Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe: Challenges and Opportunities

More than two decades have passed since nonprofit and third-sector researchers "discovered" Central and Eastern Europe as an area of scholarly interest. After the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain, scholars noted the emergence of new civil society actors and were curious to understand the role these actors would play in their societies. Since that time, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has experienced intensive periods of transformation, conflict and renewal. This study is guided by the intention to develop a better understanding of the current state of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, the diverse pathways of its development, and its possible future trajectories

TOFtracker: combination of time-of-flight and high-accuracy bidimensional tracking in a single gaseous detector

A 5-gap timing RPC equipped with patterned electrodes coupled to both charge-sensitive and timing circuits yields a time accuracy of 77 ps along with a position accuracy of 38 μm. These results were obtained by calculating the straight-line fit residuals to the positions provided by a 3-layer telescope made out of identical detectors, detecting almost perpendicular cosmic-ray muons. The device may be useful for particle identification by time-of-flight, where simultaneous measurements of trajectory and time are necessary

Explaining YOLO: Leveraging Grad-CAM to Explain Object Detections

We investigate the problem of explainability for visual object detectors. Specifically, we demonstrate on the example of the YOLO object detector how to integrate Grad-CAM into the model architecture and analyze the results. We show how to compute attribution-based explanations for individual detections and find that the normalization of the results has a great impact on their interpretation

Using Different Data Sources for New Findings in Visualization of Highly Detailed Urban Data

Measurement of infrastructure has highly evolved in the last years. Scanning systems became more precise and many methods were found to add and improve content created for the analysis of buildings and landscapes. Therefore the pure amount of data increased significantly and new algorithms had to be found to visualize these data for further exploration. Additionally many data types and formats originate from different sources, such as Dibits hybrid scanning systems delivering laser-scanned point clouds and photogrammetric texture images. These are usually analyzed separately. Combinations of different types of data are not widely used but might lead to new findings and improved data exploration. In our work we use different data formats like meshes, unprocessed point clouds and polylines in tunnel visualization to give experts a tool to explore existing datasets in depth with a wide variety of possibilities. The diverse creation of datasets leads to new challenges for preprocessing, out-of-core rendering and efficient fusion of this varying information. Interactive analysis of different formats of data also has to have several approaches and is usually difficult to merge into one application. In this paper we describe the challenges and advantages of the combination of different data sources in tunnel visualization. Large meshes with high resolution textures are merged with dense point clouds and additional measurements. Interactive analysis can also create additional information, which has to be integrated precisely to prevent errors and misinterpretation. We present the basic algorithms used for heterogeneous data formats, how we combined them and what advantages are created by our methods. Several datasets evolve over time. This dynamic is also considered in our visualization and analysis methods to enable change detection. For tunnel monitoring this allows to investigate the entire history of the construction project and helps to make better informed decisions in the preceding construction phases or for repairs. Several methods are merged like the data they are based on enabling new ways of data exploration. In analyzing this new approach to look at heterogeneous datasets we come to the conclusion that the combination of different sources leads to a better solution than the sum of its parts

Virtual Exploration of Urban Spatial Changes due to Regional Tramway Line Construction

For most large infrastructure projects, it is mandatory to assess their impact on the urban and rural environment before they are started. Many shareholders want to involve the public or even are obliged to do so due to legal provisions. For interactive exploration, a 3D viewer is needed that supports very complex scenes. They should be realistically rendered for sufficient credibility. Applied research on this topic (in close cooperation with industrial partners) resulted in GEARViewer, a geospatial rendering framework. It supports huge geospatial scenes consisting of large-scale terrain models, buildings, roads, tramways, railways, tunnels, vegetation and a skylight model. Everything is georeferenced. It can import GIS data and turn this into 3D objects. In the future, it will also support Building Information Modeling (BIM) standards. Furthermore, it also simulates traffic in a simplified way including cars, trams, trains and pedestrians. It was used for many planned projects in Austria and Germany. In this paper, we describe one of the projects for the city centre of Innsbruck, created with the GEARViewer. It supported several stages of the segment wise planning and realization of a new regional tramway line over multiple years. Depending on progress, the project visualization incorporated varying levels of details into the existing city model, from graphic planning concepts during route optimization to detailed depictions of stops and road design shortly before constructional implementation. In this way, shareholders and citizens can experience the geospatial transformation and changes of the street network and traffic flow in the affected regions of the city. The system allows the regular creation of videos, screenshots, interactive online panorama tours and live demonstrations for publications and citizen information events. In order to fit the current state of planning, the system and model were constantly extended and updated. It supported the project progress and associated votes and discussions by supplying the display of variants, flexible viewpoints and realistic visualization

Prospectus, February 5, 1997

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1997/1003/thumbnail.jp

Does Posterior Tibial Slope Influence Knee Kinematics in Medial Stabilized TKA?

Background: During total knee arthroplasty (TKA), one of the key alignment factors to pay attention to is the posterior tibial slope (PTS). The PTS clearly influences the kinematics of the knee joint but must be adapted to the coupling degree of the specific TKA design. So far, there is hardly any literature including clear recommendations for how surgeons should choose the PTS in a medial stabilized (MS) TKA. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of different degrees of PTS on femorotibial kinematics in MS TKA. Materials and Methods: An MS TKA was performed in seven fresh-frozen human specimens successively with 0 degrees, 3 degrees, and 6 degrees of PTS. After each modification, weight-bearing deep knee flexion (30-130 degrees) was performed, and femorotibial kinematics were analyzed. Results: A lateral femoral rollback was observed for all three PTS modifications. With an increasing PTS, the tibia was shifted more anteriorly on the lateral side (0 degrees PTS anterior tibial translation -9.09 (+/- 9.19) mm, 3 degrees PTS anterior tibial translation -11.03 (+/- 6.72) mm, 6 degrees PTS anterior tibial translation 11.86 (+/- 9.35) mm). No difference in the tibial rotation was found for the different PTS variants. All PTS variants resulted in internal rotation of the tibia during flexion. With a 3 degrees PTS, the design-specific medial rotation point was achieved more accurately. Conclusions: According to our findings, we recommend a PTS of 3 degrees when implanting the MS prosthesis used in this study

Programmable Photocatalytic Activity of Multicomponent Covalent Organic Frameworks Used as Metallaphotocatalysts

The multicomponent approach allows to incorporate several functionalities into a single covalent organic framework (COF) and consequently allows the construction of bifunctional materials for cooperative catalysis. The well-defined structure of such multicomponent COFs is furthermore ideally suited for structure-activity relationship studies. We report a series of multicomponent COFs that contain acridine- and 2,2’-bipyridine linkers connected through 1,3,5-benzenetrialdehyde derivatives. The acridine motif is responsible for broad light absorption, while the bipyridine unit enables complexation of nickel catalysts. These features enable the usage of the framework materials as catalysts for light-mediated carbon−heteroatom cross-couplings. Variation of the node units shows that the catalytic activity correlates to the keto-enamine tautomer isomerism. This allows switching between high charge-carrier mobility and persistent, localized charge-separated species depending on the nodes, a tool to tailor the materials for specific reactions. Moreover, nickel-loaded COFs are recyclable and catalyze cross-couplings even using red light irradiation

Stromal Expression of Heat-Shock Protein 27 Is Associated with Worse Clinical Outcome in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Lung Metastases

Pulmonary metastases are common in patients with primary colorectal cancer (CRC). Heat- shock protein 27 (Hsp27) is upregulated in activated fibroblasts during wound healing and systemically elevated in various diseases. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are also thought to play a role as prognostic and predictive markers in various malignancies includ- ing CRC. Surprisingly, the expression of Hsp27 has never been assessed in CAFs. There- fore we aimed to investigate the expression level of Hsp27 in CAFs and its clinical implications in patients with CRC lung metastases

The Vehicle, Fall 1996

Vol. 38, No. 1 Table of Contents DarcyMichael Maypage 1 Time in TimeJoe Howardpage 2 Sestina for DyingAmy Haynespage 3 VioletsSandra Beauchamppage 5 Melody\u27s SongSandra Beauchamppage 7 A Spinning Top ContemplationThomas T. Brownpage 10 Lady of the NightShari Grierpage 13 The Difference Between a Hand and a Killing JarJason S. Loguepage 14 The Bat I KilledMichael Maypage 15 UntitledKimberly Mannypage 16 ReleaseKimberly Mannypage 17 Fountain in the RainEric Chisauskypage 18 War, the Old Fashioned WayCarmella Cosenzapage 19 AloneCarmella Cosenzapage 20 MotelMichael Maypage 21 UntitledAndrea Traxlerpage 22 UntitledMichael Maypage 23 From Across the CourtyardShannon Goodallpage 24 CommunionShannon Goodallpage 26 Please Come HomeKendall W. Baumannpage 27 UntitledMichael Maypage 29 Indefinite SacrificeAmanda Watsonpage 30 Recovery RoomAbby Kollerpage 31 Questioning FaithMichael Kawapage 31 MerulaMichael Maypage 32 Biographiespage 33https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1066/thumbnail.jp