Automated protein structure calculation from NMR data

Current software is almost at the stage to permit completely automatic structure determination of small proteins of < 15 kDa, from NMR spectra to structure validation with minimal user interaction. This goal is welcome, as it makes structure calculation more objective and therefore more easily validated, without any loss in the quality of the structures generated. Moreover, it releases expert spectroscopists to carry out research that cannot be automated. It should not take much further effort to extend automation to ca 20 kDa. However, there are technological barriers to further automation, of which the biggest are identified as: routines for peak picking; adoption and sharing of a common framework for structure calculation, including the assembly of an automated and trusted package for structure validation; and sample preparation, particularly for larger proteins. These barriers should be the main target for development of methodology for protein structure determination, particularly by structural genomics consortia

Tax administration in developing countries : strategies and tools of implementation

Developing nations should adopt less sophisticated taxes (such as taxes on goods and services) to broaden the tax base and use more efficient administrative techniques. This could be achieved through a system of income withholdings (for all components of income) and through computerization. This could simplify withholding and collection by giving each taxpayer a number in a master file. Computers could also facilitate information gathering, cross checking, and audits. At present, potential tax bases are often not exploited because the application of existing laws is not possible. Because of this, administrators face major problems: a large portion of the economy is at a subsistence level and does not keep records. Where records are kept, accounting is not reliable. Taxpayer cooperation is also low for a variety of reasons: shortage of trained officials, a tradition of corruption, and because taxes are not often seen to produce better government services.Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Tax Policy and Administration

Predicting operator workload during system design

A workload prediction methodology was developed in response to the need to measure workloads associated with operation of advanced aircraft. The application of the methodology will involve: (1) conducting mission/task analyses of critical mission segments and assigning estimates of workload for the sensory, cognitive, and psychomotor workload components of each task identified; (2) developing computer-based workload prediction models using the task analysis data; and (3) exercising the computer models to produce predictions of crew workload under varying automation and/or crew configurations. Critical issues include reliability and validity of workload predictors and selection of appropriate criterion measures

EFFECTIVE SEDIMENT CONTROL IN A RESERVOIR

Sedimentation in a reservoir cannot be avoided. The average rate of sedimentation on the storage volume reduction of a reservoir in the world is about 1 % per year (Yoon,1992), meanwhile, the storage volume reduction in several reservoir in Indonesia reaches 1,64% to 2,83% per year (Atmojo,2012). These sediment’s accumulations in the reservoir will continually reduce the storage volume, thus the intended functions of reservoirs for flood control (Atmojo, 2013), irrigation and water supply, electric generation, etc. will also reduced and not optimal. Some of sediment control measures have been practiced in reducing sediment accumulation in reservoirs around the world. In principle, there are two approaches i.e., reduce the sediment input to a reservoir by land conservation, construction of check dam, sand pocket, diversion channel, etc. and reduce the sedimentation in the reservoir by sluicing, turbidity current, dredging, and flushing (Morris and Fan, 1998; Emamgholizadeh et al., 2006). This paper presents the performance of sediment’s reduction from a reservoir by flushing, sluicing, and disturbing flushing based on some laboratories results (Atmojo,2012). It is expected that this paper can contribute to elicits some finding on the selection of which suitable method for sediment reduction from a reservoir

Towards business integration as a service 2.0 (BIaaS 2.0)

Cloud Computing Business Framework (CCBF) is a framework for designing and implementation of Could Computing solutions. This proposal focuses on how CCBF can help to address linkage in Cloud Computing implementations. This leads to the development of Business Integration as a Service 1.0 (BIaaS 1.0) allowing different services, roles and functionalities to work together in a linkage-oriented framework where the outcome of one service can be input to another, without the need to translate between domains or languages. BIaaS 2.0 aims to allow automation, enhanced security, advanced risk modelling and improved collaboration between processes in BIaaS 1.0. The benefits from adopting BIaaS 1.0 and developing BIaaS 2.0 are illustrated using a case study from the University of Southampton and several collaborators including IBM US. BIaaS 2.0 can work with mainstream technologies such as scientific workflows, and the proposal and demonstration of BIaaS 2.0 will be aimed to certainly benefit industry and academia. © 2011 IEEE

Towards Business Integration as a Service 2.0

Cloud Computing Business Framework (CCBF) is a framework for designing and implementation of Could Computing solutions. This proposal focuses on how CCBF can help to address linkage in Cloud Computing implementations. This leads to the development of Business Integration as a Service 1.0 (BIaS 1.0) allowing different services, roles and functionalities to work together in a linkage-oriented framework where the outcome of one service can be input to another, without the need to translate between domains or languages. BIaS 2.0 aims to allow full automation, enhanced security, advanced risk modelling and improved collaboration between processes in BIaaS 1.0. The benefits from adopting BIaS 1.0 and developing BIaS 2.0 are illustrated using a case study from the University of Southampton and several collaborators including IBM US. BIaS 2.0 can work with mainstream technologies such as scientific workflows, and the proposal and demonstration of BIaaS 2.0 will certainly benefit industry and academia

Analysing and modelling train driver performance

Arguments for the importance of contextual factors in understanding human performance have been made extremely persuasive in the context of the process control industries. This paper puts these arguments into the context of the train driving task, drawing on an extensive analysis of driver performance with the Automatic Warning System (AWS). The paper summarises a number of constructs from applied psychological research which are thought to be important in understanding train driver performance. A “Situational Model” is offered as a framework for investigating driver performance. The model emphasises the importance of understanding the state of driver cognition at a specific time (“Now”) in a specific situation and a specific context