Sea-level changes and crustal movements recorded along the east Adriatic coast

Sea-level changes in the Adriatic are investigated on the basis of monthly mean sea levels registered at Croatian tide-gauge stations Rovinj, Bakar, Split and Dubrovnik since the beginning of the 1950s. A comparison of sea-level anomalies with air-pressure anomalies recorded simultaneously at Pula, Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik reveals a statistically significant relationship: a 1 mbar air-pressure change corresponds to a 1.8–2.0 cm sea-level change. The relationship enables sea-level anomalies to be corrected and, consequently, long term sea-level changes to be determined more reliably. A 20-year cycle observed in both the uncorrected and corrected anomalies is interpreted in terms of the global bidecadal signal and its regional manifestation in the Mediterranean. In order to minimize the effects of the bidecadal cycle, trends are analysed over a 30-year sliding window. The procedure reveals that the trends vary along the Croatian coast from ca. 1 mm/a in the North to zero in the South, with deceleration being visible at all the stations during the early 1970s. The finding is interpreted in terms of a) global sea-level rise, b) regional multidecadal sea-level variability, and c) local tectonic movements. Multidecadal sea-level changes are believed to be related to the natural variations observed in the atmosphere above Europe and/or to the anthropogenic changes of the Mediterranean freshwater budget. Tectonic movements bring about a rising of the middle and south Adriatic coast relatively to the north Adriatic coast at a 1 mm/a speed, with the Bakar area being characterized by anomalous crustal motions

Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity

This paper explores the relationship between FDI spillovers and productivity in manufacturing firms in five European transition countries. The novelty of our approach lies in exploring different mechanisms of horizontal spillovers and disentangling the impact of backward and forward vertical spillovers from services and manufacturing sectors. We rely on firm level data obtained from the Amadeus database and annual input-output tables. The results from dynamic panel model estimations reveal that local manufacturing firms benefit from the presence of foreign firms in upstream services, especially in the knowledge intensive services, and in downstream manufacturing sector. Demonstration effect is found to be negatively associated with domestic firms’ productivity, while worker mobility and increased competition appear to be the main channels of horizontal knowledge diffusion. The firms’ productivity is also influenced positively by human capital and intangible assets. Finally, we show that the direction and intensity of both vertical and horizontal spillovers depend on the absorptive capacity of domestic firms

R&D and innovation policy in the Western Balkans: are there additionality effects?

This article examines three types of additionality—input, output, and behavioural—in a cross-country framework. Besides conducting a systemic evaluation, which is scarce even in developed economies, this is among the first studies to investigate the effectiveness of R&D and innovation policy in transition economies. We estimate treatment effects for small and medium-sized firms in six Western Balkan countries. Empirical findings from matching estimators indicate no input and output additionality, while we find evidence of behavioural additionality. These results highlight the importance of conducting a systemic evaluation of innovation public support. We discuss theoretical and policy implications stemming from our empirical findings

SUM’20: State-based user modelling

Capturing and effectively utilising user states and goals is becoming a timely challenge for successfully leveraging intelligent and usercentric systems in differentweb search and data mining applications. Examples of such systems are conversational agents, intelligent assistants, educational and contextual information retrieval systems, recommender/match-making systems and advertising systems, all of which rely on identifying the user state in order to provide the most relevant information and assist users in achieving their goals. There has been, however, limited work towards building such state-aware intelligent learning mechanisms. Hence, devising information systems that can keep track of the user's state has been listed as one of the grand challenges to be tackled in the next few years [1]. It is thus timely to organize a workshop that re-visits the problem of designing and evaluating state-aware and user-centric systems, ensuring that the community (spanning academic and industrial backgrounds) works together to tackle these challenges

Impact of dense-water flow over a sloping bottom on open-sea circulation: Laboratory experiments and an Ionian Sea (Mediterranean) example

The North Ionian Gyre (NIG) displays prominent inversions on decadal scales. We investigate the role of internal forcing induced by changes in the horizontal pressure gradient due to the varying density of Adriatic Deep Water (AdDW), which spreads into the deep layers of the northern Ionian Sea. In turn, the AdDW density fluctuates according to the circulation of the NIG through a feedback mechanism known as the bimodal oscillating system. We set up laboratory experiments with a two-layer ambient fluid in a circular rotating tank, where densities of 1000 and 1015ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3 characterize the upper and lower layers, respectively. From the potential vorticity evolution during the dense-water outflow from a marginal sea, we analyze the response of the open-sea circulation to the along-slope dense-water flow. In addition, we show some features of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies that form in the upper layer over the slope area. We illustrate the outcome of the experiments of varying density and varying discharge rates associated with dense-water injection. When the density is high (1020ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3) and the discharge is large, the kinetic energy of the mean flow is stronger than the eddy kinetic energy. Conversely, when the density is lower (1010ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3) and the discharge is reduced, vortices are more energetic than the mean flow - that is, the eddy kinetic energy is larger than the kinetic energy of the mean flow. In general, over the slope, following the onset of dense-water injection, the cyclonic vorticity associated with current shear develops in the upper layer. The vorticity behaves in a two-layer fashion, thereby becoming anticyclonic in the lower layer of the slope area. Concurrently, over the deep flat-bottom portion of the basin, a large-scale anticyclonic gyre forms in the upper layer extending partly toward a sloping rim. The density record shows the rise of the pycnocline due to the dense-water sinking toward the flat-bottom portion of the tank. We show that the rate of increase in the anticyclonic potential vorticity is proportional to the rate of the rise of the interface, namely to the rate of decrease in the upper-layer thickness (i.e., the upper-layer squeezing). The comparison of laboratory experiments with the Ionian Sea is made for a situation when the sudden switch from cyclonic to anticyclonic basin-wide circulation took place following extremely dense Adriatic water overflow after the harsh winter in 2012. We show how similar the temporal evolution and the vertical structure are in both laboratory and oceanic conditions. The demonstrated similarity further supports the assertion that the wind-stress curl over the Ionian Sea is not of paramount importance in generating basin-wide circulation inversions compared with the internal forcing

Characterisation of cardiac health in the reduced uterine perfusion pressure model and a 3D cardiac spheroid model, of preeclampsia

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a dangerous cardiovascular disorder of pregnancy that leads to an increased risk of future cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Much of the pathogenesis and mechanisms involved in cardiac health in preeclampsia are unknown. A novel anti-angiogenic protein, FKBPL, is emerging as having a potential role in both preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, in this study we aimed to characterise cardiac health and FKBPL regulation in the rat reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) and a 3D cardiac spheroid model of preeclampsia. METHODS: The RUPP model was induced in pregnant rats and histological analysis performed on the heart, kidney, liver and placenta (n ≥ 6). Picrosirius red staining was performed to quantify collagen I and III deposition in rat hearts, placentae and livers as an indicator of fibrosis. RT-qPCR was used to determine changes in Fkbpl, Icam1, Vcam1, Flt1 and Vegfa mRNA in hearts and/or placentae and ELISA to evaluate cardiac brain natriuretic peptide (BNP45) and FKBPL secretion. Immunofluorescent staining was also conducted to analyse the expression of cardiac FKBPL. Cardiac spheroids were generated using human cardiac fibroblasts and human coronary artery endothelial cells and treated with patient plasma from normotensive controls, early-onset preeclampsia (EOPE) and late-onset preeclampsia (LOPE); n = 3. FKBPL and CD31 expression was quantified by immunofluorescent labelling. RESULTS: The RUPP procedure induced significant increases in blood pressure (p < 0.001), collagen deposition (p < 0.001) and cardiac BNP45 (p < 0.05). It also induced a significant increase in cardiac FKBPL mRNA (p < 0.05) and protein  expression  (p < 0.01). RUPP placentae also exhibited increased collagen deposition and decreased Flt1 mRNA expression (p < 0.05). RUPP kidneys revealed an increase in average glomerular size (p < 0.05). Cardiac spheroids showed a significant increase in FKBPL expression when treated with LOPE plasma (p < 0.05) and a trend towards increased FKBPL expression following treatment with EOPE plasma (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: The rat RUPP model induced cardiac, renal and placental features reflective of preeclampsia. FKBPL was increased in the hearts of RUPP rats and cardiac spheroids treated with plasma from women with preeclampsia, perhaps reflective of restricted angiogenesis and inflammation in this disorder. Elucidation of these novel FKBPL mechanisms in cardiac health in preeclampsia could be key in preventing future CVD

Guidelines for the functional annotation of microRNAs using the Gene Ontology

MicroRNA regulation of developmental and cellular processes is a relatively new field of study, and the available research data have not been organized to enable its inclusion in pathway and network analysis tools. The association of gene products with terms from the Gene Ontology is an effective method to analyze functional data, but until recently there has been no substantial effort dedicated to applying Gene Ontology terms to microRNAs. Consequently, when performing functional analysis of microRNA data sets, researchers have had to rely instead on the functional annotations associated with the genes encoding microRNA targets. In consultation with experts in the field of microRNA research, we have created comprehensive recommendations for the Gene Ontology curation of microRNAs. This curation manual will enable provision of a high-quality, reliable set of functional annotations for the advancement of microRNA research. Here we describe the key aspects of the work, including development of the Gene Ontology to represent this data, standards for describing the data, and guidelines to support curators making these annotations. The full microRNA curation guidelines are available on the GO Consortium wiki (http://wiki.geneontology.org/index.php/MicroRNA_GO_annotation_manual)

Effect of sedimentary heterogeneities in the sealing formation on predictive analysis of geological CO₂ storage

Numerical models of geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) in saline aquifers use multiphase fluid flow-characteristic curves (relative permeability and capillary pressure) to represent the interactions of the non-wetting CO2 and the wetting brine. Relative permeability data for many sedimentary formations is very scarce, resulting in the utilisation of mathematical correlations to generate the fluid flow characteristics in these formations. The flow models are essential for the prediction of CO2 storage capacity and trapping mechanisms in the geological media. The observation of pressure dissipation across the storage and sealing formations is relevant for storage capacity and geomechanical analysis during CO2 injection. This paper evaluates the relevance of representing relative permeability variations in the sealing formation when modelling geological CO2 sequestration processes. Here we concentrate on gradational changes in the lower part of the caprock, particularly how they affect pressure evolution within the entire sealing formation when duly represented by relative permeability functions. The results demonstrate the importance of accounting for pore size variations in the mathematical model adopted to generate the characteristic curves for GCS analysis. Gradational changes at the base of the caprock influence the magnitude of pressure that propagates vertically into the caprock from the aquifer, especially at the critical zone (i.e. the region overlying the CO2 plume accumulating at the reservoir-seal interface). A higher degree of overpressure and CO2 storage capacity was observed at the base of caprocks that showed gradation. These results illustrate the need to obtain reliable relative permeability functions for GCS, beyond just permeability and porosity data. The study provides a formative principle for geomechanical simulations that study the possibility of pressure-induced caprock failure during CO2 sequestration