Electrophoretic mobility of cell nuclei (EMN index) as a biomarker of the biological aging process: Considering the association between EMN index and age

The present study examined whether a specific property of cell microstructures may be useful as a biomarker of aging. Specifically, the association between age and changes of cellular structures reflected in electrophoretic mobility of cell nuclei index (EMN index) values across the adult lifespan was examined. This report considers findings from cross sections of females (n = 1273) aged 18–98 years, and males (n = 506) aged 19–93 years. A Biotest apparatus was used to perform intracellular microelectrophoresis on buccal epithelial cells collected from each individual. EMN index was calculated on the basis of the number of epithelial cells with mobile nuclei in reference to the cells with immobile nuclei per 100 cells. Regression analyses indicated a significant negative association between EMN index value and age for men (r = −0.71, p < 0.001) and women (r = −0.60, p < 0.001); demonstrating a key requirement that must be met by a biomarker of aging. The strength of association observed between EMN index and age for both men and women was encouraging and supports the potential use of EMN index for determining a biological age of an individual (or a group). In this study, a new attempt of complex explanation of cellular mechanisms contributing to age related changes of the EMN index was made. In this study, a new attempt of complex explanation of cellular mechanisms contributing to age related changes of the EMN index was made. EMN index has demonstrated potential to meet criteria proposed for biomarkers of aging and further investigations are necessary.

Efficient Content-based Routing, Mobility-aware Topologies, and Temporal Subspace Matching

Event-based systems are seen as good candidates for supporting distributed applications in dynamic and ubiquitous environments because they support decoupled and asynchronous many-to-many information dissemination. Event systems are widely used, because asynchronous messaging provides a flexible alternative to RPC (Remote Procedure Call). They are typically implemented using an overlay network of routers. A content-based router forwards event messages based on filters that are installed by subscribers and other routers. The filters are organized into a routing table in order to forward incoming events to proper subscribers and neighbouring routers. This thesis addresses the optimization of content-based routing tables organized using the covering relation and presents novel data structures and configurations for improving local and distributed operation. Data structures are needed for organizing filters into a routing table that supports efficient matching and runtime operation. We present novel results on dynamic filter merging and the integration of filter merging with content-based routing tables. In addition, the thesis examines the cost of client mobility using different protocols and routing topologies. We also present a new matching technique called temporal subspace matching. The technique combines two new features. The first feature, temporal operation, supports notifications, or content profiles, that persist in time. The second feature, subspace matching, allows more expressive semantics, because notifications may contain intervals and be defined as subspaces of the content space. We also present an application of temporal subspace matching pertaining to metadata-based continuous collection and object tracking.

IP Mobility in Wireless Operator Networks

Wireless network access is gaining increased heterogeneity in terms of the types of IP capable access technologies. The access network heterogeneity is an outcome of incremental and evolutionary approach of building new infrastructure. The recent success of multi-radio terminals drives both building a new infrastructure and implicit deployment of heterogeneous access networks. Typically there is no economical reason to replace the existing infrastructure when building a new one. The gradual migration phase usually takes several years. IP-based mobility across different access networks may involve both horizontal and vertical handovers. Depending on the networking environment, the mobile terminal may be attached to the network through multiple access technologies. Consequently, the terminal may send and receive packets through multiple networks simultaneously. This dissertation addresses the introduction of IP Mobility paradigm into the existing mobile operator network infrastructure that have not originally been designed for multi-access and IP Mobility. We propose a model for the future wireless networking and roaming architecture that does not require revolutionary technology changes and can be deployed without unnecessary complexity. The model proposes a clear separation of operator roles: (i) access operator, (ii) service operator, and (iii) inter-connection and roaming provider. The separation allows each type of an operator to have their own development path and business models without artificial bindings with each other. We also propose minimum requirements for the new model. We present the state of the art of IP Mobility. We also present results of standardization efforts in IP-based wireless architectures. Finally, we present experimentation results of IP-level mobility in various wireless operator deployments.

Ratio of Diffusion Coefficient to Mobility for Electrons in SF6-Air and Freon-Nitrogen Mixtures

The ratio of diffusion coefficient to mobility (D/¿) for electrons has been measured in SF6-air and freon-nitrogen mixtures for various concentrations of SF6 and freon in the mixtures over the range 140¿ E/p¿ 220 V.cm-1 - torr-1. In SF6-air mixtures, the values of D/¿ were always observed to lie intermediate between the values for the pure gases. However, in freon-nitrogen mixtures, with a small concentration (10 percent) of freon in the mixture, the values of D/¿ are found to lie above the boundaries determined by the pure gases. In this mixture, over the lower E/p range (140 to 190) the electrons appear to lose a large fraction of their energy by the excitation of the complex freon molecules, while at higher E/p values (200 to 240), the excitation and consequent deexcitation of nitrogen molecules and its metastables seem to cause an increased rate of ionization of freon molecules.

A probabilistic approach to the problem of electron localization in disordered systems and sharpness of the mobility edge

By applying the theory of the asymptotic distribution of extremes and a certain stability criterion to the question of the domain of convergence in the probability sense, of the renormalized perturbation expansion (RPE) for the site self-energy in a cellularly disordered system, an expression has been obtained in closed form for the probability of nonconvergence of the RPE on the real-energy axis. Hence, the intrinsic mobility mu (E) as a function of the carrier energy E is deduced to be given by mu (E)= mu 0exp(-exp( mod E mod -Ec) Delta ), where Ec is a nominal 'mobility edge' and Delta is the width of the random site-energy distribution. Thus mobility falls off sharply but continuously for mod E mod >Ec, in contradistinction with the notion of an abrupt 'mobility edge' proposed by Cohen et al. and Mott. Also, the calculated electrical conductivity shows a temperature dependence in qualitative agreement with experiments on disordered semiconductors.

The PerCues framework and its application for sustainable mobility

This paper presents a framework, design and study of an ambient persuasive interface. We introduce a novel framework of persua sive Cues in Ambient Intelligence (perCues). Based on this framework we designed an application for mobile devices. The application aims to persuade people to abstain from using their cars and to use public mass transportation instead in order to reduce emissions. It contains a bus schedule and information about the pollution status. We evaluated the application in two successive studies regarding user acceptance, oppor tune moments of use and persuasive effects. The perCues received a high acceptance due to its benefit for the users. The results confirm the im portance of opportune moment and user acceptance for persuasion. The findings also indicate the persuasive potential of perCues.

Drift mobility of holes in single-crystal beta-AgI

The drift mobility of photoexcited holes in single-crystal beta-AgI has been measured between 260 and 312 °K. In this range the drift mobility µd increased with temperature due to trap-limited behavior. At 300 °K µd=12 cm2/V sec, the concentration and energy of the dominant traps being given by Nt=3×109 to 5×109/cm3 and Et=0.52 to 0.50 eV, respectively. Electron drift mobilities could not be determined due to low electron lifetimes. Journal of Applied Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.

Enhancing 'Mobility' through Integrated Transportation and Traffic Management

During the course of preparation of a master plan for the transportation networks in Bangalore city, mapping the various initiatives and interventions planned towards addressing mobility, existing situation and implications of some of the proposed interventions was analysed. The inferences are based on existing transportation network; synthesis of various transportation related studies and proposed infrastructure initiatives (road works) in Bangalore. Broadly, they can be summarized as following five aspects: I. Need for ~Sreclassifying~T existing road networks (arterial and sub-arterial) with effective geospatial database in the back-end. II. The proposed Core Ring Road at surface grade may not be feasible. III. Current interventions encouraging more independent motorable transport by way of road widening, construction of underpasses, flyovers and grade-separators would not ease traffic congestion when addressed in isolation. IV. Factors affecting time and cost-overruns in infrastructure projects and ways to tackle are discussed. V. Initiatives required for addressing effective planning for operations recommended.

Mobility impairment and bad feet … who'd of guessed? The Foot Disease in Inpatients Study (FDIS)

Background Foot complications have been found to be predictors of mobility impairment and falls in community dwelling elderly patients. However, fewer studies have investigated the link between foot complications and mobility impairment in hospital in patient populations. The aim of this paper was to investigate the associations between mobility impairment and various foot complications in general inpatient populations. Methods Eligible participants were all adults admitted overnight, for any reason, into five diverse hospitals on one day; excluding maternity, mental health and cognitively impaired patients. Participants underwent a foot examination to clinically diagnose different foot complications; including foot wounds, infections, deformity, peripheral arterial disease and peripheral neuropathy. They were also surveyed on social determinant, medical history, self-care, footwear, foot complication history risk factors, and, mobility impairment defined as requiring a mobility aid for mobilisation prior to hospitalisation. Results Overall, 733 participants consented; mean(±SD) age 62(±19) years, 408 (55.8%) male, 172 (23.5%) diabetes. Mobility impairment was present in 242 (33.2%) participants; diabetes populations reported more mobility impairment than non-diabetes populations (40.7% vs 30.9%, p < 0.05). In a backwards stepwise multivariate analysis, and controlling for other risk factors, those people with mobility impairment were independently associated with increasing years of age (OR = 1.04 (95% CI) (1.02-1.05)), male gender (OR = 1.7 (1.2-2.5)), being born in Australia (OR = 1.7 (1.1-2.8), vision impairment (2.0 (1.2-3.1)), peripheral neuropathy (OR = 3.1 (2.0-4.6) and foot deformity (OR = 2.0 (1.3-3.0). Conclusions These findings support the results of other large studies investigating community dwelling elderly patients that peripheral neuropathy and foot deformity are independently associated with mobility impairment and potentially falls. Furthermore the findings suggest routine clinical diagnosis of foot complications as defined by national diabetic foot guidelines were sufficient to determine these associated foot complication risk factors for mobility impairment. Further research is required to establish if these foot complication risk factors for mobility impairment are predictors of actual falls in the inpatient environment.

Multicarrier conduction and Boltzmann transport analysis of heavy hole mobility in HgCdTe near room temperature

Magnetotransport measurements in pulsed fields up to 15 T have been performed on mercury cadmium telluride (Hg1-xCdxTe, x similar to 0.2) bulk as well as liquid phase epitaxially grown samples to obtain the resistivity and conductivity tensors in the temperature range 220-300 K. Mobilities and densities of various carriers participating in conduction have been extracted using both conventional multicarrier fitting (MCF) and mobility spectrum analysis. The fits to experimental data, particularly at the highest magnetic fields, were substantially improved when MCF is applied to minimize errors simultaneously on both resistivity and conductivity tensors. The semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation has been solved without using adjustable parameters by incorporating the following scattering mechanisms to fit the mobility: ionized impurity, polar and nonpolar optical phonons, acoustic deformation potential, and alloy disorder. Compared to previous estimates based on the relaxation time approximation with outscattering only, polar optical scattering and ionized impurity scattering limited mobilities are shown to be larger due to the correct incorporation of the inscattering term taking into account the overlap integrals in the valence band.

A journey access tool to facilitate mobility-related access for people with disabilities in low and middle income countries

People with disabilities (PWD) experience difficulties in accessing the transport system (including both infrastructure and services) to meet their needs for health care, employment and other activities. Our research shows that lack of access to the journeys needed for these purposes is a more significant barrier in low and middle income countries than in high income countries, and results in inadequate health care, rehabilitation and access to education and employment. At the same time, the existing transport system in low and middle income countries presents much higher road crash risks than in high income countries. By combining the principles and methods of Road Safety Audit and disability access, and adapting these Western approaches to a low/middle income country context, we have worked with Handicap International Cambodia to develop a Journey Access Tool (JAT) for use by disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs), people with a disability and other key stakeholders. A key element of the approach is that it involves the participation of PWD on the journeys that they need to take, and it identifies infrastructure and service improvements that should be prioritised in order to facilitate access to these journeys. The JAT has been piloted in Cambodia with a range of PWD. This presentation will outline the design of the JAT and the results of the pilot studies. The information gained thus far strongly suggests that the JAT is a valuable and cost-effective approach that can be used by DPOs and professionals to identify barriers to access and prioritise the steps needed to address them.

The last avant-garde?: Disability arts and (rethinking) mobility

Taking as its starting point a remark by Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare that disability arts is “the last avant garde”, this panel focuses on the role of aesthetic experimentation in disability arts and the possible rethinking of the relationship between avant-garde aesthetic strategies and inclusive arts. Points of connection between the avant-garde and disability arts include a rejection of traditional aesthetic forms, the development of aesthetic strategies appropriate to non-normative bodies, politics and populations and the implications of these ideas for the conference themes. This panel is intended as a facilitated discussion involving researchers and artists undertaking work in this area. The panel will begin with some brief provocations reflecting on the implication of Shonibare’s comment. For example, Gerard Goggin will discuss three projects by Antoni Abad with artists and activists with disability in Barcelona, Geneva and Montreal as part of Abad’s Megaphone project, a decade-long, global digital art project. Bree Hadley will speak on performative interventions in public space, performance art, live art, activism and culture hacking by artists with disabilities, such as pwd's online performances, and artist’s performative responses to the austerity agenda in the US, UK, and Australasia. Eddie, Lachlan and Sarah will discuss ideas arising from their work on the project Beyond Access: The Creative Case for Inclusive Arts, which involved research with six Melbourne-based artists/artistic companies with disability, supported by Arts Access Victoria. Chair: Dr Eddie Paterson (School of Culture and Communication, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne) Dr Bree Hadley (Creative Industries, QUT) Professor Gerard Goggin (Professor of Media and Communication and ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney) Dr Lachlan MacDowall (Head, Centre for Cultural Partnerships, University of Melbourne). Sarah Austin (PhD candidate, Theatre/Centre for Cultural Partnerships, VCA and MCM) Artists (tbc, based on existing relationships with artists developed in the Beyond Access research).

Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?

Among the societal and health challenges of population ageing is the continued transport mobility of older people who retain their driving licence, especially in highly car-dependent societies. While issues surrounding loss of a driving licence have been researched, less attention has been paid to variations in physical travel by mode among the growing proportion of older people who retain their driving licence. It is unclear how much they reduce their driving with age, the degree to which they replace driving with other modes of transport, and how this varies by age and gender. This paper reports research conducted in the state of Queensland, Australia, with a sample of 295 older drivers (>60 years). Time spent driving is considerably greater than time spent as a passenger or walking across age groups and genders. A decline in travel time as a driver with increasing age is not redressed by increases in travel as a passenger or pedestrian. The patterns differ by gender, most likely reflecting demographic and social factors. Given the expected considerable increase in the number of older women in particular, and their reported preference not to drive alone, there are implications for policies and programmes that are relevant to other car-dependent settings. There are also implications for the health of older drivers, since levels of walking are comparatively low.

Multiscale study on hydrogen mobility in metallic fusion divertor material

For achieving efficient fusion energy production, the plasma-facing wall materials of the fusion reactor should ensure long time operation. In the next step fusion device, ITER, the first wall region facing the highest heat and particle load, i.e. the divertor area, will mainly consist of tiles based on tungsten. During the reactor operation, the tungsten material is slowly but inevitably saturated with tritium. Tritium is the relatively short-lived hydrogen isotope used in the fusion reaction. The amount of tritium retained in the wall materials should be minimized and its recycling back to the plasma must be unrestrained, otherwise it cannot be used for fueling the plasma. A very expensive and thus economically not viable solution is to replace the first walls quite often. A better solution is to heat the walls to temperatures where tritium is released. Unfortunately, the exact mechanisms of hydrogen release in tungsten are not known. In this thesis both experimental and computational methods have been used for studying the release and retention of hydrogen in tungsten. The experimental work consists of hydrogen implantations into pure polycrystalline tungsten, the determination of the hydrogen concentrations using ion beam analyses (IBA) and monitoring the out-diffused hydrogen gas with thermodesorption spectrometry (TDS) as the tungsten samples are heated at elevated temperatures. Combining IBA methods with TDS, the retained amount of hydrogen is obtained as well as the temperatures needed for the hydrogen release. With computational methods the hydrogen-defect interactions and implantation-induced irradiation damage can be examined at the atomic level. The method of multiscale modelling combines the results obtained from computational methodologies applicable at different length and time scales. Electron density functional theory calculations were used for determining the energetics of the elementary processes of hydrogen in tungsten, such as diffusivity and trapping to vacancies and surfaces. Results from the energetics of pure tungsten defects were used in the development of an classical bond-order potential for describing the tungsten defects to be used in molecular dynamics simulations. The developed potential was utilized in determination of the defect clustering and annihilation properties. These results were further employed in binary collision and rate theory calculations to determine the evolution of large defect clusters that trap hydrogen in the course of implantation. The computational results for the defect and trapped hydrogen concentrations were successfully compared with the experimental results. With the aforedescribed multiscale analysis the experimental results within this thesis and found in the literature were explained both quantitatively and qualitatively.