From Origin to Delta: Changing Landscape of Modern Constitutionalism

This article deals with the question of whether and to what extent the two forces of democratization and globalization have altered our understandings of constitutionalism. We attempt to theorize a changing landscape of constitutionalism that includes transitional and transnational perspectives and examine respectively their features, functions and characteristics. First, we analyze respective developments of transitional and transnational constitutionalism by identifying their features, perspectives, functions, and characteristics. Then we examine to what extent and in what ways the developments in transitional and transnational constitutionalism pose challenges to our traditional understanding of modern constitutional laws. Finally, we shall picture a new constitutional delta thus emerged and try to argue that notwithstanding challenges, the addition of transitional and transnational constitutionalism to traditional understandings has expanded the horizon of constitutionalism and created new opportunities for a coming generation of constitutional lawyers

Towards A Holographic Model of D-Wave Superconductors

The holographic model for S-wave high T_c superconductors developed by Hartnoll, Herzog and Horowitz is generalized to describe D-wave superconductors. The 3+1 dimensional gravitational theory consists a symmetric, traceless second-rank tensor field and a U(1) gauge field in the background of the AdS black hole. Below T_c the tensor field which carries the U(1) charge undergoes the Higgs mechanism and breaks the U(1) symmetry of the boundary theory spontaneously. The phase transition characterized by the D-wave condensate is second order with the mean field critical exponent beta = 1/2. As expected, the AC conductivity is isotropic below T_c and the system becomes superconducting in the DC limit but has no hard gap.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, Some typos corrected, Matched with the published versio

A Comparative Study for 2D and 3D Computer-aided Diagnosis Methods for Solitary Pulmonary Nodules

Many computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) methods, including 2D and 3D approaches, have been proposed for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). However, the detection and diagnosis of SPNs remain challenging in many clinical circumstances. One goal of this work is to investigate the relative diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. An additional goal is to develop a two-stage approach that combines the simplicity of 2D and the accuracy of 3D methods. The experimental results show statistically significant differences between the diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. The results also show that with a very minor drop in diagnostic performance the two-stage approach can significantly reduce the number of nodules needed to be processed by the 3D method, streamlining the computational demand

Gender Determination using Fingerprint Features

Several previous studies have investigated the gender difference of the fingerprint features. However, regarding to the statistical significance of such differences, inconsistent results have been obtained. To resolve this problem and to develop a method for gender determination, this work proposes and tests three fingertip features for gender determination. Fingerprints were obtained from 115 normal healthy adults comprised of 57 male and 58 female volunteers. All persons were born in Taiwan and were of Han nationality. The age range was18-35 years. The features of this study are ridge count, ridge density, and finger size, all three of which can easily be determined by counting and calculation. Experimental results show that the tested ridge density features alone are not very effective for gender determination. However, the proposed ridge count and finger size features of left little fingers are useful, achieving a classification accuracy of 75% (P-valu

Hemoptysis From a Ruptured Mycotic Aneurysm Caused by Salmonella

SummaryAlthough an uncommon cause of hemoptysis, fistulas between the aorta and the airway (especially the left bronchopulmonary tree) are frequently associated with infected aneurysms of the thoracic aorta and are fatal if not diagnosed and surgically treated. We report a case of mycotic aneurysm in a 74-year-old man who presented with hemoptysis. This patient complained of blood-tinged sputum and chest pain initially, and the chest X-ray showed an aortic aneurysm. The chest computed tomography scan revealed the aneurysm ruptured into the lung parenchyma. Urgent graft replacement was performed successfully after diagnosis. Tissue culture yielded nontyphoidal Salmonell

Competition and Integration Strategy Analysis of Advertisement-Supported Social Networked Related Services

Social networking related services (SNS) become increasingly popular communication and interaction mediums over internet. As most of the SNS are free, the providers generate revenues from advertising and other extension services. This paper investigates the advertising strategy and the strategic of compatibility and co-opetition between two social networking related services.. Utilizing game theoretic model, we show that the providers will benefit from both service and business integration, however, the users are always worse when SNS services are compatibly connected. The users will always gain from the quality (features) competition, however, brand competition may hurt the customers as more disturbing ads will be exerted. In general, business integration will result in a higher diversity if ads exerted in two IM services

Application of Feature Curves and Shape Blending on Yacht Designing

The global yacht market share and industry might expand continually since increasing people are willing to enjoy the yacht life in lower price nowadays while yacht activities were regards as a luxury sport in the past. Additionally, Taiwanese yacht manufacturers are well-known worldwide. They show excellent performances on the international annual rankings which implies Taiwan has excellent manufacturing technologies. However, Taiwanese manufacturers so far do not have a mature local design team. Therefore, this study goals to developing a systematic and objective design method for hull designing, which facilitates designers to design innovative yachts or create a series product with brand recognition. This study is divided into three parts: the first part is the investigation of the yachts market; the second is establishing a shape blending platform; the third is 3D forming. Finally, it is used the existing ship CAD software to design an innovative yacht based on the blended curves and then calculates its basic hydrostatic performance. This study provides a quantitative method to create a new form and to preserve the features for a brand. The exist yacht combines with other graphics to create a new form and maximizes the features of the original graphics

XRCC1, but not APE1 and hOGG1 gene polymorphisms is a risk factor for pterygium.

PurposeEpidemiological evidence suggests that UV irradiation plays an important role in pterygium pathogenesis. UV irradiation can produce a wide range of DNA damage. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is considered the most important pathway involved in the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage. Based on previous studies, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8-oxoguanine glycosylase-1 (OGG1), X-ray repair cross-complementing-1 (XRCC1), and AP-endonuclease-1 (APE1) genes in the BER pathway have been found to affect the individual sensitivity to radiation exposure and induction of DNA damage. Therefore, we hypothesize that the genetic polymorphisms of these repair genes increase the risk of pterygium.MethodsXRCC1, APE1, and hOGG1 polymorphisms were studied using fluorescence-labeled Taq Man probes on 83 pterygial specimens and 206 normal controls.ResultsThere was a significant difference between the case and control groups in the XRCC1 genotype (p=0.038) but not in hOGG1 (p=0.383) and APE1 (p=0.898). The odds ratio of the XRCC1 A/G polymorphism was 2.592 (95% CI=1.225-5.484, p=0.013) and the G/G polymorphism was 1.212 (95% CI=0.914-1.607), compared to the A/A wild-type genotype. Moreover, individuals who carried at least one C-allele (A/G and G/G) had a 1.710 fold increased risk of developing pterygium compared to those who carried the A/A wild type genotype (OR=1.710; 95% CI: 1.015-2.882, p=0.044). The hOGG1 and APE1 polymorphisms did not have an increased odds ratio compared with the wild type.ConclusionsXRCC1 (Arg399 Glu) is correlated with pterygium and might become a potential marker for the prediction of pterygium susceptibility