A quantitative study of the orientation bias of some edge detector schemes

The evaluation of a particular set of edge detection schemes is described. The results obtained are compared with those obtained from an edge detection scheme using a texture oriented approach. The orientational bias of these schemes is emphasized. Improved qualitative observations are reported and a comparison of the evaluation method with another edge detection evaluation method is presented

Balancing Startup Marketing &Sales: Why it\u27s a Tough Management Call

All startups have to pass critical milestones to stay on the path to success. Some are obvious: attracting investors...beginning operations...becoming profitable. However, there\u27s one milestone that doesn\u27t command the management attention it needs. I\u27m talking about balancing marketing and sales, with an emphasis on the word balancing

The Constant Comparative Analysis Method Outside of Grounded Theory

This commentary addresses the gap in the literature regarding discussion of the legitimate use of Constant Comparative Analysis Method (CCA) outside of Grounded Theory. The purpose is to show the strength of using CCA to maintain the emic perspective and how theoretical frameworks can maintain the etic perspective throughout the analysis. My naturalistic inquiry model shows how conceptual frameworks and theoretical frameworks can be integrated when using the CCA method

The CREF stock fund is earning 50: how well has the first equity variable served investors?

The College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2002. It was the first variable annuity to focus its investments on common stock equalities, designed to help investors overcome problems of inflation. A study of it history show: When used in combination with a traditional annuity, such as TIAA, CREF has been an effective vehible for developing additional retirement dollars at a reasonable risk level. Being evenly invested in TIAA and CREF over a 25 to 35 year working lifetime, one can expect the CREF account to have 10% to 30% more assets at the data of retirement. Those intending to have a long career of 36 year or more and having higher risk tolerances should consider contributing all of their retirement to CREF. The CREF fund has served its participants well, based on the long history analyzed in this study. If one believes that financially history, long term, can repeat itself in the coming century, use of this fund to overcome

Across Bacterial Phyla, Distantly-Related Genomes with Similar Genomic GC Content Have Similar Patterns of Amino Acid Usage

The GC content of bacterial genomes ranges from 16% to 75% and wide ranges of genomic GC content are observed within many bacterial phyla, including both Gram negative and Gram positive phyla. Thus, divergent genomic GC content has evolved repeatedly in widely separated bacterial taxa. Since genomic GC content influences codon usage, we examined codon usage patterns and predicted protein amino acid content as a function of genomic GC content within eight different phyla or classes of bacteria. We found that similar patterns of codon usage and protein amino acid content have evolved independently in all eight groups of bacteria. For example, in each group, use of amino acids encoded by GC-rich codons increased by approximately 1% for each 10% increase in genomic GC content, while the use of amino acids encoded by AT-rich codons decreased by a similar amount. This consistency within every phylum and class studied led us to conclude that GC content appears to be the primary determinant of the codon and amino acid usage patterns observed in bacterial genomes. These results also indicate that selection for translational efficiency of highly expressed genes is constrained by the genomic parameters associated with the GC content of the host genome

‘Patient information provision and involvement of patients by stroke professionals: implications for the patient-provider relationship’

Despite significant moves to inform and involve patients in their care, implementation of this vision has only been achieved with limited success. Part of the problem appears to stem from an insufficient consideration of the processes underpinning patient participation in the first instance. To help resolve this, we ask what factors drive the patient information provision and participation processes and how these factors have their impact. A significant barrier to the improvement of patient information and empowerment is the incomplete understanding of the interaction between patients and health professionals – commonly termed the patient-provider relationship (PPR). We argue that the PPR has not been fully developed in the context of stroke care specifically and we therefore propose a revised framework for understanding the nature of the patient-provider interaction, specific to stroke care. The new framework more realistically conveys the context for stroke care services in the UK today. The work first evaluates the research literature on the PPR in general, before focusing on the PPR in the acute phase of stroke care. We therefore place stroke care in the context of what is already theorised about the PPR. Based on the results from 50 semi-structured telephone interviews with stroke professionals, we then propose that a revision of our understanding of stroke PPR is needed to more fully take into account the dynamic external influences acting upon it. The general analytical approach is an inductively driven constant comparative method of qualitative analysis, conducted in line with grounded theory. Significant findings include: (i) the provider may no longer be the most important source of information for the patient within a revised stroke PPR model; (ii) stroke physicians reported cases involving lucid patients refusing thrombolytic treatment. Studies reporting stroke patients playing active, participatory roles in acute decision making do not appear in the literature and policymakers have tended to assume that the involvement of patients should only begin after the hyper-acute stages of care have passed. The findings here challenge this position and suggest that participation in decision-making during the hyper-acute phase is feasible and should be considered in clinical practice and policy making. Further, stroke care policy and practice recommendations arising from the study include: (i) greater consideration needs to be given to the allocation of resources designed to psychologically support stroke patients, (ii) audits must be designed to assess better the quality of stroke patient information provision, (iii) more information should be provided to patients and their families about what they can reasonably expect from the service they are using, (iv) priority should be given to the production of high-quality online material to complement the existing offline offering, (v) longer-term strategies should be developed for sustaining the sense of empowerment stroke patients have outside the hospital, when they generally ask more questions and demand more say in their care.Open Acces

Gene expression caused by alkylating agents and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) in Escherichia coli

Previous work has demonstrated heterogeneous effects of methylating agents on induction of DNA damage inducible genes in Escherichia coli. These studies employed E. coli mutants that have fusions of the lac operon to genes induced by treatment with sublethal levels of alkylating agents. These mutants were selected from random insertions of the Mu-dl (Apr lac) phage by screening for induction of beta-galactosidase activity in the presence of methylmethanesulfonate or N-methyl-N\u27-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. The current report extends these findings by analyzing gene expression caused by mechlorethamine, chloroethylnitrosoureas and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cis-DDP). The results demonstrate heterogeneous effects by these agents on gene expression. While 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea induces alkA, other nitrosoureas, mechlorethamine, and cis-DDP do not cause expression of this gene. Further, while all nitrosoureas caused expression of aidC, mechlorethamine and cis-DDP did not. Lastly, cis-DDP caused marked expression of a sulA fusion mutant while not inducing any of the other E. coli fusion mutants