A Multi-Tier Negotiation Protocol for Logistics Service Chains

Logistics service chains are characterized by multiple service providers contributing to the provision of a composite logistics service to a customer. In particular, various contractual dependencies exist across service chain levels. The object of our research is resource allocation which has to consider these dependencies to avoid overcommitment and overpurchasing. We propose a multi-tier negotiation protocol for solving this problem. The proposed artifact is developed from an interaction protocol engineering perspective in accordance with the design science paradigm. First evaluation experiments show that the protocol prevents overcommitments and overpurchasing, leading to higher expected profits for logistics service providers

Adaptive SLA management along value chains for service individualization

The object of our investigation is a software architecture for adaptive Service Level Agreement (SLA) management in value chains for service individualization. We address the problem that current SLA management is not capable to represent the full complexity of SLAs existing in real-world service industries. The problem is investigated from a functional-analytical supply chain perspective. The solution is developed from a software architecture modeling perspective according to the design science paradigm. The contribution of this paper is a software architecture that facilitates SLA negotiation and SLA-based resource management in complex agreement hierarchies. The architecture is validated in an application scenario from the airport logistics domain

Dentin sialoprotein, dentin phosphoprotein, enamelysin and ameloblastin, tooth- specific molecules that are distinctively expressed during murine dental differentiation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73260/1/j.0909-8836.1998.eos106510.x.pd

Identification of Lipstatin-Producing Ability in Streptomyces virginiae CBS 314.55 Using Dereplication Approach

Streptomicete su poznate kao bogat izvor bioaktivnih metabolita, poput sekundarnog metabolita lipstatina, koji ima vrlo karakterističnu strukturu β-laktona, a upotrebljava se kao intermedijar u proizvodnji lijeka za mršavljenje, komercijalnog naziva orlistat. Dublje razumijevanje distribucije identičnih ili strukturno sličnih spojeva, izoliranih iz taksonomski sličnih skupina mikroorganizama, bitno je za otkrivanje novih biološki aktivnih spojeva ili kvalitetnijih sojeva što proizvode poznate metabolite od velikog značaja za medicinu. Samo su dva soja, neovisni izolati vrste S. toxytricini, poznati kao proizvođači lipstatina. Prema današnjim taksonomskim spoznajama, vrsta S. toxytricini pripada fenotipskoj skupini S. lavendulae. Taksonomskom dereplikacijom i ispitivanjem in vitro inhibicije lipaze pomoću p-nitrofenolnih derivata C4 i C16 masnih kiselina istraženi su odabrani sojevi fenotipske skupine S. lavendulae iz javno dostupnih kolekcija mikroorganizama. Utvrđeno je da bakterijska kultura soja Streptomyces virginiae CBS 314.55 izrazito inhibira lipazu. Pomoću metoda HPLC i LC-MS/MS po prvi je put otkriveno da ovaj novi soj proizvodi metabolit strukture identične lipstatinu. Dokazano je da se novi soj S. virginiae morfološki i fiziološki bitno razlikuje od sojeva S. toxytricini, ali da im je proizvodni potencijal sličan. Time je potvrđena mogućnost učinkovite primjene metode dereplikacije za brzu identifikaciju novih industrijskih sojeva iz javno dostupnih kolekcija mikroorganizama.Streptomyces species are prolific producers of bioactive metabolites, such as β-lactone-containing lipstatin produced by Streptomyces toxytricini, an intermediate used in semi-synthetic process for production of anti-obesity drug orlistat. Understanding the distribution of identical or structurally similar molecules produced by a taxonomic group is of particular importance when trying to isolate novel biologically active compounds or strains producing known metabolites of medical importance with potentially improved properties. Until now, only two independent isolates of S. toxytricini species have been known to be producers of lipstatin. According to the current taxonomic criteria, S. toxytricini belongs to Streptomyces lavendulae phenotypic cluster. Taxonomy-based dereplication approach coupled with in vitro assay was applied to screen the S. lavendulae phenotypic cluster for production of lipstatin-like lipase inhibitors using synthetic p-nitrophenol derivatives of C4 and C16 lipids. Screening the available strains from public collections belonging to S. lavendulae phenotypic cluster, high lipase inhibitory activity was identified in the Streptomyces virginiae CBS 314.55 culture supernatants. HPLC and LC-MS/MS confirmed lipstatin production by a new Streptomyces species for the first time. We have demonstrated that the new lipstatin-producing strain S. virginiae morphologically and physiologically differs from S. toxytricini substantially; however, the production capacity of the newly identified lipstatin-producing species S. virginiae is comparable to S. toxytricini. We have thus demonstrated the effectiveness of a simple and affordable dereplication approach for identification of potentially novel and useful industrial strains available in public culture collections

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

A conditionally replicating adenovirus with strict selectivity in killing cells expressing epidermal growth factor receptor

AbstractVirotherapy of cancer using oncolytic adenoviruses has shown promise in both preclinical and clinical settings. One important challenge to reach the full therapeutic potential of oncolytic adenoviruses is accomplishing efficient infection of cancer cells and avoiding uptake by normal tissue through tropism modification. Towards this goal, we constructed and characterized an oncolytic adenovirus, carrying mutated capsid proteins to abolish the promiscuous adenovirus native tropism and encoding a bispecific adapter molecule to target the virus to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The new virus displayed a highly selective targeting profile, with reduced infection of EGFR-negative cells and efficient killing of EGFR-positive cancer cells including primary EGFR-positive osteosarcoma cells that are refractory to infection by conventional adenoviruses. Our method to modify adenovirus tropism might thus be useful to design new oncolytic adenoviruses for more effective treatment of cancer

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Directed Evolution Generates a Novel Oncolytic Virus for the Treatment of Colon Cancer

Background Viral-mediated oncolysis is a novel cancer therapeutic approach with the potential to be more effective and less toxic than current therapies due to the agents selective growth and amplification in tumor cells. To date, these agents have been highly safe in patients but have generally fallen short of their expected therapeutic value as monotherapies. Consequently, new approaches to generating highly potent oncolytic viruses are needed. To address this need, we developed a new method that we term “Directed Evolution” for creating highly potent oncolytic viruses. Methodology/Principal Findings Taking the “Directed Evolution” approach, viral diversity was increased by pooling an array of serotypes, then passaging the pools under conditions that invite recombination between serotypes. These highly diverse viral pools were then placed under stringent directed selection to generate and identify highly potent agents. ColoAd1, a complex Ad3/Ad11p chimeric virus, was the initial oncolytic virus derived by this novel methodology. ColoAd1, the first described non-Ad5-based oncolytic Ad, is 2–3 logs more potent and selective than the parent serotypes or the most clinically advanced oncolytic Ad, ONYX-015, in vitro. ColoAd1's efficacy was further tested in vivo in a colon cancer liver metastasis xenograft model following intravenous injection and its ex vivo selectivity was demonstrated on surgically-derived human colorectal tumor tissues. Lastly, we demonstrated the ability to arm ColoAd1 with an exogenous gene establishing the potential to impact the treatment of cancer on multiple levels from a single agent. Conclusions/Significance Using the “Directed Evolution” methodology, we have generated ColoAd1, a novel chimeric oncolytic virus. In vitro, this virus demonstrated a >2 log increase in both potency and selectivity when compared to ONYX-015 on colon cancer cells. These results were further supported by in vivo and ex vivo studies. Furthermore, these results have validated this methodology as a new general approach for deriving clinically-relevant, highly potent anti-cancer virotherapies

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Calibration of the CMS Drift Tube Chambers and Measurement of the Drift Velocity with Cosmic Rays

Peer reviewe