bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti‐inflammatory Effects of Ginsenosides Rg5, Rz1, and Rk1: Inhibition of TNF‐α‐induced NF‐κB, COX‐2, and iNOS transcriptional expression
Authors: Lee Sang Myung
Published: July 2014

In the course of this experiment on the anti‐inflammatory effect of ginsenosides, protopanaxdiol ginsenosides have shown inhibition activities in inflammatory responses: NF‐κB, COX‐2, and iNOS were induced by TNF‐α. The responses of this experiment were evaluated by NF‐κB‐luciferase assay and RT‐PCR experiment of COX‐2 and iNOS genes. The NF‐κB expressions were inhibited by ginsenosides Rd, Rg5, Rz1, and Rk1 in a dose‐dependent manner. The IC50 values were 3.47, 0.61, 0.63, and 0.75 μM, respectively. Particularly, ginsenosides Rg5, Rz1, and Rk1 as converted ginsenosides from primary protopanaxdiol ginsenosidess significantly inhibited COX‐2 and iNOS gene expression. These inhibition levels were similar to sulfasalazine as reference material. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Control Charts for Binary Correlated Variables
Authors: Lee Ho Linda , Alencar Airlane Pereira
Published: July 2014

To monitor the nonconforming fraction of a production process, usuallynporpcontrol charts are used for this purpose. However, in many practical situations, the binary variables are correlated but not easily perceived by practitioners. The aim of this article is to present the maximum likelihood and method of moment estimators of the correlation parameterρof an overdispersed binomial distribution. Inferential procedure is also introduced to test the null hypothesis H0:ρ = 0 x H1:ρ > 0. A Shewhart‐type control chart npρand an Exponentiated Weighted Moving Average (EWMA)‐type control chart (EWMAnpρ) are proposed to evaluate the nonconforming fraction when the binary variables are correlated. The traditionalnpchart is a particular case of thenpρcontrol chart whenρ = 0. The misuse of control limits ofnpcontrol in case of correlated binary variables will result a large number of false alarms. To have the same performance (in terms of average run length) of the traditionalnpcontrol chart, thenpρcontrol chart needs at least to double the sample size. Numerical example illustrates the proposal. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A note on testing families of hypotheses using graphical procedures
Authors: Maurer Willi , Bretz Frank
Published: July 2014

Regulatory guidelines for drug development suggest a strong control of the familywise error rate, when multiple hypotheses are simultaneously tested in confirmatory clinical trials. Accordingly, a variety of multiple test procedures exist for pharmaceutical trial applications, which are typically defined on a single structured family of null hypotheses. For some confirmatory clinical trials with multiple objectives, however, it is advantageous to address the arising multiplicity problems via grouped families of hypotheses. Graphical test procedures have been developed to construct, visualize, and perform multiple test procedures that are tailored to either a single or multiple families of structured hypotheses of interest. This note complements the existing literature by introducing a general algorithm to calculate adjusted p‐values for any sequentially rejective graphical test procedure where the test procedures within the individual families of hypotheses are not necessarily graphical. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Silica‐carrying particulate matter enhances Bjerkandera adusta‐induced murine lung eosinophilia
Authors: He Miao , Ichinose Takamichi , Liu Boying , Song Yuan , Yoshida Yasuhiro , Kobayashi Fumihisa , Maki Teruya , Yoshida Seiichi , Nishikawa Masataka , Takano Hirohisa , Sun Guifan
Published: July 2014

Bjerkandera adusta (B. adusta) causes fungus‐associated chronic cough. However, the inflammatory response is not yet fully understood. Recently, B. adusta was identified in Asian sand dust (ASD) aerosol. This study investigated the enhancing effects of ASD on B. adusta‐induced lung inflammation. B. adusta was inactivated by formalin. ASD was heated to remove toxic organic substances. ICR mice were intratracheally instilled with saline, B. adusta 0.2 µg, or B. adusta 0.8 µg with or without heated ASD 0.1 mg (H‐ASD), four times at 2‐week intervals. Two in vitro experiments were conducted to investigate any enhancing effects using bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMDM) from Toll‐like receptor (TLR) knockout mice and ICR mice. Co‐exposure to H‐ASD and B. adusta, especially at high doses, caused eosinophil infiltration, proliferation of goblet cells in the airway, and fibrous thickening of the subepithelial layer, and remarkable increases in expression of Th2 cytokines and eosinophil‐related cytokine and chemokine expression in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In the in vitro study using BMDM from wild‐type, TLR2−/−, and TLR4−/− mice, the TLR‐signaling pathway for cytokine production caused by B. adusta was predominantly TLR2 rather than TLR4. H‐ASD increased the expression of NF‐κB and cytokine production by B. adusta in BMDM from ICR mice. The results suggest that co‐exposure to H‐ASD and B. adusta caused aggravated lung eosinophilia via remarkable increases of pro‐inflammatory mediators. The aggravation of inflammation may be related, at least in part, to the activation of the TLR2–NF‐κB signaling pathway in antigen presenting cells by H‐ASD. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 93–105, 2016.
Barriers to climate‐adaptive management: A survey of wildlife researchers and managers in Wisconsin
Authors: Hagell Suzanne , Ribic Christine A.
Published: July 2014

Resource management agencies must be able to integrate current research into their decision‐making to effectively address climate change impacts. In this study, we investigated the capacity for climate‐adaptive management by surveying the community of researchers, administrators, and field managers who are responsible for wildlife conservation in the state of Wisconsin, USA. We specifically measured differences in how these sectors perceive climate change risk, communicate, and make decisions to represent barriers in how they transmit and use research. We frame these barriers within the literature on evidence‐based and adaptive management and risk psychology, as principles that underlie climate change adaptation. Almost all respondents agreed that the climate is changing (223/224), but 22% of the respondents were unsure whether climate change is negative for wildlife and field managers dominated this group (68%). Field managers also reported using components of adaptive management more frequently than did other sectors, but all three questioned the importance of one specific component: predicting the consequence of management before implementation. When seeking information, researchers preferred communicating via published literature, but managers and administrators reported a preference for in‐person communication. Although only 29% of the respondents were currently involved in climate change work, 77% said they would get involved without additional incentives or direction at work. These results confirm a common pattern of barriers between research and management sectors across all scales of decision‐making. Overall, results suggest that in‐person and problem‐based communication that is focused on real decisions and that utilizes social networks are a way to enable resource management communities to effectively confront these barriers. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Pain: a prevalent feature in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis. Results of a cross‐sectional national survey
Authors: Brands Marion M. G. , Güngör Deniz , den van Hout Johanna M. P. , Karstens Francois P. J. , Oussoren Esmee , Plug Iris , Boelens Jaap Jan , van Hasselt Peter M. , Hollak Carla E. M. , Mulder Margot F. , Gozalbo Estela Rubio , Smeitink Jan A. , Smit G. Peter A. , Wijburg Frits A. , Meutgeert Hanka , van der Ploeg Ans T.
Published: July 2014

Background

While clinical observations suggest that many patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) experience chronic pain, few studies have assessed its extent and impact. We therefore investigated its prevalence in patients with all types of MPS in the Netherlands. We also examined the association between pain and health related quality of life (HRQoL) and other clinical variables.

Methods

We conducted a nationwide MPS survey that used questionnaires on MPS and disease‐related symptoms (MPS‐specific questionnaire), developmental level (Vineland Screener 0–6 years), quality of life (PedsQl and SF‐36), and disability (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire). Depending on their age and developmental level, patients or their parents were asked to assess pain by keeping a pain diary for five consecutive days: either the Non‐communicating Children's Pain Checklist – Revised (3–18 years intellectually disabled and children <8 years), the VAS‐score (> 18 years), or the Faces Pain Scale – Revised (8–18 years).

Results

Eighty‐nine MPS patients were invited, 55 of whom agreed to participate (response rate 62 %; median age 10.9 years, range 2.9–47.2 years). They covered a wide spectrum in all age groups, ranging from no pain to severe pain. Forty percent scored above the cut‐off value for pain. Most reported pain sites were the back and hips. While the MPS III group experienced the highest frequency of pain (52.9 %), 50 % of patients with an intellectual disability seemed to experience pain, versus 30 % of patients with a normal intelligence. MPS patients scored much lower (i.e., more pain) than a random sample of the Dutch population on the bodily pain domain of the SF‐36 scale and the PedsQl.

Conclusion

With or without intellectual disabilities, many MPS patients experience pain. We recommend that standardized pain assessments are included in the regular follow‐up program of patients with MPS.
Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres
Authors: Lamarck Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de
Published: July 2014

Best known for his ideas relating to evolution, French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829) first built his reputation as a botanist and was elected to the prestigious Académie des Sciences in 1779. His career took a new turn in 1793 when he was made professor of 'insects, worms and microscopic animals' at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, although he lacked prior knowledge of the subject area. Undaunted, Lamarck set out to classify organisms which few naturalists had considered worthy of study since Linnaeus. He was the first to distinguish vertebrates from 'invertebrates' - a term he coined - by the presence of a vertebral column. In this groundbreaking seven-volume work, published between 1815 and 1822, he arranges invertebrates into twelve classes, laying the foundations for the modern study of these organisms. In volume 7, first published in 1822, Lamarck continues to classify molluscs.
Small Differences that Matter: The Impact of Discussion Modalities on Deliberative Outcomes
Authors: Baccaro Lucio , Bächtiger André , Deville Marion
Published: July 2014

An experiment on the extension of the political rights of foreigners in the Swiss city of Geneva used three different procedural ways to structure deliberation: participants take positions at the outset, do not take positions, and reflect first. Most opinion change occurred when participants did not have to take a position at the outset. However, no learning effects were recorded, the deliberative quality was poor and group influence had the greatest impact. When participants had to take a position at the outset, opinion change and group influence were least, but there was significant learning, and the deliberative quality was better. These results indicate a potential trade-off between opinion change – which many scholars equate with deliberative success – and good procedural deliberative quality.
Broadcasting Populist Leadership: Hugo Chávez and Aló Presidente
Authors: FRAJMAN EDUARDO
Published: July 2014

The transcripts of the television programme Aló Presidente, the centrepiece of President Hugo Chávez's media strategy, provide insight into the different ways in which his movement promoted the image of its leader and sought to solidify his emotionally charged connection with the Venezuelan masses. The study outlines the dynamics behind the changing format and content of Aló Presidente and places it within the context of earlier research on populist media use in Latin America. Although similar to its predecessors, the programme was a unique creation of Chavismo, designed to balance Chávez's knack for improvisation with a structure designed to curb his excesses and keep him on message. This led to occasional tension between Chávez and the media professionals charged with the programme's production. The article provides a corrective to inaccurate treatments in the media and scholarly literature, and offers new information on Aló Presidente to facilitate future comparative studies.
Misnaming Social Conflict: ‘Identity’, Land and Family Histories in aQuilombolaCommunity in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: BOYER VÉRONIQUE
Published: July 2014

This article addresses an internal conflict that arose in an Amazonian village when it adopted an officially recognisedquilombolaidentity. It argues that this issue, which tends to be interpreted in terms of identity, is in fact primarily social. Indeed, the divergent positions adopted by different groups of relatives need to be examined in relation to the dynamics of socio-economic differentiation linked to family histories. The article shows that the conflict related back to power struggles between dominant groups of relatives and that the questions about the limits of the group reflected preoccupations concerning who held legitimate authority to make decisions about the future of the village. By analysing some of the assumptions of the current debate about multiculturalism and ethnicity in Amazonia, this article contributes to the wider discussion about these issues in Brazil and, more broadly, in Latin America.
Behavior of dust particles in cylindrical discharges: Structure formation, mixture and void, effect of gravity
Authors: Totsuji Hiroo
Published: July 2014

Theoretical and numerical works on dusty plasmas with cylindrical symmetry are presented. The main purpose has been to investigate behavior of dust particles in strongly coupled dusty plasmas which are expected to be realized in the planned experiments by PK-4 on the International Space Station and experiments by PK-4J, a similar apparatus constructed in Japan. The distribution of dust particles is analyzed on the basis of the drift-diffusion equations and, with the effect of discreteness taken into account, structure formations are numerically simulated.
Physical constraints at design of a high current inductor
Authors: Kharlov A.V. , Kovalchuk B.M. , Kumpyak E.V. , Smorudov G.V. , Tsoy N.V.
Published: July 2014

High voltage, high current inductors are required for many high pulsed power systems, incorporating capacitor banks. Those inductors simultaneously serve both as a pulse shaping and protection element in R-L-C circuits. A 25 kV/70 kA protection inductor on inductance of 1 mH with low stray field was designed, manufactured, and tested. It was designed as a quasi-toroidal system, consisting of four coils (with 0.25 mH inductance each) evenly distributed in the perimeter of a square. The structure of coils was optimized to withstand a huge electromagnetic force produced by a 70 kA current. The 0.25 mH coil is made as multi-layer solenoid (six layers) from a copper wire (6 × 4 mm2 net cross-section) with fiberglass insulation. Layers are connected in parallel in order to decrease active resistance of the coil. This 0.25 mH coil was tested at 70 kA peak current with a pulse length of about 20 ms, which corresponds to the action integral at about 32 × 106 A2s. Maximum magnetic field inside the coil is about 12 T. A finite element analysis with the ELCUT software was used to calculate the magnetic field, temperature rise, and stresses in the protection inductor. The typical maximum stresses in our design are 100 MPa in copper coils and 140 MPa in fiberglass body tubes; these are both below the yield strength for these materials. Simulations results are compared with the experimental tests and good agreement is observed.
A New Approach for Optimising GNSS Positioning Performance in Harsh Observation Environments
Authors: Pan Shuguo , Meng Xiaolin , Gao Wang , Wang Shengli , Dodson Alan
Published: July 2014

Maintaining good positioning performance has always been a challenging task for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) applications in partially obstructed environments. A method that can optimise positioning performance in harsh environments is proposed. Using a carrier double-difference (DD) model, the influence of the satellite-pair geometry on the correlation among different equations has been researched. This addresses the critical relationship between DD equations and its ill-posedness. From analysing the collected multi-constellation observations, a strong correlation between the condition number and the positioning standard deviation is detected as the correlation coefficient is larger than 0·92. Based on this finding, a new method for determining the reference satellites by using the minimum condition number rather than the maximum elevation is proposed. This reduces the ill-posedness of the co-factor matrix, which improves the single-epoch positioning solution with a fixed DD ambiguity. Finally, evaluation trials are carried out by masking some satellites to simulate common satellite obstruction scenarios including azimuth shielding, elevation shielding and strip shielding. Results indicate the proposed approach improves the positioning stability with multi-constellation satellites notably in harsh environments.
Whistleblowing and the Bioethicist’s Public Obligations
Authors: MACDOUGALL D. ROBERT
Published: July 2014

Bioethicists are sometimes thought to have heightened obligations by virtue of the fact that their professional role addresses ethics or morals. For this reason it has been argued that bioethicists ought to “whistleblow”—that is, publicly expose the wrongful or potentially harmful activities of their employer—more often than do other kinds of employees. This article argues that bioethicists do indeed have a heightened obligation to whistleblow, but not because bioethicists have heightened moral obligations in general. Rather, the special duties of bioethicists to act as whistleblowers are best understood by examining the nature of the ethical dilemma typically encountered by private employees and showing why bioethicists do not encounter this dilemma in the same way. Whistleblowing is usually understood as a moral dilemma involving conflicting duties to two parties: the public and a private employer. However, this article argues that this way of understanding whistleblowing has the implication that professions whose members identify their employer as the public—such as government employees or public servants—cannot consider whistleblowing a moral dilemma, because obligations are ultimately owed to only one party: the public. The article contends that bioethicists—even when privately employed—are similar to government employees in the sense that they do not have obligations to defer to the judgments of those with private interests. Consequently, bioethicists may be considered to have a special duty to whistleblow, although for different reasons than those usually cited.
Lacosamide-induced atrial tachycardia in a child with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome: the importance of assessing additional proarrhythmic risks
Authors: Loomba Rohit S. , Singh Anoop K. , Kovach Joshua , Gudausky Todd M.
Published: July 2014

Antiepileptic medications have been reported to cause disturbances in cardiac conduction. Lacosamide decreases seizure burden by modulating sodium channels. Although it has been demonstrated to have few side effects, there have been reports of clinically significant cardiac conduction disturbances. We report the case of a child with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome and well-controlled multifocal atrial tachycardia who developed haemodynamically significant atrial tachycardia after receiving two doses of lacosamide.
Global Uptake of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership Over Its First Ten Years
Authors: Foran Mark P. , Williams Alan R.
Published: July 2014

Introduction

Accountability in the delivery of humanitarian aid has become increasingly important and emphasized by the humanitarian community. The Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) was created in 2003 in order to improve accountability in the humanitarian sector. HAP acts as a self-regulatory body to the humanitarian system. One of the main goals of HAP is the promotion of accountability through self-regulation by members. Humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can become members by meeting standards of accountability and quality management set by HAP. This report describes the growth of HAP membership by the humanitarian community from its inception until present.

Hypothesis/Problem

The hypothesis for this study was that HAP membership has grown substantially since inception, both in terms of number of member organizations and annual budgets of member organizations, but that near universal membership has not yet been achieved.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the total number and percentage of humanitarian NGOs that are members of HAP. Total expenditures of HAP members in 2010 also was measured and compared with the total humanitarian expenditure by all humanitarian NGOs for the same year. The reference year of 2010 was chosen in order to be able to compile accurate budgets for the largest possible number of HAP members. The total number of HAP members for the years 2005 through 2012 was divided by the estimated number of humanitarian NGOs active in 2010. The total budgets for HAP members in 2010 were divided by the estimated total humanitarian expenditure of all NGOs for 2010.

Results

As of the beginning of 2012, the percentage of humanitarian NGOs that were members of HAP was 1.6% (68 members out of 4400 organizations). The combined budgets of the member organizations of HAP in 2010 made up 62.9% of the total humanitarian expenditure for the year 2010 (US $4.65 billion/7.4 billion).

Conclusion

A very small proportion of humanitarian NGOs have adopted HAP membership. However, HAP members account for almost two-thirds of all humanitarian expenditures. The humanitarian sector, therefore, remains without a universal regulatory and accountability structure, although progress has been made. Efforts should be made to increase the membership within HAP of more small to medium sized organizations.

ForanMP, WilliamsAR. Global uptake of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership over its first ten years. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):1-4.
Emergency Preparedness Law and Willingness to Respond in the EMS Workforce
Authors: Rutkow Lainie , Vernick Jon S. , Thompson Carol B. , Pirrallo Ronald G. , Barnett Daniel J.
Published: July 2014

Introduction

For effective responses to emergencies, individuals must have the ability to respond and also be willing to participate in the response. A growing body of research points to gaps in response willingness among several occupational cohorts with response duties, including the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workforce. Willingness to respond is particularly important during an influenza or other pandemic, due to increased demands on EMS workers and the potential for workforces to be depleted if responders contract influenza or stay home to care for sick dependents. State emergency preparedness laws are one possible avenue to improve willingness to respond.

Hypothesis

Presence of certain state-level emergency preparedness laws (ie, ability to declare a public health emergency; requirement to create a public health emergency plan; priority access to health resources for responders) is associated with willingness to respond among EMS workers.

Methods

Four hundred twenty-one EMS workers from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians’ (NREMT's) mid-year Longitudinal EMT Attributes and Demographics Study (LEADS) were studied. The survey, which included questions about willingness to respond during an influenza pandemic, was fielded from May through June 2009. Survey data were merged with data about the presence or absence of the three emergency preparedness laws of interest in each of the 50 US states. Unadjusted logistic regression analyses were performed with the presence/absence of each law and were adjusted for respondents’ demographic/locale characteristics.

Results

Compared to EMS workers in states that did not allow the government to declare a public health emergency, those in states that permitted such declarations were more likely to report that they were willing to respond during an influenza pandemic. In adjusted and unadjusted analyses, this difference was not statistically significant. Similar results were found for the other state-level emergency preparedness laws of interest.

Conclusion

While state-level emergency preparedness laws are not associated with willingness to respond, recent research suggests that inconsistencies between the perceived and objective legal environments for EMS workers could be an alternative explanation for this study's findings. Educational efforts within the EMS workforce and more prominent state-level implementation of emergency preparedness laws should be considered as a means to raise awareness of these laws. These types of actions are important steps toward determining whether state-level emergency preparedness laws have the potential to promote response willingness among EMS workers.

RutkowL, VernickJS, ThompsonCB, PirralloRG, BarnettDJ. Emergency preparedness law and willingness to respond in the EMS workforce. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):1-6.
The P-Box CDF-Intervals: A Reliable Constraint Reasoning with Quantifiable Information
Authors: SAAD AYA , FRÜHWIRTH THOM , GERVET CARMEN
Published: July 2014

This paper introduces a new constraint domain for reasoning about data with uncertainty. It extends convex modeling with the notion of p-box to gain additional quantifiable information on the data whereabouts. Unlike existing approaches, the p-box envelops an unknown probability instead of approximating its representation. The p-box bounds are uniform cumulative distribution functions (cdf) in order to employ linear computations in the probabilistic domain. The reasoning by means of p-box cdf-intervals is an interval computation which is exerted on the real domain then it is projected onto the cdf domain. This operation conveys additional knowledge represented by the obtained probabilistic bounds. The empirical evaluation of our implementation shows that, with minimal overhead, the output solution set realizes a full enclosure of the data along with tighter bounds on its probabilistic distributions.
Simulating Dynamic Systems Using Linear Time Calculus Theories
Authors: BOGAERTS BART , JANSEN JOACHIM , BRUYNOOGHE MAURICE , DE CAT BROES , VENNEKENS JOOST , DENECKER MARC
Published: July 2014

Dynamic systems play a central role in fields such as planning, verification, and databases. Fragmented throughout these fields, we find a multitude of languages to formally specify dynamic systems and a multitude of systems to reason on such specifications. Often, such systems are bound to one specific language and one specific inference task. It is troublesome that performing several inference tasks on the same knowledge requires translations of your specification to other languages. In this paper we study whether it is possible to perform a broad set of well-studied inference tasks on one specification. More concretely, we extend IDP3with several inferences from fields concerned with dynamic specifications.
Exchanging Conflict Resolution in an Adaptable Implementation of ACT-R
Authors: GALL DANIEL , FRÜHWIRTH THOM
Published: July 2014

In computational cognitive science, the cognitive architecture ACT-R is very popular. It describes a model of cognition that is amenable to computer implementation, paving the way for computational psychology. Its underlying psychological theory has been investigated in many psychological experiments, but ACT-R lacks a formal definition of its underlying concepts from a mathematical-computational point of view. Although the canonical implementation of ACT-R is now modularized, this production rule system is still hard to adapt and extend in central components like the conflict resolution mechanism (which decides which of the applicable rules to apply next).

In this work, we present a concise implementation of ACT-R based on Constraint Handling Rules which has been derived from a formalization in prior work. To show the adaptability of our approach, we implement several different conflict resolution mechanisms discussed in the ACT-R literature. This results in the first implementation of one such mechanism. For the other mechanisms, we empirically evaluate if our implementation matches the results of reference implementations of ACT-R.
claspfolio2: Advances in Algorithm Selection for Answer Set Programming
Authors: HOOS HOLGER , LINDAUER MARIUS , SCHAUB TORSTEN
Published: July 2014

Building on the award-winning, portfolio-based ASP solverclaspfolio, we presentclaspfolio2, a modular and open solver architecture that integrates several different portfolio-based algorithm selection approaches and techniques. Theclaspfolio2 solver framework supports various feature generators, solver selection approaches, solver portfolios, as well as solver-schedule-based pre-solving techniques. The default configuration ofclaspfolio2 relies on a light-weight version of the ASP solverclaspto generate static and dynamic instance features. The flexible open design ofclaspfolio2 is a distinguishing factor even beyond ASP. As such, it provides a unique framework for comparing and combining existing portfolio-based algorithm selection approaches and techniques in a single, unified framework. Taking advantage of this, we conducted an extensive experimental study to assess the impact of different feature sets, selection approaches and base solver portfolios. In addition to gaining substantial insights into the utility of the various approaches and techniques, we identified a default configuration ofclaspfolio2 that achieves substantial performance gains not only overclasp's default configuration and the earlier version ofclaspfolio, but also over manually tuned configurations ofclasp.
On Termination, Confluence and Consistent CHR-based Type Inference
Authors: DUCK GREGORY J. , HAEMMERLÉ RÉMY , SULZMANN MARTIN
Published: July 2014

We consider the application of Constraint Handling Rules (CHR) for the specification of type inference systems, such as that used by Haskell. Confluence of CHR guarantees that the answer provided by type inference is correct and consistent. The standard method for establishing confluence relies on an assumption that the CHR program is terminating. However, many examples in practice give rise to non-terminating CHR programs, rendering this method inapplicable. Despite no guarantee of termination or confluence, the Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC) supports options that allow the user to proceed with type inference anyway, e.g. via the use of theUndecidableInstancesflag. In this paper we formally identify and verify a set of relaxed criteria, namelyrange-restrictedness,local confluence, andground termination, that ensure the consistency of CHR-based type inference that maps to potentially non-terminating CHR programs.
Using Tabled Logic Programming to Solve the Petrobras Planning Problem
Authors: BARTÁK ROMAN , ZHOU NENG-FA
Published: July 2014

Tabling has been used for some time to improve efficiency of Prolog programs by memorizing answered queries. The same idea can be naturally used to memorize visited states during search for planning. In this paper we present a planner developed in the Picat language to solve the Petrobras planning problem. Picat is a novel Prolog-like language that provides pattern matching, deterministic and non-deterministic rules, and tabling as its core modelling and solving features. We demonstrate these capabilities using the Petrobras problem, where the goal is to plan transport of cargo items from ports to platforms using vessels with limited capacity. Monte Carlo Tree Search has been so far the best technique to tackle this problem and we will show that by using tabling we can achieve much better runtime efficiency and better plan quality.
Minimum Model Semantics for Extensional Higher-order Logic Programming with Negation
Authors: CHARALAMBIDIS ANGELOS , ÉSIK ZOLTÁN , RONDOGIANNIS PANOS
Published: July 2014

Extensional higher-order logic programming has been introduced as a generalization of classical logic programming. An important characteristic of this paradigm is that it preserves all the well-known properties of traditional logic programming. In this paper we consider the semantics of negation in the context of the new paradigm. Using some recent results from non-monotonic fixed-point theory, we demonstrate that every higher-order logic program with negation has a unique minimum infinite-valued model. In this way we obtain the first purely model-theoretic semantics for negation in extensional higher-order logic programming. Using our approach, we resolve an old paradox that was introduced by W. W. Wadge in order to demonstrate the semantic difficulties of higher-order logic programming.
Anytime Computation of Cautious Consequences in Answer Set Programming
Authors: ALVIANO MARIO , DODARO CARMINE , RICCA FRANCESCO
Published: July 2014

Query answering in Answer Set Programming (ASP) is usually solved by computing (a subset of) the cautious consequences of a logic program. This task is computationally very hard, and there are programs for which computing cautious consequences is not viable in reasonable time. However, current ASP solvers produce the (whole) set of cautious consequences only at the end of their computation. This paper reports on strategies for computing cautious consequences, also introducing anytime algorithms able to produce sound answers during the computation.
A Module System for Domain-Specific Languages
Authors: JACKSON ETHAN K.
Published: July 2014

Domain-specific languages(DSLs) are routinely created to simplify difficult or specialized programming tasks. They expose useful abstractions and design patterns in the form of language constructs, provide static semantics to eagerly detect misuse of these constructs, and dynamic semantics to completely define how language constructs interact. However, implementing and composing DSLs is a non-trivial task, and there is a lack of tools and techniques.

We address this problem by presenting a complete module system over LP for DSL construction, reuse, and composition. LP is already useful for DSL design, because it supports executable language specifications using notations familiar to language designers. We extend LP with a module system that is simple (with a few concepts), succinct (for key DSL specification scenarios), and composable (on the level of languages, compilers, and programs). These design choices reflect our use of LP for industrial DSL design. Our module system has been implemented in theformulalanguage, and was used to build key Windows 8 device drivers via DSLs. Though we present our module system as it actually appears in ourformulalanguage, our emphasis is on concepts adaptable to other LP languages.
RIGIDITY OF CONTINUOUS QUOTIENTS
Authors: Farah Ilijas , Shelah Saharon
Published: July 2014

We study countable saturation of metric reduced products and introduce continuous fields of metric structures indexed by locally compact, separable, completely metrizable spaces. Saturation of the reduced product depends both on the underlying index space and the model. By using the Gelfand–Naimark duality we conclude that the assertion that the Stone–Čech remainder of the half-line has only trivial automorphisms is independent from ZFC (Zermelo-Fraenkel axiomatization of set theory with the Axiom of Choice). Consistency of this statement follows from the Proper Forcing Axiom, and this is the first known example of a connected space with this property.
Financial impact of the GFC: health care spending across the OECD
Authors: Morgan David , Astolfi Roberto
Published: July 2014

Since the onset of the global financial crisis (GFC), health spending has slowed markedly or fallen in many OECD countries after years of continuous growth. However, health spending patterns across the 34 countries of the OECD have been affected to varying degrees. This article examines in more detail the observed downturn in health expenditure growth, analysing which countries and which sectors of health spending have been most affected. In addition, using more recent preliminary data for a subset of countries, this article tries to shed light on the prospects for health spending trends. Given that public sources account for around three-quarters of total spending on health on average across the OECD, and, in an overall context of managing public deficits, the article focuses on the specific areas of public spending that have been most affected. This study also tries to link the observed trends with some of the main policy measures and instruments put in place by countries. The investigation finds that while nearly all OECD countries have seen health spending growth decrease since 2009, there is wide variation as to the extent of the slowdown, with some countries outside of Europe continuing to see significant growth in health spending. While all sectors of spending appear to have been affected, initial analysis appears to show the greatest decreases has been experienced in pharmaceutical spending and in areas of public health and prevention.
Estimating heritability of drug-induced liver injury from common variants and implications for future study designs
Authors: Overby Casey Lynnette , Hripcsak George , Shen Yufeng
Published: July 2014

Recent genome-wide association studies identified certain human leukocyote antigen (HLA) alleles as the major risk factors of drug-induced liver injuries (DILI). While these alleles often cause large relative risk, their predictive values are quite low due to low prevalence of idiosyncratic DILI. Finding additional risk factors is important for precision medicine. However, optimal design of further genetic studies is hindered by uncertain overall heritability of DILI. This is a common problem for low-prevalence pharmacological traits, since it is difficult to obtain clinical outcome data in families. Here we estimated the heritability (h2) of DILI from case-control genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data using a method based on random effect models. We estimated the proportion of h2 captured by common SNPs for DILI to be between 0.3 and 0.5. For co-amoxiclav induced DILI, chromosome 6 explained part of the heritability, indicating additional contributions from common variants yet to be found. We performed simulations to assess the robustness of the h2 estimate with limited sample size under low prevelance, a condition typical to studies on idiosyncratic pharmacological traits. Our findings suggest that common variants outside of HLA contribute to DILI susceptability; therefore, it is valuable to conduct further GWAS with expanded case collection.
Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM): past, present and future
Authors: Lim John , Lee Hwee Kuan , Yu Weimiao , Ahmed Sohail
Published: July 2014

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) has emerged as an important imaging modality to follow biology in live 3D samples over time with reduced phototoxicity and photobleaching.
Fluorescence turn-on detection of Sn2+ in live eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
Authors: Lan Haichuang , Wen Ying , Shi Yunming , Liu Keyin , Mao Yueyuan , Yi Tao
Published: July 2014

Fluorescence turn-on probes for selective detection of Sn(ii) in live eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells were developed.
Counting cell numberin situby quantification of dimethyl sulphide in culture headspace
Authors: Chippendale Thomas W. E. , Španěl Patrik , Smith David , El Haj Alicia J.
Published: July 2014

Enzymatic activity by cells reduces DMSO to DMS that can be analysed non-invasively to determine cell numbers in a culture.
A pillar[5]arene and crown ether fused bicyclic host: synthesis, guest discrimination and simultaneous binding of two guests with different shapes, sizes and electronic constitutions
Authors: Hu Wei-Bo , Yang Hong-Mei , Hu Wen-Jing , Ma Ming-Liang , Zhao Xiao-Li , Mi Xian-Qiang , Liu Yahu A. , Li Jiu-Sheng , Jiang Biao , Wen Ke
Published: July 2014

A pillar[5]arene- and crown ether-based bicyclic host molecule binds two guest species selectively by its two independent cyclic host subunits.
A designer peptide as a template for growing Au nanoclusters
Authors: de la Rica Roberto , Chow Lesley W. , Horejs Christine-Maria , Mazo Manuel , Chiappini Ciro , Pashuck E. Thomas , Bitton Ronit , Stevens Molly M.
Published: July 2014

A peptide was designed to generate a sub-nanometric template that guides the growth of fluorescent gold nanoclusters.
Methoxy functionalisation: exerting synthetic control of the supramolecular and electronic structure of nitrogen-doped nanographenes
Authors: Wijesinghe Lankani P. , Lankage Buddhie S. , Máille Gearóid M. Ó , Perera Sarath D. , Nolan Deanne , Wang Longsheng , Draper Sylvia M.
Published: July 2014

Demonstrating the chemical control of band gap and supramolecular stacking in four N-doped methoxy-substituted nanographenes.
Fast response and highly selective sensing of amine vapors using a luminescent coordination polymer
Authors: Chen Jinlei , Yi Fei-Yan , Yu Hong , Jiao Shihui , Pang Guangsheng , Sun Zhong-Ming
Published: July 2014

The first Eu-coordination polymer as a sensory material for the detection of amine vapors with high selectivity and rapid response.
The superior cycle and rate performance of a novel sulfur cathode by immobilizing sulfur into porous N-doped carbon microspheres
Authors: Xu Hui , Deng Yuanfu , Zhao Zhenxia , Xu Hongjie , Qin Xusong , Chen Guohua
Published: July 2014

A novel S-immobilized N-doped carbon microspheres (NCMs) composite was synthesized and assembled as a cathode for Li–S batteries with significantly improved cycle stability and rate performance (e.g.0.030% per cycle for 500 cycles at 2.0 C).
Rapid engineering of versatile molecular logic gates using heterologous genetic transcriptional modules
Authors: Wang Baojun , Buck Martin
Published: July 2014

Versatile modular molecular logic gates are engineered in Escherichia coli bacteria that can sense and integrate multiple chemical molecules in customised digital logic manner.
One-pot synthesis of Ag@Cu yolk–shell nanostructures and their application as non-enzymatic glucose biosensors
Authors: Xu Shuling , Li Haibo , Wang Lei , Yue Qiaoli , Sixiu Sun , Liu Jifeng
Published: July 2014

In this report, Ag@Cu yolk–shell nanostructures have been synthesized through a facile one-pot hydrothermal method.
Hydrogen bonding effects in anion binding calixarenes
Authors: Qureshi Naseem , Yufit Dimitri S. , Steed Kirsty M. , Howard Judith A. K. , Steed Jonathan W.
Published: July 2014

The interplay of anion binding, intra- and intermolecular hydrogen boning patterns in a range of receptors and sensors for chloride anion are discussed.
Pursuit of quantum monodromy in the far-infrared and mid-infrared spectra of NCNCS using synchrotron radiation
Authors: Winnewisser Manfred , Winnewisser Brenda P. , De Lucia Frank C. , Tokaryk Dennis W. , Ross Stephen C. , Billinghurst Brant E.
Published: July 2014

Quantum monodromy in NCNCS produces this predicted complex rotational and rovibrational spectral pattern, which guided our search for the actual spectrum.
A comparison between QM/MM and QM/QM based fitting of condensed-phase atomic polarizabilities
Authors: Vosmeer C. Ruben , Kiewisch Karin , Keijzer Karlijn , Visscher Lucas , Geerke Daan P.
Published: July 2014

Condensed-phase polarizabilities were evaluated for a solute in the presence of a QM treated solvent (using the frozen-density embedding method), and compared to results for a solute surrounded by MM solvent point charges. In this way, the effects of solute–solvent Pauli repulsion on solute polarizabilities could be estimated.
Transport in ferrocene single molecules for terahertz applications
Authors: Nemnes G. A. , Nicolaev Adela
Published: July 2014

We investigated transport in ferrocene single molecules with spinning rings for terahertz applications.
Tailoring the optical gap of silicon quantum dots without changing their size
Authors: Li Huashan , Wu Zhigang , Zhou Tianlei , Sellinger Alan , Lusk Mark T.
Published: July 2014

The optical gap of silicon quantum dots can be tailored, independent of their size, via direct generation of spatially separated excitons.
Sn(iv) Schiff base complexes: triplet photosensitizers for photoredox reactions
Authors: Grusenmeyer Tod A. , King Albert W. , Mague Joel T. , Rack Jeffrey J. , Schmehl Russell H.
Published: July 2014

We present the synthesis and characterization of a series of four fluorescent Sn(iv) Schiff base complexes, which also possess long-lived triplet excited states.
New Ru(ii)/Os(ii)-polypyridyl complexes for coupling to TiO2 surfaces through acetylacetone functionality and studies on interfacial electron-transfer dynamics
Authors: Banerjee Tanmay , Biswas Abul Kalam , Sahu Tuhin Subhra , Ganguly Bishwajit , Das Amitava , Ghosh Hirendra Nath
Published: July 2014

Extremely fast electron injection rates are observed with newly synthesized acac bound Ru(ii)-/Os(ii)-polypyridyl dyes.
Design of donor–acceptor star-shaped oligomers for efficient solution-processible organic photovoltaics
Authors: Ponomarenko S. A. , Luponosov Y. N. , Min J. , Solodukhin A. N. , Surin N. M. , Shcherbina M. A. , Chvalun S. N. , Ameri T. , Brabec C.
Published: July 2014

This contribution describes recent progress in the design, synthesis and properties of solution-processible star-shaped oligomers and their application in organic photovoltaics. Even though alternative chemistry has been used to design such oligomers, the most successful approach is based on a triphenylamine donor branching center, (oligo)thiophene conjugated spacers and dicyanovinyl acceptor groups. These are mainly amorphous low band-gap organic semiconductors, though crystalline or liquid crystalline ordering can sometimes be realized. It was shown that the solubility, thermal behavior and structure of such molecules in the bulk strongly depend on the presence and position of alkyl groups, as well as on their length. The photovoltaic properties of solution-processed molecules of this type are now approaching 5% which exceeds those of vacuum-sublimed devices. The design rules and future perspectives of this class of organic photovoltaic molecules are discussed.
Gold(i) compounds with lansoprazole-type ligands: synthesis, characterization and anticancer properties in vitro
Authors: Serratice M. , Bertrand B. , Janssen E. F. J. , Hemelt E. , Zucca A. , Cocco F. , Cinellu M. A. , Casini A.
Published: July 2014

Initial results on Au(i) compounds containing lansoprazole-type ligands as possible anticancer agents.
Synthesis and morphological studies of a poly(5,6-difluorobenzo-2,1,3-thiadiazole-4,7-diyl-alt-quaterchalcogenophene) copolymer with 7.3% polymer solar cell efficiency
Authors: Wu Jhong-Sian , Jheng Jyun-Fong , Chang Jen-Yun , Lai Yu-Ying , Wu Kuan-Yi , Wang Chien-Lung , Hsu Chain-Shu
Published: July 2014

A superior PCE of 7.34% was delivered in the inverted P(FBT-alt-Se2Th2) : PC71BM polymer solar cells.
Enhancing photovoltaics with broadband high-transparency glass using porosity-tuned multilayer silica nanoparticle anti-reflective coatings
Authors: Loh Joel Y. Y. , Puzzo Daniel P. , O'Brien Paul G. , Ozin Geoffrey A. , Kherani Nazir P.
Published: July 2014

Multilayer stacks of nanoparticle films with varying degrees of porosity were fabricated by sequentially spin coating and sintering silica/polystyrene mixtures. This increased the average transmittance of glass, giving the highest reported values for facile synthesized multilayer structures.