Optimal Sensor Placement in Environmental Research: Designing a Sensor Network under Uncertainty

Abstract. One of our main challenges in meteorology and environment research is that in many important remote areas, sensor coverage is sparse, leaving us with numerous blind spots. Placement and maintenance of sensors in these areas are expensive. It is therefore desirable to find out how, within a given budget, we can design a sensor network are important activities was developing reasonable techniques for sensor that would provide us with the largest amount of useful information while minimizing the size of the “blind spot ” areas which is not covered by the sensors. This problem is very difficult even to formulate in precise terms because of the huge uncertainty. There are two important aspects of this problem: (1) how to best distribute the sensors over the large area, and (2) what is the best location of each sensor in the corresponding zone. There is some researcj on the first aspect of the problem. In this paper, we illustrate the second aspect of the problem, on the example of optimal selection of locations for the Eddy towers, an important micrometeorological instrument

“We” Cannot be Guilty?! Ethnic Identity and In-group Justification as Determinants of Experiencing Collective Guilt

Svrha je rada ispitati odnos doživljaja kolektivne krivnje, etničkog identiteta i opravdavanja postupaka vlastite grupe na uzorku Hrvata i Srba u Vukovaru, utvrditi razlike među njima te ispitati prediktivnu snagu etničkog identiteta i opravdavanja postupaka vlastite grupe u predviđanju kolektivne krivnje. Istraživanje je provedeno na 70 sudionika hrvatske i 80 sudionika srpske nacionalnosti, stanovnika grada Vukovara i okolnih mjesta, u dobi između 18 i 35 godina. Hrvati i Srbi međusobno se ne razlikuju u prihvaćanju kolektivne krivnje, a Hrvati je u značajno većoj mjeri pripisuju te više opravdavaju postupke vlastite grupe i imaju izraženiji etnički identitet u odnosu na Srbe. Etnički identitet, pripisivanje kolektivne krivnje i opravdavanje postupaka vlastite grupe pozitivno su povezani. Negativno su povezani prihvaćanje kolektivne krivnje i etnički identitet te prihvaćanja kolektivne krivnje i opravdavanje postupaka vlastite grupe tijekom sukoba. Opravdavanje postupaka vlastite grupe značajno pridonosi objašnjenju kriterija prihvaćanja kolektivne krivnje u obama uzorcima i to tako da je veće opravdavanje postupaka vlastite grupe povezano s manjim stupnjem prihvaćanja kolektivne krivnje. Za predviđanje pripisivanja kolektivne krivnje varijabla etničkog identiteta značajno pridonosi objašnjenju varijance kod Hrvata, a varijabla opravdavanja postupaka vlastite grupe kod Srba. Raspravljene su implikacije rezultata za buduće međuetničke odnose u Vukovaru i drugim poslijeratnim zajednicama.The aim of this study was to relate the collective guilt, ethnic identity and in-group justifications on the sample of Croats and Serbs from the city of Vukovar, to explore differences between these groups and to predict collective guilt based on ethnic identity and in-group justifications. The research was conducted in the city of Vukovar with a sample of 70 participants of Croatian and 80 participants of Serbian origin, aged between 18 and 35 years. The results show no difference between Croats and Serb in collective guilt acceptance; however, Croats assign collective guilt more, they justify their in-group actions more, and have a stronger ethnic identity. As expected, there are positive correlations between ethnic identity, collective guilt assignment and in-group justifications. Collective guilt acceptance and the ethnic identity are negatively related, as well as the collective guilt acceptance and in-group justifications. The in-group justifications predict significantly a criterion of collective guilt acceptance in both samples: the more one justifies the in-group actions the less he/she accepts collective guilt. Ethnic identity contributes significantly in predicting the collective guilt assignment in the Croatian sample, and the in-group justifications contribute significantly in explaining the variance of the collective guilt assignment in the Serbian sample. The implications of the results for the future intergroup relations in the city of Vukovar and other post-conflict communities are discussed

Analiza smičnih naprezanja kod shear-hat ispitne metode u digitalnom okruženju

Determination of flow curves of metals, which are indispensable for numerical simulations of forming processes, is often limited to tensile or compression tests. However in some cases the shear stress-strain behavior of materials needs to be determined as well. In the paper digital analyses of shear-hat test at room temperature were performed for various steels, AlMg3 aluminium alloy and AZ80 magnesium alloy. Comparative analyses of process parameters and specimen geometry as a function of tool displacement were performed for better understanding of the testing procedure.Određivanje krivulja tečenja kod metala, koje su neophodne za numeričke simulacije, često je limitirano na vlačno ili tlačno ispitivanje. Ipak u nekim slučajevima potrebno je odrediti stanje smičnih naprezanja i deformacija materijala. U članku je prikazana digitalna analiza posmičnih naprezanja „shear-hat“ ispitivanja koja su za različite čelike, aluminijsku slitinu AlMg3 i magnezijsku slitinu AZ80 izvršena pri sobnoj temperaturi. Izvršene su i usporedne analize promatranih parametara u procesu te je ispitan utjecaj geometrije ispitivane epruvete kao funkcije alatnih pomaka kako bi se bolje upoznala ispitna procedura

Compared to conventional, ecological intensive management promotes beneficial proteolytic soil microbial communities for agro-ecosystem functioning under climate change-induced rain regimes

Projected climate change and rainfall variability will affect soil microbial communities, biogeochemical cycling and agriculture. Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient in agroecosystems and its cycling and availability is highly dependent on microbial driven processes. In agroecosystems, hydrolysis of organic nitrogen (N) is an important step in controlling soil N availability. We analyzed the effect of management (ecological intensive vs. conventional intensive) on N-cycling processes and involved microbial communities under climate change-induced rain regimes. Terrestrial model ecosystems originating from agroecosystems across Europe were subjected to four different rain regimes for 263 days. Using structural equation modelling we identified direct impacts of rain regimes on N-cycling processes, whereas N-related microbial communities were more resistant. In addition to rain regimes, management indirectly affected N-cycling processes via modifications of N-related microbial community composition. Ecological intensive management promoted a beneficial N-related microbial community composition involved in N-cycling processes under climate change-induced rain regimes. Exploratory analyses identified phosphorus-associated litter properties as possible drivers for the observed management effects on N-related microbial community composition. This work provides novel insights into mechanisms controlling agro-ecosystem functioning under climate change

A multi-omics approach to evaluate the quality of milk whey used in Ricotta cheese production

In the past, milk whey was only a by-product of cheese production, but currently, it has a high commercial value for use in the food industries. However, the regulation of whey management (i.e., storage and hygienic properties) has not been updated, and as a consequence, its microbiological quality is very challenging for food safety. The Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technique was applied to several whey samples used for Ricotta production to evaluate the microbial community composition in depth using both RNA and DNA as templates for NGS library construction. Whey samples demonstrating a high microbial and aerobic spore load contained mostly Firmicutes; although variable, some samples contained a relevant amount of Gammaproteobacteria. Several lots of whey acquired as raw material for Ricotta production presented defective organoleptic properties. To define the volatile compounds in normal and defective whey samples, a headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was conducted. The statistical analysis demonstrated that different microbial communities resulted from DNA or cDNA library sequencing, and distinguishable microbiota composed the communities contained in the organoleptic-defective whey samples

The therapeutic efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12® in infant colic: A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial

The pathogenesis of infant colic is poorly defined. Gut microbiota seems to be involved, supporting the potential therapeutic role of probiotics

Response of sediment bacterial community to triclosan in subtropical freshwater benthic microcosms

The response of sediment bacterial communities in subtropical freshwater benthic microcosms to sediment-associated triclosan (TCS; 28 d exposure) was analysed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. This study highlights the interactive effects of TCS and the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Viviparidae bellamya) on sediment bacterial communities. Our results show that TCS alone significantly altered the taxonomic composition and decreased alpha diversity of sediment bacterial communities at concentrations ≥80 μg TCS/g dry weight (dw) sediment (sed). Regarding dominant phyla, TCS significantly reduced the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes at these concentrations, whereas the relative abundance of Chloroflexi and Cyanobacteria increased. In the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates, the sediment bacterial community was affected by 8 μg TCS/g dw sed as well. However, the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates did not cause measurable changes to bacterial community in unspiked (i.e., control) sediment. These results indicate that TCS alone would not alter the sediment bacterial community at environmentally relevant concentrations (up till 8 μg/g dw sed), but may have an effect in combination with the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates. Therefore, we recommend to include benthic macroinvertebrates when assessing the response of sediment bacterial communities during exposure to environmental stress such as organic contaminants.</p

Cas9 gRNA engineering for genome editing, activation and repression

We demonstrate that by altering the length of Cas9-associated guide RNA(gRNA) we were able to control Cas9 nuclease activity and simultaneously perform genome editing and transcriptional regulation with a single Cas9 protein. We exploited these principles to engineer mammalian synthetic circuits with combined transcriptional regulation and kill functions governed by a single multifunctional Cas9 protein.National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) (P50 HG005550)United States. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-02ER63445)Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired EngineeringUnited States. Army Research Office (DARPA W911NF-11-2-0054)National Science Foundation (U.S.)United States. National Institutes of Health (5R01CA155320-04)United States. National Institutes of Health (P50 GM098792)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (5T32CA009216-34)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological EngineeringHarvard Medical School. Department of GeneticsDefense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) (HDTRA1-14-1-0006

A comprehensive draft genome sequence for lupin (Lupinus angustifolius), an emerging health food: Insights into plant-microbe interactions and legume evolution

Lupins are important grain legume crops that form a critical part of sustainable farming systems, reducing fertilizer use and providing disease breaks. It has a basal phylogenetic position relative to other crop and model legumes and a high speciation rate. Narrow-leafed lupin (NLL; Lupinus angustifolius L.) is gaining popularity as a health food, which is high in protein and dietary fibre but low in starch and gluten-free. We report the draft genome assembly (609 Mb) of NLL cultivar Tanjil, which has captured > 98% of the gene content, sequences of additional lines and a dense genetic map. Lupins are unique amongst legumes and differ from most other land plants in that they do not form mycorrhizal associations. Remarkably, we find that NLL has lost all mycorrhiza-specific genes, but has retained genes commonly required for mycorrhization and nodulation. In addition, the genome also provided candidate genes for key disease resistance and domestication traits. We also find evidence of a whole genome triplication at around 25 million years ago in the genistoid lineage leading to Lupinus. Our results will support detailed studies of legume evolution and accelerate lupin breeding programmes