This paper tells the story of a doctor in a vegetative state. The approach towards him is quite different from that towards a common patient. The other physicians cannot deal with this situation with the necessary open mind.

Two improved list-ranking algorithms are presented. The “peeling-off” algorithm leads to an optimal PRAM algorithm, but was designed with application on a real parallel machine in mind. It is simpler than earlier algorithms, and in a range of problem sizes, where previously several algorithms where required for the best performance, now this single algorithm suffices. If the problem size is muc...

We outline an approach to enumeration problems which relies on the algebra of free abelian groups, giving as our main application a generalisa-tion of the chromatic polynomial of a simple graph G. Our polynomial lies in the free abelian group generated by the poset K(G) of contractions of G, and reduces to the classical case after a simple substitution. Its main properties may be stated in term...

A variant of Heapsort|named Ultimate Heapsort|is presented that sorts n elements in-place in (n log 2 (n + 1)) worst-case time by performing at most n log 2 n + (n) key comparisons and n log 2 n + (n) element moves. The secret behind Ultimate Heapsort is that it occasionally transforms the heap it operates with to a two-layer heap which keeps small elements at the leaves. Basically, Ultimate He...

During the process of steam thermal recovery heavy oil, channeling seriously affects production and ultimate recovery. In this study, fly ash was used as plugging agent, then a series experiments based on results two-dimensional (2D) were conducted to study effect breakthrough channels. The experimental show that inorganic particle agent made from had good suspension stability, consolidation st...

A book which tells the story of the children's early life, the horrors endured on the way to Belsen and in the camp, can hardly fail to be moving. This book is intensely so. The patient handling of the children after their arrival in Ireland and the gradual building of confidence is not the least moving section. This may be due to a certain lack of "expertise" in the handling of the early part ...

In the framework of perfect loop nests with uniform dependences, tiling is a technique used to group elemental computation points so as to increase computation granularity and to reduce the overhead due to communication time. We review existing approaches from the literature, together with the optimization criteria that are used for determining a \good" or \optimal" tiling. Then we explain the ...

Adult humans often undertake acute fasts for cosmetic, religious or medical reasons. For example, an estimated 14% of US adults have reported using fasting as a means to control body weight and this approach has long been advocated as an intermittent treatment for gross refractory obesity. There are unique historical data sets on extreme forms of food restriction that give insight into the cons...

Efficient movement underpins all great sporting performances. When performed by an expert, complex movements can appear effortless, almost simple; as Leonardo Da Vinci stated, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Dynamic control of movement is also central to safe sporting function and is dependent on the sophisticated integration of a range of factors including environment, nature of t...