A digital technique to compensate for time- base error in magnetic tape recording

Digital technique for compensation of time base error in magnetic tape recorder dat

Bioluminescent reporters for catabolic gene expression and pollutant bioavailability

The application of visualized catabolic nah-gene expression using a luxCDABE gene fusion provides a valuable method to measure quantitatively and specifically naphthalene and salicylate bioavailability. It has been demonstrated that the physiological state of the test culture together with the intrinsic regulation mechanisms of the naphthalene degradation pathway as well as the physiological aspects of the lux gene fusion have to be taken into account. The method presented provides a high potential for in situ bioprocess monitoring. In addition, the results obtained with immobilized cells provide a basis for the development of biosensors for environmental applications in specific pollutant monitoring in waste streams and soil slurry systems but, as a general method, also for more conventional biotechnological process control. 8 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Novel methods for detecting buried explosive devices

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Quantum Magnetics, Inc. (QM) are exploring novel landmine detection technologies. Technologies considered here include bioreporter bacteria, swept acoustic resonance, nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR), and semiotic data fusion. Bioreporter bacteria look promising for third-world humanitarian applications; they are inexpensive, and deployment does not require high-tech methods. Swept acoustic resonance may be a useful adjunct to magnetometers in humanitarian demining. For military demining, NQR is a promising method for detecting explosive substances; of 50,000 substances that have been tested, none has an NQR signature that can be mistaken for RDX or TNT. For both military and commercial demining, sensor fusion entails two daunting tasks, identifying fusible features in both present-day and emerging technologies, and devising a fusion algorithm that runs in real-time on cheap hardware. Preliminary research in these areas is encouraging. A bioreporter bacterium for TNT detection is under development. Investigation has just started in swept acoustic resonance as an approach to a cheap mine detector for humanitarian use. Real-time wavelet processing appears to be a key to extending NQR bomb detection into mine detection, including TNT-based mines. Recent discoveries in semiotics may be the breakthrough that will lead to a robust fused detection scheme

Deconstructing the financialization of healthcare

Financialization is promoted by alliances of multilateral 'development' organisations, national governments, and owners and institutions of private capital. In the healthcare sector, the leveraging of private sources of finance is widely argued as necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of universal health coverage. Employing social science perspectives on financialization, we contend that this is a new phase of capital formation. We trace the antecedents, institutions, instruments and ideas that facilitated the penetration of private capital in this sector, and the emergence of new asset classes that distinguish it. We argue that this deepening of financialization represents a fundamental shift in the organizing principles for healthcare systems, with negative implications for health and equality