The application of proteomics to Pseudomonas putida F1

Through years of technology development, the drug industry has been able to synthesize many valuable medicines to provide better health care. However, any time a new medication (or industrial chemical for that matter) is made; it must be tested to ensure that it is not carcinogenic. For years, scientists have worked to design a screening method that is fast, efficient, and reliable. Currently, the most widely-used method used is the Ames test [1]. This test has both strengths and weaknesses which will be discussed. In this project, Two Dimensional Electrophoresis (2DE) is used to monitor protein expression in Pseudomonas putida F1 grown on different carbon sources with the purpose of finding a set of carcinogenic indicator proteins, which will lead to a replacement for Ames test. 2DE provides a molecular approach to carcinogenesis, thus is more detailed and potentially more reliable. The result of the project as well as possible future directions for this research will be discussed

Local Codes with Addition Based Repair

We consider the complexities of repair algorithms for locally repairable codes and propose a class of codes that repair single node failures using addition operations only, or codes with addition based repair. We construct two families of codes with addition based repair. The first family attains distance one less than the Singleton-like upper bound, while the second family attains the Singleton-like upper bound

Locally Encodable and Decodable Codes for Distributed Storage Systems

We consider the locality of encoding and decoding operations in distributed storage systems (DSS), and propose a new class of codes, called locally encodable and decodable codes (LEDC), that provides a higher degree of operational locality compared to currently known codes. For a given locality structure, we derive an upper bound on the global distance and demonstrate the existence of an optimal LEDC for sufficiently large field size. In addition, we also construct two families of optimal LEDC for fields with size linear in code length.Comment: 7 page

Applications of Repeated Games in Wireless Networks: A Survey

A repeated game is an effective tool to model interactions and conflicts for players aiming to achieve their objectives in a long-term basis. Contrary to static noncooperative games that model an interaction among players in only one period, in repeated games, interactions of players repeat for multiple periods; and thus the players become aware of other players' past behaviors and their future benefits, and will adapt their behavior accordingly. In wireless networks, conflicts among wireless nodes can lead to selfish behaviors, resulting in poor network performances and detrimental individual payoffs. In this paper, we survey the applications of repeated games in different wireless networks. The main goal is to demonstrate the use of repeated games to encourage wireless nodes to cooperate, thereby improving network performances and avoiding network disruption due to selfish behaviors. Furthermore, various problems in wireless networks and variations of repeated game models together with the corresponding solutions are discussed in this survey. Finally, we outline some open issues and future research directions.Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables, 168 reference

Intraoperative Indocyanine Green Laser Angiography in Pediatric Autologous Ear Reconstruction.

Skin flap vascularity is a critical determinant of aesthetic results in autologous ear reconstruction. In this study, we investigate the use of intraoperative laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) as an adjunctive measure of skin flap vascularity in pediatric autologous ear reconstruction. Twenty-one consecutive pediatric patients undergoing first-stage autologous total ear reconstruction were retrospectively evaluated. The first 10 patients were treated traditionally (non-ICGA), and the latter 11 patients were evaluated with ICGA intraoperatively after implantation of the cartilage construct and administration of suction. Relative and absolute perfusion units in the form of contour maps were generated. Statistical analyses were performed using independent sample Student t test. Statistically significant differences in exposure and infection were not found between the 2 groups. However, decreased numbers of surgical revisions were required in cases with ICGA versus without ICGA (P = 0.03), suggesting that greater certainty in skin flap perfusion correlated with a reduction in revision surgeries. In cases of exposure, we found an average lowest absolute perfusion unit of 14.3, whereas cases without exposure had an average of 26.1 (P = 0.02), thereby defining objective parameters for utilizing ICGA data in tailoring surgical decision making for this special population of patients. Defined quantitative parameters for utilizing ICGA in evaluating skin flap vascularity may be a useful adjunctive technique in pediatric autologous ear reconstruction

Automated construction technologies : analyses and future development strategies

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2005.Page 140 blank.Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-132).Substandard productivity and the lack of skilled workers in the construction industry have led major corporations all over the world aiming to produce various types of automated construction technologies. During the process, novel ideologies of design and construction techniques have been realized and the push for these applications has never been greater. This thesis will look to answer the question of benefit and effectiveness of automated construction technology. It will focus on three basic concepts: 1) Analyzing existing automated construction technology; 2) understanding of automated machine design and components; 3) proposal of a multi-purpose pick-and-place machine for the automated construction process. In the end, the intention will be to promote a design intensive approach to automated construction technology in order to advance the conventional methodologies of design and construction.by Han Hoang.S.M