On the design of an implementation of kinetic minimum spanning trees

En aquest projecte dissenyem una possible implementació dels arbres cinètics d'expansió mínims proposats teòricament per Agarwal et al. a 'Parametric and kinetic minimum spanning trees'. El problema que es vol resoldre amb aquesta proposta és el de mantenir un arbre d'expansió mínim d'un graf amb pesos que canvia al llarg del temps. Els possibles canvis del graf són causats per canvis als pesos de les arestes -els quals són funció d'un paràmetre t que representa el temps- a més de permetre addicions i supressions d'arestes i actualitzacions de la funció de càlcul del pes de les arestes.In this project, we design a possible implementation of kinetic minimum spanning trees proposed theoretically by Agarwal et al. in 'Parametric and kinetic minimum spanning trees'. The problem we try to solve with this proposal is to maintain a minimum spanning tree of an edge-weighted graph that changes through time. The possible changes in the graph come from changes in the edge weights -which are functions of a parameter t which represents time- in addition to permitting additions and deletions of vertices and edges and updates to the edge weight calculation function

Determining Error Bars in Measurements of Ultrashort Laser Pulses

We present a simple and automatic method for determining the uncertainty in the retrieved intensity and phase versus time (and frequency) due to noise in a frequency-resolved optical-gating trace, independent of noise source. It uses the ‘‘bootstrap’’ statistical method and also yields an automated method for phase blanking (omitting the phase when the intensity is too low to determine it)

Conformational Targeting of Fibrillar Polyglutamine Proteins in Live Cells Escalates Aggregation and Cytotoxicity

Misfolding- and aggregation-prone proteins underlying Parkinson's, Huntington's and Machado-Joseph diseases, namely alpha-synuclein, huntingtin, and ataxin-3 respectively, adopt numerous intracellular conformations during pathogenesis, including globular intermediates and insoluble amyloid-like fibrils. Such conformational diversity has complicated research into amyloid-associated intracellular dysfunction and neurodegeneration. To this end, recombinant single-chain Fv antibodies (scFvs) are compelling molecular tools that can be selected against specific protein conformations, and expressed inside cells as intrabodies, for investigative and therapeutic purposes.Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and live-cell fluorescence microscopy, we report that a human scFv selected against the fibrillar form of alpha-synuclein targets isomorphic conformations of misfolded polyglutamine proteins. When expressed in the cytoplasm of striatal cells, this conformation-specific intrabody co-localizes with intracellular aggregates of misfolded ataxin-3 and a pathological fragment of huntingtin, and enhances the aggregation propensity of both disease-linked polyglutamine proteins. Using this intrabody as a tool for modulating the kinetics of amyloidogenesis, we show that escalating aggregate formation of a pathologic huntingtin fragment is not cytoprotective in striatal cells, but rather heightens oxidative stress and cell death as detected by flow cytometry. Instead, cellular protection is achieved by suppressing aggregation using a previously described intrabody that binds to the amyloidogenic N-terminus of huntingtin. Analogous cytotoxic results are observed following conformational targeting of normal or polyglutamine-expanded human ataxin-3, which partially aggregate through non-polyglutamine domains.These findings validate that the rate of aggregation modulates polyglutamine-mediated intracellular dysfunction, and caution that molecules designed to specifically hasten aggregation may be detrimental as therapies for polyglutamine disorders. Moreover, our findings introduce a novel antibody-based tool that, as a consequence of its general specificity for fibrillar conformations and its ability to function intracellularly, offers broad research potential for a variety of human amyloid diseases

Maximum number of edges in graph classes under degree and matching constraints

In extremal graph theory, we ask how large or small a property of a graph can be, when the graph has to satisfy certain constraints. In this thesis, we ask how many edges a graph can have with restrictions on its degree and matching number, when the graph belongs to a given graph class. The solutions on general graphs and bipartite graphs are known. We present here the solution on split graphs, disjoint union of split graphs and unit interval graphs. This is related to the determining the Ramsey numbers of certain graph classes. In addition, we present a characterization of factor-critical chordal graphs in terms of spanning subgraphs

On the design of an implementation of kinetic minimum spanning trees

En aquest projecte dissenyem una possible implementació dels arbres cinètics d'expansió mínims proposats teòricament per Agarwal et al. a 'Parametric and kinetic minimum spanning trees'. El problema que es vol resoldre amb aquesta proposta és el de mantenir un arbre d'expansió mínim d'un graf amb pesos que canvia al llarg del temps. Els possibles canvis del graf són causats per canvis als pesos de les arestes -els quals són funció d'un paràmetre t que representa el temps- a més de permetre addicions i supressions d'arestes i actualitzacions de la funció de càlcul del pes de les arestes.In this project, we design a possible implementation of kinetic minimum spanning trees proposed theoretically by Agarwal et al. in 'Parametric and kinetic minimum spanning trees'. The problem we try to solve with this proposal is to maintain a minimum spanning tree of an edge-weighted graph that changes through time. The possible changes in the graph come from changes in the edge weights -which are functions of a parameter t which represents time- in addition to permitting additions and deletions of vertices and edges and updates to the edge weight calculation function

Comparative Assessment of Pulsed and Continuous LED UV-A Lighting for Disinfection of Contaminated Surfaces

The germicidal efficacy of LED UV-A lighting has scarcely been compared in continuous and pulsed modes for contaminated surfaces. Herein, we compare the disinfection properties of pulsed versus continuous lighting at equal irradiances using a 365 nm LED device that replicates the doses of occupied-space continuous disinfection UV-A products. Representative organisms evaluated in this study included human-infectious enveloped and non-enveloped viruses (lentivirus and adeno-associated virus, respectively), a bacterial endospore (Bacillus atrophaeus), and a resilient gram-positive bacterium (Enterococcus faecalis). Nominal UV-A irradiances were tested at or below the UL standard limit for continuous human exposure (maximum irradiance of 10 W/m2). We observed photoinactivation properties that varied by organism type, with bacteria and enveloped virus being more susceptible to UV-A than non-enveloped virus and spores. Overall, we conclude that continuous-mode UV-A lighting is better suited for occupied-space disinfection than pulsing UV-A at equivalent low irradiances, and we draw comparisons to other studies in the literature

Beyond Error Bars: Understanding Uncertainty in Ultrashort-Pulse Frequency-Resolved-Optical-Gating Measurements in the Presence of Ambiguity

Previously we showed that the “bootstrap method,” a well-known statistical technique, can be used to automatically compute error bars in ultrashort pulse measurements using frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) without the need for additional measurements or traditional error analysis. Here we extend the bootstrap method to pulse measurement in the presence of ambiguities, where traditional error bars would give misleading information. As a result, we provide a new approach to displaying this uncertainty, which nicely reveals the richness of information available (or perhaps unavailable) in a FROG trace (or other measurement) in the presence of ambiguities

TED-2001 : Teknisk ErfaringsDatabase

Oppgaven har bestått i å kravspesifisere, designe og kode en erfaringsdatabase, og dens brukergrensesnitt. Utvikling har foregått etter RUP-modellen. Denne databasen brukes internt i Telenor Nett, og inneholder erfaringer og varslinger for systemer og nett de drifter og forvalter. Brukergrensesnittet er web-basert. Det skilles mellom to typer meldinger som skal lagres, varslinger og hendelser. En erfaring kan f.eks være en beskrivelse av et problem som har oppstått på en enhet, og hva som ble gjort for å løse problemet. Erfaringer gjort av en person blir derfor tilgjengelig for andre. En varsling kan f.eks være info om at en sentral vil bli tatt ned for vedlikehold i ett gitt tidsrom. Systemet har rapporter og avanserte søkefunksjoner for raskt å finn fram til informasjon. Enkelte deler av databasen er tilgjengelig for alle brukere, men det kreves pålogging for å kunne registrere info i systemet. Det kan angis forskjellige brukernivå/rettigheter for hver enkelt bruker. Disse nivåene bestemmer både hva brukeren kan se, og registrere. Systemet går i et UNIX-miljø. Scriptspråk for websider er HTML som genereres av Perl/CGI. Data ligger lagret i sybase database

Hull-to-Hull Concept Supporting Autonomous Navigation

This paper presents the hull-to-hull (H2H) project where the concept of hull to hull positioning and uncertainty zones are used to assist navigators and operators to perform safe navigation of objects in proximity to each other. Data from position sensors and geometry (2D/3D) data will be shared amongst the H2H objects to calculate for example hull to hull distance to help avoiding physical contact (e.g. steel-to-steel contact). H2H will utilize a variety of positioning sensors, including the European GNSS systems Galileo and EGNOS. The H2H project aims to develop open interfaces such that any H2H compliant equipment provider or user can use the services provided in the planned standard. Data exchange protocols will be based on existing standards as the IHO S-100 standard for geometry and zone descriptions and for describing additional layers needed for ECDIS. Finally, a working methodology describing the needed steps from use case descriptions to implementation of the necessary services is presented