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Complete Set (complete + set)
Selected AbstractsBetter Partnership Working Complete SetHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 5 2009Rachael Addicott No abstract is available for this article. [source] The infrabony defect and its determinantsJOURNAL OF PERIODONTAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2006C. -K. Background and Objective:, The purpose of this study was to assess the defect width of infrabony defects in a cross-sectional study and to evaluate whether the defect width is a function of defect depth. Material and Methods:, Complete sets of intra-oral radiographs of patients with severe periodontitis, which exhibited at least one infrabony defect, were digitised and evaluated. The following parameters were measured: depth and width of the infrabony defect, defect angle, and width of the interdental spaces. Results:, Fifty-one patients (26 women), ranging from 21 to 73 yr of age (48.5 ± 13.4 yr), contributed a total of 1272 teeth with 135 infrabony defects (10.6%). Seventeen infrabony defects were located at sites without a neighboring tooth. Infrabony defects were statistically more prevalent in the mandible (n = 82) than in the maxilla (p = 0.013), and more prevalent at mesial sites (n = 92) than at distal sites (p < 0.001). At infrabony defects, the width of interdental spaces at the most coronal extension of the alveolar crest could be measured only at sites with neigboring teeth 2.67 ± 0.78 mm (range: 1.19,5.70 mm). Analysis failed to reveal a statistically significant difference between defect width at sites with (2.64 ± 0.82 mm) and sites without (2.76 ± 0.70 mm) a neighboring tooth. Multilevel regression analysis revealed narrow defect angles to be related to deep infrabony defects, whereas width of the interdental space and distal location were related to wide defects. Conclusion:, Defect angle depended on defect depth and defect width was not different at sites with or without a neighboring tooth. Even in severe periodontitis, infrabony defects are found only at a minority of teeth. [source] Geometric algebra and transition-selective implementations of the controlled-NOT gateCONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 1 2004Timothy F. Havel Geometric algebra provides a complete set of simple rules for the manipulation of product operator expressions at a symbolic level, without any explicit use of matrices. This approach can be used not only to describe the state and evolution of a spin system, but also to derive the effective Hamiltonian and associated propagator in full generality. In this article, we illustrate the use of geometric algebra via a detailed analysis of transition-selective implementations of the controlled-NOT gate, which plays a key role in NMR-based quantum information processing. In the appendices, we show how one can also use geometric algebra to derive tight bounds on the magnitudes of the errors associated with these implementations of the controlled-NOT. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 23A: 49,62, 2004 [source] Strikingly fast microtubule sliding in bundles formed by Chlamydomonas axonemal dynein,CYTOSKELETON, Issue 6 2010Susumu Aoyama Abstract Chlamydomonas axonemal extracts containing outer-arm dynein bundle microtubules when added in the absence of ATP. The bundles dissociate after addition of ATP (Haimo et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:5759,5768, 1979). In the present study, we investigated the ATP-induced bundle dissociation process using caged ATP. Application of ,0.5 mM ATP induced microtubule sliding at ,30 ,m·s,1, which was 1.5 times faster than the microtubule sliding observed in protease-treated axonemes and five times faster than microtubule gliding on glass surfaces coated with outer-arm dynein. Bundles formed by mutant dynein molecules that lack one of the three heavy chains (HCs) displayed similar high-speed intermicrotubule sliding. These results suggest that Chlamydomonas outer-arm dynein molecules, when aligned, can translocate microtubules at high speed and that the high-speed sliding under load-free conditions does not require the complete set of the three HCs. It is likely that each of the three HCs has the ability to produce high-speed sliding, which should be an important property for their cooperation. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Improvement and validation of a snow saltation model using wind tunnel measurementsEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 14 2008Andrew Clifton Abstract A Lagrangian snow saltation model has been extended for application to a wide variety of snow surfaces. Important factors of the saltation process, namely number of entrained particles, ejection angle and speed, have been parameterized from data in the literature. The model can now be run using simple descriptors of weather and snow conditions, such as wind, ambient pressure and temperature, snow particle sizes and surface density. Sensitivity of the total mass flux to the new parameterizations is small. However, the model refinements also allow concentration and mass flux profiles to be calculated, for comparison with measurements. Sensitivity of the profiles to the new parameterizations is considerable. Model results have then been compared with a complete set of drifting snow data from our cold wind tunnel. Simulation mass flux results agree with wind tunnel data to within the bounds of measurement uncertainty. Simulated particle sizes at 50 mm above the surface are generally larger than seen in the tunnel, probably as the model only describes particles in saltation, while additional smaller particles may be present in the wind tunnel at this height because of suspension. However, the smaller particles carry little mass, and so the impact on the mass flux is low. The use of simple input data, and parameterization of the saltation process, allows the model to be used predictively. This could include applications from avalanche warning to glacier mass balance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consistent Tests for Stochastic DominanceECONOMETRICA, Issue 1 2003Garry F. Barrett Methods are proposed for testing stochastic dominance of any pre,specified order, with primary interest in the distributions of income. We consider consistent tests, that are similar to Kolmogorov,Smirnov tests, of the complete set of restrictions that relate to the various forms of stochastic dominance. For such tests, in the case of tests for stochastic dominance beyond first order, we propose and justify a variety of approaches to inference based on simulation and the bootstrap. We compare these approaches to one another and to alternative approaches based on multiple comparisons in the context of a Monte Carlo experiment and an empirical example. [source] Determination of dissociation constants of folic acid, methotrexate, and other photolabile pteridines by pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresisELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 17 2006Zoltán Szakács Abstract Pressure-assisted CE (PACE) was applied to determine the previously inaccessible complete set of pK values for folic acid and eight related multiprotic compounds. PACE allowed the determination of all acidity macroconstants at low (,0.1,mM) concentration without interferences of selfassociation or photodegradation throughout the pH range. The accuracy of the constants was verified by NMR-pH, UV-pH, and potentiometric titrations and the data could be converted into physiological ionic strength. It was shown that even three overlapping pK values can be determined by CE with good precision (<0.06) and accuracy if an appropriately low sample throughput is used. Experimental aspects of PACE for the quantitation of acid,base properties are analyzed. The site-specific basicity data obtained for folic acid and methotrexate (MTX) reveal that apparently slight constitutional differences between folic acid and MTX carry highly different proton-binding propensities at analogous moieties, especially at the pteridine N1,locus, providing straightforward explanation for the distinctive binding to dihydrofolate reductase at the molecular level. [source] Imaging of the shoulderEQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2010W. R. Redding Summary Diagnosis of lameness associated with the shoulder region requires a careful clinical examination, the use of specifically placed intra-articular analgesia and a combination of some common imaging techniques to accurately define the source of pain. Most equine practices performing lameness examinations in the horse have the radiographic and ultrasonographic equipment necessary to accurately image the shoulder. This article presents a description of the unique anatomy of the shoulder and the specific application of radiographic and ultrasonographic techniques to provide a complete set of diagnostic images of the shoulder region. A brief discussion of nuclear scintigraphy of this region is also included. [source] Public and private pharmaceutical spending as determinants of health outcomes in CanadaHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2005Pierre-Yves Crémieux Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Health Economics; 14(2): 117 (2005). Canadian per capita drug expenditures increased markedly in recent years and have become center stage in the debate on health care cost containment. To inform public policy, these costs must be compared with the benefits provided by these drugs. This paper measures the statistical relationship between drug spending in Canadian provinces and overall health outcomes. The analysis relies on more homogenous data and includes a more complete set of controls for confounding factors than previous studies. Results show a strong statistical relationship between drug spending and health outcomes, especially for infant mortality and life expectancy at 65. This relationship is almost always stronger for private drug spending than for public drug spending. The analysis further indicates that substantially better health outcomes are observed in provinces where higher drug spending occurs. Simulations show that if all provinces increased per capita drug spending to the levels observed in the two provinces with the highest spending level, an average of 584 fewer infant deaths per year and over 6 months of increased life expectancy at birth would result. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Developing a Performance Measurement System for University Central Administrative ServicesHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2009Marika Arena Central administrative services have recently received increasing attention from practitioners and academics due to the challenging need to both manage scarce resources and provide high-quality services. In this context, performance measurement systems (PMSs) may assume a central role, although an unresolved debate remains on the claimed benefits of accountability and the difficulties that have emerged in defining and managing proper measures. This paper contributes to this debate by presenting the results of a study in which a PMS for central administrative services has been developed and tested through an action research approach drawing on actor network theory. The experiment was carried out in 15 Italian universities and five areas of services were dealt with: student support, research support, accounting, human resources, and logistics and procurement. The highly participative method resulted in a comparable system with a complete set of cost and quality indicators across the participating universities. These data proved to be useful at managerial and policy level, providing insights on the presence of scale effects and on the relative importance of quality dimensions for users of services. Participating in the project encouraged the university staff to use indicators in decision making. [source] SWAT2000: current capabilities and research opportunities in applied watershed modellingHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 3 2005J. G. Arnold Abstract SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is a conceptual, continuous time model that was developed in the early 1990s to assist water resource managers in assessing the impact of management and climate on water supplies and non-point source pollution in watersheds and large river basins. SWAT is the continuation of over 30 years of model development within the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and was developed to ,scale up' past field-scale models to large river basins. Model components include weather, hydrology, erosion/sedimentation, plant growth, nutrients, pesticides, agricultural management, stream routing and pond/reservoir routing. The latest version, SWAT2000, has several significant enhancements that include: bacteria transport routines; urban routines; Green and Ampt infiltration equation; improved weather generator; ability to read in daily solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed and potential ET; Muskingum channel routing; and modified dormancy calculations for tropical areas. A complete set of model documentation for equations and algorithms, a user manual describing model inputs and outputs, and an ArcView interface manual are now complete for SWAT2000. The model has been recoded into Fortran 90 with a complete data dictionary, dynamic allocation of arrays and modular subroutines. Current research is focusing on bacteria, riparian zones, pothole topography, forest growth, channel downcutting and widening, and input uncertainty analysis. The model SWAT is meanwhile used in many countries all over the world. Recent developments in European Environmental Policy, such as the adoption of the European Water Framework directive in December 2000, demand tools for integrative river basin management. The model SWAT is applicable for this purpose. It is a flexible model that can be used under a wide range of different environmental conditions, as this special issue will show. The papers compiled here are the result of the first International SWAT Conference held in August 2001 in Rauischholzhausen, Germany. More than 50 participants from 14 countries discussed their modelling experiences with the model development team from the USA. Nineteen selected papers with issues reaching from the newest developments, the evaluation of river basin management, interdisciplinary approaches for river basin management, the impact of land use change, methodical aspects and models derived from SWAT are published in this special issue. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Using a genome-wide scan and meta-analysis to identify a novel IBD locus and confirm previously identified IBD lociINFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 6 2002C. Noel Williams Abstract Seven loci that potentially confer susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or one of its subtypes have been identified to date; however, most are unconfirmed, and the complete set of loci contributing to disease susceptibility has not yet been determined. The authors aim to identify loci contributing to disease susceptibility in an IBD population from Canada and to compare their results in a systematic manner with those of previously published IBD data sets. The authors performed genome-wide linkage analysis on 63 IBD families from Nova Scotia, Canada. They then undertook a meta-analysis to combine the results of their study with those of the four previously published IBD genome-wide scans with complete data reported. Their genome-wide scan identified three regions of suggestive linkage to IBD: 11p, IBD3, and IBD1. The locus on chromosome 11p has not been previously reported. Meta-analysis of multiple scans revealed linked regions corresponding to the IBD1, IBD3, and IBD5 loci. Meta-analysis of linkage data is a powerful approach for identifying and confirming common susceptibility loci and specifically shows that IBD1, IBD3, and IBD5 are the major, common IBD susceptibility loci in the populations studied thus far. [source] Numerical modelling of fluid flow in microscopic images of granular materialsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 1 2002E. Masad Abstract A program for the simulation of two-dimensional (2-D) fluid flow at the microstructural level of a saturated anisotropic granular medium is presented. The program provides a numerical solution to the complete set of Navier,Stokes equations without a priori assumptions on the viscous or convection components. This is especially suited for the simulation of the flow of fluids with different density and viscosity values and for a wide range of granular material porosity. The analytical solution for fluid flow in a simple microstructure of porous medium is used to verify the computer program. Subsequently, the flow field is computed within microscopic images of granular material that differ in porosity, particle size and particle shape. The computed flow fields are shown to follow certain paths depending on air void size and connectivity. The permeability tensor coefficients are derived from the flow fields, and their values are shown to compare well with laboratory experimental data on glass beads, Ottawa sand and silica sands. The directional distribution of permeability is expressed in a functional form and its anisotropy is quantified. Permeability anisotropy is found to be more pronounced in the silica sand medium that consists of elongated particles. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Vector Hankel transform analysis of a tunable circular microstrip patchINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2005T. Fortaki Abstract In this paper, a rigorous analysis of the tunable circular microstrip patch is performed using a dyadic Green's function formulation. To make the theoretical formulation more general and hence valid for various antennas structures (not only limited to tunable microstrip patch); the dyadic Green's function is derived when the patch is assumed to be embedded in a multilayered dielectric substrate. A very efficient technique to derive the dyadic Green's function in the vector Hankel transform domain is proposed. Using the vector Hankel transform, the mixed boundary value problem is reduced to a set of vector dual integral equations. Galerkin's method is then applied to solve the integral equation where two sets of disk current expansions are used. One set is based on the complete set of orthogonal modes of the magnetic cavity, and the other consists of combinations of Chebyshev polynomials with weighting factors to incorporate the edge condition. Convergent results for these two sets of disk current expansions are obtained with a small number of basis functions. The calculated resonant frequencies and quality factors are compared with experimental data and shown to be in good agreement. Finally, numerical results for the air gap tuning effect on the resonant frequency and half-power bandwidth are also presented. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Vibrations of skewed cantilevered triangular, trapezoidal and parallelogram Mindlin plates with considering corner stress singularitiesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 13 2005C. S. Huang Abstract Based on the Mindlin shear deformation plate theory, a method is presented for determining natural frequencies of skewed cantilevered triangular, trapezoidal and parallelogram plates using the Ritz method, considering the effects of stress singularities at the clamped re-entrant corner. The admissible displacement functions include polynomials and corner functions. The admissible polynomials form a mathematically complete set and guarantee the solution convergent to the exact frequencies when sufficient terms are used. The corner functions properly account for the singularities of moments and shear forces at the re-entrant corner and accelerate the convergence of the solution. Detailed convergence studies are carried out for plates of various shapes to elucidate the positive effects of corner functions on the accuracy of the solution. The results obtained herein are compared with those obtained by other investigators to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the solution. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Transient heat conduction analysis in a piecewise homogeneous domain by a coupled boundary and finite element methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2003I. Guven Abstract A coupled finite element,boundary element analysis method for the solution of transient two-dimensional heat conduction equations involving dissimilar materials and geometric discontinuities is developed. Along the interfaces between different material regions of the domain, temperature continuity and energy balance are enforced directly. Also, a special algorithm is implemented in the boundary element method (BEM) to treat the existence of corners of arbitrary angles along the boundary of the domain. Unknown interface fluxes are expressed in terms of unknown interface temperatures by using the boundary element method for each material region of the domain. Energy balance and temperature continuity are used for the solution of unknown interface temperatures leading to a complete set of boundary conditions in each region, thus allowing the solution of the remaining unknown boundary quantities. The concepts developed for the BEM formulation of a domain with dissimilar regions is employed in the finite element,boundary element coupling procedure. Along the common boundaries of FEM,BEM regions, fluxes from specific BEM regions are expressed in terms of common boundary (interface) temperatures, then integrated and lumped at the nodal points of the common FEM,BEM boundary so that they are treated as boundary conditions in the analysis of finite element method (FEM) regions along the common FEM,BEM boundary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Thermoelastic stress field in a piecewise homogeneous domain under non-uniform temperature using a coupled boundary and finite element methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2003I. Guven Abstract This study concerns the development of a coupled finite element,boundary element analysis method for the solution of thermoelastic stresses in a domain composed of dissimilar materials with geometric discontinuities. The continuity of displacement and traction components is enforced directly along the interfaces between different material regions of the domain. The presence of material and geometric discontinuities are included in the formulation explicitly. The unknown interface traction components are expressed in terms of unknown interface displacement components by using the boundary element method for each material region of the domain. Enforcing the continuity conditions leads to a final system of equations containing unknown interface displacement components only. With the solution of interface displacement components, each region has a complete set of boundary conditions, thus leading to the solution of the remaining unknown boundary quantities. The concepts developed for the BEM formulation of a domain with dissimilar regions is employed in the finite element,boundary element coupling procedure. Along the common boundaries of FEM,BEM regions, stresses from specific BEM regions are first expressed in terms of interface displacements, then integrated and lumped at the nodal points of the common FEM,BEM boundary so that they are treated as boundary conditions in the analysis of FEM regions along the common FEM,BEM boundary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Realization of log-domain high-order transfer functions using first-order building blocks and complementary operatorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIRCUIT THEORY AND APPLICATIONS, Issue 1 2007Costas Psychalinos Abstract High-order log-domain filters could be easily designed by using the functional block diagram (FBD) representation of the corresponding linear prototype and a set of complementary operators. For this purpose, lossy and lossless integrator blocks have been already introduced in the literature. Novel first-order log-domain highpass and allpass filter configurations, which are fully compatible with the already published integrator blocks, are introduced in this paper. These are realized using integration and subtraction blocks or a novel differentiation configuration. As a result, a complete set of first-order building blocks would be available for synthesizing any arbitrary high-order transfer function. In order to verify the correct operation of the proposed structures, the performance of the introduced highpass filters was evaluated through simulation results. In addition, a fifth-order log-domain bandpass filter was designed and simulated using one of the introduced first-order highpass filter configurations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A revisit on older adults suicides and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Hong KongINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 12 2008Y. T. Cheung Abstract Background The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 had an enormous impact on Hong Kong society and the suicide rate was also at its historical high, 18.6 per 100,000. The most significant increase was found among the older adults aged 65 or above. Methods Poisson Regression Models were used to examine impact of the SARS epidemic on older adults suicides in Hong Kong. A complete set of the suicide statistics for the period 1993,2004 from the Coroners' Court were made available for the analysis. Chi-square test was used to compare the profile of the older adult suicide cases in the pre-SARS, peri-SARS and post-SARS periods. Results It showed an excess of older adults suicides in April 2003, when compared to the month of April of the other years. A trough, instead of the usual summer peak, was observed in June, suggesting some of the older adults suicides might have been brought forward. On a year basis, the annual older adult's suicide rates in 2003 and 2004 were significantly higher than that in 2002, suggesting the suicide rate did not return to the level before the SARS epidemic. Based on the Coroners' suicide death records, overall severity of illness, level of dependency and worrying of having sickness among the older adult suicides were found to be significantly different in the pre-SARS, peri-SARS and post-SARS periods. Conclusion The SARS epidemic was associated with an increase in older adults' suicide rate in April 2003 and some suicide deaths in June 2003 might have been brought forward. Moreover, an increase in the annual older adults' suicide rate in 2003 was observed and the rate in 2004 did not return to the level of 2002. Loneliness and disconnectedness among the older adults in the community were likely to be associated with the excess older adults' suicides in 2003. Maintaining and enhancing mental well being of the public over the period of epidemic is as important as curbing the spread of the epidemic. Attention and effort should also be made to enhance the community's ability to manage fear and anxiety, especially in vulnerable groups over the period of epidemic to prevent tragic and unnecessary suicide deaths. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Handling indefinite and maybe information in logical fuzzy relational databasesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2004Nan-Chen Hsieh In this article, fuzzy set theory uses an extension of the classical logical relational database model. A logical fuzzy relational database model was developed with the aim of manipulating imprecise information and adding deduction capabilities to the database system. The essence of this work is the detailed discussion on fuzzy definite, fuzzy indefinite, and fuzzy maybe information and the development of an information theoretical approach of query evaluation on the logical fuzzy relational database. We define redundancies among fuzzy tuples and the operator of their removal. A complete set of fuzzy relational operations in relational algebra and the calculus of linguistically quantified propositions are included also. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Passenger route guidance system for multi-modal transit networksJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 3 2005Hong K. Lo In many public transport oriented cities in the world, especially Asian cities, the public transport system has been developed extensively, to the extent that it has become increasingly difficult to navigate. Although inter-modal transfers are common and often necessary, a complete set of the routes across transport modes is generally not presented in a form that is accessible to travelers, as each operator would only publish its own routes. Moreover, the common nonlinear fare tables together with inter-modal fare discounts pose challenges to travelers in deciding their best routes. This study develops a multi-modal passenger route guidance system, called eFinder, to aid travelers with their combined mode-route choices. We discuss the architecture and features of this system in this study. This system forms a platform for disseminating public transit information and should complement further development and use of the public transport network by enabling travelers to make informed choices. [source] Introduction to the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders-3 Quality Indicator Measurement SetJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2007Neil S. Wenger MD OBJECTIVES: To update and increase the comprehensiveness of the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) set of process-of-care quality indicators (QIs) for the medical care provided to vulnerable elders and to keep up with the constantly changing medical literature, the QIs were revised and expanded. DESIGN: The ACOVE Clinical Committee expanded the number of measured conditions to 26 in the revised (ACOVE-3) set. For each condition, a content expert created potential QIs and, based on systematic reviews, developed a peer-reviewed monograph detailing each QI and its supporting evidence. Using these literature reviews, multidisciplinary panels of clinical experts participated in two rounds of anonymous ratings and a face-to-face group discussion to evaluate whether the QIs were valid measures of quality of care using a process that is an explicit combination of scientific evidence and professional consensus. The Clinical Committee evaluated the coherence of the complete set of QIs that the expert panels rated as valid. RESULTS: ACOVE-3 contains 392 QIs covering 14 different types of care processes (e.g., taking a medical history, performing a physical examination) and all four domains of care: screening and prevention (31% of QIs), diagnosis (20%), treatment (35%), and follow-up and continuity (14%). All QIs also apply to community-dwelling patients aged 75 and older. CONCLUSION: ACOVE-3 contains a set of QIs to comprehensively measure the care provided to vulnerable older persons at the level of the health system, health plan, or medical group. These QIs can be applied to identify areas of care in need of improvement and can form the basis of interventions to improve care. [source] Supercritical water oxidation of quinoline in a continuous plug flow reactor,part 2: kineticsJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Lisete DS Pinto Abstract The results of a detailed investigation into the kinetics of quinoline oxidation in supercritical water are presented. The novel kinetic data presented were obtained in a continuously operated, plug flow reactor where parameters such as temperature, pressure, residence time and stoichiometric ratio of oxidant to quinoline were investigated and detailed in the companion paper (Pinto LDS, Freitas dos Santos LMF, Al-Duri B and Santos RCD, Supercritical water oxidation of quinoline in a continuous plug flow reactor,part 1: effect of key operating parameters. J Chem Technol Biotechnol). An induction time was experimentally observed, ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 s, with longer times observed in experiments carried out at lower temperatures. A pseudo-first-order rate expression with respect to quinoline concentration (with oxygen excess) was first adopted and the activation energy of 234 kJ mol,1 and a pre-exponential factor of 2.1 × 1014 s,1 were estimated. Furthermore, an integral power rate model expression was established, attributing a reaction order for quinoline as 1 and for oxygen as 0.36. An activation energy and pre-exponential factor for this model were determined as 224 kJ mol,1 and 3.68 × 1014 M,0.36 s,1, respectively. A global rate expression was then regressed for the quinoline reaction rate from the complete set of data. The resulting activation energy was 226 ± 19 kJ mol,1 and the pre-exponential factor was 2.7 × 1013 ± 2 M,0.1 s,1. The reaction orders for quinoline and oxygen were 0.8 ± 0.1 and 0.3 ± 0.1, respectively. It was shown that the least-squares regression method provided the best-fit model for experimental results investigated in this study. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Adapting and personalizing the communication in a synchronous communication toolJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 3 2008A. Gogoulou Abstract In this paper, we present a synchronous text-based communication tool, referred to as Adaptive Communication Tool (ACT), which provides capabilities for adaptation and personalization. ACT supports both the free and the structured form of dialogue. The structured dialogue is implemented by two types of Scaffolding Sentence Templates (SST); i.e. sentence openers or communicative acts. The capability of adaptation is considered in the sense of making suggestions for the supported form of dialogue and SST type and providing the most meaningful and complete set of SST with respect to the learning outcomes addressed by the collaborative learning activity and the model of collaboration followed by the group members. Also, ACT enables learners to have control on the adaptation by selecting the form of dialogue and the SST type they prefer to use and enriching the provided SST set with their own ones in order to cover their communication needs. The results from the formative evaluation of the tool showed that (i) the proposed dialogue form, SST type and the provided set of SST cover students' communication needs, (ii) the capability of personalizing the communication by selecting the desired communication means as well as by enriching the provided SST set satisfied students, and (iii) students used adequately both types of SST resulting into on-task and coherent dialogues. [source] Obstruction sets for outer-cylindrical graphsJOURNAL OF GRAPH THEORY, Issue 1 2001Dan Archdeacon Abstract A graph is outer-cylindrical if it embeds in the sphere so that there are two distinct faces whose boundaries together contain all the vertices. The class of outer-cylindrical graphs is closed under minors. We give the complete set of 38 minor-minimal non-outer-cylindrical graphs, or equivalently, an excluded minor characterization of outer-cylindrical graphs. We also give the obstruction sets under the related topological ordering and Y,,-ordering. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 38: 42,64, 2001 [source] Antibodies raised to short synthetic peptides with sequences derived from HIV-1 SF2 gp120 can both neutralize and enhance HIV-1 SF13: A later variant isolated from the same hostJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 3 2001David Davis Abstract HIV-1 SF13 emerged in a patient with immunity to HIV-1 SF2. This study determined the effect of antibodies raised to HIV-1 SF2 on the replication of the later variant. Antisera in rats were raised previously to a complete set of overlapping, synthetic 15mer peptides following the sequence of HIV-1 SF2 gp120. These sera have now been used in neutralization and enhancement assays against viruses derived from molecular clones of both variants. The sets of peptides inducing neutralizing antibodies to the two variants overlap. Antibodies to the third variable region of HIV-1 SF2 only neutralize the homologous virus whereas those to the second and fourth variable regions neutralize both variants. In contrast, the sets of major epitopes involved in enhancement do not overlap. Epitopes for both variants form two clusters when superimposed on the conformation of the conserved regions. To determine if antibodies with the potential to enhance or neutralize HIV-1 SF2 change over time in infected individuals sera from chimpanzees were used because no material was still available from the original patient. Antibodies to HIV-1 SF2 neutralizing epitopes and HIV-1 SF13 enhancing epitopes were present in the circulation of chimpanzees infected with HIV-1 SF2. Once antibodies to the neutralizing epitopes were induced they persisted whereas antibodies to the enhancing epitopes varied with time after infection. Conditions may therefore exist within individual hosts where not only neutralizing but also enhancing antibodies have the potential to contribute to the selection pressure operating on the circulating population of polymorphic variants. J. Med. Virol. 64:207,216, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] PHYLOGENETIC SELECTION OF A RESOURCE: A NEW USE FOR CLADISTICSJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2000K. M. Dreckmann A phylogenetic model for the selection of commercial resources using the cladistic method is proposed. The group selected as an example was the marine agarophyte red algal genus Gracilaria Greville. We suggest the use of the cladistic principle of evolutionary transformational series in order to test the quality of agars instead of the assay-herror traditional method that consumes time and budget. If we asume that the "good quality of agar" in extant taxa is a sinapomorphic character (but not a reliable taxonomic one), then taxa included in the same monophiletic clade in which the species with "good quality of agar" are, has a high evolutionary posibility to share that character. In order to do this we have to incorporate to the set of available specific characters, those of the taxa actually used as a agar source but not present in the area under scope. A complete set of the basic cladistic data required for run the most popular program currently in use (PAUP) are provided. We applied the model to the Mexican Atlantic species and found that, using Gracilaria chilensis and G. cornea as "indicator taxa," and found Mexican populations of G. crassissima, G. caudata, G. cervicornis and Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis are candidates for a study of yield and agar properties. [source] Mining temporal rules for software maintenanceJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008David Lo Abstract Software evolution incurs difficulties in program comprehension and software verification, and hence it increases the cost of software maintenance. In this study, we propose a novel technique to mine from program execution traces a sound and complete set of statistically significant temporal rules of arbitrary lengths. The extracted temporal rules reveal invariants that the program observes, and will consequently guide developers to understand the program behaviors, and facilitate all downstream applications such as verification and debugging. Different from previous studies that were restricted to mining two-event rules (e.g., ,lock,,,unlock,), our algorithm discovers rules of arbitrary lengths. In order to facilitate downstream applications, we represent the mined rules as temporal logic expressions, so that existing model checkers or other formal analysis toolkit can readily consume our mining results. Performance studies on benchmark data sets and a case study on an industrial system have been performed to show the scalability and utility of our approach. We performed case studies on JBoss application server and a buggy concurrent versions system application, and the result clearly demonstrates the usefulness of our technique in recovering underlying program designs and detecting bugs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consistent database sampling as a database prototyping approachJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 6 2002Jesús Bisbal Abstract Requirements elicitation has been reported to be the stage of software development when errors have the most expensive consequences. Users usually find it difficult to articulate a consistent and complete set of requirements at the beginning of a development project. Prototyping is considered a powerful technique to ease this problem by exposing a partial implementation of the software system to the user, who can then identify required modifications. When prototyping data-intensive applications a so-called prototype database is needed. This paper investigates how a prototype database can be built. Two different approaches are analysed, namely test databases and sample databases; the former populates the resulting database with synthetic values, while the latter uses data values from an existing database. The application areas that require prototype databases, in addition to requirements analysis, are also identified. The paper reports on existing research into the construction of both types of prototype databases, and indicates to which type of application area each is best suited. This paper advocates for the use of sample databases when an operational database is available, as is commonly the case in software maintenance and evolution. Domain-relevant data values and integrity constraints will produce a prototype database which will support the information system development process better than synthetic data. The process of extracting a sample database is also investigated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Overlap in bibliographic databasesJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 12 2003William W. Hood Bibliographic databases contain surrogates to a particular subset of the complete set of literature; some databases are very narrow in their scope, while others are multidisciplinary. These databases overlap in their coverage of the literature to a greater or lesser extent. The topic of Fuzzy Set Theory is examined to determine the overlap of coverage in the databases that index this topic. It was found that about 63% of records in the data set are unique to only one database, and the remaining 37% are duplicated in from two to 12 different databases. The overlap distribution is found to conform to a Lotka-type plot. The records with maximum overlap are identified; however, further work is needed to determine the significance of the high level of overlap in these records. The unique records are plotted using a Bradford-type form of data presentation and are found to conform (visually) to a hyperbolic distribution. The extent and causes of intra-database duplication (records duplicated in the one database) are also examined. Finally, the overlap in the top databases in the dataset were examined, and a high correlation was found between overlapping records, and overlapping DIALOG OneSearch categories. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||