Bridging the Gap between Legal and Technical Contracts

Two or more parties typically establish a business relationship using a contract, but a large gap still exists between the provisions of contracts produced by lawyers and the details of computer security and performance addressed by technologists. Some contractual clauses address legal issues that technology can manage as well - the TrustCoM framework offers a paradigm for automating these clauses as technical operations. If a business relationship forms across a service-oriented architecture, the parties involved often manage their collaboration as a virtual organization (VO). In TrustCoM, agreements are the key means of steering VO collaborations and mitigating the risks inherent in integrating processes and resources across organizational boundaries.     

Generalization in the XCSF classifier system: analysis, improvement, and extension

We analyze generalization in XCSF and introduce three improvements. We begin by showing that the types of generalizations evolved by XCSF can be influenced by the input range. To explain these results we present a theoretical analysis of the convergence of classifier weights in XCSF which highlights a broader issue. In XCSF, because of the mathematical properties of the Widrow-Hoff update, the convergence of classifier weights in a given subspace can be slow when the spread of the eigenvalues of the autocorrelation matrix associated with each classifier is large. As a major consequence, the system's accuracy pressure may act before classifier weights are adequately updated, so that XCSF may evolve piecewise constant approximations, instead of the intended, and more efficient, piecewise linear ones. We propose three different ways to update classifier weights in XCSF so as to increase the generalization capabilities of XCSF: one based on a condition-based normalization of the inputs, one based on linear least squares, and one based on the recursive version of linear least squares. Through a series of experiments we show that while all three approaches significantly improve XCSF, least squares approaches appear to be best performing and most robust. Finally we show how XCSF can be extended to include polynomial approximations.     

Pressures and procedures for the design of safe consumer products

An assessment is provided of the current position regarding changes in UK or EEC civil law under which injured parties can obtain redress in respect of injuries caused by defective products. One effect of proposed systems of strict liability in tort will be to shift some of the burden of proof from the injured party on to the producer of the product claimed to have caused injury. It is argued that this is a just and logical change, given the unfairness and anomalies in present systems and the relative abilities of consumers and producers to avoid such incidents and to bear or to offset the cost of the consequences. Cases of apparent misuse of a product by a consumer may frequently be induced by the design of that product and could thus be prevented by more thoughtful design. In order that producers can ensure their own viability and satisfy the consumer market, their products must be safe, efficient, comfortable and satisfying to use, as well as durable, serviceable and realistically priced. One requirement for achieving this has been said to be the input of accident and ergonomics data early in the product development process; the present paper examines this proposition. Evidence is provided by research into the design and manufacture of consumer products for the UK market, carried out at Birmingham University. Examined in particular are the extent to which formal development processes and design safety review procedures are used, and the degree of utilisation of accident, ergonomics, user testing and market feedback data, identifying barriers to the widespread use of these. Safe and ergonomic design of products must aim to be seen as a positive business activity, rather than as a cost-centre. The benefits to a company of a comprehensive design safety programme will more than outweigh the costs given the pressures identified earlier.     

Double-pass oblique-incidence interferometer for the inspection of nonoptical surfaces

Interferometric testing of the flatness or straightness of ground surfaces of metals, granite, ceramics, and glasses has always proved difficult because of the extremely low specular reflection from these optically rough surfaces. At oblique angles of incidence the specular reflection coefficient of nonoptical surfaces increases rapidly, typically from near 0.01 at 75 degrees up to, say, 0.50 at 85 degrees and near 1.00 at 90 degrees angle of incidence. By taking advantage of this enhanced reflection at oblique incidence and the brightness and spatial coherence of visible gas lasers, it becomes practical to use interferometric inspection of nonoptical surfaces. A novel double-pass oblique-incidence interferometer is described which enables testing of large pieces having a specular reflection as low as 1%.     

Analysing quadratic effects of formative constructs by means of variance-based structural equation modelling

Together with the development of information systems research, there has also been increased interest in non-linear relationships between focal constructs. This article presents six Partial Least Squares-based approaches for estimating formative constructs’ quadratic effects. In addition, these approaches’ performance is tested by means of a complex Monte Carlo experiment. The experiment reveals significant and substantial differences between the approaches. In general, the performance of the hybrid approach as suggested by Wold (1982) is most convincing in terms of point estimate accuracy, statistical power, and prediction accuracy. The two-stage approach suggested by Chin et al (1996) showed almost the same performance; differences between it and the hybrid approach – although statistically significant – were unsubstantial. Based on these results, the article provides guidelines for the analysis of non-linear effects by means of variance-based structural equation modelling.     

RBS analysis of front contacts for surface-barrier detectors

Surface-barrier detector structures based on Au, WTi and Au/WTi contacts on (111) n-Si were analysed. The metal layers were deposited by evaporation or sputtering to 40–100 nm thicknesses. The aim was to improve the thermal stability of the surface-barrier structures and retain the favourable detector properties of the Au/Si system. Contact structures which contain WTi layers have shown a much better thermal stability compared to the Au/Si system, but the properties of the detectors were poorer. The probable reasons are the reactivity of W and Ti with the thin oxide layer on the silicon surface and perhaps the higher energy of adatoms during sputter-deposition. Both effects can influence the degradation of the surface-barrier properties.     

Tumor-Localized Administration of α-GalCer to Recruit Invariant Natural Killer T Cells and Enhance Their Antitumor Activity against Solid Tumors

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have the capacity to mount potent anti-tumor reactivity and have therefore become a focus in the development of cell-based immunotherapy. iNKT cells attack tumor cells using multiple mechanisms with a high efficacy; however, their clinical application has been limited because of their low numbers in cancer patients and difficulties in infiltrating solid tumors. In this study, we aimed to overcome these critical limitations by using α-GalCer, a synthetic glycolipid ligand specifically activating iNKT cells, to recruit iNKT to solid tumors. By adoptively transferring human iNKT cells into tumor-bearing humanized NSG mice and administering a single dose of tumor-localized α-GalCer, we demonstrated the rapid recruitment of human iNKT cells into solid tumors in as little as one day and a significantly enhanced tumor killing ability. Using firefly luciferase-labeled iNKT cells, we monitored the tissue biodistribution and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of human iNKT cells in tumor-bearing NSG mice. Collectively, these preclinical studies demonstrate the promise of an αGC-driven iNKT cell-based immunotherapy to target solid tumors with higher efficacy and precision.     

AlphaFold2: A Role for Disordered Protein/Region Prediction?

The development of AlphaFold2 marked a paradigm-shift in the structural biology community. Herein, we assess the ability of AlphaFold2 to predict disordered regions against traditional sequence-based disorder predictors. We find that AlphaFold2 performs well at discriminating disordered regions, but also note that the disorder predictor one constructs from an AlphaFold2 structure determines accuracy. In particular, a naïve, but non-trivial assumption that residues assigned to helices, strands, and H-bond stabilized turns are likely ordered and all other residues are disordered results in a dramatic overestimation in disorder; conversely, the predicted local distance difference test (pLDDT) provides an excellent measure of residue-wise disorder. Furthermore, by employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we note an interesting relationship between the pLDDT and secondary structure, that may explain our observations and suggests a broader application of the pLDDT for characterizing the local dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs/IDRs).     

Study of the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to coated glass substrates

The adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus was studied using a selection of laboratory-prepared and commercially available coated glass substrates using a simple methodology. Substrates were examined by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and water droplet contact angles. It was found that microbial adhesion was independent of surface roughness, when this was of a lower magnitude than microbial size. It was also found that microbial adhesion was greater for hydrophilic surfaces than for hydrophobic ones, but that on a photoinduced superhydrophilic surface, microbes were more spread out—a potential benefit for more effective photocatalytic disinfection. It is suggested that hydrophobic and photoinduced superhydrophilic surface coatings both have potential as a means of reducing microbial fouling of surfaces.