Disaster Resilience Education and Research Roadmap for Europe 2030 : ANDROID Report

A disaster resilience education and research roadmap for Europe 2030 has been launched. This roadmap represents an important output of the ANDROID disaster resilience network, bringing together existing literature in the field, as well as the results of various analysis and study projects undertaken by project partners.The roadmap sets out five key challenges and opportunities in moving from 2015 to 2030 and aimed at addressing the challenges of the recently announced Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This roadmap was developed as part of the ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network, led by Professor Richard Haigh of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre (www.hud.ac.uk/gdrc ) at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, UK. The ANDROID consortium of applied, human, social and natural scientists, supported by international organisations and a stakeholder board, worked together to map the field in disaster resilience education, pool their results and findings, develop interdisciplinary explanations, develop capacity, move forward innovative education agendas, discuss methods, and inform policy development. Further information on ANDROID Disaster Resilience network is available at: http://www.disaster-resilience.netAn ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network ReportANDROI

GHz QKD at telecom wavelengths using up-conversion detectors

We have developed a hybrid single photon detection scheme for telecom wavelengths based on nonlinear sum-frequency generation and silicon single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The SPAD devices employed have been designed to have very narrow temporal response, i.e. low jitter, which we can exploit for increasing the allowable bit rate for quantum key distribution. The wavelength conversion is obtained using periodically poled Lithium niobate waveguides (W/Gs). The inherently high efficiency of these W/Gs allows us to use a continuous wave laser to seed the nonlinear conversion so as to have a continuous detection scheme. We also present a 1.27GHz qubit repetition rate, one-way phase encoding, quantum key distribution experiment operating at telecom wavelengths that takes advantage of this detection scheme. The proof of principle experiment shows a system capable of MHz raw count rates with a QBER less than 2% and estimated secure key rates greater than 100 kbit/s over 25 km.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Efectos de la reducción de la densidad de siembra en soja

La densidad óptima está sujeta a las condiciones ambientales y edáficas de cada zona. La variación de la cantidad de plantas afecta la capacidad de crecimiento individual debido la competencia en la línea de siembra. Sin embargo, el efecto en el rendimiento no es lineal, dado que los cambios en la disponibilidad de recursos estimulan mecanismos de compensación. En el caso de la Provincia de Entre Ríos la presencia de suelos vertisoles con elevado contenido de arcillas restringe el crecimiento de los cultivos. Con el objetivo de determinar la posibilidad de lograr altos rendimientos con densidades de siembra inferiores a las utilizadas en los planteos agrícolas actuales y determinar los mecanismos de compensación, se realizaron 4 ensayos durante 2013-2016 en lotes con suelos de textura arcillosa donde se utilizaron cultivares de grupo de madurez V y VI con densidades de 3 a 40 plantas m-2. Las menores densidades de 10 y 15 plantas m-2 presentaron diferencias en la intercepción de radiación en el inicio de llenado de granos. Se hallaron diferencias en el número de granos entre las densidades. Sin embargo, este componente presentó poca variación con una disminución del 15-32% al reducir en 61-80% el stand de plantas. El número de granos fue el componente que explicó las diferencias de rendimiento; A bajas densidades se observó mayor generación de nudos en las ramificaciones y además una mayor capacidad de fijar granos por planta. El peso de granos no fue afectado por la variación en la densidad. Esto permitió determinar que en estos cultivares de GM VI el rendimiento relativo del 95% se logra con densidades de 15-20 pl m-2. En los cultivares de GM V este umbral se encontraría en las 25 pl m-2, donde por debajo de este número de plantas el rendimiento se deprime

Mechanical ventilation with a heat recovery system in renovated apartment buildings

Abstract. Renovation of existing buildings offers a great opportunity to reduce energy consumption, but often it also reduces indoor air quality, as buildings which were originally designed for natural ventilation are made highly air tight. A solution to the problem would be a mechanical ventilation system, but several problems are experienced when implementing it -no place for installing air ducts, cold air inflow or additional energy needed for incoming air preheating. Ventilation using heat recovery units is the one method out of many other energy saving measures. The advantage of using heat recovery units is energy saving, and as a result, savings on costs of the operation of the ventilation system. This paper describes the renovation carried out in 4-storey apartment buildings. In the course of the study, two buildings were analysed, both belonging to the series buildings of the Soviet Era (103 series), built in 1970 using the same materials, the same construction solutions. The renovation was carried out by one company, using the same materials and the same renovation principles for both buildings. The only difference after the renovation is that a new centralized mechanical ventilation system with a heat recovery unit is installed in one of the buildings, while in the second building the natural ventilation system is preserved. The arrangement of the mechanical ventilation system is rather innovative as the ventilation ducts in the building for fresh air supply are integrated into the facade's insulation layer and enter the living room through the wall directly behind heating radiators. The main questions studied in the course of the research are the efficiency of the mechanical ventilation system heat recovery, the building's air tightness, and the overall system efficiency

Further Confirmation of Broadly Conserved, Highly Immunogenic Cross-Clade HIV CTL Epitopes for Inclusion in the GAIA HIV Vaccine

Poster Presentation From AIDS Vaccine 2012 Boston, MA, USA. 9-12 September 201

Superexpressão do precursor de rubisco para aumento da produtividade e tolerância à seca em arroz.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi gerar plantas de arroz geneticamente modificado (GM) superexpressando o gene precursor da subunidade Large da enzima Rubisco (rbcL), com a finalidade de aumentar a produtividade de grão sob irrigação normal e sob deficit hídrico

Effects of sulfate starvation on agar polysaccharides of Gracilaria species (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) from Morib, Malaysia

The effects of sulfate starvation on the agar characteristics of Gracilaria species was investigated by culturing two red algae from Morib, Malaysia, Gracilaria changii and Gracilaria salicornia in sulfate-free artificial seawater for 5 days. The seaweed samples were collected in October 2012 and March 2013, periods which have significant variation in the amount of rainfall. The agar yields were shown to be independent of sulfate availability, with only 0.60–1.20 % increment in treated G. changii and 0.31–1.40 % increment in treated G. salicornia while their gel strengths did not increase significantly (approximately 5–7 %) after sulfate starvation for both species. The gelling and melting temperatures did not vary between control and treated samples from both species, except for the treated G. changii collected in March 2013. The gel syneresis index of G. salicornia collected in March 2013 increased significantly after sulfate deprivation. Sulfate starvation introduced some variations in the content of 3, 6-anhydrogalactose and total sulfate esters, but the changes did not have a pronounced effect on the physical properties of agar

Antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective potential of agaro-oligosaccharides in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND: Agaro-oligosaccharides derived from red seaweed polysaccharide have been reported to possess antioxidant activity. In order to assess the live protective effects of agar-oligosaccharides, we did both in vitro and in vivo studies based on own-made agaro-oligosaccharides, and the structural information of this oligosaccharide was also determined. METHOD: Structure of agaro-oligosaccharides prepared with acid hydrolysis on agar was confirmed by matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and NMR. The antioxidant effect of agaro-oligosaccharides on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed by 2', 7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate. Carbon tetrachloride was used to induce liver injury, some index including SOD, GSH-Px, MDA, AST, ALT were examined to determine the hepatoprotective effect of agaro-oligosaccharides. RESULTS: Agaro-oligosaccharides we got were composed of odd polymerizations with molecular weights ranged from 500 to 2500. Results from intracellular test indicated that agaro-oligosaccharides could significantly scavenge the level of oxidants in the hepatocytes, more beneficially, also associated with the improvement of cell viability In vivo studies of the antioxidant effects on tissue peroxidative damage induced by carbon tetrachloride in rat model indicated that agaro-oligosaccharides could elevate the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and decrease the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (AST), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT) significantly. At 400 mg/kg, MDA level reduced 44 % and 21 % in liver and heart, SOD and GSH-Px increased to highest in liver and serum, while ALT level decreased 22.16 % in serum. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results of the present study indicate that agaro-oligosaccharides can exert their in vitro and in vivo hepatoprotective effect through scavenging oxidative damage induced by ROS