Simulation Methodologies for Decisions-Making Support on Linguistic Policies

El resultat de qualsevol decisió presa en l'àmbit de les ciències polítiques està condicionat per un sistema de factors que interaccionen entre si, de manera que la previsió del resultat final esdevé molt difícil. Pel que fa a l'àmbit de les ciències socials, els nous mètodes de modelització i simulació que s'han proposat recentment (la modelització basada en agents) també es poden utilitzar en l'àmbit lingüístic per a ajudar els poders polítics a prendre decisions eficients en política lingüística. Aquest article presenta el marc teòric en què la modelització basada en agents (ABM) es pot desenvolupar. Tot utilitzant els ambients SW desenvolupats, aplicats al domini de la simulació política, presentem els primers resultats que simulen el comportament d'una comunitat lingüística vertadera, de manera que podem confirmar la complexitat del problema i la seva validesa com a instrument de suport per a les decisions polítiques. Mots clau: Simulació, ABM (Modelització basada en agents), Modelització de multiagents, Política lingüística, Individualisme Metodològic.The success of any decision made in the domain of political sciences is conditioned by a set of interacting factors, so that the prevision of the final result turns out quite difficult. Regarding the domain of social sciences, new methodologies of modelation and simulation have recently been proposed (the agent-based modelation), which can be used also in the linguistic domain in order to help the political decider with the choice of efficient linguistic actions. This article presents the theoretical frame, in which the agent-based modelation (ABM) can be developed. By using developing SW ambiences applied to the domain of political simulation the first results simulating the behaviour of a real linguistic community are presented, so that we can confirm both the complexity of the problem and its validity as a supporting instrument for political decisions. Keywords: Simulation, ABM (Agent based modelling), Multi-agent modelling, Linguistic policies, Methodological Individualism.El resultado de cualquier decisión tomada en el ámbito de las ciencias políticas está condicionado por un sistema de factores que interaccionan entre sí, de modo que la previsión del resultado final se hace muy difícil. Por lo que respecta al ámbito de las ciencias sociales, los nuevos métodos de modelización y simulación que se han propuesto recientemente (la modelización basada en agentes) también se pueden utilizar en el ámbito lingüístico para ayudar a los poderes políticos a tomar decisiones eficientes en política lingüística. Este artículo presenta el marco teórico en que la modelización basada en agentes (ABM) se puede desarrollar. Utilizando los ambientes SW desarrollados, aplicados al dominio de la simulación política, presentamos los primeros resultados que simulan el comportamiento de una comunidad lingüística verdadera, de modo que podemos confirmar la complejidad del problema y su validez como instrumento de soporte para las decisiones políticas. Palabras clave: Simulación, ABM (Modelización basada en agentes), Modelización de multiagentes, Política lingüística, Individualismo Metodológico

Chi impara? Una persona o una comunità? Una riflessione sull'apprendimento e la conoscenza delle lingue minoritarie

La transmissió de coneixements en una situació real és un conjunt molt complex d'accions i activitats, no reductibles simplement a un transferència de coneixement entre un mestre i un alumne. La pregunta clau és, per tant, si les tècniques didàctiques habituals són les úniques que poden ésser utilitzades en una comunitat multilingüe. Adoptant la perspectiva de l'«Aprenentatge organitzatiu» i de la «gestió del coneixement», l'article presenta una anàlisi aprofundida dels «Episodis de transferència del coneixement» i de l'«aprenentatge situat» que s'esdevenen en una comunitat en què es parla més d'una llengua, cadascuna en àmbits d'ús definits. L'objectiu de l'article és mostrar als lingüistes i als polítics sobre els riscos que hi pot haver si es vol promoure i difondre la llengua minoritària només amb els mètodes didàctics estàndards. Mots clau: Sociolingüística, dominis d'ús de la llengua, gestió del coneixement, aprenentatge organitzatiu, pedagogia, comunitat multilingüe, aprenentatge situat.Transferring knowledge in a real community is a very complex act, non reducible to simple knowledge outflow between a teacher and a paidós, young man with a deficit in knowledge. The big question is if standard didactical techniques are the only ones suitable in a community where are spoken different languages with different use domains. Adopting the perspectives of «Organization Learning» and «Knowledge management», the article presents a deep analysis of KMEs (Knowledge Management Episode) and the «situated learning» that happen in a multilingual community. The aim of the article is to warn linguistic specialists and language policy experts about the risks of standard pedagogical approach in minority languages promotion and diffusion. Keywords: Sociolinguistic, language use domains, knowledge management, organization Learning, pedagogy, multilingual community, situated learning.La transmisión de conocimientos en una situación real es un conjunto muy complejo de acciones y actividades, no reducibles simplemente a un transferencia de conocimiento entre un maestro y un alumno. La pregunta clave es, por tanto, si las técnicas didácticas habituales son las únicas que pueden ser utilizadas en una comunidad multilingüe. Adoptando la perspectiva del «Aprendizaje organizativo» y de la «gestión del conocimiento», el artículo presenta un análisis profundo de los «Episodios de transferencia del conocimiento» y del «aprendizaje situado» que se dan en una comunidad en que se habla más de una lengua, cada una en ámbitos de uso definidos. El objectivo del artículo es mostrar a lingüistas y políticos los riesgos que puede haber si se quiere promover y difundir la lengua minoritaria sólo con los métodos didácticos estándares. Palabras clave: Sociolingüística, dominios de uso de la lengua, gestión del conocimiento, aprendizaje organizativo, pedagogía, comunidad multilingüe, aprendizaje situado

Computational modeling of the electromechanical response of a ventricular fiber affected by eccentric hypertrophy

AbstractThe aim of this work is to study the effects of eccentric hypertrophy on the electromechanics of a single myocardial ventricular fiber by means of a one-dimensional finite-element strongly-coupled model. The electrical current ow model is written in the reference configuration and it is characterized by two geometric feedbacks, i.e. the conduction and convection ones, and by the mechanoelectric feedback due to stretchactivated channels. First, the influence of such feedbacks is investigated for both a healthy and a hypertrophic fiber in case of isometric simulations. No relevant discrepancies are found when disregarding one or more feedbacks for both fibers. Then, all feedbacks are taken into account while studying the electromechanical responses of fibers. The results from isometric tests do not point out any notable difference between the healthy and hypertrophic fibers as regards the action potential duration and conduction velocity. The length-tension relationships show increased stretches and reduced peak values for tension instead. The tension-velocity relationships derived from afterloaded isotonic and quick- release tests depict higher values of contraction velocity at smaller afterloads. Moreover, higher maximum shortenings are achieved during the isotonic contraction. In conclusion, our simulation results are innovative in predicting the electromechanical behavior of eccentric hypertrophic fibers

Nanoscale interaction of RecG with mobile fork DNA

RecG DNA helicase is a guardian of the bacterial genome where it dominates stalled DNA replication fork rescue. The single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) is involved in this process and promotes the binding of RecG to stalled replication forks. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the interaction of RecG and SSB on a mobile fork substrate capable of being regressed. In the absence of proteins, the fork undergoes spontaneous dynamics between two states, defined by the length of the DNA complementarity at the fork. The binding of SSB does not affect these dynamics as it binds to single-stranded regions as expected. In contrast, RecG interacts with the two states quite differently. We demonstrate that RecG has two modes of interaction with fork DNA in the presence of SSB and ATP. In the first mode, RecG translocates over the duplex region and this activity is defined by SSB-mediated remodeling of helicase. In the second mode, RecG utilizes its helicase activity to regress the fork, in an ATP-dependent manner, displacing SSB on the ssDNA. Overall, our results highlight two functions of RecG that can be employed in the regulation of stalled DNA replication fork rescue. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry

Remodeling of RecG Helicase at the DNA Replication Fork by SSB Protein.

The RecG DNA helicase a key player in stalled replication fork rescue. The single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) participates in this process, but its role in the interaction of RecG with the fork remains unclear. We used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to visualize the interaction of RecG with a fork DNA in the presence of SSB. We discovered that SSB enhances RecG loading efficiency onto the DNA fork by threefold. Additionally, SSB interacts with RecG leading to the RecG remodeling. As a result, RecG separates from the fork, but remains bound to the DNA duplex. Moreover, in this new binding mode RecG is capable of translocation along the parental duplex DNA. We propose a model of RecG interaction with the replication fork involving two RecG binding modes. SSB plays the role of a remodeling factor defining the mode of RecG binding to the fork mediated by the SSB C-terminus. In the translocating mode, RecG remains in the vicinity of the fork and is capable of initiating the fork regression. Our results afford novel mechanistic insights into RecG interaction with the replication fork and provide the basis for further structural studies

HUMIC ACID-LIKE MATTER ISOLATED FROM GREEN URBAN WASTES. PART II: PERFORMANCE IN CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

Novel uses of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes for diversified technological applications are reported. A humic acid-like substance (cHAL2) isolated from green urban wastes was tested as a chemical auxiliary for fabric cleaning and dyeing, and as a catalyst for the photodegradation of dyes. The results illustrate the fact that biomass wastes can be an interesting source of products for the chemical market. Process and product development in this direction are likely to offer high economic and environmental benefits in a modern, more sustainable waste treatment strategy

Apricot yellows associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ in Iran

Almond witches’ broom associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ is an economically important disease of almond in Iran and Lebanon. During surveys of almond witches’ broom in 2012–2015, an apricot yellows disease was observed in Fars Province of Iran. The characteristic symptoms of the disease were leaf yellowing, inward leaf curl, scorch of leaf margins, shortened internodes, production of rosettes at the tips of the branches, and decline, stunting, and death of affected trees. Healthy bitter almond and apricot seedlings, grafted with shoots from symptomatic trees, exhibited phytoplasma-type symptoms. A 16S rDNA fragment of 1,250 bp was amplified by nested-PCR from affected trees and grafted seedlings. Nucleotide sequence identity, presence of species-specific signature sequences, and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA allowed the assignation of the phytoplasma strains identified to the ‘Ca. P. phoenicium’. In vitro and in silico RFLP analyses of the amplified fragment allowed affiliation of the apricot yellows phytoplasma to a molecular variant in the subgroup 16SrIX-B. Within the population strains identified in this and previous studies, 16 genetic lineages were determined within 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences by the combination of 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms. The apricot yellows phytoplasma strains belong to a unique genetic lineage distinguished by the presence of three lineage-specific SNPs. This first report of ‘Ca. P. phoenicium’ in association with apricot yellows in Iran opens new perspectives on the epidemiology of almond witches’ broom, suggesting possible adaptation of the phytoplasma to other fruit tree species

The potential of grafting with selected stone fruit varieties for management of almond witches’ broom

A lethal disease of stone fruit trees, characterized by proliferation of axillary shoots and witches’ broom symptoms, has caused severe problems for more than 200,000 almond, peach and nectarine plants in Lebanon since the 1990s. The agent associated with almond witches’ broom (AlmWB) was identified as ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’, belonging to subgroup 16SrIX-B. Management of the disease has relied on uprooting of affected trees. Since no disease-resistant cultivars have been identified, grafting experiments in the field and in the greenhouse we performed to develop a new option for the integrated management of the disease. AlmWB-affected almond trees were grafted with apricot or plum scions, and their growth was symptomless for over 2 years in the field. Similarly, in greenhouse trials, grafting AlmWB-affected almond scions onto seedlings of plum and apricot resulted in growth of symptomless shoots. One year post-grafting in the greenhouse the phytoplasma was not detected by PCR in almond grafted on Angeleno and Red plum and Early Blush apricot used as rootstocks. The phytoplasma was, however, detected in almond scions grafted on Farclo apricot and Jawhara plum, although their growth was symptomless. Shoots developing from Farclo apricot grafted on AlmWB-affected trees in the field showed severe symptoms 2 months after grafting but recovered 3 months later, and remained symptomless for about 2.5 years. Similarly, in the greenhouse trial, the growth of phytoplasma-infected scions grafted on Early blush apricot developed symptoms 2 months after grafting, did not show symptoms 2 months later, and remained symptomless 1 year later. Quantitative PCR analysis of almond scions grafted on Early blush apricot seedlings confirmed reduction of phytoplasma titre from 44 GU/ng DNA to below detection level

Real-Time On-Site Diagnosis of Quarantine Pathogens in Plant Tissues by Nanopore-Based Sequencing

Rapid and sensitive assays for the identification of plant pathogens are necessary for the effective management of crop diseases. The main limitation of current diagnostic testing is the inability to combine broad and sensitive pathogen detection with the identification of key strains, pathovars, and subspecies. Such discrimination is necessary for quarantine pathogens, whose management is strictly dependent on genotype identification. To address these needs, we have established and evaluated a novel all-in-one diagnostic assay based on nanopore sequencing for the detection and simultaneous characterization of quarantine pathogens, using Xylella fastidiosa as a case study. The assay proved to be at least as sensitive as standard diagnostic tests and the quantitative results agreed closely with qPCR-based analysis. The same sequencing results also allowed discrimination between subspecies when present either individually or in combination. Pathogen detection and typing were achieved within 13 min of sequencing owing to the use of an internal control that allowed to stop sequencing when sufficient data had accumulated. These advantages, combined with the use of portable equipment, will facilitate the development of next-generation diagnostic assays for the efficient monitoring of other plant pathogens