A Perturbed Iterative Method for a General Class of Variational Inequalities

The generalized Wiener-Hopf equation and the approximation methods are used to propose a perturbed iterative method to compute the solutions of a general class of nonlinear variational inequalities.

Reliable, cloud-based communication for multi-robot systems

In contrast to single robotic agent, multi-robot systems are highly dependent on reliable communication. Robots have to synchronize tasks or to share poses and sensor readings with other agents, especially for co-operative mapping task where local sensor readings are incorporated into a global map. The drawback of existing communication frameworks is that most are based on a central component which has to be constantly within reach. Additionally, they do not prevent data loss between robots if a failure occurs in the communication link. During a distributed mapping task, loss of data is critical because it will corrupt the global map. In this work, we propose a cloud-based publish/subscribe mechanism which enables reliable communication between agents during a cooperative mission using the Data Distribution Service (DDS) as a transport layer. The usability of our approach is verified by several experiments taking into account complete temporary communication loss.

More naturalness, less control: The effect of natural mapping on the co-located player experience

In the past years, there has been a surge in game controllers that allow players to play in a more physical, more natural way. In this paper we present an experimental study of the effect of gaming using these naturally mapped controllers on the player experience in a social setting. Results support the hypothesis that more naturally mapped controllers augment spatial presence. Furthermore, the results suggest that gaming with more naturally mapped controllers augment social presence for female players, but not for male players. However, gaming via naturally mapped controllers decreases perceived control and actual performance. Hence, users with high performance expectations might not benefit from gaming via naturally mapped controllers.

Chromosomal mapping of rDNAs and H3 histone sequences in the grasshopper rhammatocerus brasiliensis (acrididae, gomphocerinae): extensive chromosomal dispersion and co-localization of 5S rDNA/H3 histone clusters in the A complement and B chromosome

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fine mapping of the tomato I-3 gene for fusarium wilt resistance and elimination of a co-segregating resistance gene analogue as a candidate for I-3

The I-3 gene from the wild tomato species Lycopersicon pennellii confers resistance to race 3 of the devastating vascular wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. As an initial step in a positional cloning strategy for the isolation of I-3, we converted restriction fragment length polymorphism and conserved orthologue set markers, known genes and a resistance gene analogue (RGA) mapping to the I-3 region into PCR-based sequence characterised amplified region (SCAR) and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers. Additional PCR-based markers in the I-3 region were generated using the randomly amplified DNA fingerprinting (RAF) technique. SCAR, CAPS and RAF markers were used for high-resolution mapping around the I-3 locus. The I-3 gene was localised to a 0.3-cM region containing a RAF marker, eO6, and an RGA, RGA332. RGA332 was cloned and found to correspond to a putative pseudogene with at least two loss-of-function mutations. The predicted pseudogene belongs to the Toll interleukin-1 receptor-nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich-repeat sub-class of plant disease resistance genes. Despite the presence of two RGA332 homologues in L. esculentum, DNA gel blot and PCR analysis suggests that no other homologues are present in lines carrying I-3 that could be alternative candidates for the gene.

CODEX: mapping co-created data for speculative geographies

This paper discusses a series of artworks named CODEX produced by the authors as part of a collaborative research project between the Centre for Research in Education, Art and Media (CREAM), University of Westminster, and the Oxford Internet Institute. Taking the form of experimental maps, large-scale installations and prints, we show how big data can be employed to reflect upon social phenomena through the formulation of critical, aesthetic and speculative geographies.

Mapping the dynamic of Project Management field : Project Management in action

Focusing on the role within and between organizations of the project management discipline to design and implement strategy, as source of competitive advantage, leads us to question the scientific field behind this discipline. This science should be the basis for the development and use of bodies of knowledge, standards, certification programs, education, and competencies, and beyond this as a source of value for people, organizations, and society. Thus the importance to characterize, define, and understand this field and its underlying strength, basis, and development is paramount. For this purpose we propose to give some insights on the current situation. This will lead us to clarify our epistemological position and demonstrate that both constructivism and positivist approaches are required to seize the full dimension and dynamics of the field.We will referee to sociology of actor-networks and qualitative scientometrics leading to the choice of the co-word analysis method in enabling us to capture the project management field and its dynamics.Results of a study based on the analysis of ABI Inform database will be presented and some future trends and scenarios proposed.

Fashion meets journalism : mapping and evaluating Australian fashion media

This study demonstrates how to study fashion journalism from the point of view, that it is its own field of journalism, akin to other journalism beats such as politics, sports and health. There is scope here for comment on the co-evolution of fashion and journalism, leading to ‘fashion journalism’ developing as a distinct field of study in its own right. This research contributes more generally to the field of media and cultural studies, by developing the threepart producer/text/reader model, which is the standard ‘media studies’ analytical framework. The study of fashion media from a cultural studies perspective acknowledges that cultural studies has pioneered the formal study of both journalism and fashion, for instance in studies of women’s magazines; but it has not brought the two areas together sufficiently. What little work has been done, however, has allowed theorists to explore how magazines promote feminism and form culture, which acts as a step in concreting fashion’s importance theoretically. This thesis has contributed to cultural studies by showing the relationship between the corporate industry, of both fashion and media (producer), and the active audience (reader) can be rethought and brought up to date for the more interactive era of the 21st century.

Mapping a candidate gene (MdMYB10) for red flesh and foliage colour in apple

BACKGROUND Integrating plant genomics and classical breeding is a challenge for both plant breeders and molecular biologists. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is a tool that can be used to accelerate the development of novel apple varieties such as cultivars that have fruit with anthocyanin through to the core. In addition, determining the inheritance of novel alleles, such as the one responsible for red flesh, adds to our understanding of allelic variation. Our goal was to map candidate anthocyanin biosynthetic and regulatory genes in a population segregating for the red flesh phenotypes. RESULTS We have identified the Rni locus, a major genetic determinant of the red foliage and red colour in the core of apple fruit. In a population segregating for the red flesh and foliage phenotype we have determined the inheritance of the Rni locus and DNA polymorphisms of candidate anthocyanin biosynthetic and regulatory genes. Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidate genes were also located on an apple genetic map. We have shown that the MdMYB10 gene co-segregates with the Rni locus and is on Linkage Group (LG) 09 of the apple genome. CONCLUSION We have performed candidate gene mapping in a fruit tree crop and have provided genetic evidence that red colouration in the fruit core as well as red foliage are both controlled by a single locus named Rni. We have shown that the transcription factor MdMYB10 may be the gene underlying Rni as there were no recombinants between the marker for this gene and the red phenotype in a population of 516 individuals. Associating markers derived from candidate genes with a desirable phenotypic trait has demonstrated the application of genomic tools in a breeding programme of a horticultural crop species.

Large scale multiuser digital mind mapping tool : a study in usability

Project work can involve multiple people from varying disciplines coming together to solve problems as a group. Large scale interactive displays are presenting new opportunities to support such interactions with interactive and semantically enabled cooperative work tools such as intelligent mind maps. In this paper, we present a novel digital, touch-enabled mind-mapping tool as a first step towards achieving such a vision. This first prototype allows an evaluation of the benefits of a digital environment for a task that would otherwise be performed on paper or flat interactive surfaces. Observations and surveys of 12 participants in 3 groups allowed the formulation of several recommendations for further research into: new methods for capturing text input on touch screens; inclusion of complex structures; multi-user environments and how users make the shift from single- user applications; and how best to navigate large screen real estate in a touch-enabled, co-present multi-user setting.

Marine Vegetation of Cape York Peninsula. Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy, Office of Co-ordinator General of Queensland, Brisbane, Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra

The Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy (CYPLUS) is a joint Queensland/Commonwealth initiative to provide a framework for making decisions about how to use and manage the natural resources of Cape York Peninsula in ways that will be ecologically sustainable. As part of the Natural Resources Analysis Program (NRAP) of CYPLUS, the Fisheries Division of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries has mapped the marine vegetation (mangroves and seagrasses) for Cape York Peninsula. The project ran from July 1992 to June 1994. Field work was undertaken in November 1992, May 1993, and April 1994. Final report on project: NRO6 – Marine Plan (Seagrass/Mangrove) Distribution. Dataset URL Link: Queensland Coastal Wetlands Resources Mapping data. [Dataset]

CYP19A1 fine-mapping and Mendelian randomization: Estradiol is causal for endometrial cancer

Candidate gene studies have reported CYP19A1 variants to be associated with endometrial cancer and with estradiol (E2) concentrations. We analyzed 2937 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 6608 endometrial cancer cases and 37 925 controls and report the first genome wide-significant association between endometrial cancer and a CYP19A1 SNP (rs727479 in intron 2, P=4.8x10(-11)). SNP rs727479 was also among those most strongly associated with circulating E2 concentrations in 2767 post-menopausal controls (P=7.4x10(-8)). The observed endometrial cancer odds ratio per rs727479 A-allele (1.15, CI=1.11-1.21) is compatible with that predicted by the observed effect on E2 concentrations (1.09, CI=1.03-1.21), consistent with the hypothesis that endometrial cancer risk is driven by E2. From 28 candidate-causal SNPs, 12 co-located with three putative gene-regulatory elements and their risk alleles associated with higher CYP19A1 expression in bioinformatical analyses. For both phenotypes, the associations with rs727479 were stronger among women with a higher BMI (Pinteraction=0.034 and 0.066 respectively), suggesting a biologically plausible gene-environment interaction.

Quasi-2D XY Magnetic Properties and Slow Relaxation in a Body Centered Metal Organic Network of [Co-4] Clusters

Octahedral Co2+ centers have been connected by mu(3)-OH and mu(2)-OH2 units forming [Co-4] clusters which are linked by pyrazine forming a two-dimensional network. The two-dimensional layers are bridged by oxybisbenzoate (OBA) ligands giving rise to a three-dimensional structure. The [Co-4] clusters bond with the pyrazine and the OBA results in a body-centered arrangement of the clusters, which has been observed for the first time. Magnetic studies reveal a noncollinear frustrated spin structure of the bitriangular cluster, resulting in a net magnetic moment of 1.4 mu B per cluster. For T > 32 K, the correlation length of the cluster moments shows a stretched-exponential temperature dependence typical of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless model, which points to a quasi-2D XY behavior. At lower temperature and down to 14 K, the compound behaves as a soft ferromagnet and a slow relaxation is observed, with an energy barrier of ca. 500 K. Then, on further cooling, a hysteretic behavior takes place with a coercive field that reaches 5 Tat 4 K. The slow relaxation is assigned to the creation/annihilation of vortex-antivortex pairs, which are the elementary excitations of a 2D XY spin system.

QTL for nodal root angle in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) co-locate with QTL for traits associated with drought adaptation.

Nodal root angle in sorghum influences vertical and horizontal root distribution in the soil profile and is thus relevant to drought adaptation. In this study, we report for the first time on the mapping of four QTL for nodal root angle (qRA) in sorghum, in addition to three QTL for root dry weight, two for shoot dry weight, and three for plant leaf area. Phenotyping was done at the six leaf stage for a mapping population (n = 141) developed by crossing two inbred sorghum lines with contrasting root angle. Nodal root angle QTL explained 58.2% of the phenotypic variance and were validated across a range of diverse inbred lines. Three of the four nodal root angle QTL showed homology to previously identified root angle QTL in rice and maize, whereas all four QTL co-located with previously identified QTL for stay-green in sorghum. A putative association between nodal root angle QTL and grain yield was identified through single marker analysis on field testing data from a subset of the mapping population grown in hybrid combination with three different tester lines. Furthermore, a putative association between nodal root angle QTL and stay-green was identified using data sets from selected sorghum nested association mapping populations segregating for root angle. The identification of nodal root angle QTL presents new opportunities for improving drought adaptation mechanisms via molecular breeding to manipulate a trait for which selection has previously been very difficult.