Influence of environmental conditions on the distribution of Central Asian green toads with three ploidy levels.

We studied the distribution of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup), an anuran species group with three ploidy levels, inhabiting the Central Asian Amudarya River drainage. Various approaches (one-way, multivariate, components variance analyses and maximum entropy modelling) were used to estimate the effect of altitude, precipitation, temperature and land vegetation covers on the distribution of toads. It is usually assumed that polyploid species occur in regions with harsher climatic conditions (higher latitudes, elevations, etc.), but for the green toads complex, we revealed a more intricate situation. The diploid species (Bufo shaartusiensis and Bufo turanensis) inhabit the arid lowlands (from 44 to 789 m a.s.l.), while tetraploid Bufo pewzowi were recorded in mountainous regions (340-3492 m a.s.l.) with usually lower temperatures and higher precipitation rates than in the region inhabited by diploid species. The triploid species Bufo baturae was found in the Pamirs (Tajikistan) at the highest altitudes (2503-3859 m a.s.l.) under the harshest climatic conditions.

Aversive Stimuli and Functional Networks of Fear Learning in PTSD : 734

Background: One characteristic of post traumatic stress disorder is an inability to adapt to a safe environment i.e. to change behavior when predictions of adverse outcomes are not met. Recent studies have also indicated that PTSD patients have altered pain processing, with hyperactivation of the putamen and insula to aversive stimuli (Geuze et al, 2007). The present study examined neuronal responses to aversive and predicted aversive events. Methods: Twenty-four trauma exposed non-PTSD controls and nineteen subjects with PTSD underwent fMRI imaging during a partial reinforcement fear conditioning paradigm, with a mild electric shock as the unconditioned stimuli (UCS). Three conditions were analyzed: actual presentations of the UCS, events when a UCS was expected, but omitted (CS+), and events when the UCS was neither expected nor delivered (CS-). Results: The UCS evoked significant alterations in the pain matrix consisting of the brainstem, the midbrain, the thalamus, the insula, the anterior and middle cingulate and the contralateral somatosensory cortex. PTSD subjects displayed bilaterally elevated putamen activity to the electric shock, as compared to controls. In trials when USC was expected, but omitted, significant activations were observed in the brainstem, the midbrain, the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate. PTSD subjects displayed similar activations, but also elevated activations in the amygdala and the posterior insula. Conclusions: These results indicate altered fear and safety learning in PTSD, and neuronal activations are further explored in terms of functional connectivity using psychophysiological interaction analyses.

An anonymous reputation mechanism for cloud computing networks using volunteer resources

One of the major problems when using non-dedicated volunteer resources in adistributed network is the high volatility of these hosts since they can go offlineor become unavailable at any time without control. Furthermore, the use ofvolunteer resources implies some security issues due to the fact that they aregenerally anonymous entities which we know nothing about. So, how to trustin someone we do not know?.Over the last years an important number of reputation-based trust solutionshave been designed to evaluate the participants' behavior in a system.However, most of these solutions are addressed to P2P and ad-hoc mobilenetworks that may not fit well with other kinds of distributed systems thatcould take advantage of volunteer resources as recent cloud computinginfrastructures.In this paper we propose a first approach to design an anonymous reputationmechanism for CoDeS [1], a middleware for building fogs where deployingservices using volunteer resources. The participants are reputation clients(RC), a reputation authority (RA) and a certification authority (CA). Users needa valid public key certificate from the CA to register to the RA and obtain thedata needed to participate into the system, as now an opaque identifier thatwe call here pseudonym and an initial reputation value that users provide toother users when interacting together. The mechanism prevents not only themanipulation of the provided reputation values but also any disclosure of theusers' identities to any other users or authorities so the anonymity isguaranteed.

Do labour mobility and networks foster geographical knowledge diffusion? The case of European regions

The goal of this paper is twofold: first, we aim to assess the role played by inventors’ cross-regional mobility and networks of collaboration in fostering knowledge diffusion across regions and subsequent innovation. Second, we intend to evaluate the feasibility of using mobility and networks information to build cross-regional interaction matrices to be used within the spatial econometrics toolbox. To do so, we depart from a knowledge production function where regional innovation intensity is a function not only of the own regional innovation inputs but also external accessible R&D gained through interregional interactions. Differently from much of the previous literature, cross-section gravity models of mobility and networks are estimated to use the fitted values to build our ‘spatial’ weights matrices, which characterize the intensity of knowledge interactions across a panel of 269 regions covering most European countries over 6 years.

Medium access control messaging scheme for cognitive radio networks

Los sistemas de radio cognitivos son una solución a la deficiente distribución del espectro inalámbrico de frecuencias. Usando acceso dinámico al medio, los usuarios secundarios pueden comunicarse en canales de frecuencia disponibles, mientras los usuarios asignados no están usando dichos canales. Un buen sistema de mensajería de control es necesario para que los usuarios secundarios no interfieran con los usuarios primarios en las redes de radio cognitivas. Para redes en donde los usuarios son heterogéneos en frecuencia, es decir, no poseen los mismos canales de frecuencia para comunicarse, el grupo de canales utilizado para transmitir información de control debe elegirse cuidadosamente. Por esta razón, en esta tesis se estudian las ideas básicas de los esquemas de mensajería de control usados en las redes de radio cognitivas y se presenta un esquema adecuado para un control adecuado para usuarios heterogéneos en canales de frecuencia. Para ello, primero se presenta una nueva taxonomía para clasificar las estrategias de mensajería de control, identificando las principales características que debe cumplir un esquema de control para sistemas heterogéneos en frecuencia. Luego, se revisan diversas técnicas matemáticas para escoger el mínimo número de canales por los cuales se transmite la información de control. Después, se introduce un modelo de un esquema de mensajería de control que use el mínimo número de canales y que utilice las características de los sistemas heterogéneos en frecuencia. Por último, se comparan diversos esquemas de mensajería de control en términos de la eficiencia de transmisión.

Rapid detection of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the malachite green decolourisation assay

Early detection of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates allows for earlier and more effective treatment of patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of the malachite green decolourisation assay (MGDA) in detecting isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) resistance in M. tuberculosis clinical isolates. Fifty M. tuberculosis isolates, including 19 multidrug-resistant, eight INH-resistant and 23 INH and RIF-susceptible samples, were tested. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and agreement of the assay for INH were 92.5%, 91.3%, 92.5%, 91.3% and 92%, respectively. Similarly, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and agreement of the assay for RIF were 94.7%, 100%, 100%, 96.8% and 98%, respectively. There was a major discrepancy in the tests of two isolates, as they were sensitive to INH by the MGDA test, but resistant by the reference method. There was a minor discrepancy in the tests of two additional isolates, as they were sensitive to INH by the reference method, but resistant by the MGDA test. The drug susceptibility test results were obtained within eight-nine days. In conclusion, the MGDA test is a reliable and accurate method for the rapid detection of INH and RIF resistance compared with the reference method and the MGDA test additionally requires less time to obtain results.

Object-oriented Bayesian networks for evaluating DIP-STR profiling results from unbalanced DNA mixtures.

The genetic characterization of unbalanced mixed stains remains an important area where improvement is imperative. In fact, with current methods for DNA analysis (Polymerase Chain Reaction with the SGM Plus™ multiplex kit), it is generally not possible to obtain a conventional autosomal DNA profile of the minor contributor if the ratio between the two contributors in a mixture is smaller than 1:10. This is a consequence of the fact that the major contributor's profile 'masks' that of the minor contributor. Besides known remedies to this problem, such as Y-STR analysis, a new compound genetic marker that consists of a Deletion/Insertion Polymorphism (DIP), linked to a Short Tandem Repeat (STR) polymorphism, has recently been developed and proposed elsewhere in literature [1]. The present paper reports on the derivation of an approach for the probabilistic evaluation of DIP-STR profiling results obtained from unbalanced DNA mixtures. The procedure is based on object-oriented Bayesian networks (OOBNs) and uses the likelihood ratio as an expression of the probative value. OOBNs are retained in this paper because they allow one to provide a clear description of the genotypic configuration observed for the mixed stain as well as for the various potential contributors (e.g., victim and suspect). These models also allow one to depict the assumed relevance relationships and perform the necessary probabilistic computations.

Stability of cascade networks via fluid models

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Low rates of X-Y recombination, not turnovers, account for homomorphic sex chromosomes in several diploid species of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup).

Contrasting with birds and mammals, most ectothermic vertebrates present homomorphic sex chromosomes, which might be due either to a high turnover rate or to occasional X-Y recombination. We tested these two hypotheses in a group of Palearctic green toads that diverged some 3.3 million years ago. Using sibship analyses of sex-linked markers, we show that all four species investigated share the same pair of sex chromosomes and a pattern of male heterogamety with drastically reduced X-Y recombination in males. Phylogenetic analyses of sex-linked sequences show that X and Y alleles cluster by species, not by gametolog. We conclude that X-Y homomorphy and fine-scale sequence similarity in these species do not stem from recent sex-chromosome turnovers, but from occasional X-Y recombination.

Study of the antimalarial properties of hydroxyethylamine derivatives using green fluorescent protein transformed Plasmodium berghei

A rapid decrease in parasitaemia remains the major goal for new antimalarial drugs and thus, in vivo models must provide precise results concerning parasitaemia modulation. Hydroxyethylamine comprise an important group of alkanolamine compounds that exhibit pharmacological properties as proteases inhibitors that has already been proposed as a new class of antimalarial drugs. Herein, it was tested the antimalarial property of new nine different hydroxyethylamine derivatives using the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing Plasmodium bergheistrain. By comparing flow cytometry and microscopic analysis to evaluate parasitaemia recrudescence, it was observed that flow cytometry was a more sensitive methodology. The nine hydroxyethylamine derivatives were obtained by inserting one of the following radical in the para position: H, 4Cl, 4-Br, 4-F, 4-CH3, 4-OCH3, 4-NO2, 4-NH2 and 3-Br. The antimalarial test showed that the compound that received the methyl group (4-CH3) inhibited 70% of parasite growth. Our results suggest that GFP-transfected P. berghei is a useful tool to study the recrudescence of novel antimalarial drugs through parasitaemia examination by flow cytometry. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the insertion of a methyl group at the para position of the sulfonamide ring appears to be critical for the antimalarial activity of this class of compounds.

Perspectives on the green construction of the new European Energy Policy

The EU has been one of the main actors involved in the construction process of an international climate change regime, adopting it as an identity sign in the international arena. This activism has reverted in the European political agenda and in the one of its Members States. Therefore, climate change has become a driver for the EU growing participation in energy policy and for its governance evolution. In this context, much attention has been paid to the climate and energy policies integration agreed after the 2007 spring European Council. Apparently, this decision meant a decisive step towards the incorporation of the environmental variable in the energy policy-making. Moreover, the Action Plan [2007-2009] “Energy Policy for Europe” outlined priority actions in a variety of energy-related areas, implying the new European Energy Policy commencement. Against this background, there is still much left to understand about its formulation and its further development. Rooted on the Environmental Policy Integration approach, this paper traces the increasing proximity between environment and energy policies in order to understand the green contribution to the European Energy Policy construction.