"Minding" the style: reading Conrad through cognitive poetics

Cognitive Poetics works on the triangle of author-text-reader. A main focus is the reader of literature, as a co-producer of the text alongside the author, in an attempt to explain how his/her knowledge and experiences are applied in reaching an understanding of a particular text in a particular context. In this paper several examples of how contextual frames can operate in a narrative are discussed in three works of short fiction by Joseph Conrad. Analyzed in the particular context of Conradian narrative and prose style are such points as: how the readers begin a story, how they enter into the interior levels of it in order to feel and touch the events in the way its characters do, how they follow every episode of it and, in other words, how the readers "comprehend" the narrative. It is argued that the application of insights from cognitive poetics to Conrad’s fiction is of particular relevance as Conrad is a writer who embodies and foregrounds this very act and process of "comprehending" in his fiction

Closing the Gap between FPGA and ASIC:Balancing Flexibility and Efficiency

Despite many advantages of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), they fail to take over the IC design market from Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for high-volume and even medium-volume applications, as FPGAs come with significant cost in area, delay, and power consumption. There are two main reasons that FPGAs have huge efficiency gap with ASICs: (1) FPGAs are extremely flexible as they have fully programmable soft-logic blocks and routing networks, and (2) FPGAs have hard-logic blocks that are only usable by a subset of applications. In other words, current FPGAs have a heterogeneous structure comprised of the flexible soft-logic and the efficient hard-logic blocks that suffer from inefficiency and inflexibility, respectively. The inefficiency of the soft-logic is a challenge for any application that is mapped to FPGAs, and lack of flexibility in the hard-logic results in a waste of resources when an application cannot use the hard-logic. In this thesis, we approach the inefficiency problem of FPGAs by bridging the efficiency/flexibility gap of the hard- and soft-logic. The main goal of this thesis is to compromise on efficiency of the hard-logic for flexibility, on the one hand, and to compromise on flexibility of the soft-logic for efficiency, on the other hand. In other words, this thesis deals with two issues: (1) adding more generality to the hard-logic of FPGAs, and (2) improving the soft-logic by adapting it to the generic requirements of applications. In the first part of the thesis, we introduce new techniques that expand the functionality of FPGAs hard-logic. The hard-logic includes the dedicated resources that are tightly coupled with the soft-logic –i.e., adder circuitry and carry chains –as well as the stand-alone ones –i.e., DSP blocks. These specialized resources are intended to accelerate critical arithmetic operations that appear in the pre-synthesis representation of applications; we introduce mapping and architectural solutions, which enable both types of the hard-logic to support additional arithmetic operations. We first present a mapping technique that extends the application of FPGAs carry chains for carry-save arithmetic, and then to increase the generality of the hard-logic, we introduce novel architectures; using these architectures, more applications can take advantage of FPGAs hard-logic. In the second part of the thesis, we improve the efficiency of FPGAs soft-logic by exploiting the circuit patterns that emerge after logic synthesis, i.e., connection and logic patterns. Using these patterns, we design new soft-logic blocks that have less flexibility, but more efficiency than current ones. In this part, we first introduce logic chains, fixed connections that are integrated between the soft-logic blocks of FPGAs and are well-suited for long chains of logic that appear post-synthesis. Logic chains provide fast and low cost connectivity, increase the bandwidth of the logic blocks without changing their interface with the routing network, and improve the logic density of soft-logic blocks. In addition to logic chains and as a complementary contribution, we present a non-LUT soft-logic block that comprises simple and pre-connected cells. The structure of this logic block is inspired from the logic patterns that appear post-synthesis. This block has a complexity that is only linear in the number of inputs, it sports the potential for multiple independent outputs, and the delay is only logarithmic in the number of inputs. Although this new block is less flexible than a LUT, we show (1) that effective mapping algorithms exist, (2) that, due to their simplicity, poor utilization is less of an issue than with LUTs, and (3) that a few LUTs can still be used in extreme unfortunate cases. In summary, to bridge the gap between FPGAs and ASICs, we approach the problem from two complementary directions, which balance flexibility and efficiency of the logic blocks of FPGAs. However, we were able to explore a few design points in this thesis, and future work could focus on further exploration of the design space

Implementation of wampac security and stability improvement of power grids with systems

In this paper, due to the importance of extensive monitoring, protection and control systems as well as the importance of hybrid systems, both the AC and DC sectors have been attempted to make the implementation of the WAMPAC system more transparent to these types of networks. As a general rule, the main purpose of using extensive monitoring, protection and control systems is to consider the stability and security of power systems. Therefore, in this paper, the above principles are considered and, with respect to the sample network, the relevant strategies have been implemented, and the simulation results point to improving security and stability in the power grid

Change in refractive status and pupil size during different yoga posture among healthy subjects

366-370The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of different yoga postures on the refractive status and pupil size among healthy individuals. The cross-sectional study involved 27 healthy individuals with a mean age of 19.9±1.69 years. The procedure was explained to the subjects and written informed consent obtained. Structured yoga training was given for all participants to get them to perform five yoga postures. On completion of training, refractive error and pupil size were measured for each subject using photo refractometer at rest and while performing yoga. Comparing refractive error measurements with all the yoga postures no statistical significant difference observed, but when the mean value of pupil size baseline reading compared with each yoga postures, we found a significant change in pupil size during the asana (p<0.001). The study shows a significant increase in pupil size across yoga postures as compared to prone position. There was no change in the refractive status across all yoga postures

Calculation of Inter- and Intra-Fraction Motion Errors at External Radiotherapy Using a Markerless Strategy Based on Image Registration Combined with Correlation Model

Introduction: A new method based on image registration technique and an intelligent correlation model to calculate. The present study aimed to propose inter- and intra-fraction motion errors in order to address the limitations of conventional Patient positioning methods. Material and Methods: The configuration of the markerless method was accomplished by using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) datasets. Firstly, the MeVisLab software package was used to extract a three-dimensional (3D) surface model of the patient and determine the tumor location. Then, the patient-specific 3D surface model which also included the breathing phases was imported into the MATLAB software package in order to define several control points on the thorax region as virtual external markers. Finally, based on the correlation of breathing signals/patient position with breathing signals/tumor coordinate, an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system was proposed to both verify and align the inter- and intra-fraction motion errors in radiotherapy, if needed. In order to validate the proposed method, the 4DCT data acquired from four real patients was considered. Results: Final results revealed that our hybrid configuration method was capable of aligning patient setup with lower uncertainties, compared to other available methods. In addition, the 3D root-mean-square error has been reduced from 5.26 to 1.5 mm for all patients. Conclusion: In this study, a markerless method based on the image registration technique in combination with a correlation model was proposed to address the limitations of the available methods, including dependence on operator’s attention, use of passive markers, and rigid-only constraint for patient setup

Integration of Palliative Care into the Primary Health Care of Iran: A Document Analysis

Background: Providing palliative care (PC) is increasing by the increase in the number of people with life-threatening diseases and determined the benefits of these services in the community. Access to palliative care is a patient’s rights and ethical responsibility. Thus it is necessary to integrate into all level of the health system, including the primary health care. This study was conducted to assess the requirements for the integration of PC into the primary health care. Method: It was a document analysis, carried out through conventional content analysis and 10 national documents on PC, released by governmental organizations from 2010. The 4-step Scott method was used for the data validity and the coding process was done utilizing MAXQDA 10 software. Results: Base on the data analysis, we identified the “requirements of the integration of PC into the primary health care”, was of 4 main categories and 12 sub-categories. The categories include “principles and basics”, “legislation and policy-making”, “the establishment of PC system” and “the need for civil support”, which were extracted by reviewing the documents. Conclusion: PC is believed to be in its early stages in the Iranian health system. Therefore, universal access to these services requires their provision at the community level. Thus, it is recommended that the principles and basics of PC in the country be explained and then, the necessary infrastructures of this integration be provided with the cooperation of governmental organizations, NGOs, and charities, through proper policy making

An siRNA Screen in Pancreatic Beta Cells Reveals a Role for Gpr27 in Insulin Production

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the United States is projected to double or triple by 2050. We reasoned that the genes that modulate insulin production might be new targets for diabetes therapeutics. Therefore, we developed an siRNA screening system to identify genes important for the activity of the insulin promoter in beta cells. We created a subclone of the MIN6 mouse pancreatic beta cell line that expresses destabilized GFP under the control of a 362 base pair fragment of the human insulin promoter and the mCherry red fluorescent protein under the control of the constitutively active rous sarcoma virus promoter. The ratio of the GFP to mCherry fluorescence of a cell indicates its insulin promoter activity. As G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have emerged as novel targets for diabetes therapies, we used this cell line to screen an siRNA library targeting all known mouse GPCRs. We identified several known GPCR regulators of insulin secretion as regulators of the insulin promoter. One of the top positive regulators was Gpr27, an orphan GPCR with no known role in beta cell function. We show that knockdown of Gpr27 reduces endogenous mouse insulin promoter activity and glucose stimulated insulin secretion. Furthermore, we show that Pdx1 is important for Gpr27's effect on the insulin promoter and insulin secretion. Finally, the over-expression of Gpr27 in 293T cells increases inositol phosphate levels, while knockdown of Gpr27 in MIN6 cells reduces inositol phosphate levels, suggesting this orphan GPCR might couple to Gq/11. In summary, we demonstrate a MIN6-based siRNA screening system that allows rapid identification of novel positive and negative regulators of the insulin promoter. Using this system, we identify Gpr27 as a positive regulator of insulin production

The Impact Of Internet Advertısıng T Oword Purchasıng Behavıor And An Applıcatıon

Küreselleşmenin getirmiş olduğu unsurlardan internettir. Günümüzde internet olmaksızın insanların deyim yerindeyse adım atamadıklarını söyleyebiliriz. İnternetin sağladığı avantajlar oldukça fazladır. Fakat bizi ilgilendiren kısım internet alışverişidir. İnternet, Klasik medyalarla karşılaştırıldığında daha düşük maliyet, rekabet aracı, esnek, interaktif, bilgilendirici, zaman tasarrufu ve direkt hedef kitlesine ulaşımına imkan sağlamaktadır. Son yıllarda internette reklamların yayılması güçlü bir iletişimin oluşmasına neden olmaktadır. Firmaların ürün ve hizmetlerinin tanıtılması ve satışları için önemli bir araçtır. Bu tezde, internet reklamlarının satın alma davranışı üzerinde ki etkisi incelenmiştir ve anket yoluyla elde edilen veriler spss 16 program yoluyla değerlendirilmiştir. Bu tez 29 sorudan ve toplam 1 ana ve 5 alt hipotezden oluşturulmuştur. Betimsel istatistik ve One Semple Kolmogro, person, Friedman testi yöntemleri kullanılmaktadır.One of the factors that have been brought globalization is the Internet. Today we can said that people cannot live without internet. There are many advantages by using Internet. However, the most interesting one from the internet is online shopping activity. Internet compared with conventional media is lower cost, more competitive tool, more interactive, informative, time saving and flexible. Internet also provides more advantages in reaching the target audience directly. In recent years, the publication of advertisements of the internet has led the formation of a strong communication. The companies introduce the products and service the consumer through internet. It is an important tool for sales. This thesis examined about the effect of internet advertising toward purchasing behavior. Data obtained through surveys and evaluated through the SPSS 16 program. The thesis consists of 29 surveyzs questions and 1 main of hypothesis and 5 sub hypothesis. This thesis also used descriptive statistics, One - Sample Kolmogorov, person, and Friedman test metho