SINTA - SImulations of climate chaNge in the mediTerranean Area - Final scientific report

This SINTA Project establish a scientific cooperation between the Italian Scientific Institution INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) and the Serbian Scientific Institutions such as the Republic HydroMeteorological Service (RHMSS) and the University of Belgrade (UB). INGV contributes the global models, University of Belgrade and RHMSS contribute their expertise on regional models, parameterization ofphysical processes and numerical schemes. In particular, the main objectives of this Project are: 1) Perform a set of global simulations with a Global Climate Model (GCM) available at INGV; 2) Perform a set of regional simulations with the UB Regional Climate Model (RCM) forced by boundary conditions from the GCM simulations; 3) Test the convection parameterization developed at UB in the INGV global model; 4) Training and visit exchanges of Serbian scientists in Italy

Shape: automatic conformation prediction of carbohydrates using a genetic algorithm

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Detailed experimental three dimensional structures of carbohydrates are often difficult to acquire. Molecular modelling and computational conformation prediction are therefore commonly used tools for three dimensional structure studies. Modelling procedures generally require significant training and computing resources, which is often impractical for most experimental chemists and biologists. <monospace>Shape</monospace> has been developed to improve the availability of modelling in this field.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <monospace>Shape</monospace> software package has been developed for simplicity of use and conformation prediction performance. A trivial user interface coupled to an efficient genetic algorithm conformation search makes it a powerful tool for automated modelling. Carbohydrates up to a few hundred atoms in size can be investigated on common computer hardware. It has been shown to perform well for the prediction of over four hundred bioactive oligosaccharides, as well as compare favourably with previously published studies on carbohydrate conformation prediction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <monospace>Shape</monospace> fully automated conformation prediction can be used by scientists who lack significant modelling training, and performs well on computing hardware such as laptops and desktops. It can also be deployed on computer clusters for increased capacity. The prediction accuracy under the default settings is good, as it agrees well with experimental data and previously published conformation prediction studies. This software is available both as open source and under commercial licenses.</p

Deciduous Trees and the Application of Universal DNA Barcodes: A Case Study on the Circumpolar Fraxinus

The utility of DNA barcoding for identifying representative specimens of the circumpolar tree genus Fraxinus (56 species) was investigated. We examined the genetic variability of several loci suggested in chloroplast DNA barcode protocols such as matK, rpoB, rpoC1 and trnH-psbA in a large worldwide sample of Fraxinus species. The chloroplast intergenic spacer rpl32-trnL was further assessed in search for a potentially variable and useful locus. The results of the study suggest that the proposed cpDNA loci, alone or in combination, cannot fully discriminate among species because of the generally low rates of substitution in the chloroplast genome of Fraxinus. The intergenic spacer trnH-psbA was the best performing locus, but genetic distance-based discrimination was moderately successful and only resulted in the separation of the samples at the subgenus level. Use of the BLAST approach was better than the neighbor-joining tree reconstruction method with pairwise Kimura's two-parameter rates of substitution, but allowed for the correct identification of only less than half of the species sampled. Such rates are substantially lower than the success rate required for a standardised barcoding approach. Consequently, the current cpDNA barcodes are inadequate to fully discriminate Fraxinus species. Given that a low rate of substitution is common among the plastid genomes of trees, the use of the plant cpDNA “universal” barcode may not be suitable for the safe identification of tree species below a generic or sectional level. Supplementary barcoding loci of the nuclear genome and alternative solutions are proposed and discussed

Strength-ductility behaviour of Al-Si-Cu-Mg casting alloys in T6 temper

A comparative study of the mechanical properties of 20 experimental alloys has been carried out. The effect of different contents of Si, Cu, Mg, Fe and Mn, as well as solidification rate, has been assessed using a strength-ductility chart and a quality index-strength chart developed for the alloys. The charts show that the strength generally increases and the ductility decreases with an increasing content of Cu and Mg. Increased Fe (at Fe/Mn ratio 0.5) dramatically lowers the ductility and strength of low Si alloys. Increased Si content generally increases the strength and the ductility. The increase in ductility with increased Si is particularly significant when the Fe content is high. The charts are used to show that the cracking of second phase particles imposes a limit to the maximum achievable strength by limiting the ductility of strong alloys. The (Cu + Mg) content (at.%), which determines the precipitation strengthening and the volume fraction of Cu-rich and Mg-rich intermetallics, can be used to select the alloys for given strength and ductility, provided the Fe content stays below the Si-dependent critical level for the formation of pre-eutectic alpha-phase particles or beta-phase plates

Cardiopoietic cell therapy for advanced ischemic heart failure: results at 39 weeks of the prospective, randomized, double blind, sham-controlled CHART-1 clinical trial

Cardiopoietic cells, produced through cardiogenic conditioning of patients' mesenchymal stem cells, have shown preliminary efficacy. The Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial aimed to validate cardiopoiesis-based biotherapy in a larger heart failure cohort

Assessing the Impact of Common Method Variance on Higher Order Multidimensional Constructs

Researchers are often concerned with common method variance (CMV) in cases where it is believed to bias relationships of predictors with criteria. However, CMV may also bias relationships within sets of predictors; this is cause for concern, given the rising popularity of higher order multidimensional constructs. The authors examined the extent to which CMV inflates interrelationships among indicators of higher order constructs and the relationships of those constructs with criteria. To do so, they examined core self-evaluation, a higher order construct comprising self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability, and locus of control. Across 2 studies, the authors systematically applied statistical (Study 1) and procedural (Study 2) CMV remedies to core self-evaluation data collected from multiple samples. Results revealed that the nature of the higher order construct and its relationship with job satisfaction were altered when the CMV remedies were applied. Implications of these findings for higher order constructs are discussed. © 2010 American Psychological Association

Application of Filtering Based Turbo Equalization Algorithms to Magnetic Recording Channels

We investigate potential turbo equalization (TE) schemes for high density advanced magnetic recording systems. Compared to conventional TE schemes based on partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) detection, filtering based TE schemes are attractive due to their low computational complexity. In this paper, we focus on soft feedback equalization (SFE) [1]. We modify the generic SFE to deal with jitter noise. Furthermore, novel bidirectional SFE (2D-SFE) and modified SFE (MSFE) schemes are proposed to improve the performance of the generic SFE. Simulation results suggest that, for longitudinal channels, SFE and its variants perform competitively with conventional PRML based schemes with a much lower complexity. For perpendicular channels, however, the performance deteriorates.