Use of thermography and fibre optics microscopy for the evaluation of railway structures in the Athens Metro in Greece (Invited Paper)

Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is one of the main issues that concern, at least initially, the head of the railway; progressively they can be of very high importance as they can propagate inside the material with the risk of damaging the railway. In this work, two different non-destructive techniques, infrared thermography (IRT) and fibre optics microscopy (FOM), were used in the inspection of railways for the tracing of defects and deterioration signs. In the first instance, two different approaches (dynamic and pulsed thermography) were used, whilst in the case of FOM, microscopic characterisation of the railway heads and classification of the deterioration -- damage on the railways according to the UIC (International Union of Railways) code, took place. Results from both techniques are presented and discussed.

Actinomyces coleocanis sp. nov., from the vagina of a dog

A hitherto undescribed Actinomyces-like bacterium was isolated from the vagina of a dog. Biochemical testing and PAGE analysis of whole-cell proteins indicated that the isolate was phenotypically different from previously described Actinomyces species and related taxa. Sequencing of 165 rRNA showed that the unknown bacterium was distinct from all currently known Actinomyces species. Phylogenetically, the unidentified organism displayed a specific association with Actinomyces europaeus, but a sequence divergence of > 5% demonstrated that it represents a distinct species. Based on both phenotypic and 165 rRNA sequence considerations, it is proposed that the unknown strain from a dog be classified as a novel species, Actinomyces coleocanis sp. nov. The type strain is CCUG 41708T (= CIP 106873T).

Arcanobacterium hippocoleae sp. nov., from the vagina of a horse

A polyphasic taxonomic study was performed on a previously unidentified gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, diphtheroid-shaped organism isolated from a vaginal discharge of a horse. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that the strain was a member of the genus Arcanobacterium, but sequence divergence values of >4% with described species of this genus (viz: Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Arcanobacterium bernardiae, Arcanobacterium phocae, Arcanobacterium pluranimalium and Arcanobacterium pyogenes) demonstrated that the isolate represented a novel species. The unknown bacterium was readily distinguished from other Arcanobacterium species by biochemical tests. Based on phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, it is proposed that the unknown bacterium be classified as Arcanobacterium hippocoleae sp. nov. The type strain of A. hippocoleae is CCUG 44697T (= CIP 106850T).

Pitch range and vowel duration in the speech of children with Williams syndrome

This paper reports the pitch range and vowel duration data from a group of children with Williams syndrome (WS) in comparison with a group of typically developing children matched for chronological age (CA) and a group matched for receptive language abilities (LA). It is found that the speech of the WS group has a greater pitch range and that vowels tend to be longer in duration than in the speech of the typically developing children. These findings are in line with the impressionistic results reported by Reilly, Klima and Bellugi [17].

Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of YqjH from Escherichia coli: a putative cytoplasmic ferri-siderophore reductase

YqjH is a cytoplasmic FAD-containing protein from Escherichia coli; based on homology to ViuB of Vibrio cholerae, it potentially acts as a ferri-siderophore reductase. This work describes its overexpression, purification, crystallization and structure solution at 3.0 A resolution. YqjH shares high sequence similarity with a number of known siderophore-interacting proteins and its structure was solved by molecular replacement using the siderophore-interacting protein from Shewanella putrefaciens as the search model. The YqjH structure resembles those of other members of the NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase superfamily.

Floral ontogeny in Polygalaceae and its bearing on the homologies of keeled flowers in Fabales

Keeled flowers are characteristic of many species of Polygalaceae (tribe Polygaleae), in which there is often a distinctive crest located at the abaxial petal. This study of floral ontogeny across the entire family highlights potential suites of characters that relate to the evolution of keeled and crested flowers. One character suite encompasses interconnected transformations of the lateral perianth organs acting as an evolutionary module: bracteoles, lateral sepals (with delayed initiation and petaloid appearance), and lateral petals (suppressed or lost). The plastochron between initiation of the lateral sepals and that of the other sepals is relatively long in the tribe Polygaleae, in which the calyx is usually heteromorphic. By contrast, in the petal whorl, the difference between a zygomorphic and an actinomorphic corolla involves organ suppression rather than heterochrony. Four primary androecial patterns are identified in the family, and the gynoecium ranges between syncarpous‐bicarpellate and multicarpellate. Stigma diversity is based on two primary morphological types: one in which the papillate stigmatic surfaces lie close together, the other in which they are physically separated. The floral ontogeny of Polygalaceae is considered alongside comparative data available for other members of the order Fabales, and hypotheses to account for the similarities and differences between keeled flowers are discussed.

Methods for kinematic modeling of biological and robotic systems

The main objective is to develop methods that automatically generate kinematic models for the movements of biological and robotic systems. Two methods for the identification of the kinematics are presented. The first method requires the elimination of the displacement variables that cannot be measured while the second method attempts to estimate the changes in these variables. The methods were tested using a planar two-revolute-joint linkage. Results show that the model parameters obtained agree with the actual parameters to within 5%. Moreover, the methods were applied to model head and neck movements in the sagittal plane. The results indicate that these movements are well modeled by a two-revolute-joint system. A spatial three-revolute-joint model was also discussed and tested.

Can shells of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) be used to estimate low summer discharge of rivers and associated droughts?

This paper examines if shell oxygen isotope ratios (d18Oar) of Unio sp. can be used as a proxy of past discharge of the river Meuse. The proxy was developed from a modern dataset for the reference time interval 1997–2007, which showed a logarithmic relationship between discharge and measured water oxygen isotope ratios(d18Ow). To test this relationship for past time intervals,d18Oar values were measured in the aragonite of the growth increments of four Unio sp. shells; two from a relatively wet period and two from a very dry time interval (1910–1918 and 1969–1977, respectively). Shell d18Oar records were converted into d18Ow values using existing water temperature records. Summer d18Ow values, reconstructed from d18Oar of 1910–1918, showed a similar range as the summer d18Ow values for the reference time interval 1997–2007, whilst summer reconstructed d18Ow values for the time interval 1969–1977 were anomalously high. These high d18Ow values suggest that the river Meuse experienced severe summer droughts during the latter time interval. d18Ow values were then applied to calculate discharge values. It was attempted to estimate discharge from the reconstructed d18Ow values using the logarithmic relationship between d18Ow and discharge. A comparison of the calculated summer discharge results with observed discharge data showed that Meuse low-discharge events below a threshold value of 6 m3/s can be detected in the reconstructed d18Ow records, but true quantification remains problematic.