Search

Eight new localities of the rare, strictly protected macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis have been recorded during a comprehensive survey of water bodies in Croatia. One record is located in the Mediterranean Region, in Butoniga Reservoir, while the remaining records are from the Continental Region, the majority of them situated along the Kupa River. Vallisneria spiralis occurred in slightly basic and alkaline environments and in a wide range of nutrient availability. In Continental localities, the species was present within Myriophyllo-Nupharetum luteae of the alliance Nymphaeion-albae, while in Butoniga, it occurred within the vegetation of the alliance Potamogetonion. Prior to our research, the species was recorded in Croatia only twice, with the older record dating back to the 19th century and the second from recent years, but neither one was confirmed in later surveys. The low number of records of V. spiralis, in spite of a wide-ranging search through hundreds of localities, confirmed the rare status of this species, although the reasons for such limited distribution remain unclear, especially bearing in mind that suitable aquatic habitats are quite widespread in the country.

We study permutation orbifolds of the $2$-fold and $3$-fold tensor product for the Virasoro vertex algebra $\mathcal{V}_c$ of central charge $c$. In particular, we show that for all but finitely many central charges $\left(\mathcal{V}_c^{\otimes 3}\right)^{\mathbb{Z}_3}$ is a $W$-algebra of type $(2, 4, 5, 6^3 , 7, 8^3 , 9^3 , 10^2 )$. We also study orbifolds of their simple quotients and obtain new realizations of certain rational affine $W$-algebras associated to a principal nilpotent element. Further analysis of permutation orbifolds of the celebrated $(2,5)$-minimal vertex algebra $\mathcal{L}_{-\frac{22}{5}}$ is presented., Comment: 23 pages. v2: minor improvements and references added

We analyze two types of permutation orbifolds: (i) S2-orbifolds of the universal level k vertex operator algebra Vk(𝔰𝔩2) and of its simple quotient Lk(𝔰𝔩2), and (ii) the S3-orbifold of the level one simple vertex operator algebra L1(𝔰𝔩2). We determine their structures and discuss related W-algebras.

Radiocarbon activity (a14C) and 13C composition (δ13C) were measured in hygrophyte and mesophyte (land) mosses collected in the natural habitat of the Plitvice Lakes and along the Zrmanja and Krupa Rivers (typical continental and Mediterranean climates, respectively), Croatia. a14C and δ13C values of mosses, of atmospheric CO2 and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were compared for contemporary data and for data from 30 years ago at the Plitvice Lakes when 14C activity of atmospheric CO2 was ~30% higher. A positive 18 correlation between a14Cmoss and δ13Cmoss was observed for all data reflecting change of 19 carbon isotopic composition in DIC along the water flows and in atmospheric CO2 regardless of the climatic regions and historic period. Fraction of the atmospheric carbon in moss (ωatm. C) and carbon fractionation factor from aquatic CO2 (DIC) to moss tissue (εmoss/g-aq) were calculated for each individual moss. Three species of mosses had ωatm. C ~0 % implying that they turn to anabiosis during dry periods. The relation εmoss/g-aq vs. ωatm. C differentiates true aquatic and amphiphyte mosses. The first had a statistically significant negative correlation between εmoss/g-aq and ωatm. C. The amphiphyte mosses had lower εmoss/g-aq with higher water flow rates.

During winter, Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) usually roost in groups in urban areas, but their nocturnal movement patterns are less known. The aim of our study is to provide insight into the local-scale urban movement habits of Long-eared Owls. Our study was carried out between 2015 and 2019 in the autumn and winter period, by observations in the early evening and by ringing and recapture of owls in the town of Sombor (NE Serbia). We observed owls when leaving the roosting site located in the town centre following the greenery of the larger avenues towards the outskirts. Owls were sporadically observed in densely built areas of the town, narrow streets with less greenery. Ringing and recapture data suggest that owls were closely linked to the green corridors. They probably used these corridors for easier orientation and to prey on birds roosting in trees in the town, such as sparrows (Passer domesticus, P. montanus), Common Blackbirds (Turdus merula) or Fieldfares (T. pilaris) appearing in harsh winters, and sometimes also pigeons.

We study S 2-orbifolds of N = 1 and N = 2 superconformal vertex algebras. For generic values of the central charge, we determine types of these orbifolds and prove that they are W-algebras. For som...

We consider several vertex operator algebras and superalgebras closely related to $$ {V}_{-1}\left(\mathfrak{sl}(n)\right) $$ , n ≥ 3 : (a) the parafermionic subalgebra K( $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (n); −1) for which we completely describe its inner structure, (b) the vacuum algebra Ω(V−1( $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (n))), and (c) an infinite extension $$ \mathcal{U} $$ of V−1( $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (n)) obtained from certain irreducible ordinary modules with integral conformal weights. It turns out that $$ \mathcal{U} $$ is isomorphic to the coset vertex algebra $$ \mathfrak{psl} $$ (n|n)1/ $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (n)1, n ≥ 3. We show that V−1( $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (n)) admits precisely n ordinary irreducible modules, up to isomorphism. This leads to the conjecture that $$ \mathcal{U} $$ is quasi-lisse.We present evidence in support of this conjecture: we prove that the (super)character of $$ \mathcal{U} $$ is quasimodular of weight one by virtue of being the constant term of a meromorphic Jacobi form of index zero. Explicit formulas and MLDE for characters and supercharacters are given for $$ \mathfrak{g} $$ = $$ \mathfrak{sl} $$ (3) and outlined for general n. We present a conjectural family of 2nd order MLDEs for characters of vertex algebras $$ \mathfrak{psl} $$ (n|n)1, n ≥ 2. We finish with a theorem pertaining to characters of $$ \mathfrak{psl} $$ (n|n)1 and $$ \mathcal{U} $$ -modules.

This paper summarises all available data on the flora of freshwater rhodophytes in Croatia, comprising 18 species from 13 genera—Audouinella, Bangia, Batrachospermum, Chroodactylon, Compsopogon, Hildenbrandia, Lemanea, Paralemanea, Pneophyllum, Polysiphonia, Porphyridium, Sirodotia and Thorea. Presented data are mostly a result of a comprehensive survey undertaken from 2009 to 2019 and including more than 600 freshwater locations—channels, streams, rivers, natural and artificial lakes. Additionally, all available published historical data, dating from 1890 onwards, as well as herbarium material from the ZA collection was overviewed and included in this study.

More than one third of European grain maize is produced in South Eastearn Europe (SEE) and utilization of historical maize material developed in SEE for its favorable alleles and diversity has long been speculated. However, molecular diversity of the SEE maize genetic material is scarce. The objectives of this study were i) to analyze diversity patterns in a large panel of densely genotyped historical accessions from SEE, ii) to compare the data with those obtained from other two European panels, and iii) to identify genomic regions that have undergone selection (selective sweeps) in response to adaptation to SEE conditions. 572 accessions of the historical inbred lines from Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje representing the SEE material were genotyped using the 600k maize genotyping Axiom array. The genotyping results were merged with two European panels DROPS and TUM. Genetic structure and diversity were analyzed using neighbor-joining cladogram, PcoA, Admixture, Structure and sNMF. To detect the selective sweep signals, Tajima’sDstatistic and RAiSD were employed. The best number of ancestral populations was K=7, whereby one of them is a subpopulation containing inbreds belong exclusively to the SEE panel. The prevalence of inbreds linked to historical US inbred lines Wf9, Oh43, Pa91 and A374 was detected in SEE. Possible soft selective sweep was detected in chromosome 2 in region harboring a gene linked to promotion of flowering FPF1. Additional scan for selective sweeps using the RAiSD methodology yielded four signals in chromosomes 5 and 6, all in gene-rich regions. Several candidates of selection were identified, influencing the plant morphology and adaptation. Our study provides the first step towards the utilization of the SEE genetic materials for use in maize breeding. Phenotypic analysis is needed for assessment of SEE accessions for favorable alleles, and identification of breeding targets.

In this work biodegradable aliphatic polyester blends of polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactide (PLA) were melted and blended with a natural and biodegradable thermoplastic starch (TPS). The TPS employed in this study was obtained by plasticization of isolated wheat starch using glycerol as plasticizer. Morphology as well as thermal properties of the blends was investigated, and water vapor permeability as a barrier property was also monitored. The biodegradability of the biodegradable blends was performed by a composting process on laboratory scale. The composting process was conducted in an adiabatic closed reactor for 21 days and during composting process it was monitored temperature, pH-value, % moisture and volatile matter and evolved CO2. Biodegradation of the blends were determined by weight loss, as well as monitoring of morphological surface change. The thermophilic phase prevailed in the composting process, indicating intensive biodegradation of substrate as well as biodegradation of investigated ternary blends. Since, microorganisms use starch as a carbon source, adding of TPS causes considerable acceleration of biodegradation of ternary blends due to higher water vapor permeability as a result of the hydrophilic nature of starch. The thermoplastic starch was first degraded within the blend, which was facilitated access to the microorganisms of other ingredients in the blend, encouraging the biodegradation of other components.

We revisit the construction of wavelets on the interval with various degrees of polynomial exactness, and explain how existing schemes for orthogonal- and Spline wavelets can be extended to compactly supported delay-normalized wavelets. The contribution differs substantially from previous ones in how results are stated and deduced: linear algebra notation is exploited more heavily, and the use of sums and complicated index notation is reduced. This extended use of linear algebra eases translation to software, and a general open source implementation, which uses the deductions in this paper as a reference, has been developed. Key features of this implementation is its flexibility w.r.t. the length of the input, as well as its generality regarding the wavelet transform.

The addition of brewer’s spent grain (BSG), sugar beet pulp (SBP) and apple pomace (AP), on the nutritional properties of directly expanded snack products based on corn grits was investigated. Snack products were produced in a laboratory single screw extruder with the addition of 5, 10 and 15% d. m. of these by-products in corn grits. Chemical composition, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, dietary fiber, resistant starch, starch damage and pasting properties of the mixtures and extruded samples were determined. Extrusion process and by-product additions had a significant effect on the proximate chemical composition. All three by-products increased contents of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, while the extrusion caused a reduction of insoluble fiber and increase of soluble fiber. After the extrusion process starch damage and antioxidant activity increased, while resistant starch content and total polyphenol content decreased. According to obtained results, it can be concluded that the investigated by-products can be used in the production of nutritionally more valuable corn snacks.

Segota, V., Rimac, A., Koletic, N., Vukovic, N. & Alegro, A. 2020. Elucidating distributional and ecological patterns of the rare Mediterranean-Atlantic species Petalophyllum ralfsii in Europe following its first record on the Adriatic coast (Croatia). – Herzogia 33: 275 –290.The Mediterranean-Atlantic bryophyte Petalophyllum ralfsii was discovered on Cape Kamenjak (Istrian Peninsula) as a first record of this rare liverwort in Croatia. It was found in a partly shaded, open calcareous microhabitat within evergreen vegetation with periodically persistent humidity and low-level disturbance, which largely corresponds to other Mediterranean records. No more than a hundred localities are known in Europe, extending from the British Isles, Portugal and the Balearic Islands to Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus. Our analyses show that P. ralfsii prefers lower and more maritime positions on the Atlantic coast, while Mediterranean populations favour higher and more inland locations. Based on climatic data analysed, the precipitation of the wettest period largely overlaps in both geographic areas, which corresponds with the observed period, in which the species benefits from humid conditions. Moreover, frost seems to be the limiting factor determining the European distribution of the species.

Segota, V., Rimac, A., Dragicevic, S., Koletic, N. & Alegro, A. 2020. Drepanium fastigiatum and Microhypnum sauteri new for Croatia. – Herzogia 33: 291–299.In the course of a bryological study of the Croatian mountains Velebit and Snježnik Drepanium fastigiatum and Microhypnum sauteri were recorded for the first time in Croatia. Literature data on the distribution of the species in Southeast Europe have been summarized, while their habitat preferences, ecology and accompanying taxa are discussed within the broader European context, complemented with new insights from Croatian records.

Sugar beet pulp (SBP) is a by-product of the sugar industry in which the dietary fiber content ranges from 73% to 80%. Compared to cereal fibers mainly used in biscuit production, sugar beet fibers are gluten free and have a perfect ratio of 2/3 insoluble fiber. In this work, sugar beet pulp was extruded with corn grits (ratios of corn grits to sugar beet pulp in extrudates were 85:15, 70:30, and 55:45), and the obtained sugar beet pulp extrudates (SBPEs) were used for improving the nutritional quality of cookies. The wheat flour in cookies was replaced with SBPEs in the amount of 5, 10, and 15%. The influence of three factors (the percentage of sugar beet pulp in the SBPEs, the size of the SBPE particles, and the percentage of wheat flour substituted with SBPEs) and their interactions on the nutritional quality of cookies, as well as their physical and sensory characteristics are examined using the Box–Behnken experimental design. The addition of extruded sugar beet pulp (SBPEs) significantly increased the amount of total dietary fiber and mineral matter of cookies. On the whole, the addition of SBPEs increased cookie hardness, but the hardness decreased with an increase in extrudate particle size. Sensory characteristics (except for the taste) were the most influenced by extrudate particle size.

We studied the charging of inert surfaces (polytetrafluoroethylene, i.e., PTFE, graphite, graphene, and hydrophobic silica) using classical colloid chemistry approaches. Potentiometric titrations showed that these surfaces acquired less charge from proton-related reactions than oxide minerals. The data from batch-type titrations for PTFE powder did not show an effect of ionic strength, which was also in contrast with results for classical colloids. In agreement with classical colloids, the electrokinetic results for inert surfaces showed the typical salt level dependence. In some cases, the point of zero net proton charge as determined from mass and tentatively from acid&ndash, base titration differed from isoelectric points, which has also been previously observed, for example by Chibowski and co-workers for ice electrolyte interfaces. Finally, we found no evidence for surface contaminations of our PTFE particles before and after immersion in aqueous solutions. Only in the presence of NaCl-containing solutions did cryo-XPS detect oxygen from water. We believe that our low isoelectric points for PTFE were not due to impurities. Moreover, the measured buffering at pH 3 could not be explained by sub-micromolar concentrations of contaminants. The most comprehensive explanation for the various sets of data is that hydroxide ion accumulation occurred at the interfaces between inert surfaces and aqueous solutions.

Three fractions of tobacco waste (scrap, dust and midrib) were subjected to a high voltage electric discharge (HVED) assisted extraction procedure under different experimental conditions: solvent:solid ratio (300, 500, 700 mL/g), frequency (40, 70, 100 Hz) and treatment time (15, 30, 45 min), in order to study the influence of these conditions on the content of chlorogenic acid. The content of chlorogenic acid ranged from 1.54 to 3.66 mg/100 g for scrap, from 1.90 to 2.97 mg/100 g for dust, and from 2.30 to 3.38 mg/100 g for midrib extract, showing a strong dependence on the applied process parameters. The temperature change and the change in pH and electrical conductivity of the extracts after high voltage discharge treatment were also observed. The studied process parameters showed a statistically significant effect on the chemical and physical properties of the extracts from tobacco waste as well as on the content of chlorogenic acid, indicating the potential of HVED assisted processes in the separation of chlorogenic acid from tobacco industry waste. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the results for the chlorogenic acid to a second order polynomial equation and the optimum conditions were determined.

The objective of this research was to investigate the potentiality of carrot powder (CP) utilization at levels 4, 6, or 8% as ingredient of corn snacks and evaluation of the extrusion influence on functionally important ingredients such as carotenoids (color), polyphenols, fiber, fat, and antioxidant activity. The influence of ascorbic acid (AA) as an external source at levels 0.5 and 1% on this particular extrusion was also investigated. A single-screw extruder at two temperature regimes (135/170/170 °C (E1) and 100/150/150 °C (E2)) carried out extrusion. The E1 temperature regime acted favorably on total polyphenol content and crude fiber, but fat preferred the E2 regime. Extrusion, especially the E1 temperature regime, increased the extractability of carotenoids. Ascorbic acid degraded during extrusion, but it still provided protection to carotenoids and color attributes of extrudates. Snacks with increased nutritional and functional value due to carrot powder addition were successfully produced, which is a starting point for production of a new type of extruded snacks.

A new site for stonewort Chara kokeilii A.Braun was recorded in a Mediterranean shallow lake Prolosko Blato Retention, Croatia, SE Europe. The species was associated with the vegetation alliance Potamogetonion graminei Westhoff & Den Held. This record has been compared with four other sites (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro) from which the species was recorded in SE Europe, regarding the species morphological traits, environmental parameters and vegetation types. It is possible that the main distribution area of this species is in Southeast Europe, a statement that is supported by previous micropaleontological research. This research provides new data on distribution and ecological affiliation of the critically endangered C. kokeilii (IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria).

The Late Ordovician late Katian was a period of generally warm, transitional greenhouse to icehouse climate with sea-level oscillations dominated by moderate-amplitude eustasy. This study aims to improve the understanding of the climatic and sea-level fluctuations prior to the end-Ordovician glaciation, using a comprehensive core, wireline log, and thin-section dataset spanning the topmost Red River-Stony Mountain Formation within the subsurface of North Dakota, Williston Basin, North America. Eleven facies are identified, interpreted, and grouped into four facies associations, including salina to peritidal evaporative, restricted-marine subtidal, open-marine subtidal, and open-marine deeper water. Stratigraphic trends, basin-wide facies variations, and correlation of individual surfaces for ~380 km across the study area, suggest that the facies were deposited under different climatic and sea-level regimes as part of the long-term Stony Mountain sequence. The sequence (37–52 m) is bounded by anhydrites (basin center) and their correlative thin exposure-related breccias (updip proximal basin), and contains a set of high-frequency sequences (HFS; 2–26 m) that can be traced across the study area. The lowstand systems tract (LST) anhydrites formed in a shallow and well‑oxygenated setting under an arid climate during relatively short periods of the basin restriction. The sea-level rise during the early transgressive system tract (TST) resulted in a higher evapotranspiration rate and an increasingly humid climate that peaked during the late TST with the input of siliciclastics off the Transcontinental Arch. The increased precipitation and runoff resulted in quasiestuarine circulation. Return to semi-arid conditions characterizes the highstand systems tract (HST), with increasingly more restricted, shallow-marine and oxygenated setting with antiestuarine circulation. The work provides insight into the interaction of siliciclastic input, climate, and sea-level changes on depositional dynamics and sequence architecture of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic-evaporite succession that formed in a tropical epicontinental basin setting prior to the end-Ordovician glaciation.

Bulgaria. Samokov Region, Rila Mountains, Rila National Park, N slopes of peak Deno, on granite slabs and scree, collected with occasional sporophytes, 42.19709°N, 23.60322°E, 2780 m a.s.l, 17 September 2019, leg./det. R. Natcheva s.n. (SOM 9811-B). This arctic-alpine species has a north Holarctic circumpolar distribution and this is the first report of Andreaea blyttii for SE Europe. It is its southernmost locality and extends its range further south in Europe. The Rila Mountains are the highest in the Balkan peninsula and A. blyttii was found near the highest summit (Mussala, 2925 m a.s.l.). In Bulgaria the genus Andreaea is also represented by A. alpestris (Thed.) Schimp. and A. rupestris Hedw., both of which occur in the Rila Mountains.

This paper investigates the use of LiDAR SLAM as a pose feedback for autonomous flight. Cartographer, LOAM and HDL graph SLAM are first introduced on a conceptual level and later tested for this role. They are first compared offline on a series of datasets to see if they are capable of producing high-quality pose estimates in agile and long-range flight scenarios. The second stage of testing consists of integrating the SLAM algorithms into a cascade PID UAV control system and comparing the control system performance on step excitation signals and helical trajectories. The comparison is based on step response characteristics and several time integral performancecriteria as well as the RMS error between planned and executed trajectory., 7 pages, LaTeX, added IEEE copyright notice, cropped and resized figure 1

In this study, green extraction methods&mdash, high voltage electrical discharges (HVED), pulsed electric field (PEF), and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE)&mdash, were compared in terms of extraction yield of total and individual polyphenolic compounds, as well as the antioxidant capacity of blueberry pomace extracts. All extractions were performed with methanol- and ethanol-based solvents. The highest total polyphenols content (TPC) (10.52 mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per g of dry weight (dw)) and antioxidant activity (AA) (0.83 mmol TE/g dw) were obtained by PEF-assisted extraction in the ethanol-based solvent after 100 pulses and 20 kV/cm, which corresponds to an energy input of 41.03 kJ/kg. A total of eighteen individual polyphenols were identified in all investigated blueberry pomace extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography with the diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (LC-(HESI)-MS/MS). The highest anthocyanin (1757.32 &micro, g/g of dw) and flavanol (297.86 &micro, g/g of dw) yields were obtained in the methanol-based solvent, while the highest phenolic acid (625.47 &micro, g/g of dw) and flavonol (157.54 &micro, g/g of dw) yields were obtained in the ethanol-based solvent by PEF-assisted extraction at the energy input of 41.03 kJ/kg. These results indicated that PEF is a promising green extraction method which can improve the blueberry pomace&rsquo, s polyphenol extraction yield.

Cocoa shell is a by-product of the chocolate industry that is rich in dietary fiber and bioactive components. In this research, the influence of high voltage electric discharge (HVED) treatment on chemical and physical characteristics of the cocoa shell, i.e., the effects of applied time and frequencies on grinding ability, water binding capacity (WBC), dietary fibers and tannin content was investigated. HVED had a significant influence on the chemical and physical properties of cocoa shell, all of which could be linked to changes in fiber properties. Along with the fiber content, grinding ability and water binding capacity were increased. These properties have already been linked to fiber content and soluble/insoluble fiber ratio. However, this research implies that change in fiber properties could be linked to tannin formation via complexation of other polyphenolic components. Additional research is needed to verify this effect and to establish mechanisms of tannin formation induced by HVED and its influence on fiber quantification.

Shrublands and grasslands comprise over 30% of the land surface and are among the most exploited ecosystems for livestock production. Across natural landscapes, the distribution and abundance of wild herbivores are affected by interspecific competition for foraging resources, hunting and the development of infrastructure among other factors. In Argentine Patagonia, the abundance of domestic sheep grazing on native vegetation outnumbers the widely distributed guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and sheep ranching monopolizes the most productive lands. In this work, we aimed to assess the spatial variation in the abundance of guanacos in Península Valdés, a representative landscape of Patagonia, investigating the incidence of natural and human-related factors. We conducted ground surveys during the austral autumn in 2017 totaling 383.4 km along areas with and without sheep ranching. We built density surface models to account for the variation in guanaco abundance and obtained a map of guanaco density at a resolution of 4 km2. We estimated an overall density of 11.71 guanacos.km−2 for a prediction area of 3,196 km2, although the density of guanacos tripled in areas where sheep ranching was terminated(in around 20% of the surface of Península Valdés) compared to areas withsheep. Guanacos were more abundant at lower values of primary productivityand sheep stocking rates and further from inhabited ranch buildings, suggesting competition with sheep and conflict with humans. Although guanacos selected open, grass-dominated habitats across sheep-free sites, fences dividing properties and paddocks played a significant role in the spatial structure of their population in Península Valdés affecting negatively the abundance of guanacos. Our results indicate that actions to improve habitat connectivity for guanacos, favor the coexistence among guanacos and sheep ranching, and promote responsiblehuman activities and attitudes towards wildlife are needed. Fil: Antun, Maria de Los Milagros. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentina Fil: Baldi, Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentina

Bacterial defenses against phage, which include CRISPR-mediated immunity and other mechanisms, can carry substantial growth rate costs and can be rapidly lost when pathogens are eliminated. How bacteria preserve their molecular defenses despite their costs, in the face of variable pathogen levels and inter-strain competition, remains a major unsolved problem in evolutionary biology. Here, we present a multilevel model that incorporates biophysics of molecular binding, host-pathogen population dynamics, and ecological dynamics across a large number of independent territories. Using techniques of game theory and non-linear dynamical systems, we show that by maintaining a non-zero failure rate of defenses, hosts sustain sufficient levels of pathogen within an ecology to select against loss of the defense. This resistance switching strategy is evolutionarily stable, and provides a powerful evolutionary mechanism that maintains host-pathogen interactions, selects against cheater strains that avoid the costs of immunity, and enables co-evolutionary dynamics in a wide range of systems., One might think that complete extinction of a virulent pathogen is the most effective way of saving a population. For a bacteria-phage system, Skanata and Kussell show that sustaining a minimum pathogen level is actually favorable to prevent a complete loss of immunity in the long run.

Background: The seedling stage has received little attention in maize breeding to identify genotypes tolerant to water deficit. The aim of this study is to evaluate incorporation of seed weight (expressed as hundred kernel weight, HKW) as a covariate into genomic association and prediction studies for three biomass traits in a panel of elite inbred lines challenged by water withholding at seedling stage. Methods: 109 genotyped-by-sequencing (GBS) elite maize inbreds were phenotyped for HKW and planted in controlled conditions (16/8 day/night, 25 &deg, C, 50% RH, 200 &micro, Mol/m2/s) in trays filled with soil. Plants in control (C) were watered every two days, while watering was stopped for 10 days in water withholding (WW). Fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), and dry matter content (DMC) were measured. Results: Adding HKW as a covariate increased the power of detection of associations in FW and DW by 44% and increased genomic prediction accuracy in C and decreased in WW. Conclusions: Seed weight was effectively incorporated into association studies for biomass traits in maize seedlings, whereas the incorporation into genomic predictions, particularly in water-stressed plants, was not worthwhile.

Temporary rivers are dynamic freshwater ecosystems, supporting unique and often highly diverse terrestrial communities in the riparian habitats during the flowing phase. However, studies investigating the differences in orthopteran and cockroach (Insecta: Orthoptera, Blattodea) assemblages between riparian and adjacent upland habitats are scarce, despite their abundance and functional importance in terrestrial ecosystems. Orthopterans and cockroaches were sampled in 2014 at 72 sites along the temporary Krcic River (SE Croatia) in two habitat types—riparian and karst, using pitfall traps. Abundance, taxa richness, true diversity and conservation value of ground-dwelling orthopterans and cockroaches were significantly higher in the karst than in the riparian habitat. This result can be ascribed to significant differences in environmental factors: soil temperature, air humidity and vegetation structure, namely tree, shrub and herb layer abundances. Most assemblage parameters and spatial distribution of ground-dwelling orthopteran and cockroach taxa were driven by higher soil temperature and less developed tree layer in the karst, both groups preferring open habitats. Karst sites with a well-developed shrub layer and herb layer had the highest conservation value for rare ground-dwelling orthopterans (e.g. Paramogoplistes novaki) and locally rare cockroaches (e.g. Ectobius balcani), respectively. Nevertheless, densely vegetated riparian sites also harboured some locally valuable species (e.g. Troglophilus cavicola). This study highlights the importance of open karst habitats in promoting the diversity of ground-dwelling orthopterans and cockroaches, and contributes to the understanding of key environmental factors driving their habitat choice, as a prerequisite for efficient conservation and monitoring.

In this paper we study new invariants $\widehat{Z}_{\boldsymbol{a}}(q)$ attached to plumbed $3$-manifolds that were introduced by Gukov, Pei, Putrov, and Vafa. These remarkable $q$-series at radial limits conjecturally compute WRT invariants of the corresponding plumbed $3$-manifold. Here we investigate the series $\widehat{Z}_{0}(q)$ for unimodular plumbing ${\tt H}$-graphs with six vertices. We prove that for every positive definite unimodular plumbing matrix, $\widehat{Z}_{0}(q)$ is a depth two quantum modular form on $\mathbb{Q}$., 22 pages; 1 figure

The Upper Permian Dalan Formation is a supergiant gas reservoir in the Persian Gulf Basin. Reservoir quality is controlled by the original facies type, dolomitization, and anhydrite cementation. This study focuses on the texture (petrographic analysis), bulk stable-isotope values, and trace element composition in order to identify the original mineralogy of carbonate grains and cements, and to assess the synsedimentary and diagenetic processes, including the timing and setting of dolomitization. The limestone data suggest that the initial precipitation of isopachous acicular to fibrous aragonite cements in the marine phreatic environment was followed by dissolution of aragonite grains and cements in the meteoric phreatic zone, and neomorphism and low-Mg calcite cementation (blocky and drusy crystals, syntaxial overgrowths) in the active freshwater phreatic zone. The relatively pristine δ18O and δ13C values, low Mn and relatively high Sr and Na contents indicate that this meteoric diagenesis was relatively limited. The remaining porous space was cemented by blocky calcite later during burial. Four types of dolomites are identified within a complex mixture of texturally and isotopically different dolomites: dolomicrite, dolomicrosparite, dolosparite, and saddle dolomite. Dolomicrite formed syndepositionally from the evaporated Permian seawater or by reflux of dense evaporated brines during shallow burial. The second major episode of dolomitization (dolomicrosparite and dolosparite) was driven by reflux of warmer and more saline fluids at greater depth, which affected both previously non-dolomitized and dolomitized sediments. The final diagenetic stabilization during deep burial is associated with extensive pressure solution, fracturing, vein-filling of calcite and dolomite cements, and crystallization of saddle dolomite.

We present OpenMP versions of FORTRAN programs for solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation for a harmonically trapped three-component spin-1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in one (1D) and two (2D) spatial dimensions with or without spin-orbit (SO) and Rabi couplings. Several different forms of SO coupling are included in the programs. We use the split-step Crank-Nicolson discretization for imaginary- and real-time propagation to calculate stationary states and BEC dynamics, respectively. The imaginary-time propagation programs calculate the lowest-energy stationary state. The real-time propagation programs can be used to study the dynamics. The simulation input parameters are provided at the beginning of each program. The programs propagate the condensate wave function and calculate several relevant physical quantities. Outputs of the programs include the wave function, energy, root-mean-square sizes, different density profiles (linear density for the 1D program, linear and surface densities for the 2D program). The imaginary- or real-time propagation can start with an analytic wave function or a pre-calculated numerical wave function. The imaginary-time propagation usually starts with an analytic wave function, while the real-time propagation is often initiated with the previously calculated converged imaginary-time wave function., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; programs can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.17632/j3wr4wn946.1

We prove several infinite families of q-series identities for false theta functions and related series. These identities are motivated by considerations of characters of modules of vertex operator superalgebras and of quantum dilogarithms. We also obtain closely related modular identities of the Gollnitz-Gordon-Andrews type. As a byproduct of our identities, we establish several identities for the Rogers dilogarithm function coming from multi q-hypergeometric series with “double poles”.

During a floristic survey carried out in the surroundings of the settlement of Sveti Rok (southern Mt Velebit, Croatia), some individuals of Cystopteris were collected and subsequently identified as C. dickieana. This record is the first for Croatian vascular flora and for the NW part of the Balkan area. It is a circumHolarctic species, although generally rare within its distribution area, and grows in the rock crevices. Due to the difficulty of distinguishing it within the C. fragilis species complex, its distribution at world level and its ecology are still not sufficiently known. Some notes on the environment in which the species was found, taxonomical details and identification key for Cystopteris taxa known for Croatia are also presented.

Cocoa shell is one of the by‐products obtained in chocolate industry which was considered as waste for a very long time. Recently, the presence of high‐valuable bioactive components in cocoa shell was recognized, and research on the pallet of food products enriched with cocoa shell is increasing. The most abundant bioactive components of untreated cocoa shell (UCS) are theobromine (3.906 ± 0.070 mg/g), caffeine (0.646 ± 0.055 mg/g), and (+)‐catechin (0.290 ± 0.005 mg/g), followed by gallic acid (0.147 ± 0.041 mg/g) and (−)‐epicatechin (0.165 ± 0.099 mg/g). Furthermore, the impact of concentration (1.5 and 3% of cocoa shell in water), high‐voltage electric discharge (HVED) treatment (40 and 80 Hz), and treatment time (15, 30, and 45 min, respectively) on bioactive compounds content was evaluated. Statistically significant differences between treatment conditions were obtained. Generally, water‐HVED treatment at 40 Hz has lower impact on bioactive components than water, and water‐HVED at 80 Hz, therefore, can have a significant effect on future treatments of materials rich in bioactive compounds. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: HVED is an innovative nonthermal processing technique that has mechanical and electrical effect on the product resulting with lower costs and increase of functional properties. This study has shown that HVED causes lower decrease of phenolics and methylxanthines in cocoa shell which can have a significant effect on future treatments of materials rich in bioactive compounds. Because it is not recorded in scientific literature that HVED treatment was used on cocoa shell so far, it will help in future research and applications of cocoa shell in the food industry.

The species was collected in the Pannonian region of Croatia, on sandy banks in the lower course of the Garešnica River, a tributary of the Ilova, belonging tot he Sava River catchment and Black Sea Basin. At the site, the river has a lowland character, but the river bed is heavily regulated and recent channelisation has resulted in extremely steep banks and the complete loss of aquatic vegetation. Several tufts of Physcomitrium sphaericum were found in the narrow open zone along the river where a pioneer ephemeral dwarf- cyperaceous vegetation of periodically flooded habitats had developed on exposed sand. The plants were typically developed, about 4 mm high including seta and semiglobose capsules, displaying characteristic leaf morphology with margins entire or obscurely crenulate above, leaf apex blunt with costa ending below the apex. Physcomitrium sphaericum is an ephemeral species of rare and sporadic occurrence, dependant on seasonally exposed mud on the margins of rivers, ponds, lakes and reservoirs It belongs in the vegetation class Isoëto- Nanojuncetea Br.-Bl. et Tx. in Br.-Bl. et al. Physcomitrium sphaericum was found along with other typical species of this vegetation type: Cyperus michelianus (L.) Link, C. fuscus L., C. glomeratus L., Gnaphalium uliginosum L., Gypsophila muralis L., Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell, L. procumbens (Krock.) Philcox, Ludwigia palustris (L.) Elliott and a terrestrial form of Riccia fluitans L. Physcomitrium sphaericum is a Eurasian Temperate element, distributed throughout Europe, but rarely found in Southeastern Europe, where it has been reported only from Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, being considered Vulnerable in the latter. Our record is the first for Croatia.

We study relationships between the restricted unrolled quantum group U ‾ q H ( sl 2 ) at q = e π i / r , and the singlet vertex operator algebra M ( r ) , r ≥ 2 . We use deformable families of modules to efficiently compute ( 1 , 1 ) -tangle invariants colored with projective U ‾ q H ( sl 2 ) -modules. These invariants relate to the colored Alexander tangle invariants studied in [6] , [40] . It follows that the regularized asymptotic dimensions of characters of M ( r ) , studied previously by the first two authors, coincide with the corresponding modified traces of open Hopf link invariants. We also discuss various categorical properties of M ( r ) -mod in connection to braided tensor categories.

Campylopus introflexus (Hedw.) Brid. is the most widespread invasive moss species in Europe. Originating from the Southern Hemisphere, it is nowadays causing serious changes in coastal sand habitats of Western Europe and invading various anthropogenic habitats in Central Europe. In South-Eastern Europe, the species was initially found in Croatia in 2013, in the Dinaric region in the karst plain Vrhovinsko polje, on leached bare soil and pine bark remnants. In 2015, another stand of similar size was found in the peri-Pannonian region, on Mt Papuk, on a gneiss cliff in an acidophilous sessile oak forest. These two localities are on the South-Eastern frontline of the species' invasion within Europe. The oldest individuals were three to four years old, and sporophytes were not found. At the moment, it seems that the invasive moss is not a threat to native flora in the Dinaric region. Nevertheless, special attention should be given to the peri-Pannonian and Eastern Balkan regions, since its expansion could threaten the habitats of native moss and lichen species growing in similar acidic forests. Since the bryoflora of South-Eastern Europe is still largely undersampled, directed surveys and monitoring programs should be promptly established.

While some previous investigations have been made into the effects of vegetation structure on the probability of brood parasitism in reed passerines, the effects of vegetation management remain unc...

Management of reed beds primarily includes controlling water levels and removing vegetation by mowing, burning, or grazing. Although recent studies have demonstrated increased diversity and abundance of wetland specialists after reed bed management, documenting demographic benefits to individual species would add additional support to the advantages of appropriate management. Here, we explore the effects of reed management on the philopatry of Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) over 7 yr. Reed beds were managed in the winter by occasional burning at mining ponds and large canals, infrequent burning in marshes, and frequent mowing of small canals. Based on resightings and recaptures of 1,243 adult and 1,428 nestlings individually marked at 57 sites in 6 different reed habitats, we built Cormack-Jolly-Seber models to estimate the apparent annual survival and encounter probabilities of birds banded as nestlings or as adults. Apparent survival varied in time for both age groups and both ...

Spur gears have a wide application in the machine-building industry. Machining process primarily selected for these gears is hobbing method with modular hobs, or with Fellows cutters. Other methods which can be applied are profiling using the pull broaches, while the finishing can be done by gear shaving or grinding by the Maag, Niles or Reishauer methods. Moreover, in small (or unit) production, they may be formed using disc- or finger-type modular cutters. The article presents a method for cutting spur gears using a disc-type mill with a variable cutting plate profile. The influence of the number of blades of the presented milling cutter on the accuracy of the worked tooth profile was investigated.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:56:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-07-01 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Science and Engineering Research Board We present OpenMP version of a Fortran program for solving the Gross–Pitaevskii equation for a harmonically trapped three-component rotating spin-1 spinor Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in two spatial dimensions with or without spin–orbit (SO) and Rabi couplings. The program uses either Rashba or Dresselhaus SO coupling. We use the split-step Crank–Nicolson discretization scheme for imaginary- and real-time propagation to calculate stationary states and BEC dynamics, respectively. New version program summary: Program title: BEC-GP-SPINOR-ROT-OMP, a program package containing programs spin-SO-rot-imre2d-omp.f90, with util.f90. CPC Library link to program files: https://doi.org/10.17632/j3wr4wn946.2 Licensing provisions: Apache License 2.0 Programming language: OpenMP Fortran 90/95. The program is tested with the GNU, Intel, PGI, and Oracle (former Sun) compilers. Supplementary material: File Supp.pdf gives additional details about the new program version and the underlying physical system. Journal Reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 259 (2021) 107657. Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Only partially. The program spin-SO-rot-imre2d-omp.f90 supersedes spin-SO-imre2d-omp.f90, while the one-dimensional program is not part of this package. Nature of problem: The present Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP) Fortran program solves the time-dependent nonlinear partial differential Gross–Pitaevskii (GP) equation for a trapped rotating spinor Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in two spatial dimensions. Solution method: We employ the split-step Crank–Nicolson scheme to discretize the time-dependent GP equation in space and time. The discretized equation is then solved by imaginary- or real-time propagation, employing adequately small space and time steps, to yield the solution of stationary and non-stationary problems, respectively. Reason for new version: The BEC is a special form of matter called superfluid. A hallmark of superfluidity is the formation of quantized vortices in a rotating BEC. The present program can be used to study the generation of quantized vortices in a rotating spin-1 trapped BEC and hence should be of general interest to researchers from various fields. Summary of revisions: Previously we published Fortran [1] and C [2] programs for solving the mean-field GP equation for a BEC, which are now enjoying widespread use. Later we extended these programs to the more complex scenario of dipolar BECs [3], spin-1 spinor BECs [4], and of rotating BECs [5]. The OpenMP [6, 7] and CUDA/MPI [8, 9, 10] versions of these programs, designed to make these faster and more efficient in multi-core computers, are also available. In this paper we present Fortran 90/95 program for solving the GP equation of a two-dimensional (2D) rotating spin-1 spinor BEC with Rashba [11] and Dresselhaus [12] spin–orbit (SO) coupling and Rabi coupling, involving a modification over the same for a spin-1 spinor BEC [4]. A new input parameter OMEG, which represents the angular velocity of rotation Ω of the spin-1 spinor BEC, has been introduced in the program, following Ref. [5]. Besides this new parameter, the execution of the present program follows the same procedure as the 2D program of Ref. [4]. All other input parameters in the two programs are identical and the reader is advised to consult that reference for further details. For some values of input parameters the quantized vortices of a rotating BEC could be arranged in the form of a lattice with a certain spatial symmetry, e.g., triangular or square lattice [5]. In our numerical study, we established recently such a symmetric lattice structure for a Rashba SO-coupled rotating spin-1 BEC in the simplest case, without the Rabi coupling [13]. A Dresselhaus SO-coupled rotating spin-1 BEC should also lead to identical structure, provided the sign of the angular velocity of rotation is changed. For the sake of completeness, in the supplementary material related to this article that can be found online at URL we provide the corresponding GP equations for a rotating spin-1 BEC with some instructive numerical examples. The program package BEC-GP-SPINOR-ROT-OMP contains the programs spin-SO-rot-imre2d-omp.f90 and util.f90 in the directory src, as well as the files makefile and README.md. The makefile allows automated compilation of the program using different supported compilers (GNU, Intel, PGI, Oracle) by a simple make command, as in Ref. [4]. The file README.md contains instructions on how to compile and run the programs. The directory output contains examples of matching outputs of imaginary- and real-time propagation programs in sub-directories with a generic name rotxgamyferro or rotxgamyantiferro, where x denotes the value of the angular velocity of rotation Ω and y denotes the strength of the SO coupling γ for ferromagnetic (c0=482,c2=15) and antiferromagnetic (c0=669,c2=−3.1) cases. The results in imaginary-time sub-directories rot.3gam.5ferro and rot.3gam.5antiferro are calculated using the respective converged imaginary-time wave functions with zero angular velocity. The real-time sub-directories rot.3gam.5ferro and rot.3gam.5polar contain real-time results calculated using the respective converged imaginary-time wave functions as inputs. These sub-directories also contain gnuplot programs fig*.gnu which can be used to generate fig*.eps figure files of component densities. References [1] P. Muruganandam, S. K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 180 (2009) 1888. [2] D. Vudragović, I. Vidanović, A. Balaž, P. Muruganandam, S. K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 183 (2012) 2021. [3] R. Kishor Kumar, L.E. Young-S., D. Vudragović, A. Balaž, P. Muruganandam, S.K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 195 (2015) 117. [4] R. Ravisankar, D. Vudragović, P. Muruganandam, A. Balaž, S. K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 259 (2021) 107657. [5] R. K. Kumar, V. Lončar, P. Muruganandam, S. K. Adhikari, A. Balaž, Comput. Phys. Commun. 240 (2019) 74. [6] L.E. Young-S., D. Vudragović, P. Muruganandam, S.K. Adhikari, A. Balaž, Comput. Phys. Commun. 204 (2016) 209. [7] L. E. Young-S., P. Muruganandam, S. K. Adhikari, V. Lončar, D. Vudragović, A. Balaž, Comput. Phys. Commun. 220 (2017) 503. [8] V. Lončar, A. Balaž, A. Bogojević, S. Škrbić, P. Muruganandam, S.K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 200 (2016) 406. [9] V. Lončar, L.E. Young-S., S. Škrbić, P. Muruganandam, S.K. Adhikari, A. Balaž, Comput. Phys. Commun. 209 (2016) 190. [10] B. Satarić, V. Slavnić, A. Belić, A. Balaž, P. Muruganandam, S.K. Adhikari, Comput. Phys. Commun. 200 (2016) 411. [11] E. I. Rashba, Fiz. Tverd. Tela 2 (1960) 1224; English Transla.: Sov. Phys. Solid State 2 (1960) 1109. [12] G. Dresselhaus, Phys. Rev. 100 (1955) 580. [13] S. K. Adhikari, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 33 (2021) 065404. Department of Physics Bharathidasan University Palkalaiperur Campus Institute of Physics Belgrade University of Belgrade, Pregrevica 118 Instituto de Física Teórica UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, 01.140-70 São Paulo Instituto de Física Teórica UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, 01.140-70 São Paulo Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India: 03(1422)/18/EMR-II CNPq: 301324/2019-0 Science and Engineering Research Board: CRG/2019/004059

In this paper, gate-fee changes of the waste-to-energy plants are investigated in the conditions set by European Union legislation and by the introduction of the new heat market. Waste management and sustainable energy supply are core issues of sustainable development of regions, especially urban areas. These two energy flows logically come together in the combined heat and power facility by waste incineration. However, the implementation of new legislation influences quantity and quality of municipal waste and operation of waste-to-energy systems. Once the legislation requirements are met, waste-to-energy plants need to be adapted to market operation. This influence is tracked by the gate-fee volatility. The operation of the waste-to-energy plant on electricity markets is simulated by using EnergyPLAN and heat market is simulated in Matlab, based on hourly marginal costs. The results have shown that the fuel switch reduced gate-fee and made the facility economically viable again. In the second case, the operation of the waste-to-energy plant on day-ahead electricity and heat market is analysed. It is shown that introducing heat market increased needed gate-fee on the yearly level over the expected levels. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed approach can make projects of otherwise questionable feasibility more attractive.

Croatia is among the most ecologically diverse and floristically rich countries in Europe, with a great variety of communities. The vegetation elaboration according to the standard central European method was initiated in Croatia at the beginning of the 20thcentury. In previous overviews of Croatian vegetation, the number of classes and alliances was underrepresented in relation to the country’s floristic richness. Furthermore, the level of knowledge and the amount of available data varied greatly among the various types of vegetation. The aims of this paper are mainly to compile a stabile syntaxonomic list of classes, orders and alliances dominated by vascular plants in Croatia and to adjust Croatian vegetation to the new European syntaxonomic system (EuroVegChecklist). It introduces a consistent description of high-rank syntaxa in Croatian. In conclusion, the vegetation of Croatia comprises 66 classes, 121 orders and 201 alliances. The number of syntaxa shows vegetation diversity that is rather high compared to most other European countries; this is related to the high floristic richness and endemism. The list points out the obvious problems and gaps in our knowledge of vegetation in Croatia and can serve as a baseline for the future vegetation studies.

Peat bogs, naturally acidic environments, are extreme habitats for many soil macroorganisms. Soil acidity and reduced calcium availability strongly affect soil invertebrates, which require calcium to build exoskeletons. Calcium availability is assumed to limit survival of terrestrial isopods in this nutrient-poor environment. Previous studies, though scarce, have shown that isopods are absent from peat bogs in the north Holarctic. Thus, they were sampled using pitfall traps in the largest and oldest Western Balkans (Croatia) peat bog and at its edges. Isopods were found to maintain stable populations in the Western Balkan peat bogs, despite the extreme soil properties. Species richness did not differ between the centre of the peat bog and its edge, however activity density was higher at the edge, implying that edges provide more favourable habitat for isopods based on microclimatic conditions, food availability, and shelter sites. Calcium concentration is not the key limiting factor for isopod distribution in peat bogs as previously assumed. Environmental variables that impacted isopod spatial distribution include soil moisture and vegetation structure. Thus, presence of isopods in Southern European peat bogs is likely related to warmer climate and successional changes in peat bogs.

Proveli smo QTL kartiranje u test križancima IBMSyn4 populacije za tri svojstva kvalitete zrna: sadržaj ulja i proteina te hektolitarsku masu. 191 fenotipizirana i genotipizirana linija korištena je kao “training” populacija, dok je 85 linija, koje su bile samo genotipizirane, činilo „validacijsku“ populaciju pri izračunavanju najboljih linearnih nepristranih predviđanja (BLUP). QTL analiza provedena je na ukupno 276 fenotipova. 92000 filtriranih SNP markera, dobivenih genotipizacijom sekvenciranjem (GBS), korišteno je za izračun BLUP-ova, dok je set od 2178 genetski kartiranih SSR markera korišten za QTL analizu. Pri jednostavnom QTL skeniranju, detektirali smo nekoliko QTL-ova slabijega fenotipskoga učinka: jedan za sadržaj ulja (kromosom 1), jedan za sadržaj proteina (kromosom 10) i četiri za hektolitarsku masu (kromosomi 1, 3, 5 i 10). QTL-ovi povezani s hektolitarskom masom imali su aditivno djelovanje te je njihovim združenim djelovanjem objašnjeno 18.25% fenotipske varijance. Samo jedan QTL za hektolitarsku masu na petome kromosomu bio je statistički značajan pri kompozitnom intervalnom kartiranju. Navedeni QTL podržava 9.97% fenotipske varijance. QTL-ovi detektirani u ovom istraživanju predstavljaju monitoring komercijalno najuspješnije elitne germplazme za svojstva kvalitete zrna., We performed QTL mapping in testcrosses of maize population IBMSyn4 for three grain quality traits: oil and protein contents and test weight. 191 phenotyped and genotyped lines were used as a training set while 85 genotyped only lines comprised a validation set used to calculate best linear unbiased predictions (BLUP), making a total of 276 phenotypes for the QTL analysis. 92000 filtered Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS) SNP markers were used to calculate BLUPs, while a set of 2178 genetically mapped SSRs was used in QTL analysis. By simple QTL scan, we scored several minor effect QTLs: one for oil content (chromosome 1), one for protein content (chromosome 10) and four for test weight (chromosomes 1, 3, 5 and 10). QTLs associated with test weight were found to be additive, and 18.25% of phenotypic variance was explained by their joint effect. Only one QTL for test weight was found to be significant in composite interval mapping and it was mapped on chromosome 5. This QTL accounted for 9.97% of phenotypic variance. QTLs detected in this study represent monitoring of commercially most successful elite maize germplasm for grain quality traits.

The prospects of sparkling wine production by the ‘Champenoise’ method using alginate- immobilised yeast cells were examined. Grape varieties dominant in quantity were selected within the group of recommended and permitted varieties of Kutjevo vineyards, located in the eastern part of continental Croatia. Research revealed that there are no influential variations in the principal physicochemical and sensory characteristics between sparkling wines obtained through immobilised yeast and traditional sparkling method. The analysis of aroma compounds showed minor differences between samples. Observed oenological parameters assessed in the final products did not show any relevant oenological differences, with the exception of alcohol content, which was slightly higher in sparkling wines made with yeast cells immobilised with calcium alginate beads. According to this research, the sensory properties of the produced sparkling wines, compared to sparkling wine produced with free yeast, did not show any significant differences. On the full-scale obtained results indicate that some of the selected varieties can be sorted as suitable for the production of sparkling wine using immobilised yeast cells.

Despite the vast research on various aspects of its stratigraphy, relatively little is known about the source-rock potential of the Upper Jurassic Adriatic platform, southern Croatia. Here a case palynological study has been provided to determine the kerogen type, quality, and thermal maturity, and assess its relative hydrocarbon generative potential. Palynofacies characteristics indicate a low-energy, shallow-marine oxygen-depleted setting. The deposited mud-supported carbonates contain organic matter that is almost entirely composed of a fluorescent amorphous organic matter of planktonic and bacterial origin. A high phycomata/dinocyst ratio suggests relative hydrographic stability in an environment favorable for motile-stage dinoflagellate community with reduced production of dinocysts. The lack of anaerobic degradation and very good preservation of lipoid palynomorphs indicates dysoxic conditions ; the latter also is suggested by a low proportion of algal-phytoplanktic carbohydrates. The lack of oxygen-deficient zone within the water column, coupled with well-preserved lipoid sediment components, suggests that the boundary between the oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor levels was likely located at/near the sediment-water interface. The palyno-organic facies analysis suggests that the organic matter corresponds to the type II (possibly I/II) kerogen (VRo ∼0.3–0.4%) that was protected from degradation before, during and after sedimentation. Well-preserved lipoid components suggest a good hydrocarbon-generative potential, but the low TOC values (

An approach for experimental research planning, based on Monte Carlo experiments, is suggested in this paper. The analysis is performed for AC permissible stress research in oil-barrier insulation system where paper insulated electrodes are used for insulation models production. The influence of sample size and high voltage test censoring on the accuracy of permissible stress estimation is examined as well as the possibility of using Monte Carlo experiments in costs and time-consumption optimization.

Faraday and resonant density waves emerge in Bose-Einstein condensates as a result of harmonic driving of the system. They represent nonlinear excitations and are generated due to the interaction-induced coupling of collective oscillation modes and the existence of parametric resonances. Using a mean-field variational and a full numerical approach, we studied density waves in dipolar condensates at zero temperature, where breaking of the symmetry due to anisotropy of the dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) plays an important role. We derived variational equations of motion for the dynamics of a driven dipolar system and identify the most unstable modes that correspond to the Faraday and resonant waves. Based on this, we derived the analytical expressions for spatial periods of both types of density waves as functions of the contact and the DDI strength. We compared the obtained variational results with the results of extensive numerical simulations that solve the dipolar Gross-Pitaevskii equation in 3D, and found a very good agreement., 18 pages, 10 figures

Patch reefs and their surrounding skeletal–peloidal–intraclast grainstone facies are very abundant on modern (sub-) tropical carbonate platforms. Compared to the barrier and fringing reef facies, the processes influencing composition, mineralogy, and stable-isotope record of peri-reefal sediment have received much less attention, despite a potentially significant volume of such sediment in many Phanerozoic carbonate platforms. To better understand the evolution and sedimentary record of patch-reef settings, this study investigates the patch-reef biota (scuba diving surveys) and composition (petrography), mineralogy (X-ray diffraction) and stable-isotope record (mass spectrometry) of peri-reefal sediments at East Beach on the northeastern, windward margin of San Salvador Island, the Bahamas. The macroalgae-dominated ecology is assessed, and a decadal decline in stony coral coverage with a shift to more opportunistic, stress-tolerant species is documented. The most common stony corals on these shallow-water (3–5 m) patch reefs are Diploria strigosa, Porites astreoides, and P. porites, and Halimeda lacrimosa dominates among green algae. Peri-reefal sediment is pure carbonate sand composed of roughly equal volumes of aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC), with mean MgCO3 content in HMC of 15.2%. The bulk-sediment isotope record shows very limited variation (δ13C between + 2.3‰ and + 3.2‰, and δ18O between − 0.8‰ and − 0.6‰) and this is consistent with similar modern settings. A lack of very fine particles and an abundance of intraclasts suggest that the environment is strongly influenced by bio- and physical erosion. Fast-growing algae have likely reached an abundance beyond the grazing capacity, which has drastically reduced the space for coral settlement and recruitment, and thus has compromised the patch-reef resilience in this part of the Bahamian Archipelago.