HELIN Professional Development Task Force Final Report

Final Report of the Professional Development Task Force of the HELIN Consortium - 201

Collection Development of Electronic Information Resources in Turkish University Libraries

The number of information sources available through both printed and electronic media are ever increasing. Even libraries with sizable collection development budgets are having difficulties in coping with this increase. Yet with the development of new technologies, the possibilities of innovative interlibrary cooperation projects emerge: libraries combining their efforts through various consortia are trying to get access to electronic information sources more economically. In this paper, we briefly review the state-of-the-art of Turkish university libraries and summarize the efforts to set up a university library consortium to provide consortial access to electronic information sources and services. We discuss some of the causes which are delaying the establishment of such a consortium

A Powerful Approach to Sub-Phenotype Analysis in Population-Based Genetic Association Studies

The ultimate goal of genome-wide association (GWA) studies is to identify genetic variants contributing effects to complex phenotypes in order to improve our understanding of the biological architecture underlying the trait. One approach to allow us to meet this challenge is to consider more refined sub-phenotypes of disease, defined by pattern of symptoms, for example, which may be physiologically distinct, and thus may have different underlying genetic causes. The disadvantage of sub-phenotype analysis is that large disease cohorts are sub-divided into smaller case categories, thus reducing power to detect association. To address this issue, we have developed a novel test of association within a multinomial regression modeling framework, allowing for heterogeneity of genetic effects between sub-phenotypes. The modeling framework is extremely flexible, and can be generalized to any number of distinct sub-phenotypes. Simulations demonstrate the power of the multinomial regression-based analysis over existing methods when genetic effects differ between sub-phenotypes, with minimal loss of power when these effects are homogenous for the unified phenotype. Application of the multinomial regression analysis to a genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes, with cases categorized according to body mass index, highlights previously recognized differential mechanisms underlying obese and non-obese forms of the disease, and provides evidence of a potential novel association that warrants follow-up in independent replication cohorts

Gender equality in local economic development in Scotland, case study for the international project W.IN D. – Women in Development

As one of the partners of the research consortium, EPRC was in charge of the elaboration of a case study on Scotland to identify and analyse: (i) practical experiences with strategies to support the participation of women in local development processes, and (ii) practical experiences with strategies to support the introduction of the principle of gender mainstreaming into local development processes

Mobile satellite service in the United States

Mobile satellite service (MSS) has been under development in the United States for more than two decades. The service will soon be provided on a commercial basis by a consortium of eight U.S. companies called the American Mobile Satellite Consortium (AMSC). AMSC will build a three-satellite MSS system that will offer superior performance, reliability and cost effectiveness for organizations requiring mobile communications across the U.S. The development and operation of MSS in North America is being coordinated with Telesat Canada and Mexico. AMSC expects NASA to provide launch services in exchange for capacity on the first AMSC satellite for MSAT-X activities and for government demonstrations

Cross-platform validation of notional baseline architecture models of naval electric ship power systems

To support efforts in assessing the relative merit of alternative power system architectures for future naval combatants, the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium (ESRDC) has developed notional baseline models for each of the primary candidate architectures currently considered, medium-voltage DC (MVDC), conventional 60 Hz medium-voltage (MVAC), and high-frequency medium-voltage (HFAC). Initial efforts have focused on the development of a consistent set of component models, of which the system models can be comprised, and the basic definition of the system models. The broader objectives of the consortium, however, go beyond the definition of the baseline models. The focus is on the process by which the models are implemented in software and validated, the process by which the performance of the disparate system models are objectively and quantitatively assessed and compared, and, ultimately, the process by which the relative merits of the architectures may be assessed. This paper focuses specifically on cross-platform component validation.Center for Electromechanic

Consortium for materials development in space

The status of the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) is reviewed. Individual projects are outlined and the status of Get Away Special (GAS) 105 is summarized

Co‐operative cross‐platform courseware development

The UKMCC (UK Mathematics Courseware Consortium) is a Consortium funded under TLTP (Training and Learning Technology Programme) to produce courseware for service mathematics teaching, using the SEFI (Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs) syllabus. There are agreed courseware design guidelines and a simple courseware management system which allows cross‐referencing. Courseware is divided into modules, with an author as implementer for each. On any one hardware platform, a variety of authoring languages is possible. Across hardware platforms, the design guidelines ensure that conversion is possible, and will preserve look and feel. We argue here that these arrangements provide a basis for continued co‐operation between authors and future development as the technology changes