Towards a semiotic approach to practice-oriented knowledge transfer

With the rapid growth of information and technology, knowledge is a valuable asset in organisation which has become significant as a strategic resource. Many studies have focused on managing knowledge in organisations. In particular, knowledge transfer has become a significant issue concerned with the movement of knowledge across organisational boundaries. It enables the exploitation and application of existing knowledge for other organisations, reducing the time of creating knowledge, and minimising the cost of organisational learning. One way to capture knowledge in a transferrable form is through practice. In this paper, we discuss how organisations can transfer knowledge through practice effectively and propose a model for a semiotic approach to practice-oriented knowledge transfer. In this model, practice is treated as a sign that represents knowledge, and its localisation is analysed as a semiotic process.

Mass spectrometry imaging of glucosinolates in arabidopsis flowers and siliques

Glucosinolates are multi-functional plant secondary metabolites which play a vital role in plant defence and are, as dietary compounds, important to human health and livestock well-being. Knowledge of the tissue-specific regulation of their biosynthesis and accumulation is essential for plant breeding programs. Here, we report that in Arabidopsis thaliana, glucosinolates are accumulated differentially in specific cells of reproductive organs. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), distribution patterns of three selected compounds, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl (glucoraphanin), indol-3-ylmethyl (glucobrassicin), and 4-benzoyloxybutyl glucosinolates, were mapped in the tissues of whole flower buds, sepals and siliques. The results show that tissue localization patterns of aliphatic glucosinolate glucoraphanin and 4-benzoyloxybutyl glucosinolate were similar, but indole glucosinolate glucobrassicin had different localisation, indicating a possible difference in function. The high resolution images obtained by a complementary approach, cryo-SEM Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (cryo-SEM-EDX), confirmed increased concentration of sulphur in areas with elevated amounts of glucosinolates, and allowed identifying the cell types implicated in accumulation of glucosinolates. High concentration of sulphur was found in S-cells adjacent to the phloem in pedicels and siliques, indicating the presence of glucosinolates. Moreover, both MALDI MSI and cryo-SEM-EDX analyses indicated accumulation of glucosinolates in cells on the outer surface of the sepals, suggesting that a layer of glucosinolate-accumulating epidermal cells protects the whole of the developing flower, in addition to the S-cells, which protect the phloem. This research demonstrates the high potential of MALDI MSI for understanding the cell-specific compartmentation of plant metabolites and its regulation.

Semiotic approach to a practice-oriented knowledge transfer

Knowledge is a valuable asset in organisations that has become significant as a strategic resource in the information age. Many studies have focused on managing knowledge in organisations. In particular, knowledge transfer has become a significant issue concerned with the movement of knowledge across organisational boundaries. One way to capture knowledge in a transferrable form is through practice. In this paper, we discuss how organisations can transfer knowledge through practice effectively and propose a model for a semiotic approach to practice-oriented knowledge transfer. In this model, practice is treated as a sign that represents knowledge, and its localisation is analysed as a semiotic process.

Terahertz spectroscopy and imaging at the nanoscale for biological and security applications

The chemical specificity of terahertz spectroscopy, when combined with techniques for sub-wavelength sensing, is giving new understanding of processes occurring at the nanometre scale in biological systems and offers the potential for single molecule detection of chemical and biological agents and explosives. In addition, terahertz techniques are enabling the exploration of the fundamental behaviour of light when it interacts with nanoscale optical structures, and are being used to measure ultrafast carrier dynamics, transport and localisation in nanostructures. This chapter will explain how terahertz scale modelling can be used to explore the fundamental physics of nano-optics, it will discuss the terahertz spectroscopy of nanomaterials, terahertz near-field microscopy and other sub-wavelength techniques, and summarise recent developments in the terahertz spectroscopy and imaging of biological systems at the nanoscale. The potential of using these techniques for security applications will be considered.

Motion planning of autonomous vehicles in a non-autonomous vehicle environment without speed lanes

Planning is one of the key problems for autonomous vehicles operating in road scenarios. Present planning algorithms operate with the assumption that traffic is organised in predefined speed lanes, which makes it impossible to allow autonomous vehicles in countries with unorganised traffic. Unorganised traffic is though capable of higher traffic bandwidths when constituting vehicles vary in their speed capabilities and sizes. Diverse vehicles in an unorganised exhibit unique driving behaviours which are analysed in this paper by a simulation study. The aim of the work reported here is to create a planning algorithm for mixed traffic consisting of both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles without any inter-vehicle communication. The awareness (e.g. vision) of every vehicle is restricted to nearby vehicles only and a straight infinite road is assumed for decision making regarding navigation in the presence of multiple vehicles. Exhibited behaviours include obstacle avoidance, overtaking, giving way for vehicles to overtake from behind, vehicle following, adjusting the lateral lane position and so on. A conflict of plans is a major issue which will almost certainly arise in the absence of inter-vehicle communication. Hence each vehicle needs to continuously track other vehicles and rectify plans whenever a collision seems likely. Further it is observed here that driver aggression plays a vital role in overall traffic dynamics, hence this has also been factored in accordingly. This work is hence a step forward towards achieving autonomous vehicles in unorganised traffic, while similar effort would be required for planning problems such as intersections, mergers, diversions and other modules like localisation.

Modulation of stretch-induced myocyte remodeling and gene expression by nitric oxide: a novel role for lipoma preferred partner in myofibrillogenesis

Prolonged hemodynamic load as a result of hypertension eventually leads to maladaptive cardiac adaptation and heart failure. The signalling pathways that underlie these changes are still poorly understood. The adaptive response to mechanical load is mediated by mechanosensors which convert the mechanical stimuli into a biological response. We examined the effect of cyclic mechanical stretch on myocyte adaptation using neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with 10% (adaptive) or 20% (maladaptive) maximum strain, 1Hz for 48 hours to mimic in vivo mechanical stress. Cells were also treated with and without L-NAME, a general nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor to suppress NO production. Maladaptive 20% mechanical stretch led to a significant loss of intact sarcomeres which was rescued by LNAME (P<0.05, n≥5 cultures). We hypothesized that the mechanism was through NOinduced alteration of myocyte gene expression. L-NAME up-regulated the mechanosensing proteins Muscle LIM protein (MLP (by 100%, p<0.05, n=4 cultures)) and lipoma preferred partner, a novel cardiac protein (LPP (by 80%, p<0.05, n=4 cultures)). L-NAME also significantly altered the subcellular localisation of LPP and MLP in a manner that favoured growth and adaptation. These findings suggest that NO participates in stretch-mediated adaptation. The use of isoform selective NOS inhibitors indicated a complex interaction between iNOS and nNOS isoforms regulate gene expression. LPP knockdown by siRNA led to formation of α-actinin aggregates and Z-bodies showing that myofibrillogenesis was impaired. There was an up-regulation of E3 ubiquitin ligase (MUL1) by 75% (P<0.05, n=5 cultures). This indicates that NO contributes to stretch-mediated adaptation via the upregulation of proteins associated mechansensing and myofibrillogenesis, thereby presenting potential therapeutic targets during the progression of heart failure. Keywords: Mechanotransduction, heart failure, stretch, heart, hypertrophy

Visual sensor fusion for active security in robotic industrial environments

This work presents a method of information fusion involving data captured by both a standard charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and a time-of-flight (ToF) camera to be used in the detection of the proximity between a manipulator robot and a human. Both cameras are assumed to be located above the work area of an industrial robot. The fusion of colour images and time-of-flight information makes it possible to know the 3D localization of objects with respect to a world coordinate system. At the same time, this allows to know their colour information. Considering that ToF information given by the range camera contains innacuracies including distance error, border error, and pixel saturation, some corrections over the ToF information are proposed and developed to improve the results. The proposed fusion method uses the calibration parameters of both cameras to reproject 3D ToF points, expressed in a common coordinate system for both cameras and a robot arm, in 2D colour images. In addition to this, using the 3D information, the motion detection in a robot industrial environment is achieved, and the fusion of information is applied to the foreground objects previously detected. This combination of information results in a matrix that links colour and 3D information, giving the possibility of characterising the object by its colour in addition to its 3D localisation. Further development of these methods will make it possible to identify objects and their position in the real world and to use this information to prevent possible collisions between the robot and such objects.

Drivers of change in mountain farming in Slovakia: from socialist collectivisation to the Common Agricultural Policy

The transformations in Slovak agriculture from the 1950s to the present day, considering both the generic (National and EU) and site-specific (local) drivers of landscape change, were analysed in five mountain study areas in the country. An interdisciplinary approach included analysis of population trends, evaluation of land use and landscape change combined with exploration of the perceptions of local stakeholders and results of previous biodiversity studies. The generic processes active from the 1950s to 1970s were critical for all study areas with impacts lasting right up until the present day. Agricultural collectivisation, agricultural intensification and land abandonment had negative effects in all study areas. However, the precise impacts on the landscape were different in the different study areas due to site-specific attributes (e.g. population trends, geographic localisation and local attitudes and opportunities), and these played a decisive role in determining the trajectory of change. Regional contrasts in rural development between these territories have increased in the last two decades, also due to the imperfect preconditions of governmental support. The recent Common Agricultural Policy developments are focused on maintenance of intensive large-scale farming rather than direct enhancement of agro-biodiversity and rural development at the local scale. In this context, local, site-specific attributes can and must form an essential part of rural development plans, to meet the demands for management of the diversity of agricultural mountain landscapes and facilitate the multifunctional role of agriculture.