Detector and Front-end electronics for ALICE and STAR silicon strip layers

Detector modules consisting of Silicon Strip Detector (SSD) and Front End Electronics (FEE) assembly have been designed in order to provide the two outer layers of the ALICE Inner Tracker System (ITS) [1] as well as the outer layer of the STAR Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) [2]. Several prototypes have beenproduced and tested in the SPS and PS beam at CERN to validate the final design. Double-sided, AC-coupled SSD detectors provided by two different manufacturers and also a pair of single-sided SSD have been asssociated to new low-power CMOS ALICE128C ASIC chips in a new detector module assembly. The same detectors have also been associated to current Viking electronics for reference purpose. These prototype detector modules are described and some first results are presented

Finding gene regulatory network candidates using the gene expression knowledge base

BACKGROUND: Network-based approaches for the analysis of large-scale genomics data have become well established. Biological networks provide a knowledge scaffold against which the patterns and dynamics of ‘omics’ data can be interpreted. The background information required for the construction of such networks is often dispersed across a multitude of knowledge bases in a variety of formats. The seamless integration of this information is one of the main challenges in bioinformatics. The Semantic Web offers powerful technologies for the assembly of integrated knowledge bases that are computationally comprehensible, thereby providing a potentially powerful resource for constructing biological networks and network-based analysis. RESULTS: We have developed the Gene eXpression Knowledge Base (GeXKB), a semantic web technology based resource that contains integrated knowledge about gene expression regulation. To affirm the utility of GeXKB we demonstrate how this resource can be exploited for the identification of candidate regulatory network proteins. We present four use cases that were designed from a biological perspective in order to find candidate members relevant for the gastrin hormone signaling network model. We show how a combination of specific query definitions and additional selection criteria derived from gene expression data and prior knowledge concerning candidate proteins can be used to retrieve a set of proteins that constitute valid candidates for regulatory network extensions. CONCLUSIONS: Semantic web technologies provide the means for processing and integrating various heterogeneous information sources. The GeXKB offers biologists such an integrated knowledge resource, allowing them to address complex biological questions pertaining to gene expression. This work illustrates how GeXKB can be used in combination with gene expression results and literature information to identify new potential candidates that may be considered for extending a gene regulatory network. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-014-0386-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Knolwedge, supply and demand in industrial development: a sectoral system perspective

Economic development is centered around the learning processes of firms, the mastering of knowledge, and the accumulation of capabilities. This article builds upon these core elements by looking at how the knowledge boundaries of firms, the division of innovative and productive labor, and the governance of knowledge have evolved over time in the advanced industrialized countries in order to provide a historical and evolutionary context to the patterns of knowledge dynamics and innovation that are present in economic development and in emerging markets nowadays. It adopts the theoretical lenses of the sectoral system literature to discuss how the interplay of the supply and the demand side affects firms’ boundaries. The article shows that, over time , the knowledge boundaries for innovation, production and commercialization have greatly expanded, often to reach beyond the legal boundaries of firms or even the conventional definition of industries. The division between production and innovative labor has also increased. At the same time, the role of industrial users and of consumers as a source of useful knowledge has grown significantly. Yet the governance of the knowledge that is relevant for introducing key innovations has remained in the hands of a relatively small number of firms. As knowledge integration capabilities become a core competence for firms competing on world markets, these trends will have important implications for leading companies in emerging economies