Design: the quintessential business transaction

The fundamental structures that underpin business activities must evolve and change in order to equip companies to thrive in a market whose characteristics are increasing competition and instability. The incremental advances in applied computing technology and business methodologies which focus on improving one aspect of company operations ignore the need for an underlying structure and model through which to engage any and all functions in a consistent and integrated fashion. Indeed, many exacerbate the problem through closed architectures, isolationist views of entity data storage and rigid methodologies imposed on the company that employs them. The Product Model proposed fulfils that role. It is a model of the processes and entities that a company uses to conduct its business, at all levels and across all departments. Two other concepts are exposed: product model data and the design history record. Product model data are the values of instances of product model entities and relations, created to represent a particular design, artefact or object. The design history record captures the data and functions used in a transaction and the order and context in which they are used. To exercise these concepts, a software suite was written, the Glasgow Utility for Integrated Design, Guide. It supports the definition of a proud model and its subsequent use in the creation of product model data. Each interaction with the system is recorded, thus capturing the design history record, which can subsequently be processes to various advantageous ends. The major such uses are for re-use of part information in other designs and the extraction of design best practice with which to augment the company's design methodology. It is a comprehensive record, since all business processes are supported by, and can be transacted through Guide. Guide has been used to validate the adequacy of the product model and has established many benefits through its use. Applications in many spheres are possible; engineering has been the primary focus for exemplars and case studies. The development was carried out under the scrutiny of constant validation and testing in live situations with several industrial partners. Guide is built on industry standard tools and uses relational database technology to store frame-based representations of entities, methods and relationships. The design of project plans is carried out on the same platform used to support the project itself; the design data are not dissociated from the project controlling mechanism. Resources, including staff, are engaged according to requirements and audit mechanisms allow for constant re-evaluation of the project development. Control and communication mechanisms support applications in an extended enterprise environment and the distribution of resources that this entails

Black medics from Texas

Last updated: 10/22/201

Filtering wireless (Wi-Fi) internet access in public places

This paper discusses selected results from the AHRC-funded ‘Managing Access to the Internet in Public Librarie s' (MAIPLE) project and explores Wi-Fi Internet access in UK public libraries. It investigates how this compares to commercial provision of public Wi-Fi. It discusses security issues, filtering of Wi-Fi access and acceptable use policies. A mixed methods approach was used involving a review of the literature, a questionnaire survey of UK public library authorities and five case studies of selected authorities. A majority of UK public library authorities offer Wi-Fi access to the public at one or more of their libraries and they generally have an authentication system in place for their users. The majority of survey respondents that provide Wi-Fi use filtering software. There are similarities and differences in the ways that public libraries and commercial outlets provide and manage access to their wireless networks. Differences mainly relate to security and privacy: these differences reflect to an extent the underlying purposes of providing public Wi-Fi access as well as legal obligations. In some ways, public library Wi-Fi access is better managed than commercially provided public services. Evidence from the case studies suggests reluctant acceptance of filtering on the part of public library authorities, based on a perceived need to balance providing access to information with providing a safe and trusted public space for all

Resting state connectivity and cognitive performance in adults with cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy

Cognitive impairment is an inevitable feature of cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), affecting executive function, attention and processing speed from an early stage. Impairment is associated with structural markers such as lacunes, but associations with functional connectivity have not yet been reported. Twenty-two adults with genetically-confirmed CADASIL (11 male; aged 49.8 ± 11.2 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest. Intrinsic attentional/executive networks were identified using group independent components analysis. A linear regression model tested voxel-wise associations between cognitive measures and component spatial maps, and Pearson correlations were performed with mean intra-component connectivity z-scores. Two frontoparietal components were associated with cognitive performance. Voxel-wise analyses showed an association between one component cluster and processing speed (left middle temporal gyrus; peak −48, −18, −14; ZE = 5.65, pFWEcorr = 0.001). Mean connectivity in both components correlated with processing speed (r = 0.45, p = 0.043; r = 0.56, p = 0.008). Mean connectivity in one component correlated with faster Trailmaking B minus A time (r = −0.77, p < 0.001) and better executive performance (r = 0.56, p = 0.011). This preliminary study provides evidence for associations between cognitive performance and attentional network connectivity in CADASIL. Functional connectivity may be a useful biomarker of cognitive performance in this population

¹⁴C AMS at SUERC: improving QA data from the 5 MV tandem AMS and 250 kV SSAMS

In 2003, a National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC) 5MV tandem accelerator mass spectrometer was installed at SUERC, providing the radiocarbon laboratory with 14C measurements to 4–5‰ repeatability. In 2007, a 250kV single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS) was added to provide additional 14C capability and is now the preferred system for 14C analysis. Changes to the technology and to our operations are evident in our copious quality assurance data: typically, we now use the 134-position MC-SNICS source, which is filled to capacity. Measurement of standards shows that spectrometer running without the complication of on-line δ13C evaluation is a good operational compromise. Currently, 3‰ 14C/13C measurements are routinely achieved for samples up to nearly 3 half-lives old by consistent sample preparation and an automated data acquisition algorithm with sample random access for measurement repeats. Background and known-age standard data are presented for the period 2003–2008 for the 5MV system and 2007–2008 for the SSAMS, to demonstrate the improvements in data quality

A Randomized Dietary Intervention to Increase Colonic and Peripheral Blood Short-Chain Fatty Acids Modulates the Blood B- and T-cell Compartments in Healthy Humans

BACKGROUND: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) have immune-modulating effects in animal models of disease. However, there is limited evidence that this may occur in humans. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the effects of increased exposure to SCFA via dietary manipulation on colonic fermentation and adaptive immune cells. METHODS: Twenty healthy, young adults (18-45 years of age) underwent a blinded, randomized, cross-over dietary intervention, consuming a high-SCFA producing diet and matched low-SCFA diet for 21 days with 21-day wash-out in between. SCFA were provided through resistant starch, inulin and apple cider vinegar. Blood and 3-day total fecal output were collected at baseline and at the end of each diet. Gas chromatography was used to measure fecal and plasma SCFA. Flow cytometry was used for peripheral blood immuno-phenotyping. RESULTS: High-SCFA diet was associated with significantly (paired samples Wilcoxon test) higher median [IQR] fecal SCFA concentrations (86.6 [59.0] vs 75.4 [56.2] µmol/g, P = 0.02) and significantly lower median fecal ammonia concentrations (26.2 [14.7] vs 33.4 [18.5] µmol/g, P = 0.04) than the low-SCFA diet. Plasma propionate (9.87 [12.3] vs 4.72 [7.6] µmol/L, P = 0.049) and butyrate (2.85 [1.35] vs 2.02 [1.29] µmol/L, P = 0.03) were significantly higher after high-SCFA diet than after low-SCFA diet. Blood total B cells (184 [112] vs 199 [143] cells/µL, P = 0.04), naive B cells (83 [66] vs 95 [89] cells/µL, P = 0.02), Th1 cells (22 [19] vs 29 [16] cells/µL, P = 0.03) and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells (62 [83] vs 69 [114] cells/µL, P = 0.02) were significantly lower after high-SCFA diet than low-SCFA diet. CONCLUSION: Increasing colonic and peripheral blood SCFA has discrete effects on circulating immune cells in healthy humans following 3-week intervention. Further studies, e.g., in patients with inflammatory disease, are necessary to determine if these changes have immunomodulatory effects, whether these are therapeutically beneficial, and whether prolonged intake might be required. Clinical trial registry: Australian New Zealand Clinical trials registry: ACTRN12618001054202.

Will the Scottish Cancer Target for the year 2000 be met? The use of cancer registration and death records to predict future cancer incidence and mortality in Scotland.

Cancer mortality data reflect disease incidence and the effectiveness of treatment. Incidence data, however, reflect the burden of disease in the population and indicate the need for prevention measures, diagnostic services and cancer treatment facilities. Monitoring of targets mandates that both be considered. The Scottish Cancer Target, established in 1991, proposed that a reduction of 15% in mortality from cancer in the under-65s should be achieved between 1986 and 2000. Each year in Scotland approximately 8300 persons under 65 are diagnosed with cancer and 4500 die from the disease. The most common malignancies, in terms of both incident cases and deaths, in the under-65s, are lung and large bowel cancer in males, and breast, large bowel and lung cancer in females. A decrease of 6% in the number of cancer cases diagnosed in males under 65 is predicted between 1986 and 2000, whereas the number of cases in females in the year 2000 is expected to remain at the 1986 level. In contrast, substantial reductions in mortality are expected for both sexes: 17% and 25% in males and females respectively. Demographic changes will influence the numbers of cancer cases and deaths in the Scottish population in the year 2000. However, long-term trends in the major risk factors, such as smoking, are likely to be the most important determinants of the future cancer burden