One-dimensional GIS-based model compared with a two-dimensional model in urban floods simulation.

A GIS-based one-dimensional flood simulation model is presented and applied to the centre of the city of N?mes (Gard, France), for mapping flow depths or velocities in the streets network. The geometry of the one-dimensional elements is derived from the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The flow is routed from one element to the next using the kinematic wave approximation. At the crossroads, the flows in the downstream branches are computed using a conceptual scheme. This scheme was previously designed to fit Y-shaped pipes junctions, and has been modified here to fit X-shaped crossroads. The results were compared with the results of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model based on the full shallow water equations. The comparison shows that good agreements can be found in the steepest streets of the study zone, but differences may be important in the other streets. Some reasons that can explain the differences between the two models are given and some research possibilities are proposed.     

A low-power 8-b 1 3.5-MHz video CMOS ADC for visiophony ISDNapplications

A half-flash, subranging, 8-b, 13.5-MHz, video ADC (analog-to-digital converter) using overlapped architecture that combines the advantages of both flash and half-flash converters is described. Its conversion rate is that of a flash, without any multiplexing and with a low number of comparators. Its low power consumption and the small silicon area required for its implementation enable it to be integrated in mixed digital/analog circuits such as a video acquisition circuit devoted to visiophony applications. It has been manufactured using a CMOS 1-μm technology with two polysilicon and two metallization layers     

Increasing Reliability in Cable-Free Radio LANs Low Level Forwarding in HIPERLAN

Radio LANs are emerging in the computing world. They are supported by distinct configurations: on the one hand radio LANs with base stations and a wired backbone, on the other hand radio LANs implementing Intra-forwarding. Adding a new node in a radio LAN with Intra-forwarding, increases the reliability, while this reliability decreases with ad hoc or hub configurations. This advantage of Intra-forwarding is quantified. Intra-forwarding, as defined in the HIPERLAN standard, is based on a hop-by-hop policy and link check procedures. It is shown how point-to-point packets and broadcast packets are forwarded. The three basic components of Intra-forwarding needed to build and update the Intra-forwarding database are described. The originality of this approach is the use of multipoint relays which enable better scalability. The correctness of the Intra-forwarding protocol is proved and its cost is evaluated.     

Study of nickel passivation in a borate medium

The adsorption of borate ions at the nickel and/or nickel oxide-electrolyte electrochemical interface was studied at various concentrations and pH values in lithium and borate solutions. First, the passivation range of nickel was estimated using cyclic voltammetry. The nickel passive layer formation kinetics (transfer resistance, capacitance of passive film formed, adsorption capacitance), as well as the semiconducting properties of this oxide layer, were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (E.I.S.). These electrochemical techniques were used in conjunction with adsorption measurements performed with an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (E.Q.C.M.) and with surface analyses (Auger spectroscopy). The nickel oxide showed type p semiconducting properties and was depleted at, corrosion potential. Moreover, very little borate adsorption was observed during the different tests. This may have been the result of the negative surface charge, in the pH and potential conditions applied.     

Urodynamic picture in high spinal cord ischemia, induced by addictive use of cocaine. Report of a case

Since in vitro experiments had excluded interactions between Fe-gluconate (Fe-gluc) and magnesium-L-aspartate hydrochloride (MAH) in aqueous solutions the present in vivo studies seemed to be justified. Animal studies: Rats were kept on magnesium-(Mg)- and iron-(Fe)- sufficient and deficient diets. The intragastral administration of Fe-gluc significantly increased plasma Fe after 3 h, either given alone, or in combination with MAH (inducing hypermagnesemia). Same results were obtained when fortified diets were offered to Fe/Mg-deficient animals. Human studies: The combination of Fe-gluc (2 x 50 mg Fe per day, per os) plus MAH (2 x 7.5 mmol Mg per day, p.o.) was well tolerated by healthy volunteers. Single dose experiments revealed that Fe-gluc alone and in combination with MAH increased plasma Fe levels during 3 h to the same extent. Two groups of pregnant women with moderately reduced hemoglobin levels either received Fe-gluc (out-patients) or its combination with MAH (at least temporarily hospitalised because of preterm labor). Treatments were well tolerated. Hemoglobin levels did not further decrease, as expected without Fe supplements, during the course of pregnancy, thus indicating the therapeutic availability of the electrolytes in both study groups. Progesterone-induced constipation is frequently observed during pregnancy; hence stool softening reported by 50% of the women receiving Fe-gluc plus MAH (versus 33% in the Fe-gluc group) can be regarded as desirable effect. It is concluded that MAH does not interfere with the enteral absorption of Fe-gluc when both electrolytes are orally administered together. Taking both electrolytes together instead of 2 to 3 h apart from each other, as actually recommended, means a less complicated dosage regimen and probably improves compliance.     

Comparisons between antimicrobial pharmacodynamic indices and bacterial killing as described by using the Zhi model

Various suggestions have been made for empirical pharmacodynamic indices of antibiotic effectiveness, such as areas under the drug concentration-time curve in serum (AUC), AUC > MIC, AUC/MIC, area under the inhibitory curve (AUIC), AUC above MIC, and time above MIC (T > MIC). In addition, bacterial growth and killing models, such as the Zhi model, have been developed. The goal of the present study was to compare the empirical behavior of the Zhi model of bacterial growth and killing with the other empirical pharmacodynamic indices described above by using simulated clinical data analyzed with the USC*PACK PC clinical programs for adaptive control of drug therapy, with one model describing a concentration-dependent antibiotic (tobramycin) and another describing a concentration-independent antibiotic (ticarcillin). The computed relative number of CFU was plotted against each pharmacodynamic index, with each axis parameterized over time. We assumed that a good pharmacodynamic index should present a clear and continuous relationship between the time course of its values and the time course of the bacterial killing as seen with the Zhi model. Preliminary work showed that some pharmacodynamic indices were very similar. A good sensitivity to the change in the values of the MIC was shown for AUC/MIC and also for T > MIC. In addition, the time courses of some other pharmacodynamic indices were very similar. Since AUC/MIC is easily calculated and shows more sensitivity, it appeared to be the best of the indices mentioned above for the concentration-dependent drug, because it incorporated and used the MIC the best. T > MIC appeared to be the best index for a concentration-independent drug. We also propose a new composite index, weighted AUC (WAUC), which appears to be useful for both concentration-dependent and concentration-independent drugs.     

Role of Scaffolds,Subchondral, Intra-Articular Injections of Fresh Autologous Bone Marrow Concentrate Regenerative Cells in Treating Human Knee Cartilage Lesions: Different Approaches and Different Results

The value of bone marrow aspirate concentrates for treatment of human knee cartilage lesions is unclear. Most of the studies were performed with intra-articular injections. However, subchondral bone plays an important role in the progression of osteoarthritis. We investigated by a literature review whether joint, subchondral bone, or/and scaffolds implantation of fresh autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrated (BMAC) containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) would improve osteoarthritis (OA). There is in vivo evidence that suggests that all these different approaches (intra-articular injections, subchondral implantation, scaffolds loaded with BMAC) can improve the patient. This review analyzes the evidence for each different approach to treat OA. We found that the use of intra-articular injections resulted in a significant relief of pain symptoms in the short term and was maintained in 12 months. However, the clinical trials indicate that the application of autologous bone marrow concentrates in combination with scaffolds or in injection in the subchondral bone was superior to intra-articular injection for long-term results. The tendency of MSCs to differentiate into fibrocartilage affecting the outcome was a common issue faced by all the studies when biopsies were performed, except for scaffolds implantation in which some hyaline cartilage was found. The review suggests also that both implantation of subchondral BMAC and scaffolds loaded with BMAC could reduce the need for further surgery.     

Offset printing inks based on rapeseed and sunflower oil. Part I: Synthesis and characterization of rapeseed oil-and sunflower oil-modified alkyd resins

Two sets of alkyd resins of variable oil lengths with the required properties for offset printing ink formulations, modified by sunflower and rapeseed oil, were synthetized according to the “monoglyceride” process. The influence of the acyl composition of the modifying vegetable oil and of the oil content on alkyds’ properties was determined by detailed chemical and rheological characterization. Molecular structure, size, and molecule size distribution appeared to be linked to these two factors. A comparative study with two usual linseed oil-modified alkyds led to determination of the more appropriate alkyds for applications in offset varnishes.     

Evaluation of Localized Semantics: Data, Methodology, and Experiments

We present a new data set of 1014 images with manual segmentations and semantic labels for each segment, together with a methodology for using this kind of data for recognition evaluation. The images and segmentations are from the UCB segmentation benchmark database (Martin et al., in International conference on computer vision, vol. II, pp. 416–421, 2001). The database is extended by manually labeling each segment with its most specific semantic concept in WordNet (Miller et al., in Int. J. Lexicogr. 3(4):235–244, 1990). The evaluation methodology establishes protocols for mapping algorithm specific localization (e.g., segmentations) to our data, handling synonyms, scoring matches at different levels of specificity, dealing with vocabularies with sense ambiguity (the usual case), and handling ground truth regions with multiple labels. Given these protocols, we develop two evaluation approaches. The first measures the range of semantics that an algorithm can recognize, and the second measures the frequency that an algorithm recognizes semantics correctly. The data, the image labeling tool, and programs implementing our evaluation strategy are all available on-line (kobus.ca//research/data/IJCV_2007). We apply this infrastructure to evaluate four algorithms which learn to label image regions from weakly labeled data. The algorithms tested include two variants of multiple instance learning (MIL), and two generative multi-modal mixture models. These experiments are on a significantly larger scale than previously reported, especially in the case of MIL methods. More specifically, we used training data sets up to 37,000 images and training vocabularies of up to 650 words. We found that one of the mixture models performed best on image annotation and the frequency correct measure, and that variants of MIL gave the best semantic range performance. We were able to substantively improve the performance of MIL methods on the other tasks (image annotation and frequency correct region labeling) by providing an appropriate prior.