Proof of George Andrews's and David Robbins's q-TSPP Conjecture

The conjecture that the orbit-counting generating function for totally symmetric plane partitions can be written as an explicit product formula, has been stated independently by George Andrews and David Robbins around 1983. We present a proof of this long-standing conjecture

AFM imaging of functionalized double-walled carbon nanotubes

We present a comparative study of several non-covalent approaches to disperse, debundle and noncovalently functionalize double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs). We investigated the ability of bovine serum albumin (BSA), phospholipids grafted onto amine-terminated polyethylene glycol (PLPEG2000-NH2), as well as a combination thereof, to coat purified DWNTs. Topographical imaging with the atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to assess the coating of individual DWNTs and the degree of debundling and dispersion. Topographical images showed that functionalized DWNTs are better separated and less aggregated than pristine DWNTs and that the different coating methods differ in their abilities to successfully debundle and disperse DWNTs. Height profiles indicated an increase in the diameter of DWNTs depending on the functionalization method and revealed adsorption of single molecules onto the nanotubes. Biofunctionalization of the DWNT surface was achieved by coating DWNTs with biotinylated BSA, providing for biospecific binding of streptavidin in a simple incubation step. Finally, biotin-BSA-functionalized DWNTs were immobilized on an avidin layer via the specific avidin–biotin interaction

AFM imaging of functionalized carbon nanotubes on biological membranes

Multifunctional carbon nanotubes are promising for biomedical applications as their nano-size, together with their physical stability, gives access into the cell and various cellular compartments including the nucleus. However, the direct and label-free detection of carbon nanotube uptake into cells is a challenging task. The atomic force microscope (AFM) is capable of resolving details of cellular surfaces at the nanometer scale and thus allows following of the docking of carbon nanotubes to biological membranes. Here we present topographical AFM images of non-covalently functionalized single walled (SWNT) and double walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT) immobilized on different biological membranes, such as plasma membranes and nuclear envelopes, as well as on a monolayer of avidin molecules. We were able to visualize DWNT on the nuclear membrane while at the same time resolving individual nuclear pore complexes. Furthermore, we succeeded in localizing individual SWNT at the border of incubated cells and in identifying bundles of DWNT on cell surfaces by AFM imaging

Empowering customer engagement by informative billing: a European approach

Programmes aimed at improving end-use energy efficiency are a keystone in the market strategies of leading distribution system operators (DSOs) and energy retail companies and are increasing in application, soon expected to become a mainstream practice. Informative services based on electricity meter data collected for billing are powerful tools for energy savings in scale and increase customer engagement with the energy suppliers enabling the deployment of demand response programmes helping to optimise distribution grid operation. These services are completely in line with Europe’s 2020 strategy for overall energy performance improvement (cf. directives 2006/32/EC, 2009/72/EC, 2012/27/EU). The Intelligent Energy Europe project EMPOWERING involves 4 European utilities and an international team of university researchers, social scientists and energy experts for developing and providing insight based services and tools for 344.000 residential customers in Austria, France, Italy and Spain. The project adopts a systematic iterative approach of service development based on envisaging the utilities’, customers’ and legal requirements, and incorporates the feedback from testing in the design process. The technological solution provided by the leading partner CIMNE is scalable open source Big Data Analytics System coupled with the DSO’s information systems and delivering a range of value adding services for the customer, such as: - comparison with similar households - indications of performance improvements over time - consumption-weather dependence - detailed consumption visualisation and breakdown - personalised energy saving tips - alerts (high consumption, high bill, extreme temperature, etc.) The paper presents the development approach, describes the ICT system architecture and analyses the legal and regulatory context for providing this kind of services in the European Community. The limitations for third party data access, customer consent and data privacy are discussed, and how these have been overcome with the implementation of the “privacy by design” principle is explained

99 cent: Price Points in E-Commerce

Basu (2006) argues that the prevalence of 99 cent prices in shops can be explained with rational consumers who disregard the rightmost digits of the price. This bounded rational behaviour leads to a Bertrand equi- librium with positive markups. We use data from an Austrian price com- parison site and find results highly compatible with Basu's theory. We can show that price points - in particular prices ending in 9 - are preva- lent and have significant impact on consumer demand. Moreover, these price points are sticky; neither the price-setter itself wants to change them neither the rivals do underbid these prices, if they represent the cheapest price on the market.e-commerce, price comparison, price policy

Comparison of a standard CO2 pressure pneumoperitoneum insufflator versus AirSeal™: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: AirSeal™ is a novel class of valve-free insufflation system that enables a stable pneumoperitoneum with continuous smoke evacuation and carbon dioxide (CO(2)) recirculation during laparoscopic surgery. Comparison data to standard CO(2) pressure pneumoperitoneum insufflators is scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential advantages of AirSeal™ compared to a standard CO(2) insufflator. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a single center randomized controlled trial comparing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, colorectal surgery and hernia repair with AirSeal™ (group A) versus a standard CO(2) pressure insufflator (group S). Patients are randomized using a web-based central randomization and registration system. Primary outcome measures will be operative time and level of postoperative shoulder pain by using the visual analog score (VAS). Secondary outcomes include the evaluation of immunological values through blood tests, anesthesiological parameters, surgical side effects and length of hospital stay. Taking into account an expected dropout rate of 5%, the total number of patients is 182 (n = 91 per group). All tests will be two-sided with a confidence level of 95% (P <0.05). DISCUSSION: The duration of an operation is an important factor in reducing the patient’s exposure to CO(2) pneumoperitoneum and its adverse consequences. This trial will help to evaluate if the announced advantages of AirSeal™, such as clear sight of the operative site and an exceptionally stable working environment, will facilitate the course of selected procedures and influence operation time and patients clinical outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01740011, registered 23 November 2012

Legal Literacy and Users’ Awareness of Privacy, Data Protection and Copyright Legislation in the Web 2.0 Era

Web 2.0 offers an easy way for individuals to share any kind of content. The users’ new role of being a content producer is associated with the responsibility to observe the relevant law. In this article, relevant regulations of the German and Austrian law are presented. In an attempt to understand the factors that influence users’ lawful behavior, the presented research examines the effects of legal literacy, awareness and lawful attitude on lawful and unlawful actions. The empirical study shows results from a survey of 1,134 students from three different faculties. Regression and mediation analyses were used to analyze the effects. The results indicate that legal literacy has a negative direct influence on lawful behavior, while lawful attitude shows a positive effect among Austrian students. Furthermore, legal awareness has a stronger effect on lawful attitude than legal literacy

Decoding Sequence Classification Models for Acquiring New Biological Insights

Classifying biological sequences is one of the most important tasks in computational biology. In the last decade, support vector machines (SVMs) in combination with sequence kernels have emerged as a de-facto standard. These methods are theoretically well-founded, reliable, and provide high-accuracy solutions at low computational cost. However, obtaining a highly accurate classifier is rarely the end of the story in many practical situations. Instead, one often aims to acquire biological knowledge about the principles underlying a given classification task. SVMs with traditional sequence kernels do not offer a straightforward way of accessing this knowledge.&#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;In this contribution, we propose a new approach to analyzing biological sequences on the basis of support vector machines with sequence kernels. We first extract explicit pattern weights from a given SVM. When classifying a sequence, we then compute a prediction profile by distributing the weight of each pattern to the sequence positions that match the pattern. The final profile not only allows assessing the importance of a position, but also determining for which class it is indicative. Since it is unfeasible to analyze profiles of all sequences in a given data set, we advocate using affinity propagation (AP) clustering to narrow down the analysis to a small set of typical sequences.&#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;The proposed approach is applicable to a wide range of biological sequences and a wide selection of sequence kernels. To illustrate our framework, we present the prediction of oligomerization tendencies of coiled coil proteins as a case study.&#xd;&#xa

Teaching Accessibility and Design-For-All in the Information and Communication Technology Curriculum: Three Case Studies of Universities in the United States, England, and Austria

Digital technologies allow people with disabilities to participate independently in society in ways they never could before. The full realization of these new opportunities remains elusive, though, because working professionals in the information and communication technology (ICT) field rarely receive adequate training in how to make digital ICT accessible to people with disabilities. Adding accessibility to the university ICT curriculum can help create a critical mass of ICT professionals with accessibility awareness and expertise to finally realize the full accessibility potential of digital technologies. This dissertation provides a rich informational context from which ICT curriculum leaders can decide how to best infuse accessibility into their own curriculum