Extending Functional kriging to a multivariate context

Environmental data usually have a spatio-temporal structure; pollutant concentrations, for example, are recorded along time and space. Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) represent a suitable tool to model spatial and/or temporal trends of this kind of data, that can be treated as functional, although they are collected as discrete observations. Frequently, the attention is focused on the prediction of a single pollutant at an unmonitored site and, at this aim, we extend kriging for functional data to a multivariate context by exploiting the correlation with the other pollutants. In particular, we propose two procedures: the first one (FKED) combines the regression of a variable (pollutant), of primary interest on the other variables, with functional kriging of the regression residuals; the second one (FCK) is based on linear unbiased prediction of spatially correlated multivariate random processes. The performance of the two proposed procedures is assessed by cross validation; data recorded during a year (2011) from the monitoring network of the state of California (USA) are considered

GAMs and functional kriging for air quality data

Data having spatio-temporal structure are often observed in environmental sciences. They may be considered as discrete observations from curves along time and/or space and treated as functional. Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) represent a useful tool for modelling, for example, as pollutant concentrations describing their spatial and/or temporal trends.Usually, the prediction of a curve at an unmonitored site is necessary and, with this aim, we extend kriging for functional data to a multivariate context. Moreover, even if we are interested only in predicting a single pollutant, such as PM10, the estimation can be improved exploiting its correlation with the other pollutants. Cross validation is used to test the performance of the proposed procedure

Internationalisierung der Curricula an Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften: am Beispiel der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden - University of Applied Sciences

Im folgenden Beitrag werden Möglichkeiten der internationalen Gestaltung der Curricula an der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden – University of Applied Sciences (HTW Dresden) unter dem Ansatz „regional verankert und international orientiert“ dargestellt. Ziel des Prozesses ist die Suche nach einem Weg zur Internationalisierung, der die Profilierung der Hochschule stärkt und nicht verändert

Consumer acceptance and sensory evaluation of Monti Dauni Meridionali Caciocavallo cheese

Twelve Caciocavallo cheeses were collected from 6 factories (A, B, C, D, E, F) located in the Monti Dauni Meridionali area (Southern Italy) that adopted different protocols for cheese production. A total of 160 consumers were involved in the sensory evaluation of Caciocavallo cheese after 180 d of ripening. Cheese attributes were used to describe the flavor, texture, and appearance of cheeses. The highest scores for the shiny attribute were assigned to cheeses B, C, and E, whereas color intensity was the highest in cheeses B, D, and F. Strength, salty, and piquant attributes were higher in cheeses F and A because of the use of raw milk (F), rennet paste (A), and percentage of salt in the brine (A, F). Consumers perceived a more granular structure during the second half of chewing of Caciocavallo cheese F, as evidenced by the highest value for the grainy attribute. A positive correlation was found between overall flavor and odor intensity and water-soluble nitrogen, low molecular weight peptides, and free fatty acids and between piquant and butyric and caproic acids. A principal components analysis applied to the sensory attributes accounted for 65% of the total variance. The score plot showed that cheeses F and A were located in a well-defined zone of the plot, with cheeses in this zone displaying higher levels of strength, piquant, and salty attributes. The preference test assigned 40% of the preference to Caciocavallo cheese A, 38% to cheese F, 9% to cheese E, 8% to cheese D, and 7% to cheeses B and C. Sensory evaluation of Monti Dauni Meridionali Caciocavallo cheeses is a useful analysis to highlight the principal attributes able to influence consumers' liking that are related to biochemical features of the cheese

Immune competence of the mammary gland as affected by somatic cell and pathogenic bacteria in ewes with subclinical mastitis.

Immune competence of the ewe mammary gland was investigated by monitoring the leukocyte differential count, cytokine pattern, and endogenous proteolytic enzymes in milk samples with different somatic cell counts (SCC) and pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, the leukocyte differential count and T-lymphocyte populations were evaluated in ewe blood. A total of 1,500 individual milk samples were randomly selected from the pool of the samples collected during sampling and grouped into 5 classes of 300 samples each, on the basis of SCC. Classes were300,000 cells/mL, from 300,000 to 500,000 cells/mL, from 501,000 to 1,000,000 cells/mL, from 1,001,000 to 2,000,000 cells/mL, and2,000,000 cells/mL. Microbiological analyses of ewe milk were conducted to detect mastitis-related pathogens. Sheep whose udders were without clinical abnormalities, and whose milk was apparently normal but with at least 10(3)cfu/mL of the same pathogen were considered to have subclinical mastitis and therefore defined as infected. Polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes (PMNL) and macrophages increased with SCC, whereas lymphocytes decreased. Milk samples with SCC1,000,000 cells/mL showed differences in leukocyte populations between uninfected and infected ewes, with higher percentages of PMNL and macrophages and lower percentages of lymphocytes in infected animals. Nonviable PMNL levels were the highest in ewe milk samples with SCC300,000 cells/mL; starting from SCC500,000 cells/mL, nonviable PMNL were higher in uninfected ewes than in infected ones. In infected animals giving milk with SCC1,000,000 cells/mL, a higher CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio was observed, suggesting that the presence of pathogens induced an activation of both CD4(+) and CD8(+). The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-12 were higher in infected than uninfected ewes, irrespective of SCC. Plasmin activity increased along with SCC and was always higher in infected than uninfected animals; cathepsin D increased starting from 1,001,000 cells/mL in milk samples from noninfected ewes and starting from 301,000 cells/mL in milk samples from infected animals. The associations between somatic cells, cytokines, endogenous proteolytic enzymes, and pathogenic bacteria can be used to better understand the pathogenesis of subclinical mastitis in ewes and the effect on the immune response of ewe mammary gland

Mercury Dispersion through Streams Draining The Mt. Amiata District, Southern Tuscany, Italy

Abstract The Mt. Amiata area hosts the 3 rd largest Hg district in the world, overlapping with a present-day geothermal system that is exploited for energy production. Mining activity ceased in 1980; remediation of mining areas was only partial, and is still under way. A significant transport of mercury is documented in the streams draining the district. By far the largest output occurs to the southeast in the Paglia River catchment; this river is tributary of Tiber River, the largest river of central Italy. A much smaller transport occurs to the north, in the Orcia-Ombrone catchment. Most transport is in particulate form; mercury is temporarily stored in stream and overbank sediments, and can be significantly mobilized and redistributed by extreme events such as flash floods. Transfer to the biosphere and food chain is not negligible, as some fish in Paglia and Tiber Rivers show Hg contents that may be harmful for human consumption. The overall output from the Monte Amiata district represents a significant contribution to the Mediterranean Sea budget of this metal

Serum-Activated K and Cl Currents Underlay U87-MG Glioblastoma Cell Migration

Glioblastoma cells in vivo are exposed to a variety of promigratory signals, including undefined serum components that infiltrate into high grade gliomas as result of blood-brain barrier breakdown. Glioblastoma cell migration has been further shown to depend heavily on ion channels activity. We have then investigated the modulatory effects of fetal calf serum (FCS) on ion channels, and their involvement in U87-MG cells migration. Using the perforated patch-clamp technique we have found that, in a subpopulation of cells (42%), FCS induced: (1) an oscillatory activity of TRAM-34 sensitive, intermediate-conductance calcium-activated K (IK(Ca)) channels, mediated by calcium oscillations previously shown to be induced by FCS in this cell line; (2) a stable activation of a DIDS- and NPPB-sensitive Cl current displaying an outward rectifying instantaneous current-voltage relationship and a slow, voltage-dependent inactivation. By contrast, in another subpopulation of cells (32%) FCS induced a single, transient IK(Ca) current activation, always accompanied by a stable activation of the Cl current. The remaining cells did not respond to FCS. In order to understand whether the FCS-induced ion channel activities are instrumental to promoting cell migration, we tested the effects of TRAM-34 and DIDS on the FCS-induced U87-MG cell migration using transwell migration assays. We found that these inhibitors were able to markedly reduce U87-MG cell migration in the presence of FCS, and that their co-application resulted in an almost complete arrest of migration. It is concluded that the modulation of K and Cl ion fluxes is essential for the FCS-induced glioblastoma cell migration. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 1926-1933, 2011. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc