Briefs: Autonomy signs $20m deal; University investigates Web 3.0 for learning tools
Autonomy Corporation plc, a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, said it has entered into the largest commercial agreement in the company's history outside of the financial services sector, with one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. The deal is with a new customer for Autonomy's IDOL software, and has an expected value of over $20m.
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Cambridge based recruitment firm Cast HR has developed CASTview, a novel screening system in which two to three minutes of digitally recorded video footage is used to present pre-selected candidates via the internet.
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A ESRC/EPSRC Technology-Enhanced Learning grant for £1.5m has been awarded to a collaborative research team led from the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies (CARET) at the University of Cambridge to explore new ways of using the World Wide Web to enhance teaching and learning.
Patrick Carmichael of the Centre will direct research and technological development for Applied Research into Educational Technologies along with colleagues at four other UK universities - City University London, Essex, East Anglia and Stirling and several international collaborators.
The team will examine the potential benefits to teachers, learners and researchers of using emerging 'Semantic Web' or 'Web 3.0' technologies. The Semantic Web is a newly emerging extension to the existing World Wide Web that allows data and resources to be combined, aggregated and explored in new ways. For example, in a pilot study at the Department of Plant Sciences, staff have been able to use Semantic Web tools to integrate plant distribution data from different sources and then present them using an interactive interface that allows zooming, panning and annotation features.
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Intercytex Group plc, developer of regenerative medicine products to restore skin and hair, said positive six month follow-up data from two Phase II trials of Vavelta, its cell therapy product for damaged skin, were presented at the recent FACE congress.
The first Phase II clinical trial, focused on nasolabial folds, was conducted at the Cranley Clinic for Dermatology in London with Professor Nicholas Lowe. In the trial six subjects received a low dose of product. A second group of 10 subjects was then injected with a higher dose. All subjects were followed out to six months post-treatment with the following results:
The average satisfaction scores for both groups at six months for the treatment as assessed separately by both subjects and the investigator on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), were 7.8 and 7.6 respectively. In addition, the investigator measured an improvement in wrinkle severity in 12 (75%) subjects. No serious adverse events have been observed and the product has been well tolerated.
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CSR said it has enhanced its leading BlueCore4-ROM Plug-n-Go automotive Bluetooth silicon with Bluetooth v.2.1 functionality. BlueCore4-ROM Plug-n-Go is the world's first Bluetooth chip that adheres to both the AEC-Q100 automotive stress test qualification and Bluetooth v.2.1, enabling OEMs to create feature-rich in-car multimedia systems quickly and easily.
BlueCore4-ROM is the world's most successful Bluetooth chip, present in more products than any other Bluetooth silicon. CSR has subjected the design to full automotive standard stress testing and updated BlueCore4-ROM to the latest Bluetooth standard.
