Query management in a sensor environment

Traditional sensor network deployments consisted of fixed infrastructures and were relatively small in size. More and more, we see the deployment of ad-hoc sensor networks with heterogeneous devices on a larger scale, posing new challenges for device management and query processing. In this paper, we present our design and prototype implementation of XSense, an architecture supporting metadata and query services for an underlying large scale dynamic P2P sensor network. We cluster sensor devices into manageable groupings to optimise the query process and automatically locate appropriate clusters based on keyword abstraction from queries. We present experimental analysis to show the benefits of our approach and demonstrate improved query performance and scalability

Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and investable premia in emerging markets

We examine the interaction between the legal protection of investors, corporate governance within firms, institutional development between countries, and investable premia in emerging markets. In a multi country setting and using a novel dataset we find that better-governed firms experience significantly greater stock price increases upon equity market liberalization. We look to see whether well-governed firms in poorly governed countries enjoy an investability premium as measured by Tobin’s q. We find they do. Investors look beyond the seemingly weak country-level governance structures, and focus on corporate governance.Investability, Corporate Governance, Tobin's q, Emerging Markets

Evaluation of photografted charged sites within polymer monoliths in capillary columns using contactless conductivity detection

Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) is presented as a novel and versatile means of visualising discrete zones of charged functional groups grafted onto polymer based monoliths. Monoliths were formed within 100 μm UV transparent fused silica capillaries and photografting methods were subsequently used to graft a charged functional monomer, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) onto discrete regions of the “generic” monolith using a photomask. Post-modification monolith evaluation involves scanning the C4D detector along the length of the monolith to obtain a profile of the exact spatial location of grafted charged functionalities with millimetre accuracy. The methodology was extended to the visualisation of several zones of immobilised protein (bovine serum albumin) using photografted azlactone groups to enable covalent attachment of the protein to the monolith at precise locations along its length. In addition, the extent of non-specific binding of protein to the ungrafted regions of the monolith due to hydrophobic interactions could be monitored as an increase in background conductivity of the stationary phase. Finally, the technique was cross-validated using fluorescence microscopy by immobilising green fluorescent protein (GFP) in discrete zones and comparing the profiles obtained using both complementary techniques

Characterization of strychnine binding sites in the rodent spinal cord

The convulsant alkaloid strychnine is a selective and highly potent antagonist at postsynaptic receptor for the inhibitory neurotransmitter glycine. These properties have led to the extensive use of strychnine as a ligand to probe the postsynaptic glycine receptor. Despite the recent increased understanding of the molecular structure of this receptor protein there is still much dispute as to the nature of the interaction between glycine and strychnine. In an attempt to more clearly define this interaction the experiments described, combine the techniques of protein modification and ligand binding. These investigations also revealed a novel [3H]-strychnine binding site in the rodent CNS and attempts were made to characterize this phenomenon. The results described suggest that glycine is a fully competitive inhibitor of [3H]-strychnine binding and its reported action as a partial competitive inhibitor is an artefact of the assay conditions. The disruption of [3H]-strychnine binding by residue selective protein modifying reagents suggests some overlap in the strychnine and glycine binding sites at the receptor. Protection studies confirm this and the results are best explained by overlapping yet conformationally distinct recognition sites for strychnine and glycine. Experiments which describe protein modification and ligand protection of strychnine binding antisera highlight possible congruence in the molecular recognition at the antisera and the receptor. This is of interest in the light of proposed models of the strychnine binding site at the postsynaptic glycine receptor. Modification of spinal cord membranes by the arginine selective reagent 2,3-butanedione (BD) reveals a low affinity and high capacity [3H]-strychnine binding site which is not detectable in untreated membranes. This binding site showed a similar distribution in the CNS as the high affinity site. However, experiments using affinity purified glycine receptor and crude membrane preparations from the mutant mouse spastic indicated that the BD-induced binding site is not located on the postsynaptic glycine receptor. Competition studies revealed that [3H]-strychnine binding sites in untreated and BD-treated membranes have different structural determinants. The ability to effectively inhibit [3H]-strychnine binding to the BD-induced site by cation channel blockers is in accord with reports that strychnine can interact with various cation channels to open or block them. In addition several compounds that inhibit the BD-induced [3H]-strychnine binding can also modulate the reaction of BD with spinal cord membranes if present during the treatment, suggesting a conformational dependent modification. Upon exposure to ultraviolet light [3H]-strychnine is specifically incorporated into a low molecular weight peptide in BD-treated membranes in addition to the ligand binding subunit of the inhibitory glycine receptor, which is the only peptide photolabelled in untreated membranes. The significance of this biochemical and pharmacological characterization of this previously undescribed strychnine binding site is presently unclear. However, the uneven distribution in the CNS and the interaction with important therapeutic agents; local anaesthetics and anti-arrhythmics, indicate the possible biological importance of the novel strychnine binding site

Applying digital content management to support localisation

The retrieval and presentation of digital content such as that on the World Wide Web (WWW) is a substantial area of research. While recent years have seen huge expansion in the size of web-based archives that can be searched efficiently by commercial search engines, the presentation of potentially relevant content is still limited to ranked document lists represented by simple text snippets or image keyframe surrogates. There is expanding interest in techniques to personalise the presentation of content to improve the richness and effectiveness of the user experience. One of the most significant challenges to achieving this is the increasingly multilingual nature of this data, and the need to provide suitably localised responses to users based on this content. The Digital Content Management (DCM) track of the Centre for Next Generation Localisation (CNGL) is seeking to develop technologies to support advanced personalised access and presentation of information by combining elements from the existing research areas of Adaptive Hypermedia and Information Retrieval. The combination of these technologies is intended to produce significant improvements in the way users access information. We review key features of these technologies and introduce early ideas for how these technologies can support localisation and localised content before concluding with some impressions of future directions in DCM

Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and investable premia in emerging markets. Department of Economic Finance and Accounting Working Paper Series N229-12

We examine the interaction between the legal protection of investors, corporate governance within firms, institutional development between countries, and investable premia in emerging markets. In a multi country setting and using a novel dataset we find that better-governed firms experience significantly greater stock price increases upon equity market liberalization. We look to see whether well-governed firms in poorly governed countries enjoy an investability premium as measured by Tobin’s q. We find they do. Investors look beyond the seemingly weak country-level governance structures, and focus on corporate governance

Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and investable premia in emerging markets. Department of Economic Finance and Accounting Working Paper Series N229-12

We examine the interaction between the legal protection of investors, corporate governance within firms, institutional development between countries, and investable premia in emerging markets. In a multi country setting and using a novel dataset we find that better-governed firms experience significantly greater stock price increases upon equity market liberalization. We look to see whether well-governed firms in poorly governed countries enjoy an investability premium as measured by Tobin’s q. We find they do. Investors look beyond the seemingly weak country-level governance structures, and focus on corporate governance

Analysis of the hippocampal proteome in ME7 prion disease reveals a predominant astrocytic signature and highlights the brain-restricted production of clusterin in chronic neurodegeneration

Prion diseases are characterized by accumulation of misfolded protein, gliosis, synaptic dysfunction, and ultimately neuronal loss. This sequence, mirroring key features of Alzheimer disease, is modeled well in ME7 prion disease. We used iTRAQ(TM)/mass spectrometry to compare the hippocampal proteome in control and late-stage ME7 animals. The observed changes associated with reactive glia highlighted some specific proteins that dominate the proteome in late-stage disease. Four of the up-regulated proteins (GFAP, high affinity glutamate transporter (EAAT-2), apo-J (Clusterin), and peroxiredoxin-6) are selectively expressed in astrocytes, but astrocyte proliferation does not contribute to their up-regulation. The known functional role of these proteins suggests this response acts against protein misfolding, excitotoxicity, and neurotoxic reactive oxygen species. A recent convergence of genome-wide association studies and the peripheral measurement of circulating levels of acute phase proteins have focused attention on Clusterin as a modifier of late-stage Alzheimer disease and a biomarker for advanced neurodegeneration. Since ME7 animals allow independent measurement of acute phase proteins in the brain and circulation, we extended our investigation to address whether changes in the brain proteome are detectable in blood. We found no difference in the circulating levels of Clusterin in late-stage prion disease when animals will show behavioral decline, accumulation of misfolded protein, and dramatic synaptic and neuronal loss. This does not preclude an important role of Clusterin in late-stage disease, but it cautions against the assumption that brain levels provide a surrogate peripheral measure for the progression of brain degeneration

Fusion complex formation protects synaptobrevin against proteolysis by tetanus toxin light chain

AbstractThe clostridial neurotoxin, tetanus toxin, is a Zn2+-dependent protease which inhibits neurotransmitter exocytosis by selective cleavage of the synaptic vesicle protein, synaptobrevin. Synaptobrevin is thought to serve as a receptor for two neuronal plasma membrane proteins, syntaxin and SNAP-25, which in the presence of non-hydrolyzable ATP analogs form a 20 S fusion complex with the soluble fusion proteins NSF and α-SNAP. Here we show that synaptobrevin, when in this 20 S complex, or its 7 S precursor, is protected against proteolysis by the enzymatically active tetanus toxin light chain. Our data define distinct pools of synaptobrevin, which provide markers of different steps of vesicle/plasma membrane interaction

A conceptual model of suicide in rural areas

Context: Suicide is an important public health issue among rural communities although there is no single pattern of suicide in rural areas. Despite this, there are common themes in much of the research evidence on suicide in rural areas. From the published research in the area, a conceptual model of rural suicide has been developed which can be used by clinical and public health services when considering possible routes of intervention.Issue: A conceptual model can be defined as 'a type of diagram which shows a set of relationships between factors that are believed to impact or lead to a target condition'. The model presented here uses the 'Cry of pain/ Entrapment' model of suicide risk to build a framework of factors which are associated with suicide in rural areas. Cross-setting factors associated with suicide rates include gender, poverty, mental illness, substance use, biological factors including apparent genetic risk, coping skills and media coverage of suicide. There are, however, other factors that appear to have particular importance in rural areas. These include rural stressors, such as isolation and political and social exclusion; factors affecting support, including social support, cultural norms on help-seeking, stigma associated with mental illness service availability; factors affecting the decision to self-harm, including modelling and cultural views on self-harm, and issues affecting the likelihood of self-harm resulting in death, including method availability, norms on methods of self-harm and treatment availability after harm occurs. Identifying which of these areas are the greatest local priorities helps to target activity.Lessons learned: This model provides a way of considering suicide in rural areas. Local staff can use it to consider which issues are most relevant to their area. It allows classification of existing interventions, and deciding which other areas of work might be of local value. For researchers and service planners, it provides a way of classifying interventions and describing projects