41. Chloroplast redox state changes mark cell-to-cell signaling in the hypersensitive responseTjaša Lukan, Anže Županič, Tjaša Mahkovec Povalej, Jacob O. Brunkard, Mirjam Kmetič, Mojca Juteršek, Špela Baebler, Kristina Gruden, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most commonly used substances in the manufacture ofvarious everyday products. Growing concerns about its hazardous properties, including endocrinedisruption and genotoxicity, have led to its gradual replacement by presumably safer analogues inmanufacturing plastics. The widespread use of BPA and, more recently, its analogues has increasedtheir residues in the environment. However, our knowledge of their toxicological profiles is limitedand their combined effects are unknown. In the present study, we investigated the toxic effectscaused by single bisphenols and by the combined exposure of BPA and its two analogues, BPAP andBPC, after short (24-h) and prolonged (96-h) exposure in HepG2 spheroids. The results showed thatBPA did not reduce cell viability in HepG2 spheroids after 24-h exposure. In contrast, BPAP andBPC affected cell viability in HepG2 spheroids. Both binary mixtures (BPA/BPAP and BPA/BPC)decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, but the significant difference was only observedfor the combination of BPA/BPC (both at 40μM). After 96-h exposure, none of the BPs studiedaffected cell viability in HepG2 spheroids. Only the combination of BPA/BPAP decreased cellviability in a dose-dependent manner that was significant for the combination of 4μM BPA and 4μMBPAP. None of the BPs and their binary mixtures studied affected the surface area and growth ofspheroids as measured by planimetry. In addition, all BPs and their binary mixtures studied triggeredoxidative stress, as measured by the production of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde,at both exposure times. Overall, the results suggest that it is important to study the effects of BPsas single compounds. It is even more important to study the effects of combined exposures, as thecombined effects may differ from those induced by single compounds.
Keywords: chloroplast redox state, hypersensitive response (HR)-conferred resistance, immune signaling, live cell imaging, Solanum tuberosum (potato), spatiotemporal analysis, stromules, virus resistance
Published in DiRROS: 13.04.2023; Views: 408; Downloads: 134
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42. Mapping dreams in a computational space : a phrase-level model for analyzing Fight/Flight and other typical situations in dream reportsMaja Gutman Mušič, Pavan Holur, Kelly Bulkeley, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: This article demonstrates that an automated system of linguistic analysis can be developed – the Oneirograph – to analyze large collections of dreams and computationally map their contents in terms of typical situations involving an interplay of characters, activities, and settings. Focusing the analysis first on the twin situations of fighting and fleeing, the results provide densely detailed empirical evidence of the underlying semantic structures of typical dreams. The results also indicate that the Oneirograph analytic system can be applied to other typical dream situations as well (e.g., flying, falling), each of which can be computationally mapped in terms of a distinctive constellation of characters, activities, and settings.
Keywords: dreams, patterns, natural language processing, Oneirograph, network analysis, semantic structure
Published in DiRROS: 22.03.2023; Views: 381; Downloads: 213
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43. Fo Guang Shan's Expansion in the Religious Market of Thailand : a SWOT analysisGuiyu Su, Yaoping Liu, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: As one of the prominent Mahayana Buddhist institutions from Taiwan, Fo guang Shan (FgS) entered the religious market of Thailand as early as the 1990s. Its influence has grown tremendously among the local Chinese communities and Thai society. Despite this, there is a dearth of scholarship dedicated to FgS’s mar-ket expansion in Theravada-dominated Thailand. Through a SWOT analysis, this paper explores FgS’s marketing strategy for the Thai religious market. The findings suggest that FgS bears certain strengths, such as its appealing humanistic Budd-hist doctrine, gift-giving networking skills and its strong emotional bonds with the Chinese communities in Thailand. These strengths have brought and will conti-nuously provide FgS with opportunities for further expansion. However, FgS’s weakness is always there and obvious, given its foreign and non-mainstream na-ture and questionable legitimacy of existing as a Buddhist institution (or temple) in Thailand. All this has already caused threats to FgS’s missionary clergies and sanctuaries, mainly based in the Bangkok area, not to mention the growingly fierce competition from its Thai Theravada and local-born Mahayana counterparts.
Keywords: religion, Thai religion, religious market, marketing strategy, SWOT analysis, Thailand
Published in DiRROS: 28.02.2023; Views: 382; Downloads: 229
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44. Tools for landscape analysis of optimisation problems in Procedural Content Generation for gamesVanessa Volz, Boris Naujoks, Pascal Kerschke, Tea Tušar, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: The term Procedural Content Generation (PCG) refers to the (semi-)automatic generation of game content by algorithmic means, and its methods are becoming increasingly popular in game-oriented research and industry. A special class of these methods, which is commonly known as search-based PCG, treats the given task as an optimisation problem. Such problems are predominantly tackled by evolutionary algorithms. We will demonstrate in this paper that obtaining more information about the defined optimisation problem can substantially improve our understanding of how to approach the generation of content. To do so, we present and discuss three efficient analysis tools, namely diagonal walks, the estimation of high-level properties, as well as problem similarity measures. We discuss the purpose of each of the considered methods in the context of PCG and provide guidelines for the interpretation of the results received. This way we aim to provide methods for the comparison of PCG approaches and eventually, increase the quality and practicality of generated content in industry.
Keywords: optimization, search-based procedural content generation, exploratory landscape analysis, Mario level generation
Published in DiRROS: 24.02.2023; Views: 444; Downloads: 183
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45. Analysis of the geological control on the spatial distribution of potentially toxic concentrations of As and F- in groundwater on a Pan-European scaleElena Giménez-Forcada, Juan Antonio Luque-Espinar, María Teresa López-Bahut, Juan Grima-Olmedo, Jorge Jiménez-Sánchez, Carlos Ontiveros-Beltranena, José Angel Díaz-Muñoz, Daniel Elster, Ferid Skopljak, Denitza D. Voutchkova, Birgitte Hansen, Klaus Hinsby, Jörg Schullehner, Eline Malcuit, Laurence Gourcy, Teodóra Szőcs, Nóra Gál, Daði Þorbjörnsson, Katie Tedd, Dāvis Borozdins, Henry Debattista, Nina Rman, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The distribution of the high concentrations of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F-) in groundwater on a Pan-European scale could be explained by the geological European context (lithology and structural faults). To test this hypothesis, seventeen countries and eighteen geological survey organizations (GSOs) have participated in the dataset. The methodology has used the HydroGeoToxicity (HGT) and the Baseline Concentration (BLC) index. The results prove that most of the waters considered in this study are in good conditions for drinking water consumption, in terms of As and/or F- content. A low proportion of the analysed samples present HGT≥ 1 levels (4% and 7% for As and F-, respectively). The spatial distribution of the highest As and/or F- concentrations (via BLC values) has been analysed using GIS tools. The highest values are identified associated with fissured hard rock outcrops (crystalline rocks) or Cenozoic sedimentary zones, where basement fractures seems to have an obvious control on the distribution of maximum concentrations of these elements in groundwaters.
Keywords: trace elements, arsenic fluoride, groundwater, geo-hydrochemistry, spatial analysis
Published in DiRROS: 30.01.2023; Views: 1015; Downloads: 228
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46. Prediction of actual from climatic precipitation with data collected from northern Poland : a statistical approachJacek Barańczuk, Martina Zeleňáková, Hany F. Abd-Elhamid, Katarzyna Barańczuk, Salem S. Gharbia, Peter Blišťan, Cécil J. W. Meulenberg, Peter Kumer, Włodzimierz Golus, Maciej Markowski, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Water is a basic element of the natural environment and the most important component in human water management. Rainfall is the main source of water. Therefore, determining the amount of precipitation reaching the ground using sensors is crucial information. Precise precipitation data are necessary for better modeling quality, as the observation data from weather stations are used as basics for weather model assessment. The authors compared precipitation from the Hellmann rain gauge (climatic precipitation, 1.0 m above the ground surface) measured throughout the year and the GGI 3000 rain gauge (actual precipitation on the ground level) measured from April to October. Measurement sequences from the years 2011–2020 were considered. The data for analysis were obtained from a weather station located in northern Poland. The authors analyzed the relationships between data from the two sensors. A comparative study showed that the measurements of actual precipitation are higher and there are strong relationships between actual and climatic rainfall (r = 0.99). Using the introduced coefficient it is possible to determine the full–year actual precipitation with high probability, taking into account the precipitation with a correction from the winter half-year and the actual precipitation from the summer half-year, which is of great importance in the calculation of the water balance.
Keywords: natural environment, climate change, precipitation, prediction, statistics, analysis, Poland
Published in DiRROS: 25.01.2023; Views: 406; Downloads: 249
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47. Depositional environment of the Middle Triassic Strelovec Formation on Mt. Raduha, Kamnik-Savinja Alps, northern SloveniaPrimož Miklavc, Bogomir Celarc, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The Raduha section represents a continuation of the research of the Anisian Strelovec Formation in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. The Strelovec Formation was deposited during the Anisian on a drowned section of the Serla Dolomite carbonate platform in a restricted probably outer ramp environment associated with an intraplatform basin. The base of the section is represented by dolostone breccia containing angular carbonate lithoclasts of shallow-marine origin. This is followed by alternations of laminated and homogenous hemipelagic limestones deposited in a restricted and anoxic environment. Hemipelagic sedimentation was occasionally interrupted by clay input and deposition of sediments from gravity mass flows. Slow filling of the basin lead to a gradual cessation of anoxic conditions and sedimentation of bedded shallow-marine limestones. After shallow water conditions were established, bioclastic dolostone of the Contrin Formation was deposited.
Keywords: Southern Alps, bituminous limestones, restricted basin, intraformational breccia, Anisian, facies analysis
Published in DiRROS: 18.01.2023; Views: 722; Downloads: 248
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48. Statistical approach to interpretation of geochemical data of stream sediment in Pleše mining areaSimona Jarc, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The Ba, Pb and Zn ore deposit Pleše near Ljubljana is one of the formerly productive mines. The stream sediments were sampled and analysed by XRF to establish the effect of grain size, mineralization, and downstream location of sampling sites on geochemical composition based on various statistical analyses. Statistical analyses of the geochemical data confirm the impact of mineralization. The parametric t-test, non-parametric Mann-Whitney test and cluster analysis showed only minor differences in the geochemical composition of the samples with different grain sizes (< 0.063 mm and 0.063-2 mm). The parametric and non-parametric correlation coefficients as well as cluster analysis indicate that the contents of Si, Al, K, Rb, and Fe are associated with weathered rock forming minerals such as micas, and clay minerals, whereas Nb and Zr are associated with minerals resistant to weathering. Ca and Mg are associated with carbonates. S, Ba, Sr, Pb, Zn, and Mn indicate local mineralization with sulphates and sulphides. The results of the t-test and analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney tests and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA of the groups established by the cluster analysis confirm that the contents of Ba, Pb and Sr have a statistically significant influence on the classification of the cluster group - i.e., the influence of sediment mineralization. There are no differences in elemental contents in the sediment samples downstream. The statistical approach to evaluate the geochemical data has proven useful and provides a good basis for further interpretation.
Keywords: ANOVA, t-test, correlation, cluster analysis, XRF, mineralization
Published in DiRROS: 18.01.2023; Views: 475; Downloads: 221
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49. Private forest owner willingness to mobilise wood from dense, small-diameter tree standsMatevž Triplat, Satu Helenius, Ruben Laina, Nike Krajnc, Thomas Kronholm, Zdenka Ženko, Teppo Hujala, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Forests are a source of renewable biomass, and their utilisation will play a vital role in the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. Small-diameter tree management could contribute to this transition via providing renewable biomass for sustainable uses and fostering tree growth towards long-lifecycle bioproducts. The utilisation of small-diameter trees in the EU is still low since new technologies and work models are required to make the operations economically profitable, environmentally sound, and socially attractive. The supply of biomass from small-diameter tree stands is dependent on forest owners with diverse perceptions on their forests and diverse ownership objectives. However, there is scarce research on forest owner perceptions on small-diameter tree management, which encompasses home consumption, self-active work, and commercial forestry services. A survey in four EU countries was designed to identify the main factors affecting the motivation of forest owners to mobilise biomass from small-diameter stands. Factor and clustering analyses were used to identify four forest owner segments: weakly-engaged traders, well-being seekers, self-active profit-seekers, and well-informed service users. The willingness to utilise biomass from small-diameter tree stands and participate in the market was shaped by forest owner knowledge of forestry, economic and socio-cultural motivations, and sensitivity to service offerings. Forest owner preferences for market participation are heterogenous, and thus different policy implementation approaches are needed and proposed.
Keywords: customer profiles, factor analysis, forestry services, management objectives, biomass, communication strategies
Published in DiRROS: 05.01.2023; Views: 679; Downloads: 272
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50. Forestry and the 40th anniversary of IALEJanez Pirnat, 2022, preface, editorial, afterword Abstract: In this paper we evaluated key forestry related topics in the journal Landscape Ecology in the period 1987-2021 using keyword analysis to highlight which forestry topics have been relevant for landscape ecologists from the inception of the IALE organisation until present. Our analysis has shown that forests have far too often been just a framework for research focusing on management interventions in the forest. The three key words with the highest frequencies were forest/wood fragmentation, forest management and forest(s). Until now, however, we have not made sufficient use of the opportunity to study the field of forest ecosystem functionning at the landscape level. Suggestions for future reserch are therefore given.
Keywords: forest, anniversaries, IALE, key words analysis, forest fragmentation
Published in DiRROS: 28.10.2022; Views: 1477; Downloads: 646
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