The aditi deductive database system

Deductive databases generalize relational databases by providing support for recursive views and non-atomic data. Aditi is a deductive system based on the client-server model; it is inherently multi-user and capable of exploiting parallelism on shared-memory multiprocessors. The back-end uses relational technology for efficiency in the management of disk-based data and uses optimization algorithms especially developed for the bottom-up evaluation of logical queries involving recursion. The front-end interacts with the user in a logical language that has more expressive power than relational query languages. We present the structure of Aditi, discuss its components in some detail, and present performance figures.     

Cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) as risk factors for coronary heart disease in elderly subjects

The changes in lipoprotein(a) concentration that occur with age as a result of its association with an increased risk of coronary artery disease were investigated. Lipoprotein(a) concentrations were measured in serum samples from healthy volunteers, individuals with premature coronary artery disease, individuals with hyperlipidaemia but without evidence of premature coronary artery disease, and also in elderly men and women who had hyperlipidaemia. Concentrations in individuals with premature coronary artery disease were the same as those of the healthy volunteers, while in both these groups they were lower than those found in hyperlipidaemic elderly men and women, and those found in hyperlipidaemic women aged 36-68 years. No association between raised lipoprotein(a) concentration and mortality as a result of premature coronary artery disease was demonstrated. Raised lipoprotein(a) levels found in the hyperlipidaemic individuals also suggested that it may not be an independent risk factor.     

Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment.

Three studies, involving 146 undergraduates and 68 heterosexual couples, assessed the construct validity of the self- and other-model dimensions underlying the 4-category model of adult attachment. Five methods were used to assess the hypothesized dimensions: self-reports, friend-reports, romantic partner reports, trained judges' ratings of peer attachment, and trained judges' ratings of family attachment. Study 2 related the latent attachment dimensions to theoretically relevant outcome latent variables. As predicted, Ss' self models converged with direct measures of the positivity of their self-concepts, and Ss' other models converged with direct measures of the positivity of their interpersonal orientations. Study 3 related the latent attachment dimensions to 3 alternate self-report measures of adult attachment and showed that the 2 dimensions served as an organizing framework for the different measurement approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On parallel unification for Prolog

Parallel unification algorithms are not nearly so numerous or well-developed as sequential ones. In order to estimate the improvement in efficiency which may be expected, we define and discuss an objective measure of the effect of parallelism on a sequential algorithm. This measure, known as thepotential parallel factor (PPF), is applied to parallel versions of the unification algorithms of Yasuura and Jaffar. The PPFs for these algorithms are measured on a variety of running Prolog programs to estimate what increase in speed may be expected in a Prolog environment from the use of parallelism. Other potential uses of parallelism may be evaluated by different applications of our general methods and techniques.     

Commodity prices as related to vegetable oil marketing,prices and utilization

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society -     

Impact fracture behavior of continuous glass fiber-reinforced nylon 6

The impact fracture toughness of nylon 6/continuous glass fiber composites at four levels of fiber content has been studied. The composites were produced by anionically polymerizing caprolactam within a glass mat using a vacuum injection technique. Application of linear elastic fracture mechanics to characterize the impact fracture toughness of the composites, using an energy approach (G_IC), has been found to be applicable provided that a correction is made for the size of the damage zone. The concept of J_c, fracture energy per unit ligament area, has also been applied to the composites and agreement between G_IC and J_c has been found to be reasonably satisfactory. The ratio of crack propagation energy to the total energy absorbed (ductility index) has also been calculated. The ductility index was found to be close to one for the composites, indicating that additional energy is involved in propagating the fracturing cracks probably due to fiber debonding and/or crack blunting and fiber pullout. Fractographic examination of the impact fracture surface confirmed the presence of these features.     

Design formalism for collaborative assembly design

Joints in product design are common because of the limitations of component geometric configurations and material properties, and the requirements of inspection, accessibility, repair, and portability. Collaborative product design is emerging as a viable alternative to the traditional design process. The collaborative assembly design (AsD) methodologies are needed for distributed product development. Existing AsD methodologies have limitations in capturing the non-geometric aspects of designer's intent on joining and are not efficient for a collaborative design environment. This paper introduces an AsD formalism and associated AsD tools to capture joining relations and spatial relationship implications. This AsD formalism allows the joining relations to be modeled symbolically for computer interpretation, and the model can be used for inferring mathematical and physical implications. An AsD model generated from the AsD formalism is used to exchange AsD information transparently in a collaborative AsD environment. An assembly relation model and a generic assembly relationship diagram are to capture assembly and joining information concisely and persistently. As a demonstration, the developed AsD formalism and AsD tools are applied on a connector assembly with arc weld and rivet joints.     

A utility theory based robot selection and evaluation for electronics assembly

As the number of robots in the market and their implementations increase, it becomes more difficult to find which robot is the most suitable for a particular application. Today, electronics assembly is one of the areas where robots are highly used. This is because of the advantages which robots offer in complex tasks of electronic assembly.

In this paper a decision making algorithm which uses utility theory was developed for the selection and evaluation of robots for electronics assembly.