Web technologies provide several means to infringe user privacy. This is especially true when customers buying tangible goods submit orders that contain their real identity and physical address. Then, in practice, the vendor can link this information with all information gathered about the customer, obtained through various means. In this paper, we present a solution that is based on mobile age...

We have developed a framework for using software agent technology for linking distributed simulations and other data resources. The Agent-Based Environment for Linking Simulations (ABELS) framework uses software agents to coordinate distributed simulations, communicate data efficiently between simulations, and retrieve data from other sources such as sensors and datasets. ABELS allows simulatio...

There is increasing evidence linking depression and cardiovascular disease. However, the authors could find no literature directly linking depression with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. The authors report the case of a patient with uncontrolled atrial arrhythmia who cardioverted to normal sinus rhythm after treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (...

Poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels have a significant range of mechanical properties based on compositional and processing parameters. Biodegradable hydrogels based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) were prepared for controlled drug delivery of bovine serum albumin. These hydrogels were synthesized by a crosslinking technique using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker. Hydrogels containing drug were prepared by dir...

PURPOSE Microparticles of diameter < 5 microm were synthesized by interfacial cross-linking of 7.5% (w/v) beta-cyclodextrins (beta-CD) with 4.5% (w/v) terephtaloyle chloride in 1 M NaOH, in order to provide stable vector for drug encapsulation suitable for administration at the alveolar scale. METHODS Batches were prepared varying different parameters such as amount of monomer (beta-CD) (5-30...

Overexpression of the trans-membrane drug efflux pump P-glycoprotein is one of the major mechanisms by which cancer cells develop multidrug resistance. We demonstrated previously that noncytotoxic doses of various genotoxic chemicals, particularly DNA cross-linking agents, preferentially altered expression of inducible genes. These effects occurred principally at the transcriptional level and w...

A kinetic gelation model has been developed that incorporates the kinetics of a living/ controlled radical polymerization. Specifically, the kinetics of an iniferter polymerization were implemented in the model to determine the effect of the kinetics on the polymer structure. In particular, the replacement of the termination step with a reversible termination was examined. The model predicts th...

An agent based model is developed in which leaders arise endogenously from a social network. Leaders are defined as early adopters of a subsequently popular product or trend. They become leaders by attracting a network of imitators. Agents seek to become leaders themselves, or to develop a direct link to a leader in order to increase the chance of becoming an early adopter in a social hierarchy...