A Universal Point Set for 2-Outerplanar Graphs

A point set $S \subseteq \mathbb{R}^2$ is universal for a class $\cal G$ if every graph of ${\cal G}$ has a planar straight-line embedding on $S$. It is well-known that the integer grid is a quadratic-size universal point set for planar graphs, while the existence of a sub-quadratic universal point set for them is one of the most fascinating open problems in Graph Drawing. Motivated by the fact that outerplanarity is a key property for the existence of small universal point sets, we study 2-outerplanar graphs and provide for them a universal point set of size $O(n \log n)$.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, conference version at GD 201

Superpatterns and Universal Point Sets

An old open problem in graph drawing asks for the size of a universal point set, a set of points that can be used as vertices for straight-line drawings of all n-vertex planar graphs. We connect this problem to the theory of permutation patterns, where another open problem concerns the size of superpatterns, permutations that contain all patterns of a given size. We generalize superpatterns to classes of permutations determined by forbidden patterns, and we construct superpatterns of size n^2/4 + Theta(n) for the 213-avoiding permutations, half the size of known superpatterns for unconstrained permutations. We use our superpatterns to construct universal point sets of size n^2/4 - Theta(n), smaller than the previous bound by a 9/16 factor. We prove that every proper subclass of the 213-avoiding permutations has superpatterns of size O(n log^O(1) n), which we use to prove that the planar graphs of bounded pathwidth have near-linear universal point sets.Comment: GD 2013 special issue of JGA

Data intensive scientific analysis with grid computing

At the end of September 2009, a new Italian GPS receiver for radio occultation was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (Sriharikota, India) on the Indian Remote Sensing OCEANSAT-2 satellite. The Italian Space Agency has established a set of Italian universities and research centers to implement the overall processing radio occultation chain. After a brief description of the adopted algorithms, which can be used to characterize the temperature, pressure and humidity, the contribution will focus on a method for automatic processing these data, based on the use of a distributed architecture. This paper aims at being a possible application of grid computing for scientific research

Patterns of variability in voice onset time: a developmental study of motor speech skills in humans

This study investigated the developmental patterns of variability in the speech parameter voice onset time (VOT) in forty six children. Five groups of children participated in the study as follows: i) Group 1 - aged 5 years 8 months (n=6); ii) Group 2 - 7 years 10 months (n=10); iii) Group 3 - 9 years 10 months (n=10); iv) Group 4 - 11 years 10 months (n=10), and v) Group 5 - 13 years 2 months (n=10). Coefficient of variation (COV) values were examined for the VOT values of both "voiceless" (/p t k/) and "voiced" (/b d g/) plosives to determine patterns of variability. Significant effects of age were revealed for both the voiceless and voiced plosives, and levels of variability leveled off for Group 4. The data suggest that although variability in VOT decreases with age, the presence of residual variability may be a prerequisite for the further refinement of motor speech skills

Universal and Non-Universal First-Passage Properties of Planar Multipole Flows

The dynamics of passive Brownian tracer particles in steady two-dimensional potential flows between sources and sinks is investigated. The first-passage probability, $p(t)$, exhibits power-law decay with a velocity-dependent exponent in radial flow and an order-dependent exponent in multipolar flows. For the latter, there also occur diffusive ``echo'' shoulders and exponential decays associated with stagnation points in the flow. For spatially extended dipole sinks, the spatial distribution of the collected tracer is independent of the overall magnitude of the flow field.Comment: 7 pages, LaTe

Dynamics of a faceted nematic-smectic B front in thin-sample directional solidification

We present an experimental study of the directional-solidification patterns of a nematic - smectic B front. The chosen system is C_4H_9-(C_6H_{10})_2CN (in short, CCH4) in 12 \mu m-thick samples, and in the planar configuration (director parallel to the plane of the sample). The nematic - smectic B interface presents a facet in one direction -- the direction parallel to the smectic layers -- and is otherwise rough, and devoid of forbidden directions. We measure the Mullins-Sekerka instability threshold and establish the morphology diagram of the system as a function of the solidification rate V and the angle theta_{0} between the facet and the isotherms. We focus on the phenomena occurring immediately above the instability threshold when theta_{0} is neither very small nor close to 90^{o}. Under these conditions we observe drifting shallow cells and a new type of solitary wave, called "faceton", which consists essentially of an isolated macroscopic facet traveling laterally at such a velocity that its growth rate with respect to the liquid is small. Facetons may propagate either in a stationary, or an oscillatory way. The detailed study of their dynamics casts light on the microscopic growth mechanisms of the facets in this system.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Changes in soil microbial communities as a result of growing Brassicaceae crops

The study was conducted in 2006 - 2008 at the Production and Experimental Station of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, located in Bałcyny (NE Poland). The objective of this study was to determine the microbial quality of soil after Brassicaceae grown as forecrops for winter wheat. A field experiment was established on grey-brown podsolic soil, and it involved the following forecrops: winter rapeseed, spring rapeseed, white mustard, Chinese mustard, and winter wheat as control. Soil samples for microbiological analyses were collected in the spring, before the sowing of forecrops, and in the autumn, after the harvest of Brassicaceae and ploughing-in crop residues. Bacterial and fungal communities isolated from soil sown with Brassicaceae as forecrops were generally more abundant and diverse. These communities exerted an inhibitory effect on the growth of soil pathogens. Forecrops with the greatest microbiological potential were white mustard and winter rapeseed

The self-care of diabetics : the role of a nurse

Chorzy na cukrzycę powinni stać się samowystarczalni w zakresie kontroli stężenia glukozy we krwi oraz wstrzyknięć insuliny do tkanki podskórnej. Posiadanie tych umiejętności nie uzależnia ich od innych osób. Stawiają się w komfortowej sytuacji, jaką jest zdolność do samoopieki. Wychodząc naprzeciw tej tezie autorzy omawiają korzystanie ze strzykawki do wstrzyknięć insuliny, charakteryzują obsługę automatycznych wstrzykiwaczy ( PEN-ów). Przedstawiają także nowoczesne rozwiązania techniczne stosowane w leczeniu chorych na cukrzycę insulinozależną.Diabetics should become self-sufficient as far as controlling their glucose level and injecting insulin to the subcutaneous tissue are concerned. Having these skill makes them independent from the help of others. It puts them in a convenient position of being capable of self-care. With the intention of exploring this matter, the authors discuss using the syringe to inject insulin and characterize the use of automatic injectors (pens). They also present modern technological solutions used for treating the insulin-dependent diabetics

The monitoring of glycaemia concentration

Jedną z najważniejszych rzeczy jakiej muszą nauczyć się diabetycy to kontrola glikemii. Autorzy w artykule omawiają zasady funkcjonowania i posługiwania się glukometrem. Szczegółowiej charakteryzują także urządzenia do pobierania krwi kapilarnej, oraz urządzenia alternatywne służące temu procederowi. Podkreślają także znaczenie oznaczeń stężenie hemoglobiny glikowanej u diabetyków.One of the most crucial things diabetics have to learn is controlling the glycaemia concentration. In this paper, the description of functions and operation of a glucometer is offered. Devices used to draw capillary blood and their substitutes are characterised in greater detail. Moreover, the significance of glycated haemoglobin measures for diabetics