Pin&Play: the surface as network medium

Integrating appliances in the home through a wired network often proves to be impractical: routing cables is usually difficult, changing the network structure afterward even more so, and portable devices can only be connected at fixed connection points. Wireless networks are not the answer either: batteries have to be regularly replaced or changed, and what they add to the device's size and weight might be disproportionate for smaller appliances. In Pin&Play, we explore a design space in between typical wired and wireless networks, investigating the use of surfaces to network objects that are attached to it. This article gives an overview of the network model, and describes functioning prototypes that were built as a proof of concept.     

Managing Project Transformation in a Complex Context

Complex projects are often undertaken in uncertain situations in which project participants who adopt a rational‐oriented strategy tend to face difficulties in adapting and adjusting to changes that occur during the project. In this context a process‐oriented strategy, although difficult to manage, can be a better way to handle project transformation. Collective learning then becomes crucial. This article describes some lessons learned when a project manager and team applied a process‐oriented strategy in a complex project. Data has been collected through interactive research and evaluation with different methods including surveys, observations and interviews. The analysis shows that it is possible to organize for learning and to manage transformation in a complex context. Important factors for success are a process‐oriented strategy, a creative climate, formative evaluation and systematic reflections. A major issue that is discussed in the article is the transfer of outcomes from the project to the participating organizations.     

Mobile genetic elements, chiasmata, and the unique organization of beta-heterochromatin

Beta-heterochromatin in Drosophila and the Syrian hamster share a similar DNA organization, few unique sequences, and scrambled repeats of mobile elements without tandem repetition. DNA in alpha-heterochromatin is tandemly repetitious, and we now show that the repeat unit can either contain or lack a mobile element. The tandem repeat organization of alpha-heterochromatin is presumably due to a concertina-like mechanism of unequal exchange between repeat units. Although both heterochromatin types are late replicating and can incorporate mobile retroposons, the sequence distinction between the two heterochromatins appears to be due to a property conferred by chiasmata upon the process of homologous recombination in beta-heterochromatin but not in alpha-heterochromatin. Chiasmata seem to suppress the concertina mechanism of unequal exchange and impart to beta-heterochromatin its nontandem, scrambled repeat organization.     

The effect of the third invariant on the strength and failure of boron carbide and silicon carbide

This article presents new test data to assess the effect the third invariant has on the strength and failure of two ceramic materials: boron carbide and silicon carbide. Two experimental techniques are used: the Brazilian test that produces a biaxial state of stress, and a new technique that uses a high-pressure confinement vessel to load a specially designed dumbbell specimen in triaxial extension. The dumbbell geometry provides two important advantages over the typically used cylindrical specimen: no adhesive is required to bond the specimen to the load cell because the dumbbell geometry naturally takes the specimen into tension, and any loading asymmetries are essentially eliminated due to the axisymmetric geometry. The results show that when the stress state is on the tensile meridian the equivalent stress at failure is constant, independent of the hydrostatic pressure. The average equivalent stress at failure is for boron carbide and for silicon carbide. The Brazilian test was only performed on boron carbide and failed at , much higher than when on the tensile meridian () indicating that the effect of the third invariant is significant (because of the difference in the failure strength) and must be accounted for to accurately predict when failure will occur.     

Optimizing the Friability of a Tablet Formulation

The impact on tablet friability caused by the loss-on-drying of the granulation, the granule-size distribution, the lubricant concentration, the compression force, and the pre-compression was scrutinized in a factorially designed experiment. A reduction of friability was obtained by reducing the deviation of the granulation loss-on-drying from approximately 4.6%; by decreasing the lubricant concentration; or by increasing the compression force.     

Using Hertzian Indentation to Understand the Strength and Ballistic Resistance of Silicon Carbide

This article presents an initial evaluation of the usefulness of spherical or Hertzian indentation for the determination and/or validation of constitutive models and for a potential link to ballistic resistance (interface defeat). Recent advancements in producing more confident elevated stress levels in Hertzian indentation make the usefulness of this test much more feasible. There are very few experimental techniques that can produce the high stresses, strains, and pressures produced in Hertzian indentation tests. Additionally, they are also relatively simple, repeatable, timely, and inexpensive. There is still the disadvantage that the stresses, strains, and pressures are not explicit outputs of the experiments requiring the constitutive response to be inferred by performing computations and comparing the computed force–deflection results to the experiment. Preliminary results indicate that Hertzian indentation can be used to help define the constitutive response but it is still uncertain if it can be used to rank a ceramic's ability to produce interface defeat.     

Plant-derived polyphenols attenuate lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide and tumour necrosis factor production in murine microglia and macrophages

Lipopolysaccharides released during bacterial infections induce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and lead to complications such as neuronal damage in the CNS and septic shock in the periphery. While the initial infection is treated by antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents would be advantageous add-on medications. In order to identify such compounds, we have compared 29 commercially available polyphenol-containing plant extracts and pure compounds for their ability to prevent LPS-induced up-regulation of NO production. Among the botanical extracts, bearberry and grape seed were the most active preparations, exhibiting IC(50) values of around 20 mug/mL. Among the pure compounds, IC(50) values for apigenin, diosmetin and silybin were 15, 19 and 12 muM, in N-11 murine microglia, and 7, 16 and 25 muM, in RAW 264.7 murine macrophages, respectively. In addition, these flavonoids were also able to down-regulate LPS-induced tumour necrosis factor production. Structure-activity relationships of the flavonoids demonstrated three distinct principles: (i) flavonoid-aglycons are more potent than the corresponding glycosides, (ii) flavonoids with a 4'-OH substitution in the B-ring are more potent than those with a 3'-OH-4'-methoxy substitution, (iii) flavonoids of the flavone type (with a C2=C3 double bond) are more potent than those of the flavanone type (with a at C2-C3 single bond).     

An algorithm to automatically convert distorted finite elements into meshless particles during dynamic deformation

This paper presents an explicit 2D Lagrangian algorithm to automatically convert distorted elements into meshless particles during dynamic deformation. It also provides the contact and sliding algorithms to link the particles to the finite elements. For this approach the initial grid is composed entirely of finite elements and the response is computed with finite elements until portions of the grid become highly strained. When finite elements on the boundaries reach a user-specified plastic strain they are converted to particles and linked to the adjacent finite element grid. This approach allows for the use of accurate and efficient finite elements in the lower distortion regions, and for the use of meshless particles in the higher distortion regions. Example computations are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and utility of this approach.