Describing complex design practices with a cross-domain framework: learning from Synthetic Biology and Swarm Robotics

This paper reports on the development of a cross-domain framework for describing complex design practices. The framework is grounded in studies of two different complex design fields: Synthetic Biology and Swarm Robotics. In the first study, we interviewed practitioners in Synthetic Biology, identifying three essential aspects of complex design problems and practices. The first of these aspects is the characterisation of system complexity, the second is the design objective taken with respect to this complexity, and the third is the design approach applied to realise this objective. In the second study, we interviewed designers in Swarm Robotics, confirming the domain generality of the three aspects identified in the first study and permitting a comparison to be made of how the two fields differ from each other in these aspects. Considered together, the two studies provide the basis for building a cross-domain framework for describing complex design practices. Such a framework is presented here, not to exhaust all possible descriptions of complex design practice but rather to provide a structured yet adaptable way of highlighting the important aspects of these descriptions. Indeed, each aspect of complex design can be can be broken down into different elements depending on the design contexts under consideration. Having such a framework enables designers to identify fundamental similarities and differences both between and within fields.This work was funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K008196/1).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00163-016-0219-

Status of Potentially Harmful Elements (PHEs) in Soils around the Vicinity of a Newly Constructed Sporting Facility in Omagwa, Nigeria

A study, intended to generate pre- urbanization baseline data of the soils at the Greater Port Harcourt site of the new stadium, the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, has been conducted. Concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) and physicochemical properties of surface and sub-surface soils at the study sites have been determined using spectrophotometric and other standard methods. The results indicate that the pH of the soil ranged between 5.3 and 6.2 while the percent organic carbon ranged between 1.73 – 2.50 %. The ranges of the percentages of total organic matter and total nitrogen in the soil were 2.98 – 4.31% and 0.24 – 0.34% respectively. The particle size distribution results obtained for sand, silt and clay were 59.0 – 74.0 %, 3.8 – 6.0 %, and 21.2 – 37.2 %, respectively. The mean concentrations of the metals for surface and sub-surface soils were respectively as follows: Cd (0.21±0.05 mg/kg and 0.24±0.15mg/kg); Cr (1.98 ± 1.07 mg/kg and 2.23 ± 1.67 mg/kg); Cu (11.8 ± 4.48 mg/kg and 12.4 ± 5.40 mg/kg); Ni (2.39 ± 0.66 mg/kg and 2.46 ± 0.53 mg/kg) and Pb (1.32 ± 0.87 mg/kg and 1.23 ± 0.88 mg/kg). The results indicate that the levels of the physicochemical characteristics in the soils of the study area are, in general, lower than soils in the city that have long been disturbed as a result of anthropogenic inputs. On the other hand, the heavy metal levels were similar in both surface and sub- surface soil samples. This may be as a result of the geogenic nature of the sites. However, the pristine nature of the study sites may be responsible for the relatively lower metal levels compared with disturbed soils in the city. These values thus provide baseline data for the study area. @JASE

Extending local features with contextual information in graph kernels

Graph kernels are usually defined in terms of simpler kernels over local substructures of the original graphs. Different kernels consider different types of substructures. However, in some cases they have similar predictive performances, probably because the substructures can be interpreted as approximations of the subgraphs they induce. In this paper, we propose to associate to each feature a piece of information about the context in which the feature appears in the graph. A substructure appearing in two different graphs will match only if it appears with the same context in both graphs. We propose a kernel based on this idea that considers trees as substructures, and where the contexts are features too. The kernel is inspired from the framework in [6], even if it is not part of it. We give an efficient algorithm for computing the kernel and show promising results on real-world graph classification datasets.Comment: To appear in ICONIP 201

Fat area and lipid droplet morphology of porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation with trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid and forskolin

Lipid droplets (LD) in porcine oocytes form a dark mass reaching almost all cytoplasm. Herein we investigated changes in fat areas, cytoplasmic tone and LD morphology during in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes cultured with 100mM trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (t10,c12 CLA) or 10mM forskolin at different time periods. Four groups were constituted: control, excipient, t10,c12 CLA and forskolin, with drugs being supplemented during 44 to 48h and the initial 22 to 24h in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. In Experiment 3, forskolin was supplemented for the first 2 h. Matured oocytes were inseminated with frozen-thawed boar semen and cleavage rate recorded. Before and during IVM, samples of oocytes were evaluated for LD, total and fat areas and fat gray value or for meiotic progression. Results showed that forskolin supplementation during 44 to 48 h or 22 to 24 h inhibits oocyte maturation (exp. 1: forskolin = 5.1±8.0%, control = 72.6±5.0%; exp. 2: forskolin =24.3±7.4%, control =71.6±5.6%) and cleavage (exp. 1: forskolin=0.0±0.0%, control=55.4±4.1%; exp. 2: forskolin=8.3±3.3%, control=54.5±3.0%). Forskolin also reduced oocyte and fat areas. In Experiment 3, forskolin negative effect on oocyte maturation and cleavage disappeared, although minor (P<0.03) LD and oocyte fat areas were identified at 22 to 24 h of IVM. Oocytes supplemented with t10,c12 CLA during 44 to 48h presented a lighter (P<0.04) colour tone cytoplasm than those of control and forskolin. In conclusion, t10,c12 CLA and forskolin were capable of modifying the distribution and morphology of cytoplasmic LD during porcine oocyte maturation, thus reducing its lipid content in a time-dependent manner

Photoluminescence upconversion at GaAs/InGaP2 interfaces driven by a sequential two-photon absorption mechanism

This paper reports on the results of an investigation into the nature of photoluminescence upconversion at GaAs/InGaP2 interfaces. Using a dual-beam excitation experiment, we demonstrate that the upconversion in our sample proceeds via a sequential two-photon optical absorption mechanism. Measurements of photoluminescence and upconversion photoluminescence revealed evidence of the spatial localization of carriers in the InGaP2 material, arising from partial ordering of the InGaP2. We also observed the excitation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the GaAs/InGaP2 heterojunction that manifests as a high-energy shoulder in the GaAs photoluminescence spectrum. Furthermore, the results of upconversion photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy demonstrate that the photon energy onset of upconversion luminescence coincides with the energy of the two-dimensional electron gas at the GaAs/InGaP2 interface, suggesting that charge accumulation at the interface can play a crucial role in the upconversion process

Monitoring lipid accumulation in the green microalga Botryococcus braunii with frequency-modulated stimulated Raman scattering

© 2015 SPIE.The potential of microalgae as a source of renewable energy has received considerable interest because they can produce lipids (fatty acids and isoprenoids) that can be readily converted into biofuels. However, significant research in this area is required to increase yields to make this a viable renewable source of energy. An analytical tool that could provide quantitative in situ spectroscopic analysis of lipids synthesis in individual microalgae would significantly enhance our capability to understand the synthesis process at the cellular level and lead to the development of strategies for increasing yield. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy has great potential in this area however, the pump-probe signal from two-color two-photon absorption of pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids) overwhelm the SRS signal and prevent its application. Clearly, the development of a background suppression technique is of significant value for this important research area. To overcome the limitation of SRS in pigmented specimens, we establish a frequency-modulated stimulated Raman scattering (FM-SRS) microscopy that eliminates the non-Raman background by rapidly toggling on-and-off the targeted Raman resonance. Moreover, we perform the background-free imaging and analysis of intracellular lipid droplets and extracellular hydrocarbons in a green microalga with FM-SRS microscopy. We believe that FM-SRS microscopy demonstrates the potential for many applications in pigmented cells and provides the opportunity for improved selective visualization of the chemical composition of algae and plants.We thank Delong Zhang at Purdue University for fruitful discussion. This research was supported by grants (BB/K013602/1) from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Syngenta

Continuity properties of measurable group cohomology

A version of group cohomology for locally compact groups and Polish modules has previously been developed using a bar resolution restricted to measurable cochains. That theory was shown to enjoy analogs of most of the standard algebraic properties of group cohomology, but various analytic features of those cohomology groups were only partially understood. This paper re-examines some of those issues. At its heart is a simple dimension-shifting argument which enables one to `regularize' measurable cocycles, leading to some simplifications in the description of the cohomology groups. A range of consequences are then derived from this argument. First, we prove that for target modules that are Fr\'echet spaces, the cohomology groups agree with those defined using continuous cocycles, and hence they vanish in positive degrees when the acting group is compact. Using this, we then show that for Fr\'echet, discrete or toral modules the cohomology groups are continuous under forming inverse limits of compact base groups, and also under forming direct limits of discrete target modules. Lastly, these results together enable us to establish various circumstances under which the measurable-cochains cohomology groups coincide with others defined using sheaves on a semi-simplicial space associated to the underlying group, or sheaves on a classifying space for that group. We also prove in some cases that the natural quotient topologies on the measurable-cochains cohomology groups are Hausdorff.Comment: 52 pages. [Nov 22, 2011:] Major re-write with Calvin C. Moore as new co-author. Results from previous version strengthened and several new results added. [Nov 25, 2012:] Final version now available at springerlink.co

The role of cytokines as inflammatory mediators in preeclampsia

Introduction: this study is to determine the concentrations of IL-6, TNF 5, and C reactive protein (CRP) in women with severe preeclampsia, andcompare with those of gestational age- matched normotensive pregnant women and to correlate CRP levels with markers of organ damage inwomen with preeclampsia.Methods: this was a case control study of fifty women with severe preeclampsia and fifty gestational age matched pregnant women with normal blood pressure. The women were drawn from The Antenatal Clinic of The Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Severe pre eclampsia was defined as systolic blood pressure ;160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ;110mmHg and ;2+ of proteinuria. After obtaining an informed consent, each participant completed a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire sought information on socio-demographic and clinical data. From each participant, mid-stream urine was collected for urinalysis and culture, and blood sample was collected for biochemical analysis. Comparisons of continuous variables and categorical variables were done using the Student's t test and Chi square test respectively. Correlation analysis was used to determine the associations between variables. Statistical  significance was set at P Results: the women were similar in their socio demographic characteristics. There was a statistically significant difference in the systolic blood pressure ( p &lt; 0.0001), diastolic blood pressure ( p &lt; 0.0001), uric acid ( p &lt; 0.0001), AST ( p &lt; 0.0001), ALP ( p &lt; 0.0001), creatinine ( p &lt; 0.0013), GGT ( p &lt; 0.005), IL 6 ( p &lt; 0.021), CRP ( p &lt; 0.0002), and TNF 5 ( p &lt; 0.023), between the group with severe preeclampsia and the group with normal blood pressure. This study also reports a significant association between CRP and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, uric acid AST and ALP (pConclusion: the inflammatory cytokines, IL6, TNF 5 and CRP are elevated in severe preeclampsia and may mediate some of the clinical manifestations of the disorder. A role may exist for anti inflammatory  agents in the management of women with preeclampsia

In Vitro Screening of Cytotoxic, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Clinacanthus nutans (Acanthaceae) leaf extracts

Purpose: To evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Clinacanthus nutans extracts and semi-fractions.Method: The plant was subjected to cold solvent extraction to produce petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol crude extracts, followed by isolation using bioassay-guided fractionation. The crude extracts (0.2 to 10.0 mg/ml) were tested against HeLa and K-562 cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and antioxidant activity using 1, 1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, fractions isolated from ethyl acetate leaf extract (0.02 to10.0 mg/ml) were tested against Bacillus cereus (ATCC11778), Escherichia coli (ATCC25922), Salmonella enterica Typhimurium (ATCC14028) and Candida albicans (ATCC10231) using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal or fungicidal (MBC/MFC) assays.Results: Petroleum ether extracts demonstrated the strongest cytotoxic activity against HeLa and K-562 cells with IC50 of 18.0 and 20.0 ìg/mL, respectively. Petroleum ether extracts also displayed the highest radical scavenging activity of 82.00 ± 0.02 %, compared with ascorbic acid and á-tocopherol corresponding values of 88.7 ± 0.0 and 86.6 ± 0.0 %, respectively. In MIC assay, all the crude extracts and fractions showed inhibition against all tested microorganisms. Fraction 7 displayed the lowest MIC and MBC/MFC values against B. cereus and C. albicans at 1.39 mg/ml, respectively. Ampicillin and amphotericin B displayed MIC value of 1.3 mg/ml.Conclusion: The bioactive compounds from C. nutans are potential  cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.Keywords: Clinacanthus nutans, Cytotoxic, Antioxidant, Antimicrobia

Microbiological evaluation of the Mhlathuze River, KwaZulu-Natal (RSA)

Continuous faecal pollution in source water is a global problem that is particularly debilitating to rural communities that are directly dependent on untreated source water for all their domestic and other purposes. The elevation of indicator bacteria levels (such as the faecal coliforms) in the water may pose a public health risk. This study reports the results of microbial monitoring of the Mhlathuze River over a 21-month period. Elevated levels of indicator micro-organisms (both faecal and total coliforms) and heterotrophic plate count bacteria were observed from March 1998 to November 1999. Surface water temperature and rainfall during this period appeared to be some of the factors affecting the increased bacterial counts. Bacteria isolated from the river included E. coli, Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacter spp. (detected frequently), Serratia spp., Klebsiella spp., and Aeromonas hydrophila (detected less frequently). This study generated some essential baseline information of the microbial population for a section of the river utilised for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. WaterSA Vol.28(3) 2002: 281-28