Energy conserving Anisotropic Anhysteretic Magnetic Modelling for Finite Element Analysis

To model ferromagnetic material in finite element analysis a correct description of the constitutive relationship (BH-law) must be found from measured data. This article proposes to use the energy density function as a centrepiece. Using this function, which turns out to be a convex function of the flux density, guarantees energy conservative modelling. The magnetic field strength can be seen as a derivative with respect to the flux density. Especially for anisotropic materials (from lamination and/or grain orientation) this method has advantages. Strictly speaking this method is only valid for anhysteretic and thermodynamically stable material

The Purpose of Interbank Markets

This paper tests competing theories of interbank lending using 43 quarters (2002-2012) of confifidential data on the German banking sector and interbank market. It shows that banks use the interbank market for liquidity co-insurance as traditionally assumed. However, the importance of the liquidity management function is higher for regionally-focused credit cooperatives and savings banks than for private commercial banks. A distinct effect for private banks is identified; for private banks, increases in interbank liabilities are shown to correlate with a proxy for the bailout probability of banks. The paper thus offers empirical support for an emerging literature on strategic behaviour in interbank markets and highlights the need to extend the traditional model of liquidity co-insurance

Large scale hierarchical clustering of protein sequences

Background: Searching a biological sequence database with a query sequence looking for homologues has become a routine operation in computational biology. In spite of the high degree of sophistication of currently available search routines it is still virtually impossible to identify quickly and clearly a group of sequences that a given query sequence belongs to. Results: We report on our developments in grouping all known protein sequences hierarchically into superfamily and family clusters. Our graph-based algorithms take into account the topology of the sequence space induced by the data itself to construct a biologically meaningful partitioning. We have applied our clustering procedures to a non-redundant set of about 1,000,000 sequences resulting in a hierarchical clustering which is being made available for querying and browsing at http://systers.molgen.mpg.de/. Conclusions: Comparisons with other widely used clustering methods on various data sets show the abilities and strengths of our clustering methods in producing a biologically meaningful grouping of protein sequences

Large scale hierarchical clustering of protein sequences

BACKGROUND: Searching a biological sequence database with a query sequence looking for homologues has become a routine operation in computational biology. In spite of the high degree of sophistication of currently available search routines it is still virtually impossible to identify quickly and clearly a group of sequences that a given query sequence belongs to. RESULTS: We report on our developments in grouping all known protein sequences hierarchically into superfamily and family clusters. Our graph-based algorithms take into account the topology of the sequence space induced by the data itself to construct a biologically meaningful partitioning. We have applied our clustering procedures to a non-redundant set of about 1,000,000 sequences resulting in a hierarchical clustering which is being made available for querying and browsing at . CONCLUSIONS: Comparisons with other widely used clustering methods on various data sets show the abilities and strengths of our clustering methods in producing a biologically meaningful grouping of protein sequences

Technology Review of Java-based Mobile Agent Platforms

The concept of mobile agents promises new ways of designing applications that better use the resources and services of computer systems and networks. For example, moving a program (e.g. search engine) to a resource (e.g. database) can save a lot of bandwidth and can be an enabling factor for applications which otherwise would not be practical due to network latency. Leveraging on the strengths of Java, several Java-based mobile agent platforms became available recently. This report introduces features Java-based mobile agent platforms should provide in our view and investigates in detail the current versions of three existing platforms. The aim is to provide developers with a detailed comparison and to help in selecting an appropriate platform. Keywords: Mobile Agents, Mobile Code, Platforms, Jav

Interactive robots in experimental biology

Interactive robots have the potential to revolutionise the study of social behaviour because they provide several methodological advances. In interactions with live animals, the behaviour of robots can be standardised, morphology and behaviour can be decoupled (so that different morphologies and behavioural strategies can be combined), behaviour can be manipulated in complex interaction sequences and models of behaviour can be embodied by the robot and thereby be tested. Furthermore, robots can be used as demonstrators in experiments on social learning. As we discuss here, the opportunities that robots create for new experimental approaches have far-reaching consequences for research in fields such as mate choice, cooperation, social learning, personality studies and collective behaviour. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd

Investigation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Function during Allorejection in the Anterior Chamber of the Eye

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are an essential part of our immune system by killing infected and malignant cells. To fully understand this process, it is necessary to study CTL function in the physiological setting of a living organism to account for their interplay with other immune cells like CD4+ T helper cells and macrophages. The anterior chamber of the eye (ACE), originally developed for diabetes research, is ideally suited for non-invasive and longitudinal in vivo imaging. We take advantage of the ACE window to observe immune responses, particularly allorejection of islets of Langerhans cells by CTLs. We follow the onset of the rejection after vascularization on islets until the end of the rejection process for about a month by repetitive two-photon microscopy. We find that CTLs show reduced migration on allogeneic islets in vivo compared to in vitro data, indicating CTL activation. Interestingly, the temporal infiltration pattern of T cells during rejection is precisely regulated, showing enrichment of CD4+ T helper cells on the islets before arrival of CD8+ CTLs. The adaptation of the ACE to immune responses enables the examination of the mechanism and regulation of CTL-mediated killing in vivo and to further investigate the killing in gene-deficient mice that resemble severe human immune diseases