Abstract
After characterization of preferred conditions for Helicobacter pylori survival in the sessile state, it was observed that the bacterium transforms from spiral to coccoid under mild circumstances, whereas under extreme ones it is unable to undergo shape modification. This strongly supports the view that transformation into the coccoid form is an active, biologically led process, switched on by the bacterium as a protection mechanism.

Abstract
The present work investigates the dynamic behaviour of a mixed system consisting of a wind farm and a diesel group supplying a load, under different disturbances. In this regard, dynamic models and control systems that enable the generation part to support the grid are needed. The objective of this work has been also the implementation of the diesel group model and its afferent control system into Matlab-Simulink and to demonstrate their use by evaluating the response in time of the electric parameters.

Abstract
Due to the increased availability of low cost network technology, the use of networks to interconnect sensors, actuators and controllers is now widely accepted. Such increased availability is one of the driving factors for the implementation of smart sensor networks. To ensure the correctness of the supported applications, the communication network must provide a reliable and timely communication service. Aside from the Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol, one of the components that has a high impact in the communication delays is the local communication stack. Therefore, the usage of an adequate communication stack is of utmost importance to guarantee the timing correctness of the supported smart sensor applications. In this paper, we analyze the real-time aspects of a CAN-based smart sensor network. We assess the use of well established real-time scheduling algorithms to manage the outgoing queue of each of the local communication stacks. We show that it is possible to improve the responsiveness of applications supported by the CAN communication protocol, by using just a light scheduling middleware to adequately schedule each of the outgoing queues. We also show that implementing such middleware upon COTS communication hardware, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of priority inversions in the communication medium. Therefore it becomes possible to decrease the number of deadline misses even for highly loaded network scenarios. As a consequence, we advocate that CAN networks can be an interesting solution to support event-triggered smart sensor networks.

Abstract
Gathering field data from crisis areas requires overcoming a major technical hurdle: infrastructures and terminals for Internet access are non-existent or unreliable. Teams of professionals acting on the field lack a cost-effective, convenient way to provide their data to central management headquarters and the worldwide public in a timely manner. Cell-phone software can be leveraged to bridge this. Using cellphone applications, people living or working in low-tech areas can provide their knowledge worldwide, taking full advantage of georeferenced functionalities. In this paper we present the prototype of a platform based on a wiki+map server backbone for direct information entry, query, and editing, by people on the field using cell-phones, with strong version management. This georeferenced information can then be visualized centrally for tackling development/crisis issues, such as drought problems, outbreaks of diseases, etc. - giving NGOs and governments a better framework upon which to act.

Abstract
A smart transducer is the integration of a sensor/actuator element, a processing unit and a network interface. Smart sensor networks are composed of smart transducer nodes interconnected through a communication network. This paper proposes a new architecture for smart sensor networks, that is driven by events (asynchronous data). The events are derived from a data compression algorithm embedded in the smart sensor, which compresses data from the sensor. The proposed architecture also provides configuration and monitoring data to manage the distributed system.

Abstract
Sales promotions (SP) are short-term instruments usually designed to yield an immediate sales effect. Previous research has suggested that SP can be seen as detrimental to a brand's consumer franchise/equity as, in the long term, SP deteriorates brand value. In this paper, we theoretically broaden the scope of SP research relation to the following topics: strategy concept, marketing strategy, the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) concept, the specific nature of each SP instruments and the underlying processes associated with consumer uptake of SP. We present findings that illustrate managers' perceptions of the positioning of SP instruments. We argue that the strategic nature of SP needs to be incorporated into marketers' research agendas.