436 research outputs found
A QoS Aware Approach to Service-Oriented Communication in Future Automotive Networks
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is about to enter automotive networks
based on the SOME/IP middleware and an Ethernet high-bandwidth communication
layer. It promises to meet the growing demands on connectivity and flexibility
for software components in modern cars. Largely heterogeneous service
requirements and time-sensitive network functions make Quality-of-Service (QoS)
agreements a vital building block within future automobiles. Existing
middleware solutions, however, do not allow for a dynamic selection of QoS.
This paper presents a service-oriented middleware for QoS aware communication
in future cars. We contribute a protocol for dynamic QoS negotiation along with
a multi-protocol stack, which supports the different communication classes as
derived from a thorough requirements analysis. We validate the feasibility of
our approach in a case study and evaluate its performance in a simulation model
of a realistic in-car network. Our findings indicate that QoS aware
communication can indeed meet the requirements, while the impact of the service
negotiations and setup times of the network remain acceptable provided the
cross-traffic during negotiations stays below 70% of the available bandwidth
Morphological Identification of Parasites Found in Ducks (Family Anatidae) Along the Mississippi River: A Parasitology Class Project
Ducks (Anatidae) can be found across much of the United States and are hosts to a variety of parasites such as nematodes, trematodes or cestodes. This study focused on identifying the species of the parasites found within ducks based on their morphological features. The morphological structures consisted of body shape, internal organs, mouthparts, and length. The ducks used in this study were legally harvested and donated by hunters from areas across the Mississippi River in Buffalo County and Trempealeau County Wisconsin. A total of 108 ducks have been analyzed for parasites. It is important to identify the types of parasites that use ducks as a host, to see if they are harmful to the ducks so that they can be better managed. Necropsy was performed on different species of ducks to extract endo and ectoparasites. The extracted parasites were stained using carmine borax so they could be viewed using microscopy. While examining the parasites under the microscope, length and width measurements were taken as well as identifying key features like hold fast organs. A published key was used as a guide to identify parasites based on the measurements and key features present. The identified parasites were compared with DNA analysis from another research group to help ensure that the identification of the parasites was correct. Finally, identifications were compared to published articles containing past research found on parasites in ducks
Characterization of the 4-canonical birationality of algebraic threefolds
In this article we present a 3-dimensional analogue of a well-known theorem
of E. Bombieri (in 1973) which characterizes the bi-canonical birationality of
surfaces of general type. Let be a projective minimal 3-fold of general
type with -factorial terminal singularities and the geometric genus
. We show that the 4-canonical map is {\it not}
birational onto its image if and only if is birationally fibred by a family
of irreducible curves of geometric genus 2 with
where is a general irreducible member in .Comment: 25 pages, to appear in Mathematische Zeitschrif
On complex surfaces diffeomorphic to rational surfaces
In this paper we prove that no complex surface of general type is
diffeomorphic to a rational surface, thereby completing the smooth
classification of rational surfaces and the proof of the Van de Ven conjecture
on the smooth invariance of Kodaira dimension.Comment: 34 pages, AMS-Te
Anti-Pluricanonical Systems On Q-Fano Threefolds
We investigate birationality of the anti-pluricanonical map , the
rational map defined by the anti-pluricanonical system , on
-Fano threefolds.Comment: 18 page
Atomic excitation during recollision-free ultrafast multi-electron tunnel ionization
Modern intense ultrafast pulsed lasers generate an electric field of
sufficient strength to permit tunnel ionization of the valence electrons in
atoms. This process is usually treated as a rapid succession of isolated
events, in which the states of the remaining electrons are neglected. Such
electronic interactions are predicted to be weak, the exception being
recollision excitation and ionization caused by linearly-polarized radiation.
In contrast, it has recently been suggested that intense field ionization may
be accompanied by a two-stage `shake-up' reaction. Here we report a unique
combination of experimental techniques that enables us to accurately measure
the tunnel ionization probability for argon exposed to 50 femtosecond laser
pulses. Most significantly for the current study, this measurement is
independent of the optical focal geometry, equivalent to a homogenous electric
field. Furthermore, circularly-polarized radiation negates recollision. The
present measurements indicate that tunnel ionization results in simultaneous
excitation of one or more remaining electrons through shake-up. From an atomic
physics standpoint, it may be possible to induce ionization from specific
states, and will influence the development of coherent attosecond XUV radiation
sources. Such pulses have vital scientific and economic potential in areas such
as high-resolution imaging of in-vivo cells and nanoscale XUV lithography.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, original format as accepted by Nature Physic
An Association of Multiple Well Differentiated Liposarcomas, Lipomatous Tissue and Hereditary Retinoblastoma
Well differentiated liposarcoma (atypical lipomatous tumour) is a low grade tumour, with no metastatic potential unless
dedifferentiation supervenes. When superficial, it recurs locally only occasionally after marginal excision. We present a
patient in whom bilateral childhood retinoblastoma was followed by later development of massive confluent areas of low
grade liposarcoma and lipomatous tissue affecting the upper extremities and trunk. We discuss the role of mutations in the
retinoblastoma gene (RB1) in linking these conditions and demonstrate the surgical management of an extremely unusual
and challenging case
Medial patellofemoral ligament injury patterns and associated pathology in lateral patella dislocation: an MRI study
BACKGROUND: Lateral Patella dislocations are common injuries seen in the active and young adult populations. Our study focus was to evaluate medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) injury patterns and associated knee pathology using Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies.
METHODS: MRI studies taken at one imaging site between January, 2007 to January, 2008 with the final diagnosis of patella dislocation were screened for this study. Of the 324 cases that were found, 195 patients with lateral patellar dislocation traumatic enough to cause bone bruises on the lateral femoral trochlea and the medial facet of the patella were selected for this study. The MRI images were reviewed by three independent observers for location and type of MPFL injury, osteochondral defects, loose bodies, MCL and meniscus tears. The data was analyzed as a single cohort and by gender.
RESULTS: This study consisted of 127 males and 68 females; mean age of 23 yrs. Tear of the MPFL at the patellar attachment occurred in 93/195 knees (47%), at the femoral attachment in 50/195 knees (26%), and at both the femoral and patella attachment sites in 26/195 knees (13%). Attenuation of the MPFL without rupture occurred in 26/195 knees (13%). Associated findings included loose bodies in 23/195 (13%), meniscus tears 41/195 (21%), patella avulsion/fracture in 14/195 (7%), medial collateral ligament sprains/tears in 37/195 (19%) and osteochondral lesions in 96/195 knees (49%). Statistical analysis showed females had significantly more associated meniscus tears than the males (27% vs. 17%, p = 0.04). Although not statistically significant, osteochondral lesions were seen more in male patients with acute patella dislocation (52% vs. 42%, p = 0.08).
CONCLUSION: Patients who present with lateral patella dislocation with the classic bone bruise pattern seen on MRI will likely rupture the MPFL at the patellar side. Females are more likely to have an associated meniscal tear than males; however, more males have underlying osteochondral lesions. Given the high percentage of associated pathology, we recommend a MRI of the knee in all patients who present with acute patella dislocation
High-intensity mechanical therapy for loss of knee extension for worker's compensation and non-compensation patients
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Knee flexion contractures have been associated with increased pain and a reduced ability to perform activities of daily living. Contractures can be treated either surgically or conservatively, but these treatment options may not be as successful with worker's compensation patients. The purposes of retrospective review were to 1) determine the efficacy of using adjunctive high-intensity stretch (HIS) mechanical therapy to treat flexion contractures, and 2) compare the results between groups of worker's compensation and non-compensation patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-six patients (19 women, 37 men, age = 51.5 ± 17.0 years) with flexion contractures were treated with HIS mechanical therapy as an adjunct to outpatient physical therapy. Mechanical therapy was only prescribed for those patients whose motion had reached a plateau when treated with physical therapy alone. Patients were asked to perform six, 10-minute bouts of end-range stretching per day with the ERMI Knee Extensionater<sup>(r) </sup>(ERMI, Inc., Atlanta, GA). Passive knee extension was recorded during the postoperative visit that mechanical therapy was prescribed, 3 months after beginning mechanical therapy, and at the most recent follow-up. We used a mixed-model 2 × 3 ANOVA (group × time) to evaluate the change in passive knee extension between groups over time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Regardless of group, the use of adjunctive HIS mechanical therapy resulted in passive knee extension deficits that significantly improved from 10.5° ± 5.2° at the initial visit to 2.6° ± 3.5° at the 3 month visit (p < 0.001). The degree of extension was maintained at the most recent follow-up (2.0° ± 2.9°), which was significantly greater than the initial visit (p < 0.001), but did not differ from the 3 month visit (p = 0.23). The gains in knee extension did not differ between worker's compensation and non-compensation patients (p = 0.56).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the adjunctive use of HIS mechanical therapy is an effective treatment option for patients with knee flexion contractures, regardless of whether the patient is being treated as part of a worker's compensation claim or not.</p
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