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The regularities of adsorption of lignosulphonates from water solutions onto cellulose, kaolin, TiO2 and CaCO3 was studied and the high values of the non-electrical portion of free energy of adsorption were shown, which provide effective adsorption of polymer on the surfaces charged similarly with lignosulphonates. Modification of lignosulphonates with siliconorganic oligomers increased significantly their affinity to cellulose and kaolin due to changing hydrophobicity and introducing of new active centers in the lignosulphonates macromolecules. Comparative study of compatibility of lignosulphonates and modified lignosulphonates with polyacrylamide was carried out. Keywords: lignosulphonates; adsorption; cellulose; kaolin; modification; siliconorganic oligomers; compatibility with polyacrylamide [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this comment I should like to formulate a few reflections on the broad and multi-dimensional subject of the relationship between free-trade rules and non-economic policies, as it is developing in the EU and in the WTO. I concentrate on recent case-law, because the judiciary is the main vehicle which moves the debate forward. It goes without saying that this comment does not permit a full analysis of all the issues.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution concentrates on how to determine when there is a conflict between WTO norms, such that it is necessary to apply the rules of international law on treaty conflict.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planted Eucalyptus forests occupy more than 18 million hectares globally and have become the most widely planted hardwood tree in the world, supplying high quality woody biomass for several industrial applications. This chapter attempts to link current eucalypt breeding practice and the genomic tools available or in development. A brief introduction is presented on the main features of modern eucalypt breeding and clonal forestry to provide a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Some current low technological input applications of molecular markers in support of operational breeding and clonal deployment are introduced. After reviewing the status of QTL mapping and gene discovery by EST sequencing, the prospects for physical mapping and association genetics in Eucalyptus are discussed. Challenges and opportunities for the application of genomic information to improve relevant traits are described within the framework of molecular breeding for trait improvement. Finally, with the expectation of a draft of a Eucalyptus grandis genome within the next three years, a discussion is included on the prospects of gene identification and subsequent applications in breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multinucleate conidia were produced from the green mature conidia of Trichoderma reesei Rut C-30 strain by colchicine treatment. The strain with higher Filter paper degrading ability was selected among those conidia using a double layer selection medium. The selected strain, JS-2 was able to collapse the filter paper within 15 min but the original strain took 25 min to collapse it completely. Moreover, the amount of reducing sugar in the L-type glass tube of the strain, JS-2, was greater than that of the original strain. The Avicel, CMC-Na, and Salicin hydrolyzing activity of the strain, JS-2, increased 2.1 times, 1.2 times, and 3.6 times higher than that of the original strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary digital libraries and archives of ethnological information focus mainly on document based storage and access methods for their data. However, our archive is designed to manage smallest pieces of information and can enable ethnologists not only to easily store and access their material, but also to derive new knowledge by combining existing data. In this paper, we present the first steps in building a digital archive for paper slips with ethnological contents from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Along with the architectural and accessibility aspects of the WossiDiA system, we describe enhancements for efficient retrieval and for supporting modifications to access structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent to which your clinical trial will contribute to the greater scientific good will depend, to a large degree, on the quality of the presentation and dissemination of the results. Your trial is likely to be one of many that address the research question you have posed. In some cases, the treatment effect will be overestimated and results, particularly from small trials, will be contradictory. The results from a number of trials will probably have to be combined to get a true picture of the effectiveness of a new molecular entity (NME). Ideally, the report of your trial will be of sufficient quality to be included in a metaanalysis and demonstrate the effectiveness of your intervention in the treatment of osteoporosis. There are, unfortunately, a number of limitations that are common when writing up trials that lead to bias and the exclusion of studies from subsequent metaanalysis, including the following: 1 1.Use of multiple endpoints (if 20 items are measured on a subject, one is bound to be significant—result: a publication)2.Use of surrogate endpoints [e.g. bone mineral density (BMD) as a surrogate marker of fracture risk]3.Too many subgroup analyses4.Incorrect analysis of repeated measures5.Too many treatment groups in one study6.Small study numbers7.Underreporting of nonsignificant results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antarctic subglacial lakes have, over the past few years, been hypothesised to house unique forms of life and hold detailed sedimentary records of past climate change. Testing this hypothesis requires in situ examinations. The direct measurement of subglacial lakes has been considered ever since the largest and best-known lake, named Lake Vostok, was identified as having a deep water-column. The Subglacial Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE) programme, set up by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to oversee subglacial lakes research, state that prior exploration of smaller lakes would be a "prudent way forward". Over 145 subglacial lakes are known to exist in Antarctica, but one lake in West Antarctica, officially named Ellsworth Subglacial Lake (referred to hereafter as Lake Ellsworth), stands out as a candidate for early exploration. A consortium of over 20 scientists from seven countries and 14 institutions has been assembled to plan the exploration of Lake Ellsworth. An eight-year programme is envisaged: 3 years for a geophysical survey, 2 years for equipment development and testing, 1 year for field planning and operation, and 2 years for sample analysis and data interpretation. The science experiment is simple in concept but complex in execution. Lake Ellsworth will be accessed using hot water drilling. Once lake access is achieved, a probe will be lowered down the borehole and into the lake. The probe will contain a series of instruments to measure biological, chemical and physical characteristics of the lake water and sediments, and will utilise a tether to the ice surface through which power, communication and data will be transmitted. The probe will pass through the water column to the lake floor. The probe will then be pulled up and out of the lake, measuring its environment continually as this is done. Once at the ice surface, any water samples collected will be taken from the probe for laboratory analysis (to take place over subsequent years). The duration of the science mission, from deployment of the probe to its retrieval, is likely to take between 24 and 36 h. Measurements to be taken by the probe will provide data about the following: depth, pressure, conductivity and temperature; pH levels; biomolecules (using life marker chips); anions (using a chemical analyzer); visualisation of the environment (using cameras and light sources); dissolved gases (using chromatography); and morphology of the lake floor and sediment structures (using sonar). After the probe has been retrieved, a sediment corer may be dropped into the lake to recover material from the lake floor. Finally, if time permits, a thermistor string may be left in the lake water to take time-dependent measurements of the lake's water column over subsequent years. Given that the comprehensive geophysical survey of the lake will take place in two seasons during 2007-2009, a two-year instrument and logistic development phase from 2008 (after the lake's bathymetry has been assessed) makes it possible that the exploration of Lake Ellsworth could take place at the beginning of the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SimStudent is a machine-learning agent that learns cognitive skills by demonstration. It was originally developed as a building block of the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), so that the authors do not have to build a cognitive model by hand, but instead simply demonstrate solutions for SimStudent to automatically generate a cognitive model. The SimStudent technology could then be used to model human students' performance as well. To evaluate the applicability of SimStudent as a tool for modeling real students, we applied SimStudent to a genuine learning log gathered from classroom experiments with the Algebra I Cognitive Tutor. Such data can be seen as the human students' "demonstrations" of how to solve problems. The results from an empirical study show that SimStudent can indeed model human students' performance. After training on 20 problems solved by a group of human students, a cognitive model generated by SimStudent explained 82% of the problem-solving steps performed correctly by another group of human students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Document examiners must examine all materials related to documents, including seals, envelopes, stamps, fasteners, bindings, adhesives, and labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans have searched for suitable writing material since the start of communicating through the written word. Many substances were used as writing surfaces, including rocks, clay, and similar substances found in nature. The Egyptians used papyrus as a writing surface. To make papyrus, they mashed reeds together into a flat sheet of pulp and dried them. They mixed soot with water as ink and sharpened a reed into a pen to write on the papyrus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper keeps as a key information medium and this has motivated the development of new technologies for digitally augmented paper (DAP) that enable printed content to be linked with multimedia information. Among those technologies, one simplest approach is to print some visible patterns on paper (e.g., barcodes in the margin) as cross-media links. Due to the latest progress in printing industry, some more sophisticated methods have been developed, that is, some kinds of patterns printed on the background of a page in a high resolution are almost invisible and then we are affected little when reading. For all these pattern-embedding based approaches to integrate printed and multimedia information, we aim to present a unified publishing framework independent of particular patterns and readers(e.g., cameras to capture patterns) used to realize DAP. The presented framework manages semantic information about printed documents, multimedia resources, and patterns as links between them and users are provided with a platform for publishing DAP documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I will present an overview of a selection of tools for execution and proof based on temporal logic, and outline both the general techniques used and problems encountered in implementing them. This selection is quite subjective, mainly concerning work that has involved researchers I have collaborated with at Liverpool (and, previously, Manchester). The tools considered will mainly be theorem-provers and (logic-based) agent programming languages. Specifically: - clausal temporal resolution [21, 28] and several of its implementations, namely , and , together with its application to verification [35]; - executable temporal logics [24, 4] and its implementation as both MetateM [3] and Concurrent MetateM [22, 49], together with its use as a programming language for both individual agents [23, 26, 29] and multi-agent systems [33, 30, 32]. In addition, I will briefly mention work on induction-based temporal proof [5], temporal logic programming [1], and model checking [7]. Rather than providing detailed algorithms, this presentation will concentrate on general principles, outlining current problems and future possibilities. The aim here is to give the reader an overview of the ways we handle temporal logics. In particular how we use such logics as the basis for both programming and verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach to ventilator weaning has changed considerably over the past 30 years. Change has resulted from research in three areas: pathophysiology, weaning-predictor testing, and weaning techniques. Physiology research illuminated the mechanisms of weaning failure. It also uncovered markers of weaning success. Through more reliable prediction, patients whose weaning would have been tedious in the 1970s are now weaned more rapidly. The weaning story offers several lessons in metascience: importance of creativity, the asking of heretical questions, serendipity, mental-set psychology, cross-fertilization, and the hazards of precocity. Weaning research also illustrates how Kuhnian normal (metoo) science dominates any field. Making the next quantum leap in weaning will depend on spending less time on normal science and more on the raising (and testing) of maverick ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter analyses the concept of digital atlas, analysing different definitions found in the literature. Additionally, the characteristics and different classifications of digital atlases are analysed. The lingering question about the difference between GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and digital atlases was also addressed in the chapter. It is believed that a better understanding of what a digital atlas can be will facilitate the development of future digital atlas projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leaves of the lotus plant are immaculately clean after every rainfall because dirt and microorganisms are unable to obtain a hold on the microstructured, non-wettable surfaces of the leaves. Dirt particles, algae, and fungal spores do not become fi rmly attached to the leaves, merely lying loosely on the surfaces. Rain simply washes the particles away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though computing environments are developed very rapidly, people use paper documents as ever. In this paper, we propose the Advanced Paper Document (APD), which expands the function of paper documents, based on the Augmented Desk system. To incorporate physical paper documents with digital documents in a projection display system without being required to use additional sensors, we use a gesture recognition method. The APD has advantages of paper and digital documents, and provides a user with a natural and intuitive environment. As shown by experimental results, the proposed the APD is applicable to provide an interactive computing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This talk will consider rigorous mathematics and the nature of proof. It begins with an historical perspective and follows the development of formal mathematics. The talk will conclude with examples demonstrating that understanding the relationship between formal mathematics and rigorous proof can assist with both the discovery and the quality of real proofs of real results. Keywords: rigor, formal mathematics, nature of proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For AOP (Agent Oriented Programming) to become a mature discipline, lessons must be learned from practical language implementations. We present AF-APL (AgentFactory - Agent Programming Language) as an Agent Oriented Programming Language that has matured with continued revisions and implementations, resulting in a language - which, although based on the more theoretical aspects of AO design - has incorporated many of the practical considerations of programming real world agents. We describe AF-APL informally, focusing on its experience driven features, such as commitment reasoning, a rich plan operator set, and an inherent asynchronous design. We present the default execution cycle for the AF-APL interpreter, looking in detail at the Commitment Management model. This model provides an agent with power to reason about its own actions, while maintaining basic constraints on computational tractability. In our development of the language, we learned many lessons that are not covered in the purer AO language definitions. Before concluding, we discuss a number of these lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite significant advances in the development of model checking, it remains a difficult task in the hands of experts to make it scale to the size of industrial systems. A key step in achieving scalability is to "divide-and-conquer", that is, to break up the veri.cation of a system into smaller tasks that involve the verification of its components. Assume-guarantee reasoning [9, 11] is a widespread "divide-and-conquer" approach that uses assumptions when checking individual components of a system. Assumptions essentially encode expectations that each component has from the rest the system in order to operate correctly. Coming up with the right assumptions is typically a non-trivial manual process, which limits the applicability of this type of reasoning in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors introduce a graphical notation for representing general dynamical systems and demonstrate its use in three commonly occurring systems in the biosciences. They also indicate how the notation is used to facilitate the acquisition and transfer by students of skills in constructing equations from a verbal description of a system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]