A MODEL FOR C-CALCULUS

C-calculus was introduced by the first author as a technique for the analysis of complex hierarchical systems.² It has been further applied as a versatile tool in pattern recognition.^1,3 Our present aim is to exhibit a model for C-calculus, and deal with its convergence and filtering properties.     

SALVAGING THE SPIRIT OF THE METER-MODELS TRADITION: A MODEL OF BELIEF REVISION BY WAY OF AN ABSTRACT IDEALIZATION OF RESPONSE TO INCOMING EVIDENCE DELIVERY DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF PROOF IN COURT

Conversations occurring in a society of communicating systems can be studied according to a model where the main concept is a theory and exchanges are governed by syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic devices. In the present paper we discuss these issues, focusing on the role played by situations where context marks are meaningful for governing dialogues. We take the case of intelligent tutors, in particular one for logic programming under development, as the application example behind this research. Finally, we stress that the flexibility of interactions depends to a great extent on the ability of knowledge-based systems to face open situations.     

MAXIMAL CONSISTENCY,THEORY OF EVIDENCE,AND BAYESIAN CONDITIONING IN THE INVESTIGATIVE DOMAIN

We present the architecture of an Inquiry Support System whose aim is to help a detective or a judge in eliciting a maximally consistent set of beliefs as the most believable piece of knowledge to reason with. This is done by (1) finding incoherence inside and across the various depositions; (2) generating the alternate maximally consistent set of beliefs; (3) estimating the degree of reliability of the various informants; and (4) estimating the degree of credibility of the various evidences. The solution of the case is searched among the various possible plots compatible with the maximally consistent set of beliefs retained by the system as the most believable one.     

PROTEOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF LACTOBACILLUS SAKEI, LACTOBACILLUS FARCIMINIS AND LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM ON SARCOPLASMIC PROTEINS OF PORK LEAN

The aim of this study was to assess the proteolytic activity of Lactobacillus sakei (DSM 6333), L. plantarum (B21), and to a lesser extent, L. farciminis (DSM 20184) on meat sarcoplasmic proteins. The protein composition was assayed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and capillary electrophoresis after incubation of meat extract inoculated with bacteria. All strains showed proteolytic activity: a band about 94 kDa disappeared in samples inoculated with L. farciminis and L. plantarum and strongly decreased in those inoculated with L. sakei. The intensity of the bands with a molecular weight between 94 and 38 kDa decreased in all samples. Capillary electrophoresis analysis ascertained the disappearance of the fractions corresponding to 8.64 and 8.66 min retention time in all samples. The bands corresponding to 94 kDa and 38 kDa were, respectively, identified as glycogen phosphorylase muscle isoform and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, by in situ digestion of protein gel bands and peptide map analysis using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).     

THE KINETICS OF THIXOTROPIC BEHAVIOUR IN CLAY/KAOLIN AQUEOUS SUSPENSIONS

Two possible processes for deactivation in the catalytic hydrolysis of acrytonitriie over Raney copper have been examined at temperatures in the range 40 to 100°C. The first of these is the diffusion limited oxidation of the catalyst surface which produces oxides of copper. The other, more dominant, effect is thought to result from fouling of the catalyst pores by thermally polymerized acrylamide. This mechanism of catalyst poisoning which is independent of both reactant and product concentrations is evidenced by changes in specific surface areas and pore sizes of the catalyst used.     

Application of the parametric bootstrap method to determine statistical errors in quantitative X-ray microanalysis of thin films

We applied the parametric bootstrap to the X‐ray microanalysis of Si‐Ge binary alloys, in order to assess the dependence of the Ge concentrations and the local film thickness, obtained by using previously described Monte Carlo methods, on the precision of the measured intensities. We show how it is possible by this method to determine the statistical errors associated with the quantitative analysis performed in sample regions of different composition and thickness, but by conducting only one measurement. We recommend the use of the bootstrap for a broad range of applications for quantitative microanalysis to estimate the precision of the final results and to compare the performances of different methods to each other. Finally, we exploited a test based on bootstrap confidence intervals to ascertain if, for given X‐ray intensities, different values of the estimated composition in two points of the sample are indicative of an actual lack of homogeneity.