Neuroanatomy of the nodosaurid Struthiosaurus austriacus (Dinosauria: Thyreophora) supports potential ecological differentiations within Ankylosauria

Nodosauridae is a group of thyreophoran dinosaurs characterized by a collar of prominent osteoderms. In comparison to its sister group, the often club-tailed ankylosaurids, a different lifestyle of nodosaurids could be assumed based on their neuroanatomy and weaponry, e.g., regarding applied defensive strategies. The holotype of the nodosaurid Struthiosaurus austriacus consists of a single partial braincase from the Late Cretaceous of Austria. Since neuroanatomy is considered to be associated with ecological tendencies, we created digital models of the braincase based on micro-CT data. The cranial endocast of S. austriacus generally resembles those of its relatives. A network of vascular canals surrounding the brain cavity further supports special thermoregulatory adaptations within Ankylosauria. The horizontal orientation of the lateral semicircular canal independently confirms previous appraisals of head posture for S. austriacus and, hence, strengthens the usage of the LSC as proxy for habitual head posture in fossil tetrapods. The short anterior and angular lateral semicircular canals, combined with the relatively shortest dinosaurian cochlear duct known so far and the lack of a floccular recess suggest a rather inert lifestyle without the necessity of sophisticated senses for equilibrium and hearing in S. austriacus. These observations agree with an animal that adapted to a comparatively inactive lifestyle with limited social interactions.

Thermal-Energy Performance of High-Albedo Roof Tiles and Bulk Rafter Insulation in Residential Roof in the Tropical Climate

Residential roof assemblies in tropical countries, such as Malaysia, are exposed to intense solar radiation throughout the day all-year round due to the high altitude of the sun path as well as the horizontal orientation and high position of the roof in relation to other components of the building envelope. Residential buildings typically employ a lightweight pitched roof with roof tiles and an attic space above a ceiling board. Diurnal heat transfer into the building through the roof assembly can be minimized by reflecting heat at the roof surface via the application of white paint on high-albedo roof tiles as well as resisting heat via installation of bulk rafter insulation within the roof assembly. However, their adoption will have an influence on the nocturnal heat transfer and, accordingly, the resultant thermal-energy performance. Hence, thermal-energy performances of high-albedo roof tiles and bulk rafter insulation were compared to develop an energy-efficient pitched residential roof assembly that is capable of minimizing diurnal heat transfer into the building with less obstruction of the nocturnal heat transfer in the opposite direction. Evaluation of thermal-energy performance was performed on a Building Information Model, which either adopts, solely, the application of white paint on high-albedo roof tiles, or, in amalgamation with, the installation of bulk rafter insulation within the roof assembly. The simulation projected that the application of white paint on high-albedo roof tiles can generate annual energy savings of 13.14 % and, when adopted in amalgamation with the installation of bulk rafter insulation within the roof assembly, 13.91 %.

Built-in moisture in cross-laminated timber roofs – a field study

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) elements have had a growing popularity in recent years due to i.e. low carbon footprint, low weight and efficient construction time. However, the elements are sensitive to moisture and prone to organic growth if not treated properly or if used incorrectly. Roof slabs are particularly exposed, as they have a large area of exposure and the horizontal orientation doesn’t allow rainwater run-off. The efforts made to protect CLT-roofing elements by Norwegian contractors vary widely, as there are few guidelines and little long-term experience. A field study of CLT-roofs on existing buildings was conducted to investigate the conditions after some years in service. The study includes inspection and moisture measurements of CLT elements from the exterior side in 10 building projects 1-9 years old from two regions of Norway. The contractor of each project was interviewed in order to assess the extent of climate exposure and protection measures during construction. The results indicate a correlation between water content, building age and exposure level during construction. There is a clear indication that the drying time for built-in moisture in CLT roof constructions are slow. Keeping built-in moisture to a minimum is therefore paramount.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin in the Lipid Bilayer–Similarities and Differences Revealed by Computational Studies

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two similar carotenoids of the xanthophyll subgroup. Carotenoids are synthesized almost entirely by plants but are also present in significant amounts in animals. They are essential components of the lipid matrix of biomembranes, and one of their functions is to protect cells from light radiation, free radicals and oxidative stress. Carotenoids, depending on their chemical structure, can locate at various positions and in different orientations in the bilayer. Xanthophylls (XAN) are polar and in the bilayer are positionally restricted. In the case of lutein and zeaxanthin, whose both ionone rings are hydroxy-substituted and as such are anchored in the lipid bilayer interfaces, the position is generally transmembrane. However, both experimental and computer modelling studies indicate that lutein can also locate horizontally below the bilayer interface. This location has never been observed for zeaxanthin. To find a molecular-level explanation for the difference in the orientations of the XAN molecules in the bilayer, a number of phosphatidylcholine-XAN bilayers were constructed and molecular dynamics (MD) simulated for 1.1 µs each. The all-trans XAN molecules were initially placed either parallel or perpendicular to the bilayer surface. With the exception of one lutein, the horizontally placed molecules adopted the transmembrane orientation within 100–600 ns. On the basis of detailed analyses of the XAN orientations and the numbers and lifetimes of their interactions in the bilayer, a plausible explanation is offered as to why a lutein molecule may remain in the horizontal orientation while zeaxanthin does not. Contrary to common believe, lutein horizontal orientation is not related to the ε-ring rotation around the C6′-C7′ bond.

Development and prediction of flame retarded particleboard fire behaviour in real scale

Particleboard composites for building application has become very attractive because of their huge benefits which includes but is not limited to low cost, lightweight, durability and environmental benign. However, the vulnerability of these composite types when exposed to fire restricts their use in areas where stringent fire safety conditions may not apply. Experimental determination at bench scale of composite particleboard fire behaviour has shown that the addition of flame retardants (FR) can delay the start and spread of fire. Bench scale data obtained in the cone calorimeter (CC) may not represent accurately a real scale fore behaviour during a fire scenario as documented by various researchers. The convolution model is a significant tool for predicting in real scale, fire behaviour of composites which depends on experimental inputs from CC data. In this paper, particleboards made from wood sawdust reinforced polyester composite were processed with FR at 0, 15 and 18% loading ratio using compression moulding technique. Test specimens cut from the FR-particleboards was exposed in horizontal orientation in the CC at 50kW/m2 to obtain experimental data and these were used as inputs to the prediction model. The predictive tool was used to predict the heat released rate and smoke production rate for the FR-particleboard. The results obtained shows that the FR-particleboard contributes very limited fire in real scale and compares well based on Euro-classification with particleboards from literature.

UI/UX Mobile Games Transformation towards Translated Language

The purpose of this research study is to get data of user experience towards mobile game design and the transformation of its interface due to translated language. Most of popular mobile games came from China with their local language and writing system. Chinese alphabetic is appropriate for vertical or horizontal orientation, but English and Indonesian alphabetic are not appropriate with vertical orientation. Ragnarok M: Eternal Love with MMORPG’s genre is the game sample model, originally from China server and now this game is translated into several languages such as English and Bahasa Indonesia. Ragnarok M: Eternal Love’s game developer used a unique method with combined icon and text in order to solve layout’s problem that they encounter when converted in to several languages. We conduct the experiment within 2 period of time, based on 25 participants (gamer), all participants tried user interface from a game model sample. The result confirmed that the display of the UI (user interface) used by the developer team of Ragnarok M: Eternal Love, had demonstrated a good solution in developing a user interface for mobile game, when confronted by fixed layout and forced to adapt to various different language, but it still need some adjustment time to fully understand the function of every button.

Alteration in HDEMG Spatial Parameters of Trunk Muscle Due to Handle Design during Pushing

Previous research identifies that pushing and pulling is responsible for approximately 9–18% of all low back injuries. Additionally, the handle design of a cart being pushed can dramatically alter a worker’s capacity to push (≅9.5%). Surprisingly little research has examined muscle activation of the low back and its role in muscle function. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of handle design combination of pushing a platform truck cart on trunk muscle activity. Twenty participants (10 males and 10 females, mean age = 24.3 ± 4.3 years) pushed 475 lbs using six different handle combinations involving handle orientation (vertical/horizontal/semi-pronated) and handle height (hip/shoulder). Multichannel high-density EMG (HDsEMG) was recorded for left and right rectus abdominis, erector spinae, and external obliques. Pushing at hip height with a horizontal handle orientation design (HH) resulted in significantly less (p < 0.05) muscle activity compared to the majority of other handle designs, as well as a significantly higher entropy than the shoulder handle height involving either the semi-pronated (p = 0.023) or vertical handle orientation (p = 0.028). The current research suggests that the combination of a hip height and horizontal orientation handle design may require increased muscle demand of the trunk and alter the overall muscle heterogeneity and pattern of the muscle activity.

CO2 supplementation eliminates sugar-rich media requirement for plant propagation using a simple inexpensive temporary immersion photobioreactor

In-vitro plant propagation systems such as Temporary Immersion Bioreactors (TIBs) are valuable tools that enable production of disease-free plants with improved traits. However, TIB systems can be expensive, difficult to implement, and prone to contamination due to sugar rich propagation media. Using rapidly growing chicory root cultures to expedite design-build-test cycles, we report here an improved, low-cost version of a previously reported Hydrostatically-driven TIB (Hy-TIB) that facilitates economical use of gas mixtures. Bioreactor improvements include decreased material costs, expanded modes of operation, and a horizontal orientation of a plastic film plant growth chambers that increase propagule light exposure. To take advantage of these improvements, we describe here experiments that evaluate the impacts of elevated CO2 on propagation of cacao (Theobroma cacao) secondary embryos and nodal cultures of yam (Dioscorea spp.) during both phototrophic and photomixotrophic growth. Our experiments show that elevated CO2 during plant propagation significantly improved both cacao and yam propagule development and eliminated the need for supplemental sugars in tissue culture growth media. Thus, our improved Hy-TIB shows potential as a simple, low-cost, and scalable propagation platform with cost-effective gas composition control and reduced risk of contamination overgrowth. We provide detailed instructions for assembly of this Hy-TIB design and discuss the implications of its adoption in food-insecure regions of the world.

3D Measurement of ESP Motor Skin Thermal Profile in Horizontal SAGD Well

A high-density 3D Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) motor skin thermal measurement project was carried out in an operating Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) well under varying ESP operating conditions. Utilizing high density Bragg grating fiber and a novel fiber optic interrogator technology a fiber optic measurement string was developed to allow for temperature measurement in 4 cm spacing and on 5 sides of an ESP motor. Utilizing this technology, a special ESP motor housing was developed, and a novel means of fiber optic string deployment engineered which allowed an instrumented ESP motor to be installed in an operating SAGD wellbore and a 3D high density thermal profile to be obtained under operating conditions. The ESP was installed in a SAGD well in a relatively horizontal orientation and utilized a bottom-inflow style pump intake. The ESP was operated in several loading and flow rate scenarios to observe the effects of operating in different conditions. The objective of the testing program was to measure the thermal profile around the circumference and length of the ESP motor both to understand potential temperature differentials across the ESP motor and what thermal transfer may be occurring to the surrounding production fluid passing the ESP motor. The information collected from this testing program is intended to further the understanding of how the thermal profile of the ESP motor correlates with wellbore temperature, ESP motor loading and motor temperature modeling predictions.

Horizontal orientation facilitates pollinator attraction and rain avoidance in radially symmetrical flowers

PremiseFloral angle, such as upward, horizontal, and downward orientation are known to evolve under both biotic and abiotic agents to enhance pollination success in zoophilious plants. Adaptive significance of horizontal orientation in radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) flowers under biotic and abiotic selection pressures were largely unknown, although those in bilaterally symmetrical flowers have been well studied.MethodsUsing experimentally angle changed flowers, we examined the effects of flower angle on pollinator behaviors, pollination success and rain avoidance in a population of insect-pollinated Platycodon grandiflorus. We further investigated the frequency and amount of precipitation in the flowering season and pollen damage by water in this species. Main results: Horizontally oriented flowers received more visitations and pollen grains on the stigma in male and/or female phases than downward and/or upward oriented flowers and avoided pollen damage by rainfall compared to upward oriented flowers. The pollen germination experiment showed that approximately 30% of pollen grains burst in distilled water, thus pollen damage by rainfall was potentially serious in P. garndiflorus.ConclusionIn this study, our field experiments revealed that upward flowers cannot avoid damage from rainfall during the flowering period whereas both upward and downward flowers suffered from pollinator limitation in female success. Thus, horizontal flower orientation is suggested to be adaptive in this insect-pollinated actinomorphic species which blooms in the rainy season.