Examining calcium spark morphology and its relationship to the structure of the cardiac myocyte offers a direct means of understanding excitation-contraction coupling mechanisms. Traditional confocal line scanning achieves excellent temporal spark resolution but at the cost of spatial information in the perpendicular dimension. To address this, we developed a methodology to identify and analyze...

Ca(2+) sparks are highly localized Ca(2+) transients caused by Ca(2+) release from sarcoplasmic reticulum through ryanodine receptors (RyR). In smooth muscle, Ca(2+) sparks activate nearby large-conductance, Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) (BK) channels to generate spontaneous transient outward currents (STOC). The properties of individual sites that give rise to Ca(2+) sparks have not been examined syst...

We investigate acute effects of axial stretch, applied by carbon fibers (CFs), on diastolic Ca spark rate in rat isolated cardiomyocytes. CFs were attached either to both cell ends (to maximize the stretched region), or to the center and one end of the cell (to compare responses in stretched and nonstretched half-cells). Sarcomere length was increased by 8.01 0.94% in the stretched cell fractio...

The risks of spreadsheet use do not just come from the misuse of formulae. As such, training needs to go beyond this technical aspect of spreadsheet use and look at the spreadsheet in its full business context. While standard training is by and large unable to do this, task-based training is perfectly suited to a contextual approach to training. 1 THE SITUATION 1.1 What Are The Risks Of Spreads...

While cluster computing frameworks are continuously evolving to provide real-time data analysis capabilities, Apache Spark has managed to be at the forefront of big data analytics for being a unified framework for both, batch and stream data processing. There is also a renewed interest is Near Data Computing (NDC) due to technological advancement in the last decade. However, it is not known if ...

Semantic search promises to provide more accurate result than present-day keyword search. However, progress with semantic search has been delayed due to the complexity of its query languages. In this paper, we explore a novel approach of adapting keywords to querying the semantic web: the approach automatically translates keyword queries into formal logic queries so that end users can use famil...

An approach to generating provably correct sequential code from formally developed algorithmic designs is presented. Given an algorithm modelled in the Event-B formalism, we automatically translate the design into the SPARK programming language. Our translation builds upon Abrial’s approach to the development of sequential programs from Event-B models. However, as well as generating code, our a...

The value of a gas fired power plant depends on the spark spread, defined as the difference between the unit price of electricity and the cost of gas. We model the spark spread using two-factor model, allowing mean-reversion in short-term variations and uncertainty in the equilibrium price to which prices revert. We analyze two types of gas plants. The first type is a base load plant, generatin...

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a bounded model checker for SPARK code, and provides a proof of concept of the utility and practicality of bounded verification for SPARK. Introduction. SPARK is a programming language and toolset designed for the development of high-assurance software [4]. The language is based on a restricted subset of Ada (see [1] for a full description),...

We investigate acute effects of axial stretch, applied by carbon fibers (CFs), on diastolic Ca2+ spark rate in rat isolated cardiomyocytes. CFs were attached either to both cell ends (to maximize the stretched region), or to the center and one end of the cell (to compare responses in stretched and nonstretched half-cells). Sarcomere length was increased by 8.01+/-0.94% in the stretched cell fra...