Network-based biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease: review and future directions

By 2050 it is estimated that the number of worldwide Alzheimer?s disease (AD) patients will quadruple from the current number of 36 million people. To date, no single test, prior to postmortem examination, can confirm that a person suffers from AD. Therefore, there is a strong need for accurate and sensitive tools for the early diagnoses of AD. The complex etiology and multiple pathogenesis of AD call for a system-level understanding of the currently available biomarkers and the study of new biomarkers via network-based modeling of heterogeneous data types. In this review, we summarize recent research on the study of AD as a connectivity syndrome. We argue that a network-based approach in biomarker discovery will provide key insights to fully understand the network degeneration hypothesis (disease starts in specific network areas and progressively spreads to connected areas of the initial loci-networks) with a potential impact for early diagnosis and disease-modifying treatments. We introduce a new framework for the quantitative study of biomarkers that can help shorten the transition between academic research and clinical diagnosis in AD.

A multinational SDI-based system to facilitate disaster risk management in the Andean Community

A useful strategy for improving disaster risk management is sharing spatial data across different technical organizations using shared information systems. However, the implementation of this type of system requires a large effort, so it is difficult to find fully implemented and sustainable information systems that facilitate sharing multinational spatial data about disasters, especially in developing countries. In this paper, we describe a pioneer system for sharing spatial information that we developed for the Andean Community. This system, called SIAPAD (Andean Information System for Disaster Prevention and Relief), integrates spatial information from 37 technical organizations in the Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). SIAPAD was based on the concept of a thematic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and includes a web application, called GEORiesgo, which helps users to find relevant information with a knowledge-based system. In the paper, we describe the design and implementation of SIAPAD together with general conclusions and future directions which we learned as a result of this work.

Modelling diffusion of photovoltaic: concepts and applications

Innovation studies have been interest of not only the scholars from various fields such as economics, management and sociology but also industrial practitioners and policy makers. In this vast and fruitful field, the theory of diffusion of innovations, which has been driven by a sociological approach, has played a vital role in our understanding of the mechanisms behind industrial change. In this paper, our aim is to give a state of art review of diffusion of innovation models in a structural and conceptual way with special reference to photovoltaic. We argue firstly, as an underlying background, how diffusion of innovations theory differs from other innovation studies. Secondly we give a brief taxonomical review of modelling methodologies together with comparative discussions. And finally we put the wealth of modelling in the context of photovoltaic diffusion and suggest some future directions.

Precipitated iron: a limit on gettering efficacy in multicrystalline silicon

A phosphorus diffusion gettering model is used to examine the efficacy of a standard gettering process on interstitial and precipitated iron in multicrystalline silicon. The model predicts a large concentration of precipitated iron remaining after standard gettering for most as-grown iron distributions. Although changes in the precipitated iron distribution are predicted to be small, the simulated post-processing interstitial iron concentration is predicted to depend strongly on the as-grown distribution of precipitates, indicating that precipitates must be considered as internal sources of contamination during processing. To inform and validate the model, the iron distributions before and after a standard phosphorus diffusion step are studied in samples from the bottom, middle, and top of an intentionally Fe-contaminated laboratory ingot. A census of iron-silicide precipitates taken by synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy confirms the presence of a high density of iron-silicide precipitates both before and after phosphorus diffusion. A comparable precipitated iron distribution was measured in a sister wafer after hydrogenation during a firing step. The similar distributions of precipitated iron seen after each step in the solar cell process confirm that the effect of standard gettering on precipitated iron is strongly limited as predicted by simulation. Good agreement between the experimental and simulated data supports the hypothesis that gettering kinetics is governed by not only the total iron concentration but also by the distribution of precipitated iron. Finally, future directions based on the modeling are suggested for the improvement of effective minority carrier lifetime in multicrystalline silicon solar cells.

Values of the deformation modulus of soil at different ways of determining this amount

In accordance with Russian, Kazakh and European building regulations, the deformation modulus of soil should be determined in the laboratory and also apply in situ soil tests on the stages of engineering geology prospecting. In this paper we present data on the determination and adjustment of the deformation characteristics at different stages of construction