A cloud-based Cyber-Physical System for environmental monitoring

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) represent a new generation of digital systems, where cyber entities and physical devices cooperate towards a set of common goals. The research presented in this paper aims to contribute to the development of CPSs by proposing an open architecture applicable in environmental monitoring, consisting of three layers. The paper provides a detailed description of each one of the CPS's main components. The bottom layer, composed of wireless sensor nodes, allows the acquisition of data and their transfer to the upper layers. The top and middle layers, composed of a measurements database, a knowledge base, a multi-agent society and web services, assure the proper operation of the CPS based on decision rules and complex data analyses. The proposed architecture provides a high degree of flexibility and scalability

A conserved role for LRRK2 and Roco proteins in the regulation of mitochondrial activity

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease world-wide. Mutations in the multidomain protein Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most frequent cause of hereditary PD. Furthermore, recent data suggest that independent of mutations, increased kinase activity of LRRK2 plays an essential role in PD pathogenesis. Isolated mitochondria of tissue samples from PD patients carrying LRRK2 mutations display a significant impairment of mitochondrial function. However, due to the complexity of the mitochondrial signaling network, the role of LRRK2 in mitochondrial metabolism is still not well understood. Previously we have shown that D. discoideum Roco4 is a suitable model to study the activation mechanism of LRRK2 in vivo. To get more insight in the LRRK2 pathways regulating mitochondrial activity we used this Roco4 model system in combination with murine RAW macrophages. Here we show that both Dictyostelium roco4 knockout and cells expressing PD-mutants show behavioral and developmental phenotypes that are characteristic for mitochondrial impairment. Mitochondrial activity measured by Seahorse technology revealed that the basal respiration of D. discoideum roco4- cells is significantly increased compared to the WT strain, while the basal and maximal respiration values of cells overexpressing Roco4 are reduced compared to the WT strain. Consistently, LRRK2 KO RAW 264.7 cells exhibit higher maximal mitochondrial respiration activity compared to the LRRK2 parental RAW264.7 cells. Measurement on isolated mitochondria from LRRK2 KO and parental RAW 264.7 cells revealed no difference in activity compared to the parental cells. Furthermore, neither D. discoideum roco4- nor LRRK2 KO RAW 264.7 showed a difference in either the number or the morphology of mitochondria compared to their respective parental strains. This suggests that the observed effects on the mitochondrial respiratory in cells are indirect and that LRRK2/Roco proteins most likely require other cytosolic cofactors to elicit mitochondrial effects

The Spectrum of Neurological and White Matter Changes and Premutation Status Categories of Older Male Carriers of the FMR1 Alleles Are Linked to Genetic (CGG and FMR1 mRNA) and Cellular Stress (AMPK) Markers

The fragile X premutation (PM) allele contains a CGG expansion of 55–200 repeats in the FMR1 gene’s promoter. Male PM carriers have an elevated risk of developing neurological and psychiatric changes, including an approximately 50% risk of the fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). The aim of this study was to assess the relationships of regional white matter hyperintensities (wmhs) semi-quantitative scores, clinical status, motor (UPDRS, ICARS, Tremor) scales, and cognitive impairments, with FMR1-specific genetic changes, in a sample of 32 unselected male PM carriers aged 39–81 years. Half of these individuals were affected with FXTAS, while the non-FXTAS group comprised subcategories of non-affected individuals and individuals affected with non-syndromic changes. The dynamics of pathological processes at the cellular level relevant to the clinical status of PM carriers was investigated using the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a highly sensitive cellular stress-sensing alarm protein. This enzyme, as well as genetic markers – CGG repeat number and the levels of the FMR1 mRNA – were assessed in blood lymphoblasts. The results showed that the repeat distribution for FXTAS individuals peaked at 85–90 CGGs; non-FXTAS carriers were distributed within the lowest end of the PM repeat range, and non-syndromic carriers assumed an intermediate position. The size of the CGG expansion was significantly correlated, across all three categories, with infratentorial and total wmhs and with all motor scores, and the FMR1 mRNA levels with all the wmh scores, whilst AMPK activity showed considerable elevation in the non-FXTAS combined group, decreasing in the FXTAS group, proportionally to increasing severity of the wmhs and tremor/ataxia. We conclude that the size of the CGG expansion relates to the risk for FXTAS, to severity of infratentorial wmhs lesions, and to all three motor scale scores. FMR1 mRNA shows a strong association with the extent of wmhs, which is the most sensitive marker of the pathological process. However, the AMPK activity findings – suggestive of a role of this enzyme in the risk of FXTAS – need to be verified and expanded in future studies using larger samples and longitudinal assessment

Decision Agriculture

In this chapter, the latest developments in the field of decision agriculture are discussed. The practice of management zones in digital agriculture is described for efficient and smart faming. Accordingly, the methodology for delineating management zones is presented. Modeling of decision support systems is explained along with discussion of the issues and challenges in this area. Moreover, the precision agriculture technology is also considered. Moreover, the chapter surveys the state of the decision agriculture technologies in the countries such as Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Sweden. Finally, different field factors such as GPS accuracy and crop growth are also analyzed

The tectonic history of a crustal-scale shear zone in the Tanzania Craton from the Geita Greenstone Belt, NW-Tanzania Craton

In this contribution, we present for the first-time field based evidence of a crustal scale shear zone from the southern margin of Geita Greenstone Belt. The Geita Shear Zone is a broad (∼800 m wide) ductile, high-strain, deformation zone that can be traced for at least 50 km along the southern margin of the Geita Greenstone Belt. It is near vertical, trends ∼E-W and separates the mafic volcanics of the Kiziba Formation, to the north, from the TTG gneisses that crop out south of the shear zone. The shear zone is hosted almost entirely by the TTG gneisses and is characterised by a well-developed mylonitic foliation near the greenstone margin that transitions into a gneissic foliation and eventually becomes a weakly developed foliation further south. It contains approximately equal amounts of dextral, sinistral, and asymmetric shear sense indicators suggesting that the shear zone accommodated mainly flattening strain while the mineral stretching lineation defined by quartz and feldspar ribbons and stretched biotite selvages plunges shallowly W. A series of younger, sub-vertical, NW trending brittle-ductile, strike-slip shear zones truncate and displace the Geita Shear Zone with dextral displacement in the order of 2–4 km. Deformed tonalite interpreted to predate the shear zone yielded U-Pb zircon ages of ∼2710 Ma while synshearing granodiorite samples have zircon ages between 2680 Ma and 2660 Ma. The ∼2630 Ma age of the undeformed Nyankumbu granite is interpreted to mark the minimum age of movement on the shear zone. The presence of 3000 Ma and 3200 Ma zircon xenocrysts in the tonalite and granodiorite opens the possibility that older basement rocks underlie the greenstone belts in the northern half of Tanzania Craton. Whether or not the greenstone belts were erupted on older basement, thrusted on top of older basement rocks or incorporated older basement fragments has profound implications for the tectonic framework and evolution of the Tanzania Craton

A cloud-based Cyber-Physical System for environmental monitoring

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) represent a new generation of digital systems, where cyber entities and physical devices cooperate towards a set of common goals. The research presented in this paper aims to contribute to the development of CPSs by proposing an open architecture applicable in environmental monitoring, consisting of three layers. The paper provides a detailed description of each one of the CPS's main components. The bottom layer, composed of wireless sensor nodes, allows the acquisition of data and their transfer to the upper layers. The top and middle layers, composed of a measurements database, a knowledge base, a multi-agent society and web services, assure the proper operation of the CPS based on decision rules and complex data analyses. The proposed architecture provides a high degree of flexibility and scalability

Leveraging Quality of Service and Cost in Cyber-Physical Systems Design

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) comprise multiple cyberparts, physical processes, and human participants (end-users) that affect them, and vice versa. During the design of such systems, it is critical for the designer to take into account the end-user-perceived quality of provided services, as well as their cost, and integrate them into the CPSs; striking a satisfactory balance between quality and affordability is critical to system acceptance. In this work, we propose a model-based approach, using the Systems Modeling Language (SysML), to explore system design, encapsulating Quality of Service (QoS) and cost aspects, as system requirements, into a core model. Via this approach, the designer can define the system structure, configure it, measure and evaluate the quality, while analyzing cost, and find the best solution(s) for a correct design. As a use case, this approach is applied to a healthcare CPS, namely the Remote Elderly Monitoring System (REMS). In that context, managing REMS QoS and cost requirements, can contribute to an effective system design and implementation, enhancing the end-user satisfaction.The authors wish to acknowledge Qatar National Research Fund project EMBIoT (Proj. No. NPRP 9-114-2-055) project, under the auspices of which the work presented in this paper has been carried out.Scopu