Redemption and Forgiveness in the Film Dead Man Walking

The film Dead Man Walking focuses on the transformation of death row inmate Matthew Poncelet, who is about to be executed for a rape and two murders. Poncelet initially is unrepentant and unwilling to confess. However, under the guidance of Sister Helen Prejean, Poncelet undergoes a spiritual conversion and repents for his crime. He sees that Sister Helen loves him, so he learns to love himself. His anger toward the families of his victims evolves into understanding and remorse. His genuine remorse, confession, and settling of accounts lead to his redemption. The change in Poncelet’s attitude manifests director and screenwriter Tim Robbins’s theme that even villainous criminals are capable of reform and thus should not be executed; furthermore, the killing of murderers – no matter how heinous their deeds – constitutes cruel and inhumane vengeance that does nothing to heal the pain and suffering of the victims’ families

Nonlinear dynamics of an optomechanical system with a coherent mechanical pump: second-order sideband generation

Second-order sideband generation in a coherent-mechanical pumped optomechanical system is discussed, and the features of the coherent mechanical pump induced enhancement of second-order sideband generation are identified. We show that the coherent mechanical pump induced enhancement of second-order sideband generation exhibits an essential difference between the case of a weak control field and a strong control field. In the weak control field case, the efficiency of second-order sideband generation increases as the amplitude of the mechanical pump increases. In the strong control field case, the effect of optomechanically induced transparency occurs and increasing the amplitude of the mechanical pump does not always bring an enhancement of second-order sideband generation. The phase-dependent effect of the second-order sideband generation with a coherent mechanical pump is also discussed, and it is shown that the phase difference ϕ plays an important role in the process of second-order sideband generation

The Effect of Vascularization and Tissue Type on Cryosurgical Procedures

Cryosurgery is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure that is used in the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Although cryosurgical treatments, which involve the application of extreme cold to diseased or cancerous tissue, are often used in the treatment of near-surface skin cancer, they have also been used to treat several other types of internal cancers, including those in the prostate, liver, and kidney. Although fundamentally similar, many of these tissues differ significantly in properties such as density, vascularization, and thermal conductivity. A major issue in cryosurgery is adapting the procedure to different tissue types. In this study, the effect of tissue perfusivity on the outcomes of cryosurgery was modeled using the COMSOL software. For the purposes of comparison, the properties of lung tissue, which is highly perfused and not as conductive, and liver tissue, which is mildly perfused and more conductive, were used. The procedure was modeled as a 10 mm diameter cryoprobe set at a temperature of -196?C in a cylindrical region of tissue 8 cm in height and 8 cm in diameter. The time required for a 26mm diameter spherical tumor to reach -45?C was determined in four scenarios, lung tissue and liver tissue both with and without blood perfusion. Although metabolic heat generation was also included, sensitivity analysis showed it to be a minor factor in the cooling process. Results showed blood perfusivity to have a significant effect on freezing time in lung tissue and a relatively minor one in liver tissue: although the addition of perfusion caused freezing time in the liver to increase from 200 to 250 seconds, the addition of perfusion in the lung tissue caused the freezing front to never reach the tumor edge. Sensitivity analyses also revealed the freezing process to be highly sensitive to conductivity as well. It was therefore concluded that although blood perfusion is one of the most important heat transfer processes in cryosurgery, tissue conductivity is just as, if not more important. We recommend that cryosurgery continue to be used as a treatment for liver tumors, but further studies are needed to determine its efficacy in highly perfused, porous tissue such as the lung

Determinants of property rate default: evidence from the Ashanti Region, Ghana

This study seeks to assess the determinants of property rates default in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to study 540 respondents from one municipal and five district assemblies within the region. A structured questionnaire collected data from the sampled respondents. Descriptive statistics (means, frequency distribution and percentages) and the probit regression model were then used to analyse the data with the help of SPSS and STATA respectively. The study found that most respondents who default are not aware of their obligation to pay property rates, and those who are aware fail to pay because they don’t know where to go to pay, or think the rate is too high. The study also revealed that a demographic characteristic such as income level, property value and property location influences rates of default. The study recommends raising awareness about the need to pay property rates and the penalty for any default

Digital design using selection operations

A digital integrated circuit chip is designed by identifying a logical structure to be implemented. This logical structure is represented in terms of a logical operations, at least 5% of which include selection operations. A determination is made of logic cells that correspond to an implementation of these logical operations

Digital logic optimization using selection operators

According to the invention, a digital design method for manipulating a digital circuit netlist is disclosed. In one step, a first netlist is loaded. The first netlist is comprised of first basic cells that are comprised of first kernel cells. The first netlist is manipulated to create a second netlist. The second netlist is comprised of second basic cells that are comprised of second kernel cells. A percentage of the first and second kernel cells are selection circuits. There is less chip area consumed in the second basic cells than in the first basic cells. The second netlist is stored. In various embodiments, the percentage could be 2% or more, 5% or more, 10% or more, 20% or more, 30% or more, or 40% or more