Capacity-achieving sequences for the erasure channel

This paper starts a systematic study of capacity-achieving (c.a.) sequences of low-density parity-check codes for the erasure channel. We introduce a class A of analytic functions and develop a procedure to obtain degree distributions for the codes. We show various properties of this class which help us to construct new distributions from old ones. We then study certain types of capacity-achieving sequences and introduce new measures for their optimality. For instance, it turns out that the right-regular sequence is c.a. in a much stronger sense than, e.g., the Tornado sequence. This also explains why numerical optimization techniques tend to favor graphs with only one degree of check nodes.     

Retrievals of column water vapor using millimeter-wave radiometric measurements

The airborne Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (MIR) measurements conducted over the Midwest region of the continental United States during January/February 1997 and over the Alaska-Arctic region during May 1998 are used to estimate column water vapor W<0.8 g/cm/sup 2/ under a clear sky. On board the same aircraft are two other instruments, the Cloud Lidar System (CLS) and MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS), which provide cloud cover information and independent measurements of W, respectively. The MIR-estimated W values are compared and found to be in very good agreement with those measured by rawinsondes at near concurrence. A close correlation is found between the MIR-estimated W and that estimated from the MAS near-IR reflectance ratios. Water surface emissivities at several MIR frequencies are obtained in the process of the W retrieval from several flights over the Midwest lakes. These estimated emissivities compared favorably with values calculated for a calm water surface, which are based on a di-electric permittivity model and MAS-measured surface temperatures. The results from all comparisons strongly demonstrate the soundness of the technique for estimating W.     

Electromigration-induced damage in bamboo Al interconnects

Depletion and hillock formation were examined in-situ in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) during electromigration of bamboo Al interconnect segments. Hillocks formed directly at the anode ends of the segments by epitaxial addition of Al at the bottom Al/TiN interface. Depletion occurred nonuniformly from the cathode end and stopped once the distance between the leading void and the hillock reached the critical length for electromigration at the given current density. A modified equation for the drift velocity is proposed, which includes the effect of nonuniform depletion and predicts that interconnects with nonuniform depletion are more reliable than those with uniform depletion.     

Effect of hygiene measures, water sanitation and oral rehydration therapy on diarrhea in children less than five years old in the south of Ivory Coast

BACKGROUND: Gastric sucrose permeability is a noninvasive marker that reliably increases in association with gastrointestinal injury due to use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Despite the effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on the gastric mucosa, in a previous study we were unable to demonstrate that H. pylori infection was associated with abnormal gastric sucrose permeability. Our goal in this study was to explore further whether H. pylori infection changed gastric permeability; therefore, we evaluated the effect of treatment of H. pylori infection on gastric permeability to sucrose and the relation of sucrose permeability to density of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred milliliters of a solution containing 100 gm of sucrose was ingested by the subject at bedtime. Overnight urine was collected and assayed for sucrose by high-performance liquid chromatography. Sucrose permeability was assessed both before and approximately 4 weeks after anti-H. pylori therapy. RESULTS: Seventeen asymptomatic H. pylori-infected volunteers participated; 8 were cured. Sucrose permeability was in the range commonly found in normal controls both before and after anti-H. pylori therapy (mean excretion, 76.3 mg; range, 13-171 mg). Gastric sucrose permeability correlated with the density of polymorphonulcear cell infiltration of the mucosa. Cure of the H. pylori infection was associated with a small but significant decrease in sucrose permeability (98.8 +/- 18 mg to 51.7 +/- 9.8 mg (p = .01). Sucrose permeability was greater in those with a high density of mucosal polymorphonuclear cells compared to those with lower scores (119.5 +/- 4 vs 71.4 +/- 13 for those with scores > or = 5 compared to scores < or = 4; p = .023). Failed therapy resulted in an increase in the mucosal density of polymorphonuclear infiltration and sucrose permeability (56.4 +/- 13 mg-99.7 +/- 19 mg pretreatment vs posttreatment, respectively; p = .031). CONCLUSION: H. pylori gastritis causes a small but measurable increase in gastric permeability to sucrose that may reflect epithelial transmigration of neutrophils.     

Magnetic resonance of the encephalon in 17 patients with ocular Beh?et''s disease

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationships between patient and physician pretreatment expectations of pain relief and subsequent pain relief reported by chronic pain patients immediately after treatment. DESIGN: Prospective study of consecutive patients undergoing a procedure in a pain clinic for treatment of chronic pain. Patients rated their current pain level and their expectation of pain relief immediately prior to undergoing a procedure (e.g., intravenous drug infusion, nerve block) for the treatment of chronic pain. Simultaneously and independently, the treating physician completed a similar questionnaire. At completion of the procedure, patients rated their current pain level and degree of pain relief. SETTING: University of Washington Multidisciplinary Pain Center procedure suite. PATIENTS: Forty-six consecutive chronic pain patients. INTERVENTION: Intravenous drug infusions and nerve blocks. OUTCOME MEASURES: Current pain and pain relief ratings. RESULTS: Patients' pain relief expectation ratings were not correlated significantly with their postprocedure pain relief ratings or pre-post procedure changes in pain ratings. However, a statistically significant correlation was found between physician expectations of pain relief and patient pain relief ratings and patient pre-post procedure changes in pain. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that physicians are better predictors than are patients of patients responses to these procedures and/or that physicians may somehow subtly communicate their expectations to patients during the procedure, and these expectations then influence patient response. Patient pretreatment expectations may not always play a significant role in nonspecific treatment effects.     

Ventricular arrhythmias in myocardial hypertrophy of various origins

BACKGROUND: Elevated serum sialic acids are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality, but sialic acid levels have not been studied in cardiac tissue. METHODS: Myocardial samples were obtained at the time of transplantation from 23 patients (age 54 +/- 12 years) with heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease and 16 patients (age 51 +/- 7 years) with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). A control group comprised postmortem samples obtained from 14 patients (age 70 +/- 5 years) who died of non-cardiovascular causes. Ventricular sialylation was quantitated using the sialic acid-specific lectins Maackia amurensis agglutinin (MAA) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA) using a chemiluminescence assay. Results are expressed as the percentage (+/-standard error of the mean) of the binding of lectin to a standardized control sample of human myocardium. RESULTS: Ventricular sialylation recognized by MAA was 55 +/- 7% in patients with heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease compared with 26 +/- 7% for DCM (p = 0.006) and 32 +/- 8% for controls (p = 0.04), and that recognized by SNA was 69 +/- 7% in patients with heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease compared with 42 +/- 6% for DCM (p = 0.006) and 38 +/- 7% for controls (p = 0.006). No significant difference in ventricular sialylation was observed between patients with DCM and controls. CONCLUSION: Myocardial levels of sialic acids are significantly increased in patients with heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease compared with patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and controls. Our findings are important in view of recent reports of an association between serum sialic acid concentration and cardiovascular mortality and require further investigation.     

Estimating the viewing parameters of random, noisy projections ofasymmetric objects for tomographic reconstruction

The ability to determine the viewing parameters of objects from their projections has enabled well established tomographic techniques to be employed in the 3D reconstruction of objects from images obtained via modalities where the orientation of the objects cannot be controlled. A method is described for the determination of the viewing parameters of randomly acquired projections of asymmetric objects. It extends upon the common lines algorithm by determining the relative orientation of projections from the location of lines of intersection among the Fourier transforms of the projections in 3D Fourier space. A new technique for finding the lines of intersection in the presence of translational displacement, and for subsequently finding the translational displacement, is presented. The complete algorithm is described and its efficacy is demonstrated using real data. A new technique for dealing with noise is also discussed     

Imprudent linking weaves a tangled Web

Hypertext linking is often embraced uncritically by Web authors eager to explore the power of hypertext without first considering its effects on their readers' comprehension. Hypertext linking is not a substitute for thought-we think with ideas, not with dissociated snippets of raw information. Even the most germane bits of information cannot become ideas, regardless of how cleverly they are stacked, listed or linked. Ideas define relevance, provide context and establish patterns. With patterns, most concepts become intelligible, and we need continuity and stability of theme and context to recognize patterns. So, like most powerful technologies, hypertext links are a mixed blessing. Used improperly, they can be detrimental to Web sites. “Loose links” can drive away an audience, dilute the site's message, confuse the reader with irrelevant digressions and become a continuing maintenance headache for site authors and Webmasters     

Densification involved in the UV-based photosensitivity of silicaglasses and optical fibers

A comprehensive survey of photosensitivity in silica glasses and optical fiber is reviewed. Recent work on understanding the mechanisms contributing to germanium or aluminum doped fiber photosensitivity is discussed within the framework of photoelastic densification models     

Reduction of sodium-accelerated oxidation of silicon nitride ceramics by aluminium implantation

Norton NBD 200 silicon nitride ceramics were implanted with sodium to a dose of 7.0×10¹⁵cm^-2 at 72 keV (1 at% peak sodium content at 100 nm). The sodium-implanted samples were further implanted with aluminium to 7.3×10¹⁵cm^-2 at 87 keV (1 at% peak aluminium content at 100 nm). The implanted and unimplanted samples were oxidized in 1 atm dry oxygen at 1100 and 1300°C for 2–6 h. Profilometry and scanning electron microscopy measurements indicated that sodium implantation led to up to a two-fold increase in the oxidation rate of silicon nitride. The sodium effect was effectively neutralized when aluminium was co-implanted. The opposite effects of sodium and aluminium on the oxidation resistance of silicon nitride can be attributed to their different roles in modifying the structure and properties of the oxide formed. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.