A gain-loss framework based on ensemble flow forecasts to switch the urban drainage-wastewater system management towards energy optimization during dry periods

Precipitation is the cause of major perturbation to the flow in urban drainage and wastewater systems. Flow forecasts, generated by coupling rainfall predictions with a hydrologic runoff model, can potentially be used to optimize the operation of integrated urban drainage–wastewater systems (IUDWSs) during both wet and dry weather periods. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models have significantly improved in recent years, having increased their spatial and temporal resolution. Finer resolution NWP are suitable for urban-catchment-scale applications, providing longer lead time than radar extrapolation. However, forecasts are inevitably uncertain, and fine resolution is especially challenging for NWP. This uncertainty is commonly addressed in meteorology with ensemble prediction systems (EPSs). Handling uncertainty is challenging for decision makers and hence tools are necessary to provide insight on ensemble forecast usage and to support the rationality of decisions (i.e. forecasts are uncertain and therefore errors will be made; decision makers need tools to justify their choices, demonstrating that these choices are beneficial in the long run). <br><br> This study presents an economic framework to support the decision-making process by providing information on when acting on the forecast is beneficial and how to handle the EPS. The relative economic value (REV) approach associates economic values with the potential outcomes and determines the preferential use of the EPS forecast. The envelope curve of the REV diagram combines the results from each probability forecast to provide the highest relative economic value for a given gain–loss ratio. This approach is traditionally used at larger scales to assess mitigation measures for adverse events (i.e. the actions are taken when events are forecast). The specificity of this study is to optimize the energy consumption in IUDWS during low-flow periods by exploiting the electrical smart grid market (i.e. the actions are taken when no events are forecast). Furthermore, the results demonstrate the benefit of NWP neighbourhood post-processing methods to enhance the forecast skill and increase the range of beneficial uses

Widespread modulation of gene expression by copy number variation in skeletal muscle

Copy number variation (CNV) is a frequently observed deviation from the diploid state due to duplication or deletion of genomic regions. Although intensively analyzed for association with diseases and production traits, the specific mechanisms and extent by which such variations affect the phenotype are incompletely understood. We present an integrative study on CNV and genome-wide gene expression in Brazilian Bos indicus cattle. We analyzed CNVs inferred from SNP-chip data for effects on gene expression measured with RNA-seq in skeletal muscle samples of 183 steers. Local effects, where expression changes coincided with CNVs in the respective genes, were restricted to immune genes. Distal effects were attributable to several high-impact CNVs that modulated remote expression in an orchestrated and intertwined fashion. These CNVs were located in the vicinity of major skeletal muscle pathway regulators and associated genes were enriched for proteolysis, autophagy, and muscle structure development. From association analysis between CNVs and several meat quality and production traits, we found CNV-associated expression effects to also manifest at the phenotype level. Based on genome sequences of the population founders, we further demonstrate that CNVs with impact on expression and phenotype are passed on from one generation to another

Ets-1 Confers Cranial Features on Neural Crest Delamination

Neural crest cells (NCC) have the particularity to invade the environment where they differentiate after separation from the neuroepithelium. This process, called delamination, is strikingly different between cranial and trunk NCCs. If signalings controlling slow trunk delamination start being deciphered, mechanisms leading to massive and rapid cranial outflow are poorly documented. Here, we show that the chick cranial NCCs delamination is the result of two events: a substantial cell mobilization and an epithelium to mesenchyme transition (EMT). We demonstrate that ets-1, a transcription factor specifically expressed in cranial NCCs, is responsible for the former event by recruiting massively cranial premigratory NCCs independently of the S-phase of the cell cycle and by leading the gathered cells to straddle the basal lamina. However, it does not promote the EMT process alone but can cooperate with snail-2 (previously called slug) to this event. Altogether, these data lead us to propose that ets-1 plays a pivotal role in conferring specific cephalic characteristics on NCC delamination