OPM/Web – Object-Process Methodology for Developing Web Applications

Web applications can be classified as hybrids between hypermedia and information systems. They have a relatively simple distributed architecture from the user viewpoint, but a complex dynamic architecture from the designer viewpoint. They need to respond to operation by an unlimited number of heterogeneously skilled users, address security and privacy concerns, access heterogeneous, up-to-date information sources, and exhibit dynamic behaviors that involve such processes as code transferring. Common system development methods can model some of these aspects, but none of them is sufficient to specify the large spectrum of Web application concepts and requirements. This paper introduces OPM/Web, an extension to the Object-Process Methodology (OPM) that satisfies the functional, structural and behavioral Web-based information system requirements. The main extensions of OPM/Web are adding properties of links to express requirements, such as those related to encryption; extending the zooming and unfolding facilities to increase modularity; cleanly separating declarations and instances of code to model code transferring; and adding global data integrity and control constraints to express dependence or temporal relations among (physically) separate modules. We present a case study that helps evaluate OPM/Web and compare it to an extension of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for the Web application domain.     

Effects of 2-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)indan-1,3-dione on serum lipoprotein and lipid metabolism of rodents

2-(2,4-Dimethylphenyl)indan-1,3-dione was shown to be a potent hypolipidemic agent in rodents, lowering significantly both serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels at 20 mg/kg/day. The agent in vivo inhibited the enzymatic activities of ATP-dependent citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA synthetase, cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase, acyl-CoA cholesterol acyl transferase,sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyl transferase and phosphatidylate phosphohydrolase. Tissue lipid levels of liver and small intestine also were reduced by the agent. The rat serum lipoprotein lipid content was modulated by the drug, which should be favorable for the removable of cholesterol from peripheral tissue for conduction to the liver for clearance from the body. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were reduced after treatment, which suggests that the agent potentially reduces deposition of cholesterol in plaques. If chemotherapy for atherosclerosis is to be successful, then the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level needs to be elevated more than 16% to 25%, the level produced by current hypolipidemic agents. 2-(2,4-Dimethylphenyl)-indan-1,3-dione offers a 75% increase in HDL cholesterol levels and a 30% reduction of LDL cholesterol levels with a suppression of de novo synthesis of lipids and a reduction of tissue cholesterol deposition.     

Application of mid-infrared spectroscopy: measuring hydrogen peroxide concentrations in bleaching baths

The presented work applies mid-infrared attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy to the measurment of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous matrices. The performance of different ATR crystals mounted in flow cells was investigated in the presence of aqueous hydrogen peroxide solutions. Quantitative determination has been achieved by evaluation of specific OH stretching and deformation vibrations with linear correlation between peak areas or peak heights and hydrogen peroxide concentration in the range of 1-10% (weight in water). Important aspects such as chemical stability of the waveguide material and influences of pH and ionic strength on the performance are discussed. Feasibility for the investigation of real world samples is demonstrated by measuring industrial bleaching solutions with known concentrations of hydrogen peroxide fitting well with calibration graphs established with neat hydrogen peroxide solutions. The presented sensor system is capable of determining hydrogen peroxide within complex matrices and clearly corroborates the potential of providing an in situ measurement concept for on-line hydrogen peroxide detection.     

Predator odor-induced conditioned fear involves the basolateral and medial amygdala.

The basolateral (BLA) and medial nucleus (MeA) of the amygdala participate in the modulation of unconditioned fear induced by predator odor. However, the specific role of these amygdalar nuclei in predator odor-induced fear memory is not known. Therefore, fiber-sparing lesions or temporary inactivation of the BLA or MeA were made either prior to or after exposure to cat odor, and conditioned contextual fear behavior was examined the next day. BLA and MeA lesions produced significant reductions in cat odor-induced unconditioned and conditioned fear-related behavior. In addition, temporary pharmacological neural inactivation methods occurring after exposure to cat odor revealed subtle behavioral alterations indicative of a role of the BLA in fear memory consolidation but not memory retrieval. In contrast, the MeA appears to play a specific role in retrieval but not consolidation. Results show that the BLA participates in the conditioned and unconditioned cat odor stimulus association that underlies fear memory, underscore a novel role of the MeA in predator odor contextual conditioning, and demonstrate different roles of the BLA and MeA in modulating consolidation and retrieval of predator odor fear memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Effective Deployment of Functional Formal Verification

We examine IBM's exploitation of formal verification using RuleBase—a formal verification tool developed by the IBM Haifa Research Laboratory. The goal of the paper is methodological. We identify an integrated methodology for the deployment of formal verification which involves three complementary modes: architectural verification, block-level verification, and design exploration.     

Deduction Graphs with Universal Quantification

Deduction Graphs are meant to generalise both Gentzen-Prawitz style natural deductions and Fitch style flag deductions. They have the structure of acyclic directed graphs with boxes. In [Herman Geuvers and Iris Loeb. Natural Deduction via Graphs: Formal Definition and Computation Rules. Mathematical Structures in Computer Science (Special Issue on Theory and Applications of Term Graph Rewriting), Volume 17(03):485–526, 2007.] we have investigated the deduction graphs for minimal proposition logic. This paper studies the extension with first-order universal quantification, showing the robustness of the concept of deduction graphs.     

Positioning of goods in a cross-docking environment

Cross docking is one of the options to reduce lead times and inventories and to improve customer response time in supply chains. Cross-docking centres are dynamic environments where products arrive, are regrouped, and leave the same day. In this paper we focus on the process of short-term storage of unit-loads in a cross-docking environment. The goal is to determine temporary storage locations for incoming unit loads such that the travel distances of the forklift trucks with these unit loads are minimised. We model this problem as a novel application of the minimum cost flow problem and show the applicability of the model for different types of layouts and priorities. We demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness of the method in the operational and design phase at cross-docking environments by applying it to practice-oriented examples. Furthermore, we show that the approach is superior to a commonly used heuristic method.     

Are phonological representations of printed and spoken language isomorphic? Evidence from the restrictions on unattested onsets.

Are the phonological representations of printed and spoken words isomorphic? This question is addressed by investigating the restrictions on onsets. Cross-linguistic research suggests that onsets of rising sonority are preferred to sonority plateaus, which, in turn, are preferred to sonority falls (e.g., bnif, bdif, lbif). Of interest is whether these grammatical preferences constrain the recognition of auditory and printed words by speakers of English--a language in which such onsets are unattested. Five experiments compare phonological lexical decision responses to nonwords, including unattested onsets, through either aural or visual presentation. Results suggest that both hearers and readers are sensitive to the phonotactics of unattested onsets. However, the phonotactic generalizations of hearers and readers differ on their scope and source. Hearers differentiated all three types of onsets (e.g., bnif, bdif, and lbif), and their behavior implicated both grammatical and statistical constraints. In contrast, readers were able to differentiate only those structures similar to attested English onsets from dissimilar structures (i.e., bnif vs. bdif or lbif), and their preferences reflected statistical knowledge alone. These findings suggest that the phonological representations informing lexical decision to spoken and printed words are not isomorphic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

R&D networks and regional knowledge production in Europe: Evidence from a space‐time model

In this study we estimate space‐time impacts of the embeddedness in R&D networks on regional knowledge production using a dynamic spatial panel data model with non‐linear effects for 229 European NUTS 2 regions in the period 1998–2010. Embeddedness refers to the positioning in networks where nodes represent regions that are linked by joint R&D projects funded by EU Framework Programmes. We find evidence that increasing embeddedness in EU funded R&D networks leads to positive immediate impacts on regional knowledge production, and that regions with lower levels of own knowledge endowments more likely exploit the positive effects. However, the long‐term impacts of a region's embeddedness in these R&D networks are comparatively small.