Methodologies for self-organising systems:a SPEM approach

We define ’SPEM fragments’ of five methods for developing self-organising multi-agent systems. Self-organising traffic lights controllers provide an application scenario

Definition of a shortcut methodology for assessing flood-related Na-Tech risk

Abstract. In this paper a qualitative methodology for the initial assessment of flood-related Na-Tech risk was developed as a screening tool to identify which situations require a much more expensive quantitative risk analysis (QRA). Through the definition of some suitable key hazard indicators (KHIs), the proposed methodology allows the identification of the Na-Tech risk level associated with a given situation; the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used as a multi-criteria decision tool for the evaluation of such qualitative KHIs. The developed methodology was validated through two case studies by comparing the predicted risk levels with the results of much more detailed QRAs previously presented in literature and then applied to the real flood happened at Spolana a.s., Neratovice, Czech Republic in August 2002.</p

Functional characterization of the sea urchin sns chromatin insulator in erythroid cells

Chromatin insulators are regulatory elements that determine domains of genetic functions. We have previously described the characterization of a 265 bp insulator element, termed sns, localized at the 3' end of the early historic H2A gene of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. This sequence contains three cis-acting elements (Box A, Box B, and Box C+T) all needed for the enhancer-blocking activity in both sea urchin and human cells. The goal of this Study was to further characterize the sea urchin sns insulator in the erythroid environment. We employed colony assays in human (K562) and mouse (MEL) erythroid cell lines. We tested the capability of sns to interfere with the communication between the 5HS2 enhancer of the human beta-globin LCR and the gamma-globin promoter. We found that the sns sequence displays directional enhancer-blocking activity. By the use of antibodies against known DNA binding proteins, in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we demonstrated the binding of the erythroid-specific GATA-1 and the ubiquitous Oct-1 and Sp1 transcription factors. These factors bind to Box A, Box B, and Box C+T, respectively, in both K562 and MEL nuclear extracts. These results may have significant implications for the conservation of insulator function ill evolutionary distant organisms and may prove to be of practical benefit in gene transfer applications for erythroid disorders such as hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias

Higher vertical jumping asymmetries and lower physical performance are indicators of increased injury incidence in youth team-sport athletes

To date, the literature looking at the association between injury-risk factors and actual injury incidence in young elite team-sports athletes is scarce. The main objective of the present study was to examine how modifiable factors may affect injury incidence. Eighty-one young elite team-sports athletes (age: u-14 to u-18) performed the countermovement jump (CMJ), a single leg CMJ (SLCMJ), the one-legged hop test (OLHT), a 30 m sprint test, the v-cut test, a repeated sprint ability and the 30-15 intermittent fitness test during the pre-season period. Inter-limb asymmetries were calculated for SLCMJ and OLHT. Injuries were recorded prospectively for the entirety of the 2017-2018 season. Comparison of injury and non-injury data was carried out using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results of the ANOVA according to injury showed significant differences in CMJ (p = 0.01), SLCMJ on the lowest performing limb (p = 0.03) and SLCMJ asymmetry (< 0.001). Sex*injury interaction was significant from CMJ (p = 0.018) and 30-15 IFT (p = < 0.001). In conclusion, the current study indicated that athletes with greater inter-limb asymmetries, less vertical jump capacity and lower intermittent aerobic fitness had a greater predisposition to injury. Therefore, monitoring CMJ, aerobic performance and inter-limb asymmetries is recommended given their sensitivity to detect significant differences between injured and healthy youth athletes

A simulation code to assist designing space missions of the Airwatch type

The design of an Airwatch type space mission can greatly benefit from a flexible simulation code for establishing the values of the main parameters of the experiment. We present here a code written for this purpose. The cosmic ray primary spectrum at very high energies, the atmosphere modelling, the fluorescence yield, the photon propagation and the detector response are taken into account in order to optimize the fundamental design parameters of the experiment, namely orbit height, field of view, mirror radius, number of pixels of the focal plane, threshold of photo-detection. The optimization criterion will be to maximize counting rates versus mission cost, which imposes limits both on weight and power consumption. Preliminary results on signals with changing energy and zenith angle of incident particles are shown

TipTrap: A Co-located Direct Manipulation Technique for Acoustically Levitated Content

Acoustic levitation has emerged as a promising approach for mid-air displays, by using multiple levitated particles as 3D voxels, cloth and thread props, or high-speed tracer particles, under the promise of creating 3D displays that users can see, hear and feel with their bare eyes, ears and hands. However, interaction with this mid-air content always occurred at a distance, since external objects in the display volume (e.g. user's hands) can disturb the acoustic fields and make the particles fall. This paper proposes TipTrap, a co-located direct manipulation technique for acoustically levitated particles. TipTrap leverages the reflection of ultrasound on the users' skin and employs a closed-loop system to create functional acoustic traps 2.1 mm below the fingertips, and addresses its 3 basic stages: selection, manipulation and deselection. We use Finite-Differences Time Domain (FDTD) simulations to explain the principles enabling TipTrap, and explore how finger reflections and user strategies influence the quality of the traps (e.g. approaching direction, orientation and tracking errors), and use these results to design our technique. We then implement the technique, characterizing its performance with a robotic hand setup and finish with an exploration of the ability of TipTrap to manipulate different types of levitated content

Enhancing Physical Objects with Actuated Levitating Particles

We describe a novel display concept where levitating particles are used to add a dynamic display element to static physical objects. The particles are actuated using ultrasound, for expressive output without mechanical constraints. We explore novel ways of using particles to add dynamic output to other objects, for new interactive experiences. We also discuss the practical challenges of combining these. This work shows how the unique capabilities of levitation can create novel displays by enhancing another form of media

Valorising pasta industry wastes by the scale up and integration of solid-state and liquid-submerged fermentations

Pasta waste has previously been studied in a process to obtain lactic acid through a sequential hydrolysis and fermentation. The process was improved by using enzymes produced via solid-state fermentation of wheat bran in shake flasks. However, the scale-up of the solid-state fermentation is a complex task. In this study, amylase was produced in a home-designed tray bioreactor which allowed to carry out the hydrolysis and fermentation steps at the pilot scale. Due to the efficiency of the solid-state fermentation and the activity of the enzyme, only a small amount (100 g) of wheat bran was required to achieve high yields in a hydrolysis in a 72 L bioreactor (50 L working volume). Overall, the lactic acid yield was 0.68 gLA/gdS, and after the purification, the lactic acid recovered was 55 %, with a total ion concentration of 500 mg/L and an enantiomeric purity of 98.1 % L-LA.11 página