Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Next Generation Cell Sensors for Virus Identification - Field Based Assays
Spiridon Kintzios, PhD, Associate Professor, EMBIO/AUA, Greece; and Co-Founder, BERADiagnostics Inc.

The state of the art of portable, field-deployable cellular biosensors is presented. An emphasis is given on a new technology called Molecular Identification through Membrane Engineered cells (MIME). The surface of MIME cells has been modified by the artificial insertion of molecules (such as antibodies) that can react in an absolutely specific pattern with potentially any virus under assay. Examples are given regarding the detection of Hepatitis B and C viruses, prions and avian influenza virus using Bioelectric Recognition (BERA) sensors loaded with MIME cells.

Chapter 2
Integrated Microarray System for Identification of Infectious Disease Agents
Charles Daitch, PhD, President, Akonni Biosystems, Inc.*

The TruArraytm technology includes a portable controller instrument and disposable plastic modules for testing clinical samples. The controller processes the sample with a simple programmable interface. The technology incorporates state-of-the-art microfluidic processing for concentration, amplification and hybridization of proteins and nucleic acids with microarray detection, thereby, allowing full automation of the amplification and multiplexed identification processes. The technology will offer health care providers with the ability to analyze for hundreds of genetic or protein signatures in one, rapid, simple to use, low cost test. Herein, we discuss the technology application with multiplexed detection of orthopox viruses in comparison with real-time PCR diagnostics. *In collaboration with: S. Ibrahim, USAMRIID

Chapter 3
Metagenomic Analyses of Uncultured Environmental Viral Communities
Mya Breitbart, PhD, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida

Metagenomic sequencing of uncultured viral communities from seawater, marine sediments, human feces, and human blood show that viral communities are extremely novel and diverse. Through these analyses, we have gained insight into the identity, diversity, and geographical distribution of viruses. Genomics of environmental viral communities allows for the detection of known pathogens and provides the opportunity for identification of emerging threats.

 
For further information kindly visit: http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=75100

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As the new phones such as the Iphone and Gphone are being released, they have the capability to connect to wireless networks. There for it will be very easy to connect to the internet and have free VoIP calls. People will no longer have to type in a phone number and pay call charges.

Well, I started with the mouse. Haha. When we were in Jarir Bookstore, my favorite bookstore in the Kingdom, this week, I made a beeline to their computer accessories section and looked for the perfect mouse. I was eyeing a pink Cosmotini mouse when my brother pointed out that my laptop Mauie is elegant in its all-black splendor so why ruin the status by pairing it with an ultra girly bubble gum pink mouse. I rolled my eyes but got his point. Besides, I saw this:

E-Blue Mino. SR35 (P437.50)

It is smaller than the pink mouse, cheaper too. And it's black and emits a cool blue light. This is perfect for Mauie. Well, I came home and immediately tested it with my laptop. Works fine! My hand though is still getting used to the tiny mouse. But it's fine and working nicely, also very travel-friendly.

I am pleased to write to you to request for a nomination of 15 P6 students with a deep interest in computing --- either avid users, students in Infocomm Club or have taken part in IT competitions to participate in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) 

I came up with the following questions for the selected pupils to think through before attending this FGD.

1.      How can you describe your day-to-day use of ICT? What is your take on the relationship between technology and education?

2.      What are the software and applications you used in the school computer laboratory? How proficient are you in Microsoft Office applications?

3.      How do your make use of the school LMS in everyday learning? Is it a useful platform to do asynchronous (self-directed) learning?

4.      What do you think of gaming (online and offline)? How does it impact learning?

5.      Do you know what is Web 2.0? If yes, how do you make use of it in research and learning? If no, what do you think of Internet as a learning tool?

6.      How does ICT help you in Project Work? How does PowerPoint, Web design, video editing add value to your learning?

7.      What do you think of Robotics in education? Does Robotics add value and fun to learning?

8.      How much do you understand in Cyberwellness? What are the social and moral impacts if it is not emphasized?

9.      What do you envision in a primary school in terms of technology in 2015? What do you think of the current future schools in Singapore? Is technology EVERYTHING in education? Is the availability of the latest and fastest computers and hardware important for learning to take place?

10.  Do you know what are the 21^st Century skills? If yes, do you think schools are teaching these skills to students? If no, what are important skills you need to learn in school in order to meet future challenges?

HealthMap brings together disparate data sources to achieve a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health.

HealthMap is a Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP application and relies on the following open products: Google Maps,GoogleMapAPI for PHP, xajax PHP AJAX library, Open Source Web Design

Stripe Generator

Written in response to this

In June 2006, I was living in Hanoi and I wrote this piece detailing the hard work we were putting into cleaning up KOTO’s new restaurant - the facility I was fundraising for in my former VSO post.

At the time I wasn’t blogging for funds, or no more than any one would whose waking hours were spent wondering where they hell we’d find $80,000 dollars to save a wonderful organisation.

But someone read that post. By chance they'd eaten in the KOTO restaurant that was to close and which we were trying to replace. It dawned on them that while they were eating their beautiful lunch we were scrubbing and cleaning.

It moved them. It moved them enough to get in touch and to let us know of a fund that they helped administer. The told me I should apply. We did.

In time we received several thousand much-needed dollars.

However, one of the problems with fundraising for a specific item is that day-to-day needs will also continue to swallow money. It’s hard to say no when often the need is just as vital and potentially far more urgent.

How do you balance the need for a new facility with that of urgent health care?

Strictly speaking if you adhere to international charity guidelines this is illegal. If you tell people you want money for a specific project – then that is where there money has to be spent.

At KOTO we found a way off-setting those costs by ramping up the sponsorship programme. A total of $80 a month would cover housing, feeding, healthcare and an allowance for each trainee.

That is not cheap. We knew we had to give so much back.

A newsletter was good. PDFed and emailed. Better still was when we hit on the idea of Flickr.

Before it had been impossible, due to poor internet, to send photos out individually but we could upload them. We photographed everything including lessons, field trips, sports activities and ultimately graduation ceremonies.

Tech savvy sponsors could follow us virtually day by day. For the rest – a regular email included a link to the best of the photos.

Increasing media interest in KOTO lead to visits from both the American and Australian first ladies. The BBC visited. So did CNN. The media had access to all our photos and used them.

We gained further sponsors just for those field trips. We even used Flickr to send postcards drawn by the kids themselves.

Meanwhile my blog was growing in popularity and I was getting requests to write for the local media.  I, of course, wrote about KOTO and the money we needed.

And on a wonderful day when we finally opened that new KOTO our sponsors could see where the money had gone.

I’ve since left Hanoi but I understand the new restaurant is always full and the cash continues to be ploughed back into the project. The possibility of a new KOTO in Saigon has been mentioned.

So KOTO is, potentially, now sustainable – the restaurant is generating revenue for the organisation.

However, this is also a cautionary tale because I look at what I set up and the Flickr account has lapsed.

Despite my promptings no one took over my blogging. The website was, up until recently, neglected.  As much as I tried to pass on these skills no one took them up. In that respect I failed.

Fast forward a few years and here I am in Cameroon.

AIDS in Africa might be less “saleable” than cute streetkids in Vietnam but the need is, if anything, more acute.

Further context – Asia is taking off while conditions in Africa, if anything, get worse.

The internet is even slower and less widespread. I told a friend recently that in Asia even streetkids had email addresses and used cyber cafes.  Here I find office colleagues don't know how to email.

But...

I believe that means there is an even greater need here for getting the Web2.0 side up and running. To the developed world Africa spells corruption. Business who want to invest here demand transparency. Charity donors are no different.

While fund holders may want to see our books, the man or woman on the street just want to get a sense of the problem and see where the money is going. Even more they want to see the progress their donation prompts.

They don't want to see hunger and disease but they do want to see smiles.

They want to see progress. In particular they want to see people being enabled to help themselves.

Emails can be used to update but better still if they become so involved that they follow my employer’s progress across several platforms – Flickr for pics, a blog for news and comment, Twitter for urgent updates or simply for networking.

And they can interact and ask questions too.

In Hanoi a great deal of money was raised from tourists and expats.  Here we have neither - we are forced to look internationally for donors.

It is soul destroying to have 30 pictures take a working day to upload but that should be put into context. The post system here means that it might take two weeks for me to send to a letter to a village one hour away.

And conditions here might be getting worse but technology has a habit of bucking that trend.

I do expect internet speed to improve and in time we will be able to use the likes of YouTube to further reinforce our messages. Podcasts would be fabulous.

Of course there are important Web2.0 nuances. Your blog is not a place to put your press releases. Your blog posts can’t be signed off by the board. They should be emotive and they should be descriptive. They should be a first person account. They cannot be written by committee.

My KOTO experience tells me that it is not enough to put a blog in place you have to train local people to keep it going in your absence. They are the authentic voices but they do have to know how to write for an international audience.

Nobody who gives money to any charity – whether they are an organisation or an individual – expects nothing in return. At most they want evidence of how it is spent, at the very least they want to feel good about themselves.

Technology can help us meet these expectations.

If everything goes to plan here, in the long term you won’t read too much about COPAAP, my current employers on this blog.

This week I am going to help set up a “training blog” for my colleague Atam to let him get a feel for blogging.

In time I want there to be a COPAAP blog, Twitter feed and Flickr.

It is a big undertaking but, I believe, it is relatively straightforward compared to many challenges we face. Blogging is easy.  Training volunteers to look after AIDS sufferers in remote villages is hard.

Watch this space

*Pic is of my desk here in Cameroon.

ISRO said "We have set October 22 as the tentative date for the launch of lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1, though the launch window will be kept open till October 26". This launch was originally planned for April this year but was delayed due to technical problems.

With this, India would now join China and Japan which are running their own programs.

ISRO said that the program would be continued with another launch which is currently scheduled for 2012.

The 1,380 kg spacecraft, built at ISRO's satellite centre in this IT hub, will be carried into lunar orbit by a specially designed 320-tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), with six strap-on propellants weighing 12 tonnes each.

So, Keep your fingers crossed till all the integration $ testing is done for operaional purposes and the unmanned vehicle drives to moon.

So, it's with no great surprise that Ask, an old-school search engine, has opted for a total facelift and new approach to dealing with user searches. If you happen to be as old as me, you'll remember that they did this before, back in 2006, when they gave their butler-image the sack. Now, after alread intoducing new applications, they're going to be focusing upon being the search engine of choice for users who are asking direct questons. (eg. Is there no end to the talents of DigitalGeekUK? Will he ever be the next Bill Gates? Why have I read this far?!) Recent data from ComScore support this, as they found that Ask is more often used by people searching for specific answers to questions... (The clue is in the name)... Search Queries that use questions make up around 5% of searches on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live, but accounts for 15% of Ask's searches. Sounds like a lot, but remember that Ask only has a 2% market share in online search!

So, it seems that Ask will be restructuring themselves around this as we well know that rivals are increasingly looking at ways to set themselves apart from Google in the competitive world of search. The new Ask site will be launched in the UK on October 20th, but is already live in the US. Sneak preview here, guys.

It looks a lot like Google, and doesn't try to hide this fact, openly claiming to have "borrowed" design ideas from the mighty search leader. Ask also claim that the re-designed site will be faster, improve search results and produce more relevant results for the user.

Whilst they undoubtably have a challenging task ahead, it's not all bad news. Even with such a small UK marketshare, the lastest figures from Neilson show that during August, 46m searches were conducted on Ask, which is roughly one in five of all people using a search engine. Maybe the figures will be even better this time next year?

In response to a blog post about the singularity at Kevin Kelly's blog, I wrote the following:

I see this as a spiritual and philosophical issue, not a technological one.
I'd like to offer some ideas and questions that I've been contemplating:

1. Singularitans think that consciousness arises from the brain, while spiritualists believe that consciousness arises from the soul, and that the brain and body is just a physical manifestation of the soul.

2. The brain is just a machine - advanced, complex, evolved enough, to serve the soul on this physical plain.
The soul "downloads" itself into the brain, into the body.
It's the hardware without the software.
Without the soul, it's just meat.

3. Kurtzweil or others may transfer their brain structure to a computer, but the result will be what William Gibson calls a personality construct - a copy of the persons' character, persona, memories, etc., which can be programmed to appear self aware, but will not really be.

4. However, I also see it as possible that, as AI gets sufficiently strong, a soul can take residence in it, and for outside observers it would seem as tough the AI has reached self awareness by its own.

5. Which human abilities can _never_ be replicated or surpassed by a machine ?

6. Does high intelligence necessarily mean consciousness and/or self-awareness?

7. What about emotional intelligence ?

8. I see some of the hopes towards singularity and immortality as a simple fear of death and the denial of spirituality.

• There is a centralized handler for the exception. There are several reasons for implementing centralized handlers, including code reuse. Instead of handling an exception in various locations in an application, concentrate code for certain exceptions in a centralized handler. Wherever the exception is raised, the proper response is to record the exception and then delegate to the centralized handler. A central handler can be used to handle all exceptions in a single place.
• Resources required to handle the exception are not available locally. For example, an exception is raised because of an invalid database connection. However, the correct connection string is read from a file not available where the exception occurs. The solution is to propagate the exception to a handler that has access to the file resource.
• Propagate unwanted exceptions caught in the umbrella of the exception filter. This would be useful for catching all DataException types with the exception of the DuplicateNameException. One solution would be to write 12 individual catches—one for each of the data exceptions except for the DuplicateNameException exception. A better solution is to catch the DataException type and propagate the DuplicateNameException when necessary. This is one catch statement versus 12 catch statements and eliminates redundant code.
• Catch an exception to gather information or to report on an exception, and then propagate the exception.

To propagate an exception, rethrow the same exception or another exception in the catch block. An empty throw statement propagates the caught exception. Alternatively, throw a different exception.

Exceptions might propagate through several layers of an application. Ultimately, the exception could percolate to the user interface level. As an exception percolates, the exception becomes less specific. Exceptions from the lower echelon of an application contain detailed information appropriate to the application developer, but probably not relevant to the user. Internal exceptions might contain security and other sensitive information not appropriate for a benign (or malicious) user. Record the facts of the internal exception if logging is preferable. Exceptions that reach the user should present user-relevant information: a user-friendly message, steps to resolve the exception, or even a customer support link.

When an original exception is rethrown, you can preserve the that exception in the InnerException attribute. Successive InnerException attributes form a chain of exceptions from the current exception to the original exception. The InnerException can be initialized in the constructor of the new exception. Here is sample code that propagates an exception and sets the inner exception:

[sourcecode='csharp']using System;

namespace Examples.Exceptions
{
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
try
{
MethodA();
}
catch (Exception except)
{
Console.WriteLine(except.Message);
}
}

public static void MethodA()
{
try
{
MethodB();
}
catch (DivideByZeroException inner)
{

// record divide by zero exception in event log.

// except is inner exception
throw new Exception("Math exception", inner);
}
}

public static void MethodB()
{
int var1 = 5, var2 = 0;
var1 /= var2;
}
}
}[/sourcecode]

No dia 24 de Setembro, a IGAC respondeu-me dizendo que a lei diz que eu tenho direito a ver o DVD (que eu própria já lhes tinha referido) e explicar-me o serviço de vídeo on-demand (do qual nunca lhes falei).

Nesse mesmo dia, respondi à IGAC (não é erro meu, os emails que recebi vêm assinados IGAC e não por uma pessoa) explicando toda a situação, inclusive tecnicamente, mas de forma clara, para que eles pudessem fazer uma pesquisa e confirmar o que eu dizia.

No dia 30 de Setembro, e sem uma resposta da parte da IGAC, voltei a reenviar o email. No dia 2 de Outubro, ainda sem resposta, telefonei para a IGAC, quando me disseram que a situação não estava esquecida e que íam tentar acelerar o processo.

Ontem, dia 6 de Outubro recebi novo email da IGAC onde me diziam que tinham finalmente percebido o problema. Diziam-me então que, "lamentavelmente" eu tinha adquirido um DVD que apenas reconhece o meu computador como uma máquina de fazer cópias e que eu poderia nos termos de um artigo da lei portuguesa (que me citaram) devolver o DVD.

Respondi-lhes que o meu computador tem um leitor de DVD físico e que tenho software que lê apenas DVD. Que lê perfeitamente DVD sem DRM e que se não lê DVD com DRM, isso se deve ao DRM.

Pedi-lhes ainda que se o problema é a "máquina de fazer cópias", então que fingissem que eu não queria ver o DVD, mas sim fazer uma cópia privada do DVD, a que tenho acesso legalmente. Expliquei que a lei portuguesa me dá o direito de fazer uma cópia privada de um DVD, desde que não neutralize as medidas de protecção tecnológica, situação em que devo pedir o acesso aos conteúdos à IGAC.

A verdade é que a lei diz que se eu tenho acesso legal a um DVD, mas não consigo usufruir dele (ver o DVD, fazer uma cópia privada) por causa de medidas de protecção tecnológica aquilo que devo fazer é pedir o acesso aos conteúdos à IGAC.

Aguardo agora nova resposta.

--

No meu post anterior, o Rui afirmava que não considera que o CSS seja uma medida eficaz (a lei refere este termo, nesta matéria), suponho eu que baseado no item 3 do artigo 217º que diz que uma medida de protecção tecnológica é considerada eficaz quando garante a realização do objectivo de protecção.

Em certa medida compreendo o ponto de vista do Rui. O DRM não é eficaz.

Mas como provo isto?

Eu suponho que só sei se o DRM daquele DVD é eficaz se tentar neutralizá-lo e não conseguir, certo? O problema é que eu nem posso tentar (a lei prevê uma multa até 25 dias) e desta forma eu não posso argumentar que aquele DRM não é eficaz.

พญ.แสงเดือน กล่าวว่า วาดรูปตั้งแต่เด็กๆ สมัยเป็นนักเรียนร่วมแข่งขันวาดรูป ขณะเดียวกันก็ชอบผ่าตัด ชอบเป็นหมอ มีความสนุกในงานทั้งสองอย่าง กระทั่งเริ่มต้นอยากวาดรูปจริงๆ เมื่อปี 2549 โดยเลือกช่วงเวลาตอนเย็นวาดรูป เฉลี่ยอาทิตย์ละสองครั้ง เพื่อเติม “แรงบวก” ให้ตัวเอง

“เป็นแรงบวกที่เข้ามาหาตัว ทำให้เรามีแรงบวกที่ต้องเจอกับคนไข้ ยิ่งคนไข้โรคมะเร็ง แรงลบเข้ามาตัวเราง่าย เพราะเขาต้องการที่พึ่ง ถ้าเราไม่มีแรงบวก มีแต่แรงลบ จะเป็นแต่ลบกับลบ ศิลปะออกมาจากตัว เป็นสิ่งที่คิดว่าดิบที่สุดในตัว ทุกอย่างใช้จากตัวเราออกมา ทุกอย่างเป็นจินตนาการของเรา ไม่ชอบวาดให้เหมือนจริง แต่เลือกหยิบเฉพาะเค้าโครงของภาพถ่ายจากนิตยสาร หรือภาพถ่ายที่ชอบมาแรงบันดาลใจ”
พญ.แสงเดือน กล่าวถึงภาพรวมผลงานภาพวาดสีน้ำมันทั้งหมดว่า ล้วนสะท้อนถึงธรรมชาติและวิถีชีวิตเรียบง่ายเป็นหลัก โดยแบ่งเป็นสามหมวดหมู่ ภาพชนบท, ภาพสายสัมพันธ์บุคคลและภาพดอกไม้ อาทิ ภาพทะเล, ภาพดอกบัว, ภาพพ่อ-ลูก โดยเฉพาะผลงาน “Elephants” ภาพวาดช้าง, “Candlelight Wisdom”สามเณรจุดเทียนอ่านหนังสือ และ “Two Cousins” เด็กชายในชนบทตัวน้อยขี่หลังลูกพี่ลูกน้อง

แพทย์หญิงหัวใจศิลปินกล่าวว่า“ชอบธรรมชาติ ชอบตรงที่มีเรื่องราว เป็นคนชอบชนบท ชอบความติดดิน เรียบง่าย คือ เหมือนเจอของที่ยากที่สุด โหดที่สุดในชีวิตแล้ว ความเป็นความตาย เลยรู้สึกว่าคนเราจะมากอะไรกันนักหนา เรื่องบางเรื่องง่ายมากเลย”

Here is a list of parts that i salvaged from my old Dell Dimension E520.

CPU- Intel Duo Core 2.13 Ghz

Philips DVD Burner

Nvidia 7300LE Video Card

Parts I Bought New from Newegg.com:

Asus P5K PRO Motherboard

Xion II w/450w PS

Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU Heat Sink

320GB Seagate Barracuda HD

4 GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer Ram

2- 120mm intake and exhaust fan, 1- 80mm intake fan

Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Sound Card

Parts I got from a friend to Finish it off:

2 Blue cold cathode tube neons

Now that its done I really want to build another one. I'm in the process of looking at parts and doing some research. I plan to build a smaller system for just normal everyday use. E-mail and internet pretty much.  And a Larger system for a dedicated Gaming rig. Just looking at parts right now, hopefully soon i will have time to do another.

Joongel lets you define what you are looking for, such as images, music, videos, etc… It then allows you to refine the search and then displays a floating tool bar above the search results with options to jump from site to site.

The phone is not targeted at  iPhone. Its USP would be Music based services, an area which Nokia is pursuing seriously with the launch Ovi suite of web services.

Following this Nokia has also launched version 3 of its Series 60 platform.  Series 60 has been updated with a host of goodies ,notable would be the support for touch and 'motion based' (accelerometer kinds) applications. The framework also adds support  C++ Standard Template Library and demand paging in the OS!

Ubuntu Intrepid : The October release of Ubuntu (Ubuntu Intrepid) is out for  beta testing.   I'm quite happy with Ubuntu Hardy ,and the memory usage has been pretty good. From this 'first look' by Life Hacker ,it appears that the release has some new features like Guest mode ,enhanced network manager etc.

This release packages Gnome 2.24 and XOrg 7.4 ,among other things. I am waiting for the performance benchmarks  from Phronix before switching to this release.    One can download the latest version from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/intrepid/beta

Microsoft into Cloud Computing: After getting hands on the Desktop and the servers,Microsoft
wants to develop an OS for cloud computing now.  Steve Ballmer may unveil a new Windows operating
system suited for a cloud computing environment and can run .NET based applications during their annual  PDC event.

Lets see if Microsoft is able to catch up with the players already in this market (Amazon's EC2
and Google's App Engine .

2008 Ig Nobel Awards: Winners of the 2008 Ig Nobel awards were announced. The awards are given for
the weirdest scientific research done in each of the fields for which a Nobel prize is given.
This years list has some pretty interesting and hilarious ideas that have won this award.

Credible Sources

In order to create this index of credible and trustworthy sites, Hakia is relying on volunteers. Hakia is specifically recruiting librarians, though it seems anybody can sign up, which could potentially leave the site open to spammers. Hakia asks submitters for their professional credentials, but it is not clear if the company will actually check these.

Hakia uses a very strict definition for what makes a site credible. To be included in the index, a site should have gone through a peer review process, not have any commercial bias, and the information should be current. The fact that Hakia insists on only adding peer reviewed sites should greatly enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of the search results.

October 14th is exactly one week away...will Steve Jobs and Apple shock the world once again?  Or is all this talk of new laptops just hype?  I just saw a commercial for an HP touchscreen desktop...cool commercial...cool computer.  Gets me wondering--has Apple fallen a little behind?  Or are they waiting to pull out the big guns when the competition thought it was safe to go back in the water...Vista, anybody?  We shall see in one week...my money's on Apple...