Analysis of Boolean Equation Systems through Structure Graphs

We analyse the problem of solving Boolean equation systems through the use of structure graphs. The latter are obtained through an elegant set of Plotkin-style deduction rules. Our main contribution is that we show that equation systems with bisimilar structure graphs have the same solution. We show that our work conservatively extends earlier work, conducted by Keiren and Willemse, in which dependency graphs were used to analyse a subclass of Boolean equation systems, viz., equation systems in standard recursive form. We illustrate our approach by a small example, demonstrating the effect of simplifying an equation system through minimisation of its structure graph

Internationalisation and the valuation of forest assets

The paper looks at the implications of internationalisation of forest ownership on forest valuation. With an increase in the international diversity of forest owners questions are raised about the effect that this has on the methods used to value forests and whether there are substantive differences due to the nationality of the owner. A survey of 30 commercial forest owners in New Zealand and 27 commercial forest owners in Australia was carried out. The survey looked at factors such as the legal structure of the owner, whether it was involved in only forest ownership or forest ownership and wood processing, countries in which forest are owned, main species, predominant age class distribution and target rotation age of forests, and valuation method currently used. The results show that there are substantial differences in how forests are valued in either country, but also that these differences to not appear to be linked to the nationality of the owner

Association of current smoking with airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asymptomatic smokers

BACKGROUND: Inflammation in the airways and lung parenchyma underlies fixed airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The exact role of smoking as promoting factor of inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not clear, partly because studies often do not distinguish between current and ex-smokers. METHODS: We investigated airway inflammation in sputum and bronchial biopsies of 34 smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (9 Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage 0, 9 stage I, 10 stage II and 6 stage III) and 26 asymptomatic smokers, and its relationship with past and present smoking habits and airway obstruction. RESULTS: Neutrophil percentage, interleukin-8 and eosinophilic-cationic-protein levels in sputum were higher in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (stage I-III) than asymptomatic smokers. Inflammatory cell numbers in bronchial biopsies were similar in both groups. Current smoking correlated positively with macrophages: in bronchial biopsies in both groups, and in sputum in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pack-years smoking correlated positively with biopsy macrophages only in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory effects of current smoking may mask the underlying ongoing inflammatory process pertinent to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This may have implications for future studies, which should avoid including mixed populations of smokers and ex-smokers

Sensators: active multisensory tangible user interfaces

Although Tangible User Interfaces are considered an intuitive means of human-computer interaction, they oftentimes lack the option to provide active feedback. We developed ‘Sensators’: generic shaped active tangibles to be used on a multi-touch table. Sensators can represent digital information by means of ‘Sensicons’: multimodal messages consisting of visual, auditory, and vibro- tactile cues. In our demonstration, we will present Sensators as suitable tools for research on multimodal perception in different tangible HCI tasks

Postgraduate Coursework Studies handbook

2002 handbook for Postgraduate Coursework Studie

Feasibility of a dose-intensive CMF regimen with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor as adjuvant therapy in premenopausal patients with node-positive breast cancer

Our aim was to study the feasibility of an intensified intravenous CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil) schedule with the aim to escalate dose intensity (DI). Twenty-three premenopausal breast cancer patients received 6 cycles of adjuvant CMF intravenously on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor days 9–18. Endpoints were DI and toxicity. Twenty-one out of 23 patients (91%) received the projected total dose and reached ≥ 85% of the projected DI. Compared to ‘classical’ CMF, all patients reached ≥ 111% DI. Nine patients received the planned schedule without delay. Thirteen patients (57%) were treated for infection and four patients (17%) were hospitalized for febrile neutropenia. Twelve patients received red blood cell transfusions (52%). Radiation therapy (n= 6) had no adverse impact on dose intensity or haematological toxicity. This dose-intensified CMF schedule was accompanied by enhanced haematological toxicity with clinical sequelae, namely fever, intravenous antibiotics and red blood cell transfusions, but allows a high dose intensity in a majority of patients. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

The propensity of the bacterial rodlin protein RdlB to form amyloid fibrils determines its function in Streptomyces coelicolor.

Streptomyces bacteria form reproductive aerial hyphae that are covered with a pattern of pairwise aligned fibrils called rodlets. The presence of the rodlet layer requires two homologous rodlin proteins, RdlA and RdlB, and the functional amyloid chaplin proteins, ChpA-H. In contrast to the redundancy shared among the eight chaplins, both RdlA and RdlB are indispensable for the establishment of this rodlet structure. By using a comprehensive biophysical approach combined with in vivo characterization we found that RdlB, but not RdlA, readily assembles into amyloid fibrils. The marked difference in amyloid propensity between these highly similar proteins could be largely attributed to a difference in amino acid sequence at just three sites. Further, an engineered RdlA protein in which these three key amino acids were replaced with the corresponding residues from RdlB could compensate for loss of RdlB and restore formation of the surface-exposed amyloid layer in bacteria. Our data reveal that RdlB is a new functional amyloid and provide a biophysical basis for the functional differences between the two rodlin proteins. This study enhances our understanding of how rodlin proteins contribute to formation of an outer fibrillar layer during spore morphogenesis in streptomycetes

Comparative analysis of Ig and TCR gene rearrangements at diagnosis and at elapse of childhood precursor-B–ALL provides improved strategies for selection of stable PCR targets for monitoring of minimal residual disease

Immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements are excellent patient-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targets for detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but they might be unstable during the disease course. Therefore, we performed detailed molecula