An experiment with affirm and HDM

Comparing the usefulness of methodologies for software development can be especially difficult when the services offered are based on different philosophies. Two systems, Affirm and HDM, were compared for their application to operation system security analysis. The assessment technique was to specify and analyze for security flaws on both systems a miniature example of a security kernel. The specification languages are at the opposite poles of the range from algebraic axioms to transition specifications. The types of security properties that could be verified with the tools available were access policy invariants and information flows. One theorem prover was highly interactive and the other nearly automatic. We found that the example could be specified satisfactorily and recognizably on both systems with a comparable amount of effort. The security analyses, on the other hand, led to very different verification tasks and different results. The two results were complementary rather than contradictory, and some additional experimentation, guided by theoretical suspicions, showed the exact relationship between them.     

The New Hampshire study of supported employment for people with severe mental illness.

This study compared supported employment services in 2 contrasting programs: (a) Group Skills Training, a professional rehabilitation agency outside of the mental health center that provided preemployment skills training and support in obtaining and maintaining jobs, or (b) the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model, which integrated clinical and vocational services within the mental health center. People with severe mental disorders who expressed interest in competitive employment (N?=? 143) were randomly assigned to 1 of these 2 programs. Results showed that clients in the IPS program were more likely to be competitively employed throughout most of the 18-month follow-up. Among those who obtained jobs, there were few group differences, although workers in the IPS program did work more total hours and earn more total wages during the 18-month followup. There were no group differences on nonvocational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A proper sequence for the treatment of B16 melanoma: chemotherapy, surgery, and immunotherapy

The therapeutic effectiveness of surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy alone and in combination were studied in the B16 melanoma model. The sequence of chemotherapy and immunotherapy as adjuvants to surgery proved important: Chemotherapy was significantly better when given before surgery; immunotherapy was more effective when delivered after surgery. The most effective therapeutic regimen was a combination of all three modalities: a single course of chemotherapy preceding surgery followed by immunotherapy.     

Disruption of local retinoid-mediated gene expression accompanies abnormal development in the mammalian olfactory pathway

Glycine, a neutral amino acid has been studied for its ability to inhibit gastric secretion and to protect the gastric mucosa against chemically and stress-induced ulcers. Acid secretion studies were undertaken in pylorus-ligated rats with and without glycine treatment. Experimental gastric lesions were induced by hypothermic-restraint stress, indomethacin and necrotizing agents including 80% ethanol, 0.2 M sodium hydroxide and 0.6 M hydrochloric acid in rats. The level of nonprotein sulfhydryl compounds and gastric wall mucus were also measured in the glandular stomach of the rats following ethanol-induced gastric lesions. The results of this study demonstrate that glycine dose dependently reduced the gastric secretions in rats. Pretreatment with glycine significantly protected animals against stress-, indomethacin- and necrotizing agents induced gastric lesions. The antiulcer activity of glycine was associated with significant inhibition of ethanol-induced depletion of nonprotein sulfhydryls and gastric wall mucus. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that glycine possesses significant antiulcer and cytoprotective activity. However, further detailed studies are warranted to establish the mechanism(s) of action, and to determine its role in the prophylaxis and treatment of gastric ulcer disease.     

A method for the calculation of eigenfunction expansions

In this paper, a method is presented for the calculation of the coefficients of the series expansion of a function f(t), in the base orthonormal set made up by the eigenfunctions of the self-adjoint operator $\text{L: L(x(t)) = (}\text{d}\text{dt}\text{)( p(t)(}\text{dx(t)}\text{dt}\text{))?q(t)x(t)}$. We show that the values of the numbers $\text{t}\text{}$x_k> can be obtained by solving the differential equation L + λ) y(t) = Kf(t), in the interval of definition, for each of the eigenvalues λ of L and by using as initial conditions those which determine one of its associated orthonormal functions. This makes the method specially interesting for its implementation on a hybrid computer: One advantage of the proposed method is that the analysis of f(t) does not require the simultaneous presence of the functions of the base set and the problem signal, thus eliminating both the problems of the synchronized generation of signals and the need for storing it in memory.     

Quantitative fractography of WC-Co cermets by Auger spectroscopy

A general procedure has been developed to determine the area fraction occupied by the binder on the fracture surfaces of cemented carbides. The area fraction of binder on the fracture surface was obtained from the relative peak-to-peak height ratios of elements in the binder and the carbide content was measured by Auger spectroscopy on the fracture surface and an adjacent polished section and the volume fraction of binder present in the cermet. This procedure was employed to determine the area fraction of binder on the fracture surfaces of WC-Co cermets with different binder contents and carbide grain sizes. The average binder mean free path and the area fraction of binder together yield the amount of plastically deformed binder per unit area of fracture surface. The volume of deformed binder and its in situ yield strength were combined to obtain a term proportional to the amount of plastic work done per unit area of fracture surface. It is shown that the correlation between this plastic work term and the fracture toughness of the cermets is good, while correlation with binder mean free path alone is poor.     

Long-term toxicity study quillaia extract in rats

Tannic acid fixation reveals differences in the number of protofilaments between microtubules (MTs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Most cells have MTs with 11 protofilaments but the six touch receptor neurons (the microtubule cells) have MTs with 15 protofilaments. No 13-protofilament (13-p) MT has been seen. The modified cilia of sensory neurons also possess unusual structures. The cilia contain nine outer doublets with A subfibers of 13 protofilaments and B subfibers of 11 protofilaments and a variable number of inner singlet MTs containing 11 protofilaments. The 15-p MTs but not the 11-p MTs are eliminated by colchicine-treatment or by mutation of the gene mec-7. Concomitantly, touch sensitivity is also lost. However, whereas colchicine treatment leads to the loss of all MTs from the microtubule cells, mutations in mec-7 result in the partial replacement of the 15-p MTs with 11-p MTs. Benzimidazoles (benomyl and nocodazole) have more general effects on C. elegans (slow growth, severe uncoordination, and loss of processes from the ventral cord) but do not affect the 15-p MTs. Benomyl will, however, disrupt the replacement 11-p MTs found in the microtubule cells of mec-7 mutants. The 11-p and 15-p MTs also respond differently to temperature and fixation conditions. It is likely that either type of MT will suffice for the proper outgrowth of the microtubule cell process, but only the 15-p MT can function in the specialized role of sensory transduction of the microtubule cells.     

Measuring acceptance of milk and milk substitutes among younger and older children

Appropriate nutrient-dense foods and beverages are crucial for children for proper growth and development and to develop healthful lifelong habits. This study investigated children's (ages 8 to 16 y old) perception of sensory intensity, attribute liking and overall liking of unflavored and chocolate lactose-free cow's milk and soy beverages. Products were not identified as to whether they were soy or milk. Children showed greater acceptance of lactose-free cow's milk compared to milk substitute beverages, within flavor category. No differences in acceptance emerged by ethnic group (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic), but a large difference emerged by age group. All product acceptance differences perceived by older children reoccurred among the younger children and in the same direction, but the older children used a larger range of numbers, especially at the lower end, rather than at the higher end of acceptance. The effect of age is not a simple scaling bias but may suggest a reduced criticism by younger respondents of less-acceptable products.