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Solid Foundation (solid + foundation)
Selected AbstractsSemantic knowledge facilities for a web-based recipe database system supporting personalizationCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 7 2008Liping Wang Abstract The recent explosive proliferation of interesting and useful data over the Web such as various recipes, while providing people with readily available information, brings out a challenging issue on how to manage such non-conventional data effectively. To respond to the challenge, we have been developing a Web-based recipe database system called Dish_Master to manage recipes in a novel way, which not only covers the static recipe attributes but also elucidates the dynamic cooking behaviors. In this paper, we present several semantic knowledge facilities devised in Dish_Master, including a set of semantic modeling and knowledge constructs to effectively represent recipe data, rules and constraints, and user profile aspects. With such a rich set of semantic knowledge facilities, Dish_Master lays down a solid foundation of providing users with personalized services such as adaptation and recommendation. Users can benefit from the system's real-time consultation and automatic summarization of cuisine knowledge. The usefulness and elegance of Dish_Master are demonstrated through an experimental prototype system. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An "Omics" view of drug developmentDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 2 2004Russ B. Altman Abstract The pharmaceutical industry cannot be blamed for having a love/hate relationship with the fields of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics. At the same time that pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics promise to save pipeline drugs by identifying subsets of the population for which they work best, they also threaten to increase the complexity of new drug applications, fragment markets, and create uncertainty for prescribers who simply do not understand or have time to master "personalized medicine." Most importantly, the logical case for genetics-specific drug selection and dosing is much more mature than the practical list of drugs for which outcomes are demonstrably improved. Understandably, pharmaceutical developers and regulators have been careful in creating strategies for using genetics in drug development, and only recently has the FDA begun to establish preliminary rules for pharmacogenetic testing. A growing public academic effort in pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics is helping flesh out the basic science underpinnings of the field, and this should combine with extensive efforts of industry to create a solid foundation for future use of genetics in drug development. Two grand challenges to accelerate our capabilities include the characterization of all human genes involved in the basic pharmacokinetics of drugs, and the detailed study of the genes and pathways associated with G-protein-coupled receptors and how they are affected by genetic variation. Drug Dev. Res. 62:81,85, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Marriage of Artist Novel and Bildungsroman: Goethe's Wilhelm Meister, A Paradigm in DisguiseGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2006Hellmut Ammerlahn Goethe described the fruitful years from 1794, when he found Schiller's friendship and completed Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, in metaphors of creativity, insight and abundance: ,ein neuer Frühling' and ,ein unaufhaltsames Fortschreiten philosophischer Ausbildung und ästhetischer Tätigkeit'. Yet since the mid-twentieth century what has been called Goethe's ,prototypischer Bildungsroman' and its central concept have come under attack. The more the novel's structure and the symbolism of the hero's relationships to all other characters were disregarded, the more Wilhelm's identity became ambiguous. Since the issue of genre is a major key to understanding the novel, Goethe's poetological and morphological principles are examined to make sense of the ,Masken' the author employs both to hide and to reveal Wilhelm's identity as a creative and self-reflexive poet. The first part of the ,Lehrbrief,' which deals with art and the artist as well as the mature Wilhelm's inheritance of his grandfather's art collection, receive focused attention. The hero's healing process from personal trauma, and his ultimate discovery of the solid foundation for his ,produktive Einbildungskraft' are tied to his poetic ,Doppelgänger', Mignon and the Harpist, and further to Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Tower, the picture of the sick prince, and to Natalie. The new interpretation of these interconnections reveals that with this novel Goethe produced nothing less than the paradigmatic ,Bildungsroman eines Dichters'. In the colourful figures that enter into or leave the hero's life, Goethe symbolises the increasingly demanding challenges his Wilhelm Meister has to confront and comprehend in order to master his vibrant imagination. [source] Managers,The missing link in the reward change processGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 2 2005Thomas O. Davenport Driven by economic and regulatory forces, many organizations are making wholesale changes in such employee rewards as equity compensation, retirement plans, and health care benefits. Any change in rewards can affect employee motivation and commitment, and poorly implemented reward change can have disastrous outcomes. Organizations must pay attention to all the factors at play,rational and emotional,by laying a solid foundation for reward change and involving managers throughout the organization. Supervisors and managers play an essential role in building a credible case for change and implementing change in a way that employees see as fair and reasonable. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Potential and Bottlenecks of Bioreactors in 3D Cell Culture and Tissue ManufacturingADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 32-33 2009David Wendt Abstract Over the last decade, we have witnessed an increased recognition of the importance of 3D culture models to study various aspects of cell physiology and pathology, as well as to engineer implantable tissues. As compared to well-established 2D cell-culture systems, cell/tissue culture within 3D porous biomaterials has introduced new scientific and technical challenges associated with complex transport phenomena, physical forces, and cell,microenvironment interactions. While bioreactor-based 3D model systems have begun to play a crucial role in addressing fundamental scientific questions, numerous hurdles currently impede the most efficient utilization of these systems. We describe how computational modeling and innovative sensor technologies, in conjunction with well-defined and controlled bioreactor-based 3D culture systems, will be key to gain further insight into cell behavior and the complexity of tissue development. These model systems will lay a solid foundation to further develop, optimize, and effectively streamline the essential bioprocesses to safely and reproducibly produce appropriately scaled tissue grafts for clinical studies. [source] Evolutionary, behavioural and molecular ecology must meet to achieve long-term conservation goalsMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 18 2009J. SCOTT KEOGH Founder populations in reintroduction programmes can experience a genetic bottleneck simply because of their small size. The influence of reproductive skew brought on by polygynous or polyandrous mating systems in these populations can exacerbate already difficult conservation genetic problems, such as inbreeding depression and loss of adaptive potential. Without an understanding of reproductive skew in a target species, and the effect it can have on genetic diversity retained over generations, long-term conservation goals will be compromised. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Miller et al. (2009a) test how founder group size and variance in male reproductive success influence the maintenance of genetic diversity following reintroduction on a long-term scale. They evaluated genetic diversity in two wild populations of the iconic New Zealand tuatara (Fig. 1), which differ greatly in population size and genetic diversity, and compared this to genetic diversity in multiple founder populations sourced from both populations. Population viability analysis on the maintenance of genetic diversity over 400 years (10 generations) demonstrated that while the loss of heterozygosity was low when compared with both source populations (1,14%), the greater the male reproductive skew, the greater the predicted losses of genetic diversity. Importantly however, the loss of genetic diversity was ameliorated after population size exceeded 250 animals, regardless of the level of reproductive skew. This study demonstrates that highly informed conservation decisions could be made when you build on a solid foundation of demographic, natural history and behavioural ecology data. These data, when informed by modern population and genetic analysis, mean that fundamental applied conservation questions (how many animals should make up a founder population?) can be answered accurately and with an eye to the long-term consequences of management decisions. Figure 1. ,Large adult male tuatara attacking a smaller male. Photo by Jeanine Refsnider. [source] A multidisciplinary core corriculumNEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Issue 119 2002Trace Jordan A major research university makes a commitment to give students not majoring in science or engineering a solid foundation in scientific and quantitative thinking through an integrated large-scale, multidisciplinary three-course sequence. [source] Characterization of de novo transcriptome for waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) using GS-FLX 454 pyrosequencing and its application for studies of herbicide target-site genesPEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 10 2010Chance W Riggins Abstract BACKGROUND: Waterhemp is a model for weed genomics research in part because it possesses many interesting biological characteristics, rapidly evolves resistance to herbicides and has a solid foundation of previous genetics work. To develop further the genomics resources for waterhemp, the transcriptome was sequenced using Roche GS-FLX 454 pyrosequencing technology. RESULTS: Pyrosequencing produced 483 225 raw reads, which, after quality control and assembly, yielded 44 469 unigenes (contigs + singletons). A total of 49% of these unigenes displayed highly significant similarities to Arabidopsis proteins and were subsequently grouped into gene ontology categories. Blast searches against public and custom databases helped in identifying and obtaining preliminary sequence data for all of the major target-site genes for which waterhemp has documented resistance. Moreover, sequence data for two other herbicide targets [4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) and glutamine synthetase], where resistance has not yet been reported in any plant, were also investigated in waterhemp and six related weedy Amaranthus species. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the enormous value of 454 sequencing for gene discovery and polymorphism detection in a major weed species and its relatives. Furthermore, the merging of the 454 transcriptome data with results from a previous whole genome 454 sequencing experiment has made it possible to establish a valuable genomic resource for weed science research. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Ensuring the Preconditions for Transformation Through Licensing, Regulation, Accreditation, and StandardsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2007Robert E. Lieberman MA Residential treatment is a potentially powerful intervention for children and families, currently facing the imperative to fundamentally change practice models to achieve greater quality efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Such transformation is best accomplished from a solid foundation which is created by licensing, regulation, accereditation, and internal standards. [source] Construction of integrated genetic linkage maps of the tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) using microsatellite and AFLP markersANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 4 2010E.-M. You Summary The linkage maps of male and female tiger shrimp (P. monodon) were constructed based on 256 microsatellite and 85 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Microsatellite markers obtained from clone sequences of partial genomic libraries, tandem repeat sequences from databases and previous publications and fosmid end sequences were employed. Of 670 microsatellite and 158 AFLP markers tested for polymorphism, 341 (256 microsatellite and 85 AFLP markers) were used for genotyping with three F1 mapping panels, each comprising two parents and more than 100 progeny. Chi-square goodness-of-fit test (,2) revealed that only 19 microsatellite and 28 AFLP markers showed a highly significant segregation distortion (P < 0.005). Linkage analysis with a LOD score of 4.5 revealed 43 and 46 linkage groups in male and female linkage maps respectively. The male map consisted of 176 microsatellite and 49 AFLP markers spaced every ,11.2 cM, with an observed genome length of 2033.4 cM. The female map consisted of 171 microsatellite and 36 AFLP markers spaced every ,13.8 cM, with an observed genome length of 2182 cM. Both maps shared 136 microsatellite markers, and the alignment between them indicated 38 homologous pairs of linkage groups including the linkage group representing the sex chromosome. The karyotype of P. monodon is also presented. The tentative assignment of the 44 pairs of P. monodon haploid chromosomes showed the composition of forty metacentric, one submetacentric and three acrocentric chromosomes. Our maps provided a solid foundation for gene and QTL mapping in the tiger shrimp. [source] Establishment of a novel fin cell line from Brown-marbled grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål), and evaluation of its viral susceptibilityAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 13 2009Yunbo Wei Abstract To lay a solid foundation of in vitro investigations of fish viral diseases, cytotechnology and cytotoxicology, a novel fin cell line from brown-marbled grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, was established and its viral susceptibility was evaluated. The fin tissues, digested with hyaluronidase and collagenase II, were used to initiate primary culture at 24 °C by using 20% foetal bovine serum-Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium/F12 medium, which was further supplemented with carboxymethyl,chitooligosaccharide, basic fibroblast growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-I. The fibroblastic fin cells grew at a steady rate during subsequent subculture and had a population doubling time of 50.6 h at passage 60. The modal diploid chromosome number was 48. A brown-marbled grouper fin cell line (bmGF-1) has been established and subcultured to passage 75 by now. Viral susceptibilities revealed that typical cytopathic effects of bmGF-1 cells emerged after being infected by turbot reddish-body iridovirus (TRBIV) or lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV). However, a large number of TRBIV and LCDV particles were also found in infected bmGF-1 cells. All these indicate that the bmGF-1 cell line has good susceptibility to TRBIV and LCDV, which may serve as a valuable tool for studies of cell,virus interactions and have potential applications in fish virus propagation and vaccine development. [source] 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Xuebaoding Granite in the Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt, Southwest China, and its Geological SignificanceACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2010Yan LIU Abstract: Thus far, our understanding of the emplacement of Xuebaoding granite and the occurrence and evolution of the Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt has been complicated by differing age spectra results. Therefore, in this study, the 40Ar/39Ar and sensitive high resolution ion micro-probe (SHRIMP) U-Pb dating methods were both used and the results compared, particularly with respect to dating data for Pankou and Pukouling granites from Xuebaoding, to establish ages that are close to the real emplacements. The results of SHRIMP U-Pb dating for zircon showed a high amount of U, but a very low value for Th/U. The high U amount, coupled with characteristics of inclusions in zircons, indicates that Xuebaoding granites are not suitable for U-Pb dating. Therefore, muscovite in the same granite samples was selected for 40Ar/39Ar dating. The 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum obtained on bulk muscovite from Pukouling granite in the Xuebaoding, gave a plateau age of 200.1±1.2 Ma and an inverse isochron age of 200.6±1.2 Ma. The 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum obtained on bulk muscovite from Pankou granite in the Xuebaoding gave another plateau age of 193.4± 1.1 Ma and an inverse isochron age of 193.7±1.1 Ma. The 40Ar/39Ar intercept of 277.0±23.4 (2,) was very close to the air ratio, indicating that no apparent excess argon contamination was present These age dating spectra indicate that both granites were emplaced at 200.6±1.3 Ma and 193.7±1.1 Ma, respectively. Through comparison of both dating methods and their results, we can conclude that it is feasible that the muscovite in the granite bearing high U could be used for 40Ar/39Ar dating without extra Ar. Based on this evidence, as well as the geological characteristics of the Xuebaoding W-Sn-Be deposit and petrology of granites, it can be concluded that the material origin of the Xuebaoding W-Sn-Be deposit might partially originate from the Xuebaoding granite group emplacement at about 200 Ma. Moreover, compared with other granites and deposits distributed in various positions in the Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt, the Xuebaoding emplacement ages further show that the main rare metal deposits and granites in peripheral regions occurred earlier than those in the inner Songpan-Garzê. Therefore, 40Ar/39Ar dating of Xuebaoding granite will lay a solid foundation for studying the occurrence and evolution of granite and rare earth element deposits in the Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt. [source] Committing to regional cooperation: ASEAN, globalisation and the Shin Corporation , Temasek Holdings dealASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 3 2009Sajid Anwar Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between regional and national identities in the age of globalisation, with particular reference to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For members of ASEAN, economic integration is seen as a necessary step forward in order to (i) reduce reliance on Western countries during times of economic crisis and (ii) speed up the recovery process in the aftermath of a crisis. The concept of an ASEAN Economic Community represents a step towards achieving this goal. However, by means of a case study, this paper demonstrates that the idea of an ASEAN Economic Community does not yet have sufficiently solid foundations. Cracks appear when member states act in response to national interest. Given the frequency of friction between member nations, and the fact that ASEAN members are quite diverse in both economic and cultural respects, there is still much more to be done to realise the objective of forming an effective and credible regional economic group. In this paper some suggestions are offered that might assist with the achievement of this goal. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||