Cross Recurrence Plot Based Synchronization of Time Series

The method of recurrence plots is extended to the cross recurrence plots (CRP), which among others enables the study of synchronization or time differences in two time series. This is emphasized in a distorted main diagonal in the cross recurrence plot, the line of synchronization (LOS). A non-parametrical fit of this LOS can be used to rescale the time axis of the two data series (whereby one of it is e.g. compressed or stretched) so that they are synchronized. An application of this method to geophysical sediment core data illustrates its suitability for real data. The rock magnetic data of two different sediment cores from the Makarov Basin can be adjusted to each other by using this method, so that they are comparable.Comment: Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 9, 2002, in pres

Extensive orbital damage as a result of maxillary sinus surgery – a case report and literature review

Classic and FESS (Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery) surgery of the sinuses are connected with the possibility of surgical complications involving the orbital structures and the eyeball. Most frequently these involve bleeding from the vessels of the orbit and the nasal cavity. A rare and certainly the most serious complication is blindness resulting from damage to the optic nerve. This paper presents a case of postoperative blindness as a result of maxillary sinus surgery complicated by damage to the orbital floor and its inadequate reconstruction

26 Ocena wyników pooperacyjnej radioterapii skojarzonej z 5-fluorouracylem u chorych na raka odbytnicy

Celem pracy była ocena wyników leczenia uzupełniającego z udziałem chemio- i radioterapii chorych po radykalnym zabiegu operacyjnym z powodu raka odbytnicy, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tolerancji leczenia. Materiał obejmuje 64 chorych leczonych w Klinice Onkologii i Radioterapii w Iatach1991–1995. Głównymi powikłaniami w czasie leczenia były biegunki (58%), nudności i wymioty (15%), objawy dyżuryczne (6%), leukopenia (33%) i niedokrwistość (5%). Do ostrych powikłań doszło ogółem 43 chorych (66%) w tym u 15 (23%) miały one charakter ciężki (stopień III i IV). Troje chorych nie ukończyło leczenia z powodu znacznego nasilenia objawów niepożądanych leczenia i pogorszenia stanu ogólnego.Późne powikłania, przede wszystkim w obrębie jelit i dróg moczowych, wystąpiły ogółem u 22 chorych (34%) w tym u 6 (9%)- w stopniu ciężkim. Spośród ocenionych 64 chorych dotychczas zmarło 19 (30%). Mediana czasu przeżycia w całej grupie wynosiła 37 miesięcy (11–60 miesięcy). Do wznowy miejscowej doszło u 15 chorych (23%) natomiast przerzuty odległe wystąpiły u 18 chorych (28%). Przedstawione wyniki, wskazujące na wysoki odsetek nawrotów oraz dużą liczbę powikłań popromiennych, skłoniły nas do zmiany techniki napromieniania. Efekty tych modyfikacji będzie można ocenić dopiero za kilka lat

Histological, histochemical and fine structure studies of the lacrimal gland and superficial gland of the third eyelid and their significance on the proper function of the eyeball in alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

The lacrimal gland (LG) and superficial gland of the third eyelid (SGTE) belong to accessory organs of the eye. The aim of the present studies was to evaluate the histological, histochemical and fine structure of the LG and SGTE obtained from 3 adult females and 2 adult males of alpaca (Vicugna pacos). The LG was situated in the dorsolateral angle of the orbit between the dorsal rectus and the lateral rectus muscles. The SGTE was located between the medial rectus muscle, the ventral rectus muscle and was partially covered by the ventral oblique muscle of the eyeball. There were no effect of gender on the morphometry of examined LG and SGTE. The third eyelid resembles an anchor in shape. During histological and ultrastructural analyses using light and transmission electron microscopy, it was established that the LG and SGTE are tubulo-acinar glands with mucoserous characters. The LG contains either lymphocytes or plasma cells, while SGTE had rare plasma cells and numerous lymphocytes in connective tissue. The cartilage of the third eyelid was composed of hyaline tissue. Numerous aggregations of lymphocytes as lymph nodules in bulbar surface of the third eyelid were observed. The LG and SGTE secretory cells exhibited a similar ultrastructure appearance in electron microscopic examination, with secretory cells tightly filled with intracytoplasmatic secretory granules and numerous clusters of mucus of different sizes which were observed in the peripheral cells compartment

Stream data cleaning for dynamic line rating application

The maximum current that an overhead transmission line can continuously carry depends on external weather conditions, most commonly obtained from real-time streaming weather sensors. The accuracy of the sensor data is very important in order to avoid problems such as overheating. Furthermore, faulty sensor readings may cause operators to limit or even stop the energy production from renewable sources in radial networks. This paper presents a method for detecting and replacing sequences of consecutive faulty data originating from streaming weather sensors. The method is based on a combination of (a) a set of constraints obtained from derivatives in consecutive data, and (b) association rules that are automatically generated from historical data. In smart grids, a large amount of historical data from different weather stations are available but rarely used. In this work, we show that mining and analyzing this historical data provides valuable information that can be used for detecting and replacing faulty sensor readings. We compare the result of the proposed method against the exponentially weighted moving average and vector autoregression models. Experiments on data sets with real and synthetic errors demonstrate the good performance of the proposed method for monitoring weather sensors.This research was partially funded by Spanish Government under Spanish R+D initiative with reference ENE2013-42720-R and RETOS RTC-2015-3795-3

Domain-wall dynamics in 4C pyrrhotite at low temperature

Monoclinic 4C pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) is ferrimagnetic due to an ordered defect structure with alternating vacancy and vacancy-free sublattices. Its low-temperature magnetic transition near 35 K is characterized by the distinct increase in coercivity and remanent magnetization. The increase of these parameters has been attributed to changes in the domain wall structure. We present static and dynamic magnetization data of a powder sample to study the domain-wall dynamics across the low-temperature transition. The amplitude-dependent ac susceptibility and the ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy indicate that the hardening of the domain-wall pinning at the transition occurs simultaneously with the decrease in initial saturation remanent magnetization. These two effects are explained by the enhanced inhomogeneity of the bulk material caused by the persistency of the ordered vacancies and by newly formed defects due to localized distortion of Fe(II) sites in the vacancy-free sublattice. The generated localized defects are the link between the domain wall dynamics and the low-temperature transition in 4C pyrrhotit

Categories of First-Order Quantifiers

One well known problem regarding quantifiers, in particular the 1storder quantifiers, is connected with their syntactic categories and denotations. The unsatisfactory efforts to establish the syntactic and ontological categories of quantifiers in formalized first-order languages can be solved by means of the so called principle of categorial compatibility formulated by Roman Suszko, referring to some innovative ideas of Gottlob Frege and visible in syntactic and semantic compatibility of language expressions. In the paper the principle is introduced for categorial languages generated by the Ajdukiewicz’s classical categorial grammar. The 1st-order quantifiers are typically ambiguous. Every 1st-order quantifier of the type k \u3e 0 is treated as a two-argument functorfunction defined on the variable standing at this quantifier and its scope (the sentential function with exactly k free variables, including the variable bound by this quantifier); a binary function defined on denotations of its two arguments is its denotation. Denotations of sentential functions, and hence also quantifiers, are defined separately in Fregean and in situational semantics. They belong to the ontological categories that correspond to the syntactic categories of these sentential functions and the considered quantifiers. The main result of the paper is a solution of the problem of categories of the 1st-order quantifiers based on the principle of categorial compatibility

Putative Cooperative ATP-DnaA Binding to Double-Stranded DnaA Box and Single-Stranded DnaA-Trio Motif upon Helicobacter pylori Replication Initiation Complex Assembly

oriC is a region of the bacterial chromosome at which the initiator protein DnaA interacts with specific sequences, leading to DNA unwinding and the initiation of chromosome replication. The general architecture of oriCs is universal; however, the structure of oriC and the mode of orisome assembly differ in distantly related bacteria. In this work, we characterized oriC of Helicobacter pylori, which consists of two DnaA box clusters and a DNA unwinding element (DUE); the latter can be subdivided into a GC-rich region, a DnaA-trio and an AT-rich region. We show that the DnaA-trio submodule is crucial for DNA unwinding, possibly because it enables proper DnaA oligomerization on ssDNA. However, we also observed the reverse effect: DNA unwinding, enabling subsequent DnaA–ssDNA oligomer formation—stabilized DnaA binding to box ts1. This suggests the interplay between DnaA binding to ssDNA and dsDNA upon DNA unwinding. Further investigation of the ts1 DnaA box revealed that this box, together with the newly identified c-ATP DnaA box in oriC1, constitute a new class of ATP–DnaA boxes. Indeed, in vitro ATP–DnaA unwinds H. pylori oriC more efficiently than ADP–DnaA. Our results expand the understanding of H. pylori orisome formation, indicating another regulatory pathway of H. pylori orisome assembly

Adjuvant treatment of patients with rectal cancer

Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is considered a standard management of rectal cancer patients with increased risk of local recurrence. In this study we evaluated the results of adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy after radical surgery in 64 patients with rectal carcinoma with special reference to tolerance of treatment. All patients underwent radical surgery: anterior abdominal resection in 26, abdominoperineal resection in 19 and Hartman resection in one. Thirty three patients were postoperatively staged as Dukes B2 and 31 patients – as Dukes C. All patients received postoperative chemo-radiotherapy. Treatment included megavoltage irradiation with two parallel opposed fields to small pelvis at a dose of 45 Gy in 23–25 fractions and concomitant chemotherapy with 5-Fluorouracil during first three and last three days of irradiation.Main early complications from chemoradiation included diarrhea (58%), nausea and vomiting (15%), dysuria (6%), leukopenia (31%) and anaemia (4%). In total, acute side effects occured in 42 patients (66%) and in 16 of them (25%) were of grade 3 or 4. Three patients did not complete the treatment due to exacerbation of side effects and/or serious deterioration of performance status. Late complications, mainly from bowels and urinary bladder, occured in 19 patients (30%) and six of then (9%) were severe.Nineteen of the 64 evaluated patients have deceased ill now. Median survival was 29 months (4 to 50 months). Local recurrence was seen in 14 patients (22%) and distant metastases – in 18 (28%).Results of our study show that postoperative radiochemotherapy in rectal cancer patients is accompanied by a large number of acute and late complications. Literature data demonstrate that better tolerance of treatment may be achieved with the use of special surgical techniques preventing the replacement of small intestines to the pelvis after rectal amputation. Further improvement may be achieved with the use of multiple radiation fields, computerized treatment planning and customized blocking. Another option is an application of preoperative radiotherapy – the approach becoming recently more commonly used