Spatial Control of Rabies on Heterogeneous Landscapes

Rabies control in terrestrial wildlife reservoirs relies heavily on an oral rabies vaccine (ORV). In addition to direct ORV delivery to protect wildlife in natural habitats, vaccine corridors have been constructed to control the spread; these corridors are often developed around natural barriers, such as rivers, to enhance the effectiveness of vaccine deployment. However, the question of how to optimally deploy ORV around a river (or other natural barrier) to best exploit the barrier for rabies control has not been addressed using mathematical models. Given an advancing epidemic wave, should the vaccine be distributed on both sides of barrier, behind the barrier, or in front of it? Here, we introduce a new mathematical model for the dynamics of raccoon rabies on a spatially heterogeneous landscape that is both simple and realistic. We demonstrate that the vaccine should always be deployed behind a barrier to minimize the recurrence of subsequent epidemics. Although the oral rabies vaccine is sufficient to induce herd immunity inside the vaccinated area, it simultaneously creates a demographic refuge. When that refuge is in front of a natural barrier, seasonal dispersal from the vaccine corridor into an endemic region sustains epidemic oscillations of raccoon rabies. When the vaccine barrier creates a refuge behind the river, the low permeability of the barrier to host movement limits dispersal of the host population from the protected populations into the rabies endemic area and limits subsequent rabies epidemics

Breeding \u3cem\u3eLotus Australis\u3c/em\u3e Andrews for Low Cyanide Content

Lotus australis Andrews is a native perennial tetraploid legume (2n=4x=28) widely distributed throughout Australia (Figure 1). It is highly variable with 14 botanical varieties reported in the Australian Plant Name Index (http://www.anbg.gov.au). Despite broad adaptation within L. australis no cultivars have been developed for cultivation. One of the main barriers to cultivation is the reported cyanogenic nature of the species (Foulds, 1982), which makes it potentially toxic when plant cyanogenic glycosides are fully hydrolysed to form hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Foulds (1982) also reported that the cyanophoric trait was polymorphic at seedling and adult stages with 12% of plants acyanogenic in some populations. . The Cooperative Research Center for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, financially supported by Australian Wool Innovation has commenced a breeding program to develop a non-toxic cultivar of L. australis. The selection criterion of the first phase of the breeding programme was for low HCN production. Once this trait is stabilised, forage production and seed yield as well as general plant health will be the main breeding objectives

Trusted Computing using Enhanced Manycore Architectures with Cryptoprocessors

International audienceManycore architectures correspond to a main evolution of computing systems due to their high processing power. Many applications can be executed in parallel which provides users with a very efficient technology. Cloud computing is one of the many domains where manycore architectures will play a major role. Thus, building secure manycore architectures is a critical issue. However a trusted platform based on manycore architectures is not available yet. In this paper we discuss the main challenges and some possible solutions to enhance manycore architectures with cryptoprocessor

Mitochondrial DNA variability in populations from East Timor (Timor Leste)

In this study we continue the genetic characterization of human populations from East Timor, as previously started for autosomal STRs and Y STRs, with a preliminary report on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity. Individual samples (n = 133) collected from all the districts of East Timor and representing different linguistic groups were studied for the hypervariable region 1 (HVS1) sequence and the 9-bp deletion (intergenic region COII-tRNA lys).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7581-4JSBXBX-1J/1/f4cc71eebbd2186e586bae7a77c79cc

Novel use of green hydrogen fuel cell-based combined heat and power systems to reduce primary energy intake and greenhouse emissions in the building sector

Achieving European climate neutrality by 2050 requires further efforts not only from the industry and society, but also from policymakers. The use of high-efficiency cogeneration facilities will help to reduce both primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions because of the increase in overall efficiency. Fuel cell-based cogeneration technologies are relevant solutions to these points for small- and microscale units. In this research, an innovative and new fuel cell-based cogeneration plant is studied, and its performance is compared with other cogeneration technologies to evaluate the potential reduction degree in energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Four energy consumption profile datasets have been generated from real consumption data of different dwellings located in the Mediterranean coast of Spain to perform numerical simulations in different energy scenarios according to the fuel used in the cogeneration. Results show that the fuel cell-based cogeneration systems reduce primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions in buildings, to a degree that depends on the heat-to-power ratio of the consumer. Primary energy consumption varies from 40% to 90% of the original primary energy consumption, when hydrogen is produced from natural gas reforming process, and from 5% to 40% of the original primary energy consumption if the cogeneration is fueled with hydrogen obtained from renewable energy sources. Similar reduction degrees are achieved in CO2 emissions

New Transition Wedge Design Composed by Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete Slabs

[EN] Important track degradation occurs in structure-embankment transitions, in which an abrupt change in track vertical stiffness arises, leading to a reduction in passengers comfort and safety. Although granular wedges are suggested by different railroad administrations as a solution to avoid these problems, they present some disadvantages which may affect track long-term performance. In this paper, a new solution designed with prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs is proposed. The aim of this solution is to guarantee a continuous and gradual track vertical stiffness transition in the vicinity of structures, overcoming granular wedges disadvantages. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of the novel wedge design by means of a 3-D FEM model and to compare it with the current solution.Real Herráiz, JI.; Zamorano-Martín, C.; Real-Herraiz, TP.; Morales-Ivorra, S. (2016). New Transition Wedge Design Composed by Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete Slabs. Latin American Journal of Solids and Structures. 13(8):1431-1449. doi:10.1590/1679-78252556S14311449138Gallego Giner, I., & López Pita, A. (2009). Numerical simulation of embankment—structure transition design. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 223(4), 331-343. doi:10.1243/09544097jrrt234Gallego, I., Muñoz, J., Rivas, A., & Sánchez-Cambronero, S. (2011). Vertical Track Stiffness as a New Parameter Involved in Designing High-Speed Railway Infrastructure. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 137(12), 971-979. doi:10.1061/(asce)te.1943-5436.0000288Insa, R., Salvador, P., Inarejos, J., & Roda, A. (2011). Analysis of the influence of under sleeper pads on the railway vehicle/track dynamic interaction in transition zones. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 226(4), 409-420. doi:10.1177/0954409711430174Li, D., & Davis, D. (2005). Transition of Railroad Bridge Approaches. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 131(11), 1392-1398. doi:10.1061/(asce)1090-0241(2005)131:11(1392)Pita, A. L., Teixeira, P. F., & Robuste, F. (2004). High speed and track deterioration: The role of vertical stiffness of the track. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 218(1), 31-40. doi:10.1243/095440904322804411Molatefi, H., & Izadbakhsh, S. (2013). Continous rail absorber design using decay rate calculation in FEM. Structural Engineering and Mechanics, 48(4), 455-466. doi:10.12989/sem.2013.48.4.455Montalbán, L., Real, J., & Real, T. (2012). Mechanical characterization of railway structures based on vertical stiffness analysis and railway substructure stress state. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 227(1), 74-85. doi:10.1177/0954409712452348Montalbán Domingo, L., Real Herraiz, J. I., Zamorano, C., & Real Herraiz, T. (2014). Design of a new high lateral resistance sleeper and performance comparison with conventional sleepers in a curved railway track by means of finite element models. Latin American Journal of Solids and Structures, 11(7), 1238-1250. doi:10.1590/s1679-78252014000700009Montalbán Domingo, L., Zamorano Martín, C., Palenzuela Avilés, C., & Real Herráiz, J. I. (2014). Analysis of the Influence of Cracked Sleepers under Static Loading on Ballasted Railway Tracks. The Scientific World Journal, 2014, 1-10. doi:10.1155/2014/363547Real, J. I., Gómez, L., Montalbán, L., & Real, T. (2012). Study of the influence of geometrical and mechanical parameters on ballasted railway tracks design. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 26(9), 2837-2844. doi:10.1007/s12206-012-0734-7Shan, Y., Albers, B., & Savidis, S. A. (2013). Influence of different transition zones on the dynamic response of track–subgrade systems. Computers and Geotechnics, 48, 21-28. doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.09.006Shi, J., Burrow, M. P. N., Chan, A. H., & Wang, Y. J. (2012). Measurements and simulation of the dynamic responses of a bridge–embankment transition zone below a heavy haul railway line. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 227(3), 254-268. doi:10.1177/095440971246097

The effect of residual stresses in the lateral-torsional buckling of steel I-beams at elevated temperature

When a beam is bent about its major axis, it may twist and move laterally, before it reaches its elastic/plastic resistance in bending. Although the problem of lateral-torsional buckling of steel beams at room temperature has a well-established solution, the same problem at elevated temperature has not. A numerical investigation of the lateral-torsional buckling of steel I-beams subjected to a temperature variation from room temperature up to 700 °C, with the aim of assessing the effects of the residual stresses in this mechanism of failure, is presented in this paper.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V3T-49WPKXM-4/1/af8f102f10a3293de400c7377649c98