Case study on the maintenance of a construction monitoring using USN-based data acquisition.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the adoption of emerging ubiquitous sensor network (USN) technologies for instrumentation within a variety of sustainability systems. USN is emerging as a sensing paradigm that is being newly considered by the sustainability management field as an alternative to traditional tethered monitoring systems. Researchers have been discovering that USN is an exciting technology that should not be viewed simply as a substitute for traditional tethered monitoring systems. In this study, we investigate how a movement monitoring measurement system of a complex building is developed as a research environment for USN and related decision-supportive technologies. To address the apparent danger of building movement, agent-mediated communication concepts have been designed to autonomously manage large volumes of exchanged information. In this study, we additionally detail the design of the proposed system, including its principles, data processing algorithms, system architecture, and user interface specifics. Results of the test and case study demonstrate the effectiveness of the USN-based data acquisition system for real-time monitoring of movement operations.

Life comparative analysis of energy consumption and CO2 emissions of different building structural frame types.

The objective of this research is to quantitatively measure and compare the environmental load and construction cost of different structural frame types. Construction cost also accounts for the costs of CO2 emissions of input materials. The choice of structural frame type is a major consideration in construction, as this element represents about 33% of total building construction costs. In this research, four constructed buildings were analyzed, with these having either reinforced concrete (RC) or steel (S) structures. An input-output framework analysis was used to measure energy consumption and CO2 emissions of input materials for each structural frame type. In addition, the CO2 emissions cost was measured using the trading price of CO2 emissions on the International Commodity Exchange. This research revealed that both energy consumption and CO2 emissions were, on average, 26% lower with the RC structure than with the S structure, and the construction costs (including the CO2 emissions cost) of the RC structure were about 9.8% lower, compared to the S structure. This research provides insights through which the construction industry will be able to respond to the carbon market, which is expected to continue to grow in the future.

Commensal-derived metabolites govern Vibrio cholerae pathogenesis in host intestine.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that the commensal microbes act as a barrier against invading pathogens and enteric infections are the consequences of multi-layered interactions among commensals, pathogens, and the host intestinal tissue. However, it remains unclear how perturbations of the gut microbiota compromise host infection resistance, especially through changes at species and metabolite levels. RESULTS: Here, we illustrate how Bacteroides vulgatus, a dominant species of the Bacteroidetes phylum in mouse intestine, suppresses infection by Vibrio cholerae, an important human pathogen. Clindamycin (CL) is an antibiotic that selectively kills anaerobic bacteria, and accordingly Bacteroidetes are completely eradicated from CL-treated mouse intestines. The Bacteroidetes-depleted adult mice developed severe cholera-like symptoms, when infected with V. cholerae. Germ-free mice mono-associated with B. vulgatus became resistant to V. cholerae infection. Levels of V. cholerae growth-inhibitory metabolites including short-chain fatty acids plummeted upon CL treatment, while levels of compounds that enhance V. cholerae proliferation were elevated. Furthermore, the intestinal colonization process of V. cholerae was well-simulated in CL-treated adult mice. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we provide insights into how a symbiotic microbe and a pathogenic intruder interact inside host intestine. We identified B. vulgatus as an indigenous microbial species that can suppress intestinal infection. Our results also demonstrate that commensal-derived metabolites are a critical determinant for host resistance against V. cholerae infection, and that CL pretreatment of adult mice generates a simple yet useful model of cholera infection.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 Acid Sensitivity Correlates with Flocculation Phenotype during Nutrient Limitation.

Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains vary in acid resistance; however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that result in strain specific differences. Among 25 STEC O157:H7 strains tested, 7 strains flocculated when grown statically for 18 h in minimal salts medium at 37°C, while 18 strains did not. Interestingly, the flocculation phenotype (cells came out of suspension) was found to correlate with degree of acid sensitivity in an assay with 400 mM acetic acid solution at pH 3.3 targeting acidified foods. Strains exhibiting flocculation were more acid sensitive and were designated FAS, for flocculation acid sensitive, while the acid resistant strain designated PAR for planktonic acid resistant. Flocculation was not observed for any strains during growth in complex medium (Luria Bertani broth). STEC strains B201 and B241 were chosen as representative FAS (2.4 log reduction) and PAR (0.15 log reduction) strains, respectively, due to differences in acid resistance and flocculation phenotype. Results from electron microscopy showed evidence of fimbriae production in B201, whereas fimbriae were not observed in B241.Curli fimbriae production was identified through plating on Congo red differential medium, and all FAS strains showed curli fimbriae production. Surprisingly, 5 PAR strains also had evidence of curli production. Transcriptomic and targeted gene expression data for B201 and B241indicated that csg and hde (curli and acid induced chaperone genes, respectively) expression positively correlated with the phenotypic differences observed for these strains. These data suggest that FAS strains grown in minimal medium express curli, resulting in a flocculation phenotype. This may be regulated by GcvB, which positively regulates curli fimbriae production and represses acid chaperone proteins. RpoS and other regulatory mechanisms may impact curli fimbriae production, as well. These findings may help elucidate mechanisms underlying differences among STEC strains in relating acid resistance and biofilm formation.

Genome Sequences of 34 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Swine and Other Sources.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) bacteria are foodborne pathogens that can be carried by various animals. The swine STEC population is partially composed of host-specific strains that are often not well characterized. In this work, the genome sequences of a number of swine STEC strains are presented.

Complete Genome Sequences of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains SRCC 1675 and 28RC, Which Vary in Acid Resistance.

The level of acid resistance among Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains varies, and strains with higher resistance to acid may have a lower infectious dose. The complete genome sequences belonging to two strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with different levels of acid resistance are presented here.

Acid Resistance and Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Different Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Serogroups.

The objective of this study was to compare the acid resistance (AR) of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains belonging to serogroups O26, O45, O103, O104, O111, O121, and O145 with O157:H7 STEC isolated from various sources in 400 mM acetic acid solutions (AAS) at pH 3.2 and 30 °C for 25 min with or without glutamic acid. Furthermore, the molecular subgrouping of the STEC strains was analyzed with the repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) method using a DiversiLab(TM) system. Results for a total of 52 strains ranged from 0.31 to 5.45 log reduction CFU/mL in the absence of glutamic acid and 0.02 to 0.33 CFU/mL in the presence of glutamic acid except for B447 (O26:H11), B452 (O45:H2), and B466 (O104:H4) strains. Strains belonging to serogroups O111, O121, and O103 showed higher AR than serotype O157:H7 strains in the absence of glutamic acid. All STEC O157:H7 strains exhibited a comparable DNA pattern with more than 95% similarity in the rep-PCR results, as did the strains belonging to serogroups O111 and O121. Surprisingly, the DNA pattern of B458 (O103:H2) was similar to that of O157:H7 strains with 82% similarity, and strain B458 strain showed the highest AR to AAS among the O103 strains with 0.44 log reduction CFU/mL without glutamic acid. In conclusion, STEC serotypes isolated from different sources exhibited diverse AR and genetic subtyping patterns. Results indicated that some non-O157 STEC strains may have higher AR than STEC O157:H7 strains under specific acidic conditions, and the addition of glutamic acid provided enhanced protection against exposure to AAS.

Antagonistic potentiality of Trichoderma harzianum towards seed-borne fungal pathogens of winter wheat cv. Protiva in vitro and in vivo.

The antagonistic effect of Trichoderma harzianum on a range of seed-borne fungal pathogens of wheat (viz. Fusarium graminearum, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Aspergillus spp., and Penicillium spp.) was assessed. The potential of T. harzianum as a biocontrol agent was tested in vitro and under field conditions. Coculture of the pathogens and Trichoderma under laboratory conditions clearly showed dominance of T. harzianum. Under natural conditions, biocontrol effects were also obtained against the test fungi. One month after sowing, field emergence (plant stand) was increased by 15.93% over that obtained with the control treatment, and seedling infection was reduced significantly. Leaf blight severity was decreased from 22 to 11 at the heading stage, 35 to 31 at the flowering stage, and 86 to 74 at the grain filling stage. At harvest, the number of tillers per plant was increased by 50%, the yield was increased by 31.58%, and the 1,000-seed weight was increased by 21%.

Electronic transport in single-molecule magnets on metallic surfaces.

An electron transport is studied in the system that consists of a scanning tunneling microscopy, single-molecule magnet metal. Because of quantum tunneling of magnetization in a single-molecule magnet, linear response conductance exhibits stepwise behavior with increasing longitudinal field, and each step is maximized at a certain value of field sweeping speed. The conductance at each step oscillates as a function of the additional transverse magnetic field along the hard axis. A rigorous theory is presented that combines the exchange model with the Landau-Zener model.