Application of Fuzzy Logic for Monitoring of Appearance of Heat Waves in Large Towns

In the paper are introduced some results of the influence of cooling effect of vegetation on the climate in large towns. The results have been acquired from measurement of some meteorological variables in selected parts of large town and from application of fuzzy models on the prediction of maximum day temperature. Great motivation of the paper is not only course of maximum temperature in standard days but especially the more dramatic situations as is appearance of Heat Waves. Besides the selection of relevant variables and the design of knowledge based system (with application) is performed an approximation operation for knowledge based systém function taking into account the conditions throughout the city

„Ne mogu te razumjeti jer ne mogu razumjeti sebe”: povezanost aleksitimije, pretjerane upotrebe društvenih mreža, empatije i teorije uma

Social media represent a relatively new phenomenon affecting the lives of people across the globe. Recently, the number of social media users reached billions, and this number increases every year. Previous studies indicated that excessive social media use may have adverse effects on mental and physical health. Therefore, it is important to explore what psychological factors may contribute to the excessive use of social media. It was found that social anxiety and alexithymia are robust predictors of excessive social media use. However, little is known about the role of empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) in excessive social media use. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of empathy and ToM in the relationship between alexithymia and social anxiety. Collectively, 1737 subjects participated in the study (Mage = 25.28, SDage = 10, Females: 60.83%). We assessed empathy, social anxiety, ToM, loneliness, and excessive social media use. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the mediating effect of empathy and ToM. It was revealed that there is a positive relationship between difficulty in identifying feelings (alexithymia) and social anxiety: B = 0.53 (95% CI [0.41 – 0.65], p < .001). Moreover, a significant positive association was found between social anxiety and excessive social media use: B = 0.28, 95% CI [0.14 – 0.37], p < 0.001. However, loneliness was unrelated to social media use. Similarly, there was no significant mediating effect of empathy and ToM on the link between difficulty in identifying feelings and social anxiety. Future research should examine the generalizability of our findings using different cultural/linguistic environments. The primary limitation of the study is the use of cross-sectional data which prevent to draw causal links between the explored relationships.Društvene su mreže relativno nov fenomen koji utječe na živote ljudi diljem svijeta. Broj korisnika društvenih mreža nedavno je dosegao milijarde, a ta se brojka svake godine povećava. Rezultati prijašnjih istraživanja pokazali su da pretjerano korištenje društvenih mreža može imati negativne učinke na mentalno i fizičko zdravlje. Stoga je važno istražiti koji psihološki čimbenici mogu pridonijeti pretjeranomu korištenju društvenih mreža. Socijalna anksioznost i aleksitimija snažni su prediktori pretjeranoga korištenja društvenih mreža, međutim, malo se zna o ulozi empatije i teorije uma u pretjeranome korištenju društvenih mreža. Stoga je primarni cilj ovoga istraživanja bio ispitati medijacijski učinak empatije i teorija uma u odnosu između aleksitimije i socijalne anksioznosti. Sudjelovalo je ukupno 1737 ispitanika (Mdobi = 25.28, SDdobi = 10.00; 60.83 % žena). Sudionici su dali svoje procjene na mjerama empatije, socijalne anksioznosti, teorije uma, usamljenosti i pretjerane upotrebe društvenih mreža. Medijatorski efekti empatije i teorije uma provjereni su pomoću strukturalnoga modeliranja. Dobivena je pozitivna povezanost između poteškoća u identificiranju osjećaja (aleksitimija) i socijalne anksioznosti: B = 0.53 (95 % CI [0.41 – 0.65], p < .001). Također, utvrđena je značajna pozitivna povezanost između socijalne anksioznosti i pretjeranoga korištenja društvenih mreža: B = 0.28, 95 % CI [0.14 – 0.37], p < .001; dok usamljenost nije bila povezana s korištenjem društvenih mreža. Slično tomu, nije dobiven značajan medijatorski efekt empatije i teorije uma na vezu između poteškoća u identificiranju osjećaja i socijalne anksioznosti. Buduća bi istraživanja trebala ispitati mogućnost generalizacije dobivenih rezultata u različitim kulturnim/jezičnim okruženjima. Primarno ograničenje provedenoga istraživanja proizlazi iz presječnoga nacrta koji onemogućava stvaranje uzročno-posljedičnih odnosa između istraženih konstrukata

Analysis of plant growth-promoting properties of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UCMB5113 using Arabidopsis thaliana as host plant

This study showed that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UCMB5113 colonizing Arabidopsis roots changed root structure and promoted growth implying the usability of this strain as a novel tool to support sustainable crop production.Root architecture plays a crucial role for plants to ensure uptake of water, minerals and nutrients and to provide anchorage in the soil. The root is a dynamic structure with plastic growth and branching depending on the continuous integration of internal and environmental factors. The rhizosphere contains a complex microbiota, where some microbes can colonize plant roots and support growth and stress tolerance. Here, we report that the rhizobacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum UCMB5113 stimulated the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 by increased lateral root outgrowth and elongation and root-hair formation, although primary root elongation was inhibited. In addition, the growth of the above ground tissues was stimulated by UCMB5113. Specific hormone reporter gene lines were tested which suggested a role for at least auxin and cytokinin signaling during rhizobacterial modulation of Arabidopsis root architecture. UCMB5113 produced cytokinins and indole-3-acetic acid, and the formation of the latter was stimulated by root exudates and tryptophan. The plant growth promotion effect by UCMB5113 did not appear to depend on jasmonic acid in contrast to the disease suppression effect in plants. UCMB5113 exudates inhibited primary root growth, while a semi-purified lipopeptide fraction did not and resulted in the overall growth promotion indicating an interplay of many different bacterial compounds that affect the root growth of the host plant. This study illustrates that beneficial microbes interact with plants in root development via classic and novel signals

Biomimetic hierarchical nanofibrous surfaces inspired by superhydrophobic lotus leaf structure for preventing tissue adhesions

Undesirable tissue adhesions remain one of the most common and dreaded postoperative complications. Biocompatible nanofibrous mats with antiadhesive surfaces represent a promising barrier method for preventing the formation of adhesions. The material developed in this work was inspired by the natural superhydrophobic lotus leaf nanostructure, which was mimicked by a unique combination of needleless electrospraying and electrospinning technology of poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL). The surface hydrophobicity of electrosprayed nanodroplets was further enhanced by cold plasma modification using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). The treatment led to a successful decrease in surface wettability of our samples. Morphology (scanning electron microscopy), wettability (contact angle) and chemical composition (FTIR analysis) were observed for a period of six months to track possible changes; the obtained results verified the presence of HMDSO during the whole time period. Cytocompatibility was confirmed in vitro with 3T3 mouse fibroblasts according to the norm ISO 10993-5. Cell adhesion and proliferation were assessed in vitro by metabolic MTT assay and fluorescence microscopy after 4, 7, and 14 days. Antiadhesive behaviour was confirmed by atomic force microscopy and ex vivo by peel test 90° with intestinal tissue, the final structure has a great potential to reduce postoperative tissue adhesions

Dazap2 modulates transcription driven by the Wnt effector TCF-4

A major outcome of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin-signalling pathway is the transcriptional activation of a specific set of target genes. A typical feature of the transcriptional response induced by Wnt signalling is the involvement of Tcf/Lef factors that function in the nucleus as the principal mediators of signalling. Vertebrate Tcf/Lef proteins perform two well-characterized functions: in association with β-catenin they activate gene expression, and in the absence of Wnt ligands they bind TLE/Groucho proteins to act as transcriptional repressors. Although the general characteristics of Tcf/Lef factors are well understood, the mechanisms that control their specific roles in various cellular backgrounds are much less defined. In this report we reveal that the evolutionary conserved Dazap2 protein functions as a TCF-4 interacting partner. We demonstrate that a short region proximal to the TCF-4 HMG box mediates the interaction and that all Tcf/Lef family members associate with Dazap2. Interestingly, knockdown of Dazap2 not only reduced the activity of Wnt signalling as measured by Tcf/β-catenin reporters but additionally altered the expression of Wnt-signalling target genes. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation studies indicate that Dazap2 modulates the affinity of TCF-4 for its DNA-recognition motif

Band structure of CuMnAs probed by optical and photoemission spectroscopy

5 pages, 5 figures + Supplementary InformationTetragonal phase of CuMnAs progressively appears as one of the key materials for antiferromagnetic spintronics due to efficient current-induced spin-orbit torques whose existence can be directly inferred from crystal symmetry. Theoretical understanding of spintronic phenomena in this material, however, relies on the detailed knowledge of electronic structure (band structure and corresponding wave functions) which has so far been tested only to a limited extent. We show that AC permittivity (obtained from ellipsometry) and UV photoelectron spectra agree with density functional calculations. Together with the x-ray diffraction and precession electron diffraction tomography, our analysis confirms recent theoretical claim [Phys.Rev.B 96, 094406 (2017)] that copper atoms occupy lattice positions in the basal plane of the tetragonal unit cell.We acknowledge support from National Grid Infrastructure MetaCentrum provided under the programme “Projects of Large Research, Development, and Innovations Infrastructures” (CESNET LM2015042); Grant Agency of the Czech Republic under Grant No. 15-13436S; CEDAMNF (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000358) of the Czech ministry of education (MŠMT) as well as its LM2015087 and LNSMLNSpin grants; Cariplo Foundation, Grant No. 2013-0726 (MAGISTER); Spanish MINECO under MAT2015-67593-P project and the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Programme (SEV-2015-0496); EU FET Open RIA Grant No. 766566; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Grant No. EP/P019749/1. P.W. acknowledges support from the Royal Society through a University Research Fellowship.Peer reviewe

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation