A CLIPS prototype for autonomous power system control

The model of the system assumes a constant power source and loads (experiments) whose power demands exceed the supply. Experiments are described by their name, power consumption, time for a complete run, present status and the state of the load. The power consumption of each load is set at a constant level but can be dynamically modified by the operator. The status specifies if the experiment is running, paused, completed or failed. The state compensates for the lack of actual feedback sensor data, by signifying the stability of the load. Experiments are scheduled to keep as many running as possible with the current system limitations. A graphics oriented user interface is embedded into the rule-based system to enable an operator to easily experiment with the system

ICE System: Interruptible control expert system

The Interruptible Control Expert (ICE) System is based on an architecture designed to provide a strong foundation for real-time production rule expert systems. Three principles are adopted to guide the development of ICE. A practical delivery platform must be provided, no specialized hardware can be used to solve deficiencies in the software design. Knowledge of the environment and the rule-base is exploited to improve the performance of a delivered system. The third principle of ICE is to respond to the most critical event, at the expense of the more trivial tasks. Minimal time is spent on classifying the potential importance of environmental events with the majority of the time used for finding the responses. A feature of the system, derived from all three principles, is the lack of working memory. By using a priori information, a fixed amount of memory can be specified for the hardware platform. The absence of working memory removes the dangers of garbage collection during the continuous operation of the controller

The effectiveness of knowledge sharing: the case of ProMusa

This brief is based on a report by Genowefa Blundo-Canto and Elisabetta Gotor ‘Evaluation of Bioversity International’s ProMusa networkIn 2013, a study was undertaken to assess the nature and effectiveness of ProMusa from the point of view of its members and subscribers, what outputs are produced and how these are translated into outcomes and disseminated outside the network. The network provides the type and quality of services that its members expect: InfoMus@ and the mailing lists are the most successful service. An efficient and timely service on disease outbreaks and other breaking news is also a fundamental tool for ProMusa’s members and subscribers, and it should be a priority

Hormonal Correlates and Thermoregulatory Consequences of Molting on Metabolic Rate in a Northerly Wintering Shorebird

Even though molt involves both endocrine and energetic changes in bird bodies, this study is among the first to combine assessments of energy costs together with thyroid hormone variations in molting birds. Individual shorebirds (red knots Calidris canutus islandica) were measured while in full summer and winter plumage as well as during peak of molt. Molt was associated with a 9.8% increase in average mass-independent basal metabolic rate (BMR) above nonmolting levels. Individual plasma levels of thyroxine (T(4)) were correlated with individual rate of body feather renewal, confirming that T(4) is related to body molt but also showing that it is potentially regulating its rate. Across seasons, mass-independent average heat loss measured as conductance gradually declined with conductance during molt falling between measured values for summer and winter. During the molting period, however, body molting rate was positively correlated with thermal conductance, indicating that for a given ambient temperature below thermoneutrality, the fastest molting birds were losing more body heat. Across seasons, triiodothyronine (T(3)), a hormone typically upregulated in response to a cold stimulus, was correlated with individual thermal conductance and BMR. We suggest that the increased heat loss of fast-molting birds leads to a cold-acclimatization response that may be partly responsible for the elevated BMR measured during molt. This could be mediated through a stimulatory effect of T(3) on BMR in response to increased heat loss. Our interpretation is supported by a positive relationship between the individual changes in conductance and the change in BMR from summer to the molting period.</p

Stimuli associated with the presence or absence of amphetamine regulate cytoskeletal signaling and behavior

Drug-paired stimuli rapidly enlarge dendritic spines in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). While increases in spine size and shape are supported by rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton and facilitate the synaptic expression of AMPA-type glutamate receptors, it remains unclear whether drug-related stimuli can influence signaling pathways known to regulate these changes in spine morphology. These pathways were studied in rats trained on a discrimination learning paradigm using subcellular fractionation and protein immunoblotting to isolate proteins within dendritic spine compartments in the NAcc shell. An open field chamber was repeatedly associated with amphetamine in one group (Paired) and explicitly unpaired with amphetamine in another (Unpaired). Rats in a third group were exposed to the open field but never administered amphetamine (Control). When administered saline and returned to the open field one week later, Paired rats as expected displayed a conditioned locomotor response relative to rats in the other two groups. NAcc shell tissues were harvested immediately after this 30-minute test. Re-exposing Paired rats to the drug-paired excitatory context significantly decreased p-GluA2(S880), an effect consistent with reduced internalization of this subunit and increased spine proliferation in these rats. In contrast, re-exposing Unpaired rats to the drug-unpaired context, capable of inhibiting conditioned responding in these animals, significantly decreased levels of both actin binding protein Arp2/3 and p-cofilin, consistent with spine volatility, shrinkage, and inhibition of spine proliferation in these rats. These findings show that contextual stimuli previously associated with either the presence or absence of amphetamine differentially regulate cytoskeletal signaling pathways in the NAcc

Limited Access to Food and Physiological Trade-Offs in a Long-Distance Migrant Shorebird. II. Constitutive Immune Function and the Acute-Phase Response

In response to unbalanced energy budgets, animals must allocate resources among competing physiological systems to maximize fitness. Constraints can be imposed on energy availability or energy expenditure, and adjustments can be made via changes in metabolism or trade-offs with competing demands such as body-mass maintenance and immune function. This study investigates changes in constitutive immune function and the acute-phase response in shorebirds (red knots) faced with limited access time to food. We separated birds into two experimental groups receiving either 6 h or 22 h of food access and measured constitutive immune function. After 3 wk, we induced an acute-phase response, and after 1 wk of recovery, we switched the groups to the opposite food treatment and measured constitutive immune function again. We found little effect of food treatment on constitutive immune function, which suggests that even under resource limitation, a baseline level of immune function is maintained. However, birds enduring limited access to food suppressed aspects of the acute-phase response (decreased feeding and mass loss) to maintain energy intake, and they downregulated thermoregulatory adjustments to food treatment to maintain body temperature during simulated infection. Thus, under resource-limited conditions, birds save energy on the most costly aspects of immune defense.</p

Locomotor conditioning by amphetamine requires cyclin-dependent kinase 5 signaling in the nucleus accumbens

Intermittent systemic exposure to psychostimulants such as amphetamine leads to several forms of long-lasting behavioral plasticity including non-associative sensitization and associative conditioning. In the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), the protein serine/threonine kinase cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and its phosphorylation target, the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor kalirin-7 (Kal7), may contribute to the neuroadaptations underlying each of these forms of plasticity. Pharmacological inhibition of Cdk5 in the NAcc prevents the increases in dendritic spine density in this site and enhances the locomotor sensitization normally observed following repeated cocaine. Mice lacking the Kal7 gene display similar phenotypes suggesting that locomotor sensitization and increased NAcc spine density need not be positively correlated. As increases in spine density may relate to the formation of associative memories and both Cdk5 and Kal7 regulate the generation of spines following repeated drug exposure, we hypothesized that either inhibiting Cdk5 or preventing its phosphorylation of Kal7 in the NAcc may prevent the induction of drug conditioning. In the present experiments, blockade in rats of NAcc Cdk5 activity with roscovitine (40 nmol/0.5µl/side) prior to each of 4 injections of amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg; i.p.) prevented the accrual of contextual locomotor conditioning but spared the induction of locomotor sensitization as revealed on tests conducted one week later. Similarly, transient viral expression in the NAcc exclusively during amphetamine exposure of a threonine-alanine mutant form of Kal7 [mKal7(T1590A)] that is not phosphorylated by Cdk5 also prevented the accrual of contextual conditioning and spared the induction of sensitization. These results indicate that Cdk5 phosphorylation of Kal7 in the NAcc is necessary for the formation of context-drug associations potentially through the modulation of dendritic spine dynamics in this site

What causes the decrease in haematocrit during egg production?

1. Anaemia has been reported in wild animals, typically associated with traumatic events or ill health. However, female birds routinely become \u27anaemic\u27 during egg-laying; we sought to determine the causes of this reduction in haematocrit. 2. Haematocrit in female European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus) decreased between pre-breeding and egg-laying in 3 out of 4 years (the decrease was marginally non-significant in the fourth year). This was independent of changes in ambient temperature altering the metabolic requirements for thermoregulation. 3. There was a positive relationship between haematocrit and plasma levels of the yolk precursor vitellogenin among egg-laying birds, supporting the hypothesis that the initial reduction in haematocrit is caused by increased blood volume associated with osmoregulatory adjustments to elevated levels of yolk precursors. 4. However, haematocrit did not always recover upon cessation of egg production, remaining low a.t clutch completion (2 of 4 years), incubation (1 of 2 years) and chick rearing (1 of 4 years), suggesting an additional cause of the prolonged reduction in haematocrit. 5. Given the magnitude and prolonged nature of the changes in haematocrit we report, and the interannual variation in haematocrit even during chick-rearing (47-54%), we suggest that \u27anaemia\u27 associated with egg production might have implications for aerobic performance during later stages of breeding

What causes the decrease in haematocrit during egg production?

1. Anaemia has been reported in wild animals, typically associated with traumatic events or ill health. However, female birds routinely become \u27anaemic\u27 during egg-laying; we sought to determine the causes of this reduction in haematocrit. 2. Haematocrit in female European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus) decreased between pre-breeding and egg-laying in 3 out of 4 years (the decrease was marginally non-significant in the fourth year). This was independent of changes in ambient temperature altering the metabolic requirements for thermoregulation. 3. There was a positive relationship between haematocrit and plasma levels of the yolk precursor vitellogenin among egg-laying birds, supporting the hypothesis that the initial reduction in haematocrit is caused by increased blood volume associated with osmoregulatory adjustments to elevated levels of yolk precursors. 4. However, haematocrit did not always recover upon cessation of egg production, remaining low a.t clutch completion (2 of 4 years), incubation (1 of 2 years) and chick rearing (1 of 4 years), suggesting an additional cause of the prolonged reduction in haematocrit. 5. Given the magnitude and prolonged nature of the changes in haematocrit we report, and the interannual variation in haematocrit even during chick-rearing (47-54%), we suggest that \u27anaemia\u27 associated with egg production might have implications for aerobic performance during later stages of breeding

Acclimation to different thermal conditions in a northerly wintering shorebird is driven by body mass-related changes in organ size

Seasonal acclimatization and experimental acclimation to cold in birds typically results from increased shivering endurance and elevated thermogenic capacity leading to improved resistance to cold. A wide array of physiological adjustments, ranging from biochemical transformations to organ mass variations, are involved in this process. Several studies have shown that improved cold endurance is accompanied by increases in summit metabolic rate (Msum), a measure of maximal heat production and an indicator of the level of sustainable thermogenic capacity. However, improved endurance to cold can also be achieved without significant changes in Msum. The same is true for basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is known to increase in association with cold acclimatization or acclimation in some species but not in others. We investigated cold acclimation in a migrant shorebird known for extreme physiological flexibility, the red knot (Calidris canutus, the northerly wintering subspecies islandica). We measured BMR and Msum over two months in birds caught in the wild and transferred to experimentally controlled conditions representative of aspects of their seasonal thermal environment ( two groups at constant 25 degrees C, one group at constant 4 degrees C and two groups experiencing variable outdoor temperatures). Birds maintained in both cold and variable ambient temperatures showed a 14-15% higher body mass, 33-45% higher food intake, and 26% and 13% elevations in BMR and Msum, respectively, compared with birds kept at thermoneutrality. These results, together with data on alimentary tract size and pectoral muscle thickness measured by ultrasonography, suggest that red knots acclimate to cold primarily through modulation of ( lean) body mass components. Heavier individuals have larger muscles, which allow higher maximal heat production and better thermal compensation. Cold acclimation effects on BMR are most probably due to changes in the size of visceral organs, although not the alimentary tract in this specific case. The liver, known for its thermogenic capacity, is a probable candidate. Overall, our results indicate that relatively small changes in body mass and muscle size allow enough reserve capacity in terms of heat production to cope with typical wintering ambient temperature variations as measured on the red knot's wintering grounds