A revision of the Old World Black Nightshades (Morelloid clade of Solanum L., Solanaceae)

The Morelloid clade, also known as the black nightshades or ?Maurella? (Morella), is one of the 10 major clades within Solanum L. The pantropical clade consists of 75 currently recognised non-spiny herbaceous and suffrutescent species with simple or branched hairs with or without glandular tips, with a centre of distribution in the tropical Andes. A secondary centre of diversity is found in Africa, where a set of mainly polyploid taxa occur. A yet smaller set of species is found in Australasia and Europe, including Solanum nigrum L., the type of the genus Solanum. Due to the large number of published synonyms, combined with complex morphological variation, our understanding of species limits and diversity in the Morelloid clade has remained poor despite detailed morphological studies carried out in conjunction with breeding experiments. Here we provide the first taxonomic overview since the 19th century of the entire group in the Old World, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and islands of the Pacific. Complete synonymy, morphological descriptions, distribution maps and common names and uses are provided for all 19 species occurring outside the Americas (i.e. Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and islands of the Pacific). We treat 12 species native to the Old World, as well as 7 taxa that are putatively introduced and/or invasive in the region. The current knowledge of the origin of the polyploid species is summarised. A key to all of the species occurring in the Old World is provided, together with line drawings and colour figures to aid identification both in herbaria and in the field. Preliminary conservation assessments are provided for all species.Fil: Sarkinen, T.. University Of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Poczai, P.

A Distributed Multilevel Force-directed Algorithm

The wide availability of powerful and inexpensive cloud computing services naturally motivates the study of distributed graph layout algorithms, able to scale to very large graphs. Nowadays, to process Big Data, companies are increasingly relying on PaaS infrastructures rather than buying and maintaining complex and expensive hardware. So far, only a few examples of basic force-directed algorithms that work in a distributed environment have been described. Instead, the design of a distributed multilevel force-directed algorithm is a much more challenging task, not yet addressed. We present the first multilevel force-directed algorithm based on a distributed vertex-centric paradigm, and its implementation on Giraph, a popular platform for distributed graph algorithms. Experiments show the effectiveness and the scalability of the approach. Using an inexpensive cloud computing service of Amazon, we draw graphs with ten million edges in about 60 minutes.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2016

The stability of a graph partition: A dynamics-based framework for community detection

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in the analysis of complex networks, facilitated by the availability of relational data and the increasingly powerful computational resources that can be employed for their analysis. Naturally, the study of real-world systems leads to highly complex networks and a current challenge is to extract intelligible, simplified descriptions from the network in terms of relevant subgraphs, which can provide insight into the structure and function of the overall system. Sparked by seminal work by Newman and Girvan, an interesting line of research has been devoted to investigating modular community structure in networks, revitalising the classic problem of graph partitioning. However, modular or community structure in networks has notoriously evaded rigorous definition. The most accepted notion of community is perhaps that of a group of elements which exhibit a stronger level of interaction within themselves than with the elements outside the community. This concept has resulted in a plethora of computational methods and heuristics for community detection. Nevertheless a firm theoretical understanding of most of these methods, in terms of how they operate and what they are supposed to detect, is still lacking to date. Here, we will develop a dynamical perspective towards community detection enabling us to define a measure named the stability of a graph partition. It will be shown that a number of previously ad-hoc defined heuristics for community detection can be seen as particular cases of our method providing us with a dynamic reinterpretation of those measures. Our dynamics-based approach thus serves as a unifying framework to gain a deeper understanding of different aspects and problems associated with community detection and allows us to propose new dynamically-inspired criteria for community structure.Comment: 3 figures; published as book chapte

Orientation of the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) in the Orange basin and Outeniqua sub-basins of South Africa : neotectonic implications

South Africa lies within an intraplate setting, characterised by sparse, scattered, low-magnitude seismicity not easily correlated with known neotectonic features. Recent seismicity has repeatedly been shown to result from the reactivation of pre-existing geological structures, typically large faults or shear zones, which are preferentially-aligned to the contemporary stress field. Expanding the catalogue of stress data for the region is therefore vital to better understand the regional stress field pattern and aid in identifying potentially seismogenic structures. In these intraplate regions, reliable high-quality indicators of maximum horizontal compressive stress (SHmax) are difficult to obtain in the absence of earthquake-derived focal mechanism solutions (so called "beach balls"). In South Africa however, extensive hydrocarbon exploration drilling in the Mesozoic offshore provide an opportunity to utilise the borehole breakout technique to derive quality SHmax orientation data. In collaboration with the World Stress Map Project (WSM), and utilising borehole logs provided by the Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA), training and software was provided to review, analyse and visualise borehole breakouts observed in 4-arm calliper logs from exploration areas in the Outeniqua and Orange basins. Digital music software can limit the forms of music we create by using interfaces that directly copy those of the analogue instruments that came before. In this study we report on a new multi-touch interface that affords a completely new form of drum sequencing. Based on ideas from Avant-guard music and embodied interaction, a technology probe was created and then evaluated by a wide range of users. We found that for users with no musical training, and for users with a large amount of musical training, the software did allow them to be more creative. However, users with limited training on existing sequencing software found the new interface challenging

A Comprehensive Method For Coordinating Distributed Energy Resources In A Power Distribution System

Utilities, faced with increasingly limited resources, strive to maintain high levels of reliability in energy delivery by adopting improved methodologies in planning, operation, construction and maintenance. On the other hand, driven by steady research and development and increase in sales volume, the cost of deploying PV systems has been in constant decline since their first introduction to the market. The increased level of penetration of distributed energy resources in power distribution infrastructure presents various benefits such as loss reduction, resilience against cascading failures and access to more diversified resources. However, serious challenges and risks must be addressed to ensure continuity and reliability of service. By integrating necessary communication and control infrastructure into the distribution system, to develop a practically coordinated system of distributed resources, controllable load/generation centers will be developed which provide substantial flexibility for the operation of the distribution system. On the other hand, such a complex distributed system is prone to instability and black outs due to lack of a major infinite supply and other unpredicted variations in load and generation, which must be addressed. To devise a comprehensive method for coordination between Distributed Energy Resources in order to achieve a collective goal, is the key point to provide a fully functional and reliable power distribution system incorporating distributed energy resources. A road map to develop such comprehensive coordination system is explained and supporting scenarios and their associated simulation results are then elaborated. The proposed road map describes necessary steps to build a comprehensive solution for coordination between multiple agents in a microgrid or distribution feeder.\u2

Individuals Differences in Exploratory Behavior of Prairie Voles, \u3ci\u3eMicrotus ochrogaster\u3c/i\u3e

Individual differences in behavior are significant because they serve as the substrate for natural selection. Within the Behavioral Syndromes framework, researchers study individual differences in behavior of animals. Behavioral Syndromes are defined as correlations between behaviors in different environmental contexts or testing situations. In this study, I examined the effects of litter size and sex ratio, familial relationships, and age and sex on exploratory behavior of prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Exploratory behavior, defined as spontaneous behavioral responses to unfamiliar stimuli, was examined in three novel situations: an open-field with novel objects, a two-way novel choice apparatus, and a complex maze. Each test was found to measure a different exploratory behavior axis: the open-field test with novel objects measured interactive behavior, the exploratory maze measured general activity behavior, and the two-way novel choice test measured proactive/reactive behavior in response to novel environments. No correlation of behavioral responses across the three tests was found, thus providing no evidence of an overall exploratory behavioral syndrome in this species. On the other hand, there was considerable individual variation in behavior within each test and some of this variation could be explained by the independent variables examined. Litter size and, to a smaller degree, age explained exploratory behavior in the open-field. Subjects from large, socially complex litters and young subjects were less interactive in the open-field with novel objects than subjects from smaller litters and older subjects. In the maze, subjects who were the only ones of their sex in a litter entered the maze sooner than subjects from all other litter compositions; there also was a tendency for females to travel longer distances within the maze than males. However, I found no relationship between behavior in the two-way novel choice apparatus and the independent variables of interest. Across all three tests, most subjects across families demonstrated similar behavioral tendencies; as a result I concluded that the general character of this population of prairie voles includes being highly interactive, more active, and proactive. Overall, the results of this study raise questions about the interpretation of behavioral responses and the identification of behavioral syndromes

Experimental Study of Two-Phase Air–Water Flow in Large-Diameter Vertical Pipes

Recently, due to an increase in production demand in nuclear and oil and gas industries, the requirement to migrate toward larger pipe sizes for future developments has become essential. However, it is interesting to note that almost all the research on two-phase gas–liquid flow in vertical pipe upflow is based on small-diameter pipes (D_100 mm), and the experimental work on the two-phase gas–liquid flow in large-diameter (D>100 mm) vertical pipes is scarce. Under the above circumstances, the application of modelling tools=correlations based on small-diameter pipes in predicting flow behaviour (flow pattern, void fraction, and pressure gradient) poses severe challenges in terms of accuracy. The results presented in this article are motivated by the need to introduce the research work done to the industries where the data pertaining to large-diameter vertical pipes are scarce and there is a lack of understanding of two-phase gas-liquid flow behaviour in large-diameter (D>100 mm) vertical pipes. The unique aspect of the results presented here is that the experimental data have been generated for a 254-mm inner diameter vertical pipe that forms an excellent basis for the assessment of modelling tools=correlations. This article (i) presents the results of a systematic investigation of the flow patterns in large-diameter vertical pipes and identifies the transition between subsequent flow patterns, (ii) compares it directly with the existing large- (150 mm) and small-diameter data (28mm and 32 mm) in the same air–water superficial velocity range, (iii) exemplifies that the existing available empirical correlations=models=codes are significantly in error when applied to large-diameter vertical pipes for predictions, and last (iv) assesses the predictive capability of a well-known commercial multiphase flow simulator