Resources and Geography of the Mediterranean Basin

I have attempted to focus attention upon the two resources which the Middle East possesses which are most relevant to the international power struggle: petroleum and location

Online Innovation Intermediaries In Healthcare

In today’s knowledge rich environment even the largest organisations, such as pharmaceutical or medical technology companies, realize a bottleneck of knowledge resources for innovation. Harnessing the innovation potential of patients and other healthcare consumers contends to be part of the solution. This paper questions if online health platforms can support innovative activities by creating and transferring relevant knowledge from engaged healthcare consumers towards innovating healthcare companies. It aims at identifying online health platforms that can serve as innovation intermediaries. An exploratory, case-study-based approach is chosen. Through desk review a sample of online health platforms is created and case vignettes are developed. Content analysis returns descriptive attributes which are examined throughout the sample. 30 out of 306 health-related online platforms qualify as innovation intermediary. We observe that online innovation intermediaries look for profound experience from healthcare consumers, in particular patients with a higher degree of affectedness. Further qualitative findings are presented. This paper puts emphasis on the mediating role of selected online health platforms as advocates of innovation. It suggests a classification and description of the variety of “health 2.0” platforms and sketches a preliminary picture of the market for online innovation intermediaries in healthcare toda

Modelling of Turbulent Premixed Stratified Combustion with Multiple Mapping Conditioning Mixing Mode

A hybrid Euler/Lagrange approach is used to model stratified lean premixed combustion in a turbulent flow. Large eddy simulations (LES) are coupled with an artificially thickened flame (ATF) approach for the computation of the reaction progress variable. This approach is combined with a sparse Lagrangian particle method for the modelling of the inner flame structure. A multiple mapping conditioning (MMC) mixing model is applied to prevent direct mixing across the flame front. Predicted flame structures are compared with measurements of a stratified premixed laboratory flame yielding good agreement and demonstrating the model’s capability to predict relatively thin flames and to approximate a flamelet-like inner flame structure

Identification of the orphan gene Prod 1 in basal and other salamander families.

The urodele amphibians (salamanders) are the only adult tetrapods able to regenerate the limb. It is unclear if this is an ancestral property that is retained in salamanders but lost in other tetrapods or if it evolved in salamanders. The three-finger protein Prod 1 is implicated in the mechanism of newt limb regeneration, and no orthologs have been found in other vertebrates, thus providing evidence for the second viewpoint. It has also been suggested that this protein could play a role in salamander-specific aspects of limb development. There are ten families of extant salamanders, and Prod 1 has only been identified in two of them to date. It is important to determine if it is present in other families and, particularly, the basal group of two families which diverged approximately 200 MYA

Economic Potential for War

As in any other form of hu­man activity in which the means of attaining ends are limited, there is an economizing process which is implied, and war Is no exception

Evaluation of the flame propagation within an SI engine using flame imaging and LES

This work shows experiments and simulations of the fired operation of a spark ignition engine with port-fuelled injection. The test rig considered is an optically accessible single cylinder engine specifically designed at TU Darmstadt for the detailed investigation of in-cylinder processes and model validation. The engine was operated under lean conditions using iso-octane as a substitute for gasoline. Experiments have been conducted to provide a sound database of the combustion process. A planar flame imaging technique has been applied within the swirl- and tumble-planes to provide statistical information on the combustion process to complement a pressure-based comparison between simulation and experiments. This data is then analysed and used to assess the large eddy simulation performed within this work. For the simulation, the engine code KIVA has been extended by the dynamically thickened flame model combined with chemistry reduction by means of pressure dependent tabulation. Sixty cycles have been simulated to perform a statistical evaluation. Based on a detailed comparison with the experimental data, a systematic study has been conducted to obtain insight into the most crucial modelling uncertainties

Temporal transcriptomic analysis of the Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e σB regulon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The opportunistic food-borne gram-positive pathogen <it>Listeria monocytogenes </it>can exist as a free-living microorganism in the environment and grow in the cytoplasm of vertebrate and invertebrate cells following infection. The general stress response, controlled by the alternative sigma factor, σ^B, has an important role for bacterial survival both in the environment and during infection. We used quantitative real-time PCR analysis and immuno-blot analysis to examine σ^Bexpression during growth of <it>L. monocytogenes </it>EGD-e. Whole genome-based transcriptional profiling was used to identify σ^B-dependent genes at different growth phases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We detected 105 σ^B-positively regulated genes and 111 genes which appeared to be under negative control of σ^Band validated 36 σ^B-positively regulated genes <it>in vivo </it>using a reporter gene fusion system.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genes comprising the σ^Bregulon encode solute transporters, novel cell-wall proteins, universal stress proteins, transcriptional regulators and include those involved in osmoregulation, carbon metabolism, ribosome- and envelope-function, as well as virulence and niche-specific survival genes such as those involved in bile resistance and exclusion. Ten of the σ^B-positively regulated genes of <it>L. monocytogenes </it>are absent in <it>L. innocua</it>. A total of 75 σ^B-positively regulated listerial genes had homologs in <it>B. subtilis</it>, but only 33 have been previously described as being σ^B-regulated in <it>B. subtilis </it>even though both species share a highly conserved σ^B-dependent consensus sequence. A low overlap of genes may reflects adaptation of these bacteria to their respective environmental conditions.</p