Improvements to image magnification

The main limitation of state-of-the-art magnifying techniques is that they do not introduce any new information to the original image. This lack of information, more precisely the absence of high spatial frequency components is responsible for the perceptible degradation of the enlarged image. The idea underlying this work is to estimate the phases and frequencies of absent waveforms of absent frequencies from the original low resolution image and then to synthesize them in the high resolution image. The developed technique takes advantage of sub-pixel edge estimations from the low resolution image to direct the subsequent polynomial interpolation step. To improve perceptible image quality, the n-degree polynomial interpolating curve is user-controllable allowing both sharp and smooth edges to be synthesized. The proposed approach has been applied both to gray-level images and to color images.     

Development and test of solar Rankine cycle heating and cooling systems

This paper describes the design, fabrication and test of a prototype 63.3 kW (18 ton) solar-powered Rankine cycle heat pump, as well as the assembly and field test of a 63.3 kW (18 ton) solar powered chiller.     

Robust Monte Carlo Method for R&D Real Options Valuation

This paper is devoted to developing a robust numerical analysis of least squares Monte Carlo (LSM) in valuing R&D investment opportunities. As it is well known, R&D projects are characterized by sequential investments and therefore they can be considered as compound options involving a set of interacting American-type options. The basic Monte Carlo simulation takes a long time and it is computationally intensive and inefficient. In this context, LSM method is a powerful and flexible tool for capital budgeting decisions and for valuing R&D investments. In particular way, numerical tests are performed to examine the optimal choice of basis function and polynomial degree in terms of reduction of the execution time, accuracy and improvement in the simulation.     

Program development and coding on a fine-grained vision machine

The advantages of programmable massively parallel fine-grained machines for vision applications are well known. During the design of a new one, the study of its behavior and performance (through simulation) is paramount to achieve optimum tailoring. Furthermore, software development demands convenient tools to achieve maximum results from the machine capabilities and the efforts of the programmer.In this paper we focus our attention on programming environments at the machine level for massively parallel homogeneous systems, and more specifically, we present the one that we have developed for the pyramidal PAPIA2 machine, including tools for program development, result monitoring and the visual editing of codes. The synergic approach of combining a hardware simulator and a group of graphical tools is a new, easy, and effective means of creating and testing primitives in the early stages of system development.     

International Environmental Agreements with Asymmetric Countries

The paper investigates the stability of International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) in a pollution abatement model with a quadratic cost function. We suppose a two stage game, in which in the first stage each country decides whether or not to join the agreement while, in the second stage, the quantity of pollution abatement is chosen. Agents may act cooperatively, building coalitions and acting according to the interest of the coalition, or they make their choices taking care of their individual interest only. We consider two kinds of countries: the first type are industrially advanced, namely developed countries, while the second type are the less developed, namely developing countries. About environmental preservation, the developed countries are characterized by a higher measure of the environmental awareness than developing ones. We provide a new graphic way to visualise results about stable coalitions of different sizes taking into account several environmental awareness values. Moreover, we present a handy Maple algorithm to determine both the optimal costs for each country and the coalitions’ stability with an arbitrary number of developed and developing countries. Finally, we introduce an ex-post transfer scheme in order to expand a generic coalition to the grand coalition which reaches the greatest abatement level and the lowest aggregate costs.     

Performance status and comorbidity in elderly cancer patients compared with young patients with neoplasia and elderly patients without neoplastic conditions

MARCKS, the major protein kinase C substrate in various cells and tissues, binds to calmodulin, acidic membrane phospholipids, and actin filaments, and these interactions are regulated by protein phosphorylation. We have previously analyzed MARCKS purified from bovine brain using capillary liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry and found that the protein structure differed significantly from that deduced from cDNA sequences [Taniguchi, H., Manenti, S., Suzuki, M., and Titani, K. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 18299-18302]. Moreover, the alignment of the protein from various species showed a lack of any conserved sequences in the C-terminal half of the molecule. This prompted us to reexamine the C-terminal amino-acid sequence of bovine MARCKS. The purified protein was digested with lysyl endoprotease, and the obtained C-terminal peptide was further digested with either Staphylococcus V8 protease or NTCB. The small peptides thus obtained were analyzed by liquid chromatography/electrospray/tandem mass spectrometry. This combined with gas-phase Edman sequencing allowed us to determine the C-terminal primary structure. The sequence obtained differed significantly from that reported previously, and the comparison with other species revealed the presence of a novel conserved domain in the C-terminal region of MARCKS.     

Budding process during the organogenesis of the ventral prostatic lobe in mongolian gerbil

The prostate is a mammalian gland that shows a complex process of organogenesis. Here, a morphological study to characterize the organogenesis of the ventral prostate lobe in male gerbils was conducted. The urogenital sinus (UGS) was dissected out and processed for paraffin embedding. Histological sections were subjected to cytochemical, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemical, and three‐dimensional reconstruction techniques. We found that the first ventral buds emerged from the ventral urethral epithelium between the days 20 and 21 of prenatal life, reaching the ventral mesenchymal pad and initiating the branching process on the first day of postnatal life. The buds presented a V‐shaped elongation, suggesting that the smooth muscle layer (SML) plays an important role during budding events. Indeed, whereas the androgen receptor (AR) was preferentially found in the UGS mesenchyme (UGM), estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) was localized in both the UGM and in the emerging buds. This study characterized the morphological aspects of the budding process in a different rodent from rat and mice, serving as a new model for future studies on developmental biology of the prostate. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:458–466, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A rapid multiresidual determination of type A and type B trichothecenes in wheat flour by HPLC-ESI-MS

A new, rapid and sensitive method is reported for the multiresidual determination of type A (diacetoxyscirpenol, HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin) and type B (nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, fusarenon X, 15-O-acetyl-4-deoxynivalenol) trichothecenes in wheat flour samples. Sample extraction was performed with acetonitrile/water mixtures. Mycosep^© columns were used for a fast and effective clean-up procedure. The analytes were separated by HPLC with a RP C18 column by means of a gradient elution and detected in an ESI-interfaced single quadrupole mass spectrometer. Type B and type A trichothecenes were monitored in the negative and in the positive ion mode, respectively. The method performance is reported in terms of linearity (r² = 0.999), specificity, accuracy (recoveries from 70-120%) and precision (CV% = 5), the LOQs are in the range 10-20 µg/Kg.     

Retrorectal hamartomatous cysts or "tail gut syndrome": a case report and review of the literature

Retrorectal cyst hamartomas or so called tail gut syndrome are dystopic lesions, rarely reported in Literature, characterized by the presence of cysts lined by mucous-producing ciliated epithelium. The Authors report a case, recently observed and surgically treated, in a 55 year old male, hospitalized because of an abscess and fistula in the right buttock diagnosed to be a cyst hamartoma. The Literature is reviewed as well.