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Hierarchical Order (hierarchical + order)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Polymers and Materials Science40%

Selected Abstracts

Templated and Hierarchical Assembly of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 15 2004
Y. Babayan
CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals have been assembled into mesoscale structures (see Figure). Templates with dimensions down to 100,nm are generated via phase-shifting photolithography using composite poly(dimethylsiloxane) masks. Upon removal of the template, the CdSe/ZnS structures are found to exhibit hierarchical order over square nanometers (self-assembly of nanocrystals), square micrometers (template shape), and square centimeters (arrays of template pattern). [source]

Organizing learning materials through hierarchical topic maps: an illustration through Chinese herb medication

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 6 2007
B.-J. Shih
Abstract This research aims to use hierarchical topic maps to compile digital learning material and to discuss its design and application possibilities. The system renders tremendous original assets and then embeds a self-organizing map (SOM) in the material database to produce topical learning materials, as in this case, an illustration through Chinese herb medication. It helps to demonstrate robust professional information as well as knowledge structures, and provides a customized and interactive learning dynamic to support both progressive and constructive learning styles. The paper first gives a detailed procedural description of the material construction, explains how topic map techniques were applied, and observes the implications and potentials of the technology to education. Both the technical and educational evaluations of using SOM topic maps in compilation of learning materials have resulted in positive feedback. SOM allows users to review the complete databank in structural hierarchical order, which provides comprehensive understanding of the entire set of learning materials, and also brings opportunities to users to discover knowledge related to their study area. [source]

Self-Assembled PEO-Peptide Nanotapes as Ink for Plotting Nonwoven Silica Nanocomposites and Mesoporous Silica Fiber Networks

MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, Issue 4 2008
Stefanie Kessel
Abstract Macroscopic networks of oriented polymer-silica composite fibers can be accessed via a convenient 2D-plotting process. By using self-assembled PEO-peptide nanotapes as an ink to draw the composite fibers, the macroscopic form of the fiber networks, the line width, and both network orientation as well as network anisotropy can be defined. The plotting process relies on a biomimetic silicification route, which combines self-assembly and peptide-directed silicification in a cooperative manner. The local injection of PEO-peptide nanotapes into a thin layer of a dilute solution of pre-hydrolyzed TMOS leads to the rapid formation of the composite fibers, which exhibit several levels of hierarchical order. It was shown, that the rate of plotting is a parameter, enabling one to control the line width and the orientation of the nano- and sub-micrometer structure elements in the network. Moreover, the plotted composite fibers can be used as precursors for networks of oriented, mesoporous silica-fibers. After calcination procedures, nonwoven silica fabrics can be obtained with high surface areas and cylindrical pores aligned in plot direction. [source]

Relevance of caspase activity during apoptosis in pubertal rat spermatogenesis

MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2008
Veronica A. Codelia
Abstract Caspases are a family of cysteine-proteases, activated upon several different stimuli, which execute apoptosis in many cell death models. Previous work of our group has shown rats have the highest rate of apoptosis during the first wave of spermatogenesis (between 20 and 25 days after birth), as evaluated by TUNEL and caspase activity. However, the hierarchical order of caspase activation and the relevance of each caspase during germ cell apoptosis are not clear. Thus, the goal of this work is to take a pharmacological approach to dissect the apoptosis pathway of caspase activation. Results showed that intratesticular injection of a caspase-8 inhibitor (z-IETD-fmk), or a pan-caspase inhibitor (z-VAD- fmk), significantly decreased the cleavage of p115 and PARP, two endogenous substrates of caspases, in 22-day-old rats. Additionally, these inhibitors promoted a significant reduction in the number of apoptotic germ cells. On the other hand, intratesticular injection of two different inhibitors of the intrinsic pathway (z-LEHD-fmk and minocycline) did not have any effect upon caspase substrates cleavage (p115 and PARP) or the number of apoptotic germ cells. Therefore, we conclude that the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis plays an important role in physiological germ cell apoptosis during the first round of spermatogenesis in the rat. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75: 881,889, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Reorganizing the Lexicon by Learning a New Word: Japanese Children's Interpretation of the Meaning of a New Word for a Familiar Artifact

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2002
Etsuko Haryu
This research investigated how children interpret the meaning of a new word associated with a familiar artifact. The existing literature has shown that syntactic form,class information plays an important role in making this kind of inference. However, this information is not available to Japanese children, because Japanese language does not have a grammatical distinction between count nouns and mass nouns, proper nouns and common nouns, or singular and plural. In Study 1, 12 three,year,old monolingual Japanese children were tested to examine whether they interpreted a new noun associated with a familiar artifact to be a material name or a new label for the object. They interpreted the new word as a new category label for the object, rather than as a name for the material. How children related the new category to the old familiar one was then examined in Studies 2 and 3. The results of Study 2, in which 24 three,year,olds participated, showed that children could flexibly shift between two interpretations using shape information. When the named object had a typical shape for the familiar category, they mapped the new word to a subordinate category. In contrast, when the shape of the named object was atypical, they mapped the new word to a new category that was mutually exclusive to the familiar category by excluding the named object from the familiar category. In Study 3, 12 three,year,olds were tested to examine relative importance of shape and functional information in this inference process. The results of the three studies suggest that children flexibly recruit clues from multiple sources, but the clues are weighed in hierarchical order so that they can determine the single most plausible solution in a given situation when different clues suggest different solutions. [source]