WebGraphEd, an open source graph drawing editor for the web

WebGraphEd is an open source software for graph visualization and manipulation. It is especially designed to work for the web platform through a web browser. The web application has been written in JavaScript and compacted later, which makes it a very lightweight software. There is no need of additional software, and the only requirement is to have an HTML5 compliant browser. WebGraphEd works with scalable vector graphics (SVG), which it makes possible to create lossless graph drawings.

Dades obertes enllaçades (Linked Open Data) en el món de l'educació : Una visió de l'estat de l'art d'aquesta tecnologia aplicada a l'ensenyament i l'aprenentatge

En el present treball hem tractat d'aportar una visió actual del món de les dades obertes enllaçades en l'àmbit de l'educació. Hem revisat tant les aplicacions que van dirigides a implementar aquestes tecnologies en els repositoris de dades existents (pàgines web, repositoris d'objectes educacionals, repositoris de cursos i programes educatius) com a ser suport de nous paradigmes dins del món de l'educació.

SDS open source

Estudi de viabilitat sobre la implantació d'un software-defined storage open source en entorns empresarials. Comparativa entre Gluster, Ceph, OpenAFS, TahoeFS i XtreemFS.

Fruits of Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc as good sources of β -carotene and provitamina

Butia capitata is a palm tree, widely found in the Brazilian savanna. Their fruits are largely used by local communities to prepare juices, jellies and ice-creams. The main objective of this work was to determine the carotenoids profile of Butia capitata fruits and their provitamin A values. Total carotenoids content ranged from 11.1 to 43.9 μg.g-1; β-carotene was the predominant carotenoid (5.2-22.8 μg.g-1), followed by γ-carotene, phytoene, phytofluene, ζ-carotene, α-cryptoxanthin (or zeinoxanthin) and α-carotene. Provitamin A values varied from 50 to 200 RAE.100g-1. This result suggests that B. capitata pulp may be a good source of β-carotene and provitamin A.

Measurement of a Structured Backflow in an Open Small Channel Induced by Surface-Tension Gradients

We present experiments in which the laterally confined flow of a surfactant film driven by controlled surface tension gradients causes the subtended liquid layer to self-organize into an inner upstream microduct surrounded by the downstream flow. The anomalous interfacial flow profiles and the concomitant backflow are a result of the feedback between two-dimensional and three-dimensional microfluidics realized during flow in open microchannels. Bulk and surface particle image velocimetry data combined with an interfacial hydrodynamics model explain the dependence of the observed phenomena on channel geometry.

Hienopaperimassojen lujuusominaisuudet nopeassa vetokuormituksessa

Työssä verrattiin koivu-, akaasia- ja eucalyptussellujen käyttökelpoisuutta hienopapereiden kuituraaka-aineena. Kirjallisuusosassa todettiin radan hallinnan paperikoneiden avoimissa vienneissä riippuvan käytetyn geometrian lisäksi lujuus- ja relaksaatio-ominaisuuksista. Kuituverkoston käyttäytymiseen jännityksen alaisena vaikuttavat kuitudimensiot, kosteus ja lämpötila sekä kuituverkostoon kohdistetun jännityksen nopeus ja määrä. Relaksaationopeus ja vetolujuus kasvavat kuivilla papereilla vetonopeuden lisääntyessä. Kosteuspitoisuuden kasvattaminen alentaa puukuiduissa olevien polymeerien lasisiirtymälämpötilaa, jonka seurauksena vetolujuus ja relaksaatiokireys laskevat voimakkaasti. Kosteuspitoisuuden kasvaessa murtovenymä kasvaa lähes lineaarisesti ja repäisylujuus sekä murtotyö saavuttavat maksiminsa tietyssä kosteuspitoisuudessa. Kokeellisessa osassa keskityttiin hienopaperimassojen lujuus- ja relaksaatiokäyttäytymisen selvittämiseen nopeassa vetokuormituksessa. Lisäksi määritettiin laatu-, massa- ja rakenneominaisuuksia valituille koepisteille. Muuttujina kokeissa olivat massojen kuiva-ainepitoisuudet ja jauhatusolosuhteet sekä havusellun osuus hienopaperimassoissa.CSF-tasoon 350 ml jauhetuista näytteistä parhaat lujuus ja relaksaatio-ominaisuudet olivat koivulla ja heikoimmat akaasialla. Erot koepisteiden välillä korostuivat pienellä havusellun määrällä, mutta kaventuivat huomattavasti havusellun määrää lisättäessä. Samaan vetolujuuteen jauhettaessa massojen erot poistuvat kokonaan. Kuivilla näytteillä löydettiin erinomainen korrelaatio myötölujuuden ja relaksaatiokireyden välille. Puristinkuivien näytteiden relaksaatiokireyksiä voidaan kokeiden valossa ennustaa parhaiten kuivien näytteiden vetolujuuksista. Myös elastisten venymien osuuksille ja kuituseinämien paksuuksille löydettiin selvä yhteys.Eucalyptus- ja akaasiamassojen erinomaisuus hienopapereiden raaka-aineena korostui niiden optisissa ominaisuuksissa, erityisesti korkeana valonsirontana. Verrattaessa samassa vetolujuudessa ja relaksaatiokireydessä valonsirontakertoimien arvoja havaittiin akaasian olevan paras koivun jäädessä heikoimmaksi. Lisäksi akaasian ja eucalyptuksen kapeat kuitujakaumat ovat edullisia painokoneessa värin tasaisen imeytymisen kannalta. Akaasian pienet ja taipuisat kuidut antavat paperille tasaisen pinnan ja siten painatuksessa tasaisen painoalustan.

Bioavailability of sinking organic matter in the Blanes canyon and the adjacent open slope (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Submarine canyons are sites of intense energy and material exchange between the shelf and the deep adjacent basins. To test the hypothesis that active submarine canyons represent preferential conduits of available food for the deep-sea benthos, two mooring lines were deployed at 1200 m depth from November 2008 to November 2009 inside the Blanes canyon and on the adjacent open slope (Catalan Margin, NW Mediterranean Sea). We investigated the fluxes, biochemical composition and food quality of sinking organic carbon (OC). OC fluxes in the canyon and the open slope varied among sampling periods, though not onsistently in the two sites. In particular, while in the open slope the highest OC fluxes were observed in August 2009, in the canyon the highest OC fluxes occurred in April-May 2009. For almost the entire study period, the OC fluxes in the canyon were significantly higher than those in the open slope, whereas OC contents of sinking particles collected in the open slope were consistently higher than those in the canyon. This result confirms that submarine canyons are effective conveyors of OC to the deep sea. Particles transferred to the deep sea floor through the canyons are predominantly of inorganic origin, significantly higher than that reaching the open slope at a similar water depth. Using multivariate statistical tests, two major clusters of sampling periods were identified: one in the canyon that grouped trap samples collected in December 2008, oncurrently with the occurrence of a major storm at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of nutritionally available particles from the upper shelf. Another cluster grouped samples from both the canyon and the open slope collected in March 2009, concurrently with the occurrence of the seasonal phytoplankton bloom at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of total phytopigments. Our results confirm the key ecological role of submarine canyons for the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems, and highlight the importance of canyons in linking episodic storms and primary production occurring at the sea surface to the deep sea floor.

Impact of open-ocean convection on particle fluxes and sediment dynamics in the deep margin of the Gulf of Lions.

Abstract. The deep outer margin of the Gulf of Lions and the adjacent basin, in the western Mediterranean Sea, are regularly impacted by open-ocean convection, a major hydrodynamic event responsible for the ventilation of the deep water in the western Mediterranean Basin. However, the impact of open-ocean convection on the flux and transport of particulate matter remains poorly understood. The variability of water mass properties (i.e., temperature and salinity), currents, and particle fluxes were monitored between September 2007 and April 2009 at five instrumented mooring lines deployed between 2050 and 2350-m depth in the deepest continental margin and adjacent basin. Four of the lines followed a NW-SE transect, while the fifth one was located on a sediment wave field to the west. The results of the main, central line SC2350 ("LION") located at 42 02.50 N, 4 410 E, at 2350-m depth, show that open-ocean convection reached midwater depth ( 1000-m depth) during winter 2007-2008, and reached the seabed ( 2350-m depth) during winter 2008-2009. Horizontal currents were unusually strong with speeds up to 39 cm s−1 during winter 2008-2009. The measurements at all 5 different locations indicate that mid-depth and near-bottom currents and particle fluxes gave relatively consistent values of similar magnitude across the study area except during winter 2008-2009, when near-bottom fluxes abruptly increased by one to two orders of magnitude. Particulate organic carbon contents, which generally vary between 3 and 5 %, were abnormally low ( 1 %) during winter 2008-2009 and approached those observed in surface sediments (0.6 %). Turbidity profiles made in the region demonstrated the existence of a bottom nepheloid layer, several hundred meters thick, and related to the resuspension of bottom sediments. These observations support the view that open-ocean deep convection events in the Gulf of Lions can cause significant remobilization of sediments in the deep outer margin and the basin, with a subsequent alteration of the seabed likely impacting the functioning of the deep-sea ecosystem.

Designing a modular, open and expandable Bluetooth-platform

Lähitulevaisuudessa langattomien järjestelmien kaupalliset mahdollisuudet tulevat olemaan valtavia. Tutkiaksemme tulevia tarpeita, tässä diplomityössä esitellään kuinka voidaan suunnitella ja toteuttaa avoin langaton asiakas-palvelin järjestelmä. Järjestelmänä päätettiin käyttää Bluetooth:ia. Tutkituista langattomista standardeista Bluetooth sopii parhaiten akkukäyttöiselle laitteelle, jonka tulee olla monipuolinen. Lisäksi Bluetooth:iin on liitetty suuria kaupallisia odotuksia ja yksi työn tavoitteista olikin tutkia, ovatko nämä odotukset realistisia. Bluetooth:iin havaittiin liittyvän paljon ylimainontaa ja, sen todettiin olevan monimutkainen. Sillä on kuitenkin paljon ominaisuuksia ja erilaisten käyttöprofiilien avulla sitä voidaan käyttää monenlaisiin tehtäviin. Suunniteltu järjestelmä ajaa socket-palvelinta Bluetooth-yhteyden päällä. Tietyntyyppiseen liikenteeseen erikoistuneet socket:t tarjoavat vaaditun laajennattavuuden. Palvelin toteutetiin Linux-säikeenä ja se hallitsee Bluetooth protokollapinoa sekä sovelluksia, joita suoritetaan palvelimella. Näiden sovelluksien palvelut ovat muiden käytössä Bluetooth:n kautta.

Respecting the deal: Economically sustainable management of open innovation among co-opeting companies

Platforms like eBay allow product seekers and providers to meet and exchange goods. On eBay, consumers can return a product if it does not correspond to expectations; eBay is the third-party firm in charge of assuring that the agreement among seekers and providers will be respected. Who provides the same service for what concerns open innovation, where specifications might not fully defined? This paper describes the business model of an organizational structure to support the elicitation and respect of agreements among agents, who have conflicting interests but that gain from cooperating together. Extending previous studies, our business model takes into account the economic dimensions concerning the needs of knowledge share and mutual control to allow a third-party to sustainably reinforce trust among untrusted partners and to lower their overall relational risk.

Two cilengitide regimens in combination with standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and unmethylated MGMT gene promoter: results of the open-label, controlled, randomized phase II CORE study.

BACKGROUND: Survival outcomes for patients with glioblastoma remain poor, particularly for patients with unmethylated O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene promoter. This phase II, randomized, open-label, multicenter trial investigated the efficacy and safety of 2 dose regimens of the selective integrin inhibitor cilengitide combined with standard chemoradiotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and an unmethylated MGMT promoter. METHODS: Overall, 265 patients were randomized (1:1:1) to standard cilengitide (2000 mg 2×/wk; n = 88), intensive cilengitide (2000 mg 5×/wk during wk 1-6, thereafter 2×/wk; n = 88), or a control arm (chemoradiotherapy alone; n = 89). Cilengitide was administered intravenously in combination with daily temozolomide (TMZ) and concomitant radiotherapy (RT; wk 1-6), followed by TMZ maintenance therapy (TMZ/RT→TMZ). The primary endpoint was overall survival; secondary endpoints included progression-free survival, pharmacokinetics, and safety and tolerability. RESULTS: Median overall survival was 16.3 months in the standard cilengitide arm (hazard ratio [HR], 0.686; 95% CI: 0.484, 0.972; P = .032) and 14.5 months in the intensive cilengitide arm (HR, 0.858; 95% CI: 0.612, 1.204; P = .3771) versus 13.4 months in the control arm. Median progression-free survival assessed per independent review committee was 5.6 months (HR, 0.822; 95% CI: 0.595, 1.134) and 5.9 months (HR, 0.794; 95% CI: 0.575, 1.096) in the standard and intensive cilengitide arms, respectively, versus 4.1 months in the control arm. Cilengitide was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Standard and intensive cilengitide dose regimens were well tolerated in combination with TMZ/RT→TMZ. Inconsistent overall survival and progression-free survival outcomes and a limited sample size did not allow firm conclusions regarding clinical efficacy in this exploratory phase II study.

Application of nitrogen sources on grapevines and effect on yield and must composition

This study was carried out to evaluate the yield, total N content in leaves and must composition of grapes from the Cabernet Sauvignon variety subjected to the application of urea and organic compost. Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines in Rosário do Sul, RS, Brazil, in 2008, 2009 and 2010 were subjected to annual application of 40 kg N ha-1 in the form of organic compost and urea, and compared to unfertilized grapevines. In the 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 crop seasons, leaves were collected for analysis of total N content. At maturation of the grapes, the yield and quality attributes of the must were evaluated. The application of N sources, especially organic compost, increased the N content in the whole leaf at full flowering. Application of organic compost and urea has little effect on grape yield and does not affect the total nutrient content in the must, nor the enological attributes.

Vitamin E intake from natural sources and head and neck cancer risk : a pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for the possible effect of vitamin E on head and neck cancers (HNCs) is limited. METHODS: We used individual-level pooled data from 10 case-control studies (5959 cases and 12 248 controls) participating in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium to assess the association between vitamin E intake from natural sources and cancer of the oral cavity/pharynx and larynx. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression models applied to quintile categories of nonalcohol energy-adjusted vitamin E intake. RESULTS: Intake of vitamin E was inversely related to oral/pharyngeal cancer (OR for the fifth vs the first quintile category=0.59, 95% CI: 0.49-0.71; P for trend <0.001) and to laryngeal cancer (OR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.54-0.83, P for trend <0.001). There was, however, appreciable heterogeneity of the estimated effect across studies for oral/pharyngeal cancer. Inverse associations were generally observed for the anatomical subsites of oral and pharyngeal cancer and within covariate strata for both sites. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that greater vitamin E intake from foods may lower HNC risk, although we were not able to explain the heterogeneity observed across studies or rule out certain sources of bias.