Mobile Wearable Communications

This special issue provides the latest research and development on wireless mobile wearable communications. According to a report by Juniper Research, the market value of connected wearable devices is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2014, and the shipment of wearable devices may reach 70 million by 2017. Good examples of wearable devices are the prominent Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens. As wearable technology is rapidly penetrating our daily life, mobile wearable communication is becoming a new communication paradigm. Mobile wearable device communications create new challenges compared to ordinary sensor networks and short-range communication. In mobile wearable communications, devices communicate with each other in a peer-to-peer fashion or client-server fashion and also communicate with aggregation points (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and gateway nodes). Wearable devices are expected to integrate multiple radio technologies for various applications' needs with small power consumption and low transmission delays. These devices can hence collect, interpret, transmit, and exchange data among supporting components, other wearable devices, and the Internet. Such data are not limited to people's personal biomedical information but also include human-centric social and contextual data. The success of mobile wearable technology depends on communication and networking architectures that support efficient and secure end-to-end information flows. A key design consideration of future wearable devices is the ability to ubiquitously connect to smartphones or the Internet with very low energy consumption. Radio propagation and, accordingly, channel models are also different from those in other existing wireless technologies. A huge number of connected wearable devices require novel big data processing algorithms, efficient storage solutions, cloud-assisted infrastructures, and spectrum-efficient communications technologies.

Knowledge Transfer in Quadruple Helix Ecosystems: An Absorptive Capacity Perspective

Increased understanding of knowledge transfer (KT) from universities to the wider regional knowledge ecosystem offers opportunities for increased regional innovation and commercialisation. The aim of this article is to improve the understanding of the KT phenomena in an open innovation context where multiple diverse quadruple helix stakeholders are interacting. An absorptive capacity-based conceptual framework is proposed, using a priori constructs which portrays the multidimensional process of KT between universities and its constituent stakeholders in pursuit of open innovation and commercialisation. Given the lack of overarching theory in the field, an exploratory, inductive theory building methodology was adopted using semi-structured interviews, document analysis and longitudinal observation data over a three-year period. The findings identify five factors, namely human centric factors, organisational factors, knowledge characteristics, power relationships and network characteristics, which mediate both the ability of stakeholders to engage in KT and the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation. This research has implications for policy makers and practitioners by identifying the need to implement interventions to overcome the barriers to KT effectiveness between regional quadruple helix stakeholders within an open innovation ecosystem.

The Influence of the User in Body-Centric Antennas and Propagation at 3–6 GHz—A Rician K-Factor Approach

We investigate whether the presence of a human body in wearable communications should be considered as part of the radiating structure or as part of the local radio environment. The Rician $K$ -factor was employed as a quantitative measure of the effect of the user's body for five environments and two mounting locations. Presented empirical results indicated that the environment had a greater impact on the $K$-factor values than the position of the transmit antenna for the ultrawideband signals used, confirming that the human body should be considered primarily as part of the overall radiating system when the antenna is worn on the body. Furthermore, independent variations also existed in the $K$-factor values for the differing antenna-body mounting positions, indicating that as the position changed, then the radiating effects and the contribution from the body changed. This is significant for ensuring body-antenna systems are accurately modeled in system-level simulations.

Human rights and traditional values

A series of ‘traditional values’ resolutions, passed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2009, 2011, and 2012, were the result of a highly controversial initiative spearheaded by Russia. Do these ‘traditional values’ underpin human rights? If not, why are religious traditions or, indeed, any traditional values worth preserving at all? Why are they valuable from the point of view of adherents to that tradition? Should the larger society take into account the fact that a practice is based on tradition in deciding whether or not to override it in the name of human rights? Put more technically, in what does the normativity of tradition lie, for adherents and non-adherents of that tradition? These are the questions that this essay explores, in the context of the recent debates over the scope and meaning of human rights stimulated by the Human Rights Council Resolutions. Much of the support for the Resolutions comes from what can broadly be called the global South. In several books, particularly Human Rights, Southern Voices, and General Jurisprudence: Understanding Law from a Global Perspective William Twining has explored the question of how to reconcile human rights norms and belief systems embedded in the global South (including ‘traditional values’), and in doing so has drawn particular attention to intellectuals from that part of the world, in particular Francis Deng, Yash Ghai, Abdullahi An-Na’im, and Upendra Baxi. I suggest that those concerned to recognize the legitimate concerns that significant sections of the global South have about the human rights project, concerns reflected in the ‘traditional values’ Resolutions would do well to pay more attention to the ‘Southern voices’ on whom Twining rightly focuses attention.

New Zealand chironomids as proxies for human-induced and natural environmental change: Transfer functionsfor temperature and lake production (chlorophyll a)

The analysis of chironomid taxa and environmental datasets from 46 New Zealand lakes identified temperature (February mean air temperature) and lake production (chlorophyll a (Chl a)) as the main drivers of chironomid distribution. Temperature was the strongest driver of chironomid distribution and consequently produced the most robust inference models. We present two possible temperature transfer functions from this dataset. The most robust model (weighted averaging-partial least squares (WA-PLS), n = 36) was based on a dataset with the most productive (Chl a > 10 lg l)1) lakes removed. This model produced a coefficient of determination (r2 jack) of 0.77, and a root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEPjack) of 1.31C. The Chl a transfer function (partial least squares (PLS), n = 37) was far less reliable, with an r2 jack of 0.49 and an RMSEPjack of 0.46 Log10lg l)1. Both of these transfer functions could be improved by a revision of the taxonomy for the New Zealand chironomid taxa, particularly the genus Chironomus. The Chironomus morphotype was common in high altitude, cool, oligotrophic lakes and lowland, warm, eutrophic lakes. This could reflect the widespread distribution of one eurythermic species, or the collective distribution of a number of different Chironomus species with more limited tolerances. The Chl a transfer function could also be improved by inputting mean Chl a values into the inference model rather than the spot measurements that were available for this study.

Kinetic analysis of the cleavage of human protease-activated receptor-1/2/3 and 4 using quenched-fluorescent peptide substrates

Protease-activated receptors [PARs] are a family of G-protein-coupled seven-transmembrane domain receptors that are activated by proteolytic cleavage of their amino-terminal exodomain. To characterize the cleavage rate of human PAR-1 / 2 / 3 and 4 by trypsin and thrombin, four synthetic quenched-fluorescent peptide substrates have been synthesized. Each substrate consisted of a ten-residue peptide spanning the receptor activation cleavage site and using progress-curve kinetics, k(cat)/K-m values were determined.

Determinants of human rights attitudes and behavior: A comparison and integration of psychological perspectives

Following several political-psychological approaches, the present research analyzed whether orientations toward human rights are a function of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), basic human values in the sense of Schwartz (1992), and political ideology. Three dimensions of human rights attitudes (endorsement, restriction, and enforcement) were differentiated from human rights knowledge and behavior. In a time-lagged Internet survey (N = 479), using structural equation modeling, RWA, universalism and power values, and political ideology (measured at Time 1) differentially predicted dimensions of human rights attitudes (measured at Time 2 five months later). RWA and universalism values also predicted self-reported human rights behavior, with the effects mediated through human rights endorsement. Human rights knowledge also predicted behavior. The psychological roots of positive and negative orientations toward human rights, consequences for human rights education, and the particular role of military enforcement of human rights are discussed.

Global Governance and International Migration: A Case Study of Trafficking of Human Beings

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of “global governance” and the way it applies to the management of international migration by using trafficking of human beings as a case study. Globalization has altered the scene of world politics. A traditional State-centric view of the world order has been overshadowed by the increasing importance of other actors, including the United Nations, multi-national corporations and non-governmental organizations. Globalization has also altered the dynamics of rule making and their enforcement within the international system, in that not only States but also these non-State actors exercise enormous influence. The concept of global governance acknowledges this as it aims to include all the pertinent actors involved. To illustrate this further, the author will use trafficking of human beings as a case study. Two key principles of global governance are participation and accountability. This article will analyse how these principles are reflected and implemented in the regime dealing with the prevention and suppression of trafficking of human beings.

Dilemmatic human-animal boundaries in Britain and Romania: Post-materialist and materialist dehumanization

Theories of dehumanization generally assume a single clear-cut, value-free and non-dilemmatic boundary between the categories 'human' and 'animal'. The present study highlights the relevance of dilemmas involved in drawing that boundary. In six focus groups carried out in Romania and Britain, 42 participants were challenged to think about dilemmas pertaining to animal and human life. Four themes were identified: rational autonomy, sentience, speciesism and maintaining materialist and post-materialist values. Sentience made animals resemble humans, while humans' rational autonomy made them distinctive. Speciesism underlay the human participants' prioritization of their own interests over those of animals, and a conservative consensus that the existing social system could not change supported this speciesism when it was challenged. Romanian participants appealed to Romania's lack of modernity and British participants to Britain's modernity to justify such conservatism. The findings suggest that the human-animal boundary is not essentialized; rather it seems that such boundary is constructed in a dilemmatic and post hoc way. Implications for theories of dehumanization are discussed.

Religion, Human Rights, Equality and the Public Sphere

This article distinguishes three different conceptions of the relationship between religion and the public sphere. The reconciliation of these different aspects of freedom of religion can be seen to give rise to considerable difficulties in practice, and the legal and political systems of several Western European countries are struggling to cope. Four recurring issues that arise in this context are identified and considered: what is a 'religion' and what are 'religious' beliefs and practices for the purposes of the protection of 'freedom of religion', together with the closely related issue of who decides these questions; what justification there is for a provision guaranteeing freedom of religion at all; which manifestations of religious association are so unacceptable as to take the association outside the protection of freedom of religion altogether; and what weight should be given to freedom of religion when this freedom stands opposed to other values. It is argued that the scope and meaning of human rights in this context is anything but settled and that this gives an opportunity to those who support a role for religion in public life to intervene.

The role of the active site residues in human galactokinase: implications for the mechanisms of GHMP kinases.

Galactokinase catalyses the phosphorylation of galactose at the expense of ATP. Like other members of the GHMP family of kinases it is postulated to function through an active site base mechanism in which Asp-186 abstracts a proton from galactose. This asparate residue was altered to alanine and to asparagine by site-directed mutagenesis of the corresponding gene. This resulted in variant enzyme with no detectable galactokinase activity. Alteration of Arg-37, which lies adjacent to Asp-186 and is postulated to assist the catalytic base, to lysine resulted in an active enzyme. However, alteration of this residue to glutamate abolished activity. All the variant enzymes, except the arginine to lysine substitution, were structurally unstable (as judged by native gel electrophoresis in the presence of urea) compared to the wild type. This suggests that the lack of activity results from this structural instability, in addition to any direct effects on the catalytic mechanism. Computational estimations of the pK(a) values of the arginine and aspartate residues, suggest that Arg-37 remains protonated throughout the catalytic cycle whereas Asp-186 has an abnormally high pK(a) value (7.18). Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations suggest that Asp-186 moves closer to the galactose molecule during catalysis. The experimental and theoretical studies presented here argue for a mechanism in which the C-1-OH bond in the sugar is weakened by the presence of Asp-186 thus facilitating nucleophilic attack by the oxygen atom on the gamma-phosphorus of ATP.

Business partners and working the pumps: Human resource managers in the recession

This article examines the work and roles of HR managers in the Irish recession. It tests the validity of three competing views about the future of HR: that the profession needs to become a business partner; that it is knee-deep in a legitimacy crisis; and that it is fragmenting by being unable to cope with the complexity of modern organizational life. Three key findings emerge from the research. First, HR managers have gained greater influence in business decision-making, but much of this influence arises from short-run retrenchment measures. Second, many HR managers remain committed to long established professional values and ideas of good practice. Third, modern HR managers are developing a professional identity that allows them to perform multiple, competing roles. These findings challenge existing arguments about the effects of the current recession. They also speak to ongoing debates about changing HR roles by showing how HR managers remain adept at making pragmatic adaptations to secure their role in organizational life. © The Author(s) 2012.

Market Basket Survey Shows Elevated Levels of As in South Central U.S. Processed Rice Compared to California: Consequences for Human Dietary Exposure:consequences for human dietary exposure

We report the largest market basket survey of arsenic (As) in U.S. rice to date. Our findings show differences in transitional-metal levels between polished and unpolished rice and geographical variation in As and selenium (Se) between rice processed in California and the South Central U.S. The mean and median As grain levels for the South Central U.S. were 0.30 and 0.27 µg As g-1, respectively, for 107 samples. Levels for California were 41% lower than the South Central U.S., with a mean of 0.17 µg As g-1 and a median of 0.16 µg As g-1 for 27 samples. The mean and median Se grain levels for the South Central U.S. were 0.19 µg Se g-1. Californian rice levels were lower, averaging only 0.08 and 0.06 µg Se g-1 for mean and median values, respectively. The difference between the two regions was found to be significant for As and Se (General Linear Model (GLM):? As p < 0.001; Se p < 0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed in As or Se levels between polished and unpolished rice (GLM:? As p = 0.213; Se p = 0.113). No significant differences in grain levels of manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), or zinc (Zn) were observed between California and the South Central U.S. Modeling arsenic intake for the U.S. population based on this survey shows that for certain groups (namely Hispanics, Asians, sufferers of Celiac disease, and infants) dietary exposure to inorganic As from elevated levels in rice potentially exceeds the maximum intake of As from drinking water (based on consumption of 1 L of 0.01 mg L-1 In. As) and Californian state exposure limits. Further studies on the transformation of As in soil, grain As bioavailability in the human gastrointestinal tract, and grain elemental speciation trends are critical.

Investigation of the Human Brain Metabolome to Identify Potential Markers for Early Diagnosis and Therapeutic Targets of Alzheimer’s Disease

A study combining high resolution mass spectrometry (liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry, UPLC-QTof-MS) and chemometrics for the analysis of post-mortem brain tissue from subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (n = 15) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 15) was undertaken. The huge potential of this metabolomics approach for distinguishing AD cases is underlined by the correct prediction of disease status in 94–97% of cases. Predictive power was confirmed in a blind test set of 60 samples, reaching 100% diagnostic accuracy. The approach also indicated compounds significantly altered in concentration following the onset of human AD. Using orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), a multivariate model was created for both modes of acquisition explaining the maximum amount of variation between sample groups (Positive Mode-R2 = 97%; Q2 = 93%; root mean squared error of validation (RMSEV) = 13%; Negative Mode-R2 = 99%; Q2 = 92%; RMSEV = 15%). In brain extracts, 1264 and 1457 ions of interest were detected for the different modes of acquisition (positive and negative, respectively). Incorporation of gender into the model increased predictive accuracy and decreased RMSEV values. High resolution UPLC-QTof-MS has not previously been employed to biochemically profile post-mortem brain tissue, and the novel methods described and validated herein prove its potential for making new discoveries related to the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of degenerative brain disorders.

Human aflatoxin albumin adducts quantitatively compared by ELISA, HPLC with fluorescence detection, and HPLC with isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Essential to the conduct of epidemiologic studies examining aflatoxin exposure and the risk of heptocellular carcinoma, impaired growth, and acute toxicity has been the development of quantitative biomarkers of exposure to aflatoxins, particularly aflatoxin B-1. In this study, identical serum sample sets were analyzed for aflatoxin-albumin adducts by ELISA, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (HPLC-f), and HPLC with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The human samples analyzed were from an acute aflatoxicosis outbreak in Kenya in 2004 (n = 102) and the measured values ranged from 0.018 to 67.0, nondetectable to 13.6, and 0.002 to 17.7 ng/mg albumin for the respective methods. The Deming regression slopes for the HPLC-f and ELISA concentrations as a function of the IDMS concentrations were 0.71 (r(2) = 0.95) and 3.3 (r(2) = 0.96), respectively. When the samples were classified as cases or controls, based on clinical diagnosis, all methods were predictive of outcome (P < 0.01). Further, to evaluate assay precision, duplicate samples were prepared at three levels by dilution of an exposed human sample and were analyzed on three separate days. Excluding one assay value by ELISA and one assay by HPLC-f, the overall relative SD were 8.7%, 10.5%, and 9.4% for IDMS, HPLC-f, and ELISA, respectively. IDMS was the most sensitive technique and HPLC-f was the least sensitive method. Overall, this study shows an excellent correlation between three independent methodologies conducted in different laboratories and supports the validation of these technologies for assessment of human exposure to this environmental toxin and carcinogen.