Categorical ML — Category-theoretic modular programming

We consider an extension of the functional programming language Standard ML with a modular structure based upon concepts in category theory such as categories, functors, natural transformations and adjunctions. In essence, we are following the categorical imperative of considering arrows as well as objects. This is intended to enforce a certain mathematical rigour on the programmer, so that the only programs that can be expressed are those with a categorical significance. The essentially algebraic nature of category theory means that we may generate equational correctness conditions for the modular structure of programs, thus separating the correctness of individual functions from that of modules. We describe this programming language, give examples of its use, and explain how it is implemented in a type system.     

Partial oxidation of methane towards hydrogen production over a promising class of catalysts: Rh supported on Ti-modified MgO

The partial oxidation of methane over the supported Rh (0.8 wt.%) catalysts was investigated. Two kinds of supports were used, MgO and Ti-modified MgO (prepared by grafting technique). Among the Ti-modified MgO supports, two different compounds were used as source of Ti: inorganic (chloride) and organic (alkoxide). The catalytic performance of Rh-supported catalysts depends on the support and varies in the sequence: Ti-MgO/I > Ti-MgO/O > MgO. Ti-containing catalysts exhibited higher activity and selectivity compared to MgO, which is especially noticeable at low temperature. Possible explanations for the phenomena observed were proposed on the basis of characterization results.     

Burned area forecasting using past burned area records and Southern Oscillation Index for tropical Africa (1981-1999)

An 18-year time series of monthly NOAA-AVHRR Pathfinder Land burned area was analyzed for the region of tropical Africa, from July 1981 to June 1999. The transition period between NOAA-11 and NOAA-14 platforms from July 1993 to June 1995 was not included due to missing and outlier data. Stability of the time series was addressed for the input variables in the burned area algorithm, reflectance and temperature channels.A Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving-Average (SARIMA) model was developed for forecasting potential burned area. The SARIMA model identified an autoregressive regular term with 1-month lag and an autoregressive 12-month seasonal term with one season (12 months) component. A cross-correlation between Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and burned area was statistically significant predictor variable in a time series with 20-month lag. Results show that the SARIMA model with this predictor improved both, fitting and forecasting, residual variance, by 4.1% and 5.6%, respectively, thereby, demonstrating potential relationship between SOI and burned area for the study region. Forecasting was estimated by considering only the first 16 years of the monthly burned area in the time series, from July 1981 to June 1997. The prediction for the following 24 months (from July 1997 to June 1999) was within the 95% confidence level indicating that the forecast was a valid characterization of the modeled process.     

Incremental wrapper-based gene selection from microarray data for cancer classification

Gene expression microarray is a rapidly maturing technology that provides the opportunity to assay the expression levels of thousands or tens of thousands of genes in a single experiment. We present a new heuristic to select relevant gene subsets in order to further use them for the classification task. Our method is based on the statistical significance of adding a gene from a ranked-list to the final subset. The efficiency and effectiveness of our technique is demonstrated through extensive comparisons with other representative heuristics. Our approach shows an excellent performance, not only at identifying relevant genes, but also with respect to the computational cost.     

The minimum dosage of praziquantel in the treatment of Taenia saginata, 1986-1993

Patients who have a unicornuate uterus with a noncommunicating rudimentary horn that contains an endometrial cavity are at risk for endometriosis and obstetric complications. As in this case, resection of the rudimentary horn can be performed laparoscopically without increased risk to the patient and with some potential benefit.     

Distributivity and conditional distributivity of a uninorm and a continuous t-conorm

The open problem recalled by Klement in the Linz2000 closing session, related to distributivity and conditional distributivity of a uninorm and a continuous t-conorm, is solved for the most usual known classes of uninorms. From the obtained results, it is deduced that distributivity and conditional distributivity are equivalent for these cases. It is remarkable that solutions appear involving not only strict t-conorms but also ordinal sums of the maximum with a strict t-conorm. Conversely, the distributivity of a t-conorm over a uninorm is also studied leading only to already known solutions. Moreover, the dual case of distributivity and conditional distributivity involving uninorms and continuous t-norms is also solved, proving again the equivalence of both kinds of distributivities.     

Enantiomer analysis of chiral lactones in foods by on-line coupled reversed-phase liquid chromatography-gas chromatography

A new application is proposed for the on-line coupling of reversed-phase liquid chromatography to gas chromatography (RPLC-GC) that allows the GC chirospecific analysis of gamma-lactones in fruits and commercially available fruit-containing products. The use of a programmed temperature vaporizer as an interface with the system makes the transfer of large volume fractions (i.e., 2520 microL) of aqueous eluents from LC to GC possible (speed of sample transfer, 1800 microL/min). Relative standard deviations obtained for the investigated lactones under the experimental conditions vary from 7 to 14%. The described system enlarges the LC-GC application field and overcomes the limitations reported thus far concerning the use of typical normal-phase eluents (i.e., the transfer of rather small volume fractions at low speeds of sample introduction).     

Developing an expert law tutor

This paper outlines the development considerations which led to the construction of a prototype “expert law tutor”. This is a system which models the competencies of the trained law teacher and is intended primarily for use as an interactive student‐directed multidimensional learning tool. The aim is to computerize those activities which might be encountered in a real‐life tutorial exercise—research, reasoning, problem solving and advising, testing, diagnosis and feedback. The paper takes a liberal view of what constitutes an expert system. The terminology expert system is retained but is defined broadly, perhaps contrary to convention, to encompass not only an advisory component or a diagnostic tool but other tutorial functions. To highlight this difference reference is made to an “expert law tutor”. It is the “expertise” of the human law tutor which is called upon. For this reason the system includes a hypertext library or information component and an multiple choice assessment component as well as a legal adviser. Providing “expert” tutor feedback is a key element in the dialogue between system and student. The prototype system was developed using (inter alia) a rule‐based expert system shell and an object‐oriented hypertext tool, and the paper comments on the features of these development tools.     

The Peer’s Dilemma: A general framework to examine cooperation in pure peer-to-peer systems

The exploration of social dilemmas is being considered a major foundation for encountering the enforced necessities of cooperation in self-organizing environments. Such environments are characterized by self-interested parties and the absence of trusted third parties. Recent approaches apply evolutionary socio-inspired games to formally prove the existence and further prolongation of cooperation patterns within communities. For instance, the Prisoner’s Dilemma game has thus provided a rich opportunity to examine self-interested behaviors in pure peer-to-peer networks. However, assuming a total absence of coalitions, incentives and punishment mechanisms, several works argue against a durable maintenance of cooperation neither at single-shot nor repeated-scenarios. In this article, we formally and experimentally demonstrate a counterexample for the latter by applying evolutionary game theory and a particular instance of the Rock–Scissors–Paper game. Our framework proves that the cyclic dominance of certain type of nodes within a P2P system has an impact and introduces a strategic aspect to the evolution of the overall community.