bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A portable, multiprocess, track‐based robot for in situ work on hydropower equipment
Authors: Hazel Bruce , Côté Jean , Laroche Yvan , Mongenot Patrick 
Published: December 2011

AbstractIn the hydropower industry, in situ maintenance work of turbine runners to address issues such as cavitation damage and cracking is mainly performed manually. Alternatively, the entire turbine requires disassembly and is repaired off site at greater cost. This paper presents the development and fundamentals of robotic technology designed to perform work in situ on hydroelectric equipment. A second paper surveys field implementations carried out with the technology over the past 15 years. A new portable manipulator was designed with unique track‐based kinematics well suited to accessing turbine blades in a confined space. The robot is driven by position‐controlled stepper motors but relies on a hybrid force/position controller to perform processes in contact with the work piece, such as grinding. A major obstacle for robotic repair is excessive programming time. As most work is done on curved surfaces, the robot relies on a model of curvilinear space for trajectory generation. The robot is coupled to an accurate measurement system to scan surface topography in three dimensions. It has been equipped to perform several processes, such as welding and grinding, to facilitate the manufacture and maintenance of hydropower equipment. Despite the robot's inaccuracy and flexibility, surface profiles may be reconstructed with great accuracy through the use of a controlled metal removal rate strategy that relies on an innovative dynamic model of the grinding process. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
TAO2000 V2 computer‐assisted force feedback telemanipulators used as maintenance and production tools at the AREVA NC–La Hague fuel recycling plant
Authors: Geffard Franck , Garrec Philippe , Piolain Gérard , Brudieu Marie‐Anne , Thro Jean‐François , Coudray Alain , Lelann Eric 
Published: December 2011

AbstractDuring a 15‐year joint research program, French Atomic Energy Agency Interactive Robotics Laboratory (CEA LIST) and AREVA have developed several remote operation devices, also called telerobots. Some of them are now commonly used for maintenance operations at the AREVA NC (Nuclear Cycle)–La Hague reprocessing plant. Since the first maintenance operation in 2005, several other successful interventions have been realized using the industrial MA23/RX170 telemanipulation system. Moreover, since 2010, the through‐the‐wall tele‐ robot named MT200 TAO based on the slave arm of the MSM MT200 (La CalhèneTM), has been evaluated in an active production cell at the AREVA NC–La Hague fuel recycling plant. Although these evaluations are ongoing, the positive results obtained have led to an update and industrialization program. All these developments are based on the same generic control platform, called TAO2000 V2. TAO2000 V2 is the second release of the CEA LIST core software platform dedicated to computer aided force‐feedback teleoperation (TAO is the French acronym for computer aided teleoperation). This paper presents all these developments resulting from the joint research program CEA LIST/AREVA. The TAO2000 V2 controller is first detailed, and then two maintenance operations using the industrial robot RX170 are presented: the removal of the nuclear fuel dissolver wheel rollers and the cleanup of the dissolver wheel interbucket spaces. Finally, the new MT200 TAO system and its evaluations at the AREVA NC–La Hague facilities are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Field repair and construction of large hydropower equipment with a portable robot
Authors: Hazel Bruce , Côté Jean , Laroche Yvan , Mongenot Patrick 
Published: December 2011

AbstractField repair work on large hydropower equipment is rarely automated due to the high complexity of the task. Generally, the work is done manually or the equipment is dismantled and repaired off site at greatly added cost and time. This paper surveys work carried out with the SCOMPI robot in the field on large hydropower equipment. SCOMPI is a small, portable, multiprocess, track‐based robot. This paper is the continuation of another paper in which the fundamentals of the robot technology are described in greater detail. Over the past 15 years, SCOMPIs have been extensively employed for a variety of field applications on equipment such as turbines, head gates, spillway gates, and penstocks. Initially designed to repair cavitation damage to turbines, the robots are now applied to reinforce turbines or to improve their performance in terms of efficiency. More recently, they have been used for the refurbishment of gates and for the construction of penstocks. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Design considerations of robotic system for cleaning and inspection of large‐diameter sewers
Authors: Walter Christoph , Saenz José , Elkmann Norbert , Althoff Heiko , Kutzner Sven , Stuerze Thomas 
Published: December 2011

AbstractOn behalf of the Emschergenossenschaft, a public wastewater utility based in Essen, Germany, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) in Magdeburg has developed a novel robotic system, the damage measuring and cleaning system (SVM‐RS), for cleaning and inspecting large‐diameter sewers that are partially filled and in normal operation. The SVM‐RS was specifically designed and built for use in the Emscher sewer system and employs a multisensor approach for a high‐resolution inspection of the pipe, both above and below the water. Furthermore, robotics technologies are used in combination with traditional high‐pressure cleaning techniques to achieve high‐quality cleaning results. In addition to the hardware design, a number of software developments in the areas of software architecture, image processing, and data fusion for understanding and presenting the data, as well as teleoperation techniques, have been carried out in the course of the project. Here automatic detection of damage as well as other features present in the environment has proven to be of importance. Design considerations and solutions for individual components of the cleaning and inspection are described within the context of the whole system, and the results of specific tests and experiments are presented. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Highly compact robots for inspection of power plants
Authors: Caprari Gilles , Breitenmoser Andreas , Fischer Wolfgang , Hürzeler Christoph , Tâche Fabien , Siegwart Roland , Nguyen Olivier , Moser Roland , Schoeneich Patrick , Mondada Francesco 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis paper reports on a 3‐year applied research project dealing with several inspection scenarios of power plants and resulting in many robot prototypes and three main achievements. The project is a common effort between industry and university, including ALSTOM and researchers from the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The goal is to generate knowledge and transfer technology to industry in the field of robot inspection. The method is to collect commercial scenarios, study them, make some exploratory prototypes, select the best scenarios, and develop enhanced prototypes for the most promising applications. The three most evolved robots are MagneBike for steam chest, AirGapCrawler for generators, and Tubulo for boiler tubes. The supporting technologies that have been developed are adhesion, locomotion, system integration, and localization. The paper describes the scenarios handled, the scientific knowledge generated, and the three best robotic systems. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis, Characterization, DNA‐binding Properties, and ­Antioxidant Activity of a Copper(II) Complex with 1, 3‐Bis­(1‐allaylbenzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐2‐oxopropane
Authors: Wu Huilu , Kou Fan , Jia Fei , Liu Bin , Yuan Jingkun , Bai Ying 
Published: December 2011

AbstractA new complex of copper(II) picrate (pic) with 1, 3‐bis(1‐allaylbenzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐2‐oxopropane (aobb), with the composition [Cu(aobb)2](pic)2, was synthesized and characterized. The crystal structure of the copper(II) complex revealed that the coordination environment around the central copper(II) atom is a distorted octahedral arrangement. Electronic absorption spectroscopy, ethidium bromide displacement experiments and viscosity measurements indicate that the ligand and the CuII complex can strongly bind to calf thymus DNA, presumably by an intercalation mechanism. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the CuII complex was determined by superoxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging method in vitro, which indicate that the CuII complex has the activity to suppress OH· and O2·–.
The (Ir)relevance of the Office of the Chair of the African Union Commission: Analysing the Prospects for Change
Authors: Fagbayibo Babatunde 
Published: December 2011

AbstractWithin the context of the current debate on the institutional transformation of the African Union (AU), this article examines the position of the chairperson of the AU Commission (Commission). The importance of the Commission chairperson cannot be over-emphasized. As the head of the “engine room” of the AU, it is pertinent that s/he is given the requisite powers to oversee the proper functioning of the secretariat, which would in turn propel the progressive development of African integration. This article argues that the current intergovernmental nature of the AU, where real decision making powers are held by member states, curtails the Commission chairperson from playing a meaningful role in the integration process. It highlights certain fundamental factors for ensuring the relevance of the chairperson. These include the institutional transformation of the AU, a review of the eligibility requirements for the Commission chairperson, a broad-based election process and hybridized functions.
Is children's acquisition of the passive a staged process? Evidence from six- and nine-year-olds' production of passives
Authors: MESSENGER KATHERINE , BRANIGAN HOLLY P. , McLEAN JANET F. 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTWe report a syntactic priming experiment that examined whether children's acquisition of the passive is a staged process, with acquisition of constituent structure preceding acquisition of thematic role mappings. Six-year-olds and nine-year-olds described transitive actions after hearing active and passive prime descriptions involving the same or different thematic roles. Both groups showed a strong tendency to reuse in their own description the syntactic structure they had just heard, including well-formed passives after passive primes, irrespective of whether thematic roles were repeated between prime and target. However, following passive primes, six-year-olds but not nine-year-olds also produced reversed passives, with well-formed constituent structure but incorrect thematic role mappings. These results suggest that by six, children have mastered the constituent structure of the passive; however, they have not yet mastered the non-canonical thematic role mapping. By nine, children have mastered both the syntactic and thematic dimensions of this structure.
Rediscovery of the Timor Bush Warbler Locustella timorensis on Alor and Timor, Wallacea: clarifying taxonomic affinities, defining habitat and survey recommendations
Authors: TRAINOR COLIN R. , VERBELEN PHILIPPE , HOSTE SERGE 
Published: December 2011

SummaryThe Timor Bush Warbler Locustella timorensis was first collected by Georg Stein on Mount Mutis, West Timor in 1932, but there have been no confirmed field observations since. Here we report on the discovery of a new population of bush warbler on Alor (9 September 2009), which prompted a search for, and subsequent rediscovery, of the nominate Timor Bush Warbler (20 December 2009) in Timor-Leste. We also undertook the first bush warbler searches in the mountains on Atauro Island, and the first ornithological exploration of the mountains of Pantar and Wetar islands. On Alor, at least 13 male bush warblers were heard singing from shrub and grass beneath woodland and forest edge at 859–1,250 m. On Timor, at least 40 males were heard during December, April and July from tall grassland below Mount Ramelau (1,720–2,100 m), Timor-Leste. The song structure of the Alor and Timor birds is similar, and close to Javan Bush Warbler L. montis of Java and Bali, as well as to recordings of Russet Bush Warbler L. mandelli of mainland Asia and Benguet Bush Warbler L. seebohmi from the Philippines. The song of the Alor bird is substantially higher pitched (mean min/max 3,233–4,980 kHz) than the Timor bird (2,928–4,761 kHz) and both are substantially higher pitched than Javan birds. Recordings of Russet Bush Warbler from mainland Asia are higher pitched than songs of all insular taxa, and the song of Benguet Bush Warbler is of a similar pitch to the Timor bird. Recent molecular studies have found that divergences between Javan Bush Warbler and the Russet Bush Warbler are slight, and the high degree of song similarity of the Alor and Timor populations to Javan Bush Warbler places them close to the Benguet Bush Warbler complex. The Timor Bush Warbler is recognised as ‘Near Threatened’ by IUCN, but this will require re-evaluation. On Alor, suitable habitat is extensive and under little threat, but grassland in the uplands of West and East Timor is intensively grazed and regularly burnt. Further field surveys are needed on both Timor and Alor to capture birds, clarify taxonomic relationships using molecular approaches, and further define habitat use and conservation status. Bush warblers were not recorded from Pantar, Atauro and Wetar islands.
Spline analysis of Holocene sediment magnetic records: Uncertainty estimates for field modeling
Authors: Panovska S. , Finlay C. C. , Donadini F. , Hirt A. M. 
Published: December 2011

Sediment and archeomagnetic data spanning the Holocene enable us to reconstruct the evolution of the geomagnetic field on time scales of centuries to millennia. In global field modeling the reliability of data is taken into account by weighting according to uncertainty estimates. Uncertainties in sediment magnetic records arise from (1) imperfections in the paleomagnetic recording processes, (2) coring and (sub) sampling methods, (3) adopted averaging procedures, and (4) uncertainties in the age‐depth models. We take a step toward improved uncertainty estimates by performing a comprehensive statistical analysis of the available global database of Holocene magnetic records. Smoothing spline models that capture the robust aspects of individual records are derived. This involves a cross‐validation approach, based on an absolute deviation measure of misfit, to determine the smoothing parameter for each spline model, together with the use of a minimum smoothing time derived from the sedimentation rate and assumed lock‐in depth. Departures from the spline models provide information concerning the random variability in each record. Temporal resolution analysis reveals that 50% of the records have smoothing times between 80 and 250 years. We also perform comparisons among the sediment magnetic records and archeomagnetic data, as well as with predictions from the global historical and archeomagnetic field models. Combining these approaches, we arrive at individual uncertainty estimates for each sediment record. These range from 2.5° to 11.2° (median: 5.9°; interquartile range: 5.4° to 7.2°) for inclination, 4.1° to 46.9° (median: 13.4°; interquartile range: 11.4° to 18.9°) for relative declination, and 0.59 to 1.32 (median: 0.93; interquartile range: 0.86 to 1.01) for standardized relative paleointensity. These values suggest that uncertainties may have been underestimated in previous studies. No compelling evidence for systematic inclination shallowing is obtained from the analysis of the available database of Holocene sediment magnetic records. The analysis highlights the importance of collecting oriented cores, publishing and archiving unprocessed raw paleosecular variation determinations, and presenting a detailed chronology so that changes in the sedimentation rate can be assessed. With regard to future field models, workers should consider rejection of anomalous cores through comparisons to other sources and ensure that realistically large uncertainties are allocated to high‐latitude declination records.
A Long-Term Analysis of the Moose Jaw Climate Station (4015322/4015320): Temporal Trends and Frequency Analyses for Temperatures, Precipitation, and Wind Speed
Authors: Rayne Sierra , Forest Kaya 
Published: December 2011

AbstractA long-term analysis of temporal trends and frequency analyses for temperatures (1913-2010), precipitation (1909-2010), and wind speed (1954-1996) was conducted on the Moose Jaw climate station in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada. Average annual and springtime temperatures are increasing over time, as are daily mean temperatures during March. Mean daily maximum temperatures are increasing on an annual basis and during the spring period, whereas mean daily minimum temperatures are increasing during February, March, August, and September, as well as on an annual basis and during spring and summer. There are significant positive time trends for growing degree days base 8C (GDD~8~) and 10C (GDD~10~). Rainfall has been increasing during March as well as during winter, and decreasing during October. Significant declines are occurring in the mean of homogeneous wind speeds during April, May, June, July, September, November, and December, as well as on an annual basis and during spring, summer, and autumn. Frequency distributions of monthly, seasonal, and annual climate variables were generated to facilitate more reliable risk analyses for agricultural activities and hydrologic modeling efforts.
The Virtual Fly Brain browser and query interface
Authors: Milyaev Nestor , Osumi-Sutherland David , Reeve Simon , Burton Nicholas , Baldock Richard A. , Armstrong J. Douglas 
Published: December 2011

Abstract
Motivation: Sources of neuroscience data in Drosophila are diverse and disparate making integrated search and retrieval difficult. A major obstacle to this is the lack of a comprehensive and logically structured anatomical framework and an intuitive interface.
Results: We present an online resource that provides a convenient way to study and query fly brain anatomy, expression and genetic data. We extended the newly developed BrainName nomenclature for the adult fly brain into a logically structured ontology that relates a comprehensive set of published neuron classes to the brain regions they innervate. The Virtual Fly Brain interface allows users to explore the structure of the Drosophila brain by browsing 3D images of a brain with subregions displayed as coloured overlays. An integrated query mechanism allows complex searches of underlying anatomy, cells, expression and other data from community databases.
Availability: Virtual Fly Brain is freely available online at www.virtualflybrain.org
Contact: jda@inf.ed.ac.uk
The role of miRNAs in complex formation and control
Authors: Goh Wilson Wen Bin , Oikawa Hirotaka , Sng Judy Chia Ghee , Sergot Marek , Wong Limsoon 
Published: December 2011

Abstract
Summary: microRibonucleic acid (miRNAs) are small regulatory molecules that act by mRNA degradation or via translational repression. Although many miRNAs are ubiquitously expressed, a small subset have differential expression patterns that may give rise to tissue-specific complexes.
Motivation: This work studies gene targeting patterns amongst miRNAs with differential expression profiles, and links this to control and regulation of protein complexes.
Results: We find that, when a pair of miRNAs are not expressed in the same tissues, there is a higher tendency for them to target the direct partners of the same hub proteins. At the same time, they also avoid targeting the same set of hub-spokes. Moreover, the complexes corresponding to these hub-spokes tend to be specific and nonoverlapping. This suggests that the effect of miRNAs on the formation of complexes is specific.
Contact: wongls@comp.nus.edu.sg
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
First Report of Powdery Mildew on Flamboyant Tree Caused by Erysiphe quercicola in Brazil
Authors: Dallagnol L. J. , de Castro F. R. , Frare G. , Camargo L. E. A. 
Published: December 2011

Flamboyant (Delonix regia) is an ornamental tree that is native to Madagascar and frequently used in gardens and parks worldwide. Powdery mildew was observed on flamboyant plants in the cities of Piracicaba and São Carlos (State of São Paulo, Brazil) during the springs of 2010 and 2011. All sampled plants (~15 plants) were affected by the disease. Affected plants had abundant, white powdery masses of conidia and mycelium on floral buds that is typical of powdery mildew, but these structures were not observed on leaves and petioles. Diseased buds were observed at all developmental stages. The fungus was identified as Erysiphe quercicola on the basis of scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy, and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Conidia were produced in short chains of four to five spores on erect conidiophores. Conidiophores were unbranched, cylindrical, 50 to 80 μm long (mean 68.8 ± 10.8 μm), composed of a cylindrical foot cell 25 to 40 μm long (mean 32.2 ± 4.9 μm), and one to two shorter cells. Conidia were ellipsoid-ovoid to subcylindrical, 22 to 37 μm long (mean 30.9 ± 4.4 μm), and 10 to 18 μm wide (mean 15.1 ± 2.8 μm). Germ tubes were produced apically and ended in a lobed appressorium. Colonizing hyphae also had a well-developed lobed appressorium. Chasmothecia were not observed on buds. DNA was extracted from conidia, conidiophores, and mycelium and used to amplify the ITS (ITS1-5.8s-ITS2) region using the ITS1 and ITS4 primers (2) and its sequence (612 nt) was deposited under Accession No. JQ034229 in the GenBank. Searches with the BLASTn algorithm revealed 100% similarity with E. quercicola from oak (Accession Nos. AB292693.1, AB292691.1, and AB292690.1) (1). To fulfill Koch's postulates, 10 detached young floral buds, 0.4 to 0.8 cm in diameter, were inoculated with five to eight conidia collected on floral buds using an eyelash brush. Inoculated buds were placed on moistened filter paper in petri dishes. The negative control consisted of noninoculated young floral buds. Inoculated and noninoculated buds were incubated in a growth chamber at 25°C and a 12-h photoperiod. Powdery mildew structures were observed 6 to 8 days after inoculation. To our knowledge, E. quercicola has not been reported previously as a pathogen of flamboyant tree since there is no record in the Erysipahales database ( http://erysiphales.wsu.edu/ ). Although the economic impact of the disease is limited, its incidence might induce the abortion of floral buds and accelerate the senescence of flowers, thus reducing the aesthetic value of the trees. References: (1) S. Takamatsu et al. Mycol Res. 111:809, 2007. (2) T. J. White et al. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.
HIV‐1, ubiquitin and ubiquitin‐like proteins: the dialectic interactions of a virus with a sophisticated network of post‐translational modifications
Authors: Biard‐Piechaczyk Martine , Borel Sophie , Espert Lucile , de Bettignies Geoffroy , Coux Olivier 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThe modification of intracellular proteins by ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin‐like (UbL) proteins is a central mechanism for regulating and fine‐tuning all cellular processes. Indeed, these modifications are widely used to control the stability, activity and localisation of many key proteins and, therefore, they are instrumental in regulating cellular functions as diverse as protein degradation, cell signalling, vesicle trafficking and immune response. It is thus no surprise that pathogens in general, and viruses in particular, have developed multiple strategies to either counteract or exploit the complex mechanisms mediated by the Ub and UbL protein conjugation pathways. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the intricate and conflicting relationships that intimately link HIV‐1 and these sophisticated systems of post‐translational modifications.