Yukawa potentials in systems with partial periodic boundary conditions I : Ewald sums for quasi-two dimensional systems

Yukawa potentials are often used as effective potentials for systems as colloids, plasmas, etc. When the Debye screening length is large, the Yukawa potential tends to the non-screened Coulomb potential ; in this small screening limit, or Coulomb limit, the potential is long ranged. As it is well known in computer simulation, a simple truncation of the long ranged potential and the minimum image convention are insufficient to obtain accurate numerical data on systems. The Ewald method for bulk systems, i.e. with periodic boundary conditions in all three directions of the space, has already been derived for Yukawa potential [cf. Y., Rosenfeld, {\it Mol. Phys.}, \bm{88}, 1357, (1996) and G., Salin and J.-M., Caillol, {\it J. Chem. Phys.}, \bm{113}, 10459, (2000)], but for systems with partial periodic boundary conditions, the Ewald sums have only recently been obtained [M., Mazars, {\it J. Chem. Phys.}, {\bf 126}, 056101 (2007)]. In this paper, we provide a closed derivation of the Ewald sums for Yukawa potentials in systems with periodic boundary conditions in only two directions and for any value of the Debye length. A special attention is paid to the Coulomb limit and its relation with the electroneutrality of systems.Comment: 40 pages, 5 figures and 4 table

Impact of shortened crop rotation of oilseed rape on soil and rhizosphere microbial diversity in relation to yield decline

Oilseed rape (OSR) grown in monoculture shows a decline in yield relative to virgin OSR of up to 25%, but the mechanisms responsible are unknown. A long term field experiment of OSR grown in a range of rotations with wheat was used to determine whether shifts in fungal and bacterial populations of the rhizosphere and bulk soil were associated with the development of OSR yield decline. The communities of fungi and bacteria in the rhizosphere and bulk soil from the field experiment were profiled using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and sequencing of cloned internal transcribed spacer regions and 16S rRNA genes, respectively. OSR cropping frequency had no effect on rhizosphere bacterial communities. However, the rhizosphere fungal communities from continuously grown OSR were significantly different to those from other rotations. This was due primarily to an increase in abundance of two fungi which showed 100% and 95% DNA identity to the plant pathogens Olpidium brassicae and Pyrenochaeta lycopersici, respectively. Real-time PCR confirmed that there was significantly more of these fungi in the continuously grown OSR than the other rotations. These two fungi were isolated from the field and used to inoculate OSR and Brassica oleracea grown under controlled conditions in a glasshouse to determine their effect on yield. At high doses, Olpidium brassicae reduced top growth and root biomass in seedlings and reduced branching and subsequent pod and seed production. Pyrenochaeta sp. formed lesions on the roots of seedlings, and at high doses delayed flowering and had a negative impact on seed quantity and quality

Neural Synchrony during Response Production and Inhibition

Inhibition of irrelevant information (conflict monitoring) and/or of prepotent actions is an essential component of adaptive self-organized behavior. Neural dynamics underlying these functions has been studied in humans using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited in Go/NoGo tasks that require a speeded motor response to the Go stimuli and withholding a prepotent response when a NoGo stimulus is presented. However, averaged ERP waveforms provide only limited information about the neuronal mechanisms underlying stimulus processing, motor preparation, and response production or inhibition. In this study, we examine the cortical representation of conflict monitoring and response inhibition using time-frequency analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings during continuous performance Go/NoGo task in 50 young adult females. We hypothesized that response inhibition would be associated with a transient boost in both temporal and spatial synchronization of prefrontal cortical activity, consistent with the role of the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortices in cognitive control. Overall, phase synchronization across trials measured by Phase Locking Index and phase synchronization between electrode sites measured by Phase Coherence were the highest in the Go and NoGo conditions, intermediate in the Warning condition, and the lowest under Neutral condition. The NoGo condition was characterized by significantly higher fronto-central synchronization in the 300–600 ms window, whereas in the Go condition, delta- and theta-band synchronization was higher in centro-parietal regions in the first 300 ms after the stimulus onset. The present findings suggest that response production and inhibition is supported by dynamic functional networks characterized by distinct patterns of temporal and spatial synchronization of brain oscillations

A manifesto for future generation cloud computing: research directions for the next decade

The Cloud computing paradigm has revolutionised the computer science horizon during the past decade and has enabled the emergence of computing as the fifth utility. It has captured significant attention of academia, industries, and government bodies. Now, it has emerged as the backbone of modern economy by offering subscription-based services anytime, anywhere following a pay-as-you-go model. This has instigated (1) shorter establishment times for start-ups, (2) creation of scalable global enterprise applications, (3) better cost-to-value associativity for scientific and high performance computing applications, and (4) different invocation/execution models for pervasive and ubiquitous applications. The recent technological developments and paradigms such as serverless computing, software-defined networking, Internet of Things, and processing at network edge are creating new opportunities for Cloud computing. However, they are also posing several new challenges and creating the need for new approaches and research strategies, as well as the re-evaluation of the models that were developed to address issues such as scalability, elasticity, reliability, security, sustainability, and application models. The proposed manifesto addresses them by identifying the major open challenges in Cloud computing, emerging trends, and impact areas. It then offers research directions for the next decade, thus helping in the realisation of Future Generation Cloud Computing

AKT Signaling Mediates IGF-I Survival Actions on Otic Neural Progenitors

Background: Otic neurons and sensory cells derive from common progenitors whose transition into mature cells requires the coordination of cell survival, proliferation and differentiation programmes. Neurotrophic support and survival of post-mitotic otic neurons have been intensively studied, but the bases underlying the regulation of programmed cell death in immature proliferative otic neuroblasts remains poorly understood. The protein kinase AKT acts as a node, playing a critical role in controlling cell survival and cell cycle progression. AKT is activated by trophic factors, including insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), through the generation of the lipidic second messenger phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Here we have investigated the role of IGF-dependent activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway in maintenance of otic neuroblasts. Methodology/Principal Findings: By using a combination of organotypic cultures of chicken (Gallus gallus) otic vesicles and acoustic-vestibular ganglia, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we show that IGF-I-activation of AKT protects neural progenitors from programmed cell death. IGF-I maintains otic neuroblasts in an undifferentiated and proliferative state, which is characterised by the upregulation of the forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) transcription factor. By contrast, our results indicate that post-mitotic p27Kip-positive neurons become IGF-I independent as they extend their neuronal processes. Neurons gradually reduce their expression of the Igf1r, while they increase that of the neurotrophin receptor, TrkC. Conclusions/Significance: Proliferative otic neuroblasts are dependent on the activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway by IGF-I for survival during the otic neuronal progenitor phase of early inner ear development

Molecular dynamics simulation of the behaviour of water in nano-confined ionic liquid-water mixtures.

This work describes the behaviour of water molecules in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid under nanoconfinement, between graphene sheets. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, the adsorption of water molecules at the graphene surface is studied. A depletion of water molecules in the vicinity of the neutral and negatively charged graphene surfaces, and their adsorption at the positively charged surface are observed in line with the preferential hydration of the ionic liquid anions. The findings are appropriately described using a two-level statistical model. The confinement effect on the structure and dynamics of the mixtures is thoroughly analyzed using the density and the potential of mean force profiles, as well as by the vibrational densities of the states of water molecules near the graphene surface. The orientation of water molecules and the water-induced structural transitions in the layer closest to the graphene surface are also discussed.We acknowledge the supercomputing support from the EPSRC funded ARCHIE-WeSt HighPerformance Computer centre (www.archie-west.ac.uk, EPSRC grant no. EP/K000586/1) and the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA). The financial support of the Estonian Materials Technology Program Project SLOKT12180T, Project of European Structure Funds SLOKT12026T, Estonian Institutional Research Project IUT20-013, Estonian Personal Research Project PUT1107, and Estonian Centres of Excellence in Science Project: High-technology Materials for Sustainable Development TK117 is highly appreciated. The financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MAT2014-57943-C3-1-P and MAT2014- 57943-C3-3-P is gratefully acknowledged. Moreover, this work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FIS2012-33126) and by the Xunta de Galicia (AGRUP2015/11). All these research projects were partially supported by FEDER. Funding from the European Union (COST Action CM 1206) and by the Galician Network on Ionic Liquids, REGALIs (CN 2014/015) is also acknowledged

The Eag potassium channel as a new prognostic marker in ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian cancer is the second most common cancer of the female genital tract in the United Kingdom (UK), accounting for 6% of female deaths due to cancer. This cancer is associated with poor survival and there is a need for new treatments in addition to existing chemotherapy to improve survival. Potassium (K⁺) channels have been shown to be overexpressed in various cancers where they appear to play a role in cell proliferation and progression.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To determine the expression of the potassium channels Eag and HERG in ovarian cancer tissue and to assess their role in cell proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of Eag and HERG potassium channels was examined in an ovarian cancer tissue microarray. Their role in cell proliferation was investigated by blocking voltage-gated potassium channels in an ovarian cancer cell line (SK-OV-3).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show for the first time that high expression of Eag channels in ovarian cancer patients is significantly associated with poor survival (P = 0.016) unlike HERG channel expression where there was no correlation with survival. There was also a significant association of Eag staining with high tumour grade (P = 0.014) and presence of residual disease (P = 0.011). Proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells was significantly (P < 0.001) inhibited after treatment with voltage gated K⁺channel blockers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This novel finding demonstrates a role for Eag as a prognostic marker for survival in patients with ovarian cancer.</p

Stochastic Resonance Modulates Neural Synchronization within and between Cortical Sources

Neural synchronization is a mechanism whereby functionally specific brain regions establish transient networks for perception, cognition, and action. Direct addition of weak noise (fast random fluctuations) to various neural systems enhances synchronization through the mechanism of stochastic resonance (SR). Moreover, SR also occurs in human perception, cognition, and action. Perception, cognition, and action are closely correlated with, and may depend upon, synchronized oscillations within specialized brain networks. We tested the hypothesis that SR-mediated neural synchronization occurs within and between functionally relevant brain areas and thus could be responsible for behavioral SR. We measured the 40-Hz transient response of the human auditory cortex to brief pure tones. This response arises when the ongoing, random-phase, 40-Hz activity of a group of tuned neurons in the auditory cortex becomes synchronized in response to the onset of an above-threshold sound at its “preferred” frequency. We presented a stream of near-threshold standard sounds in various levels of added broadband noise and measured subjects' 40-Hz response to the standards in a deviant-detection paradigm using high-density EEG. We used independent component analysis and dipole fitting to locate neural sources of the 40-Hz response in bilateral auditory cortex, left posterior cingulate cortex and left superior frontal gyrus. We found that added noise enhanced the 40-Hz response in all these areas. Moreover, added noise also increased the synchronization between these regions in alpha and gamma frequency bands both during and after the 40-Hz response. Our results demonstrate neural SR in several functionally specific brain regions, including areas not traditionally thought to contribute to the auditory 40-Hz transient response. In addition, we demonstrated SR in the synchronization between these brain regions. Thus, both intra- and inter-regional synchronization of neural activity are facilitated by the addition of moderate amounts of random noise. Because the noise levels in the brain fluctuate with arousal system activity, particularly across sleep-wake cycles, optimal neural noise levels, and thus SR, could be involved in optimizing the formation of task-relevant brain networks at several scales under normal conditions

Enhancing the sustainability performance of Agri-Food Supply Chains by implementing Industry 4.0

[EN] In order to enhance the sustainability in the supply chain, its members should define and pursue common objectives in the three dimensions of the sustainability (economic, environmental and social). The Agri-Food Supply Chain (AFSC) is a network of different members such as farmers (producers), processors and distributors (wholesales, retailers.), etc.. In order to achieve the performance objectives of the AFSC, Industry 4.0 technologies can be implemented. The aim of this paper is to present a classification of these technologies according to two criteria: objective to be achieved (environmental or social) specified in the main issues to be covered in each objective and member of the AFSC supply chain where it is implemented. In this work, we focus on technologies that deal with environmental and social sustainability because economic sustainability will depend on the specific characteristics of the business (a supply chain using a specific Industry 4.0 technology may be profitable while others do not).This work has been funded by the Project GV/2017/065 "Development of a decision support tool for the management and improvement of sustainability in supply chains" funded by the Regional Government of Valencia. Authors also acknowledge the Project 691249, RUC-APS: Enhancing and implementing Knowledge based ICT solutions within high Risk and Uncertain Conditions for Agriculture Production Systems.Pérez Perales, D.; Verdecho Sáez, MJ.; Alarcón Valero, F. (2019). Enhancing the sustainability performance of Agri-Food Supply Chains by implementing Industry 4.0. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. 568:496-503. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28464-0_43S496503568Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Fornasiero, R., Afsarmanesh, H.: Collaborative networks as a core enabler of Industry 4.0. In: Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Afsarmanesh, H., Fornasiero, R. (eds.) PRO-VE 2017. IAICT, vol. 506, pp. 3–17. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65151-4_1Stich, V., Gudergan, G., Zeller, V.: Need and solution to transform the manufacturing industry in the age of Industry 4.0 – a capability maturity index approach. In: Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Afsarmanesh, H., Rezgui, Y. (eds.) PRO-VE 2018. IAICT, vol. 534, pp. 33–42. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99127-6_3Flores, M., Maklin, D., Golob, M., Al-Ashaab, A., Tucci, C.: Awareness towards Industry 4.0: key enablers and applications for internet of things and big data. In: Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Afsarmanesh, H., Rezgui, Y. (eds.) PRO-VE 2018. IAICT, vol. 534, pp. 377–386. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99127-6_32Seuring, S., Müller, M.: From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management. J. Clean. Prod. 16, 1699–1710 (2008)Prima, W.A., Xing, K., Amer, Y.: Collaboration and sustainable agri-food supply chain: a literature review. In: MATEC (2016). https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20165802004Pérez Perales, D., Alarcón Valero, F., Drummond, C., Ortiz, Á.: Towards a sustainable agri-food supply chain model. The case of LEAF. In: Ortiz, Á., Andrés Romano, C., Poler, R., García-Sabater, J.-P. (eds.) Engineering Digital Transformation. LNMIE, pp. 333–341. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96005-0_40Savastano, M., Amendola, C., Bellini, F., D’Ascenzo, F.: Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review. Sustainability 11, 891 (2019)Varela, L., Araújo, A., Ávila, P., Castro, H., Putnik, G.: Evaluation of the relation between lean manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and sustainability. Sustainability 11, 1439 (2019)Bonilla, S.H., Silva, H.R.O., da Silva, M.T., Gonçalves, R.F., Sacomano, J.B.: Industry 4.0 and sustainability implications: a scenario-based analysis of the impacts and challenges. Sustainability 10, 3740 (2018)Bányai, T., Tamás, P., Illés, B., Stankeviciute, Z., Bányai, A.: Optimization of municipal waste collection routing: impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on environmental awareness and sustainability. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 16, 634 (2019)Lin, K.C., Shyu, J.Z., Ding, K.: A cross-strait comparison of innovation policy under Industry 4.0 and sustainability development transition. Sustainability 9, 786 (2017)Kamble, S.: Sustainable Industry 4.0 framework: a systematic literature review identifying the current trends and future perspectives. In: Process Safety and Environmental Protection Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, Part B, vol. 117, pp. 408–25. Institution of Chemical Engineers (2018)Franciosi, C., Iung, B., Miranda, S., Riemma, S.: Maintenance for sustainability in the Industry 4.0 context: a scoping literature review. IFAC-Pap. Online 51(11), 903–908 (2018)Bocken, N.M.P., Short, S.W., Rana, P., Evans, S.: A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. J. Clean. Prod. 65, 42–56 (2014)Bourlakis, M., Maglaras, G., Aktas, E., Gallear, D., Fotopoulos, C.: Firm size and sustainable performance in food supply chains: insights from Greek SMEs. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 152, 112–130 (2014)Garbie, I.H.: An analytical technique to model and assess sustainable development index in manufacturing enterprises. Int. J. Prod. Res. 52(16), 4876–4915 (2014)Beier, G., Niehoff, S., Ziems, T., Xue, B.: Sustainability aspects of a digitalized industry - a comparative study from China and Germany. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. Green Technol. 4, 227–234 (2017)Pérez, D., Verdecho, M.J., Alarcón, F: Industry 4.0 for the development of more sustainable decision support tools for agri-food supply chain management. In: 13rd International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, XXIII, Gijón, Spain (2019)Xiaolin, L., Linnan, Y., Lin, P., Wengfeng, L., Limin, Z.: Procedia engineering county soil fertility information management system based on embedded GIS. Procedia Eng. 29, 2388–2392 (2012)Satyanarayana, G.V.: Wireless sensor based remote monitoring system for agriculture using ZigBee and GPS. In: 2013 (CAC2S), pp. 110–114 (2013)Phillips, A.J., Newlands, N.K., Liang, S.H.L., Ellert, B.H.: Integrated sensing of soil moisture at the field-scale: measuring, modeling and sharing for improved agricultural decision support. Comput. Electron. Agric. 107, 73–88 (2014)Liopa-tsakalidi, A., Tsolis, D., Barouchas, P.: Application of mobile technologies through an integrated management system for agricultural production. Procedia Technol. 8, 165–170 (2013). (Haicta)Yerpude, S., Singhal, T.K.: Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) data on demand forecasting. Indian J. Sci. Technol. 10, 5 (2017)Wolfert, S., Ge, L., Verdouw, C., Bogaardt, M.: Big data in smart farming – a review. Agric. Syst. 153, 69–80 (2017)Castka, P., Balzarova, M.A.: ISO 26000 and supply chains-on the diffusion of the social responsibility standard. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 111(2), 274–286 (2008)Stock, T., Obenaus, M., Kunz, S., Kohl, H.: Industry 4.0 as enabler for a sustainable development: A qualitative assessment of its ecological and social potential. Process. Saf. Environ. 118, 254–267 (2018)Verdecho, M.J., Pérez, D., Alarcón F.: Proposal of a customer-oriented sustainable balanced scorecard for agri-food supply chains. In: 12th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, Girona, Spain, 12–13 July (2018)Valcour, P.M., Hunter, L.W.: Technology, organizations, and work-life integration. In: Kossek, E.E. Lambert, S.J. (eds.), Work and Life Integration: Organizational, Cultural, and Individual Perspectives, pp. 61–84. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah (2005)Arntz, M., Gregory, T., Zierahn, U.: The risk of automation for jobs in OECD countries: a comparative analysis. In: OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, no. 189. OECD Publishing, Paris (2016)Grubert, J., Langlotz, T., Zollmann, S., Regenbrecht, H.: Towards pervasive augmented reality: context-awareness in augmented reality. IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph. 23, 1 (2016)Velthuis, A.G.J.: New Approaches to Food-Safety Economics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (2003)Sándor, Z.P., Csiszár, C.: Development stages of intelligent parking information systems for trucks. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica 10(4), 161–174 (2013)Scognamiglio, V., Arduini, F., Palleschi, G., Rea, G.: Biosensing technology for sustainable food safety. Trends Analyt. Chem. 62, 1–10 (2014)Brynjolfsson, E., McAfee, A.: The Second Machine Age. Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W.W. Norton & Company, London (2014)Smith, A., Caiazza, T.: Automation in everyday life (2017). http://assets.pewresearch.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/14/2017/10/03151500/PI_2017.10.04_Automation_FINAL.pdfHefferon, K.L.: Nutritionally enhanced food crops; progress and perspectives. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 16, 3895–3914 (2015)Glass, S., Fanzo, J.: Genetic modification technology for nutrition and improving diets: an ethical perspective. Curr. Opin. Biotech. 44, 46–51 (2017)Moe, T.: Perspectives on traceability in food manufacture’. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 9(5), 211–214 (1998)Latino, M., Corallo, A., Menegoli, M.: From Industry 4.0 to Agriculture 4.0: how manage product data in agri-food supply chain for voluntary traceability, a framework proposed. In: 20th International Conference on Food and Environment (ICFE), Rome (2018)Linus, U.O.: Traceability in agriculture and food supply chain: a review of basic concepts, technological implications, and future prospects. J. Food Agric. Environ. 1(1), 101–106 (2003)Maumbe, B.M., Okello, J.: Uses of information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture and rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from South Africa and Kenya. IJICTRDA 1(1), 1–22 (2010)Dlodlo, N., Kalezhi, J.: The internet of things in agriculture for sustainable rural development. In: International Conference on Emerging Trends in Networks and Computer Communications (ETNCC) (2015