Object oriented programming in Concurrent Prolog

It is shown that the basic operations of object-oriented programming languages — creating an, object, sending and receiving messages, modifying an object’s state, and forming class-superclass hierarchies — can be implemented naturally in Concurrent Prolog. In addition, a new object-oriented programming paradigm, called incomplete messages, is presented. This paradigm subsumes stream communication, and greatly simplifies the complexity of programs defining communication networks and protocols for managing shared resources. Several interesting programs are presented, including a multiple-window manager. All programs have been developed and tested using the Concurrent Prolog interpreter described in.¹⁾     

First principles total energy studies of the adsorption of germane on Ge(001)-c(2 × 4)

We perform first principles total energy calculations to study the energetics, and the atomic structure of the adsorption of germane (GeH₄) molecules on the Ge(001)-c(2 × 4) surface. The adsorption of a GeH₄ unit occurs after its dissociation into a germanium trihydride (GeH₃) and a hydrogen atom and a subsequent decomposition into a germanium dihydride (GeH₂) subunit and H atoms. Consequently, we first consider the adsorption of GeH₂ in two different configurations; the on-dimer and the intra-row geometries. Similar to the adsorption of SiH₂ and GeH₂ on Si(001), it is found that the on-dimer site is more stable than the intra-row geometry by 0.13 eV. However, in the adsorption of a GeH₂ fragment together with two H atoms we find that the intra-row geometry is energetically more favorable, again, similar to the adsorption of SiH₂ and GeH₂ (plus two H atoms) on the Si(001) surface.     

Efficient distribution-free population learning of simple concepts

We consider a variant of the ‘population learning model’ proposed by Kearns and Seung [8], in which the learner is required to be ‘distribution-free’ as well as computationally efficient. A population learner receives as input hypotheses from a large population of agents and produces as output its final hypothesis. Each agent is assumed to independently obtain labeled sample for the target concept and output a hypothesis. A polynomial time population learner is said to PAC-learn a concept class, if its hypothesis is probably approximately correct whenever the population size exceeds a certain bound which is polynomial, even if the sample size for each agent is fixed at some constant. We exhibit some general population learning strategies, and some simple concept classes that can be learned by them. These strategies include the ‘supremum hypothesis finder’, the ‘minimum superset finder’ (a special case of the ‘supremum hypothesis finder’), and various voting schemes. When coupled with appropriate agent algorithms, these strategies can learn a variety of simple concept classes, such as the ‘high–low game’, conjunctions, axis-parallel rectangles and others. We give upper bounds on the required population size for each of these cases, and show that these systems can be used to obtain a speed up from the ordinary PAC-learning model [11], with appropriate choices of sample and population sizes. With the population learner restricted to be a voting scheme, what we have is effectively a model of ‘population prediction’, in which the learner is to predict the value of the target concept at an arbitrarily drawn point, as a threshold function of the predictions made by its agents on the same point. We show that the population learning model is strictly more powerful than the population prediction model. Finally, we consider a variant of this model with classification noise, and exhibit a population learner for the class of conjunctions in this model. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dual-metal gate CMOS technology with ultrathin silicon nitride gatedielectric

We report the first demonstration of a dual-metal gate complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology using titanium (Ti) and molybdenum (Mo) as the gate electrodes for the N-metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (N-MOSFETs) and P-metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (P-MOSFETs), respectively. The gate dielectric stack consists of a silicon oxy-nitride interfacial layer and a silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) dielectric layer formed by a rapid-thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD) process. C-V characteristics show negligible gate depletion. Carrier mobilities comparable to that predicted by the universal mobility model for silicon dioxide (SiO₂) are observed     

Col4a3-/- Mice on Balb/C Background Have Less Severe Cardiorespiratory Phenotype and SGLT2 Over-Expression Compared to 129x1/SvJ and C57Bl/6 Backgrounds

Alport syndrome (AS) is a hereditary renal disorder with no etiological therapy. In the preclinical Col4a3^-/- model of AS, disease progression and severity vary depending on mouse strain. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is emerging as an attractive therapeutic target in cardiac/renal pathologies, but its application to AS remains untested. This study investigates cardiorespiratory function and SGLT2 renal expression in Col4a3^-/- mice from three different genetic backgrounds, 129x1/SvJ, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C. male Col4a3^-/- 129x1/SvJ mice displayed alterations consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Female, but not male, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C Col4a3^-/- mice exhibited mild changes in systolic and diastolic function of the heart by echocardiography. Male C57Bl/6 Col4a3^-/- mice presented systolic dysfunction by invasive hemodynamic analysis. All strains except Balb/C males demonstrated alterations in respiratory function. SGLT2 expression was significantly increased in AS compared to WT mice from all strains. However, cardiorespiratory abnormalities and SGLT2 over-expression were significantly less in AS Balb/C mice compared to the other two strains. Systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated only in mutant 129x1/SvJ mice. The results provide further evidence for strain-dependent cardiorespiratory and hypertensive phenotype variations in mouse AS models, corroborated by renal SGLT2 expression, and support ongoing initiatives to develop SGLT2 inhibitors for the treatment of AS.     

Swelling Pressure of Wet Rice Grains Estimated from Distribution Coefficients of Saccharides

The apparent density and porosity of four rice cultivars, Koshihikari, Yumepirika, Habutaemochi, and Kitayukimochi, decreased and increased, respectively, with the increasing temperature in the range of 5 °C to 60 °C. Especially large changes in both apparent density and porosity were observed at 60 °C, which can be ascribed to the starch gelatinization of rice. The swelling pressures of wet rice grains were estimated to be 7.5, 6.3, 6.2, and 5.9 MPa at 25 °C for Koshihikari, Yumepirika, Habutaemochi, and Kitayukimochi, respectively, from the distribution coefficients of solutes with different molar volumes. Rice grains having higher amylose content exhibited a weak tendency toward higher swelling pressure. The distribution coefficients of fructose for the Koshihikari and Habutaemochi cultivars were larger at higher temperatures, but the temperature dependence of the swelling pressure was not significant for both cultivars. These results suggested that the increase in the distribution coefficient was caused by the gradual relaxation of the interior structure of rice with increasing temperature.