517 research outputs found
An integrated response to risks of violence against bus drivers:When on-board assaults affect safety on our roads
FT Protein Movement Contributes to Long-Distance Signaling in Floral Induction of Arabidopsis
ODRL Policy Modelling and Compliance Checking
This paper addresses the problem of constructing a policy pipeline that enables compliance checking of business processes against regulatory obligations. Towards this end, we propose an Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) profile that can be used to capture the semantics of both business policies in the form of sets of required permissions and regulatory requirements in the form of deontic concepts, and present their translation into Answer Set Programming (via the Institutional Action Language (InstAL)) for compliance checking purposes. The result of the compliance checking is either a positive compliance result or an explanation pertaining to the aspects of the policy that are causing the noncompliance. The pipeline is illustrated using two (key) fragments of the General Data Protect Regulation, namely Articles 6 (Lawfulness of processing) and Articles 46 (Transfers subject to appropriate safeguards) and industrially-relevant use cases that involve the specification of sets of permissions that are needed to execute business processes. The core contributions of this paper are the ODRL profile, which is capable of modelling regulatory obligations and business policies, the exercise of modelling elements of GDPR in this semantic formalism, and the operationalisation of the model to demonstrate its capability to support personal data processing compliance checking, and a basis for explaining why the request is deemed compliant or not
Tramesan elicits durum wheat defense against the septoria disease complex
The Septoria Leaf Blotch Complex (SLBC), caused by the two ascomycetes Zymoseptoria tritici and Parastagonospora nodorum, can reduce wheat global yearly yield by up to 50%. In the last decade, SLBC incidence has increased in Italy; notably, durum wheat has proven to be more susceptible than common wheat. Field fungicide treatment can efficiently control these pathogens, but it leads to the emergence of resistant strains and adversely affects human and animal health and the environment. Our previous studies indicated that active compounds produced by Trametes versicolor can restrict the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi and the biosynthesis of their secondary metabolites (e.g., mycotoxins). Specifically, we identified Tramesan: a 23 kDa α-heteropolysaccharide secreted by T. versicolor that acts as a pro-antioxidant molecule in animal cells, fungi, and plants. Foliar-spray of Tramesan (3.3 μM) on SLBC-susceptible durum wheat cultivars, before inoculation of causal agents of Stagonospora Nodorum Blotch (SNB) and Septoria Tritici Blotch (STB), significantly decreased disease incidence both in controlled conditions (SNB: –99%, STB: –75%) and field assays (SNB: –25%, STB: –30%). We conducted these tests were conducted under controlled conditions as well as in field. We showed that Tramesan increased the levels of jasmonic acid (JA), a plant defense-related hormone. Tramesan also increased the early expression (24 hours after inoculation-hai) of plant defense genes such as PR4 for SNB infected plants, and RBOH, PR1, and PR9 for STB infected plants. These results suggest that Tramesan protects wheat by eliciting plant defenses, since it has no direct fungicidal activity. In field experiments, the yield of durum wheat plants treated with Tramesan was similar to that of healthy untreated plots. These results encourage the use of Tramesan to protect durum wheat against SLBC
Virtual MR arthroscopy of the shoulder: image gallery with arthroscopic correlation of major pathologies in shoulder instability
Well-being and safety awareness in the context of hospital units related to work place quality
Several studies founded a positive relationship between environmental work stresses, perceived safety of work places and number of injuries. This study tested the relationship between cognitive dimensions of environmental quality, dimensions of affective quality, and perceived safety in the context of hospital units. A total of 204 hospital workers filled in a questionnaire measuring Perceived Hospital Environment Quality Indicators (PHEQIs: Fornara et al., 2006), Affective Qualities of Places (Perugini et al., 2002), and the Work Safety (WSS: Hayes et al., 1998). Results show a positive relationship between subjective indicators (both cognitive and affective) of environmental quality and specific dimensions of perceived safety in hospital units
Estimating maximum fine-fraction organic carbon in UK grasslands
Publication history: Accepted - 24 November 2021; Published - 27 January 2021.Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration across
agroecosystems worldwide can contribute to mitigate the effects
of climate change by reducing levels of atmospheric
CO2. Stabilisation of organic carbon (OC) in the fine soil
fraction (<20 μm) is considered an important long-term
store of SOC, and the saturation deficit (difference between
measured OC and estimated maximum OC in the fine fraction)
is frequently used to assess SOC sequestration potential
following the linear regression equation developed by Hassink
(1997). However, this approach is often taken without
any assessment of the fit of the equation to the soils being
studied. The statistical limitations of linear regression have
previously been noted, giving rise to the proposed use of
boundary line (BL) analysis and quantile regression (QR)
to provide more robust estimates of maximum SOC stabilisation.
The objectives of this work were to assess the
suitability of the Hassink (1997) equation to estimate maximum
fine-fraction OC in UK grassland soils of varying
sward ages and to evaluate the linear regression, boundary
line and quantile regression methods to estimate maximum
fine-fraction OC. A chronosequence of 10 grasslands was
sampled, in order to assess the relationship between sward
age (time since the last reseeding event) and the measured
and predicted maximum fine-fraction OC. Significantly different
regression equations show that the Hassink (1997)
equation does not accurately reflect maximum fine-fraction
OC in UK grasslands when determined using the proportion
of the fine soil fraction (<20 μm, %) and measured finefraction
OC (g C per kg soil). The QR estimate of maximum
SOC stabilisation was almost double that of the linear
regression and BL analysis (0.89 0.074, 0.43 0.017
and 0.57 0.052 gC per kg soil, respectively). Sward age
had an inconsistent effect on the measured variables and potential
maximum fine-fraction OC. Fine-fraction OC across
the grasslands made up 4.5% to 55.9% of total SOC, implying
that there may be either high potential for additional C
sequestration in the fine fraction of these soils or that protection
in aggregates is predominant in these grassland soils.
This work highlights the need to ensure that methods used to
predict maximum fine-fraction OC reflect the soil in situ, resulting
in more accurate assessments of carbon sequestration
potential.This research has been supported by SRUC’s
postgraduate studentship programme and the Global Academy of
Agriculture and Food Security, University of Edinburgh. Funding
has also been provided by Business Environment, Industry and
Strategy (grant no. TRN1133); Ricardo-AEA; and the Rural & Environment
Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish
government
Robotic kidney transplantation using right-versus left-sided grafts from living donors: an european multicentre experience (ERUS-RAKT working group)
Introduction: RAKT from living donors (LD) is increasingly performedin selected centers with experience in robotic surgery and kidneytransplantation (KT). Of note, KT from LD using right-sided graft (RSG)is challenging due to the brevity of the right renal vein and has beenassociated with a higher riskof perioperative complications in selectedseries. In this scenario, RAKT may facilitate the performance ofvascular anastomoses in case of short renal vessels thanks to theadvantages of the robotic platform. However, the evidence on thesafety and feasibility of RAKT using RSGs is lacking. The aim of thisstudy is to compare the surgical andearly perioperative outcomes after RAKT from LD using right- vs. left-sided grafts in a large prospectivemulticenter cohort (ERUS-RAKT working group)
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