Closure algorithms and the star-height problem of regular languages

Imperial Users onl

Bank Charge Cards: New Cash or New Credit

It is the premise of this Article that the bank charge card systems constitute a new, highly useful, and efficient payment and credit mechanism; that any decision-making body that promulgates a rule on the issue of the assertability of consumer defenses must carefully evaluate the true functions of bank charge cards, particularly their role as part of a sophisticated payment mechanism, and weigh the relative interests of the consuming public, merchants, and members of the banking industry to derive the best solution for society; that courts are ill-equipped to perform this function; and, that, given the national and international usage of bank charge cards, a uniform rule is imperative. The Article will first analyze each of these premises and then proceed to suggest a rule that seems effectively to balance the various interests involved

Feasibility of NASA TT&C via Commercial Satellite Services

This report presents the results of a study to identify impact and driving requirements by implementing commercial satellite communications service into traditional National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space-ground communications. The NASA communication system is used to relay spacecraft and instrument commands, telemetry and science data. NASA's goal is to lower the cost of operation and increase the flexibility of spacecraft operations. Use of a commercial network offers the opportunity to contact a spacecraft on a nearly "on-demand" basis with ordinary phone calls to enable real time interaction with science events

Kinetic calibration of the calcium indicator arsenazo III. I. Stopped-flow spectroscopy

Clemen S, Rabl C-R, Neumann E. Kinetic calibration of the calcium indicator arsenazo III. I. Stopped-flow spectroscopy. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes. 1988;938(3):456-460

Souvenirs de captivité en Russie

RésuméIl s’agit ici de la première traduction des mémoires de Carl von Roland, Minnen från fångenskapen i Ryssland och Carl XII : s krig [Souvenirs de captivité en Russie et des guerres de Charles XII], rédigés à la fin des années 1740 et publiés en Suède en 1914. La première partie du récit, ou partie « russe » -- qui fait l’objet de la présente publication -- relate la captivité de l’auteur, capitaine de l’armée suédoise, après la bataille de Poltava (1709), et sa vie à Moscou et en province jusqu’en 1714, quand il réussit à quitter clandestinement la Russie. Jeune, téméraire et incroyablement entreprenant, Carl Roland veut à tout prix revenir dans son pays et, dans ses souvenirs, il raconte par le menu comment il s’y prend. Ces activités le mettent constamment en contact avec les autorités locales, les envoyés du pouvoir central, les voisins russes, à Galič, à Vologda, à Moscou et ailleurs, les autres étrangers, prisonniers, hommes d’affaires, etc., ce qui nous vaut une galerie de personnages vaste et variée. Les deux traits distinctifs du récit sont la grande précision et l’absence de toute rhétorique : une masse de données factuelles, de détails précieux, sans la moindre tentative de généralisation. Les mœurs des hommes et des femmes de toutes conditions, les observations ethnographiques, les remarques sur l’administration, locale et centrale, l’armée, la justice, le système pénitentiaire, les pots-de-vin, la nourriture et la boisson -- Roland brosse un tableau unique de la vie.AbstractMemoirs of captivity in Russia and Charles XII’s warsThis is the first translation of Carl von Roland’s Minnen från fångenskapen i Ryssland och Carl XII: s krig [Memoirs of captivity in Russia and Charles XII’s wars], written in the late 1740s and published in Sweden in 1914. The first part or “Russian” part of these memoirs -- which is the subject of the present publication -- recounts the author’s captivity after the Poltava battle (1709) and his life in Moscow and the Russian provinces until his clandestine departure from Russia in 1714. This young, reckless, and incredibly daring captain of the Swedish army wanted to return to his country at all cost, and his memoirs give a detailed account of how he set about it. His moves led him to deal regularly with a wide and varied collection of colorful figures -- local authorities, central government officials, his Russian neighbors in Galich, Vologda, Moscow and elsewhere, other foreigners, prisoners, businessmen... The story stands out by its precision and conciseness : it abounds in factual data and precious details and shuns generalizations. With the description of the lifestyle of men and women of all conditions, added to ethnographical observations and reflections on local and central administration, the military, the judiciary, the penitentiary system, bribery, food and drink, etc., Roland paints a unique picture of Russian life

A comparison of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to invasive electrocortical stimulation for sensorimotor mapping in pediatric patients

Localizing neurologic function within the brain remains a significant challenge in clinical neurosurgery. Invasive mapping with direct electrocortical stimulation currently is the clinical gold standard but is impractical in young or cognitively delayed patients who are unable to reliably perform tasks. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging non-invasively identifies resting state networks without the need for task performance, hence, is well suited to pediatric patients. We compared sensorimotor network localization by resting state fMRI to cortical stimulation sensory and motor mapping in 16 pediatric patients aged 3.1 to 18.6 years. All had medically refractory epilepsy that required invasive electrographic monitoring and stimulation mapping. The resting state fMRI data were analyzed using a previously trained machine learning classifier that has previously been evaluated in adults. We report comparable functional localization by resting state fMRI compared to stimulation mapping. These results provide strong evidence for the utility of resting state functional imaging in the localization of sensorimotor cortex across a wide range of pediatric patients

On the role of the corpus callosum in interhemispheric functional connectivity in humans

Resting state functional connectivity is defined in terms of temporal correlations between physiologic signals, most commonly studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Major features of functional connectivity correspond to structural (axonal) connectivity. However, this relation is not one-to-one. Interhemispheric functional connectivity in relation to the corpus callosum presents a case in point. Specifically, several reports have documented nearly intact interhemispheric functional connectivity in individuals in whom the corpus callosum (the major commissure between the hemispheres) never develops. To investigate this question, we assessed functional connectivity before and after surgical section of the corpus callosum in 22 patients with medically refractory epilepsy. Section of the corpus callosum markedly reduced interhemispheric functional connectivity. This effect was more profound in multimodal associative areas in the frontal and parietal lobe than primary regions of sensorimotor and visual function. Moreover, no evidence of recovery was observed in a limited sample in which multiyear, longitudinal follow-up was obtained. Comparison of partial vs. complete callosotomy revealed several effects implying the existence of polysynaptic functional connectivity between remote brain regions. Thus, our results demonstrate that callosal as well as extracallosal anatomical connections play a role in the maintenance of interhemispheric functional connectivity

Application of the Computational Design Synthesis framework for individualized car seats

The manufacturing capabilities of additive manufacturing allow great design freedom for mass customization of different products. This new solution space needs to be explored and served by engineers when designing individual variants of a product. Therefore, the methods of model generation for the individual variant with individual customer specific requirements must be improved to take advantage of this design freedom. This paper discusses the specific challenges of designing a customized car seat by showing its general process chain and the challenges associated with the design of foam replacement structures that offer the possibility to customize the stiffness of the cushion. A possible framework for the underlying digital process chain is then discussed. This framework manages model synthesis according to anthropometric data and safety requirements as conflicting requirements within various complex engineering correlations. In a case study, the chosen Computational Design Synthesis (CDS) framework is applied to the problem of designing an individualized car seat. Detailed descriptions of the concept for each block in the process chain are presented within the case study. The paper and conclusion discuss whether the framework meets the challenges of the application example and further steps for the project