HCV-induced CAPN activation and its effects on virus-infected cells in a host-immune system have been studied recently. It has been shown that the HCV-nonstructural 5A protein acts as both an inducer and a substrate for host CAPN protease; it participates in suppressing the TNF-α-induced apoptosis response and downstream IFN-induced antiviral processes. However, little is known regarding the di...

8-puzzle is typically solved by heuristic search. Real-time heuristic search usually gives better results when searching deeper. But sometimes deeper search leads to worse results than shallower which is a phenomenon called search pathology. In this paper we present the results of our investigation of the causes for pathology in 8-puzzle and some of its variations.

What is " statistical method " ? Is it the same as " scientific method " ? This paper answers the first question by specifying the elements and procedures common to all statistical investigations and organizing these into a single structure. This structure is illustrated by careful examination of the first scientific study on the speed of light carried out by A.A. Michelson in 1879. Our answer ...

The present work describes the effect of the solidification processing and alloy chemistry on the chilling tendency index, CT, and the chill, w, of wedge-shaped castings made of cast iron. In this work, theoretical predictions were experimentally verified for the role of elements, such as C, Si, Mn, P and S, on the cast iron CT. In addition, inoculation and fading effects were considered in the...

Background: Two point four out of 100 people suffer from one or more fractures in the course of average lifetimes. Traditional casts are featured as cumbersome structures that result in high risk of cutaneous complications. Clinical demands for developing a hygienic cast have gotten more and more attention. 3D printing technique is rapidly growing in the fabrication of custom-made rehabilitatio...

We study a construction of the Mathieu group M12 using a game reminiscent of Loyd’s “15-puzzle”. The elements of M12 are realized as permutations on 12 of the 13 points of the finite projective plane of order 3. There is a natural extension to a “pseudogroup” M13 acting on all 13 points, which exhibits a limited form of sextuple transitivity. Another corollary of the construction is a metric, a...

This paper presents a method for detection and tracking of moving cast shadows on a dominating scene background in a monocular video sequence. The method assumes moving shadows on a dominant smooth shaped background. The shadow causing light sources are assumed to be strong enough to cause visible temporal frame diierences by moving cast shadows. These diierences are detected and classiied into...

Digital camera often produces undesired result when working under improper light condition. The details of dark regions are too obscure to be recognized, and it would not be a good picture that the photographers wish. To solve the problem, we enhance the image with two phases. First we enhance the image by adjusting the brightness of the image; second we enhance the major details and the detail...