Is Big Data for everyone? The challenges of Big Data adoption in SMEs

The aim of this paper is to present an investigative study on the concept of Big Data and its challenges towards implementation in manufacturing SMEs. Big Data aims to facilitate the collaborative approach in SMEs through the creation of real time data visualization to address key challenges to many of the market variations for every sector SMEs. Although, earlier research studies have highlighted the importance of Big Data from technological perspectives, this study focuses towards SMEs due to its feasibility and flexibility within the market space. This research aims to investigate the use of case study approach for the re-use, adoption and understanding of strategic future direction from the findings. The findings and early analysis from this paper could be referred by researchers when addressing the use of big data analytics within manufacturing SMEs. Finally, the paper provides a key strategic point towards the exploration of Big Data within SMEs

Investigating the anti-oestrogenic effect of p-Synephrine and de novo design of oestrogen receptor modulating molecules

p-synephrine is the active ingredient in Citrus aurantium which is a major component of weight loss preparations. A uterotrophic assay carried out by Arbo et al. on immature female mice demonstrated that p-synephrine could act as an antagonist at the oestrogen receptor. This warrants consideration because these formulations are used indiscriminately by young women. 17βoestradiol has a high affinity for the oestrogen receptor; consequently it was used as a benchmark against which the affinity of p-synephrine and the de novo designed non-steroidal molecules could be compared. Binding affinities of the psynephrine molecules were relatively low (pKd= 4.5-5.0) compared to that of 17β-oestradiol (pKd 7.23). However, the de novo generated molecules had affinities ranging between 5.6-8.48. This gives a good indication that these molecules could potentiallydisplace 17β-oestradiol from the oestrogen receptor ligand binding pocket and that they could be further developed for the treatment of breast cancer and osteoporosis.peer-reviewe

Transverse Demagnetization Dynamics of a Unitary Fermi Gas

Understanding the quantum dynamics of strongly interacting fermions is a problem relevant to diverse forms of matter, including high-temperature superconductors, neutron stars, and quark-gluon plasma. An appealing benchmark is offered by cold atomic gases in the unitary limit of strong interactions. Here we study the dynamics of a transversely magnetized unitary Fermi gas in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. We observe the demagnetization of the gas, caused by diffusive spin transport. At low temperatures, the diffusion constant saturates to the conjectured quantum-mechanical lower bound $\simeq \hbar/m$, where $m$ is the particle mass. The development of pair correlations, indicating the transformation of the initially non-interacting gas towards a unitary spin mixture, is observed by measuring Tan's contact parameter.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Accepted versio

Caractérisation d'une insertion CG dans le gène du collagène VII chez un patient atteint d'épidermolyse bulleuse dystrophique récessive de Hallopeau-Siemens

L'épidermolyse bulleuse dystrophique récessive généralisée mutilante de Hallopeau-Siemens (EBDR-HS) est une génodermatose grave, caractérisée par une fragilité cutanéo-muqueuse extrême associée à une forte diminution, voire une absence des fibres d'ancrage essentiellement constituées de collagène VIL Une liaison génétique a été établie entre le gène du collagène VII et le phénotype de l'EBDR-HS. Au cours de ce travail, on a caractérisé, à l'aide des techniques de DGGE et de séquençage d'ADN, une insertion d'un doublet CG chez un patient atteint d'EBDRHS. Cette insertion conduit à un décalage du cadre de lecture et à la création d'un codon stop précoce prédisant la synthèse de collagène VII dépourvu de 76 % de la protéine totale. Ces résultats suggèrent fortement que cette mutation, identifiée dans le gène du collagène VII est responsable des anomalies des fibres d'ancrage chez le patient étudié. De plus ils sont très utiles au conseil génétique et au diagnostic prénatal

Observation of the Leggett-Rice effect in a unitary Fermi gas

We observe that the diffusive spin current in a strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gas of $^{40}$K precesses about the local magnetization. As predicted by Leggett and Rice, precession is observed both in the Ramsey phase of a spin-echo sequence, and in the nonlinearity of the magnetization decay. At unitarity, we measure a Leggett-Rice parameter $\gamma = 1.08(9)$ and a bare transverse spin diffusivity $D_0^\perp = 2.3(4)\,\hbar/m$ for a normal-state gas initialized with full polarization and at one fifth of the Fermi temperature, where $m$ is the atomic mass. One might expect $\gamma = 0$ at unitarity, where two-body scattering is purely dissipative. We observe $\gamma \rightarrow 0$ as temperature is increased towards the Fermi temperature, consistent with calculations that show the degenerate Fermi sea restores a non-zero $\gamma$. Tuning the scattering length $a$, we find that a sign change in $\gamma$ occurs in the range $0 < (k_F a)^{-1} \lesssim 1.3$, where $k_F$ is the Fermi momentum. We discuss how $\gamma$ reveals the effective interaction strength of the gas, such that the sign change in $\gamma$ indicates a switching of branch, between a repulsive and an attractive Fermi gas.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; Changed to the more conventional kF=(3 pi^2 n)^1/3, instead of the polarized definition we used in v

Defect-induced perturbations of atomic monolayers on solid surfaces

We study long-range morphological changes in atomic monolayers on solid substrates induced by different types of defects; e.g., by monoatomic steps in the surface, or by the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM), placed at some distance above the substrate. Representing the monolayer in terms of a suitably extended Frenkel-Kontorova-type model, we calculate the defect-induced density profiles for several possible geometries. In case of an AFM tip, we also determine the extra force exerted on the tip due to the tip-induced de-homogenization of the monolayer.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Quantum transport in ultracold atoms

Ultracold atoms confined by engineered magnetic or optical potentials are ideal systems for studying phenomena otherwise difficult to realize or probe in the solid state because their atomic interaction strength, number of species, density, and geometry can be independently controlled. This review focuses on quantum transport phenomena in atomic gases that mirror and oftentimes either better elucidate or show fundamental differences with those observed in mesoscopic and nanoscopic systems. We discuss significant progress in performing transport experiments in atomic gases, contrast similarities and differences between transport in cold atoms and in condensed matter systems, and survey inspiring theoretical predictions that are difficult to verify in conventional setups. These results further demonstrate the versatility offered by atomic systems in the study of nonequilibrium phenomena and their promise for novel applications.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. A revie

The GANIL control system as seen from the control room

http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/AccelConf/c81/papers/fp-08.pdfInternational audienc