A study of responses to religious terms

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1966 G19

Formal Derivation of Rule-Based Program

This paper describes a formal approach to developing concurrent rule-based programs. Our program derivation strategy starts with a formal specification of the problem. Specification refinement is used to generate an initial version of the program. Program refinement is then applied to produce a highly concurrent and efficient version of the same program. Techniques for the deriving concurrent programs through either specification or program refinement have been described in previous literature. The main contribution of this paper consists of extending the applicability of these techniques to a broad class of rule-based programs. The derivation process is supported by a powerful proof logic, a logic that recently has been extended to cover rule-based programs. The presentation centers around a rigorous and systematic derivation of a concurrent rule-based solution to a classic problem

Formal Verification of Pure Production Systems Programs

Reliability, defined as the guarantee that a program satisfies its specifications, is an important aspect of many applications for which rule-based expert systems are suited. Executing rule-based programs on a series of test cases. To show a program is reliable, it is desirable to construct formal specifications for the program and to prove that it obeys those specifications. This paper presents an assertional approach to the verification of a class of rule-based programs characterized by the absence of conflict resolution. The proof logic needed for verification is already in use by researchers in concurrent programming. The approach involves expressing the program in a language called Swarm, and its specifications as assertions over the Swarm program. Among models that employ rules-based notation, Swarm is the first to have an axiomatic proof logic. A brief review of Swarm and its proof logic is given, along with an illustration of the formal verification method used on a simple rule-based program

Applying Formal Verification Methods to Pure Rule-Based Programs

Reliability, defined as the guarantee that a program satisfies its specifications, is an important aspect of many applications for which rule-based expert systems are suited. Verification refer to the process used to determine the reliability of the rule-based program. Because past approaches to verification are informal, guarantees of reliability cannot fully be made without severely restricting the system. On the other hand, by constructing formal specifications for a program and showing the program satisfies those specifications, guarantees of reliability can be made. This paper presents an assertional approach to the verification of rule-based programs. The proof logical needed for verification is adopted from one already in use by researchers in concurrent programming. The approach involves using a language called Swarm, and requires one to express program specifications as assertions over the Swarm representation of the program. Among models the employ rule-based notation, Swarm is the first to have an axiomatic proof logic

Survival and growth of Douglas-fir seed sources in the Hospital Tract rangewide source archive plantation

"In 1954, Dr. Helge Irgens-Moller initiated a rangewide collection of seed and seedlings of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Nearly 700 trees or stands were sampled in 10 western states, Canada, and Mexico. From 1957 to 1971, 639 of these collections were planted in the Hospital Tract Rangewide Source Archive near Corvallis, Oregon. By 1989, the trees were from 20 to 34 years old; it became apparent that thinning the archive would be necessary in order to preserve the slower growing sources. This prompted growth and survival measurements and a complete inventory of the archive. Overall survival for all years of planting was greater than 80 percent for coastal sources (var. menziesii), but less than 60 percent for interior sources (var. glauca). The average diameter at breast height (DBH) of surviving trees was 29.05 cm; the range was from 1.2 to 61 cm. An analysis of the 1957 and 1961 plantings revealed that local and other low elevation coastal sources had the fastest growth and highest survival in the archive. High elevation sources from the Cascade Range had significantly smaller DBH, but higher survival. Southern interior sources from Arizona and New Mexico had the smallest DBH and lowest survival; northern interior sources from Montana and Idaho were intermediate in survival and DBH. Geographical variation among sources in the Hospital Tract was associated with environmental gradients, supporting the previously held conclusion that much of the genetic variation on a geographical scale in Douglas-fir is the result of adaptation."--Summar

Intracellular Water Exchange for Measuring the Dry Mass, Water Mass and Changes in Chemical Composition of Living Cells

We present a method for direct non-optical quantification of dry mass, dry density and water mass of single living cells in suspension. Dry mass and dry density are obtained simultaneously by measuring a cell’s buoyant mass sequentially in an H[subscript 2]O-based fluid and a D[subscript 2]O-based fluid. Rapid exchange of intracellular H[subscript 2]O for D[subscript 2]O renders the cell’s water content neutrally buoyant in both measurements, and thus the paired measurements yield the mass and density of the cell’s dry material alone. Utilizing this same property of rapid water exchange, we also demonstrate the quantification of intracellular water mass. In a population of E. coli, we paired these measurements to estimate the percent dry weight by mass and volume. We then focused on cellular dry density – the average density of all cellular biomolecules, weighted by their relative abundances. Given that densities vary across biomolecule types (RNA, DNA, protein), we investigated whether we could detect changes in biomolecular composition in bacteria, fungi, and mammalian cells. In E. coli, and S. cerevisiae, dry density increases from stationary to exponential phase, consistent with previously known increases in the RNA/protein ratio from up-regulated ribosome production. For mammalian cells, changes in growth conditions cause substantial shifts in dry density, suggesting concurrent changes in the protein, nucleic acid and lipid content of the cell.National Cancer Institute (U.S.). Physical Sciences-Oncology Center (U54CA143874)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Center for Cell Division Process Grant P50GM6876)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Contract R01CA170592)United States. Army Research Office (Institute for Collaborate Biotechnologies Contract W911NF-09-D-0001

The Intersectionality of Disasters’ Effects on Trust in Public Officials

Objective Groups defined by race and ideology are well‐known predictors of interpersonal and political trust, but gender‐based effects are undecided. I investigate whether disaster experience conditions a difference in political trust between women and men. Methods Examining the hurricane data set of U.S. public opinion, I analyze intersectionality's influence on disaster‐based political trust with a three‐way interaction between race, class, and gender. Results Among disaster survivors, black women trust less than all other race–gender groups, and white men trust the most. The difference between black and white women survivors’ political trust is attenuated by education. Education exacerbates race‐based political trust among observers. Among observers, there is not a gender‐based distinction. Conclusion Disasters create new identities based on shared experience, and offer a moment in time that illustrates how trust varies along gender–race–class–disaster dimensions. Knowing how trust differs according to intersectionality allows managers to manage critical events better

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: A continental scale assessment of reduced tillage

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical disturbance, and soil pH influenced microbial sensitivity to physical disturbance. Furthermore, 28% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which were important in modeling Cmin, were enriched under soils managed with minimal physical disturbance. Sequences identified as enriched under minimal disturbance and important for modeling Cmin, were linked to organisms which could produce extracellular polymeric substances and contained metabolic strategies suited for tolerating environmental stressors. Understanding how physical disturbance shapes microbial communities across climates and inherent soil properties and drives changes in Cmin provides the context necessary to evaluate management impacts on standardized measures of soil microbial activity

Long-term Site Fidelity and Individual Home Range Shifts in Lophocebus albigena

We investigated long-term site fidelity of gray-cheeked mangabey (Lophocebus albigena) groups in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Concurrently, we monitored shifts in home range by individual females and subadult and adult males. We documented home range stability by calculating the area of overlap in successive years, and by recording the drift of each group’s monthly centroid from its initial location. Home ranges remained stable for 3 of our 4 groups (overlap over 10 yr >60%). Core areas were more labile, but group centroids drifted an average of only 530 m over the entire decade. Deviations from site fidelity were associated with dispersal or group fission. During natal dispersal, subadult males expanded their home ranges over many months, settling ≤4 home ranges away. Adult males, in contrast, typically dispersed within a few days to an adjacent group in an area of home range overlap. Adult males made solitary forays, but nearly always into areas used by their current group or by a group to which they had previously belonged. After secondary dispersal, they expanded their ranging in the company of their new group, apparently without prior solitary exploration of the new area. Some females also participated in home range shifts. Females shifted home ranges only within social groups, in association with temporary or permanent group splits. Our observations raise the possibility that male mangabeys use a finder-joiner mechanism when moving into new home ranges during secondary dispersal. Similarly, females might learn new resource locations from male immigrants before or during group fission