Regular Derivations in Basic Superposition-Based Calculi

We prove the completeness of the regular strategy of derivations for superposition-based calculi. The regular strategy was pioneered by Kanger in [Kan63], who proposed that all equality inferences take place before all other steps in the proof. We show that the strategy is complete with the elimination of tautologies. The implication of our result is the completeness of non-standard selection functions by which in non-relational clauses only equality literals (and all of them) are selected.

Large-scale mathematics assessment : looking globally to act locally

In this paper, I will argue that it is possible to use data from large-scale international and national mathematics assessment programmes, whose attention is on summative achievement, to provide formative information that informs teachers about the effects of their classroom practice. However, to have impact on, and be useful for, classroom practitioners, these achievement data need to be reworked and re-presented in ways that are plausible, provide a basis for inferences about practice, and be appropriate for the intended audience. This paper examines achievement-focused assessment programmes in terms of their aims and approaches, and develops the argument that formative assessment possibilities are present, within these programmes, although usually hidden. Examples are drawn from several sources to support this argument, and demonstrate a variety of approaches that have been taken in the past. Suggestions for further action are made.

Defining sub-regions in locally sparsified compressive sensing MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an important imaging technique. However, it is a time consuming process. The aim of this study is to make the imaging process ef?cient. MR images are sparse in the sensing domain and Compressive Sensing exploits this sparsity. Locally sparsi?ed Compressed Sensing is a specialized case of CS which sub-divides the image and sparsi?es each region separately; later samples are taken based on sparsity level in that region. In this paper, a new structured approach is presented for de?ning the size and locality of sub-regions in image. Experiments were done on the regions de?ned by proposed framework and local sparsity constraints were used to achieve high sparsity level and to reduce the sample set. Experimental results and their comparison with global CS is presented in the paper.

Locally sparsified compressive sensing for improved MR image qualtity

The fact that medical images have redundant information is exploited by researchers for faster image acquisition. Sample set or number of measurements were reduced in order to achieve rapid imaging. However, due to inadequate sampling, noise artefacts are inevitable in Compressive Sensing (CS) MRI. CS utilizes the transform sparsity of MR images to regenerate images from under sampled data. Locally sparsified Compressed Sensing is an extension of simple CS. It localises sparsity constraints for sub-regions rather than using a global constraint. This paper, presents a framework to use local CS for improving image quality without increasing sampling rate or without making the acquisition process any slower. This was achieved by exploiting local constraints. Localising image into independent sub-regions allows different sampling rates within image. Energy distribution of MR images is not even and most of noise occurs due to under-sampling in high energy regions. By sampling sub-regions based on energy distribution, noise artefacts can be minimized. Experiments were done using the proposed technique. Results were compared with global CS and summarized in this paper.

Eating locally: Australasian gannets increase their foraging effort in a restricted range

During the breeding season, seabirds adopt a central place foraging strategy and are restricted in their foraging range by the fasting ability of their partner/chick and the cost of commuting between the prey resources and the nest. Because of the spatial and temporal variability of marine ecosystems, individuals must adapt their behaviour to increase foraging success within these constraints. The at-sea movements, foraging behaviour and effort of the Australasian gannet (Morus serrator) was determined over three sequential breeding seasons of apparent differing prey abundance to investigate how the species adapts to inter-annual fluctuations in food availability. GPS and tri-axial accelerometer data loggers were used to compare the degree of annual variation within two stages of breeding (incubation and chick rearing) at a small gannet colony situated between two larger, nearby colonies. Interestingly, neither males nor females increased the total distance travelled or duration of foraging trip in any breeding stage (P>0.05 in all cases) despite apparent low prey availability. However, consistently within each breeding stage, mean vectorial dynamic body acceleration (an index of energy expenditure) was greater in years of poorer breeding success (increased by a factor of three to eight), suggesting birds were working harder within their range. Additionally, both males and females increased the proportion of a foraging trip spent foraging in a poorer year across both breeding stages. Individuals from this colony may be limited in their ability to extend their range in years of low prey availability due to competition from conspecifics in nearby colonies and, consequently, increase foraging effort within this restricted foraging area.

Locally sparsified compressive sensing in magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a widely used technique for acquiring images of human organs/tissues. Due to its complex imaging process, it consumes a lot of time to produce a high quality image. Compressive Sensing (CS) has been used by researchers for rapid MRI. It uses a global sparsity constraint with variable density random sampling and L1 minimisation. This work intends to speed up the imaging process by exploiting the non-uniform sparsity in the MR images. Locally Sparsified CS suggests that the image can be even better sparsified by applying local sparsity constraints. The image produced by local CS can further reduce the sample set. This paper establishes the basis for a methodology to exploit non-uniform nature of sparsity and to make the MRI process time efficient by using local sparsity constraints.

Think Globally - Act Locally: Earth Day 1990 / Norman Clayton

http://digitalcommons.risd.edu/risdposters/1081/thumbnail.jpg

Tc-99m-sestamibi scintigraphy used to evaluate tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer: A quantitative analysis

To evaluate the tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, Tc-99m-sestamibi breast scintigraphy was proposed as a quantitative method Fifty-five patients with ductal carcinoma were studied They underwent breast scintigraphy before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, along with clinical assessment and surgical specimen analysis The regions of interest on the lesion and contralateral breast were identified, and the pixel counts were used to evaluate lesion uptake in relation to background radiation The ratio of these counts before to after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was assessed The decrease in uptake rate due to chemotherapy characterized the scintigraphy tumor response The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the mean scintigraphic tumor response and histological type Dunn's multiple comparison test was used to detect differences between histological types The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare means between quantitative and qualitative variables scintigraphic tumor response vs clinical response and uptake before chemotherapy vs scintigraphic tumor response The Spearman's test was used to correlate the quantitative variables of clinical reduction in tumor size and scintigraphic tumor response All of the variables compared presented significant differences The change in Tc-99m-sestamibi uptake noted on breast scintigraphy, before to after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, may be used as an effective method for evaluating the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, since this quantification reflects the biological behavior of the tumor towards the chemotherapy regimen Furthermore, additional analysis on the uptake rate before chemotherapy may accurately predict treatment response

Feasibility of oncoplastic techniques in the surgical management of locally advanced breast cancer

Background: Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is still common in developing countries. The association between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) and oncoplastic surgery (OS) might provide an oncological treatment with satisfactory aesthetic results.Purpose: The goal was to demonstrate if oncoplastic surgical techniques can be utilized to treat LABC which was submitted to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Methods: This prospective clinical trial included breast cancer patients, clinical stage III, who underwent established NC regimen. All patients underwent preoperative planning to control the tumor size and to define the surgical technique. A detailed analysis of the pathological specimen was performed.Results: 50 patients were assessed and surgically treated. Tumor size ranged from 3.0 to 14.0 cm (median 6.5 cm). Pathologic response was rated as stable, progressive, partial response, and complete response in 10%, 8%, 80% and 2% of the cases, respectively. Seventeen (34%) patients were submitted to OS. No patient had positive margins. Skin involvement was presented in 36% of pathologic specimen.Conclusions: Oncoplastic surgical techniques for selected patients decrease the rates of radical surgery despite large tumors. (www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00820690). (C) 2012 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multistable behavior above synchronization in a locally coupled Kuramoto model

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Nutritional management and weight changes during hospitalization of Brazilian infants with diarrhoea: Primary reliance on oral feeding or continuous nasogastric drip with locally made, modulated minced chicken formula

The nutritional management of infants admitted with diarrhoea to the University Hospital of Botucatu includes a change from bolus feeding of a modulated minced-chicken formula to a continuous nasogastric drip (NGD) feeding, whenever the required calorie intake is not achieved or the diarrhoea does not subside. To evaluate this approach, the clinical course and weight changes of 63 children, aged 1-20 months, were reviewed; most (81 per cent) were below the third percentile for weight at admission and 76 per cent had a total duration of diarrhoea ≥10 days. Associated infections, mainly systemic, were present at or after admission in 70 per cent of them. Twenty-five survivors needed nutritional support (NS), predominantly NGD, for a median duration of 30 per cent of their admission time, and were compared to 31 survivors managed without NS. Those who necessitated NS lost weight for a significantly longer median time (12x4 days, p<0.005), but their total weight loss was similar (5x4 per cent) as well as diarrhoea's duration (8x7 days). There was a tendency for a longer hospitalization (21x16 days 0.05