and curative effects to chloroticonil and boscalid against B. dothidea and V. mali infection in apple and apple tree branches, respectively, and it could exert antifungal effects by inhibiting the differentiation of mycelium spores, spore germination, and bud tube growth. This study provides high-efficiency and inexpensive candidate compounds for managing of diseases caused by plant pathogenic fungi.

Analysis of the Impact of Treatments Stimulating Branching on the Quality of Maiden Apple Trees

Nursery material intended for establishing intensive apple orchards should be characterised by a dominant and straight leader with an appropriate number of shoots that develop at the right height and are regularly spaced along the leader. The use of well-branched trees can lead to fruiting in the first year after planting. However, many apple varieties have difficulty forming lateral shoots due to strong apical dominance. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of treatments stimulating the branching of maiden apple trees of the ‘Gloster’ variety. The research was carried out in 2017–2019 at a private nursery farm located in eastern Poland. The studied trees were subjected to a mechanical branching stimulation treatment, which consisted of pinching off 4–5 of the youngest leaves located below the growth cone, and chemical branching stimulation treatments, which consisted of applying growth regulator mixtures in the form of an aqueous solution, i.e., BA+GA3 and BA+GA4+7. The conducted studies showed that the type of branching-stimulating treatment had a significant effect on the height and trunk diameter of the maiden trees, the number of lateral shoots, the average length of one shoot and the sum of the lengths of all sylleptic shoots. The maiden trees treated with BA+GA3 were characterised by the best quality among the analysed combinations. Maiden apple trees treated with BA+GA3 were the tallest (2017—167.7 cm; 2018—175.3 cm; 2019—164.4 cm), produced the largest number of shoots (2017—6.5 pcs; 2018—6.8 pcs; 2019—6.3 pcs) and had the largest sum of lateral shoot lengths (2017—148.0 cm; 2018—155.4 cm; 2019—140.6 cm) among the evaluated combinations. The number of treatments and the concentration of applied growth regulators had a significant effect on the structure of the crown of the maiden apple trees of the ‘Gloster’ cultivar.

Biophysics of protist behaviour

Protists, an umbrella term first coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, are a vast collection of (primarily unicellular) eukaryotes that are "neither animals nor plants". This basic definition by exclusion has been exercised for centuries, even though recent advances have led to more rigorous taxonomic assignment of various protist groups. Pioneering comparative phylogenetic approaches have been applied to these organisms to reconstruct the deep branches of the eukaryotic tree, revealing essential clues about early eukaryotic evolution. Protists, including amoebae, flagellates, ciliates, and algae, are also vital constituents of global ecosystems, where they appear at the base of food chains, control the relative abundance of other microbes, and participate in global biogeochemical recycling. Due to their typically small size and lack of nervous systems, protists are often associated with the unfortunate label 'primitive'. Yet they exhibit remarkable behavioural sophistication and are able to feed, predate, navigate and interact with their surroundings. Unlike macroscopic animals, many protists reside in a non-intuitive physical regime where viscous forces dominate over inertia, and where they use diverse propulsion and navigation strategies. Interdisciplinary research into these cell-scale phenomena, characterised by a complex interplay of physical forces and mechanical constraints, has significantly advanced the emerging fields of active matter, microhydrodynamics, and non-equilibrium statistical physics. This primer discusses the biophysics of protist behaviour, with a focus on locomotion and feeding. I will highlight the most extensively studied principles and describe some more esoteric behaviours that have not yet been systematically explored.

Fossilized soft tissues in tentaculitids from the Upper Devonian of Armenia: Towards solving the mystery of their phylogenetic affinities

The tentaculitids represent a significant and diverse group of mysterious fossils found in Palaeozoic strata. Their biology and evolutionary relationships remain poorly understood due to limited information about their soft body anatomy. The discovery of fossilized soft tissues in tentaculitids from the Upper Devonian of Armenia helps to resolve the old mystery of tentaculitid phylogenetic affinities. The thick bundles of phosphatic bars in the tentaculitid interior closely resemble the musculature of several tubicolous invertebrates, such as phoronids and bryozoans. Based on this similarity, we interpret these structures as fossilized muscles of the tentaculitid animal. The attachment of tentaculitid body muscles in a honeycomb pattern to the body wall is unlike that of any mollusc. Based on this muscle arrangement, molluscan affinities of tentaculitoids can be refuted. The muscle arrangement in tentaculitids is more akin to that of bryozoans than to phoronids. Presumably, tentaculitids and bryozoans shared a common ancestor. This ancestor was probably a solitary animal, with coloniality emerging later in the bryozoan branch of the phylogenetic tree. Alternatively, tentaculitoids might have evolved from a bryozoan-like ancestor by losing their coloniality.

From Glory to Decline: Uncovering Causes of Oak Decline in Iran

ABSTRACTOak decline is a major concern in Iran. A literature search with the terms ‘Iran’ AND ‘oak’ OR ‘Quercus’ from 1963 through 2023 resulted in 635 articles with over 200 dealing specifically with oak decline. In Iran, oak decline is most severe in the Zagros forests, followed by the Arasbaran and Hyrcanian forests. Of Iran's 11 native oak species, Quercus brantii is the most affected. Several factors have been identified as contributing to oak decline in Iran. Some economic and social factors include high rural unemployment, livestock overgrazing and uncontrolled cutting of live tree branches with the wood used for firewood and foliage used as food for farm animals. These pruning wounds can serve as entry points for pathogens and attract insects. Important abiotic factors included extended drought, increasing air temperature and wind speed, and increased levels of airborne dust and heavy metals. Important pathogens identified in the early 2000s included Armillaria mellea and charcoal rot fungus (Biscogniauxia mediterranea). More recently, many other fungal pathogens (e.g., Discula quercina, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, Obolarina persica, Paecilomyces formosus and Phaeoacremonium tuscanicum) and bacterial pathogens (e.g., Bacillus pumilus, Brenneria goodwinii, Gibbsiella quercinecans, Rahnella victoriana and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia) were found in association with declining oaks. Among the insects, severe oak defoliation has resulted from various Lepidoptera in the families Erebidae, Geometridae and Tortricidae. Similarly, several bark‐ and wood‐boring beetles in the families Buprestidae and Cerambycidae were reported from declining oaks, with the buprestid Agrilus hastulifer being one of the most common. It is hoped that this review will improve our understanding of the many factors involved in oak decline in Iran and promote the development of management strategies.

Hoeffding adaptive trees for multi-label classification on data streams

Data stream learning is a very relevant paradigm because of the increasing real-world scenarios generating data at high velocities and in unbounded sequences. Stream learning aims at developing models that can process instances as they arrive, so models constantly adapt to new concepts and the temporal evolution in the stream. In multi-label data stream environments where instances have the peculiarity of belonging simultaneously to more than one class, the problem becomes even more complex and poses unique challenges such as different concept drifts impacting different labels at simultaneous or distinct times, higher class imbalance, or new labels emerging in the stream. This paper proposes a novel approach to multi-label data stream classification called Multi-Label Hoeffding Adaptive Tree (MLHAT). MLHAT leverages the Hoeffding adaptive tree to address these challenges by considering possible relations and label co-occurrences in the partitioning process of the decision tree, dynamically adapting the learner in each leaf node of the tree, and implementing a concept drift detector that can quickly detect and replace tree branches that are no longer performing well. The proposed approach is compared with other 18 online multi-label classifiers on 41 datasets. The results, validated with statistical analysis, show that MLHAT outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches in 12 well-known multi-label metrics.

Feasibility and potential of terahertz spectral and imaging technology for Apple Valsa canker detection: A preliminary investigation

Apple Valsa canker (AVC) caused by the Ascomycete Valsa mali, seriously constrains the production and quality of apple fruits. The symptomless incubation characteristics of Valsa mali make it highly challenging to detect AVC at an early infection stage. After infecting the wound of apple bark, the pathogenic hyphae of AVC will expand and colonize the phloem tissue. Meanwhile, various enzymes and toxic substances released by hyphae cause the decomposition of cellulose and lignin, and the generation of poisonous secondary metabolites in bark tissue. However, these early symptoms of AVC are invisible from the bark’s appearance. Fortunately, Terahertz Spectral Imaging (ThzSI) technology with the advantage of penetrating, and fingerprinting is promising for detecting hidden or slight symptoms of the fungal infection. This study is a preliminary investigation of terahertz frequency-domain spectra for AVC in the early stage of infection. Healthy and two-week-infected apple tree branches were prepared for capturing ThzS images, and the spectral data were preprocessed by Multivariate scattering correction (MSC), Savitzky-Golay convolution smoothing (SG), and standard normal variate (SNV) respectively to remove data noise and improve data quality. Principal component analysis (PCA), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and random frog (RFROG) were employed to extract the spectral feature bands to eliminate redundant data and improve computational efficiency. Machine learning models were established based on the spectral features to detect AVC at an early infection stage, where 11 of them exhibited the best performance with F1-score of 99.72%. To further explore disease information in spatial spectra, imaging data were acquired using terahertz imaging technology. Based on imaging data, pseudo-color imaging, histogram equalization, and Otsu segmentation were employed to visualize early infection areas in apple barks. Furthermore, histogram feature (HF), shape feature (SF), and local binary pattern (LBP) extracted from terahertz spectral images were utilized to establish the SVM, RF, and KNN models. HF-SF-KNN and HF-SF-LBP-KNN with the best performance achieved F1-score of 98.82%. This study presents a preliminary application of terahertz spectral and imaging technology for early-stage AVC detection and demonstrates its feasibility. Additionally, it provides a new way to detect AVC, which expands the application of ThzSI technology in tree disease detection in orchards and lays the foundation for further research.

Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome of Solanum pseudocapsicum (Solanaceae)

Solanum pseudocapsicum Linnaeus 1753, a popular indoor potted plant known for its ornamental fruits, had its chloroplast genome sequenced in this study to determine its phylogenetic relationship with other related species and to construct a phylogenetic analysis tree. The research findings are as follows: 1. The chloroplast genome of S. pseudocapsicum comprises a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,260 base pairs, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,325 base pairs, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions, each measuring 25,390 base pairs in length. 2. The G + C content of the entire chloroplast genome is 37.59%, with the highest G + C content found in the IR regions, reaching 43.03%; followed by the LSC region, which has a G + C content of 35.68%; and the lowest in the SSC region, with a G + C content of 31.53%. 3. The genome contains 127 genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes, with 18 genes duplicated in the IR regions. 4. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that S. pseudocapsicum, Solanum betaceum, Solanum laciniatum, and Solanum nitidum are genetically closely related and are located on the same branch of the phylogenetic tree, indicating a close relationship among them. This study provides a foundation for the identification, classification, and exploration of genetic diversity within the Solanum genus.

Identification of fungal species associated with gall oak (Quercus infectoria Oliv.) decline in Iran.

The gall oak (Quercus infectoria Oliv.) tree is one of the most important and valuable forestry species in the Northern Zagros forests in the west of Iran. Gall oak decline is considered to be one of the most important diseases currently affecting the oak Zagros forests in Iran. The main objective of the present study, conducted in the years 2021-2023, was to investigate the possible role of fungi as causative agents of gall oak dieback in the Zagros forests of Iran. Wood samples were taken from gall oak trees showing canker, dieback, and internal wood discoloration symptoms. Fungal isolates recovered from gall oak trees were identified based on cultural and morphological characteristics, as well as phylogenetic analyses using DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA (ITS) and partial beta-tubulin (tub2). Achaetomium aegilopis, Alternaria tenuissima, Apiospora intestine, Botrytis cinerea, Coniochaeta sp., Coniothyrium palmarum, Coniothyrium sp., Cytospora rhodophila, Dialonectria episphaeria, Diatrype sp., Diatrypella macrospora, Endoconidioma populi, Fonsecazyma sp., Fusarium ipomoeae, Jattaea discrete, Kalmusia variispora, Microsphaeropsis olivacea, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, Paecilomyces lecytidis, Paramicrosphaeropsis eriobotryae, Paramicrosphaeropsis ellipsoidea, and Seimatosporium pezizoides were identified from diseased trees. Pathogenicity tests were performed by artificial inoculation of excised branches of healthy gall oak trees under controlled conditions and evaluated after 35 days by measuring the discolored lesion length at the inoculation site. N. dimidiatum was the most virulent species and caused the longest wood necrosis within 35 days of inoculation. In the greenhouse test, only some species induced typical symptoms of canker. All isolated fungi are reported for the first time on gall oak trees in the world.

Gasification of Pruned Peach Tree Branches in a CO2/O2 Atmosphere in the Presence or Absence of Steam: Effect of Gas Media Composition on Product Gas, Reactivity, and Kinetics

Gasification of Pruned Peach Tree Branches in a CO₂/O₂ Atmosphere in the Presence or Absence of Steam: Effect of Gas Media Composition on Product Gas, Reactivity, and Kinetics

Automatic Method for Extracting Tree Branching Structures from a Single RGB Image

Creating automated methods for detecting branches in images is crucial for applications like harvesting robots and forest monitoring. However, the tree images encountered in real-world scenarios present significant challenges for branch detection techniques due to issues such as background interference, occlusion, and varying environmental lighting. While there has been notable progress in extracting tree trunks for specific species, research on identifying lateral branches remains limited. The primary challenges include establishing a unified mathematical representation for multi-level branch structures, conducting quantitative analyses, and the absence of suitable datasets to facilitate the development of effective models. This study addresses these challenges by creating a dataset encompassing various tree species, developing annotation tools for multi-level branch structure labeling, designing branch vector representations and quantitative metrics. Building on this foundation, the study introduces an automatic extraction model for multi-level branch structures that utilizes ResNet and a self-attention mechanism, along with a tailored loss function for branch extraction tasks. The study evaluated several model variants through both qualitative and quantitative experiments. Results from different tree images demonstrate that the final model can accurately identify the trunk structure and effectively extract detailed lateral branch structures, offering a valuable tool for applications in this area.

Modelling branch surface area of Fagus sylvatica L.

ABSTRACT Allometric models describe properties of trees that are difficult to measure. Here, we provide a set of allometric models for estimating branch properties for European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Branches affect rainfall and snow interception, provide habitat for other organisms and contribute to the economic and aesthetic value of trees. Using randomized branch sampling (RBS) of 27 beech trees in Austria we developed models for branch surface area, branch number, branch base diameter and branch length, depending on stem diameter, tree height and crown ratio. For individual branches, branch diameter was the best predictor of branch surface area while including branch length or position along the stem did not improve the models. For the entire tree, stem diameter was the most important predictor. Branch surface area (and in consequence also branch volume) assessed by RBS was greater than the branch surface area estimated as a cylinder from measurements of branch length and branch base diameter. Since the branch allometry of beech differs considerably from a previous study on branches of Picea abies, we conclude that assumptions and models derived from other tree species can lead to considerable biased results in assessing the functions of tree branches.

Strain-specific effect of Streptococcus thermophilus consumption on host physiology

Streptococcus thermophilus is one of the most prevalent species in stool samples of westernized populations due to continuous exposure to fermented dairy products. However, few studies have explored the effect on host physiology by multiple S. thermophilus strains and considered the inter-strain differences in regulating host. In the present study, we investigated how four S. thermophilus strains influenced the gut microbiota, mucin changes, and host metabolism after 28 days of intervention in conventional mice. The results indicated that the consumption of S. thermophilus affected the host with strain specificity. Among four S. thermophilus strains, DYNDL13-4 and DQHXNQ38M61, especially DQHXNQ38M61, had more effect on host physiology by modulating gut microbiota and host metabolism than LMD9 and 4M6. Ingestion of strains DYNDL13-4 and DQHXNQ38M61 resulted in more remarkable changes in amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism than that of strains LMD9 and 4M6, which may be related to the elevation of intestinal Bifidobacterium by DYNDL13-4 and DQHXNQ38M61. The enriched Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002, Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, and Lactobacillus only in the DQHXNQ38M61 group, had a close relationship with the prominent effect of DQHXNQ38M61 on regulating amino acid and lipid metabolism. In addition, DQHXNQ38M61 had a strong influence on degrading colonic mucin fucose by decreased α-fucosidase activity in feces, and improving mucin sulfation by upregulated Gal3ST2 expression. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the four S. thermophilus strains belonged to different branches in the phylogenetic tree, and DYNDL13-4 and DQHXNQ38M61 had more genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, membrane transport, and signal transduction, which may confer the capacity of nutrient utilization and gastrointestinal adaptation of the strains and be associated with their strong regulation in host. Our study provides valuable information for understanding the regulation of host metabolism after consuming different S. thermophilus strains and could facilitate potential personalized applications of S. thermophilus based on strain varieties.

Identification and management of infections caused by Giardia sp., Trichuris sp. and Demodex sp. in captive Brazilian porcupines (Coendou prehensilis)

The Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis, Rodentia, Erethizontidae) is an arboreal South American nocturnal rodent. Switzerland is home to one of the largest captive colonies in Europe. In June 2022, most of the animals in this colony showed severe diarrhoea, and Giardia sp. cysts were detected. All the animals were treated with metronidazole (75 mg/animal/day orally) for five days, repeating after two weeks. The diarrhoea continued, sometimes containing blood, and further analyses revealed Giardia sp. cysts and Trichuris sp. eggs with a particular undulating eggshell in pooled samples. The soil layer of some enclosures was removed to thoroughly clean and disinfect the underlying concrete floor. The animals were treated with fenbendazole (50 mg/kg/day orally) for 5 days repeating after three days. Giardia sp. cysts were not further detected. However, Trichuris sp. eggs were detected in branch bark samples and in six animals 2–3 months after treatment. The treatment with fenbendazole was repeated and no further Trichuris sp. eggs were detected. A 18S rRNA fragment consensus sequence showed 98.58% identity with Trichuris fossor. The Trichuris sp. in C. prehensilis may represent a new species, specific for arboreal porcupines. Demodex mites were observed in faecal flotations and thereafter in skin scrapings from five animals (four of them being family-related). A 16S consensus sequence showed 86.4% identity with other Demodex species. The animals were initially treated with moxidectin (0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg orally) and afterwards with sarolaner (10 mg/animal) but the treatments were not completely effective since in control scrapings, two animals evidenced few non-motile mites. An individual susceptibility and poor immunological control of the infection is suggested. Treatment with fenbendazole was effective against Giardia sp. and Trichuris sp. infections; however, reinfections may occur if the enclosures and tree branches are not deep cleaned and disinfected or replaced.

Molecular identification of some species of dragonfly (Odonata: Anisoptera) using COXI gene and DNA barcodes from Basrah Province, Southern Iraq

The taxonomy of the Odonata group is still poorly understood; therefore, molecular identification has been developed to address the shortcomings of traditional taxonomy, such as misidentification and inconsistencies in reference databases. The mtCOXI gene has been used in animal barcoding studies because of its wide range of phylogenetic signals. Odonata, a diverse group of aquatic insects, has been studied at the molecular level to understand the evolutionary relationships between their species and global species. In the current study in Basrah Province, Iraq, we extracted mitochondrial DNA from adult and nymph Dragonflies and designed species-specific primers to distinguish some of the endemic species at the molecular level. This study identified five species, Crocothemis erythraea, Diplacodes trivialis, Orthetrum sabina, Trithemis annulata and Hemianax ephippiger. The DNA sequences were deposited in the NCBI database for the first time. The nucleotide sequences of the mtCOXI genes were analyzed via BLAST. The similarity results ranged from 91.8% to 100%, indicating related species on the basis of the branches of the phylogenetic tree. The molecular identity of the selected species was confirmed, and DNA barcodes for Anisoptera species from Basrah Province were successfully developed and documented in GenBank and IBIN.

L1-Tree: A novel algorithm for constructing 3D tree models and estimating branch architectural traits using terrestrial laser scanning data

Branch architecture provides crucial information for the understanding of plant trait variability and the adaptive strategies employed by trees in response to their environment. High-fidelity terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data provide an accurate, efficient, and non-destructive means for constructing three-dimensional (3D) tree models and estimating architectural traits. However, the complex canopy structure of trees in natural forests and the presence of occlusion in TLS data pose significant challenges to achieving this goal. In this study, we present a novel algorithm, L1-Tree, for the construction of 3D tree models and the estimation of architectural traits from TLS data. This algorithm is grounded in the L1-Median algorithm and integrates a tree skeleton optimization procedure that considers the structural characteristics of tree branches. By comparing modeling results and manually derived branch traits for 24 trees of 24 species, we found that the L1-Tree algorithm achieved precision, recall, and F-score values of 0.94 for branch identification, coefficient of determination, root-mean-squared error, and normalized root-mean-squared error of 0.998, 0.068 m, and 0.3 % for branch length estimation, and a respective value of 0.958, 0.257 cm and 0.9 % for branch radius estimation. Additionally, the branch identification accuracy and accuracy in branch architectural trait estimation remained satisfactory across branch orders. Compared to established 3D tree model construction algorithms (e.g., TreeQSM), our L1-Tree algorithm demonstrated a superior capability in handling noisy environments and data gaps, making it a robust tool for TLS data-based tree architecture studies. Leaf-wood separation emerged as a crucial step influencing the performance of the L1-Tree algorithm. We observed significant drop in branch identification accuracy when using an automatic leaf-wood separation algorithm as input, highlighting the urgent need to develop effective leaf-wood separation algorithms to generate high-quality wood point clouds for tree architecture studies.

Особенности функционирования аллегории в произведениях русской монашеской словесности XX века

The aim of the research is to present the main features of the functioning of allegory in the works of 20th-century Russian monastic writers. The paper examines Christian allegory as a specific tropeic phenomenon. The specificity of the use of Christian allegory lies in its orientation toward the culture-forming texts of the Bible; in its fixation in the didactic parts of the text dedicated to the salvation of the soul, spiritual perfection, the need to strive for virtue; in the authors’ appeal to allegorical images with stable interpretations embedded in the culture; in its concentration on allegories that are part of the established allegorical imagery corpus, which formed as Christian literature were developing. The central place in the work is occupied by the study of the representation of ideas important for church writers through allegory, the actualization of Christian meanings. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that it uses theolinguistic analysis to study the works of Russian monastic literature, indicates the stylistic functions of allegory in the ecclesiastical-religious style, and identifies the main features of the use of allegory. As a result, the following has been proved: when affirming thoughts related to the perniciousness of sins, authors resort to Christian allegories, using images of a swamp, abyss, net, thorns, tree branches, spiderwebs; when describing the life of a person and the path of a Christian, images of a ship, boat, sea, storm, and house are used; in reasoning about virtues, images of water, sun, and sky are chosen. There are several stylistic functions of allegory identified in the texts of monastic literature, such as pictorial, syndicating, emotive, prescriptive, meaning-forming, didactic, axiological. The features of the functional orientation of allegory in the works of monastic literature are as follows: the use with didactic religious-Christian goals, i.e., aversion from sin and encouragement to acquire virtues, strive for the salvation of the soul, moral perfection, spiritual alertness, and the cultivation of the inner person.

Systematic design of tree-like branching network microchannel heat sinks for enhanced heat transfer with nanofluids

Branched or tree-shaped networks of microchannels are often preferred heatsink designs for microelectronic cooling due to their ability to offer a substantially large surface area-to-volume ratio. Designing an optimized tree-shaped heatsink in terms of hydrothermal performance poses challenges due to the intricate geometry and small-scale fluid–structure interactions involved, making prototyping challenging. We propose a systematically designed microchannel network heat exchanger inspired by tree branching patterns, aiming for ease in rapid prototyping and improved flow distributions offering enhanced thermal performance. Starting from a simpler geometrical consideration, we systematically improve the design by introducing a pin fin at the junction for improved flow distribution and then by imparting a converging angle in the channel for enhanced thermal performance. Additionally, we conduct an entropy generation analysis to examine the thermal performance of various nanofluid concentrations within the proposed device and witness significant thermal performance improvement that can benefit the thermal management of microelectronic components and other cooling applications.

Detection of Paecilomyces formosus associated with declining urban forests and beetles in Iran

Urban forest trees are vital components of urban ecosystems, offering a range of benefits that are essential for improving the livability and sustainability of cities, providing numerous advantages for both the environment and public health. They enhance air quality by filtering pollutants, assist in regulating urban temperatures, and alleviate the urban heat island effect, which can result in substantial energy savings. Trees are often vulnerable to pathogens and pests that can cause significant damage. A survey of different trees in five provinces of Iran revealed a severe decline and dieback disease on woody plants. The affected trees included ailanthus, cedrus, cypress, ash, haloxylon, walnut, magnolia, black mulberry, paulownia, pine, oriental plane, apricot, wild pear, and elm trees. Samples of symptomatic branches and trunks were collected, and the causal fungal pathogen was isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media. A total of 90 fungal isolates were obtained from trees (60 isolates) and insects (30 isolates) and then morphological investigations were done for all isolates. Molecular identification was confirmed through sequencing of the ITS and tub2 regions. This study reports 14 new hosts for Paecilomyces formosus in Iran and worldwide. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on detached branches of apricot, ailanthus, cypress, pine, sycamore, and walnut trees. The study showed that most isolates were pathogenic to six woody plants, and some isolates were associated with disease for eight woody plant species. Additionally, potential vectors and reservoirs for P. formosus were assessed in different beetles, including Aeolesthes sarta, Scolytus kirschii, and Orthotomicus erusus in Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Lorestan, and Zanjan Provinces. The results confirmed the potential of beetles for the transmission and maintenance of P. formosus.

A Novel Fusion Perception Algorithm of Tree Branch/Trunk and Apple for Harvesting Robot Based on Improved YOLOv8s

Aiming to accurately identify apple targets and achieve segmentation and the extraction of branch and trunk areas of apple trees, providing visual guidance for a picking robot to actively adjust its posture to avoid branch trunks for obstacle avoidance fruit picking, the spindle-shaped fruit trees, which are widely planted in standard modern apple orchards, were focused on, and an algorithm for apple tree fruit detection and branch segmentation for picking robots was proposed based on an improved YOLOv8s model design. Firstly, image data of spindle-shaped fruit trees in modern apple orchards were collected, and annotations of object detection and pixel-level segmentation were conducted on the data. Training set data were then augmented to improve the generalization performance of the apple detection and branch segmentation algorithm. Secondly, the original YOLOv8s network architecture’s design was improved by embedding the SE module visual attention mechanism after the C2f module of the YOLOv8s Backbone network architecture. Finally, the dynamic snake convolution module was embedded into the Neck structure of the YOLOv8s network architecture to better extract feature information of different apple targets and tree branches. The experimental results showed that the proposed improved algorithm can effectively recognize apple targets in images and segment tree branches and trunks. For apple recognition, the precision was 99.6%, the recall was 96.8%, and the mAP value was 98.3%. The mAP value for branch and trunk segmentation was 81.6%. The proposed improved YOLOv8s algorithm design was compared with the original YOLOv8s, YOLOv8n, and YOLOv5s algorithms for the recognition of apple targets and segmentation of tree branches and trunks on test set images. The experimental results showed that compared with the other three algorithms, the proposed algorithm increased the mAP for apple recognition by 1.5%, 2.3%, and 6%, respectively. The mAP for tree branch and trunk segmentation was increased by 3.7%, 15.4%, and 24.4%, respectively. The proposed detection and segmentation algorithm for apple tree fruits, branches, and trunks is of great significance for ensuring the success rate of robot harvesting, which can provide technical support for the development of an intelligent apple harvesting robot.