Controlling Josephson transport by manipulation of Andreev levels in ballistic mesoscopic junctions

We discuss how to control dc Josephson current by influencing the structure and nonequilibrium population of Andreev levels via external electrostatic gates, external current injection and electromagnetic radiation. In particular we will consider the "giant" Josephson current in "long" SIS tunnel junctions and the regular and anomalous nonequilibrium Josephson currents in three terminal SNS junctions. We will briefly discuss applications to the Josephson field effect transistor (JOFET) and to the newly invented Josephson interference transistor (JOINT).Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; contribution to a special volume of Superlattices and Microstructures journal (ed. P.F. Bagwell

Response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with activated carbon in a large-scale field experiment in the Grenland fjords, Norway

A field experiment with thin-layer capping was conducted in the Grenland fjords, Norway, for remediation in situ of mercury and dioxin-contaminated sediments. Experimental fields at 30 and 95 m depth were capped with (i) powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay (AC+cla`y), (ii) clay, and (iii) crushed limestone. Ecological effects on the benthic community and species-feeding guilds were studied 1 and 14 months after capping, and a total of 158 species were included in the analyses. The results show that clay and limestone had only minor effects on the benthic community, while AC+clay caused severe perturbations. AC+clay reduced the abundance, biomass, and number of species by up to 90% at both 30 and 95 m depth, and few indications of recovery were found during the period of this investigation. The negative effects of AC+clay were observed on a wide range of species with different feeding strategies, although the suspension feeding brittle star Amphiura filiformis was particularly affected. Even though activated carbon is effective in reducing sediment-to-water fluxes of dioxins and other organic pollutants, this study shows that capping with powdered AC can lead to substantial disturbances to the benthic community.publishedVersio

A novel α-type carbonic anhydrase associated with the thylakoid membrane in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is required for growth at ambient CO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e

A 29.5 kDa intracellular α-type carbonic anhydrase, designated Cah3, from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is the first of this type discovered inside a photosynthetic eukaryote cell. We describe the cloning of a cDNA which encodes the protein. Immunoblot studies with specific antibodies raised against Cah3 demonstrate that the polypeptide is associated exclusively with the thylakoid membrane. The putative transit peptide suggests that Cah3 is directed to the thylakoid lumen, which is confirmed further by the presence of mature sized Cah3 after thermolysin treatment of intact thylakoids. Complementation of the high inorganic carbon concentration-requiring mutant, cia3, with a subcloned cosmid containing the cah3 gene yielded transformants that grew on atmospheric levels of CO2 (0.035%) and contained an active 29.5 kDa α-type carbonic anhydrase. Although, cia3 has reduced internal carbonic anhydrase activity, unexpectedly the level of Cah3 was similar to that of the wild-type, suggesting that the mutant accumulates an inactive Cah3 polypeptide. Genomic sequence analysis of the mutant revealed two amino acid changes in the transit peptide. Results from photosynthesis and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameter measurements show that the cia3 mutant is photosynthetically impaired. Our results indicate that the carbonic anhydrase, extrinsically located within the chloroplast thylakoid lumen, is essential for growth of C.reinhardtii at ambient levels of CO2, and that at these CO2 concentrations the enzyme is required for optimal photosystem II photochemistry

AHAA- Agile, Hybrid Assessment Method for Automotive, Safety Critical SMEs

The need for software is increasingly growing in the automotive industry. Software development projects are, however, often troubled by time and budget overruns, resulting in systems that do not fulfill customer requirements. Both research and industry lack strategies to combine reducing the long software development lifecycles (as required by time-to-market demands) with increasing the quality of the software developed. Software process improvement (SPI) provides the first step in the move towards software quality, and assessments are a vital part of this process. Unfortunately, software process assessments are often expensive and time consuming. Additionally, they often provide companies with a long list of issues without providing realistic suggestions. The goal of this paper is to describe a new low-overhead assessment method that has been designed specifically for small-to-medium-sized (SMEs) organisations wishing to be automotive software suppliers. This assessment method integrates the structured-ness of the plan-driven SPI models of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Automotive SPICETM with the flexibleness of agile practices

GI+100: Long Term Preservation of Digital Geographic Information — 16 Fundamental Principles Agreed by National Mapping Agencies and State Archives

This paper states 16 principles for the long term retention and preservation of digital geographic information. The paper is mainly aimed at public sector geographic information providers in Europe (particularly those involved in mapping and cadastre) with the intention of highlighting the significance of fundamental concepts for digital geographic data archiving. Geographic information providers are mainly mapping agencies, but also archives preserving geographic data among a wider range of digital information. A supplementary objective is that the paper may provide useful information for providers of all types of geographic information right around the world. This paper states 16 principles for the long term retention and preservation of digital geographic information. The paper is mainly aimed at public sector geographic information providers in Europe (particularly those involved in mapping and cadastre) with the intention of highlighting the significance of fundamental concepts for digital geographic data archiving. Geographic information providers are mainly mapping agencies, but also archives preserving geographic data among a wider range of digital information. A supplementary objective is that the paper may provide useful information for providers of all types of geographic information right around the world. There are many reasons why people wish to retain access to information, though the main drivers for archiving digital geographic information are meeting legislative requirements, the short and long term exploitation (re-use not only access) of archived data for analyzing social, environmental (e.g. global climate changes) and economic changes over time as well as efficiency savings in managing superseded datasets.  This paper sets out the path and describes what needs to be done now to future-proof the investment government agencies around the world have made in creating digital Geographic Data.