Confluence and Semantics of Constraint Simplification Rules

Constraint Simplification Rules (CSR) is a subset of the Constraint Handling Rules (CHR) language. CHR is a powerful special-purpose declarative programming language for writing constraint solvers. The CSR subset of CHR forms essentially a committed-choice language consisting of guarded rules with multiple heads that replace constraints by simpler ones until they are solved. This paper gives declarative and operational semantics as well as soundness and completeness results for CSR programs.We also introduce a notion of confluence for CSR programs. Confluence is an essential syntactical property of any constraint solver. It ensures that the solver will always compute the same result for a given set of constraints independent of which rules are applied. It also means that it does not matter for the result in which order the constraints arrive at the constraint solver.We give a decidable, sufficient and necessary syntactic condition for confluence of terminating CSR programs. Moreover, as shown in this paper, confluence of a program implies consistency of its logical meaning (under a mild restriction).     

Atlas: a nested relational database system for text applications

Advanced database applications require facilities such as text indexing, image storage, and the ability to store data with a complex structure. However, these facilities are not usually included in traditional database systems. In this paper we describe Atlas, a nested relational database system that has been designed for text-based applications. The Atlas query language is TQL, an SQL-like query language with text operators. The query language is supported by signature file text indexing techniques, and by a parser that can be configured for different text formats and even some foreign languages. Atlas can also be used to store images and audio     

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders at a primary care clinic in Soweto, Johannesburg

A pilot study to assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a primary care clinic in Soweto was carried out at the Zola Community Health Centre in May 1991. Interviews were carried out by trained primary care clinic staff. The findings were reviewed and analysed by the authors. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was found to be 14.38%. Methodological problems are listed and the results are discussed.     

Left ventricular hypertrophy, blood pressure and ACE genotype in untreated hypertension

It has been suggested that the deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotype may be important in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). In order to test this hypothesis we investigated the interaction between blood pressure (BP), LVH and ACE genotype in 86 previously untreated hypertensive patients. Each underwent two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography and ACE genotyping. There were no significant differences in BP, the parameters of left ventricular structure (including left ventricular mass index) or diastolic function between the three genotype groups. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the relationship between systolic BP and left ventricular mass index among the three genotype groups (II genotype, r = 0.46, P = 0.02; ID genotype, r = 0.42, P = 0.01; DD genotype, r = 0.34, P = 0.10; F = 0.38). In contrast to some previous studies, we have found in this group of previously untreated hypertensive subjects no evidence to suggest that the deletion polymorphism of the ACE genotype is important in the development of LVH.     

Transport of chemical vapors through soil: A landfill cover simulation experiment

Experimental simulation studies of the transport of volatile organic chemical vapors by both diffusion and convection through soil covers, as in landfi     

Modeling the Accumulation of Degradable Polymer Drug Carriers in the Brain

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the access of drugs to the brain. Intensive research is being conducted on the development of nanoparticulate drug carriers that mediate transfer across the BBB. A question that has been neglected so far is the potential accumulation of the carrier in the brain upon long‐term exposure. Here, we address this question by implementing a kinetic model to relate drug loading, required concentration of drug in the brain, and drug clearance to the degradation half‐life of the carrier. As a test case with clinical relevance we chose poly‐lactic‐co‐glycolic‐acid (PLGA) as a carrier material and a chemotherapeutic for which the required parameters could be recovered from the literature. For methotrexate with a drug load of 8.5 %, a required concentration of free drug of 1 μm , a release from PLGA of 6 hours, a drug clearance from the brain of 3 hours and a half‐life of polymer degradation of 28 days, a steady‐state accumulation of 1.3 g polymer would be reached in the brain (1.5 L) after seven months. While this number is surprisingly small, further physiological research is warranted to assess to which degree this will be in a tolerable range.     

A field evaluation of driver eye and head movement strategies toward environmental targets and distractors

A new systems approach for evaluating field performance of drivers is presented in a practical experimental demonstration. The emphasis reflected in this paper is on driver head and eye movement behaviour toward environmental targets and distractors. A unique video technology set-up was designed to record eye and head movements. Simultaneous video-tapings of driver eye/head movements and the environmental scene were time synchronised. Two intersections (one busy and one quiet) were carefully selected and analysed for their static and dynamic visual targets and distractors. A subject made 40 repetitive left-turns alternately at busy and quiet intersections in a naturally moving traffic environment. Both head movement patterns and eye movement frequencies differed significantly between the two intersections. Results suggest that the eye and head movements are highly dependent upon the type of turn configuration, type and frequency of targets, type and frequency of distractors, and traffic control configurations.     

Use of high pressure treatment to attenuate starter bacteria for use as adjuncts for Cheddar cheese manufacture

Attenuated starter bacteria cannot produce acid during cheese manufacture, but contain enzymes that contribute to cheese ripening. The aim of this study was to investigate attenuation of starter bacteria using high pressure treatment, for use in combination with a primary starter for Cheddar cheese manufacture, and to determine the effect of such adjunct cultures on secondary proteolysis during ripening. Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris HP and L. lactis ssp. cremoris 303 were attenuated by pressure treatment at 200 MPa for 20 min at 20 °C. Cheddar cheese was manufactured using untreated cultures of both these starter strains, either alone or in combination with their high pressure-treated equivalents. High pressure-treated starters did not produce acid during cheese manufacture and starter counts in cheeses manufactured using high pressure-treated starter did not differ from those of the controls. Higher levels of cell lysis were apparent in cheese manufactured using high pressure-treated strains than in the controls after 26 d of ripening. Small differences were observed in the peptide profiles of cheeses, analysed by reversed-phase HPLC; cheeses manufactured using high pressure-treated starters also had slightly higher levels of amino acids than the relevant controls. Overall, addition of high pressure-treated starter bacteria as a secondary starter culture accelerated secondary proteolysis in Cheddar cheese.

Industrial relevance

Attenuated starters provide extra pool of enzymes, which can influence cheese ripening, without affecting the cheese making schedule. This paper presents an alternative method for attenuation of starter bacteria using high pressure treatment and their subsequent use to accelerate secondary proteolysis in Cheddar cheese during ripening.     

A high-reliability alumina-platinum multilayer system for implantable medical devices

A new Pt-Al₂O₃ multilayer composite system has been developed and validated with an Accelerated Life Test (ALT) to confirm its potential for long-term use in implantable medical devices (IMD). Panels containing over 100 Pt vias were subjected to highly accelerated immersion testing in deionized water at temperatures ranging from 90 to 175°C. Deionized water was employed as it best represents the IMD use environment. Degradation of individual Pt vias was evaluated using fluorescent dye infiltration into the subsurface of the panels. ALT guided refinement of materials and processing to produce a Pt-Al₂O₃ multilayer composite system with promising performance for possible use in implantable devices.