Errata Corrige on “Modeling and Computing Ternary Projective Relations Between Regions”

We report a corrected version of the algorithms to compute ternary projective relations between regions appeared in E. Clementini and R. Billen, "Modeling and computing ternary projective relations between regions," IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, vol. 18, pp. 799-814, 2006.Peer reviewe

The New competitors: A study of EMNCs in developed markets

The new competition, the EMNCs from the developing parts of our world are companies that have finally managed to get the rightful attention. Some argue that their occurrence is something that will drive the world forward for decades to come while others point them out as a threat to the living standards of the mature Western markets. Our focus, when writing about these competitors has been on their internalization and the strategies when choosing to expand abroad to developed countries. Besides from this we have gathered a lot of information about the subject in general and the theories mentioned about why EMNCs do expand the way they do. By comparing our research results with the general theories we have tried to see if the earlier theories are still up to date and if there is something new worth mentioning. The results of our thesis showed that many of the theories mentioned by other authors about the subject are still relevant when comparing with the chosen EMNCs that we wrote about. In addition, differences between the EMNCs in the two chosen industries, steel and telecommunication, have been identified. The use of for instance Joint Ventures is much more common in the telecommunication industry than in the steel industry. Acquisitions and mergers on the other hand seem to be the more common way of doing business in the steel industry that generally is in need of consolidation

Active immunization against alpha-synuclein ameliorates the degenerative pathology and prevents demyelination in a model of multiple system atrophy.

BackgroundMultiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by parkinsonism, ataxia and dysautonomia. Histopathologically, the hallmark of MSA is the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) within oligodendroglial cells, leading to neuroinflammation, demyelination and neuronal death. Currently, there is no disease-modifying treatment for MSA. In this sense, we have previously shown that next-generation active vaccination technology with short peptides, AFFITOPEs®, was effective in two transgenic models of synucleinopathies at reducing behavioral deficits, α-syn accumulation and inflammation.ResultsIn this manuscript, we used the most effective AFFITOPE® (AFF 1) for immunizing MBP-α-syn transgenic mice, a model of MSA that expresses α-syn in oligodendrocytes. Vaccination with AFF 1 resulted in the production of specific anti-α-syn antibodies that crossed into the central nervous system and recognized α-syn aggregates within glial cells. Active vaccination with AFF 1 resulted in decreased accumulation of α-syn, reduced demyelination in neocortex, striatum and corpus callosum, and reduced neurodegeneration. Clearance of α-syn involved activation of microglia and reduced spreading of α-syn to astroglial cells.ConclusionsThis study further validates the efficacy of vaccination with AFFITOPEs® for ameliorating the neurodegenerative pathology in synucleinopathies

Tailoring the Antibody Response to Aggregated Aß Using Novel Alzheimer-Vaccines

Recent evidence suggests Alzheimer-Disease (AD) to be driven by aggregated Aß. Capitalizing on the mechanism of molecular mimicry and applying several selection layers, we screened peptide libraries for moieties inducing antibodies selectively reacting with Aß-aggregates. The technology identified a pool of peptide candidates; two, AFFITOPES AD01 and AD02, were assessed as vaccination antigens and compared to Aβ1-6, the targeted epitope. When conjugated to Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) and adjuvanted with aluminum, all three peptides induced Aß-targeting antibodies (Abs). In contrast to Aß1-6, AD01- or AD02-induced Abs were characterized by selectivity for aggregated forms of Aß and absence of reactivity with related molecules such as Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP)/ secreted APP-alpha (sAPPa). Administration of AFFITOPE-vaccines to APP-transgenic mice was found to reduce their cerebral amyloid burden, the associated neuropathological alterations and to improve their cognitive functions. Thus, the AFFITOME-technology delivers vaccines capable of inducing a distinct Ab response. Their features may be beneficial to AD-patients, a hypothesis currently tested within a phase-II-study

Using Sociolinguistics and Literary Studies to Understand Code-Switching within Works by Louise Erdrich

There exists a multitude of definitions and concepts that describe the movement between and from one linguistic code to the next, commonly referred to as code-switching. Each definition given differs not only between fields of research but also within said fields of research, making it incredibly difficult to create one unified definition for code-switching. The two most popular fields of research that have extensively studied code-switching are sociolinguistics and literature/literary studies, with both fields having basic tenets of study that create different nuances in how code-switching is described by researchers in each respective field of study. One of the key differences between how both fields of study define code-switching is that literature/literary studies attempt to show mental representations of linguistic purpose in code-switching, meaning that the speaker’s intent is centered within literary conversations as opposed to sociolinguistic conversations. This proposed difference is used to examine how indigenous writers, like Louise Erdrich, use literature to display the purpose behind their code-switching and other linguistic choices. This paper primarily explores how Erdrich’s use of the Ojibwe language displays the evolving purpose behind her code-switching within three of her major works: Love Medicine, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, and The Plague of Doves. By using a literary understanding to explore Erdrich’s use of code-switching, it becomes clear how Erdrich enacts linguistic agency within said works to provide a deeper meaning to her linguistic choices and her overall narratives

Augmenting forearm crutches with wireless sensors for lower limb rehabilitation

Forearm crutches are frequently used in the rehabilitation of an injury to the lower limb. The recovery rate is improved if the patient correctly applies a certain fraction of their body weight (specified by a clinician) through the axis of the crutch, referred to as partial weight bearing (PWB). Incorrect weight bearing has been shown to result in an extended recovery period or even cause further damage to the limb. There is currently no minimally invasive tool for long-term monitoring of a patient's PWB in a home environment. This paper describes the research and development of an instrumented forearm crutch that has been developed to wirelessly and autonomously monitor a patient's weight bearing over the full period of their recovery, including its potential use in a home environment. A pair of standard forearm crutches are augmented with low-cost off-the-shelf wireless sensor nodes and electronic components to provide indicative measurements of the applied weight, crutch tilt and hand position on the grip. Data are wirelessly transmitted between crutches and to a remote computer (where they are processed and visualized in LabVIEW), and the patient receives biofeedback by means of an audible signal when they put too much or too little weight through the crutch. The initial results obtained highlight the capability of the instrumented crutch to support physiotherapists and patients in monitoring usage

systemc based electronic system level design space exploration environment for dedicated heterogeneous multi processor systems

Abstract This work faces the problem of the Electronic System-Level (ESL) HW/SW co-design of dedicated electronic digital systems based on heterogeneous multi-processor architectures. In particular, the work presents a prototype SystemC-based environment that exploits a Design Space Exploration (DSE) approach able to suggest an HW/SW partitioning of the system specification and a mapping onto an automatically defined architecture. The descriptions of the reference HW/SW co-design methodology and the main design issues related to the developed DSE SW tools, supported by two reference use cases that allows to understand the role of the DSE step in the whole design flow, represent the core of the paper