How Do People with Disabilities Consider Fire Safety and Evacuation Possibilities in Historical Buildings?—A Swedish Case Study

An exploratory focus group study of people with different types of disabilities, e.g. mobility, visual and auditory, was carried out to explore how evacuation safety in historical buildings can be improved for people with various disabilities. Accounts of real life experiences on how well evacuation routes in historical buildings are adapted to people with different types of disabilities, as well as suggestions for safety enhancing measures, were collected. Some examples of reported problems were level differences on the way to and in evacuation routes for people with mobility impairments. Other examples were problems with orientation for people with visual disabilities and problems with detecting the evacuation alarm signal for people with auditory disabilities. In general the participants expressed different problems and needs depending on their type of disability. A common view amongst all the participants were that organizational parameters concerning evacuation of people with disabilities have to be improved. One conclusion from the study was that there are shortcomings in the physical environment as well as in the organization of evacuation in historical buildings today. This means that emergency evacuation safety must be properly focused on when improving accessibility in historical buildings. Measures must be taken to address the different needs of people with various types of disabilities as well as to make improvements for all user groups.     

Multispectral image compression using eigenregion-based segmentation

In the study, a novel segmentation technique is proposed for multispectral satellite image compression. A segmentation decision rule composed of the principal eigenvectors of the image correlation matrix is derived to determine the similarity of image characteristics of two image blocks. Based on the decision rule, we develop an eigenregion-based segmentation technique. The proposed segmentation technique can divide the original image into some proper eigenregions according to their local terrain characteristics. To achieve better compression efficiency, each eigenregion image is then compressed by an efficient compression algorithm eigenregion-based eigensubspace transform (ER-EST). The ER-EST contains 1D eigensubspace transform (EST) and 2D-DCT to decorrelate the data in spectral and spatial domains. Before performing EST, the dimension of transformation matrix of EST is estimated by an information criterion. In this way, the eigenregion image may be approximated by a lower-dimensional components in the eigensubspace. Simulation tests performed on SPOT and Landsat TM images have demonstrated that the proposed compression scheme is suitable for multispectral satellite image.     

On the generalized successive approximations method

In this paper, denoted a continuous function from [0,1]² into [0,1] by f, we consider the iterative process:

1/f noise and mechanisms of the conductivity in carbon nanotube bundles

Experimental results are reported of the investigation of conductivity mechanisms in metallic single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundles in a wide temperature range from 4.2 K to 300 K. The temperature dependence of the resistance and noise parameters – the logarithmic slope of the current dependence of noise as well as the normalized current noise – are compared. Remarkable changes in noise characteristics are registered at temperatures typical of the transition from hopping conductivity to Luttinger liquid conductivity and the transition from Luttinger liquid conductivity to diffusion conductivity. In the first transition region, the slope of the normalized noise level of the current changes significantly as a function of temperature. In the region of diffusion conductivity, a stronger variation of the normalized noise level is revealed. These changes in noise properties are correlated with changes in the transport characteristics of SWCNT bundles that allow us to adequately explain the mechanisms of conductivity in the system.     

Optimizing the Kinetics and Thermodynamics of DNA i‐Motif Folding

Under slightly acidic conditions, single cytidine‐rich DNA strands can form four‐stranded structures called i‐motifs. The stability of the i‐motif structure is based on the intercalation of hemiprotonated C–C⁺ base pairs. In addition, the stability of these structures is influenced by pH, temperature, salt concentration, number of cytidines per C‐rich stretch, and length of sequence; it also depends on the nucleotides in the connecting loop regions. Here, we investigated the influence of the loop nucleotides on i‐motif stability, structure, and kinetics of folding, in five structures with the same loop‐size but different adenosine and thymidine residues within the loop. The stabilities of the i‐motif structures were determined by CD melting, and structure and kinetics of folding were studied by static and time‐resolved NMR experiments.     

Hydrophobicity engineering of cholera toxin A1 subunit in the strong adjuvant fusion protein CTA1-DD

Protein engineering of the cholera toxin A1 subunit (CTA1) fusedto a dimer of the Ig-binding D-region of Staphylococcus aureusprotein A (DD) was employed to investigate the effect of specificamino acid changes on solubility, stability, enzymatic activityand capacity to act as an adjuvant in vivo. A series of CTA1-DDanalogues were selected by a rational modeling approach, inwhich surface-exposed hydrophobic amino acids of CTA1 were exchangedfor hydrophilic counterparts modeled for best structural fit.Of six different mutants initially produced, two analogues,CTA1Phe132Ser-DD and CTA1Pro185Gln-DD, were demonstrated tohave 50 and 70% increased solubility, respectively, at neutralpH. The double mutant CTA1Phe132Ser/Pro185Gln-DD was at leastthreefold more soluble, demonstrating an additive effect ofthe two mutations. Only the Phe132Ser analogue retained fullbiological activity and stability compared with the native CTA1-DDfusion protein. Two mutants, Pro185Gln and Phe31His mutations,exhibited unaltered ADP-ribosyltransferase activity in vitro,but demonstrated markedly reduced adjuvant function. Since thePro185 and Phe31 amino acids are located in close vicinity onthe distal side of the molecule relative to the enzymaticallyactive cleft, it is conceivable that this region is involvedin mediating a biological function, separate from the enzymaticactivity but intrinsic to the adjuvant activity of CTA1.     

Growth,nutritional quality and safety of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) cultured in the lagoon of Venice (Italy)

Quality aspects of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from a suspended culture in the lagoon of Venice (Valle Dogà) were examined in different seasons over a 1‐year period. Ecophysiological and commercial quality indicators (condition index, content of meat, shell and intervalvar fluid), nutritional quality parameters (proximate and mineral composition, glycogen content, fatty acid profile, cholesterol, plant sterols, fat‐soluble vitamins content) and levels of organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides) were determined at different times of the year. Seasonal variations were observed in the nutrient content, with particular regard to moisture (ranging from 866.8 g kg^?1 in June to 938.8 g kg^?1 in September), protein (23.9 g kg^?1 in September to 76.6 g kg^?1 in June), ash (22.5 g kg^?1 in February to 29.5 g kg^?1 in July), lipid (3.0 g kg^?1 in September to 8.8 g kg^?1 in June) and glycogen (0.7 g kg^?1 in September to 11.5 g kg^?1 in February). In spite of this variability, the nutritional quality of the oysters was generally good, especially just before gamete release when the concentration of nutrients was at its maximum. Low levels of organochlorine chemicals were detected in the edible meat of oysters but, because only a limited number of samples were analysed, no general conclusion can be drawn on the safety of seafood from this area. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

A GC–MS-based metabonomic investigation of blood serum from irritable bowel syndrome patients undergoing intervention with acidified milk products

In the present study, the use of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based metabonomics to characterize blood serum in an intervention study of patients suffering from the common gastrointestinal disorder irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was investigated. The patients included in the study consumed an acidified milk product with (n = 30) or without probiotics (n = 31) (Lactobacillus paracasei F19, Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12) for an 8-week period, and blood serum samples were collected before and after the intervention. Acidified milk is commonly used as a delivering vector for probiotics in commercial consumer settings. The serum samples were extracted and derivatized using N-Methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA), and GC–MS analysis was carried out. Multivariate data analysis including principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and S-plot was applied on the obtained GC–MS data, which revealed higher serum lactate, glutamine, proline creatinine/creatine, and aspartic acid levels and lower serum glucose levels after the intervention period for both treatment groups. Consequently, the present study indicated an effect of acidified milk consumption on the plasma metabolite profile, which was independent of a concomitant intake of probiotics. In addition, the present study demonstrates that GC–MS is a useful analytical technique for metabonomics studies of blood serum.     

A Path-Based Algorithm for the Cross-Nested Logit Stochastic User Equilibrium Traffic Assignment

Abstract:   This article investigates the single-class static stochastic user equilibrium (SUE) problem with separable and additive link costs. A SUE assignment based on the Cross-Nested Logit (CNL) route choice model is presented. The CNL model can better represent route choice behavior compared to the Multinomial Logit (MNL) model, while keeping a closed form equation. The article uses a specific optimization formulation developed for the CNL model, and develops a path-based algorithm for the solution of the CNL-SUE problem based on adaptation of the disaggregate simplicial decomposition (DSD) method. The article illustrates the algorithmic implementation on a real size network and discusses the trade-offs between MNL-SUE and CNL-SUE assignment .