The Ideal Intersection Property for Groupoid Graded Rings

We show that if a groupoid graded ring has a certain nonzero ideal property, then the commutant of the center of the principal component of the ring has the ideal intersection property, that is it intersects nontrivially every nonzero ideal of the ring. Furthermore, we show that for skew groupoid algebras with commutative principal component, the principal component is maximal commutative if and only if it has the ideal intersection property

Root-soil rotation stiffness of Norway spruce ( Picea abies (L.) Karst) growing on subalpine forested slopes

Trees bend and break when exposed to external forces such as wind, rockfall, and avalanches. A common simplification when modelling the tree response to these forces is to simplify the system as a clamped beam which means that the stem deflection is related to the stem flexibility only. However, a certain part of the stem deflection originates from rotation of the root-soil plate. In this paper, we investigate this contribution to the overall stem deflection. Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) trees were subjected to winching tests to analyse the anchorage mechanics of the tree. The tests were performed at two experimental sites with an average slope of 32 and 34° and one site with a nearly flat ground in subalpine forests near Davos, Switzerland, during the vegetation periods of 2003 and 2004. The trees were pulled downslope with a winch and the applied force, stem base rotation, and the angle of the applied force relative to the stem were recorded. After the tree had fallen over, stem diameter and branch mass were measured for every meter segment. These data were used to model the tree in the finite element software ANSYS®, which was used for calculating the rotational stem base moment as a␣function of stem base rotation. The root-soil rotation stiffness k root was defined as the secant stiffness calculated at 0.5° root-soil plate rotation. Young's modulus of elasticity E of the stem was iteratively changed until the correct stem rotation was obtained. The best correlation between k root and different tree characteristics was the squared diameter at breast height, DBH2. Not incorporating the normal forces due to weight of the overhanging masses from crown and stem resulted in a maximum underestimation for k root of approximately 14%. Thus, also the acting moment on the stem base will be underestimated causing the safety factor against uprooting to be overestimate

Privacy Mining from IoT-based Smart Homes

Recently, a wide range of smart devices are deployed in a variety of environments to improve the quality of human life. One of the important IoT-based applications is smart homes for healthcare, especially for elders. IoT-based smart homes enable elders' health to be properly monitored and taken care of. However, elders' privacy might be disclosed from smart homes due to non-fully protected network communication or other reasons. To demonstrate how serious this issue is, we introduce in this paper a Privacy Mining Approach (PMA) to mine privacy from smart homes by conducting a series of deductions and analyses on sensor datasets generated by smart homes. The experimental results demonstrate that PMA is able to deduce a global sensor topology for a smart home and disclose elders' privacy in terms of their house layouts.Comment: This paper, which has 11 pages and 7 figures, has been accepted BWCCA 2018 on 13th August 201

Population genetic structure in Fennoscandian landrace rye (Secale cereale L.) spanning 350 years

Rye (Secale cereale L.) was for centuries the economically most important crop in Fennoscandia (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). Historical records tell of a range of different types adapted to climate and varying cultivation practices. Genetic analyses of genebank maintained landrace rye have yet failed, with a few exceptions, to detect differentiation between rye types. Concerns have been raised that genebank material does not truly reflect the historical variation in landrace rye. In this study, we have therefore genotyped old and historical samples of rye as well as extant material. Two historical seventeenth century samples were obtained from a grave and a museum archive respectively, and 35 old samples were taken from 100 to 140-year-old seed collections and museum artefacts made of straw. We could confirm the results of previous studies suggesting Fennoscandian landrace rye to be one major meta-population, genetically different from other European rye landraces, but with no support for slash-and-burn types of rye being genetically different from other rye landraces. Only small differences in genetic diversity and allele distribution was found between old landrace rye from museum collections and extant genebank accessions, arguing against a substantial change in the genetic diversity during twentieth century cultivation and several regenerations during genebank maintenance. The genotypes of the old and historical samples suggest that the genetic structure of Fennoscandian landrace rye has been relatively stable for 350years. In contrast, we find that the younger samples and early improved cultivars belong to a different genetic group, more related to landraces from Central Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adsorption of Fibrinogen on Thin Oriented Poly(Tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) Fibres Studied by Scanning Force Microscopy

We have investigated fibrinogen adsorption on ordered poly(tetrafluoroethylene), PTFE, fibres deposited on hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicon substrates. Fibrinogen molecules appear to adsorb with their long axis perpendicular to the fibre direction for PTFE fibres having widths of less than 100 nm. On these thin fibres, fibrinogen apparently forms close packed bands or clusters, consisting of small integer numbers of molecules arranged parallel to each other. On broader (\u3e 100 nm) PTFE fibres, the fibrinogen forms two dimensional networks. The orientation of the molecules in these networks is random in the central flat part of the fibres but perpendicular to the fibre direction at the fibre edges. As a tentative explanation, we propose that the observed orientation may be linked to the radius of curvature of the fibre surface

Who I Am: The Meaning of Early Adolescents’ Most Valued Activities and Relationships, and Implications for Self-Concept Research

Self-concept research in early adolescence typically measures young people’s self-perceptions of competence in specific, adult-defined domains. However, studies have rarely explored young people’s own views of valued self-concept factors and their meanings. For two major self domains, the active and the social self, this mixed-methods study identified factors valued most by 526 young people from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds in Ireland (10-12 years), and explored the meanings associated with these in a stratified subsample (n = 99). Findings indicate that self-concept scales for early adolescence omit active and social self factors and meanings valued by young people, raising questions about content validity of scales in these domains. Findings also suggest scales may under-represent girls’ active and social selves; focus too much on some school-based competencies; and, in omitting intrinsically salient self domains and meanings, may focus more on contingent (extrinsic) rather than true (intrinsic) self-esteem

Archaeological and historical materials as a means to explore Finnish crop history

In Northern Europe, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been cultivated for almost 6000 years. Thus far, 150-year-old grains from historical collections have been used to investigate the distribution of barley diversity and how the species has spread across the region. Genetic studies of archaeobotanical material from agrarian sites could potentially clarify earlier migration patterns and cast further light on the origin of barley landraces. In this study, we aimed to evaluate different archaeological and historical materials with respect to DNA content, and to explore connections between Late Iron Age and medieval barley populations and historical samples of barley landraces in north-west Europe. The material analysed consisted of archaeological samples of charred barley grains from four sites in southern Finland, and historical material, with 33 samples obtained from two herbaria and the seed collections of the Swedish museum of cultural history.The DNA concentrations obtained from charred archaeological barley remains were too low for successful KASP genotyping confirming previously reported difficulties in obtaining aDNA from charred remains. Historical samples from herbaria and seed collection confirmed previously shown strong genetic differentiation between two-row and six-row barley. Six-row barley accessions from northern and southern Finland tended to cluster apart, while no geographical structuring was observed among two-row barley. Genotyping of functional markers revealed that the majority of barley cultivated in Finland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was late-flowering under increasing day-length, supporting previous findings from northern European barley.</p

Are autistic traits measured equivalently in individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder?:An invariance analysis of the Autism Spectrum Quotient Short Form

It is common to administer measures of autistic traits to those without autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with, for example, the aim of understanding autistic personality characteristics in non-autistic individuals. Little research has examined the extent to which measures of autistic traits actually measure the same traits in the same way across those with and without an ASD. We addressed this question using a multi-group confirmatory factor invariance analysis of the Autism Quotient Short Form (AQ-S: Hoekstra et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 41(5):589-596, 2011) across those with (n = 148) and without (n = 168) ASD. Metric variance (equality of factor loadings), but not scalar invariance (equality of thresholds), held suggesting that the AQ-S measures the same latent traits in both groups, but with a bias in the manner in which trait levels are estimated. We, therefore, argue that the AQ-S can be used to investigate possible causes and consequences of autistic traits in both groups separately, but caution is due when combining or comparing levels of autistic traits across the two group

A photometric and spectroscopic study of the new dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Hercules

Our aim is to provide as clean and as complete a sample as possible of red giant branch stars that are members of the Hercules dSph galaxy. With this sample we explore the velocity dispersion and the metallicity of the system. Stromgren photometry and multi-fibre spectroscopy are combined to provide information about the evolutionary state of the stars (via the Stromgren c_1 index) and their radial velocities. Based on this information we have selected a clean sample of red giant branch stars, and show that foreground contamination by Milky Way dwarf stars can greatly distort the results. Our final sample consists of 28 red giant branch stars in the Hercules dSph galaxy. Based on these stars we find a mean photometric metallicity of -2.35 dex which is consistent with previous studies. We find evidence for an abundance spread. Using those stars for which we have determined radial velocities we find a systemic velocity of 45.2 km/s with a dispersion of 3.72 km/s, this is lower than values found in the literature. Furthermore we identify the horizontal branch and estimate the mean magnitude of the horizontal branch of the Hercules dSph galaxy to be V_0=21.17, which corresponds to a distance of 147 kpc. We have shown that a proper cleaning of the sample results in a smaller value for the velocity dispersion of the system. This has implications for galaxy properties derived from such velocity dispersions.Comment: 24 pages, 28 figure