An improved algorithm for finding the median distributively

Given two processes, each having a total-ordered set ofn elements, we present a distributed algorithm for finding median of these 2n elements using no more than logn +O(√logn) messages, but if the elements are distinct, only logn +O(1) messages will be required. The communication complexity of our algorithm is better than the previously known result which takes 2 logn messages.     

A comparison of deep-heating electrode concepts for hyperthermia

There is mounting evidence that localized hyperthermia produced by electromagnetic waves may be useful in the treatment of cancer, and many innovative devices have been designed for this purpose. Most applicators employed for deep heating operate in the frequency region of 10-100MHz to provide greatest depth of penetration. Two basic categories of launching devices exist: E-field and H-field. The E-field applicators include conductive plates and fringing field devices; either may be used individually or in a multiple feed system. The H-field applicators include cylindrical and planar devices configured to produce specific heating patterns. We have analyzed and compared the performance of each of these devices, particularly in terms of engineering principles, design characteristics and their ability to transfer potentially therapeutic energy safely and at depth.     

Minimum vertex distance between separable convex polygons

The minimum vertex distance between two separable convex polygons is found by an optimal algorithm which is linear in the number of vertices.     

Teacher judgments concerning the acceptability of school-based interventions.

Investigated the influence of behavior problem severity, interventionist, and modality of case presentation on teacher's judgments of school-based interventions. 54 regular and special education teachers attending a university summer course used an intervention scale and the Semantic Differential to rate all possible combinations of 2 interventions (principal or teacher implemented) applied to 2 behavior problems (daydreaming and destruction of others' property). Ss read about or viewed a videotape of a 5th-grade boy engaging in 1 of the 2 problem behaviors. An ANOVA of Ss' ratings of intervention acceptability showed that behavior problem severity and interventionist significantly affected Ss' judgments of intervention acceptability. Findings show that interventions that could be implemented by the teacher were more acceptable. In addition, Ss rated interventions as more acceptable when applied to behavior problems of greater severity. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manual asymmetries in visually directed aiming.

Hypothesized that the right hand–hemisphere system is faster at processing visual feedback. In Study 1, 12 male undergraduates pointed at a target using a range of movement times under 2 illumination conditions: lights-on and lights-off in which only the target light remained visible following initiation of the aiming movement. While the results confirm that movement accuracy deteriorated less with increased speed for the right hand, the feedback interpretation for hand differences in speed–accuracy tradeoff was not supported. In Study 2, with the same Ss, no effect of illumination was apparent, suggesting that visual information available during the course of the movement was not useful. The right-hand advantage in pointing accuracy remained. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turning dreams into specifications. I

The first stage of design engineering is to turn the abstract and (usually) ill-formed idea of the customer (his `dream') into a concrete statement of requirements against which suppliers can tender and carry out detailed design (a `specification'). The eventual success of the project hinges on getting that step right. In this part of the article the author describes the process in general terms and illustrates it with a simple example     

Multiple lipoprotein abnormalities in type I diabetic patients with renal disease

The aim of this study was to characterize abnormalities of triglyceride-rich apolipoprotein (apo) B-containing lipoproteins in type I diabetic patients with elevated albumin excretion rates (AERs). Sixty-four patients (31 men, 33 women) with normoalbuminuria (AER <20 microg/min), 52 (35 men, 17 women) with microalbuminuria (AER 20-200 microg/min), and 37 (17 men, 20 women) with albuminuria (AER >200 microg/min) and 56 healthy control subjects matched for age and body weight were studied. The major finding was increased mass concentrations of the highly atherogenic intermediate-density lipoprotein fraction in patients with microalbuminuria (P < 0.05) and albuminuria (P < 0.05), compared with those with normoalbuminuria. Triglyceride, free cholesterol, cholesterol ester, and phospholipid concentrations in the VLDL, intermediate-density lipoprotein, and LDL (P < 0.05-0.01), as well as total cholesterol, total triglyceride, and apoB concentrations were higher in patients with renal disease than in those without. Notably, there were no differences between patients with microalbuminuria and albuminuria. Only minor compositional changes could be detected. Postheparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities were identical, but hepatic lipase activities were higher in microalbuminuric and albuminuric patients than in normoalbuminuric patients (P < 0.01). LPL activity and VLDL1, (Sf 60-400) (r = -0.528; P < 0.001) and VLDL2 (Sf 20-60) mass concentrations (r = -0.471; P < 0.001) were negatively related. In conclusion, in type I diabetic patients with early renal disease, there are multiple lipoprotein changes, which are potentially atherogenic and may contribute to the excess of macrovascular complications seen in such patients.     

The hybrid modulatory/pattern generating N1L interneuron in the buccal feeding system of Lymnaea is cholinergic

It is still unknown what if any relationships exist between intake of macronutrients by the elderly, and their functional or cognitive handicaps, particularly for free living elderly people. We investigated 226 men and 215 women, aged 65 or more, free living and in good health. They were randomly selected in the département of Bas-Rhin, after stratification for age, sex and residence (rural or urban). Handicaps and cognitive functions of each subject were assessed with the Géronte scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), respectively. Food intake was measured by a three-day record. A multiple correspondence analysis concluded that functional parameters and macronutrient intakes were rather independent. The relationships found were detailed by a backward stepwise logistic regression. In men, alcohol intake was associated with an improvement in functional and cognitive parameters, and polyunsaturated fatty acids with the capacity to move outside the home. In women, lipid intake increased the MMSE score. Overweight in women was linked with better functional and cognitive performances, and in men with the capacity to move outside the home. In both sexes, age worsened the score of functional and cognitive parameters. In conclusion, macronutrient intakes and functional or cognitive parameters were found to be mutually independent; this suggests that macronutrient deficiencies are of little importance in the worsening functional or mental autonomy of the elderly. The relationships found between functional variables and alcohol or polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes in men, and lipid intakes in women, and overweight in both sexes might evidence a better state of health.