Component technologies: Java Beans, COM, CORBA, RMI, EJB and the CORBA component model

This one-day tutorial is aimed at software engineering practitioners and researchers, who are familiar with objectoriented analysis, design and programming and want to obtain an overview of the technologies that are enabling component-based development. We introduce the idea of component-based development by defining the concept and providing its economic rationale. We describe how object-oriented programming evolved into local component models, such as Java Beans and distributed object technologies, such as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) and the Component Object Model (COM). We then address how these technologies matured into distributed component models, in partiuclar Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) and the CORBA Component Model (CCM). We give an assessment of the maturity of each of these technologies and sketch how they are used to build distributed architectures

Electron collision cross sections in metal vapors Semiannual report

Electron collision cross section in metal vapors - measurement of Townsend alpha coefficient in cesium-helium mixture

Elective Modernism and the Politics of (Bio) Ethical Expertise

In this essay I consider whether the political perspective of third wave science studies – ‘elective modernism’ – offers a suitable framework for understanding the policy-making contributions that (bio)ethical experts might make. The question arises as a consequence of the fact that I have taken inspiration from the third wave in order to develop an account of (bio)ethical expertise. I offer a précis of this work and a brief summary of elective modernism before considering their relation. The view I set out suggests that elective modernism is a political philosophy and that although its use in relation to the use of scientific expertise in political and policy-making process has implications for the role of (bio)ethical expertise it does not, in the final analysis, provide an account that is appropriate for this latter form of specialist expertise. Nevertheless, it is an informative perspective, and one that can help us make sense of the political uses of (bio)ethical expertise

Double in situ hybridization in combination with digital image analysis: A new approach to study interphase chromosome topography

Double in situ hybridization with mercurated and biotinylated chromosome specific DNA probes in combination with digital image analysis provides a new approach to compare the distribution of homologous and nonhomologous chromosome targets within individual interphase nuclei. Here we have used two DNA probes representing tandemly repeated sequences specific for the constitutive heterochromatin of the human chromosomes 1 and 15, respectively, and studied the relative arrangements of these chromosome targets in interphase nuclei of human lymphocytes, amniotic fluid cells, and fibroblasts, cultivated in vitro. We have developed a 2D-image analysis approach which allows the rapid evaluation of large numbers of interphase nuclei. Models to test for a random versus nonrandom distribution of chromosome segments are discussed taking into account the three-dimensional origin of the evaluated 2D-distribution. In all three human diploid cell types the measurements of target-target and target-center distances in the 2D-nuclear image revealed that the labeled segments of the two chromosomes 15 were distributed both significantly closer to each other and closer to the center of the nuclear image than the labeled chromosome 1 segments. This result can be explained by the association of nucleolus organizer regions on the short arm of chromosome 15 with nucleoli located more centrally in these nuclei and does not provide evidence for a homologous association per se. In contrast, evaluation of the interphase positioning of the two chromosome 1 segments fits the random expectation in amniotic fluid and fibroblast cells, while in experiments using lymphocytes a slight excess of larger distances between these homologous targets was occasionally observed. 2D-distances between the labeled chromosome 1 and 15 segments showed a large variability in their relative positioning. In conclusion our data do not support the idea of a strict and permanent association of these homologous and nonhomologous targets in the cell types studied so far

Helper T cells (CD3+/CD4+) within the autologous peripheral blood stem cell graft positively correlate with event free survival of multiple myeloma patients

The microenvironment in the bone marrow — including lymphocytes — is part of the pathophysiology of multiple myeloma (MM). High dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is standard of care for younger patients. Aim: To determine the influence of reinfused lymphocyte subsets on event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods: In peripheral blood (PB) and aphaeresis products (AP) of 41 MM patients lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry and were correlated with clinical outcome. Results: PB lymphocyte subsets did not influence EFS or OS. Residual plasma cells in the AP were not correlated with poor outcome, whereas a high percentage of B cells (CD19+) showed a trend towards reduced EFS (P = 0.051). A high amount of CD4 cells and an increased CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly associated with prolonged EFS. In contrast, high percentage of HLA-DR positive lymphocytes showed negative impact on EFS and OS (P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Conclusion: Obtained data suggest the non-activated (HLA-DR negative) helper CD4+ T cells in the AP to be tumour protective.Микроокружение в костном мозге, включая лимфоциты, оказывает влияние на патофизиологию множественной миеломы (MM). Высокодозовая химиотерапия, за которой следует аутологическая трансплантация стволовых клеток, является стандартным подходом при лечении более молодых пациентов. Цель: изучить влияние введенных субпопуляций лимфоцитов на безрецидивную выживаемость (EFS) и общую выживаемость больных c ММ. Методы: методом проточной цитофлуориметрии в периферической крови (PB) и продуктах афереза (АР) пациентов с ММ ( n = 41) изучали субпопуляции лимфоцитов и возможную корреляцию с исходом болезни. Результаты: субпопуляции лимфоцитов РB не влияли на EFS или OS. Остаточные клетки плазмы в АР не коррелировали с плохим прогнозом, в тоже время при высоком содержании В-клеток (CD19+) отмечали тенденцию к снижению EFS (P = 0,051). Высокое содержание CD4-клеток и увеличение соотношения CD4/CD8 были достоверно ассоциированы с повышением EFS. В отличие от этого, высокий процент HLADR-положительных лимфоцитов имел отрицательное влияние на EFS и OS (P = 0,03 и 0,02 соответственно). Выводы: полученные данные позволяют предположить, что неактивированные (HLA-DR-отрицательные) хелперные CD4+ T-клетки в AP могут обладать антиопухолевыми свойствами

Hydration and the true water content of swellable clay minerals

Water affects biological, chemical and transportation processes as well as mechanical properties of soils. Thereby, clay mineral content determines the moisture balance of soils. In-situ moisture measurements depend on reliable calibration based on the true water content. Drying the soil at 105 °C is the most common procedure to determine the water content although it is known, swellable clay minerals retain hydration water up to much higher temperatures. The amplified water uptake and retention by swellable clay minerals results from hydration of interlayer cations. Thereby, the water binding mechanisms are complex due to structural heterogeneity and are determined by layer charge density and location of substitutions. While several experimental studies deal with the maximum water uptake of selected smectites and heating conditions for full dehydration a comprehensive understanding of the relation between the structure of smectites and water uptake/release is still missing. The Na-saturated smectite / water interface for the montmorillonite-beidellite series is investigated in the present work within the density functional theory (DFT). Layer charge is varied between 0.125 and 0.5 per formula unit [O10(OH)2] by substitution of Al3+ by Mg2+ in the octahedral sheet (montmorillonites) and by substitution of Si4+ by Al3+ in the tetrahedral sheets (beidellites). Starting from the water free supercells (with integer molar ratios), the number of water molecules is increased discretely. Stable hydration states (1H to 3H) do not necessarily correspond to the formation of water layers (1W to 3W) in the interlayer, which is deduced from the development of the basal spaces during hydration. With the help of ab initio thermodynamics, the energy states are related to temperature, and partial pressure of H2O and the resulting phase diagrams revealed hydration state in dependence of relative humidity (RH) as well as necessary temperatures for full dehydration to determine the true water content. Thereby it was shown that 2:1 layer silicates with a layer charge of 0.125 are swellable but reach only the 1H state even at 100% RH, but the removal of water molecules from the interlayer requires temperatures >110 °C and partial pressures of water <100 Pa. In contrast water uptake of smectites with layer charge 0.375 requires RH of >11% at room temperature, but dehydration occurs at moderate heating

Promile: A management architecture for programmable modular routers

September 200

Solubility of precursors and carbonation of waterglass-free geopolymers

Geopolymers have the potential to function as an environmentally friendly substitute for ordinary Portland cement, with up to 80% less CO$_{2}$ emission during production. The effect is best utilized for geopolymers prepared with amorphous silica instead of waterglass (Na$_{2x}$Si$_{y}$O$_{2y+x}$) to adjust the Si:Al ratio. The reactivity of the precursors with the alkaline activator affects the final mineralogical properties of the binder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the amount of different phases formed during geopolymerization and to understand the quantitative evolution of carbonation during geopolymer synthesis by determining the solubility of metakaolinite and amorphous SiO$_{2}$ in NaOH at various concentrations. The solubility was studied by ICP-OES measurements. X-ray diffraction was used for qualitative and quantitative phase analysis of the geopolymers. The solubility of the precursors increased with calcination temperature of metakaolinite, reaction time for amorphous SiO$_{2}$, and at higher NaOH concentrations. Partial dissolution resulted in free Na$^{+}$, which is a source for the formation of carbonates in the geopolymers. Thermonatrite occurred prior to trona formation in all samples

Avaliação dos efeitos da eliminação da tensão através de ancoramento epineural: estudo experimental comparando resultados eletrofisiológicos e histomorfométricos após diferentes técnicas de reparo no nervo

Epineural stitches are a means to avoid tension in a nerve suture. We evaluate this technique, relative to interposed grafts and simple neurorraphy, in a rat model. METHOD: Twenty rats were allocated to four groups. For Group 1, sectioning of the sciatic nerve was performed, a segment 4 mm long discarded, and epineural suture with distal anchoring stitches were placed resulting in slight tension neurorraphy. For Group 2, a simple neurorraphy was performed. For Group 3, a 4 mm long graft was employed and Group 4 served as control. Ninety days after, reoperation, latency of motor action potentials recording and axonal counts were performed. Inter-group comparison was done by means of ANOVA and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: The mean motor latency for the simple suture (2.27±0.77 ms) was lower than for the other two surgical groups, but lower than among controls (1.69±0.56 ms). Similar values were founding in both group 1 (2.66±0.71 ms) and group 3 (2.64±0.6 ms). When fibers diameters were compared a significant difference was identified between groups 2 and 3 (p=0.048). CONCLUSION: Good results can be obtained when suturing a nerve employ with epineural anchoring stitches. However, more studies are needed before extrapolating results to human nerve sutures.A aproximação através de pontos epineurais é uma forma de se reduzir a tensão numa neurorrafia. Neste estudo esta técnica é avaliada através da sua comparação com a interposição de enxertos e neurorrafia simples num modelo experimental utilizando o rato. MÉTODO: Vinte ratos foram utilizados e divididos em 4 grupos. No Grupo 1, após a ressecção de 4 mm, os cotos do nervo foram aproximados através de pontos de ancoramento epineurais e suturados com tensão. No Grupo 2, uma neurorrafia simples foi realizada após secção do nervo. No Grupo 3, um enxerto de 4 mm foi utilizado para o reparo e o Grupo 4 foi utilizado como controle. Noventa dias após, os nervos foram novamente expostos e a medida da latência do potencial de ação motor e a contagem axonal foram realizados. A comparação entre os grupos foi realizada através da comparação entre as médias (ANOVA) e com o teste não-paramétrico de Kruskal-Wallis. RESULTADOS: A média da latência motora na sutura simples (2,27±0,77 ms) foi menor em relação aos outros dois grupos onde o nervo foi seccionado e reparado e maior que o grupo controle (1,69±0,56 ms). Resultados semelhantes foram identificados nos grupos 1 (2,66±0,71 ms) e 3 (2,64±0,6 ms). Uma diferença significativa diâmetros das fibras foi identificada quando comparados os grupos 2 e 3 (p=0,048). CONCLUSÃO: Resultados equiparáveis aos obtidos com enxerto podem ser obtidos quando a neurorrafia é realizada com pontos epineurais de ancoramento com tensão, mas estudos adicionais são necessários antes desses resultados serem extrapolados para o reparo de nervo em seres humanos

An Exactly Solvable Two-Way Traffic Model With Ordered Sequential Update

Within the formalism of matrix product ansatz, we study a two-species asymmetric exclusion process with backward and forward site-ordered sequential update. This model, which was originally introduced with the random sequential update, describes a two-way traffic flow with a dynamic impurity and shows a phase transition between the free flow and traffic jam. We investigate the characteristics of this jamming and examine similarities and differences between our results and those with random sequential update.Comment: 25 pages, Revtex, 7 ps file