Principal Component Analysis for Monitoring Electrical Consumption of Academic Buildings

AbstractIn this paper Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is proposed for monitoring electric consumption of building. PCA allows modeling correlations between independent variables (weather, calendar) and energy consumption at different time scales (hourly, daily, weekly monthly). Multiway principal component analysis (MPCA) is used to model time dependencies of variables as it is commonly done in batch process monitoring. This approach allows defining simple statistic indices T2 and SPE to be used in monitoring charts. These indices are used to detect abnormal behaviours at selected time scales. After detection, contribution analysis is performed to isolate variables responsible of such misbehaviour. Exploitation of such models, obtained during normal operating conditions, can be used to detect both faults in sensors and misbehaviours in consumption patterns with respect to independent variables. The paper presents the methodology and illustrates it in a case study focused on academic buildings situated in the Campus of the University of Girona

Legislating Against Reality : The Political Conflicts and Context of the Seventh-Century Merovingian Church Councils

The bishops of the seventh-century Merovingian Church were often drawn from the secular aristocracy after long careers in local or royal government. They remained involved in politics even after becoming . bishops, and these entanglements occasionally dictated their actions. Historians have examined these actions by using the chronicles and hagiography of the seventh century, but not by using the Church councils. I translated the last five general councils of the Merovingian Church from the Latin into English for the first time, and then examined the councils in their political context. In the seventh century, the bishops were asserting their independence from the monarch with more force than in prior years, and this conflict for power can be seen in the canonical legislation. The three themes that are examined in this thesis are episcopal election and distribution of Church property; problems with women; and punishment of canonical infractions. The bishops wanted independence from the monarchy and the aristocracy in dealing with these issues, and the canons reflect this desire. From other sources, historians know that compromises often overrode the legislation, but this does not change the fact that the canons can be used to know what the bishops wanted from their flock and the areas in which they felt they should have dominance. This thesis concludes that the bishops were involved in politics even when they came together to consider the state of their Church. They codified their relationship with the secular world in the canonical legislation, and they also laid out an ideal on which they could fall back when they were in a position of strength. The canons are not meant to be binding law, but they were meant to be a guide by which the bishops could negotiate with their rivals. The secular nature of Merovingian bishops has often been asserted, using other evidence. This thesis reinforces that notion by examining what the bishops decided about their Church when they gathered together, rather than when they dealt with the monarchy on a one-to-one basis

Anàlisi estadística de l'estil de J.K.Rowling

Aquest treball estudia l’estil literari de l’escriptora J.K. Rowling fent servir l’eina de l’estilometria, una ciència estadística d’anàlisi de textos. Utilitzant d’anàlisis gràfics, models lineals, anàlisis de correspondències i anàlisis discriminants, s’intenta respondre la principal pregunta del treball Hi han diferències d’estil entre els llibres de la seva famosa saga Harry Potter i les quatre novel·les posteriors de l’escriptora? Com a part del treball s’ha escrit un programa en python per a poder tractar els textos i generar les dades desitjades sense dependre de les limitacions d’altres programes. Per a caracteritzar l’estil literari s’usen variables tant dispars com la diversitat i la riquesa, la llargada de paraules i frases, i la freqüència d’ús de les paraules. El principal objectiu del treball era aprofitar l’estil de Rowling per aprendre a fer servir totes aquestes eines estadístiques. Després de múltiples anàlisis, l’estudi troba diferències clares entre les novel·les de Harry Potter i les que no formen part de la saga, i posa de manifest les diferències existents entre riquesa i diversitat literària

Losing your home : temporal changes in forest landscape structure due to timber harvest accelerate Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) nest stand losses

In Finland, forests are both one of the main national economic resources and the main source of biodiversity. Lack of detailed empirical evidence of how forestry affects biodiversity limits the development of sustainable forest management. Previous studies have found that the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a keystone species in mature coniferous boreal forests, and that its presence is associated with high local biodiversity. To understand how timber harvest affect goshawk nest-stand constancy and nest occupancy, we analyzed changes in nine landscape classes in two buffer zones (100 m, 250 m) around goshawk nests in Western Finland during 2005-2013. Patterns of nest occupancy and nest stand loss during 2005-2013 was compared with corresponding data from 1999-2005 to investigate possible long-term changes in the same. We found a positive connection between the proportion of mature spruce forest and nest occupancy. Nest stand constancy was at a lower level during 2005-2013 than during 1999-2005. This was mainly because of forest loss due to cutting of nest stands. Given that the loss of goshawk nest stands has accelerated and because timber harvest in the area was found to be specifically targeted towards forest types favoured by goshawks, forestry may have an even larger negative effect on biodiversity locally than previously thought given that goshawk nest stands are associated with high biodiversity. To render the Finnish forestry ecologically sustainable, we propose that protection of goshawk nest stands should be an integrated part of standard forestry practices in the future.Peer reviewe

ecological rationale and conservation relevance

Under the current biodiversity crisis, there is the need to improve the conservation action. More areas need to be protected to curb biodiversity loss. Also, the methods for selection of both protected areas and management practices have to be well-informed in order to maximise the benefits from the limited resources allocated for conservation. However, because of limited information, decision making procedures are forced to use environmental variables and different species as surrogates of general biodiversity. Moreover, there is a bias towards charismatic and better known species like top predators. It is therefore important to forecast the consequences that favouring certain species might have on other organisms and to evaluate the effectiveness of preserving a subset of species. In this thesis I use empirical data to investigate how avian predators (the Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and the Ural Owl Strix uralensis) associate to biodiversity. The focus is two-fold; First, I investigate the role of species interactions in dictating biodiversity patterns. I show that interactions within the predator assembly can have stronger effect on prey distribution (the Siberian Flying Squirrel Pteromys volans) than landscape attributes. This finding points out that individuals may be able to respond to changes in the structure of the predator assemblage. Additionally, I examine the impact of the Goshawk altering the structure of the forest bird community. I found that not only the raptor conditioned species distribution across space, but that this effect persisted over the years after the Goshawk abandoned the breeding site. Second, I evaluate the potential use of raptors as surrogates to indicate areas of relevant conservation value. On the one hand, I address how the two focal raptor species associate to different biodiversity metrics for birds and polypores (i.e. wood decaying fungi) over a landscape gradient. I found that, while both predator species indicated high biodiversity levels as compared to reference sites, the dominant Goshawk was superior to the Ural Owl. Interestingly, the surrogacy properties remained the same even if the environmental setting changed. On the other hand, I assess the value of preserving raptor nest sites in the context of the existing network of protected areas in the study region. I show that using goshawk nest sites is the most cost-efficient approach if considering only single species. However, combining both predator species further enhanced the conservation output. Concluding, this thesis highlights the idea that avian top predators have a key role on species distributions and shaping community heterogeneity in space and time. Given this disproportionate influence in ecosystems, apex predators might also merit extra conservation commitment. Furthermore, information on the spatial distribution of raptors can indicate, over large areas, locations of disproportional biodiversity value. I show that setting aside raptor nest sites is more cost-effective than other conservation approaches. Additionally, one has to consider that national-wide monitoring schemes already provide raptor nest locations at no extra cost. In the light of these results it is advisable to consider the use of raptors to complement existing and future reserve selection methods.Luonnon monimuotoisuuden dramaattinen häviäminen on yksi aikamme suurimmista ongelmista jonka taltuttaminen vaatii sekä lisää suojeltavia alueita, että suojelutoiminnan tehostamista. Jotta suojeluun kohdennetut varat hyödynnetään parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla, suojelualueiden valinnan ja niiden hoitotoimien tulee olla hyvin perusteltuja. Useissa tapauksissa päätöksentekijöillä ja tutkijoilla on kuitenkin käytössä rajallisesti tietoa ympäristön tilasta. Tällöin päädytään käyttämään erilaisia ympäristömuuttujia tai tiettyjä esimerkkilajeja kuvaamaan ympäristön tilaa. Varsin usein esimerkkilajeiksi päätyvät ihmisten tunteisiin vetoavat ja hyvin tunnetut lajit, kuten esimerkiksi huippupedot. Suojelun päätöksenteon kannalta on kuitenkin ensiarvoisen tärkeää ymmärtää miten yhden esimerkkilajin suojelu vaikuttaa muihin lajiryhmiin ja onko tällainen suojelu tehokas keino lisätä luonnon monimuotoisuutta. Väitöskirjassani tutkin empiirisen aineiston avulla kahden petolintulajin (kanahaukka Accipiter gentilis ja viirupöllö Strix uralensis) vuorovaikutusta luonnon monimuotoisuuden kanssa. Työlläni oli kaksi pääasiallista tavoitetta. Ensin tutkin miten lajien vuorovaikutus voi määrittää monimuotoisuutta. Tutkimukseni osoittaa että petojen keskinäisillä vuorovaikutussuhteilla on suurempi vaikutus saalislajin (Liito-orava Pteromys volans) elinpaikan valintaan, kuin esimerkiksi maaston piirteillä. Saalisyksilöt voivat siis reagoida petolinnuston muutoksiin. Lisäksi tutkin miten kanahaukka vaikuttaa metsälinnuston yhteisörakenteeseen. Tulosteni perusteella näyttää siltä että petolintu pystyy määrittelemään miten lajit sijoittuvat ympäristössä, ja että yksittäisen petolinnun vaikutus näkyy vielä monia vuosia sen jälkeen kun se on hylännyt pesäpaikkansa. Toinen tavoitteeni oli arvioida miten hyvin petolintuja voidaan käyttää esimerkkilajeina kun halutaan löytää suuren suojeluarvon omaavia alueita. Tutkin miten kaksi tärkeää petolintulajia assosioituvat linnuston ja kääpien avulla laskettujen monimuotoisuuden mittareiden kanssa kahdessa eri kasvillisuusvyöhykkeessä. Tulokseni osoittavat että vaikka molempien petolintujen pesäpaikan ympäristö oli monimuotoisuudeltaan suurempaa kuin satunnaisten tutkimusalueiden, kanahaukan pesän ympäristö oli monimuotoisempaa kuin viirupöllön. Tämä vaikutus säilyi samana verrattaessa kahdella eri kasvillisuusvyöhykkeellä sijaitsevia alueita. Arvioin myös miten petolintujen pesäpaikan säilyttäminen vaikuttaa suojeluarvoon tutkimusalueellani jo sijaitsevilla suojelualueilla. Kanahaukkojen pesäpaikkojen suojeleminen osoittautui kustannustehokkaimmaksi suojeluratkaisuksi, mutta viirupöllön pesäpaikkojen lisääminen vahvisti suojelun tuottoa. Väitöskirjani vahvistaa että petolinnuilla on avainrooli lajien levinneisyyden ja yhteisöjen rakenteen muokkaamisessa, sekä maisema - että ajallisella tasolla. Koska petolintulajien vaikutus eri ekosysteemeihin on niin suuri, suurempi sitoutuminen niiden suojeluun on myös perusteltua. Suuremmassa mittakaavassa petolintujen pesäpaikkojen sijainti voi kertoa myös suuremmasta luonnon monimuotoisuuden arvosta. Tutkimuksessani osoitan että petolintujen pesäpaikkojen säästäminen on kustannustehokkaampaa kuin muut suojelutoimenpiteet. Etenkin kun valtakunnallisen petolintuseurantaprojektin ansiosta petolintujen pesäpaikat ovat jo tiedossa ja tämä tieto on saatavissa ilman lisäkustannuksia. Näiden tulosten valossa on suositeltavaa että petolintuja käytetään täydentämään suojelualuesuunnittelun menetelmiä

Current Social and Rangeland Access Trends among Pastoralists in the Western Algerian Steppe

In the western Algerian steppe, the public authorities have carried out actions aimed at rural development (agricultural development programs) and combating desertification (grazing reserves) to counter the significant and rapid loss of vegetation cover of pastures by overgrazing, and the consequent impacts on local livelihoods. In the Rogassa area, these actions have impacted land tenure and the ancestral and collective way of land use and access. These changes have caused transformations in lifestyle and pasture management. This research aims to characterize how such changes are affecting local pastoralists and what their perceptions are about them. A selective sampling of 150 agropastoral households was carried out by interviewing their heads, analyzing socioeconomic, land tenure and government perception variables. Most agropastoralists access land under tribal tenure, conditioned by local social structures. Pastures are prevailingly perceived by pastoralists as insufficient, and the perception of grazing reserves is largely negative. Pastoralists are worried about land degradation and declining grazing lands, and are looking for solutions and alternatives. However, state interventions have been uncoordinated and have not considered their customary land rights. The generalized awareness of environmental deterioration points to the need for better communication and intervention strategies to be developed by authorities in the future that involve the inhabitants of these lands

Benefits of the European Agri-Environment Schemes for Wintering Lapwings : A Case Study from Rice Fields in the Mediterranean Region

Mediterranean European rice fields provide important habitats for migrating waterbirds. In winter. one waterbird species that particularly benefits from rice fields is the Northern Lapwing (VaneIlus vanellas), a species threatened in Europe. To assess the effect of agii-environmental measures on rice field selection and use by wintering lapwings, bird counts were conducted in northeastern Spain during two consecutive winters (2005-2006 and 2006-2007). Information on two mandatory post-harvest management prescriptions of the agri-environment schemes was collected, namely winter flooding (percent ground surface covered by water) and whether fields were rolled or not. The number of lapwings in rolled fields was significantly higher compared to non-rolled fields. For instance. an average rolled field with 50% water cover (percentage at which lapwing abundance more or less peaked) would host an estimated 12.03 +/- 0.52 SE lapwings versus 0.18 +/- 0.58 in a non-rolled field. While the maximum abundance of lapwings in rolled fields was found at an intermediate percentage of water cover (about 25 to 75%), the number of lapwings increased steadily with water cover in non-rolled fields. Rice post-harvest practices derived from the agri-environment schemes are beneficial for biodiversity, promoting the conservation of suitable habitats for waterbirds.Peer reviewe

BacFITBase: A database to assess the relevance of bacterial genes during host infection

Bacterial infections have been on the rise world-wide in recent years and have a considerable impact on human well-being in terms of attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years. Yet many mechanisms underlying bacterial pathogenesis are still poorly understood. Here, we introduce the BacFITBase database for the systematic characterization of bacterial proteins relevant for host infection aimed to enable the identification of new antibiotic targets. BacFITBase is manually curated and contains more than 90 000 entries with information on the contribution of individual genes to bacterial fitness under in vivo infection conditions in a range of host species. The data were collected from 15 different studies in which transposon mutagenesis was performed, including top-priority pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Campylobacter jejuni, for both of which increasing antibiotic resistance has been reported. Overall, BacFITBase includes information on 15 pathogenic bacteria and 5 host vertebrates across 10 different tissues. It is freely available at www.tartaglialab.com/bacfitbase