An investigation into the information exchange between a consultant and client company: a case study

This report deals with collaborations of engineering consultants and clients in the automobile industry.

In these relationships three main challenges have been identified which have to be addressed by the consultancies. Therefore, the research takes the viewpoint of the consulting side. The challenges are

(i) the appropriate project goal definition;

(ii) achieving client satisfaction; and

(iii) dealing with international clients.

An investigation of such a relationship carried out on a case study shows that improvements can be achieved through communication support. The ways to do that are proposed.

Grouper, mudcrab and company

The paper discusses aquaculture practices on the three other high-value commodities which can be cultured as an alternative to shrimp. These species are grouper, mud crab and sea bass, it also discusses milkfish aquaculture practices.

Spinning off a semiconductor company from University premises -The story of Camsemi

The spinning off of Cambridge Semiconductor Ltd (Camsemi) from the High Voltage Microelectronics Lab at Cambridge University is discussed. The technology originated from Cambridge University and was subsequently developed and commercialized as PowerBrane by Camsemi. The paper also discusses the business model and the enabling financial factors that led to the formation of Camsemi as a fables IC company, including access to seed funding from University and the subsequent investments of venture capital in several rounds. © 2011 IEEE.

weathering fur simulation

ACM SIGGRAPH; ACM SIGCHI

Cys-92, Cys-95, and the C-terminal 12 residues of the Vibrio harveyi ferric uptake regulator (Fur) are functionally inessential

Ferric uptake regulator (Fur) is a global regulator involved in multiple aspects of bacterial life. The gene encoding the Vibrio harveyi Fur (Fur(vh)) was cloned from a pathogenic V. harveyi strain isolated from diseased fish. Furvh shares 77% overall sequence identity with the Escherichia coli Fur (Fur(Ec)) and could complement a mutant of Fur(Ec). Like Fur(Ec), Fur(Vh), possesses two cysteine residues at positions 92 and 95, yet unlike Fur(Ec), in which these cysteine residues constitute part of the metal ion coordination site and hence are vital to the repressor activity, C92 and C95 of Fur(Vh) proved to be functionally inessential. Further study identified a Vibrio Fur signature sequence, which is preserved in all the ten Vibrio Fur proteins that have been discovered to date but in none of the non-vibrio Fur proteins. Site-directed and random mutation analyses of the signature residues, the cysteine residues, and seven highly charged amino acid residues indicated that D9, H32, C137, and K138 of Fur(vh) are functionally important but D9, C137, and K138 can be replaced by more than one functional substitutes. Systematic deletion analysis demonstrated that the C-terminal 12 residues of Fur(Vh) are functionally inessential. These results (i) indicated that the activation mechanism, or certain aspects of which, of Fur(Vh) is possibly different from that of Fur(Ec); and (ii) suggested that it is not very likely that the C-terminal 12 residues play any significant role in the activation or stability of Fur(Vh); and (iii) provided insights into the potential function of the local structure involving C137 and K138.

Molecular analysis of the fur (ferric uptake regulator) gene of a pathogenic Edwardsiella tarda strain

The gene encoding the Edwardsiella tarda ferric uptake regulator (Fur(Et)) was cloned from a pathogenic E. tarda strain isolated from diseased fish. Fur(Et) shares 90% overall sequence identity with the Escherichia coli Fur (Fur(Ec)) and was able to complement the mutant phenotype of a fur(Ec)-defective E. coli strain. Mutational analysis indicated that C92S and C95S mutations inactivated Fur(Et) whereas E112K mutation resulted in a superactive Fur(Et) variant. Fur(Et) negatively regulated its own expression; interruption of this regulation impaired bacterial growth, altered the production of certain outer membrane proteins, and attenuated bacterial virulence.