Olfactory coordinated area coverage

This paper proposes an olfaction based methodology to automatically cover an unknown area enabling the decoupled cooperation of a group of floor cleaning mobile robots. This method is based on the utilisation of low cost chemical sensors in cleaning mobile robots, in order to differentiate clean from dirty areas. The experimental results show that the use of olfactory capabilities allows to efficiently cover and clean a certain area, and demonstrate the possibility of coordinating several mobile robots without the need of expensive sensing capabilities, map building or complex algorithms for task scheduling.     

Optical–microphysical properties of smoke haze from Siberian forest fires in summer 2012

A comprehensive experiment on the study of dynamics of optical and microphysical characteristics of submicron aerosols in the near-ground air layer was carried out in June–August of 2012 under conditions of extremely strong smoke haze originating from vast forest fires in Siberia. Variations of the spectral angular scattering coefficients and the degree of linear polarization in the visible wavelength range are studied, as well as the mass concentrations of dry fractions of aerosol and black carbon, relative content of black carbon (BC fraction), single scattering albedo, particle size distribution function, complex refractive index of the particulate matter, and parameter of condensation activity of aerosol. Peculiarities of differences between optical and microphysical characteristics of near-ground aerosol in smoke haze and under smokeless conditions are revealed. This study is important for validation of results of remote sensing of the composition of smoke haze and background atmosphere obtained from satellite data and sun photometric measurements at the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET).     

Interactive exploration of data traffic with Hierarchical Network Maps

Network communication has become indispensable in business, education and government. With the pervasive role of the Internet as a means of sharing information across networks, its misuse for destructive purposes, such as spreading malicious code, compromising remote hosts, or damaging data through unauthorized access, has grown immensely in the recent years. The classical way of monitoring the operation of large network systems is by analyzing the system logs for detecting anomalies. In this work, we introduce hierarchical network map, an interactive visualization technique for gaining a deeper insight into network flow behavior by means of user-driven visual exploration. Our approach is meant as an enhancement to conventional analysis methods based on statistics or machine learning. We use multidimensional modeling combined with position and display awareness to view source and target data of the hosts in a hierarchical fashion with the ability to interactively change the level of aggregation or apply filtering. The interdisciplinary approach integrating data warehouse technology, information visualization and decision support brings about the benefit of efficiently collecting the input data and aggregating over very large data sets, visualizing the results and providing interactivity to facilitate analytical reasoning     

Internet addiction: Meta-synthesis of qualitative research for the decade 1996–2006

Internet addiction is “an individual’s inability to control their Internet use, which in turn leads to feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities” [Shapira, N., Lessig, M., Goldsmith, T., Szabo, S., Lazoritz, M., Gold, M. et al. (2003). Problematic Internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteria. Depression and Anxiety, 17(4), 207–216]. Previous research in this field has offered inconclusive data on whether Internet addiction can be classified as a disorder. This study provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of internet addiction through a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on excessive Internet use published during the period of 1996–2006. Several constructs pertaining to the domain of Internet addiction have been identified and a theoretical model of Internet addiction has been proposed.     

Electronic fingerprints of DNA bases on graphene

We calculate the electronic local density of states (LDOS) of DNA nucleotide bases (A,C,G,T), deposited on graphene. We observe significant base-dependent features in the LDOS in an energy range within a few electronvolts of the Fermi level. These features can serve as electronic fingerprints for the identification of individual bases in scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) experiments that perform image and site dependent spectroscopy on biomolecules. Thus the fingerprints of DNA-graphene hybrid structures may provide an alternative route to DNA sequencing using STS.     

A.c.conduction mechanisms in poly(1-ethynylnaphtalene)

Summary The a.c.conduction mechanism in poly(1-ethynylnaphtalene) with various physical and isomeric (cis-cisoidal and trans-cisoidal) structures was investigated over the frequency and temperature ranges of 10–10⁵Hz and 190–373°K respectively.The conduction mechanism depends on the isomeric structure of the polymer,and for the cis-cisoidal polymer supplementary on temperature and frequency.Over the whole frequency range(at 190°K) and above a critical frequency (at higher temperatures),which is temperature dependent,the quantum hopping mechanism is involved in cis-cisoidal polymer.Outside of this range the conduction process takes place by two parallel mechanisms: band and hopping mechanisms.In trans-cisoidal polymer the quantum hopping mechanism is involved over the whole frequency and temperature range considered.     

Distribution of vanadium and vanadyl porphyrins during fractionation of resins of heavy sulfurous oils

Features of the content and distribution of vanadium and vanadyl porphyrins in the fractions of resins, which were obtained by separation using column chromatography on silica, have been studied on heavy sulfurous oils of various deposits of the Volga–Ural basin (Russia). The difference of the vanadium and vanadyl porphyrin contents in the fractions of oils of various production complexes has been shown. Features of structural–group composition and predominant types of vanadyl porphyrins in the fractions of resins have been determined.     

Characterization of the influence of fabrication methods on microstructure failure

Single-crystal silicon microstructures, of identical design, exhibit different failure rates (following fabrication or mechanical shock testing) due to various processes. The microstructures fabricated with a boron diffusion and subsequent removal of the boron-diffused layer have a higher survival rate to the fabrication process and to mechanical shock. The survival rate (a survivor has an intact proof mass and beam) through the process is increased by 26.5%. At a 3680g shock, the boron-diffused devices have a 2.3% lower failure rate but the difference is not statistically significant. These results have been developed with wafer-level shock testing, which permits bulk testing of many samples in a cost-effective manner.     

Divergence and conservation of SUP2(SUP35) gene of yeasts Pichia pinus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

SUP2(SUP35) is an omnipotent suppressor gene, coding for an EF-1α-like protein factor, intimately involved in the control of translational accuracy in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the present study a SUP2 gene analogue from yeast Pichia pinus was isolated by complementation of the temperature-sensitive sup2 mutation of S. cerevisiae. The nucleotide sequence of the SUP2 gene of P. pinus codes for a protein of 82·4 kDa, exceeding the Sup2 protein of S. cerevisiae by 6 kDa. Like the SUP2 gene product of S. cerevisiae, the Sup2 protein of P. pinus represents a fusion of a unique N-terminal part of a region homologous to EF-1α. The comparison of amino acid sequences of the Sup2 proteins reveals high conservations (76%) of the C-terminal region and low conservation (36%) of the N-terminal part where, in addition, the homologous correspondence is ambiguous. Proteins related to the Sup2 of S. cerevisiae where found in P. pinus and some other yeast species by the immunoblotting technique. The relation between the evolutionary conservation of different regions of the Sup2 protein and their functional significance is discussed.     

Pharmaceutical Development of Nanostructured Vesicular Hydrogel Formulations of Rifampicin for Wound Healing

Chronic wounds exhibit elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, resulting in the release of proteolytic enzymes which delay wound-healing processes. In recent years, rifampicin has gained significant attention in the treatment of chronic wounds due to an interesting combination of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Unfortunately, rifampicin is sensitive to hydrolysis and oxidation. As a result, no topical drug product for wound-healing applications has been approved. To address this medical need two nanostructured hydrogel formulations of rifampicin were developed. The liposomal vesicles were embedded into hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) gel or a combination of hyaluronic acid and marine collagen. To protect rifampicin from degradation in aqueous environments, a freeze-drying method was developed. Before freeze-drying, two well-defined hydrogel preparations were obtained. After freeze-drying, the visual appearance, chemical stability, residual moisture content, and redispersion time of both preparations were within acceptable limits. However, the morphological characterization revealed an increase in the vesicle size for collagen–hyaluronic acid hydrogel. This was confirmed by subsequent release studies. Interactions of marine collagen with phosphatidylcholine were held responsible for this effect. The HPMC hydrogel formulation remained stable over 6 months of storage. Moving forward, this product fulfills all criteria to be evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies.