Challenges to Newspapers in Digital Platform Ecosystems

Incumbent content providers such as newspapers experience radical changes in their business environment. Digital platforms are becoming increasingly important to innovate digital media services and business. The generativity of digital platforms afforded by digital technology offers new opportunities, but also new challenges. Digital platforms exist in an ecosystem of complex networks of actors and resources. In this paper we shed light on the challenges for incumbent content providers to adapt to and realize business opportunities in digital platforms. We do this from the viewpoints of newspaper management, platform provider and analysts of media business

Buoyancy Effects on Concurrent Flame Spread Over Thick PMMA

The flammability of combustible materials in a spacecraft is important for fire safety applications because the conditions in spacecraft environments differ from those on earth. Experimental testing in space is difficult and expensive. However, reducing buoyancy by decreasing ambient pressure is a possible approach to simulate on-earth the burning behavior inside spacecraft environments. The objective of this work is to determine that possibility by studying the effect of pressure on concurrent flame spread, and by comparison with microgravity data, observe up to what point low-pressure can be used to replicate flame spread characteristics observed in microgravity. Specifically, this work studies the effect of pressure and microgravity on upward/concurrent flame spread over 10 mm thick polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) slabs. Experiments in normal gravity were conducted over pressures ranging between 100 and 40 kPa and a forced flow velocity of 200 mm/s. Microgravity experiments were conducted during NASAs Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire II), on board the Cygnus spacecraft at 100 kPa with an air flow velocity of 200 mm/s. Results show that reductions of pressure slow down the flame spread over the PMMA surface approaching that in microgravity. The data is correlated in terms of a non-dimensional mixed convection analysis that describes the convective heat transferred from the flame to the solid, and the primary mechanism controlling the spread of the flame. The extrapolation of the correlation to low pressures predicts well the flame spread rate obtained in microgravity in the Saffire II experiments. Similar results were obtained by the authors with similar experiments with a thin composite cotton/fiberglass fabric (published elsewhere). Both results suggest that reduced pressure can be used to approximately replicate flame behavior of untested gravity conditions for the burning of thick and thin solids. This work could provide guidance for potential ground-based testing for fire safety design in spacecraft and space habitats

The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in adults: systematic review on population studies

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common multifactorial skin disease occurring primarily in young children. AD has increased in prevalence over the past decades, but little knowledge exists on the prevalence of AD in adults. Herein, published estimates of the point-prevalence and one-year prevalence of AD in adults are reviewed in the context of various study characteristics such as the age and gender distribution of the populations, sampling methods, study design, and geographical area of origin. In total, 14 different population studies reporting the prevalence of AD in adults in 17 countries were identified. There was a substantial between-country variation in both the point-prevalence (1.6 to 11.5%) and one-year prevalence (2.2 to 17.6%) of AD with heterogeneity explained partly by gender, age, geography, study design, and diagnostic criteria

On Simulating Concurrent Flame Spread in Reduced Gravity by Reducing Ambient Pressure

The flammability of combustible materials in spacecraft environments is of importance for fire safety applications because the environmental conditions can greatly differ from those on earth, and a fire in a spacecraft could be catastrophic. Moreover, experimental testing in spacecraft environments can be difficult and expensive, so using ground-based tests to inform microgravity tests is vital. Reducing buoyancy effects by decreasing ambient pressure is a possible approach to simulate a spacecraft environment on earth. The objective of this work is to study the effect of pressure on material flammability, and by comparison with microgravity data, determine the extent to which reducing pressure can be used to simulate reduced gravity. Specifically, this work studies the effect of pressure and microgravity on upward/concurrent flame spread rates and flame appearance of a burning thin composite fabric made of 75% cotton and 25% fiberglass (Sibal). Experiments in normal gravity were conducted using pressures ranging between 100 and 30 kPa and a forced flow velocity of 20 cm/s. Microgravity experiments were conducted during NASAs Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire), on board of the Orbital Corporation Cygnus spacecraft at 100 kPa and an air flow velocity of 20 cm/s. Results show that reductions of ambient pressure slow the flame spread over the fabric. As pressure is reduced, flame intensity is also reduced. Comparison with the concurrent flame spread rates in microgravity show that similar flame spread rates are obtained at around 30 kPa. The normal gravity and microgravity data is correlated in terms of a mixed convection non-dimensional parameter that describes the heat transferred from the flame to the solid surface. The correlation provides information about the similitudes of the flame spread process in variable pressure and reduced gravity environments, providing guidance for potential on-earth testing for fire safety design in spacecraft and space habitats

The clinical, radiological, microbiological, and molecular profile of the skin-penetration site of transfemoral amputees treated with bone-anchored prostheses.

The breach of the skin barrier is a critical issue associated with the treatment of individuals with transfemoral amputation (TFA) using osseointegrated, percutaneous titanium implants. Thirty TFA patients scheduled for abutment exchange or removal were consecutively enrolled. The aims were to determine the macroscopic skin signs, the presence of bacteria and the gene expression in abutment-adherent cells and to conduct correlative and comparative analyses between the different parameters. Redness and a granulation ring were present in 47% of the patients. Bacteria were detected in 27/30 patients, commonly in the bone canal. Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, streptococci, and Enterococcus faecalis were the most common. A positive correlation was found between TNF-α expression and the detection of S. aureus. Staphylococcus aureus together with other bacterial species revealed a positive relationship with MMP-8 expression. A negative correlation was demonstrated between the length of the residual femur bone and the detection of a granulation ring and E. faecalis. A positive correlation was revealed between fixture loosening and pain and the radiological detection of endosteal bone resorption. Fixture loosening was also correlated with the reduced expression of interleukin-10 and osteocalcin. It is concluded that several relationships exist between clinical, radiological, microbiological, and molecular assessments of the percutaneous area of TFAs. Further long term studies on larger patient cohorts are required to determine the precise cause-effect relationships and unravel the role of host-bacteria interactions in the skin, bone canal and on the abutment for the longevity of percutaneous implants as treatment of TFA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 578-589, 2017

Populational Genetic Databases Is a Specific Ethical and Legal Framework Necessary?

[À l'origine dans / Was originally part of : CRDP - Droit, biotechnologie et rapport au milieu]Recent scientific advances and new technological developments, most notably the advent of bio-informatics, have led to the emergence of genetic databases with particular characteristics and structures. Paralleling these developments, there has been a proliferation of ethical and legal texts aimed at the regulation of this new form of genetic database