Street CORNERS: Real-time Contextual Representation of Sensor Network Data for Environmental Trend Identification

Abstract-Sensor networks have been deployed for a range of rural and environmental applications. Wellregarded for the volume and range of data which can be obtained, wireless sensor network applications capable of using the data gathered have not been fully realized, particularly in urban settings. Street CORNERS is a wireless sensor network application which supports the contextual presentation of data gathered from an urban setting. The Street CORNERS application offers realtime data display, and provides support for predictive algorithms suitable for anticipating, detecting, and defending urban communities, among others, from environmental threats such as declining air quality and urban flash floods. Street CORNERS is presented in two parts. The network design and deployment is outlined, followed by a discussion of the design of the network application, which is involved in data preprocessing and the contextual presentation of the data gathered for trend identification

Frequencies of polymorphisms associated with BSE resistance differ significantly between Bos taurus, Bos indicus, and composite cattle

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are neurodegenerative diseases that affect several mammalian species. At least three factors related to the host prion protein are known to modulate susceptibility or resistance to a TSE: amino acid sequence, atypical number of octapeptide repeats, and expression level. These factors have been extensively studied in breeds of <it>Bos taurus </it>cattle in relation to classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). However, little is currently known about these factors in <it>Bos indicus </it>purebred or <it>B. indicus </it>× <it>B. taurus </it>composite cattle. The goal of our study was to establish the frequency of markers associated with enhanced susceptibility or resistance to classical BSE in <it>B. indicus </it>purebred and composite cattle.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No novel or TSE-associated <it>PRNP</it>-encoded amino acid polymorphisms were observed for <it>B. indicus </it>purebred and composite cattle, and all had the typical number of octapeptide repeats. However, differences were observed in the frequencies of the 23-bp and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms associated with two bovine <it>PRNP </it>transcription regulatory sites. Compared to <it>B. taurus</it>, <it>B. indicus </it>purebred and composite cattle had a significantly lower frequency of 23-bp insertion alleles and homozygous genotypes. Conversely, <it>B. indicus </it>purebred cattle had a significantly higher frequency of 12-bp insertion alleles and homozygous genotypes in relation to both <it>B. taurus </it>and composite cattle. The origin of these disparities can be attributed to a significantly different haplotype structure within each species.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The frequencies of the 23-bp and 12-bp indels were significantly different between <it>B. indicus </it>and <it>B. taurus </it>cattle. No other known or potential risk factors were detected for the <it>B. indicus </it>purebred and composite cattle. To date, no consensus exists regarding which bovine <it>PRNP </it>indel region is more influential with respect to classical BSE. Should one particular indel region and associated genotypes prove more influential with respect to the incidence of classical BSE, differences regarding overall susceptibility and resistance for <it>B. indicus </it>and <it>B. taurus </it>cattle may be elucidated.</p

Street CORNERS: Real-time contextual representation of sensor network data for environmental trend identification

Sensor networks have been deployed for a range of rural and environmental applications. Wellregarded for the volume and range of data which can be obtained, wireless sensor network applications capable of using the data gathered have not been fully realized, particularly in urban settings. Street CORNERS is a wireless sensor network application which supports the contextual presentation of data gathered from an urban setting. The Street CORNERS application offers realtime data display, and provides support for predictive algorithms suitable for anticipating, detecting, and defending urban communities, among others, from environmental threats such as declining air quality and urban flash floods. Street CORNERS is presented in two parts. The network design and deployment is outlined, followed by a discussion of the design of the network application, which is involved in data preprocessing and the contextual presentation of the data gathered for trend identification. © 2009 IEEE