Diverse Defense Research Articles

Data modeling versus simulation modeling in the big data era: case study of a greenhouse control system

Recently, big data has received greater attention in diverse research fields, including medicine, science, engineering, management, defense, politics, and others. Such research uses big data to predict target systems, thereby constructing a model of the system in two ways: data modeling and simulation modeling. Data modeling is a method in which a model represents correlation relationships between one set of data and the other set of data. On the other hand, physics-based simulation modeling (or simply simulation modeling) is a more classical, but more powerful, method in which a model represents causal relationships between a set of controlled inputs and corresponding outputs. This paper (i) clarifies the difference between the two modeling approaches, (ii) explains their advantages and limitations and compares each characteristic, and (iii) presents a complementary cooperation modeling approach. Then, we apply the proposed modeling to develop a greenhouse control system in the real world. Finally, we expect that this modeling approach will be an alternative modeling approach in the big data era.

Identification of CkSNAP33, a gene encoding synaptosomal-associated protein from Cynanchum komarovii, that enhances Arabidopsis resistance to Verticillium dahliae.

SNARE proteins are essential to vesicle trafficking and membrane fusion in eukaryotic cells. In addition, the SNARE-mediated secretory pathway can deliver diverse defense products to infection sites during exocytosis-associated immune responses in plants. In this study, a novel gene (CkSNAP33) encoding a synaptosomal-associated protein was isolated from Cynanchum komarovii and characterized. CkSNAP33 contains Qb- and Qc-SNARE domains in the N- and C-terminal regions, respectively, and shares high sequence identity with AtSNAP33 from Arabidopsis. CkSNAP33 expression was induced by H2O2, salicylic acid (SA), Verticillium dahliae, and wounding. Arabidopsis lines overexpressing CkSNAP33 had longer primary roots and larger seedlings than the wild type (WT). Transgenic Arabidopsis lines showed significantly enhanced resistance to V. dahliae, and displayed reductions in disease index and fungal biomass, and also showed elevated expression of PR1 and PR5. The leaves of transgenic plants infected with V. dahliae showed strong callose deposition and cell death that hindered the penetration and spread of the fungus at the infection site. Taken together, these results suggest that CkSNAP33 is involved in the defense response against V. dahliae and enhanced disease resistance in Arabidopsis.

Sources of variation in foliar secondary chemistry in a tropical forest tree community.

Specialist herbivores and pathogens could induce negative conspecific density dependence among their hosts and thereby contribute to the diversity of plant communities. A small number of hyperdiverse genera comprise a large portion of tree diversity in tropical forests. These closely related congeners are likely to share natural enemies. Diverse defenses could still allow congeners to partition niche space defined by natural enemies, but interspecific differences in defenses would have to exceed intraspecific variation in defenses. We ask whether interspecific variation in secondary chemistry exceeds intraspecific variation for species from four hyperdiverse tropical tree genera. We used novel methods to quantify chemical structural similarity for all compounds present in methanol extracts of leaf tissue. We sought to maximize intraspecific variation by selecting conspecific leaves from different ontogenetic stages (expanding immature vs. fully hardened mature), different light environments (deep understory shade vs. large forest gaps), and different seasons (dry vs. wet). Chemical structural similarity differed with ontogeny, light environment, and season, but interspecific differences including those among congeneric species were much larger. Our results suggest that species differences in secondary chemistry are large relative to within-species variation, perhaps sufficiently large to permit niche segregation among congeneric tree species based on chemical defenses.

The impact of pre-restoration land-use and disturbance on sediment structure, hydrology and the sediment geochemical environment in restored saltmarshes

Saltmarshes are being lost or degraded as a result of human activity resulting in loss of critical ecosystem services including the provision of wild species diversity, water quality regulation and flood regulation. To compensate, saltmarshes are being restored or re-created, usually driven by legislative requirements for increased habitat diversity, flood regulation and sustainable coastal defense. Yet, there is increasing evidence that restoration may not deliver anticipated ecosystem services; this is frequently attributed to poor drainage and sediment anoxia. However, physical sediment characteristics, hydrology and the sediment geochemical environment are rarely examined in restoration schemes, despite such factors being critical for plant succession.This study presents the novel integration of 3D-computed X-ray microtomography to quantify sediment structure and porosity, with water level and geochemical data to understand the impact of pre-restoration land use and disturbance on the structure and functioning of restored saltmarshes. The study combines a broad-scale investigation of physical sediment characteristics in nine de-embanked saltmarshes across SE England, with an intensive study at one site examining water levels, sediment structure and the sediment geochemical environment.De-embankment does not restore the hydrological regime, or the physical/chemical framework in the saltmarshes and evidence of disturbance includes a reduction in microporosity, pore connectivity and water storage capacity, a lack of connectivity between the sub-surface environment and overlying floodwaters, and impeded sub-surface water flow and drainage. This has significant consequences for the sediment geochemical environment. This disturbance is evident for at least two decades following restoration and is likely to be irreversible. It has important implications for plant establishment in particular, ecosystem services including flood regulation, nutrient cycling and wild species diversity and for future restoration design.

The Politics of Playing Along: Radio and Regulation in Democratic Europe

The loss of localism has been a common trend in most radio markets in Europe and the United States. Deregulation of ownership led to a concentration phenomenon that has affected local radios in several western democracies. New forms of regulation have been considered as possible ways to stop the erosion of localism by applying rules to markets in the defense of diversity, pluralism, and the local dimension. This article analyses the local radio market in Portugal, by assessing the changes in the legislation and by examining the regulatory action that can, according to its remit, act preventively to avoid market forces to harm these principles.

Optimization of Western blotting analysis for the isolation and detection of membrane xenobiotic transporter ABCG2.

All organisms are exposed to numerous stress factors, which include harmful xenobiotics. The diversity of these compounds is enormous, thus in the course of evolution diverse biological defense mechanisms at various levels of organization have developed. One of them engages an evolutionarily conserved family of transporters from the ABC superfamily, found in most species - from bacteria to humans. An important example of such a transporter is the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2), a typical integral membrane protein. It plays a key role in the absorption, distribution and elimination of a wide variety of xenobiotics, including drugs used in chemotherapy, and is involved in multidrug resistance. It also protects against phototoxic chlorophyll derivatives of dietary origin. BCRP is a hemitransporter which consists of one transmembrane domain, made of six alpha-helices forming a characteristic pore structure, and one ATP-binding domain, which provides the energy from ATP hydrolysis, required for active transport of the substrates. The isolation of BCRP is still not an easy task, because its insolubility in water and the presence of membrane rafts pose serious methodological and technical challenges during the purification. The aim of this study was to optimize the methods for detection and isolation of BCRP-enriched fractions obtained from animal tissue samples. In this report we describe an optimization of isolation of a BCRP-enriched membrane fraction, which is suitable for further protein quantitative and qualitative analysis using the molecular biology tools.

Plant Defense Response to Abiotic Stress via Abscisic Acid Signaling Pathway

Plants are exposed to stresses such as pathogens, drought, high salt and temperature stress, and have evolved and developed diverse and sophisticated defense mechanisms to protect themselves from these stresses. Many hormones are involved in the metabolism of plants and some are known to affect the control of plant defense mechanisms against pathogen infection and environmental stress. In biotic and abiotic stress responses, abscisic acid (ABA) regulates key metabolic pathways. In abiotic stress conditions, plants induce ABA biosynthesis, which activate defense response at the cellular level, such as expression of stress-related genes and stomatal closure. Moreover, the molecular components related to ABA signal transduction have been identified and complex networks of interactions are being analyzed in detail. In this review, I will describe the ABA signal transduction pathway from the ABA receptor to the ion channel and provide basic information on the current understanding of the plant defense response to abiotic stress via the ABA signal transduction pathway.

Role of hydrogen sulfide in the methyl jasmonate response to cadmium stress in foxtail millet.

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA), a vital cellular regulator, mediates diverse developmental processes and defense responses against environmental stresse. Recently, a novel gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), was found to have similar functions, but the interactions between H2S and MeJA in the acquisition of cadmium (Cd) tolerance have not been reported. Treating foxtail millet with 1 microM MeJA not only enhanced Cd tolerance and alleviated growth inhibitions but also decreased the contents of hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and Cd in seedlings under 200 microM of Cd stress. Exogenous application of MeJA inhibited the transcript levels of the Natural Resistance-Associated Macrophage Protein (NRAMP1 and NRAMP6) and intensified Cd-induced expression of the homeostasis-related genes (MTP1, MTP12, CAX2 and ZIP4, besides HMA3). In addition, treatment with MeJA induced the production of endogenous H2S. Fumigation with sodium hydrosulfide (H2S donor) significantly enhanced MeJA-induced Cd tolerance, but this ability was weakened when H2S biosynthesis was inhibited with hydroxylamine. These results suggest that pretreatment with MeJA alleviated Cd stress and that this improvement was mediated by H2S in foxtail millet.

Ultra broadband mid-IR supercontinuum generation in Ge11.5As24Se64.5 based chalcogenide graded-index photonic crystal fiber: design and analysis.

In this paper, we report design and numerical analysis of a Ge11.5As24Se64.5 based chalcogenide glass graded-index photonic crystal fiber structure for mid-IR ultra broadband supercontinuum generation. The proposed dispersion engineered photonic crystal fiber offers a zero dispersion wavelength at a pump wavelength of 2.8 μm. To simulate the supercontinuum generation spectrum, the orders of dispersion coefficient up to the ninth order are considered. Simulated results indicate that an ultra broadband supercontinuum spectrum spanning 1-16 μm has been achieved using a 10 mm long photonic crystal fiber structure pumped with 50 fs secant hyperbolic pulses of 3 kW at a -30 dB spectral intensity level. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such broad supercontinuum spectrum has been reported. This ultra broadband mid-IR supercontinuum spectrum is applicable in many diverse fields, including medical, defense, metrology, and spectroscopy.

Antropologia comprometida, Antropologias de Orientação Pública e descolonialidade. Desafios etnográficos e descolonização das metodologias .

RESUMO: As Antropologias comprometidas têm vindo a tecer uma série de tendências e de novas perspetivas teórico-metodológicas que contribuem para um debate aberto sobre o papel da antropologia perante os movimentos sociais e a defesa da diversidade cultural na globalização. Entre estas tendências, a antropologia de orientação pública, entendida como uma pluralidade, articula-se quer a partir do compromisso dos movimentos sociais nas lutas políticas contemporâneas perante as tendências etnocidas da globalização, quer a partir de uma linha descolonial que coloca a necessidade ineludível de descolonizar as metodologias etnográficas e a produção antropológica, assim como o compromisso de transferir e partilhar com os sujeitos que constroem o conhecimento antropológico. Neste artigo, mostramos as principais tendências do debate entre os diferentes autores, e as propostas para superar as tensões e cismas entre estas tendências comprometidas, para a construção de uma Antropologia com maiúscula e descolonizada, a partir do diálogo da diversidade de antropologias do mundo, que, de forma sempre situada, produzem conhecimento face ao autismo do elitismo científico, que tende a esterilizar este campo do conhecimento.

Differential apple transcriptomic responses to Penicillium expansum (pathogen) and Penicillium digitatum (non-host pathogen) infection

Penicillium expansum is the causal agent of blue mould of pome fruits and is responsible for important economical losses during postharvest handling in all producing countries. Although control of this pathogen can be achieved by using chemical fungicides, the appearance of resistant strains and increasing public concern about the use of chemicals in food products have motivated the study of host-pathogen interactions. To develop a better understanding of disease resistance mechanisms in apples, a comprehensive transcriptional analysis of apple gene expression in response to a compatible (P. expansum) and non-host (Penicillium digitatum) pathogen was conducted using an apple microarray of approximately 40,000 probes. The obtained data provide further evidence that apples inoculated with P. expansum exhibit significant upregulation of defense-related genes and genes involved in detoxification of reactive oxygen species. In contrast, apples inoculated with P. digitatum, a non-host pathogen, exhibited upregulation of genes involved in phenylpropanoid metabolism. To confirm the accuracy of the expression profiles obtained with the microarray, reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was conducted for four genes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway (PAL1, PAL2, COMT2 and POX64). Expression data were obtained for different time points after inoculation and fruit maturity stages. The highest expression level of the phenylpropanoid genes was detected 48 h after inoculation with P. expansum in both immature and mature apples. Collectively, the results of the present study support the hypothesis that apples exhibit a more complex and diverse defense response to the compatible pathogen than to the non-host pathogen. P. expansum, however, is able to overcome these defenses and successfully infect apples.

Evolution and Extinction of Land Snails on Oceanic Islands

Nonmarine molluscs are the major animal group with the greatest number of recorded extinctions due to anthropogenic impacts, and that number is certainly a serious underestimate. Land snails, particularly endemic land snails of oceanic islands, are the group of molluscs that have sustained the most extinctions. Understanding their ecology and the evolutionary processes that have led to their extreme vulnerability is crucial if we are to be able to conserve these diverse and important species. Oceanic island snails tend to have low α-diversity and high β-diversity, and divergence of habitat use among related species is known to occur in some radiations of land snails on oceanic islands. Processes of speciation and ecological interaction are possible major drivers of these patterns. The ecological opportunities available at the initial stage of insular evolution and the scarcity of effective predators may have led to divergence of habitat use and high β-diversity in oceanic island snails. Fewer and less diverse predators on oceanic islands lead to the evolution of fewer and less diverse defense traits in oceanic island snails, which results in their high vulnerability to non-native predators. High β-diversity of oceanic island snails also results in great vulnerability to habitat loss. Accordingly, the high susceptibility of oceanic island snails to extinction reflects their evolutionary history.

Cell surface cathepsin G activity differs between human natural killer cell subsets

Natural killer (NK) cells are critical in diverse defense mechanisms, including elimination of viral infected cells and destruction of tumor cells. NK cells are characterized by the ability to initiate apoptosis in target cells when their cell surface major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) repertoire is missing. On the other hand, NK cells are not activated when MHC I or non-classical MHC molecules are found on the respective cells. It was demonstrated that cathepsin G (CatG) binds to the cell surface of NK cells; however, the distribution of this protease on the cell surface of NK cell subsets has not been identified. Here, we show that CatG cell surface level differs between NK cell subsets. CatG was determined on the protein- and activity level (activity-based probe MARS116) by using flow cytometry. Thus, MARS116 is a novel reporter of cell surface CatG activity and can be used to differentiate between distinct NK cell subsets.

DRPPP: A machine learning based tool for prediction of disease resistance proteins in plants

Plant disease outbreak is increasing rapidly around the globe and is a major cause for crop loss worldwide. Plants, in turn, have developed diverse defense mechanisms to identify and evade different pathogenic microorganisms. Early identification of plant disease resistance genes (R genes) can be exploited for crop improvement programs. The present prediction methods are either based on sequence similarity/domain-based methods or electronically annotated sequences, which might miss existing unrecognized proteins or low similarity proteins. Therefore, there is an urgent need to devise a novel machine learning technique to address this problem.In the current study, a SVM-based tool was developed for prediction of disease resistance proteins in plants. All known disease resistance (R) proteins (112) were taken as a positive set, whereas manually curated negative dataset consisted of 119 non-R proteins. Feature extraction generated 10,270 features using 16 different methods. The ten-fold cross validation was performed to optimize SVM parameters using radial basis function. The model was derived using libSVM and achieved an overall accuracy of 91.11% on the test dataset. The tool was found to be robust and can be used for high-throughput datasets. The current study provides instant identification of R proteins using machine learning approach, in addition to the similarity or domain prediction methods.

Evolution of the immune system influences speciation rates in teleost fishes

Teleost fishes constitute the most species-rich vertebrate clade and exhibit extensive genetic and phenotypic variation, including diverse immune defense strategies. The genomic basis of a particularly aberrant strategy is exemplified by Atlantic cod, in which a loss of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II functionality coincides with a marked expansion of MHC I genes. Through low-coverage genome sequencing (9-39×), assembly and comparative analyses for 66 teleost species, we show here that MHC II is missing in the entire Gadiformes lineage and thus was lost once in their common ancestor. In contrast, we find that MHC I gene expansions have occurred multiple times, both inside and outside this clade. Moreover, we identify an association between high MHC I copy number and elevated speciation rates using trait-dependent diversification models. Our results extend current understanding of the plasticity of the adaptive immune system and suggest an important role for immune-related genes in animal diversification.

The Wisdom of the Many in Global Governance: An Epistemic-Democratic Defense of Diversity and Inclusion

A growing body of literature highlights moral reasons for embracing global democracy. This literature justifies democracy on the grounds of its intrinsic value. But democracy also has instrumental value: the rule of the many is epistemically superior to the rule of one or the rule of the few. I draw on the tradition of epistemic democracy to develop an instrumentalist justification for democratizing global governance. I develop an epistemic-democratic framework for evaluating political institutions—one composed of three principles. The likelihood of making correct decisions within institutions of global governance increases when those institutions maximize (1) human development and capacity for participation; (2) their internal cognitive diversity; and (3) public opportunities for sharing objective and subjective knowledge. Applying this framework to global governance produces a better understanding of the nature and extent of its “democratic deficit,” as well as the actions required to address this deficit.

Recuperação Histórica do Conceito de Emoção em Vigotski: contribuição para a tese da indissociabilidade da emoção na atividade humana.

ResumoConsiderando a emergência de publicações em periódicos no campo da “ciência afetiva” (Gross e Barrett, 2013) e sendo este um desafio aos estudos educacionais (Daniels, 2011) e organizacionais (Fineman, 2001), este trabalho consiste na primeira etapa da aproximação do conceito de emoção junto à Linha de Pesquisa Prática, Subjetividade e Organizações/ CAPES/ BRASIL e junto ao projeto de pesquisa Estudo de Práticas Educacionais: na promoção do desenvolvimento humano e na defesa da diversidade inserido na Linha Cognição, Aprendizagem e Desenvolvimento Humano/ CAPES/ BRASIL. Trata-se de estabelecer o conceito de emoção na atividade a partir do referencial dos estudos baseados na prática (Nicolini, 2013) e dos teóricos que se fundamentam em uma perspectiva histórico-cultural da subjetividade (Vigotski, 1934/1993, 1935/1997, 1932/1999; Lane, 1995; Sawaia, 1987; Rey, 2004/2013). Trata-se, assim, de um estudo teórico com objetivo de recuperar a concepção de emoção em Vigotski. Foram selecionadas para análise as últimas obras de Vigotski (1932/1999, 1934/1993, 1935/1997) que tratam do tema. O estudo concluiu que a dimensão da emoção humana na atividade, na perspectiva da psicologia concreta, deve ser, em primeiro lugar, considerada como uma categoria social, histórica e ideológica e não natural e biológica.AbstractConsidering the emergence of publications in journals in the field of "affective science" (Gross and Barrett, 2013) and being this a challenge to educational (Daniels,2011) and organizational (Fineman, 2001) studies, this work is the first step to conect the concept of emotion to the Practice, Subjectivity and Organizations / CAPES / BRAZIL line of research and to the Study of Educational Practices: the promotion of human development and the defense of diversity of Cognition, Learning and human development Line of Research/ CAPES / BRAZIL research project. This is to establish the concept of emotion in the activity referenced by the studies based on practice (Nicolini, 2013) and by the works of theorists that are based on a historical and cultural perspective of subjectivity (Vigotski, 1934/1993, 1935/1997, 1932/1999; Lane, 1995; Sawaia, 1987; Rey, 2004/2013). It is thus a theoretical study that aims to recover the concept of emotion in Vigotski. Vigotski's latest works were selected (1932/1999, 1934/1993, 1935/1997) for this analysis. This study has concluded that the scale of human emotion in the activity, with a view to concrete psychology, must first be considered as a social, historical and ideological category and not natural and biological.

Analysis of defence systems and a conjugative IncP-1 plasmid in the marine polyaromatic hydrocarbons-degrading bacterium Cycloclasticus sp. 78-ME.

Marine prokaryotes have evolved a broad repertoire of defence systems to protect their genomes from lateral gene transfer including innate or acquired immune systems and infection-induced programmed cell suicide and dormancy. Here we report on the analysis of multiple defence systems present in the genome of the strain Cycloclasticus sp. 78-ME isolated from petroleum deposits of the tanker 'Amoco Milford Haven'. Cycloclasticus are ubiquitous bacteria globally important in polyaromatic hydrocarbons degradation in marine environments. Two 'defence islands' were identified in 78-ME genome: the first harbouring CRISPR-Cas with toxin-antitoxin system, while the second was composed by an array of genes for toxin-antitoxin and restriction-modification proteins. Among all identified spacers of CRISPR-Cas system only seven spacers match sequences of phages and plasmids. Furthermore, a conjugative plasmid p7ME01, which belongs to a new IncP-1θ ancestral archetype without any accessory mobile elements was found in 78-ME. Our results provide the context to the co-occurrence of diverse defence mechanisms in the genome of Cycloclasticus sp. 78-ME, which protect the genome of this highly specialized PAH-degrader. This study contributes to the further understanding of complex networks established in petroleum-based microbial communities.

Multiparametric detection of autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease with respect to disease manifestations, disease progression and treatment response. Therefore, strategies to identify biomarkers that help distinguishing SLE subgroups are a major focus of biomarker research. We reasoned that a multiparametric autoantibody profiling approach combined with data mining tools could be applied to identify SLE patient clusters. We used a bead-based array containing 86 antigens including diverse nuclear and immune defense pathway proteins. Sixty-four autoantibodies were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in SLE (n = 69) compared to healthy controls (HC, n = 59). Using binary cut-off thresholds (95% quantile of HC), hierarchical clustering of SLE patients yields five clusters, which differ qualitatively and in their total number of autoantibodies. In two patient clusters the overall accumulated autoantibody reactivity of all antigens tested was 31% and 48%, respectively. We observed a positive association between the autoantibody signature present in these two patient clusters and the clinical manifestation of glomerulonephritis (GLMN). In addition, groups of autoantibodies directed against distinct intracellular compartments and/or biological motifs characterize the different SLE subgroups. Our findings highlight the relevant potential of multiparametric autoantibody detection and may contribute to a deeper understanding of the clinical and serological diversity of SLE.

Balloon‐Embedded Sensors Withstanding Extreme Multiaxial Stretching and Global Bending Mechanical Stress: Towards Environmental and Security Monitoring

Balloon‐embedded stretchable sensors, undergoing a simultaneous equal‐multiaxial stretching along global bending motion, have been characterized and tested towards environmental and security monitoring missions. Stress‐enduring inks are printed on the curvilinear surface of conventional rubber balloons and their resilience to extreme mechanical deformations, associated with repeated inflation and deflation cycles, is investigated. Unlike early studies of mechanical deformed electrochemical devices—performed with linear stretching or bending—the present balloon‐embedded sensors undergo simultaneous multidimensional strains without any alteration of its electrochemical properties. Careful attention is given to the elastomeric, electrical, and electrochemical properties of the new expandable composite inks for addressing the extreme demands of the inflated spherical dynamic balloon substrate. The influence of the balloon inflation and corresponding multiaxial mechanical stress upon the electrochemical behavior is modeled analytically. The electrochemical detection of relevant military and homemade explosives in liquid and vapor phases is used to demonstrate the functionality and potential of the new balloon sensor system to diverse environmental and defense missions. Negligible changes in the response to explosive compounds are observed following multiple repeated inflation and deflation cycles, involving over 400% increase of the balloon area.