Putting it all together – Formal verification of the VAMP

In the verified architecture microprocessor (VAMP) project we have designed, functionally verified, and synthesized a processor with full DLX instruction set, delayed branch, Tomasulo scheduler, maskable nested precise interrupts, pipelined fully IEEE compatible dual precision floating point unit with variable latency, and separate instruction and data caches. The verification has been carried out in the theorem proving system PVS. The processor has been implemented on a Xilinx FPGA. A shorter version of this article with the title “Instantiating uninterpreted functional units and memory system: functional verification of the VAMP” appeared in [8]. The work reported here was done while all the authors were with Saarland University.     

Profile-Based Linguistic Uniformity as a Generic Method for Comparing Language Varieties

In this text we present``profile-based linguistic uniformity', a methoddesigned to compare language varieties on thebasis of a wide range of potentiallyheterogeneous linguistic variables. In manyrespects a parallel can be drawn with currentmethods in dialectometry (for an overview, see,Nerbonne and Heeringa, 2001; Heeringa, Nerbonneand Kleiweg, 2002): in both casesdissimilarities between varieties on the basisof individual variables are summarized inglobal dissimilarities, and a series oflanguage varieties are subsequently clusteredor charted using multivariate techniques suchas cluster analysis or multidimensionalscaling. This global similarity between themethods makes it possible to compare them andto investigate the implications of notabledifferences. In this text we specifically focuson, and defend one characteristic of ourmethodology, its profile-based nature.     

A Simon Effect With Stationary Moving Stimuli.

To clarify whether motion information per se has a separable influence on action control, the authors investigated whether irrelevant direction of motion of stimuli whose overall position was constant over time would affect manual left-right responses (i.e., reveal a motion-based Simon effect). In Experiments 1 and 2, significant Simon effects were obtained for sine-wave gratings moving in a stationary Gaussian window. In Experiment 3, a direction-based Simon effect with random-dot patterns was replicated, except that the perceived direction of motion was based on the displacement of single elements. Experiments 4 and 5 studied motion-based Simon effects to point-light figures that walked in place--displays requiring high-level analysis of global shape and local motion. Motion-based Simon effects occurred when the displays could be interpreted as an upright human walker, showing that a high-level representation of motion direction mediated the effects. Thus, the present study establishes links between high-level motion perception and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ophthalmologic findings in Usher syndrome type 2A

Thirty-seven patients, comprising 24 familial cases and 13 isolated patients with Usher syndrome type II (USH2), underwent ophthalmologic examination. Based on the degree of hearing loss, normal vestibular function, and gene-linkage analysis, familial cases were assumed to have USH2A. An analysis of genetic heterogeneity failed to reveal the presence of a second locus in the Dutch population. Although the patients appear to belong to a genetically homogeneous group, remarkable ophthalmologic variability was found. Corrected visual acuity decreased with age and remarkable differences in visual acuity were found within one family. Fundoscopic findings were classified as type A if attenuated vessels and bone corpuscles in all quadrants were found or as type B if findings other than these were found. The prevalence of type A significantly increased with age.     

The effect of a split in WAIS-R VIQ and PIQ scores on patients with cognitive impairment and psychiatric illness

To determine the most effective treatment for acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, several clinical trials were undertaken in recent years to evaluate whether a 2-week course of ceftriaxone would be superior to oral antibiotics. Of the 46 patients suffering from acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, 14 were treated with ceftriaxone 2g for 15 days. The remaining patients received either oral penicillin V 1.5 million IU t.i.d. or doxycycline 100 mg b.i.d. for 20 to 30 days. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year. Of the 14 ceftriaxone-treated patients four showed incomplete regression of the inflammatory skin changes after 6 to 12 months. Two out of five patients who were monitored for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA excretion were still positive after 12 months as compared to none of six patients who were treated orally for 20-30 days. Six out of 11 patients treated orally for only 20 days needed retreatment after 6 months because of continuing skin manifestations, neuropathy or arthralgia. A 30-day duration of treatment with oral antibiotics and not the chosen antibiotic is crucial for curing acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. The duration of treatment with ceftriaxone needed for eradication of Borrelia in acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans has yet to be determined in future studies.     

Identification, ontogeny, and regulation of an interleukin-6-like factor in the rat seminiferous tubule

The present study's aims are to search for the presence of interleukin-6 bioactivity (IL-6) in medium conditioned by various testicular cell types and to investigate the cellular and hormonal regulation of testicular IL-6 production. Sertoli cells prepared from rats of increasing ages (20, 35, and 45 days) secreted IL-6 in vitro, whereas medium conditioned by pachytene spermatocytes, early spermatids, and peritubular cells showed no activity. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and latex beads, two known stimulators of monocyte/macrophage IL-6 production, markedly stimulated IL-6 secretion by Sertoli cells at all the ages investigated. Maximum levels of IL-6 were reached after 6 h of culture of Sertoli cells with LPS and after 24 h with latex beads. When Sertoli cells were cocultured with pachytene spermatocytes, early spermatids, or fractions containing residual bodies and cytoplasts from elongated spermatids, only the latter significantly stimulated IL-6 levels. Maximum levels of IL-6 were attained by adding 2 x 10(6) residual bodies to Sertoli cells; a significant increase in IL-6 secretion was seen after 6 h, and maximum levels were observed after 24 h. The levels of IL-6 varied throughout different stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle; highest levels were observed in stages II-VI and lowest in stages VII-VIII. IL-6 bioactivities induced by LPS and residual bodies and cytoplasts from elongated spermatids could be totally neutralized with a specific monoclonal antibody at all of the ages studied. FSH, phorbol myristate acetate, and IL-1 alpha augmented Sertoli cell IL-6 secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, FSH and (Bu)2cAMP differentially stimulated IL-6 secretion during the seminiferous epithelial cycle. It is concluded that the release of IL-6 from Sertoli cells is regulated by a complex interplay between residual bodies and humoral factors.