How Open is Open Internet?

US Vice President Joe Biden and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague both made statements in support of the “open internet” at the London Conference on Cyberspace, but what does “open” really mean? Already under discussion are limitations to “openness” in the name of copyright protection and national security, and the debate has focused largely on consumer’s rights to access. There is another angle to be considered, which concerns access for those providing online content. Should content providers pay to be online, or should they be allowed to pay for preferential service? Recently, UK content providers weighed in on the debate

Performance evaluation of novel SiPM for medical imaging applications

Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors are investigated world-wide as a suitable replacement for the conventional vacuum based PhotoMultiplier Tube (PMT) and are enabling applications otherwise not possible with PMT detectors. Progress in recent years has been substantial with SiPM detectors pushing the boundaries in energy and time resolution as well as photon detection efficiency and active surface area. In this paper we report on the performance of a gamma detector comprising latest generation SiPM detectors from SensL coupled to novel Cerium doped Gd3Al2Ga3O12 (GAGG) scintillators from Furukawa, Japan. Both 3mm�3mm N-on-P and P-on-N SiPM detectors have been optically coupled to 3mm�3mm�30mm crystals. An energy resolution (662 keV Cs-137) of 9.4% has been measured for GAGG crystal coupled to a 3mm�3mm N-on-P SiPM detector

Database rules and time: some proposed extensions to the SQL standard

The subject of this thesis is the incorporation of temporal semantics into database rules and how the resultant syntax might be reconciled with the evolving SQL standard. In particular, it explores time-driven rules and the time-relationship between triggering events and associated actions. A review of the key research results in the area of database rules and the syntax developed for the major prototype implementations is conducted, and a working syntax , free of any limitations within the SQL standard, developed. Next, an operational definition is evolved through the application of this working syntax to two sample domains rich in 'temporal rules'. In each case a graphical representation of the domain is presented using an adapted object-oriented modelling technique followed by a mapping into the working temporal syntax. Attention is then turned to the SQL-92 standard and its future successor SQL3. An assessment is made of their implications for the working syntax developed in the earlier chapters - with particular reference to the specification of time and the use of database triggers. When an attempt was made to re-cast the working syntax into SQL, a satisfactory mapping, which succeeded in preserving the semantics of the original, could not be achieved. Support for time-based triggers; cyclic operations; delayed actions and rule lifetimes necessitated the development of appropriate modifications to the basic SQL3 draft syntax. The proposed extensions capture all of the semantics required for the specification of time-based rules. The example applications indicated that an extended SQLcompliant language approach allied to a sound objectoriented modelling formalism had a broad applicability. Furthermore, it was apparent that the addition of a temporal dimension to rule actions was a key enabling factor in increasing their semantic power

File Sharing and DEA Dossier: Relevant Resources and Information

Several of our LSE Media Policy Project interns have compiled this informative dossier on file-sharing and the Digital Economy Act (2010). This dossier provides links to important key documents that will be helpful for anyone interested in analyzing or making sense of current issues concerning file-sharing, copyright and the DEA

System-of-Systems Tools for the Analysis of Technological Choices in Space Propulsion

Difficulties in space mission architecture design arise from many factors. Performance, cost, and risk constraints become less obvious due to complex interactions between the systems involved in the mission; decisions regarding long-term goals can heavily impact technological choices for short-term parts of the mission, while conversely decisions in the near future will impact the whole flexibility of long-term plans. Furthermore, the space community is broadening its borders, and space agencies from different countries are collaborating with industry and commercial partners towards large-scale endeavors. This paradigm shift is prompting the development of non-traditional approaches to the design of space missions. This paper reports the results of the first year of a continuing collaboration of the authors to develop and demonstrate System-of-System engineering methodologies for the deep analysis of dependencies and synthesis of robust architectures in exploration mission contexts. We present the procedure that we followed to develop and apply our methodology, obstacles found, steps taken to improve the methods based on the needs of experts and decision makers, required data for the analysis, and results produced by our holistic analysis. In particular, we focus on the analysis of technological choices for space propulsion for a generic cislunar mission, including both complex interactions between subsystems in different type of propulsion and availability of different providers. We identify critical systems and sets of systems based on cascading effects of performance degradation, assessment of the robustness of different designs in the operational domain, and simultaneous analysis of schedule dependencies between the constituent systems

Modulation of pathogen-induced CCL20 secretion from HT-29 human intestinal epithelial cells by commensal bacteria

BACKGROUND: Human intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) secrete the chemokine CCL20 in response to infection by various enteropathogenic bacteria or exposure to bacterial flagellin. CCL20 recruits immature dendritic cells and lymphocytes to target sites. Here we investigated IEC responses to various pathogenic and commensal bacteria as well as the modulatory effects of commensal bacteria on pathogen-induced CCL20 secretion. HT-29 human IECs were incubated with commensal bacteria (Bifidobacterium infantis or Lactobacillus salivarius), or with Salmonella typhimurium, its flagellin, Clostridium difficile, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, or Mycobacterium smegmatis for varying times. In some studies, HT-29 cells were pre-treated with a commensal strain for 2 hr prior to infection or flagellin stimulation. CCL20 and interleukin (IL)-8 secretion and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activation were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: Compared to untreated cells, S. typhimurium, C. difficile, M. paratuberculosis, and flagellin activated NF-kappaB and stimulated significant secretion of CCL20 and IL-8 by HT-29 cells. Conversely, B. infantis, L. salivarius or M. smegmatis did not activate NF-kappaB or augment CCL20 or IL-8 production. Treatment with B. infantis, but not L. salivarius, dose-dependently inhibited the baseline secretion of CCL20. In cells pre-treated with B. infantis, C. difficile-, S. typhimurium-, and flagellin-induced CCL20 were significantly attenuated. B. infantis did not limit M. Paratuberculosis-induced CCL20 secretion. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to demonstrate that a commensal strain can attenuate CCL20 secretion in HT-29 IECs. Collectively, the data indicate that M. paratuberculosis may mediate mucosal damage and that B. infantis can exert immunomodulatory effects on IECs that mediate host responses to flagellin and flagellated enteric pathogens

The National Exercise Referral Framework

A 2013 Review of the HSE funded GP Exercise Referral Programme (GPERP) highlighted the need for a new National Exercise Referral Framework (NERF). The evidence suggests that exercise referral is an effective targeted health intervention for specific patients and with the increasing prevalence of chronic disease it is imperative that we examine, design and progress the implementation of scalable, sustainable evidence-based, interventions, integrated across the health system to improve the health and wellbeing of the population. The development of this proposed National Exercise Referral Framework, commissioned by Health Promotion and Improvement, was led by DCU involving a multi-disciplinary Working Group and supported by a HSE Cross-Divisional Group. We are grateful to the Working Group and in particular to Dr Catherine Woods and the team in DCU for their extensive work and commitment to this project. There are a number of practical steps now required to determine the feasibility of the proposed framework as a national model namely, identification of a sustainable funding model; design and development of chronic disease care pathways and a phased implementation plan that would build on the existing programmes. The Health & Wellbeing Division of the HSE will lead the next phase of this project

T. brucei cathepsin-L increases arrhythmogenic sarcoplasmic reticulum-mediated calcium release in rat cardiomyocytes

Aims: African trypanosomiasis, caused by Trypanosoma brucei species, leads to both neurological and cardiac dysfunction and can be fatal if untreated. While the neurological-related pathogenesis is well studied, the cardiac pathogenesis remains unknown. The current study exposed isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes and adult rat hearts to T. brucei to test whether trypanosomes can alter cardiac function independent of a systemic inflammatory/immune response. Methods and results: Using confocal imaging, T. brucei and T. brucei culture media (supernatant) caused an increased frequency of arrhythmogenic spontaneous diastolic sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)-mediated Ca2+ release (Ca2+ waves) in isolated adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Studies utilising inhibitors, recombinant protein and RNAi all demonstrated that this altered SR function was due to T. brucei cathepsin-L (TbCatL). Separate experiments revealed that TbCatL induced a 10–15% increase of SERCA activity but reduced SR Ca2+ content, suggesting a concomitant increased SR-mediated Ca2+ leak. This conclusion was supported by data demonstrating that TbCatL increased Ca2+ wave frequency. These effects were abolished by autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide, highlighting a role for CaMKII in the TbCatL action on SR function. Isolated Langendorff perfused whole heart experiments confirmed that supernatant caused an increased number of arrhythmic events. Conclusion: These data demonstrate for the first time that African trypanosomes alter cardiac function independent of a systemic immune response, via a mechanism involving extracellular cathepsin-L-mediated changes in SR function