The hardness of the Expected Decision Depth problem

Given a function f over n binary variables, and an ordering of the n variables, we consider the Expected Decision Depth problem. Namely, what is the expected number of bits that need to be observed until the value of the function is determined, when bits of the input are observed according to the given order. Our main finding is that this problem is (essentially) #P-complete. Moreover, the hardness holds even when the function f is represented as a decision tree.     

Subconjunctival mitomycin C for the treatment of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid

PURPOSE: The authors performed a prospective evaluation of the efficacy of treating ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP) with subconjunctival mitomycin C. DESIGN: Unmasked, prospective, internally controlled case series. METHODS: Patients were eligible for treatment with subconjunctival mitomycin C under three criteria: (1) significant complications of systemic immunosuppressant therapy; (2) markedly asymmetric conjunctival disease; and (3) end-stage OCP. All patients received monocular subconjunctival injections of 0.25 ml of 0.2 mg/ml mitomycin C to both the superior and inferior bulbar conjunctivae in the eye with the more severe disease. RESULTS: Nine eyes of nine patients (mean age, 74 years) were treated with subconjunctival mitomycin C to the more-involved eye and were followed for a mean of 23.5 months (range, 12-40 months). Eight of nine patients showed quiescence of their OCP in the treated eye based on serial evaluation of conjunctival cicatrization and grading of conjunctival erythema. Five of the nine untreated eyes showed progression of the conjunctival disease. One patient required concomitant systemic immunosuppressive therapy after subconjunctival mitomycin C. Two patients underwent successful visual rehabilitative surgery in the mitomycin C-treated eye. CONCLUSION: The use of subconjunctival mitomycin C may be effective in preventing progression of conjunctival cicatrization and erythema in patients with OCP. No complications of mitomycin C treatment were noted. Long-term follow-up and further investigation into the efficacy of subconjunctival mitomycin C in the management of OCP is warranted.     

Estimates of Improved Productivity and Health from Better Indoor Environments

Abstract The existing literature contains strong evidence that characteristics of buildings and indoor environments significantly influence rates of respiratory disease, allergy and asthma symptoms, sick building symptoms, and worker performance. Theoretical considerations, and limited empirical data, suggest that existing technologies and procedures can improve indoor environments in a manner that significantly increases health and productivity. At present, we can develop only crude estimates of the magnitude of productivity gains that may be obtained by providing better indoor environments; however, the projected gains are very large. For the U.S., we estimate potential annual savings and productivity gains of $6 billion to $19 billion from reduced respiratory disease; $1 billion to $4 billion from reduced allergies and asthma, $10 billion to $20 billion from reduced sick building syndrome symptoms, and $12 billion to $125 billion from direct improvements in worker performance that are unrelated to health. Sample calculations indicate that the potential financial benefits of improving indoor environments exceed costs by a factor of 18 to 47. The policy implications of the findings are discussed and include a recommendation for additional research.     

Validation of caregiver interviews to diagnose common causes of severe neonatal illness

The objective of this study was to validate retrospective caregiver interviews for diagnosing major causes of severe neonatal illness and death. A convenience sample of 149 infants aged < 28 days with one or more suspected diagnoses of interest (low birthweight/severe malnutrition, preterm birth, birth asphyxia, birth trauma, neonatal tetanus, pneumonia, meningitis, septicaemia, diarrhoea, congenital malformation or injury) was taken from patients admitted to two hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Study paediatricians performed a standardised history and physical examination and ordered laboratory and radiographic tests according to study criteria. With a median interval of 64.5 days after death or hospital discharge, caregivers of 118 (79%) infants were interviewed about their child's illness. Using reference diagnoses based on predefined clinical and laboratory criteria, the sensitivity and specificity of particular combinations of signs (algorithms) reported by the caregivers were ascertained. Sufficient numbers of children with five reference standard diagnoses were studied to validate caregiver reports. Algorithms with sensitivity and specificity > 80% were identified for neonatal tetanus, low birthweight/severe malnutrition and preterm delivery. Algorithms with specificities > 80% for birth asphyxia and pneumonia had sensitivities < 70%, or alternatively had high sensitivity with lower specificity. In settings with limited access to medical care, retrospective caregiver interviews provide a valid means of diagnosing several of the most common causes of severe neonatal illness and death.     

Attacks and Defenses for JTAG

Editor's note:JTAG is a well-known standard mechanism for in-field test. Although it provides high controllability and observability, it also poses great security challenges. This article analyzes various attacks and proposes protection schemes.—Mohammad Tehranipoor, University of Connecticut     

A study of mechanisms for improving robotic group performance

Many collaborative multi-robot application domains have limited areas of operation that cause spatial conflicts between robotic teammates. These spatial conflicts can cause the team's productivity to drop with the addition of robots. This phenomenon is impacted by the coordination methods used by the team-members, as different coordination methods yield radically different productivity results. However, selecting the best coordination method to be used by teammates is a formidable task. This paper presents techniques for creating adaptive coordination methods to address this challenge. We first present a combined coordination cost measure, CCC, to quantify the cost of group interactions. Our measure is useful for facilitating comparison between coordination methods, even when multiple cost factors are considered. We consistently find that as CCC values grow, group productivity falls. Using the CCC, we create adaptive coordination techniques that are able to dynamically adjust the efforts spent on coordination to match the number of perceived coordination conflicts in a group. We present two adaptation heuristics that are completely distributed and require no communication between robots. Using these heuristics, robots independently estimate their combined coordination cost (CCC), adjust their coordination methods to minimize it, and increase group productivity. We use simulated robots to perform thousands of experiment trials to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach. We show that using adaptive coordination methods create a statistically significant improvement in productivity over static methods, regardless of the group size.     

Clinical experience of trabeculotomy for the surgical treatment of aniridic glaucoma

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of initial trabeculotomy in the patient with aniridic glaucoma. DESIGN: Clinical charts were reviewed. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-nine eyes of 16 patients with aniridia were studied. INTERVENTION: Glaucoma surgery was performed. As an initial procedure, trabeculotomy was performed in 12 eyes, other surgery was performed in 17 eyes (trabeculectomy, 5; goniotomy, 5; other, 7). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) of 21 mmHg or lower, and no further surgery was performed. RESULTS: Ten (83%) of 12 eyes obtained IOP control after first (6 eyes) or second (4 eyes) trabeculotomy with a mean follow-up period of 9.5 years. Five eyes maintained visual acuity of 20/40 to 20/200. No serious complications were found after trabeculotomy. Three (18%) of 17 eyes were controlled with the first glaucoma surgery other than trabeculotomy (goniotomy, trabeculectomy, trabeculectomy combined with trabeculotomy, and Molteno implant). Good IOP control was obtained in 8 (47%) of 17 eyes after several surgeries with a mean follow-up period of 10.4 years. Four of 17 eyes became phthisical. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that trabeculotomy is the preferred initial operation for uncontrolled glaucoma with aniridia.     

Large granular lymphocytic leukemia. Case report with scarce expression in peripheral blood

Evidence is rapidly emerging which suggests that uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), by virtue of its ubiquitous expression, may be important for determining basal metabolic rate. To assess the functional modulation of UCP2 gene expression in relation to body weight control, we examined the effects of hyperthyroid state induced by chronic treatment with triiodothyronine (T3) on UCP2 mRNA expression in male rats. Daily subcutaneous injection of T3 (37 pmol/100 g body weight) for 7 days increased UCP2 mRNA expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT), white adipose tissue (WAT) and the soleus muscle 1.6-, 1.6- and 1.7-fold compared to the controls, respectively, and increased UCP1 mRNA expression in BAT 1.2-fold. In contrast, the same treatment with T3 decreased both ob mRNA expression in WAT and plasma leptin level 0.5-fold for each. The present results suggest that T3 may directly increase UCP2 expression independently of leptin action.