Image processing for plastic surgery planning

This thesis presents some image processing tools for plastic surgery planning. In particular, it presents a novel method that combines local and global context in a probabilistic relaxation framework to identify cephalometric landmarks used in Maxillofacial plastic surgery. It also uses a method that utilises global and local symmetry to identify abnormalities in CT frontal images of the human body. The proposed methodologies are evaluated with the help of several clinical data supplied by collaborating plastic surgeons

Typological parameters of genericity

Different languages employ different morphosyntactic devices for expressing genericity. And, of course, they also make use of different morphosyntactic and semantic or pragmatic cues which may contribute to the interpretation of a sentence as generic rather than episodic. [...] We will advance the strong hypo thesis that it is a fundamental property of lexical elements in natural language that they are neutral with respect to different modes of reference or non-reference. That is, we reject the idea that a certain use of a lexical element, e.g. a use which allows reference to particular spatio-temporally bounded objects in the world, should be linguistically prior to all other possible uses, e.g. to generic and non-specific uses. From this it follows that we do not consider generic uses as derived from non-generic uses as it is occasionally assumed in the literature. Rather, we regard these two possibilities of use as equivalent alternative uses of lexical elements. The typological differences to be noted therefore concern the formal and semantic relationship of generic and non-generic uses to each other; they do not pertain to the question of whether lexical elements are predetermined for one of these two uses. Even supposing we found a language where generic uses are always zero-marked and identical to lexical sterns, we would still not assume that lexical elements in this language primarily have a generic use from which the non-generic uses are derived. (Incidentally, none of the languages examined, not even Vietnamese, meets this criterion.

Breaching bodily boundaries: posthuman (dis)embodiment and ecstatic speech in lip-synch performances by boychild

Employing a sci-fi inspired aesthetic, queer, black, trans artist, boychild presents audiences with a future vision of human embodiment. Strobe lighting makes her appear fragmented or as if she were a hologram. An electronic light flickers behind her teeth. Her eyes are obscured by whited-out contact lenses. boychild’s is a body interfaced with technology. She is imaged as non-human, cyborgian. Whilst boychild considers her onstage persona to be female, her body reads ambiguously. Transgressing demarcations between the supposedly polarised categories of organic/machine, male/female, the queer form of embodiment she presents is posthuman. Implementing the theoretical principles of Rosi Braidotti’s anti-humanist concept of the posthuman and Donna Haraway’s cyborg politics, I argue that boychild’s engagement with the posthuman does not end with aesthetics, rather it extends to the plotting of a posthuman politics, posing a radical challenge to heteronormative body politics. Theorising boychild’s lip-synch performances, I argue for her style of performance as a technologised form of ventriloquism, as she ‘speaks’ with the voice of another or the voice of another speaks through her. Using Mladen Dolar’s and Slavoj Žižek’s psychoanalytical philosophies in conjunction with Steven Connor’s literature on ventriloquism, I unpick the intricacies of presence and power inherent to her ‘voice’ and indicate its broader political implications

Tilling the Field: Lessons about Philanthropy's Role in School Discipline Reform

Anyone concerned about how the futures of millions of children are jeopardized because of discipline practices that unfairly exclude students from U.S. public schools will be heartened by this story about how transformative change can happen.It's a story of how students and parents, civil rights advocates, academics, policymakers and government came together -- with help from philanthropy -- to advance reform.The linchpin was a four-year, $47 million school discipline reform initiative that Atlantic launched in 2010 to promote policies and practices that would keep vulnerable children in school and on track to graduate and go on to college, rather than on the path to prison.We hope this report will be useful to all who might benefit from our experience:For funders -- to inform strategic choices going forward, to anticipate future challenges, and to consider potentially powerful responses.For grantee and government partners -- to celebrate successes as well as to consider options for refining strategies and tactics going forward.For students of movements that protect the vulnerable -- to understand the complex arc of advocacy as shaped by intentional strategies and tactics as well as history and on-the-ground realities.KEY INSIGHTS1. When philanthropy and the public sector work together, a foundation's role should be more than just paying for a government-initiated project. Philanthropic leaders can add value by helping to define a shared goal and develop a structure for ongoing dialogue and decision making. 2. Philanthropy can help create opportunities for policy change through a strategic combination of investments designed to (re)frame the problem, identify and lift up viable policy alternatives, and apply pressure for change. 3. Grassroots organizing by parents and young people can play a major role in advancing changes to local and national educational policy -- and that impact is amplified when grassroots movements receive philanthropic support

Findings of the DRAFT 2004 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303(d) List for the Austin Area

This 2004 summary of findings highlights the most common water quality impairments found in Waller Creek.The Texas Water Quality Inventory (305(b) report) is prepared by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) biennially in accordance with Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). For the 2004 report, a “target assessment” was conducted that included evaluation of a limited number of waterbodies, resulting in little overall change in assessment results. The table below summarizes Austin area impairments and concerns as compared to that of 2002. Water bodies noted on the 303(d) list as "impaired" are those that do not support their designated uses in the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (30 TAC 307), and for which existing water quality controls are not adequate. "Concerns" are also identified where the uses are met but elevated pollutants with indirect impacts are identified or limited data are available. Assessments are based on the prior five years of water quality data collected by the TCEQ and cooperating agencies under approved quality assurance guidelines. City of Austin Watershed Protection and Development Review Department (WPDRD) staff have been working for several years to ensure City water quality monitoring data is incorporated into the TCEQ assessments through the Clean Rivers Program administered by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The 2002 and 2004 assessments included creeks based on City data that otherwise would not have been assessed. Both impairments and concerns were identified for water bodies in the Austin area. For water bodies where a priority impairment is identified, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study may be required by TCEQ to determine the maximum pollutant load that can be borne by the water body without violating water quality standards. The pollutant load is allocated among the sources in the watershed, and any actions necessary to restore and maintain designated uses of the water body are determined. An ongoing bacteria TMDL study of Onion Creek is anticipated to result in delisting due to LCRA monitoring results. An upcoming bacteria TMDL study of Gilleland Creek may also result in delisting or modifications to permit limits of several wastewater treatment plants in the area. A primary focus at this time in the Austin area is the appropriate biological monitoring and establishing a baseline for aquatic life use supported. In addition, elevated toxins in sediments and nutrients in water are focus areas for WPDRD monitoring. These pollutants are currently addressed only as “secondary concerns” by TCEQ because no regulatory criteria have been adopted. In addition, statewide screening levels for these constituents have not been exceeded sufficiently to make them priorities for TCEQ to pursue in the Austin area. However, monitoring results for these parameters have been used in masterplanning and program targeting by the City.Waller Creek Working Grou

The Story of Family to Family: The Early Years (1992-2006) of an Initiative to Improve Child Welfare Systems

Outlines the crisis in child welfare systems and the development of Casey's initiative to increase the agencies' frontline capacity, prioritize reunification, and provide neighborhood-based foster care. Reviews strategies, intended outcomes, and results

Double Shuffle and Kashiwara-Vergne Lie algebras

We prove that the double shuffle Lie algebra ds, dual to the space of new formal multiple zeta values, injects into the Kashiwara-Vergne Lie algebra krv defined and studied by Alekseev-Torossian. The proof is based on a reformulation of the definition of krv, and uses a theorem of Ecalle on a property of elements of ds.Comment: 18 page