Relative Preferences for Paper and for Electronic Books: Implications for Reference Services,Library Instruction,and Collection Management

While electronic books (e-books) can make intellectual content more accessible, librarians are faced with uncertainties about e-book acceptance and decreasing materials budgets. What are library user attitudes toward books accessible in print or in electronic form? How might library user attitudes inform the practices of reference, instruction, and collection management librarians? Librarians at a Midwestern public university sought guidance from its users by conducting a survey examining the relative preferences for books in paper and electronic formats. Characteristics of readers and their purposes for using books were explored, as were characteristics of the formats such as accessibility, portability, and convenience.     

A formal approach for the development of reactive systems

Context

This paper deals with the development and verification of liveness properties on reactive systems using the Event-B method. By considering the limitation of the Event-B method to invariance properties, we propose to apply the language TLA⁺ to verify liveness properties on Event-B models.

Objective

This paper deals with the use of two verification approaches: theorem proving and model-checking, in the construction and verification of safe reactive systems. The theorem prover concerned is part of the Click_n_Prove tool associated to the Event-B method and the model checker is TLC for TLA⁺ models.

Method

To verify liveness properties on Event-B systems, we extend first the expressivity and the semantics of a B model (called temporal B model) to deal with the specification of fairness and eventuality properties. Second, we propose semantics of the extension over traces, in the same spirit as TLA⁺ does. Third, we give verification rules in the axiomatic way of the Event-B method. Finally, we give transformation rules from a temporal B model into a TLA⁺ module. We present in particular, our prototype system called B2TLA⁺, that we have developed to support this transformation; then we can verify liveness properties thanks to the model checker TLC on finite state systems. For the verification of infinite-state systems, we propose the use of the predicate diagrams and its associated tool DIXIT. As the B refinement preserves invariance properties through refinement steps, we propose some rules to get the preservation of liveness properties by the B refinement.

Results

The proposed approach is applied for the development of some reactive systems examples and our prototype system B2TLA⁺ is successfully used to transform a temporal B model into a TLA⁺ module.

Conclusion

The paper successfully defines an approach for the specification and verification of safety and liveness properties for the development of reactive systems using the Event-B method, the language TLA⁺ and the predicate diagrams with their associated tools. The approach is illustrated on a case study of a parcel sorting system.     

Developing a framework for evaluating service oriented architecture governance (SOAG)

Today, service oriented architecture (SOA) has created the opportunities to improve agility and speed in aligning business needs with information technology infrastructure. Most of the organizations in the process of applying this technology encounter with challenges and may have failure despite of spending a lot of energy and huge investments. Therefore they need to implement a service oriented framework for governance. The organizations require a framework to assess their current status of SOA governance, determine their SOA governance requirements and then offer a suitable model for their SOA governance. The aim of this study is development of a framework for evaluating SOA governance. Data collection tool is questionnaire and in order to test the proposed framework, a sample of 16 experts in the field of SOA was included. The results confirm the proposed framework. Then in order to evaluation of the confirmed framework; it was implemented in an Iranian private bank.     

BTK and PI3K Inhibitors Reveal Synergistic Inhibitory Anti-Tumoral Effects in Canine Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Cells

Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in the B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway are considered potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas, among which, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type. Herein, we comparatively evaluated the single and combined application of the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib and the selective PI3Kγ inhibitor AS-605240 in the canine DLBCL cell line CLBL-1. For further comparison, key findings were additionally analyzed in canine B-cell leukemia GL-1 and human DLBCL cell line SU-DHL-4. While ibrutinib alone induced significant anti-proliferative effects on all cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, AS-605240 only induced anti-proliferative effects at high concentrations. Interestingly, ibrutinib and AS-605240 acted synergistically, reducing cell proliferation and increasing apoptosis/necrosis in all cell lines and inducing morphological changes in CLBL-1. Moreover, the combined application of ibrutinib and AS-605240 reduced relative phosphorylation and, in some instances, the levels of the BTK, AKT, GSK3β, and ERK proteins. Comparative variant analysis of RNA-seq data among canine B- and T-lymphoid cell lines and primary B-cell lymphoma samples revealed potentially high-impact somatic variants in the genes that encode PI3K, which may explain why AS-605240 does not singly inhibit the proliferation of cell lines. The combination of ibrutinib and AS-605240 represents a promising approach that warrants further in vivo evaluation in dogs, potentially bearing significant value for the treatment of human DLBCL.     

Simulation of forced convection in a channel with nanofluid by the lattice Boltzmann method

This paper presents a numerical study of the thermal performance of fins mounted on the bottom wall of a horizontal channel and cooled with either pure water or an Al₂O₃-water nanofluid. The bottom wall of the channel is heated at a constant temperature and cooled by mixed convection of laminar flow at a relatively low temperature. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the heat transfer rate of fins is significantly affected by the Reynolds number (Re) and the thermal conductivity of the fins. The influence of the solid volume fraction on the increase of heat transfer is more noticeable at higher values of the Re.     

A Method for Studying Dynamic Sorption Behavior of Small Wood Samples

A method for determining mass changes (～ 0.0001 g) in small (～ 4-mm cubes) wood samples using the resonance of small mechanical springs mounted on piezoelectric sensors is presented. The size of the sample allows individual heartwood or sapwood, earlywood, latewood, and compression wood samples to be measured in an oscillating relative humidity environment and compared in terms of time constant and moisture gain. Since the apparatus is cost effective, many replicates can be achieved in one experiment. The use of small wood samples such that all tracheids are exposed removes the effect of structure on bound water transport. This, in combination with the ability to measure the response to small perturbations in relative humidity, presents the possibility to determine gaseous diffusion coefficients as a function of moisture content for individual wood types.

Preliminary, representative results of a study comparing the effect of drying temperature on sorption behavior of wood dried at 20, 90, and 150°C are presented.     

Response surface methodology (RMS) modelling to improve n-dodecane degradation using Debaryomyces hansenii LAF-3 in a simulated desalter effluent

The effluent from a petroleum desalting unit contains salts, emulsifiers, hydrocarbons (mainly n-dodecane), and other contaminants. Conventional wastewater treatment cannot be used to treat this salt-containing effluent; thus, alternative approaches must be explored. In this study, a halo-tolerant yeast, Debaryomyces hansenii, was investigated for the removal of varying concentrations of n-dodecane in a simulated desalter effluent (SDE). Then, the removal of n-dodecane was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of pH, salt, temperature, and n-dodecane concentration were evaluated, and a mathematical model was developed and verified. The results showed that complete removal of n-dodecane was achieved at 20°C and a salt concentration of 1–5 g L⁻¹. The main factors in COD removal are temperature, n-dodecane concentration, pH, and the interaction between n-dodecane and temperature. Salt concentration does not affect COD removal or the growth rate of D. hansenii in a SDE. Applying RSM suggested that interactional effects among the operational variables include temperature, n-dodecane concentration, and pH on the yeast's removal rate. Overall, it can be concluded that the use of D. hansenii could be a viable solution at a wide range of salt concentrations (1–5 g L⁻¹) for desalter wastewater treatment in petroleum refining.     

Modeling and simulation of tanks-in-series airlift bioreactors for production of lactic acid by fermentation

A tanks-in-series model was applied for mathematical modeling of the unsteady state performance of 70 and 100 liters airlift bioreactor for the production of lactic acid by fermentation. A set of first-order differential equations for the material balances of micro-organism, substrate, product, and dissolved oxygen around hypothetically well mixed stages was solved simultaneously utilizing computer program in MATLAB. The kinetic model utilized considered the effect of two substrates (glucose and dissolved oxygen) on the growth rate. The effect of air velocity on the lactic acid production was investigated. Results of this model have been validated with experimental data.     

A de Novo‐Designed Monomeric,Compact Three‐Helix‐Bundle Protein on a Carbohydrate Template

De novo design and chemical synthesis of proteins and of other artificial structures that mimic them is a central strategy for understanding protein folding and for accessing proteins with new functions. We have previously described carbohydrates that act as templates for the assembly of artificial proteins, so‐called carboproteins. The hypothesis is that the template preorganizes the secondary structure elements and directs the formation of a tertiary structure, thus achieving structural economy in the combination of peptide, linker, and template. We speculate that the structural information from the template could facilitate protein folding. Here we report the design and synthesis of three‐helix‐bundle carboproteins on deoxyhexopyranosides. The carboproteins were analyzed by CD, analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), and NMR spectroscopy, and this revealed the formation of the first compact and folded monomeric carboprotein, distinctly different from a molten globule. En route to this carboprotein we observed a clear effect originating from the template on protein folding.