Combining SOA and BPM Technologies for Cross-System Process Automation

This paper summarizes the results of an industry case study that introduced a cross-system business process automation solution based on a combination of SOA and BPM standard technologies (i.e., BPMN, BPEL, WSDL). Besides discussing major weaknesses of the existing, custom-built, solution and comparing them against experiences with the developed prototype, the paper presents a course of action for transforming the current solution into the proposed solution. This includes a general approach, consisting of four distinct steps, as well as specific action items that are to be performed for every step. The discussion also covers language and tool support and challenges arising from the transformation

Web Programming in Python: Techniques for Integrating Linux, Apache, and MySQL

This book was published in 2002 and is now out of print. Full rights have been reverted back to the authors from Prentice Hall PTR (now part of Pearson). Web Programming in Python was an early book on how to develop web applications using Python via a more integrated, framework-based approach. It provides a self-contained introduction to Python, Linux, MySQL (database programming and SQL), and Apache Web Server. We get many requests to make this book available. The world has since moved on to many other web frameworks (with a great emphasis on JavaScript) but as authors are committed to preserving knowledge and long-term digital archival. We thank our past readers for their support. Please direct any queries to George K. Thiruvathukal. (I plan to provide a version with embedded OCR soon. Stay tuned.

Pharmacological similarities between native brain and heterologously expressed α4β2 nicotinic receptors

1. We studied the pharmacological properties of native rat brain and heterologously expressed rat α4β2 nicotinic receptors immunoprecipitated onto a fixed substrate with the anti-α4 antibody mAb 299. 2. Immunodepletion with the anti-β2 antibody mAb 270 showed that 89% of the mAb-299-precipitated rat brain receptors contained β2. 3. The association and dissociation rate constants for 30 pM ±[(3)H]-epibatidine binding to α4β2 receptors expressed in oocytes were 0.02±0.01 and 0.03±0.01 min(−1) (±standard error, degrees of freedom=7–8) at 20–23°C. 4. The Hill coefficients for ±[(3)H]epibatidine binding to the native brain, α4β2 receptors expressed in oocytes, and α4β2 receptors expressed in CV-1 cells (using recombinant adenovirus) were 0.69–0.70 suggesting a heterogeneous receptor population. Fits of the ±[(3)H]-epibatidine concentration-binding data to a two-site model gave K(D) s of 8–30 and 560–1,200 pM. The high-affinity sites comprised 73–74% of the native brain and oocyte α4β2 receptor population, 85% of the CV-1 α4β2 receptor population. 5. The expression of rat α4β2 receptors in CV-1 cells using vaccinia viral infection-transfection resulted in a more homogeneous receptor population (Hill coefficient of 1.0±0.2). Fits of the ±[(3)H]-epibatidine binding data to a single-site model gave a K(D) of 40±3 pM. 6. DHβE (IC(50)=260–470 nM) and the novel nicotine analogue NDNI (IC(50)=7–10 μM) inhibited 30 pM±[(3)H]-epibatidine binding to the native brain and heterologously expressed α4β2 receptors equally well. 7. The results show that α4β2-containing nicotinic receptors in the rat brain and heterologously expressed rat α4β2 receptors have similar affinities for ±[(3)H]-epibatidine, DHβE, and NDNI