Incremental Distance Transforms (IDT)

A new generic scheme for incremental implementations of distance transforms (DT) is presented: Incremental Distance Transforms (IDT). This scheme is applied on the cityblock, Chamfer, and three recent exact Euclidean DT (E2DT). A benchmark shows that for all five DT, the incremental implementation results in a significant speedup: 3.4×−10×. However, significant differences (i.e., up to 12.5×) among the DT remain present. The FEED transform, one of the recent E2DT, even showed to be faster than both city-block and Chamfer DT. So, through a very efficient incremental processing scheme for DT, a relief is found for E2DT’s computational burden

A taxonomic study of the genus Fibigia Medik. (Brassicaceae)

In this study, Purpureae A.Duran and Ö.Çetin sect. nov. is described under the genus Fibigia Medik. The taxa of the genus were revised under the sections Fibigia and Purpureae. Fibigia clypeata (L.) Medik was classified as F. clypeata (L.) Medik subsp. clypeata and subsp. anatolica A.Duran & Tustas subsp. nov., and Fibigia eriocarpa (DC.) Boiss. was rearranged as F. clypeata (L.) Medik subsp. clypeata var. eriocarpa in Turkish Flora. The infrageneric and subgeneric keys were revised. Seed and pollen surface ornamentations were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The pollens examined have tricolpate aperture type and reticulate surface ornamentation. Seed surface ornamentation was reticulate. The taxa of the genus Fibigia have a diploid chromosome number of 2n=16. Karyotype analyses of the taxa were carried out for the first time. It was found that each taxon differed in chromosome morphology.Key words: Fibigia, morphology, pollen, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), new taxa, Turkey

The effect of thrombolytic therapy on QT dispersion in acute myocardial infarction and its role in the prediction of reperfusion arrhythmias

Purpose: We aimed to determine the effect of intravenous thrombolytic therapy on QT dispersion (QTd) and its role in the prediction of reperfusion arrhythmias.Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) were enrolled in the study. Measurements of QTd were carried out  prior to thrombolytic therapy and before discharge. The patients were examined for ventricular arrhythmias with 24‑h Holter electrocardiography monitoring after treatment and the relationship between ventricular arrhythmias and the QTd values in the early phase of MI was investigated.Results: The values of QTd were significantly higher during the early phase of MI (60 ± 5.32 ms) than those in the late phase (53.35 ± 4.07 ms) (P = 0.032). There was no correlation between isolated, bigeminal, trigeminal and total ventricular premature beats, accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR) with QTd values. However, the patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), prolonged VT and sustained AIVR had higher corrected QTd (92 ms1/2, 97.8 ms1/2, 81.7 ms1/2, respectively) than the patients without these arrhythmias (74 ms1/2, 56.3 ms1/2, 58.28 ms1/2,  respectively) (P = 0.022, 0.013, 0.018).Conclusion: The values of QTd may be significantly reduced in the 1st week of acute MI and measurement of QTd in the early phase of MI may have a correlation with the following reperfusion arrhythmias: Sustained VT, prolonged VT and AIVR.Key words: Arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, QT dispersion, reperfusion, thrombolytic therap

Fourth Generation Pseudoscalar Quarkonium Production and Observability at Hadron Colliders

The pseudoscalar quarkonium state, eta_4 1^S_0, formed by the Standard Model (SM) fourth generation quarks, is the best candidate among the fourth generation quarkonia to be produced at the LHC and VLHC. The production of this J^{PC} = 0^{-+} resonance is discussed and the background processes are studied to obtain the integrated luminosity limits for the discovery, depending on its mass.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 5 table

The Fourth Standard Model Family and the Competition in Standart Model Higgs Boson Search at Tevatron and LHC

The impact of the fourth Standard Model family on Higgs boson search at Tevatron and LHC is reviewed.Comment: 7 pages, 13 figure

Early growth performances of various seed sources of black (Prunus serotina Erhr.) and wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) seedlings on low and high elevation sites in the western Black Sea Region of Turkey

The growth performances of one-year old seedlings of various black cherry (BC) and wild cherry (WC) seed sources (SSs) that were planted on low elevation sites (LES) and high elevation sites (HES) in the western Black Sea Region (BSR) of Turkey were assessed one and five years after planting (YAP). Significance between and within-species variations were found for seedling growth. On species basis, WC was superior to BC for seedling groundline diameter and height growth for the low elevation sites(LES) of one and five years after planting (YAP), whereas no substantial survival and growth differences were found between the species for the high elevation sites (HES) of five YAP. Generally, seedlings averaged a greater survival on the LES, when compared with those on the HES. Local WC SSs (Tefen, Yayla and Dirgine) demonstrated an enhanced seedling survival and growth on LES than the other SSs. Unlike the LES results, a collection of BC (Michigan 1 and Ukraine) and WC SSs (Dirgine, Germany, and Tefen) displayed the best seedling growth over five years. The HES seedlings frequently experienced diebacks and forking due to heavy snow fall and wildlife browsing. Selection of the local WC SSs was vital for the LES. However, BC SSs may present a potential for planting on the HES with harsher environmental conditions.Keywords: Black cherry, provenance test, seedling growth and survival, wild cherry

An integrated acoustic and dielectrophoretic particle manipulation in a microfluidic device for particle wash and separation fabricated by mechanical machining

In this study, acoustophoresis and dielectrophoresis are utilized in an integrated manner to combine the two different operations on a single polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip in sequential manner, namely, particle wash (buffer exchange) and particle separation. In the washing step, particles are washed with buffer solution with low conductivity for dielectrophoretic based separation to avoid the adverse effects of Joule heating. Acoustic waves generated by piezoelectric material are utilized for washing, which creates standing waves along the whole width of the channel. Coupled electro-mechanical acoustic 3D multi-physics analysis showed that the position and orientation of the piezoelectric actuators are critical for successful operation. A unique mold is designed for the precise alignment of the piezoelectric materials and 3D side-wall electrodes for a highly reproducible fabrication. To achieve the throughput matching of acoustophoresis and dielectrophoresis in the integration, 3D side-wall electrodes are used. The integrated device is fabricated by PDMS molding. The mold of the integrated device is fabricated using high-precision mechanical machining. With a unique mold design, the placements of the two piezoelectric materials and the 3D sidewall electrodes are accomplished during the molding process. It is shown that the proposed device can handle the wash and dielectrophoretic separation successfully. © 2016 AIP Publishing LLC

Characterization of AlInN/AlN/GaN Heterostructures with Different AlN Buffer Thickness

Two AlInN/AlN/GaN heterostructures with 280-nm- and 400-nm-thick AlN buffer grown on sapphire substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) and Hall-effect measurements. The symmetric (0002) plane with respect to the asymmetric (101 ¯ 2) plane in the 280-nm-thick AlN buffer has a higher crystal quality, as opposed to the 400-nm-thick buffer. The thinner buffer improves the crystallinity of both (0002) and (101 ¯ 2) planes in the GaN layers, it also provides a sizeable reduction in dislocation density of GaN. Furthermore, the lower buffer thickness leads to a good quality surface with an rms roughness of 0.30 nm and a dark spot density of 4.0 × 108 cm−2. The optical and transport properties of the AlInN/AlN/GaN structure with the relatively thin buffer are compatible with the enhancement in its structural quality, as verified by XRD and AFM results. © 2016, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society