IU PTI/UITS Research Technologies Annual Report: FY 2014

This Fiscal Year 2014 (FY2014) report outlines IU community accomplishments using IU's cyberinfrastructure, as they relate to several IU Bicentennial Strategic Plan goals and ongoing principles of excellence. The report includes research and discovery highlights

Genome Assembly Improvement and Mapping Convergently Evolved Skeletal Traits in Sticklebacks with Genotyping-by-Sequencing.

Marine populations of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have repeatedly colonized and rapidly adapted to freshwater habitats, providing a powerful system to map the genetic architecture of evolved traits. Here, we developed and applied a binned genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method to build dense genome-wide linkage maps of sticklebacks using two large marine by freshwater F2 crosses of more than 350 fish each. The resulting linkage maps significantly improve the genome assembly by anchoring 78 new scaffolds to chromosomes, reorienting 40 scaffolds, and rearranging scaffolds in 4 locations. In the revised genome assembly, 94.6% of the assembly was anchored to a chromosome. To assess linkage map quality, we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling lateral plate number, which mapped as expected to a 200-kb genomic region containing Ectodysplasin, as well as a chromosome 7 QTL overlapping a previously identified modifier QTL. Finally, we mapped eight QTL controlling convergently evolved reductions in gill raker length in the two crosses, which revealed that this classic adaptive trait has a surprisingly modular and nonparallel genetic basis

Behaviors of Adult \u3ci\u3eAgrilus Planipennis\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

A 2-year study was conducted in Canada (2003) and the United States (2005) to better understand searching and mating behaviors of adult Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. In both field and laboratory, adults spent more time resting and walking than feeding or flying. The sex ratio in the field was biased towards males, which tended to hover around trees, likely looking for mates. There was more leaf feeding damage within a tree higher in the canopy than in the lower canopy early in the season, but this difference disappeared over time. In choice experiments, males attempted to mate with individuals of both sexes, but they landed more frequently on females than on males. A series of sexual behaviors was observed in the laboratory, including: exposure of the ovipositor/genitalia, sporadic jumping by males, attempted mating, and mating. Sexual behaviors were absent among 1-3 day-old beetles, but were observed regularly in 10-12 day-old beetles. Females were seen exposing their ovipositor, suggestive of pheromone-calling behavior. No courtship was observed prior to mating. Hovering, searching, and landing behaviors suggest that beetles most likely rely on visual cues during mate finding, although host-plant volatiles and/or pheromones might also be involved

\u3ci\u3eAnoplophora Glabripennis\u3c/i\u3e Within-Tree Distribution, Seasonal Development, and Host Suitability in China and Chicago

Established populations of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), were first reported in the United States in New York in 1996, Illinois in 1998, and New Jersey in 2002. A federal quarantine and an eradication program were implemented in 1997, involving tree surveys and removal of infested trees. We recorded the number of A. glabripennis life stages found at several locations along the main trunk and major branches of naturally infested trees in China (species of Populus, Salix, and Ulmus) and Chicago, Illinois (species of Acer, Fraxinus, and Ulmus) during 1999 to 2002. Typically, A. glabripennis initiated attack near the crown base along both the trunk and main branches. The one exception to this pattern was on Populus trees in China that had branches along the entire trunk, in which case A. glabripennis initiated attack along the lower trunk. Larvae were the dominant overwintering stage in both countries. A host suitability index for A. glabripennis was calculated for each tree with the formula: (number of living life stages + number of exit holes) / number of oviposition pits. The mean host suitability index was higher on Populus and Salix than Ulmus in China, and generally higher on Acer and Ulmus than Fraxinus in Chicago. Eleven genera of trees (N = 1465 trees) were infested by A. glabripennis in Chicago; in decreasing order of tree frequency they included Acer, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Aesculus, Betula, Salix, Celtis, Malus, Pyrus, Sorbus, and Tilia. When the proportion of each genus of infested street trees (N = 958 trees in 7 genera) was compared to its proportion of all Chicago street trees based on a 2003 inventory (N = 539,613 trees in 45 genera), A. glabripennis showed a significant preference to infest the genera Acer and Ulmus. Based on our results, inspectors should focus their efforts on upper trunks and lower branches of Acer and Ulmus trees

January 1 - December 31, 2012

This report summarizes training, education, and outreach activities for calendar 2012 of PTI and affiliated organizations, including the School of Informatics and Computing, Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, and Maurer School of Law. Reported activities include those led by PTI Research Centers (Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Center for Research in Extreme Scale Technologies, Data to Insight Center, Digital Science Center) and Service and Cyberinfrastructure Centers (Research Technologies Division of University Information Technology Services, National Center for Genome Assembly Support

Integrating Smart Ceiling Fans and Communicating Thermostats to Provide Energy-Efficient Comfort

The project goal was to identify and test the integration of smart ceiling fans and communicating thermostats. These highly efficient ceiling fans use as much power as an LED light bulb and have onboard temperature and occupancy sensors for automatic operationbased on space conditions. The Center for the Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley led the research team including TRC, Association for Energy Affordability (AEA), and Big Ass Fans (BAF). The research team conducted laboratory tests, installed99 ceiling fans and 12 thermostats in four affordable multifamily housing sites in California’s Central Valley, interviewed stakeholders to develop a case study, developed an online design tool and design guide, outlined codes and standards outreach, and published several papers.The project team raised indoor cooling temperature setpoints and used ceiling fans as the first stage of cooling; this sequencing of ceiling fans and air conditioningreducesenergy consumption, especially during peak periods, while providing thermal comfort.The field demonstration resulted in 39% measured compressor energy savings during the April–October cooling seasoncompared to baseline conditions, normalized for floor area. Weather-normalized energy use varied from a 36% increase to 71% savings, withmedian savings of 15%.This variability reflects the diversity in buildings, mechanical systems, prior operation settings, space types, andoccupants’ schedules,preferences, and motivations. All commercial spaces with regular occupancy schedules (and twoof the irregularly-occupied commercial spaces and one of the homes) showed energy savings on an absolute basis before normalizing for warmer intervention temperatures,and 10 of 13 sites showed energy savings on a weather-normalized basis. The ceiling fans provided cooling for one site for months during hot weather when the coolingequipment failed.Occupants reported high satisfaction with the ceiling fans and improved thermal comfort. This technology can apply to new and retrofit residential and commercial buildings

Conducting K-12 Outreach to Evoke Early Interest in IT, Science, and Advanced Technology

This is a preprint of a paper presented at XSEDE '12: The 1st Conference of the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, Chicago, Illinois.The Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute has engaged for several years in K-12 Education, Outreach and Training (EOT) events related to technology in general and computing in particular. In each event we strive to positively influence children’s perception of science and technology. We view K-12 EOT as a channel for technical professionals to engage young people in the pursuit of scientific and technical understanding. Our goal is for students to see these subjects as interesting, exciting, and worth further pursuit. By providing opportunities for pre-college students to engage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities first hand, we hope to influence their choices of careers and field-of-study later in life. In this paper we give an account of our experiences with providing EOT: we describe several of our workshops and events; we provide details regarding techniques that we found to be successful in working with both students and instructors; we discuss program costs and logistics; and we describe our plans for the future.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCI-0503697. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

XSEDE 12 Conference Final Report

XSEDE 2012 conference final repor

Information technology in support of research, scholarship, and creative activities: A strategic plan for Research Technologies – a division of UITS and a PTI Service and Cyberinfrastructure Center

Stewart, C.A., M.R. Link, E. Wernert, W.K. Barnett, T.M. Miller. 2012. Information technology in support of research, scholarship, and creative activities: A strategic plan for Research Technologies – a division of UITS and a PTI Service and Cyberinfrastructure Center. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. PTI Technical Report PTI-TR12-007.IU is currently executing its second information technology strategic plan – Empowering People: Indiana University's Strategic Plan for Information Technology 2009 (hereafter referred to as Empowering People). In this document, we set out long-term goals for the Research Technologies (RT) division of UITS, reaffirm specific goals set for RT for 2019, describe Actions within Empowering People for which RT is responsible, and describe the new internal structure of Research Technologies. The mission of the Research Technologies division of UITS is to develop, deliver, and support advanced technology solutions that improve productivity of and enable new possibilities in research, scholarly endeavors, and creative activity at Indiana University and beyond; and to complement this with education and technology translation activities to improve the quality of life of people in Indiana, the nation, and the world