On the credibility of manet simulations

Simulation is useful for evaluating protocol performance and operation. However, the lack of rigor with which it's applied threatens the credibility of the published research within the manet research community. Mobile ad hoc networks (manets) allow rapid deployment because they don't depend on a fixed infrastructure. Manet nodes can participate as the source, the destination, or an intermediate router. This flexibility is attractive for military applications, disaster-response situations, and academic environments where fixed net working infrastructures might not be available.     

Propagation of granulocytic Ehrlichia spp. from human and equine sources in HL-60 cells induced to differentiate into functional granulocytes

Ehrlichia spp. from human and equine sources in the northeastern Unites States were detected by PCR, isolated, and propagated in the HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line. Growth of Ehrlichia from both equine and human sources was enhanced by addition of retinoic acid, which causes granulocytic differentiation of the HL-60 cells. DNA sequencing of a portion of the 16S rDNA gene supported the hypothesis that the same pathogen was responsible for both equine and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.     

Adaptive Threat Modeling for Secure Ad Hoc Routing Protocols

Secure routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks provide the required functionality for proper network operation. If the underlying routing protocol cannot be trusted to follow the protocol operations, additional trust layers, such as authentication, cannot be obtained. Threat models drive analysis capabilities, affecting how we evaluate trust. Current attacker threat models limit the results obtained during protocol security analysis over ad hoc routing protocols. Developing a proper threat model to evaluate security properties in mobile ad hoc routing protocols presents a significant challenge. If the attacker strength is too weak, we miss vital security flaws. If the attacker strength is too strong, we cannot identify the minimum required attacker capabilities needed to break the routing protocol. In this paper we present an adaptive threat model to evaluate route discovery attacks against ad hoc routing protocols. Our approach enables us to evaluate trust in the ad hoc routing process and allows us to identify minimum requirements an attacker needs to break a given routing protocol.     

Six years children’s use of a neighbourhood

Journal of Housing and the Built Environment -     

Biochemical hallmarks of tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency

We report the biochemical hallmarks of tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency with emphasis on reliable diagnostic strategies of four new cases of an inborn error of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Three of our patients from different parts of the Netherlands were found homozygous for a mutation in exon 6 (G698A) of the TH gene, and one patient was found compound heterozygous for the same mutation and an additional mutation in exon 3. The first clinical symptoms of hypokinesia, rigidity of arms and legs and axial hypotonia, developed between 3 and 7 months of age. Cerebrospinal fluid investigations revealed a characteristic metabolite constellation in every case: low homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol concentrations in the presence of normal reference range 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid concentrations. Strict adherence to a standardized lumbar puncture protocol and adequate age-related reference values are essential for diagnosis of this "new" treatable neurometabolic disorder. Urinary measurements of HVA, vanillylmandelic acid, and catecholamines can lead to false-negative conclusions. All patients showed a remarkable clinical improvement on a low dose of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine/ (S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxybenzyl)-2-hydrazinpropionic acid. During treatment, cerebrospinal fluid HVA, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethyleneglycol increased substantially.     

Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool: A Cooperative Robotic System for Car Extraction

Vehicles have been proven to be an ideal means for terrorists because they can be meticulously prepared well in advance before being deployed in urban and public places. To increase the risk and burden of explosive ordnance disposal teams, third‐party vehicles have also been used to block the access path to the explosive loaded vehicle. In this paper, we present a multirobot system that can remove vehicles from confined spaces with delicate handling, swiftly and in any direction to a safer disposal point. The new lifting robots, capable of omnidirectional movement, autonomously underride the identified vehicle and dock to its wheels for a synchronized lifting and extraction. The validity and efficiency of the novel robotic system is illustrated via experiments in an indoor parking lot, demonstrating successful autonomous navigation, docking, lifting, and extraction of a conventional car for a total covered distance of 20 m.     

Influence of phase separation on the anaerobic digestion of glucose—II: Stability, and kinetic responses to shock loadings

A mineral medium, containing 1% (w/v) glucose as the main carbon source, was subjected to one-phase and to two-phase anaerobic digestion processes under comparable conditions. The one-phase system consisted of an anaerobic up-flow reactor containing both acidogenic as well as methanogenic populations. The two-phase system consisted of an acid reactor and a methane reactor connected in series allowing sequential acidogenesis and methanogenesis of the glucose.After maximum turnover rates of glucose had been attained in both systems, by gradually increasing feed supply rate, both systems were switched to the batch mode and subjected to shock loadings with glucose or fatty acids.Maximum specific turnover rates of fatty acids in the one-phase process averaged 0.39 g COD · g biomass⁻¹ d⁻¹ and 2.23 g g⁻¹ d⁻¹ for the methane reactor of the two-phase system. Charging the one-phase system with doses of glucose resulted mainly in an accumulation of propionate which was degraded relatively slowly. It was concluded that interspecies hydrogen transfer may become rate limiting at high loading rates, stimulating formation of propionate. Therefore a two-phase system, as compared with a one-phase digestion process for easily hydrolyzable carbohydrates, was characterized as being essentially the more stable.     

Electrochemical regeneration of chrome etching solution

A metal surface is chromatized with a chromic acid solution to obtain a good adherence of polymer coatings. In this process Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III). The oxidation strength of the solution decreases during use. The chrome solution needs to be regenerated and purified. A new anode material, namely boron-doped diamond, was used to investigate the oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI). It was found that the current efficiency for Cr(III) oxidation decreases with increasing total current density. The current density of Cr(III) oxidation increases linearly with increasing Cr(III) concentration and is practically independent of the Cr(VI) concentration. It was concluded that the diffusion of Cr(III) is the rate-determining step for the Cr(III) oxidation at Cr(III) concentrations form 40 to 160 mol m^–3. The surface of the boron-doped diamond shows no signs of chemical corrosion or mechanical destruction. A filter-press type cell divided into two compartments by a cation exchange membrane was proposed. A cost calculation was carried out for the oxidation of 1.28 mmol s^–1 Cr(III) in a 40 mol m^–3 chrome(III) solution. Factors affecting the feasibility of this process include the costs of chemical waste disposal, the costs of chromic acid, government legislation and to a great extent the costs of the new anode material.