In this paper we address a key issue in scenario classification, where classifying concepts show a natural overlapping. In fact, overlapping needs to be evaluated whenever classes are not crisp, in ...order to be able to check if a certain classification structure fits reality and still can be useful for our declared decision making purposes. In this paper we address an object recognition problem, where the best classification with respect to background is the one with less overlapping between the class
object and the class
background. In particular, in this paper we present the basic properties that must be fulfilled by overlap functions, associated to the degree of overlapping between two classes. In order to define these overlap functions we take as reference properties like migrativity, homogeneity of order 1 and homogeneity of order 2. Hence we define overlap functions, proposing a construction method and analyzing the conditions ensuring that t-norms are overlap functions. In addition, we present a characterization of migrative and strict overlap functions by means of automorphisms.
In this study, the influence of the addition of tire rubber in concrete was evaluated, to partially replace the fine aggregate of sand particles. The rubber fibers were also surface treated with ...different solvents to improve adhesion of the fibers to the concrete matrix. Compressive strength, slump test, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of concrete samples were performed at time intervals of up to 28 days. The results showed a decrease on mechanical property values after the addition of tire rubber without treatment as well as a decrease of workability. It was also observed that the tire rubber treatment with acetone caused an increase of the mechanical strength of the samples.
Phosphorus deficiencies are limiting crop production in agricultural soils worldwide. Locally available sources of raw phosphate rock (PR) are being recognized for their potential role in soil ...fertility improvement. Phosphorus bioavailability is essential for the efficiency of PRs and can be increased by acid treatments. The utilization of organic acid producing micro-organisms, notably Aspergillus niger, presents a sustainable alternative to the use of strong inorganic acids, but acid production of A. niger strongly depends on the mineral content of the growth media. This study compared the phosphorus mobilization efficiency of two biological treatments, namely addition of acidic cell-free supernatants from A. niger cultivations to PRs and the direct cultivation of A. niger with PRs. The results show that addition of PR to cultivations leads to significant differences in the profile of organic acids produced by A. niger. Additions of PR, especially igneous rocks containing high amounts of iron and manganese, lead to reduced citric acid concentrations. In spite of these differences, phosphorus mobilization was similar between treatments, suggesting that the simpler direct cultivation method was not inferior. In addition to citric acid, it is suggested that oxalic acid contributes to PR solubilization in direct cultivations with A. niger, which would benefit farmers in developing countries where conventional fertilizers are not adequately accessible.
Summary
In plants, the calmodulin‐binding transcription activators (CAMTAs) are required for transcriptional regulation of abiotic and biotic stress responses. Among them, CAMTA3 in Arabidopsis has ...been intensively studied and shown to function redundantly with CAMTA1 and CAMTA2 to negatively regulate plant immunity. The camta1/2/3 triple mutant accordingly exhibits severe dwarfism due to autoimmunity. Here, through a suppressor screen using camta1/2/3 triple mutant, we found that a mutation in Cyclin‐Dependent Kinase 8 (CDK8) partially suppresses the dwarfism and constitutive resistance phenotypes of camta1/2/3. CDK8 positively regulates steady‐state salicylic acid (SA) levels and systemic required resistance (SAR). The expression of SA biosynthesis genes such as ICS1 and EDS5 is down‐regulated in cdk8 mutants under uninfected conditions, suggesting that CDK8 contributes to the transcriptional regulation of these SA pathway genes. Knocking out another Mediator kinase module member MED12 yielded similar defects including decreased steady‐state SA level and compromised SAR, suggesting that the whole Mediator kinase module contributes to the transcriptional regulation of SA levels and SAR.
Significance Statement
Knockout analysis of cdk8 and med12 mutants revealed that both mutants accumulate less defense hormone salicylic acid (SA), revealing the positive contribution of the kinase module of Mediator to the transcriptional regulation of SA accumulation and systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Such mechanisms helps us to better understand the complex regulatory roles of Mediator in plant immunity.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the key additive for the preservation of wines. Carbonyl and keto compounds in wine can bind to SO2 and decrease its efficacy, resulting in higher total SO2 requirements. ...Increased consumer demand for low sulfite and organic wines pose production challenges if SO2 binders have not been properly managed during vinification. Malolactic fermentation (MLF) has been known to reduce bound SO2 levels but detailed time course studies are not available. In this work, the kinetics of major SO2 binding compounds and malic acid were followed during MLF in wine with 12 commercially available strains of Oenococcus oeni. Pyruvic acid, acetaldehyde and α-ketoglutaric acid were degraded to various degrees by O. oeni, but galacturonic acid was not. At the time of malic acid depletion, percent degradation of pyruvate, α-ketoglutaric acid and acetaldehyde was 49%, 14% and 30%, respectively. During MLF, the decrease in average bound SO2 levels, as calculated from carbonyl metabolism, was 22%. The largest reduction in wine carbonyl content occurred in the week after completion of MLF and was 53% (107mg/L to 34mg/L) calculated as bound SO2. Prolonged activity of bacteria in the wines (up to 3weeks post malic acid depletion) resulted only in reduced additional reductions in bound SO2 levels.
The results suggest that microbiological wine stabilization one week after malic acid depletion is an effective strategy for maximum removal of SO2 binders while reducing the risk of possible post-ML spoilage by O. oeni leading to the production acetic acid and biogenic amines.
► Carbonyls and keto compounds bind to SO2 in wine limiting its preservative activity. ► Kinetics of carbonyl metabolism of 12 Oenococcus oeni tested in white wine. ► Pyruvate, acetaldehyde and α-ketoglutarate were variably degraded by O. oeni. ► Galacturonic acid was not degraded by any of the O. oeni strains. ► Optimum reduction of SO2 binders was achieved by malolactic fermentation +1week.
To assess the impact of vehicular emissions on a mixed conifer forest, we measured the contents of the trace elements, N, C, and their respective natural isotopes (δ15N and δ13C), in the epiphytic ...lichen, L. vulpina. The samples were collected along transects perpendicular to Interstate 80 (I-80) and along a more remote, secondary forest road (R07). Distance to the road verge, trunk cover, and stand basal area were also recorded. Percent N ranged from 1.10% to 2.00% near I-80 and from 0.78% to 1.13% along R07. Concentrations of N, 15N, Na, As, Pb, and Zn were enhanced in lichen samples near I-80 and were negatively correlated with distance from the road. Trunk cover values differed between roads (p<0.001) and were negatively correlated with %N (r2=0.74; p<0.001). The results indicate that vehicular N emissions are significant enough to alter the surrounding ecosystem, modifying the presence of a sensitive component such as L. vulpina, and suggest that a clean-site threshold of 1.0%N may be too high as an indicator of critical N load exceedance. The study also underscored the potential role of wolf lichen in a large-scale assessment of N deposition and source identification.
•Trace elements, %N and d15N were determined in lichens growing around two roads.•The proximity to roads resulted in enhanced N and trace elements concentrations.•Increases in N and 15N concentrations correlated with a reduction in lichen cover.•N deposition associated with traffic emissions exceeded the empirical critical load.•Arsenic concentrations in Letharia vulpina are a useful marker of traffic intensity.
Network traffic analysis is an important cybersecurity task, which helps to classify anomalous, potentially dangerous connections. In many cases, it is critical not only to detect individual ...malicious connections, but to detect which node in a network has generated malicious traffic so that appropriate actions can be taken to reduce the threat and increase the system’s cybersecurity. Instead of analysing connections only, node behavioural analysis can be performed by exploiting the graph information encoded in a connection network. Network traffic, however, is temporal data and extracting graph information without a fixed time scope may only unveil macro-dynamics that are less related to cybersecurity threats. To address these issues, a threefold approach is proposed here: firstly, temporal dissection for extracting graph-based information is applied. As the resulting graphs are typically affected by class imbalance (i.e. malicious nodes are under-represented), two novel graph data-level preprocessing techniques - R-hybrid and SM-hybrid - are introduced, which focus on exploiting the most relevant graph substructures. Finally, a Neural Network (NN) and two Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) approaches are compared when performing node behaviour classification. Furthermore, we compare the node classification performance of these supervised models with traditional unsupervised anomaly detection techniques. Results show that temporal dissection parameters affected classification performance, while the data-level preprocessing strategies reduced class imbalance and led to improved supervised node behaviour classification, outperforming anomaly detection models. In particular, Neural Network (NN) outperformed Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) approaches for two attack families and was less affected by class imbalance, yet one GCN performed best overall. The presented study successfully applies a temporal graph-based approach for malicious actor detection in network traffic data.
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells located in different areas of the human body. The oral cavity is considered a potential source of MSCs because they have been identified in ...several dental tissues (D-MSCs). Clinical trials in which cells from these sources were used have shown that they are effective and safe as treatments for tissue regeneration. Importantly, immunoregulatory capacity has been observed in all of these populations; however, this function may vary among the different types of MSCs. Since this property is of clinical interest for cell therapy protocols, it is relevant to analyze the differences in immunoregulatory capacity, as well as the mechanisms used by each type of MSC. Interestingly, D-MSCs are the most suitable source for regenerating mineralized tissues in the oral region. Furthermore, the clinical potential of D-MSCs is supported due to their adequate capacity for proliferation, migration, and differentiation. There is also evidence for their potential application in protocols against autoimmune diseases and other inflammatory conditions due to their immunosuppressive capacity. Therefore, in this review, the immunoregulatory mechanisms identified at the preclinical level in combination with the different types of MSCs found in dental tissues are described, in addition to a description of the clinical trials in which MSCs from these sources have been applied.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in the physiology and homeostasis of the hematopoietic system. Because MSCs generate most of the stromal cells present in the bone marrow (BM), ...form part of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche, and produce various molecules regulating hematopoiesis, their hematopoiesis-supporting capacity has been demonstrated. In the last decade, BM-MSCs have been proposed to be useful in some ex vivo protocols for HSC expansion, with the aim of expanding their numbers for transplant purposes (HSC transplant, HSCT). Furthermore, application of MSCs has been proposed as an adjuvant cellular therapy for promoting rapid hematopoietic recovery in HSCT patients. Although the MSCs used in preliminary clinical trials have come from the BM, isolation of MSCs from far more accessible sources such as neonatal tissues has now been achieved, and these cells have been found to possess similar biological characteristics to those isolated from the BM. Therefore, such tissues are now considered as a potential alternative source of MSCs for clinical applications. In this review, we discuss current knowledge regarding the biological characteristics of MSCs as related to their capacity to support the formation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. We also describe MSC manipulation for ex vivo HSC expansion protocols used for transplants and their clinical relevance for hematopoietic recovery in HSCT patients.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is an important preservative commonly used during winemaking. High concentrations of SO2 binding wine carbonyls limit sulfite efficacy resulting in higher total SO2 additions, ...which may exceed SO2 limits permitted by law and pose health risks for sensitive consumers. Major SO2 binding compounds (acetaldehyde, pyruvate, α-ketoglutaric acid, galacturonic acid, glucose and acetoin) were quantified in 237 red and white table wines by HPLC with pre-column derivatization to 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. Average concentrations of SO2 binders in red and white wines (mean ± SE) were: acetaldehyde (red, 25 ± 3 mg/l; white, 40 ± 3 mg/l), pyruvic acid (red, 14 ± 2 mg/l; white, 25 ± 2 mg/l), α-ketoglutaric acid (red, 74 ± 4 mg/l; white, 31 ± 3 mg/l), galacturonic acids (red, 810 ± 51 mg/l; white, 267 ± 13 mg/l), glucose (red, 1400 ± 770 mg/l; white, 4750 ± 648 mg/l) and acetoin (red, 11 ± 1 mg/l; white, 10 ± 1 mg/l). Overall, acetaldehyde was identified as the most important SO2 binder. Acetaldehyde formation from the involuntary oxidation of ethanol during the post-fermentation stages likely is responsible for the large differences in acetaldehyde concentrations in products from different wineries and represents the most efficient target for efforts directed at reducing SO2 binders. Post-fermentation wine handling and bottling were identified as critical control points for the formation of acetaldehyde.
► An ultra high pressure HPLC method was used to quantify SO2 binding carbonyls in over 200 red and white cool climate table wines. ► Acetaldehyde, pyruvic acid and α-ketoglutaric acid caused 72, 17 and 8% of the bound SO2 in white wines, respectively. ► Acetaldehyde, pyruvic acid and α-ketoglutaric acid caused 55, 12 and 23% of the bound SO2 in red, respectively. ► The work provides frequency and winery-specific analyses to support regulatory and enological decisions. ► Critical control points for the formation of acetaldehyde in post-fermentative handling were identified.
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