Programmable shading provides artistic control over materials and geometry, but the black box nature of shaders makes some rendering optimizations difficult to apply. In many cases, it is desirable to compute bounds of shaders in order to speed up rendering. A bounding shader can be automatically derived from the original shader by a compiler using interval analysis, but creating optimized interva

We report a Rashba spin splitting of a two-dimensional electron gas in the topological insulator Bi2Se3 from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We further demonstrate its electrostatic control, and show that spin splittings can be achieved which are at least an order-of-magnitude larger than in other semiconductors. Together these results show promise for the miniaturization of spintronic

Objective. To examine the associations between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and outcomes in first and subsequent births. Methods. Data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway during the period December 1, 1998 to December 31, 2009 were used to assess maternal and perinatal outcomes in women diagnosed with SLE compared with the general population. Outcomes of first and subsequent births wer

Eye movement sequences---or scanpaths---vary depending on stimulus characteristics and task (Foulsham \& Underwood, 2008; Land, Mennie, \& Rusted, 1999). Common methods for comparing scanpaths, however, are limited in their ability to capture both the spatial and temporal properties of which a scanpath consists. Here we validate a new method for scanpath comparison based on geometric vecto

BACKGROUND: Limonene and linalool are common fragrance terpenes. Both oxidized R-limonene and oxidized linalool have recently been patch tested in an international setting, showing contact allergy in 5.2% and 6.9% of dermatitis patients, respectively. OBJECTIVE: To investigate concomitant reactions between oxidized R-limonene and oxidized linalool in consecutive dermatitis patients. METHODS: Ox

Recently, the non-conventional yeast Dekkera bruxellensis has been gaining more and more attention in the food industry and academic research. This yeast species is a distant relative of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and especially known for two important characteristics: on one hand it is considered to be one of the main spoilage organisms in the wine and bioethanol industry, on the other hand it is

Context:Obesity and insulin resistance are risk factors for cancer development. The IRS1 rs2943641 genetic variant has been widely associated with insulin resistance.Objective:The aim of the study was to examine whether the IRS1 rs2943641 associates with cancer incidence in obese individuals.Design, Setting and Patients:The IRS1 rs2943641 was genotyped in participants from the Swedish Obese Subjec

The field site network (FSN) plays a central role in conducting joint research within all Assessing Large-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM) modules and provides a mechanism for integrating research on different topics in ALARM on the same site for measuring multiple impacts on biodiversity. The network covers most European climates and biogeographic regions, from Mediterrane

Bacterial food-borne infections in humans caused by Salmonella spp. are considered a crucial food safety issue. Therefore, it is important for the risk assessments of Salmonella to consider the genomic variation among different isolates in order to control pathogen-induced infections. Microarray technology is a promising diagnostic tool that provides genomic information on many genes simultaneousl

What, exactly, is it about jus cogens that distinguishes it from ordinary international law? In answering this question, international lawyers usually resort to the “the Legal-Consequences-as-Criterion Theory”: while ordinary international law can be rebutted or modified in accordance with the duly expressed will of states, jus cogens norms permit no derogation and allow modification only by the c

All companies strive towards lowering their manufacturing costs. Few companies do however succeed in continuously improving their production after the launch of a new production process. This article introduces a method for companies having an established technology to optimize their production in terms of part cost without disrupting the normal, day-to-day production. By incrementally chancing th

In this review essay I examine the central tenets of sociologist Dave Elder-Vass’s recent contribution to social ontology, as put forth in his book The Causal Power of Social Structures: Emergence, Structure and Agency (2010). Elder-Vass takes issue with ontological individualists and maintains that social structures exist and have causal powers in their own right. I argue that he fails to establi

There is increasing evidence that gene copy number (CN) variation influences clinical phenotype. The low-affinity Fc receptor 3B (FCGR3B) located in the FCGR gene cluster is a CN polymorphic gene involved in the recruitment of polymorphonuclear neutrophils to sites of inflammation and their activation. Given the genetic overlap between systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis (SSc) and

Exacerbation of ST elevation associated with reperfusion has been reported in patients with myocardial infarction. However, the cause of the "reperfusion peak" and relation of its magnitude to the size of myocardial damage has not been explored. The aim of our study was to assess the correlation between the ST-dynamics during reperfusion, the myocardium at risk (MaR), and the infarct size (IS).

Aromatic molecules are central components of model systems for molecular electronics, with C-60 one of the most studied. Upon adsorption on (metallic) substrates a splitting of the frontier orbitals is commonly observed, with a strong dependence on substrate material, but little dependence on substrate structure. We report the detailed photoelectron angle dependence of C-60/A1(110) over a wide ran

Circadian clocks optimize the timing of physiological processes in synchrony with daily recurring and therefore predictable changes in the environment. Until the late 1990s, circadian clocks were thought to exist only in the central nervous systems of animals; elegant studies in cultured fibroblasts and using genetically encoded reporters in Drosophila melanogaster and in mice showed that clocks a

ObjectiveIn both dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), attentional dysfunction is a core clinical feature together with disrupted episodic memory. This study evaluated the cognitive effects of memantine in DLB and PDD using automated tests of attention and episodic memory. MethodsA randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled, 24-week three centre trial of memantin

Developed countries have relied heavily on aid budgets to fulfill their pledges to boost funding for addressing climate change in developing countries. However, little is known about how interaction between aid and other ministries has shaped contributorsâ diverse approaches to climate finance. This paper investigates intra-governmental dynamics in decision-making on climate finance in seven contr

Fast correlation attacks, pioneered by Meier and Staffelbach in 1988, constitute an important class of attacks on stream ciphers. They exploit a correlation between the keystream and the output of a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) within the cipher. Several factors affect the feasibility of such an attack, e.g., the amount of available keystream and the number of taps in the LFSR. Notably, f