Simultaneous detection of cyclopiazonic acid and aflatoxin B1 by HPLC in methanol/water mobile phase

A simple procedure for the simultaneous detection of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and aflatoxin B1 from fungal extracts is presented, using a methanol and water mobile phase and fluorescence detection. This methodology has been tested with standard solutions of both mycotoxins CPA and Aflatoxin B1 and with methanolic extracts of Aspergillus section Flavi strains, previously characterized for their mycotoxin production profile. Previously available methodology required the use of two different chromatographic runs for these mycotoxins, with distinct columns and detectors (fluorescence detection with a post-column photochemical derivatization (PHRED) for aflatoxin B1 and UV detection for CPA). The proposed method detects both mycotoxins in a single run. Data from these assays will be presented and discussed.

Desarrollo de interfases con transferencia controlada de especies moviles. Síntesis, caracterizacion y aplicaciones. Development of Interphases with Controlled Transference of Mobile Species. Synthesis, Characterization and Applications.

Se propone sintetizar nuevos materiales como bloques de construcción de estructuras en escala nanometrica o micrométrica: nanotubos de carbono funcionalizados; nanopartículas metálicas; hidrogeles inteligentes; carbones mesoporosos. Con ellos se construiran interfaces solido/liquido estructuradas: multicapas autoensambladas, patrones micrométricos con heterogeneidad tridimensional y estructuras jerárquicas. Se estudiara el intercambio de especies móviles en las interfaces usando técnicas electroquímicas, espectroelectroquimicas, ópticas y de microscopia. De esta manera se podran controlar el intercambio en esa interface. En base a este conocimientos se desarrollaran aplicaciones tecnológicas tales como sensores de oligonucletidos, microceldas de combustible, arreglos de microelectrodos y supercapacitores.

middleware for cooperating mobile embedded systems

Mobile embedded systems, wireless communication, real-time systems, real-time scheduling, communication protocols, cooperation, reliability and fault-tolerance, middleware

Gradient injection in preparative chromatography : exploitation of sample solvents different than the mobile phase

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Verfahrens- und Systemtechnik, Diss., 2010

Best-Practice - Mobile Testing Viewing mobile usability studies with the example of an eyetracking study in the retail sector

Today, usability testing in the development of software and systems is essential. A stationary usability lab offers many different possibilities in the evaluation of usability, but it reaches its limits in terms of flexibility and the experimental conditions. Mobile usability studies consider consciously outside influences, and these studies require a specially adapted approach to preparation, implementation and evaluation. Using the example of a mobile eye tracking study the difficulties and the opportunities of mobile testing are considered.

ParallelKnoppix - Rapid deployment of a linux cluster for MPI parallel processing using non-dedicated computers

This note describes ParallelKnoppix, a bootable CD that allows creation of a Linux cluster in very little time. An experienced user can create a cluster ready to execute MPI programs in less than 10 minutes. The computers used may be heterogeneous machines, of the IA-32 architecture. When the cluster is shut down, all machines except one are in their original state, and the last can be returned to its original state by deleting a directory. The system thus provides a means of using non-dedicated computers to create a cluster. An example session is documented.

Sexual dimorphism in resource acquisition and deployment: both size and timing matter.

Background and Aims The males and females of many dioecious plant species differ from one another in important life-history traits, such as their size. If male and female reproductive functions draw on different resources, for example, one should expect males and females to display different allocation strategies as they grow. Importantly, these strategies may differ not only between the two sexes, but also between plants of different age and therefore size. Results are presented from an experiment that asks whether males and females of Mercurialis annua, an annual plant with indeterminate growth, differ over time in their allocation of two potentially limiting resources (carbon and nitrogen) to vegetative (below-and above-ground) and reproductive tissues.Methods Comparisons were made of the temporal patterns of biomass allocation to shoots, roots and reproduction and the nitrogen content in the leaves between the sexes of M. annua by harvesting plants of each sex after growth over different periods of time.Key Results and Conclusions Males and females differed in their temporal patterns of allocation. Males allocated more to reproduction than females at early stages, but this trend was reversed at later stages. Importantly, males allocated proportionally more of their biomass towards roots at later stages, but the roots of females were larger in absolute terms. The study points to the important role played by both the timing of resource deployment and the relative versus absolute sizes of the sinks and sources in sexual dimorphism of an annual plant.

Devolution & Entrenched Household Poverty: Is Scotland less mobile?

The Scottish National Party led Scottish Government has identified household poverty as a key focus for its anti-poverty strategy. The government’s ‘Solidarity Target’ seeks to both increase wealth and increase the share of total income gained by these three deciles. The ability to demonstrate the advantages of policy divergence within Scotland, relative to the other parts of the United Kingdom, is central to the Government’s aim of gaining support for increased powers for the devolved government. This paper seeks to provide evidence on one aspect of the government’s anti- poverty strategy; the degree to which Scotland differs from the rest of the UK over levels of entrenched poverty. The paper demonstrates that not only does Scotland have greater entrenched poverty but that the changes in mobility since the 1990s have impacted on Scotland to a lesser degree than the rest of the UK.

An Optimised Illustrative Investment Model Of The Economics Of Integrated Returns From CCS Deployment In The UK/UKCS

NORTH SEA STUDY OCCASIONAL PAPER No. 118

Mobile termination and mobile penetration

In this paper, we study how access pricing affects network competition when subscription demand is elastic and each network uses non-linear prices and can apply termination-based price discrimination. In the case of a fixed per minute termination charge, we find that a reduction of the termination charge below cost has two opposing effects: it softens competition but helps to internalize network externalities. The former reduces mobile penetration while the latter boosts it. We find that firms always prefer termination charge below cost for either motive while the regulator prefers termination below cost only when this boosts penetration. Next, we consider the retail benchmarking approach (Jeon and Hurkens, 2008) that determines termination charges as a function of retail prices and show that this approach allows the regulator to increase penetration without distorting call volumes.

Mobile termination, network externalities, and consumer expectations

We re-examine the literature on mobile termination in the presence of network externalities. Externalities arise when firms discriminate between on- and off-net calls or when subscription demand is elastic. This literature predicts that profit decreases and consumer surplus increases in termination charge in a neighborhood of termination cost. This creates a puzzle since in reality we see regulators worldwide pushing termination rates down while being opposed by network operators. We show that this puzzle is resolved when consumers' expectations are assumed passive but required to be fulfilled in equilibrium (as defined by Katz and Shapiro, AER 1985), instead of being rationally responsive to non-equilibrium prices, as assumed until now.

Differential allocation and deployment of direct and indirect defences by Vicia sepium along elevation gradients

Dissecting drivers of plant defence investment remains central for understanding the assemblage of communities across different habitats. There is increasing evidence that direct defence strategies against herbivores, including secondary metabolites production, differ along ecological gradients in response to variation in biotic and abiotic conditions. In contrast, intraspecific variation in indirect defences remains unexplored. Here, we investigated variation in herbivory rate, resistance to herbivores, and indirect defences in ant-attracting Vicia species along the elevation gradient of the Alps. Specifically, we compared volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ant attraction in high and low elevation ecotypes. Consistent with adaptation to the lower herbivory conditions that we detected at higher elevations in the field, high elevation plants were visited by fewer ants and were more susceptible to herbivore attack. In parallel, constitutive volatile organic compound production and subsequent ant attraction were lower in the high elevation ecotypes. We observed an elevation-driven trade-off between constitutive and inducible production of VOCs and ant attraction along the environmental cline. At higher elevations, inducible defences increased, while constitutive defence decreased, suggesting that the high elevation ecotypes compensate for lower indirect constitutive defences only after herbivore attack. Synthesis. Overall, direct and indirect defences of plants vary along elevation gradients. Our findings show that plant allocation to defences are subject to trade-offs depending on local conditions, and point to a feedback mechanism linking local herbivore pressure, predator abundance and the defence investment of plants.

Information Mobility: Information Dissemination in Mobile Networks

En el nostre projecte, considerem un escenari urbà o interurbà on persones amb dispositius mòbils (smartphones) o vehicles equipats amb interfícies de comunicació, estan interessats en compartir fitxers entre ells o descarregar-los al creuar Punts d’Accés (APs) propers a la carretera. Estudiem la possibilitat d’utilizar la cooperació en les trobades casuals entre nodes per augmentar la velocitat de descàrrega global. Amb aquest objectiu, plantejem algoritmes per a la selecció de quins paquets, per a quins destins i quins transportistes s’escullen en cada moment. Mitjançant extenses simulacions, mostrem com les cooperacions carry&forward dels nodes augmenten significativament la velocitat de descàrrega dels usuaris, i com aquest resultat es manté per a diversos patrons de mobilitat, col•locacions d'AP i càrregues de la xarxa. Per altra banda, aparells com els smartphones, on la targeta de WiFi està encesa contínuament, consumeixen l'energia de la bateria en poques hores. En molts escenaris, una targeta WiFi sempre activa és poc útil, perque sovint no hi ha necessitat de transmissió o recepció. Aquest fet es veu agreujat en les Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN), on els nodes intercanvien dades quan es creuen i en tenen l’oportunitat. Les tècniques de gestió de l’estalvi d’energia permeten extendre la duració de les bateries. El nostre projecte analitza els avantatges i inconvenients que apareixen quan els nodes apaguen períodicament la seva targeta wireless per a estalviar energia en escenaris DTN. Els nostres resultats mostren les condicions en que un node pot desconnectar la bateria sense afectar la probabilitat de contacte amb altres nodes, i les condicions en que aquesta disminueix. Per exemple, es demostra que la vida del node pot ser duplicada mantenint la probabilitat de contacte a 1. I que aquesta disminueix ràpidament en intentar augmentar més la vida útil.

Adaptive Privacy Management System Design For Context-Aware Mobile Devices

While mobile technologies can provide great personalized services for mobile users, they also threaten their privacy. Such personalization-privacy paradox are particularly salient for context aware technology based mobile applications where user's behaviors, movement and habits can be associated with a consumer's personal identity. In this thesis, I studied the privacy issues in the mobile context, particularly focus on an adaptive privacy management system design for context-aware mobile devices, and explore the role of personalization and control over user's personal data. This allowed me to make multiple contributions, both theoretical and practical. In the theoretical world, I propose and prototype an adaptive Single-Sign On solution that use user's context information to protect user's private information for smartphone. To validate this solution, I first proved that user's context is a unique user identifier and context awareness technology can increase user's perceived ease of use of the system and service provider's authentication security. I then followed a design science research paradigm and implemented this solution into a mobile application called "Privacy Manager". I evaluated the utility by several focus group interviews, and overall the proposed solution fulfilled the expected function and users expressed their intentions to use this application. To better understand the personalization-privacy paradox, I built on the theoretical foundations of privacy calculus and technology acceptance model to conceptualize the theory of users' mobile privacy management. I also examined the role of personalization and control ability on my model and how these two elements interact with privacy calculus and mobile technology model. In the practical realm, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the tradeoff between the benefit of personalized services and user's privacy concerns it may cause. By pointing out new opportunities to rethink how user's context information can protect private data, it also suggests new elements for privacy related business models.