Mobile robotic teleguide based on video images

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Integrating community assembly and biodiversity to better understand ecosystem function: the Community Assembly and the Functioning of Ecosystems (CAFE) approach.

The research of a generation of ecologists was catalysed by the recognition that the number and identity of species in communities influences the functioning of ecosystems. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) is most often examined by controlling species richness and randomising community composition. In natural systems, biodiversity changes are often part of a bigger community assembly dynamic. Therefore, focusing on community assembly and the functioning of ecosystems (CAFE), by integrating both species richness and composition through species gains, losses and changes in abundance, will better reveal how community changes affect ecosystem function. We synthesise the BEF and CAFE perspectives using an ecological application of the Price equation, which partitions the contributions of richness and composition to function. Using empirical examples, we show how the CAFE approach reveals important contributions of composition to function. These examples show how changes in species richness and composition driven by environmental perturbations can work in concert or antagonistically to influence ecosystem function. Considering how communities change in an integrative fashion, rather than focusing on one axis of community structure at a time, will improve our ability to anticipate and predict changes in ecosystem function

Defining the process to literature searching in systematic reviews: a literature review of guidance and supporting studies

BACKGROUND: Systematic literature searching is recognised as a critical component of the systematic review process. It involves a systematic search for studies and aims for a transparent report of study identification, leaving readers clear about what was done to identify studies, and how the findings of the review are situated in the relevant evidence. Information specialists and review teams appear to work from a shared and tacit model of the literature search process. How this tacit model has developed and evolved is unclear, and it has not been explicitly examined before. The purpose of this review is to determine if a shared model of the literature searching process can be detected across systematic review guidance documents and, if so, how this process is reported in the guidance and supported by published studies. METHOD: A literature review. Two types of literature were reviewed: guidance and published studies. Nine guidance documents were identified, including: The Cochrane and Campbell Handbooks. Published studies were identified through 'pearl growing', citation chasing, a search of PubMed using the systematic review methods filter, and the authors' topic knowledge. The relevant sections within each guidance document were then read and re-read, with the aim of determining key methodological stages. Methodological stages were identified and defined. This data was reviewed to identify agreements and areas of unique guidance between guidance documents. Consensus across multiple guidance documents was used to inform selection of 'key stages' in the process of literature searching. RESULTS: Eight key stages were determined relating specifically to literature searching in systematic reviews. They were: who should literature search, aims and purpose of literature searching, preparation, the search strategy, searching databases, supplementary searching, managing references and reporting the search process. CONCLUSIONS: Eight key stages to the process of literature searching in systematic reviews were identified. These key stages are consistently reported in the nine guidance documents, suggesting consensus on the key stages of literature searching, and therefore the process of literature searching as a whole, in systematic reviews. Further research to determine the suitability of using the same process of literature searching for all types of systematic review is indicated

Amorphization, recrystallization and end of range defects in germanium

International audienceThe controlled doping of germanium by ion implantation is a process which requires basic research before optimization. For this reason, we have experimentally studied by transmission electron microscopy both the kinetics of amorphization and of recrystallization of Ge during ion implantation (Ge, P and B) and further annealing. As in Si, the crystalline to amorphous phase transition occurs through the linear accumulation of damage with the dose until a certain threshold is reached above which the material turns amorphous. We show that the Critical Damage Energy Density (CDED) model can be used in germanium to predict the existence, position and extension of amorphous layers resulting from the implantation of ions for almost all mass/energy/dose combinations reported here and in the literature. During annealing, these amorphous layers recrystallize by solid-phase epitaxy following an Arrhenius-type law which we have determined. We observe that this regrowth results in the formation of extended defects of interstitial type. During annealing these defects evolve in size and density following an Ostwald ripening mechanism which becomes non-conservative (defects “evaporate”) as the temperature is increased to 600 °C. These results have important implications for the modeling of diffusion of implanted dopant in Ge. Transient diffusion may also exist in Ge, driven by an interstitial component usually not evidenced under equilibrium conditions

End of range defects in Ge

International audienceWe show that the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth of amorphous layers created by ion implantation in Ge results in the formation of extended defects of interstitial-type. During annealing, these defects evolve in size and density following, as in Si, an Ostwald ripening mechanism. However, this process becomes nonconservative as the annealing temperature increases to 600 °C. This suggests that the recombination/annihilation of Ge interstitial atoms becomes important at these temperatures. These results have important implications for the modeling of diffusion of implanted dopants in Ge

PRISMA-S: an extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in Systematic Reviews

Background Literature searches underlie the foundations of systematic reviews and related review types. Yet, the literature searching component of systematic reviews and related review types is often poorly reported. Guidance for literature search reporting has been diverse, and, in many cases, does not offer enough detail to authors who need more specific information about reporting search methods and information sources in a clear, reproducible way. This document presents the PRISMA-S (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses literature search extension) checklist, and explanation and elaboration. Methods The checklist was developed using a 3-stage Delphi survey process, followed by a consensus conference and public review process. Results The final checklist includes 16 reporting items, each of which is detailed with exemplar reporting and rationale. Conclusions The intent of PRISMA-S is to complement the PRISMA Statement and its extensions by providing a checklist that could be used by interdisciplinary authors, editors, and peer reviewers to verify that each component of a search is completely reported and therefore reproducible

Reciprocal Inhibition and Competitive Hierarchy Cause Negative Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function Relationships

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) captivates ecologists, but the factors responsible for the direction of this relationship remain unclear. While higher ecosystem functioning at higher biodiversity levels (‘positive BEF’) is not universal in nature, negative BEF relationships seem puzzlingly rare. Here, we develop a dynamical consumer-resource model inspired by microbial decomposer communities in pitcher plant leaves to investigate BEF. We manipulate microbial diversity via controlled colonization and measure their function as total ammonia production. We test how niche partitioning among bacteria and other ecological processes influence BEF in the leaves. We find that a negative BEF can emerge from reciprocal interspecific inhibition in ammonia production causing a negative complementarity effect, or from competitive hierarchies causing a negative selection effect. Absent these factors, a positive BEF was the typical outcome. Our findings provide a potential explanation for the rarity of negative BEF in empirical data

Hardware and software framework for an open battery management system in safety-critical applications

Lithium ion batteries are a common choice for many use cases, ranging from medical devices to automotive and airborne applications. Despite their widespread application, lithium ion batteries still remain an expensive, yet sensitive component within these systems. In order to maintain the operability of the battery system over its designated service life an appropriate battery management system (BMS) is required. The development of such a BMS is a challenging task, as various technological, environmental and application-specific aspects have to be considered. Especially safe and reliable operation of the battery system is an important and critical issue in this context. Besides these safety critical aspects, the BMS also includes extensive non safety related components and functions. Therefore, in order to fulfill safety-critical requirements, it is mandatory to keep the respective hardware and software components isolated. Redundancy, partitioning and the implementation of diagnostic functions at several software layers and different hardware partitions are the mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of the system. For performance and economical reasons, these techniques have to be tailored to the application. Based on a real-time operation system, a flexible and extensible strategy for a software framework with minimal code size, lean interfaces and few dependencies is introduced. The use of a dedicated BMS-Engine with a partitioned database enables the implementation of a stringent safety concept, which is discussed and demonstrated to be feasible