Interface with angels: the future of VIR and AR interfaces

Although real guardian angels aren't easy to get hold of, some of the computer technology needed for such a personal assistant is already available. Other parts exist in the form of research prototypes, but some technological breakthroughs are necessary before we can realize their potential, let alone integrate into our daily routines. Future VR and AR interfaces won't necessarily try to provide a perfect imitation of reality but instead will adapt their display mechanisms to their users' individual requirements. The emergence of these interfaces won't rely on a single technology but will depend on the advances in many areas, including computer graphics, display technology, tracking and recognition devices, natural and intuitive interactions, 3D interaction techniques, mobile and ubiquitous computing, intelligent agents, and conversational user interfaces, to name a few. The guardian angel scenario exemplifies how future developments in AR and VR user interfaces might change the way we interact with computers. Although this example is just one of several plausible scenarios, it demonstrates that AR and VP, in combination with user-centered design of their post-WIMP interfaces, can provide increased access, convenience, usability, and efficiency     

Reduction mammaplasty improves symptoms of macromastia

The condition macromastia has not been defined and characterized precisely by the medical community. Whether the patient with hypertrophic breasts is a candidate for or can be helped by reduction mammaplasty is unclear to both the medical and the lay community. A prospective study of 39 women undergoing reduction mammaplasty surgery was initiated to answer these questions. Patients rated the severity of their somatic pain symptoms and discomfort before reduction mammaplasty and again after complete recovery. The severity of their symptoms and complaints was numerically graded and analyzed. These data were compared with similar data obtained from 40 "small-breasted" women of similar age. Headache, neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, and bra strap groove pain were present in 60 to 92 percent of patients, and 97 percent of patients had at least three of these pain symptoms preoperatively. All the patients had reduction of their pain symptomatology postoperative, and 25 percent of the study patients had total elimination of pain symptoms by reduction mammaplasty. The postoperative incidence and severity of pain symptoms and discomfort complaints were statistically equivalent to or less than the levels in the control group.     

Three-dimensional analysis of contrast-filled microvessel diameters

Organ blood flow is controlled, in part, by changes in diameter of resistance vessels. In thick tissue, vessels can be imaged with a microscope using contrast-enhancing methods (e.g., fluorescence) and image analysis techniques can be used for quantitative diameter estimations. However, a change in the position of a vessel with respect to the plane of focus can be misinterpreted as a diameter change. In order to address this problem, a 3D image in a light microscope is obtained by serial optical sectioning, and a 3D deconvolution procedure (Avinash et al., 1991, "Fourteenth Association for Research in Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting, St. Petersberg, FL," Abstract 156) is used to deblur 3D image data. Deblurred sections are computationally projected onto a 2D plane to give an extended-focus image, from which diameter estimates of microvessels are made using a quantitative, 2D diameter-tracking algorithm (Miles, 1987, "Semiautomatic Quantitative Image Analysis of Dynamic in Vivo Cochlear Microvessel Diameters." Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. Michigan; Miles and Nuttall, 1992, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng.). Justification for 3D preprocessing before diameter analysis is provided by absolute and relative error analyses using computer-generated synthetic vessels. The 3D diameter analysis technique is validated using a capillary tube of known diameter, filled with fluorescent solution. Demonstration of its applicability is shown in diameter measurements from the vessels of guinea pig cochlea. Our approach, using extended-focus images, minimizes overestimation of microvascular diameters and underestimation of relative diameter changes. Therefore, unambiguous diameter measurements are possible with extended-focus images.     

Natural Borna disease in domestic animals others than horses and sheep

In 24 cats (Uppsala, Sweden) with neurological signs of "staggering disease" and typical neuropathology, 44% had Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific antibodies. In 173 cat sera (Berlin, Germany) of animals with unknown record, 7% were BDV positive. Out of 24 cats with undefined neurological disorders, 13% were BDV positive. Similarities in staggering disease of cats and Borna disease of horses and sheep suggest related etiological agents.     

Generalized Lévy-walk model for DNA nucleotide sequences

We propose a generalized Lévy walk to model fractal landscapes observed in noncoding DNA sequences. We find that this model provides a very close approximation to the empirical data and explains a number of statistical properties of genomic DNA sequences such as the distribution of strand-biased regions (those with an excess of one type of nucleotide) as well as local changes in the slope of the correlation exponent alpha. The generalized Lévy-walk model simultaneously accounts for the long-range correlations in noncoding DNA sequences and for the apparently paradoxical finding of long subregions of biased random walks (length lj) within these correlated sequences. In the generalized Lévy-walk model, the lj are chosen from a power-law distribution P(lj) varies as lj(-mu). The correlation exponent alpha is related to mu through alpha = 2-mu/2 if 2 < mu < 3. The model is consistent with the finding of "repetitive elements" of variable length interspersed within noncoding DNA.     

Steroid-responsive encephalomyelitis in childhood

The syndrome of parainfectious encephalomyelitis evolves from an antecedent infection. Several etiologic agents have been associated with this complication, although the pathogenesis in each instance may prove to be more uniform. Considerable evidence suggests that the syndrome is mediated immunologically. The seven cases reported here were clinically similar, although the infectious etiologies were diverse. Leptospirosis antedated the neurologic syndrome in two cases, and a "viral" illness preceded the other five cases. The evolution of the syndrome was slowly progressive in each case, and six patients had prominent involvement of rhombencephalic structures. The progressive course was reversed rapidly with eventual full recovery in each instance after initiation of corticosteroid therapy. Our experience with these cases coupled with a review of the literature suggests that corticosteroid therapy should be considered in the subacute or chronic cases of parainfectious encephalomyelitis.     

为．NET应用程序实现一个类似Word的对象模型

所有的Microsoft Office应用程序都构建在支持自动化的对象模型之上。任何开发人员都能够使用对象模型来驱动应用程序UI以及添加、编辑和删除内容，就像一个真正的用户在与应用程序交互。丰富对象模型结合自动化支持使Office应用程序真正成为可扩展和可插接的。为了扩展Microsoft Word的行为而满足每个人自身的需要，任何人都能够在很短的时间里编写出一个强大的外接程序。作为优秀的面向对象开发人员，我们使用丰富的结构和优秀合理的对象模型（遵循模型一视图一控制器设计模式（MVC）来开发自己的应用程序。     

Purification and characterization of maize starch synthase I and its truncated forms

A number of imidazole-based compounds were tested for their utility as (1)H NMR molecular probes of intracellular pH. Imidazole, previously found useful as a probe of erythrocyte pH, reported a pH in perfused canine glioma cells that was more than 1 pH unit lower than that reported by inorganic phosphate, consistent with the known lysosomal compartmentation of the molecule. Imidazole acetate, also proposed as an NMR probe of cellular pH, was found not to enter the cells of this study. Histidine was found to be readily taken up by cells and reported a pH consistent with that reported by inorganic phosphate. Using the chemical shift of the histidine H2 proton in cells incubated with 10 mM histidine, cellular pH measurements could be obtained in less than 1 s. This compares quite favorably with the measurement time, typically several minutes, needed to assess in vivo pH by (31)P NMR. The use of histidine as a probe of pH is demonstrated in perfused canine and rat glioma cells subjected to ischemia or to low extracellular pH.     

Exploring How We Enjoy Antihero Narratives

Affective disposition theory (ADT), which nicely explains enjoyment of traditional hero narratives, appears somewhat limited in its ability to explain antihero narratives, primarily because of the moral complexity of the protagonists. Recent work proposes that viewers over time develop story schema that permit antihero enjoyment, despite character immorality. This article reports results from three studies that support this claim. Specifically, the findings indicate that moral judgment may be less important to antihero enjoyment than ADT would predict, that previous exposure to an antihero narrative alters responses to similar narratives, and that moral disengagement cues impact the enjoyment process. Ultimately, the studies offer empirical evidence of how antihero narratives are enjoyed differently than their traditional hero counterparts.