Fast Registration of Cardiac Perfusion MRI

This abstract presents a novel method for registration of cardiac perfusion MRI sequences. By performing complex analyses of variance and clustering in an annotated training set off-line, our method provides real-time segmentation in an on-line setting. This renders the method feasible for live motion-compensation in MR scanners. Changes in image intensity during the bolus passage are modelled by an Active Appearance Model augmented with a cluster analysis of the training set. Preliminary validation carried out using five subjects showed acceptable segmentation accuracy produced very rapidly (below 40 ms per image)

Enterococcus cecorum septicemia in a malnourished adult patient

Enterococcus cecorum, a species typically isolated from chicken, pigs, calves, horses, ducks, cats, dogs, and canaries, was isolated from the blood of a patient with severe septicemia. The isolate was identified by conventional biochemical tests. Identity asEnterococcus cecorum was confirmed by SDS-PAGE analysis of whole cell protein. This is the first report of the isolation ofEnterococcus cecorum in a clinical settin

La Méditerranée au futur : des impacts du changement climatique aux enjeux de l'adaptation

Sommaire 1. Introduction 2. Ce que la science du climat nous dit... et ce qu'elle ne nous dit pas 3. Panorama des impacts attendus du changement climatique en Méditerranée 4. L'adaptation au changement climatique : éléments de cadrage 5. Éléments de bilan des efforts actuels en matière d'adaptation en Méditerranée 6. Conclusion. http://www.abhatoo.net.ma/content/download/13897/238639/version/1/file/mediterranee_futur_impacts_chang_clim_enjeux_adaptation.pd

String Indexing for Patterns with Wildcards

We consider the problem of indexing a string $t$ of length $n$ to report the occurrences of a query pattern $p$ containing $m$ characters and $j$ wildcards. Let $occ$ be the number of occurrences of $p$ in $t$, and $\sigma$ the size of the alphabet. We obtain the following results. - A linear space index with query time $O(m+\sigma^j \log \log n + occ)$. This significantly improves the previously best known linear space index by Lam et al. [ISAAC 2007], which requires query time $\Theta(jn)$ in the worst case. - An index with query time $O(m+j+occ)$ using space $O(\sigma^{k^2} n \log^k \log n)$, where $k$ is the maximum number of wildcards allowed in the pattern. This is the first non-trivial bound with this query time. - A time-space trade-off, generalizing the index by Cole et al. [STOC 2004]. We also show that these indexes can be generalized to allow variable length gaps in the pattern. Our results are obtained using a novel combination of well-known and new techniques, which could be of independent interest

Intelligent Self-Repairable Web Wrappers

The amount of information available on the Web grows at an incredible high rate. Systems and procedures devised to extract these data from Web sources already exist, and different approaches and techniques have been investigated during the last years. On the one hand, reliable solutions should provide robust algorithms of Web data mining which could automatically face possible malfunctioning or failures. On the other, in literature there is a lack of solutions about the maintenance of these systems. Procedures that extract Web data may be strictly interconnected with the structure of the data source itself; thus, malfunctioning or acquisition of corrupted data could be caused, for example, by structural modifications of data sources brought by their owners. Nowadays, verification of data integrity and maintenance are mostly manually managed, in order to ensure that these systems work correctly and reliably. In this paper we propose a novel approach to create procedures able to extract data from Web sources -- the so called Web wrappers -- which can face possible malfunctioning caused by modifications of the structure of the data source, and can automatically repair themselves.\u

Comment on "c-axis Josephson tunneling in Dx2−y2D_{x^2-y^2}-wave superconductors''

This comment points out that the recent paper by Maki and Haas [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 67}, 020510 (2003)] is completely wrong.Comment: 1 page, submittted to Phys. Rev.

Theory of Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta} Cross-Whisker Josephson Junctions

Takano {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 65}, 140513 (2002) and unpublished] made Josephson junctions from single crystal whiskers of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ crossed an angle $\phi_0$ about the $c$ axis. From the mesa structures that formed at the cross-whisker interface, they inferred a critical current density $J_c(\phi_0)$. Like the single crystal results of Li {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 83}, 4160 (1999)], we show that the whisker data are unlikely to result from a predominantly d-wave order parameter. However, unlike the single crystals, these results, if correct, require the whisker c-axis transport to be coherent.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Favorable outcome of early treatment of new onset child and adolescent migraine-implications for disease modification.

There is evidence that the prevalence of migraine in children and adolescents may be increasing. Current theories of migraine pathophysiology in adults suggest activation of central cortical and brainstem pathways in conjunction with the peripheral trigeminovascular system, which ultimately results in release of neuropeptides, facilitation of central pain pathways, neurogenic inflammation surrounding peripheral vessels, and vasodilatation. Although several risk factors for frequent episodic, chronic, and refractory migraine have been identified, the causes of migraine progression are not known. Migraine pathophysiology has not been fully evaluated in children. In this review, we will first discuss the evidence that early therapeutic interventions in the child or adolescent new onset migraineur, may halt or limit progression and disability. We will then review the evidence suggesting that many adults with chronic or refractory migraine developed their migraine as children or adolescents and may not have been treated adequately with migraine-specific therapy. Finally, we will show that early, appropriate and optimal treatment of migraine during childhood and adolescence may result in disease modification and prevent progression of this disease