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Recent evidence suggests a beneficial effect of endovascular thrombectomy in acute ischaemic stroke with large infarct; however, previous trials have relied on multimodal brain imaging, whereas non-contrast CT is mostly used in clinical practice.

What is Leucippus and Democritus’ theory of the beginning of life? How, if at all, did Leucippus and Democritus distinguish different kinds of living things? These questions are challenging in part because these Atomists claim that all living beings – including plants – have a share of reason and understanding. We answer these questions by examining the extant evidence concerning their views on embryology, the soul and respiration, and sense perception, thereby giving an overview of life and lifeforms in early Greek atomism. We show, first, that the generation of all living beings happens through the combining of miniature copies of their parents’ atomic structures. Second, we argue that the Atomists take respiration to mark the beginning of life. Yet they do not consider respiration nor being ensouled to distinguish humans, animals, and plants from each other. Finally, because Leucippus and Democritus make little distinction between sense perception and thought, these too cannot sharply distinguish between different kinds of living beings. We conclude that Leucippus and Democritus advocated a less anthropocentric and more holistic view of the cosmos.

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This section offers news briefs concerning literature as of November 2019, including the death of poet Ciaran Carson, the announcement that Frank Ormsby will become the next Ireland Professor or Poetry, and the 50th anniversary of Menard Press.

The author narrates how Indian poet Sujata Bhatt got his career in poetry with the help of editor Michael Schmidt.

Zur Verbesserung der Wirtschaftlichkeit im Automobilvertrieb entwickelt die Volkswagen AG in Kooperation mit dem Niedersächsischen Forschungszentrum Fahrzeugtechnik (NFF) eine Revenue Management-Methode. Das Ziel des Forschungsprojekts besteht in der Bereitstellung einer Entscheidungsunterstützung für den Automobilhandel, um während des Verkaufsgesprächs die Zuordnung von Lagerfahrzeugen zu optimieren. Hierzu wird eine Kapazitätssteuerung in den Auftragsabwicklungsprozess integriert. Erste Simulationsrechnungen anhand realer Verkaufsdaten des Automobilhandels bestätigen eine Ertragssteigerung um mehr als 4 Prozent.

The poem "Murmurs for Remco Campert" by Michael Augustin is presented. First Line: The Indonesian moon: Last Line: and writing poems.

SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) greatly enhances the quality of diffusion‐weighted echo‐planar imaging (EPI) by reducing blurring and off‐resonance artifacts. Such improvement would also be desirable for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), but measures derived from the diffusion tensor can be extremely sensitive to any kind of image distortion. Whether DTI is feasible in combination with SENSE has not yet been explored, and is the focus of this study. Using a SENSE‐reduction factor of 2, DTI scans in eight healthy volunteers were carried out with regular‐ and high‐resolution acquisition matrices. To further improve the stability of the SENSE reconstruction, a new coil‐sensitivity estimation technique based on variational calculus and the principles of matrix regularization was applied. With SENSE, maps of the trace of the diffusion tensor and of fractional anisotropy (FA) had improved spatial resolution and less geometric distortion. Overall, the geometric distortions were substantially removed and a significant resolution enhancement was achieved with almost the same scan time as regular EPI. DTI was even possible without the use of quadrature body coil (QBC) reference scans. Geometry‐factor‐related noise enhancement was only discernible in maps generated with higher‐resolution matrices. Error boundaries for residual fluctuations in SENSE reconstructions are discussed. Our results suggest that SENSE can be combined with DTI and may present an important adjunct for future neuroimaging applications of this technique. Magn Reson Med 48:128–136, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Diffusion‐weighted single‐shot EPI (sshEPI) is one of the most important tools for the diagnostic assessment of stroke patients, but it suffers from well known artifacts. Therefore, sshEPI was combined with SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) to further increase EPI's potential for stroke imaging. Eight healthy volunteers and a consecutive series of patients (N= 8) with suspected stroke were examined with diffusion‐weighted SENSE‐sshEPI using different reduction factors (1.0 ≤ R≤ 3.0). Additionally, a high‐resolution diffusion‐weighted SENSE‐sshEPI scan was included. All examinations were diagnostic and of better quality than conventional sshEPI. No ghostings or aliasing artifacts were discernible, and EPI‐related image distortions were markedly diminished. Chemical shift artifacts and eddy current‐induced image warping were still present, although to a markedly smaller extent. Measured direction‐dependent diffusion‐coefficients and isotropic diffusion values were comparable to previous findings but showed less fluctuation. We have demonstrated the technical feasibility and clinical applicability of diffusion‐weighted SENSE‐sshEPI in patients with subacute stroke. Because of the faster k‐space traversal, this novel technique is able to reduce typical EPI artifacts and increase spatial resolution while simultaneously remaining insensitive to bulk motion. Magn Reson Med 46:548–554, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

High‐resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed in 14 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS) and the trace of the diffusion tensor (〈D〉) and the fractional anisotropy (FA) were determined in normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and in different types of focal MS lesions. A small but significant increase of the 〈D〉 in NAWM compared to control white matter ((840 ± 85) × 10–6mm2/sec vs. (812 ± 59) × 10–6mm2/sec; P< 0.01) was found. In addition, there was a significant decrease in the FA of normal‐appearing regions containing well‐defined white matter tracts, such as the genu of the internal capsule. In non‐acute lesions, the 〈D〉 of T1‐hypointense areas was significantly higher than that of T1‐isointense lesions ((1198 ± 248) × 10–6mm2/sec vs. (1006 ± 142) × 10–6mm2/sec; P< 0.001), and there was a corresponding inverse relation of FA. Diffusion characteristics of active lesions with different enhancement patterns were also significantly different. DTI with a phase navigated interleaved echo planar imaging technique may be used to detect abnormalities of isotropic and anisotropic diffusion in the NAWM and selected fiber tracts of patients with MS throughout the entire brain, and it demonstrates substantial differences between various types of focal lesions. Magn Reson Med 44:583–591, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

OBJECTIVE: To search for a morphologic basis of cognitive impairment possibly associated with arterial hypertension using magnetic resonance imaging and a demanding neuropsychologic test battery. DESIGN: Case-control comparison with age, length of education, presence of diabetes, and presence of cardiac disease as matching criteria. SETTING: Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. SUBJECTS: A total of 89 hypertensive subjects and 89 control subjects from a subset of 272 volunteers with no neurologic symptoms undergoing extensive diagnostic workup in a large-scale stroke prevention study among randomly selected elderly community members. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Focal brain abnormalities and size of ventricles and cortical sulci as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological test scores. RESULTS: Hypertensive subjects more commonly showed areas of white matter hyperintensity and moderately severe ventricular enlargement compared with controls. While no differences were noted between the investigational groups in test results of memory capacity and conceptualization, hypertensive subjects tended to perform worse when assessed for attentional and visuopractical skills. These differences became significant when comparing the brain-damaged subsets of patients and controls with their counterparts without cerebral changes. The pattern and extent of neuropsychologic deficits was similar in hypertensive and normotensive subjects with abnormal magnetic resonance imaging scans. CONCLUSION: Our data strongly suggest the high rate of brain abnormalities among hypertensive subjects as the cause of their subtle neuropsychological dysfunction.

The author discusses how he get inspire to write his visual poems from travelling and photographs that he has managed to take of contemporary pictograms found at airports, railway stations, on traffic signs, in instruction manuals.

An essay is presented on the opportunity of traveling among young poets. The authors states his grandfather Lübeck's influence to his enthusiasm for travel. He mentions American poet Hart Crane who traveled without a so-called lifesaver. He also relates his journey with his fellow poets as they cross the bridge over the border river Limpopo in South Africa.

Reports on the use of crossbreeding to introduce desirable traits into herds. Importance of herd composition in crossbreeding issues; Advantage of assessing production environment before starting a crossbreeding system; Crossbreeding programs' need to account for environmental factors and production goals. INSET: At a glance..

Reports on the effect of Europe's economic and monetary union (EMU) on Australian agricultural producers. EMU's role in simplifying export processes to Europe; Introduction of the currency euro on January 1, 1999; Euro's impact on Australian business enterprises. INSETS: At a glance.;EMU waverers..

Provides tips on the prevention of hearing loss in farms which are significant sources of damaging noise. Signs that noise could be damaging hearing; Typical farm noises; Ensurance of plenty of distance between workers and the sound source; Forms of protection. INSETS: At a glance.;Decibels, noise and hearing..

Examines biological factors that affect seedling growth in direct-drilled wheat. Traditional perception that root rotting fungus Rhizoctonia solani is the main cause of reduced seedling growth in direct-drilled wheat; Results of an experiment that showed other root-damaging micro-organisms; Significance of the experiment's results to the detection and assessment of damage by root diseases.

Urges Australian farmers to continue dealing with Asian buyers despite the slump in most regional economies in Asia. Assessment of the economic crisis in the Asian region; Impact of the Asian economic crisis on farm producer, as cited by Australian government trade arm, Austrade; Reasons why Australian farmers should not abandon the Asian markets.

The poem "INTERCITY EXPRESS" by Michael Augustin is presented. First Line: If you're thinking; Last Line: rolled out of Hamburg yet!

Focuses on the use of molasses as a central ingredient in the diets of beef cattle in Australia. Explanation of how molasses are produced; Reason why grain are becoming expensive; Percentage of sucrose contained in molasses; Benefits of molasses.

Explains how careful management and attention to smarter drenching practice can help save Australian livestock producers millions of dollars each year in the fight against worms. Percentage of Australian sheep farms that have worms resistant to one or more drench classes; Function of the computer model called `Wormworld'; Definition of effective drenching.

Reports on responsibilities facing executors of last wills and testaments. Advantages of getting advice from a solicitor regarding executors' duties; Executors' duties include taking charge of the diseased's assets and property; Payment of the diseased's debts and taxes; Distribution of the assets to the named beneficiaries. INSET: At a glance..