Horn Clause Computation with DNA Molecules

In this paper, we will propose Horn clause computation as an underlying computational framework of DNA computer. Horn clause program is a subclass of the formulas of first order logic and has close relation to PROLOG language. The computational power of Horn clauses was discussed in (Tärnland, 1977) and it was shown that a finite set of Horn clauses is computationally equivalent to Turing Machine. Furthermore, it should be noted that Horn programs are adequate for representing nondeterministic computation. Thus, its parallel implementation with huge number of molecules might have possibility to overcome the computational power of conventional computers. It should also be noted that the clear logical semantics of Horn programs might enable us to accept it as a higher-level programming language of DNA computer. The aim of this paper is to propose an experimental method for implementing deduction with a subclass of Horn programs, called simple Horn programs. The computational power of this model is theoretically investigated and demonstrated with some applications to NP-complete problems.     

Determinants of residential Firewise behaviors in Central Oregon

As a result of climate change and past management practices, wildfires are becoming larger and occurring more frequently than ever before in the Western U.S. In order to mitigate the effects of this growing threat, fire management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service have encouraged residents in at-risk communities to protect their homes, property and communities by adopting Firewise recommendations. Using annual random sample household surveys conducted in fire-prone central Oregon from 2011 to 2013, this study examines the impact of wildfire events (i.e., wildfire exposure and evacuation), risk perception, wildfire plan informedness, proximity to wildlands, and various demographic factors on resident Firewise behavior participation. Findings indicate that residents who have experienced a wildfire event, who are familiar with their county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, who perceive wildfire risk to their community, and who live in proximity or within a wildland area, were significantly more likely to engage in Firewise behaviors than those residents without these experiences, orientations or household locations.     

Teamarbeit und Freiwilliges Arbeitsengagement

In this contribution organizational spontaneity and pro-social organizational behaviour are put into correlation with team work. Müller and Bierhoff (1994) have devised a model which starts out from a one-dimensional influence of the work group — obvious by a positive mood at work — on organizational spontaneity. This model is supplemented by a reciprocal model which also postulates a re-correlation between organizational spontaneity and team work with its components of effectiveness, cohesion, diversity and trust.     

Berufliche Werte, Formen der Kooperation und Arbeitszufriedenheit

Presented are the concepts of organizational collaboration, values and work satisfaction. Operationalization of three dimensions of company collaboration, occupational values, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and work satisfaction is examined on the basis of an empirical study with employees. This study showed that there was a positive correlation between the value factors and the organizational citizenship behavior, with the values ?cooperativeness“ and ?environment“ correlating positively with the OCD factors ?initiative“ and ?helpfulness“ and with the work satisfaction. Whereas the values ?leadership“ and ?progress“ correlate only with ?initiative“. For the collaboration only the factor ?empathy“ is value-based.     

Methods for estimating the number of the Cryptomeria red mite, especially with the removal by solutions

Summary We compared the removal by solution, the represented count-area method and the beating, for the purpose of estimating the number of the Cryptomeria red mite. Among them the solution procedure provided the smallest standard error as per cent of the mean. 0.25 per cent unheated solution of sodium hydroxide is used for the summer generation, and also 0.25 per cent boiling one for the winter eggs. The mean proportion removed±standard error for the summer eggs and the winter eggs were 0.8770±0.0316 and 0.7920±0.0281 respectively, while 0.9894±0.0050 for the mites.     

Risk Assessment of the Carbon Nanotube Group

This study assessed the health risks via inhalation and derived the occupational exposure limit (OEL) for the carbon nanotube (CNT) group rather than individual CNT material. We devised two methods: the integration of the intratracheal instillation (IT) data with the inhalation (IH) data, and the “biaxial approach.” A four‐week IH test and IT test were performed in rats exposed to representative materials to obtain the no observed adverse effect level, based on which the OEL was derived. We used the biaxial approach to conduct a relative toxicity assessment of six types of CNTs. An OEL of 0.03 mg/m³ was selected as the criterion for the CNT group. We proposed that the OEL be limited to 15 years. We adopted adaptive management, in which the values are reviewed whenever new data are obtained. The toxicity level was found to be correlated with the Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET)‐specific surface area (BET‐SSA) of CNT, suggesting the BET‐SSA to have potential for use in toxicity estimation. We used the published exposure data and measurement results of dustiness tests to compute the risk in relation to particle size at the workplace and showed that controlling micron‐sized respirable particles was of utmost importance. Our genotoxicity studies indicated that CNT did not directly interact with genetic materials. They supported the concept that, even if CNT is genotoxic, it is secondary genotoxicity mediated via a pathway of genotoxic damage resulting from oxidative DNA attack by free radicals generated during CNT‐elicited inflammation. Secondary genotoxicity appears to involve a threshold.     

Lifestyle enterprising: the ‘ambiguity work’ of Swedish horse-farmers

This article introduces the concept of ambiguity work as a specific form of work–life balancing performed when making a livelihood based on leisure interests and a personal lifestyle. The study focuses on female self-employed horse-farmers in Sweden involved in service work with and through horses. Through an analysis of narratives and practices of this service work, based on ethnographic interviews and observations, boundary negotiations of various social spheres are discernible: work and life, and the commercial and the personal. The analysis shows that the horse-farmers perform a delicate and ongoing balancing act between family interests, individual leisure and paid work. Drawing on the notion of sociological ambivalence, it is suggested that this balancing act does not strive for demarcations, but rather to stay betwixt and between social spheres. It is argued that lifestyle enterprising is enacted and confirmed through ongoing boundary negotiations, or ambiguity work, that sustain a tension between keeping and blurring social boundaries. It is further argued that ambiguity work in this type of lifestyle enterprising both reinforces and questions ideals and norms concerning small business management and professional versus nonprofessional relationships.     

Gender and multiple forms of peer victimization: how do they influence adolescent psychosocial adjustment?

This study explores the relationship among multiple forms of peer victimization (e.g., direct physical/verbal, relational, and sexual harassment) and psychosocial adjustment among urban students and uses cluster analysis to identify subgroups of victims. Students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade completed self-report surveys about their psychosocial adjustment, peer victimization experiences, and the gender of the other person involved. Results reveal that both physical/verbal victimization and sexual harassment were related to internalizing behavior, and sexual harassment was related to externalizing behavior. Cluster analysis revealed preliminary subgroups of victims. In addition, being victimized by a boy was more strongly related to behavior problems for both boys and girls than the experience of being victimized by a girl. Results suggest that the gender of perpetrators and victims should be considered, and there is a need to include sexual harassment in the study of peer victimization when developmentally appropriate.     

Acquired immunity: immunosenescence and physical activity

Several lines of evidence indicate that infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disorders occur more frequently in elderly people, thus suggesting that altered function of immune organs and cells, such as thymus and T and B lymphocytes are of primary importance in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Furthermore, old subjects are less responsive to vaccine than younger because of immune changes. The most common changes accompanying the adaptive immune system include decrement of T and B cells proliferation, repertoire degeneracy, increase of the memory cell type, decreased numbers of naive cells, and shift from T helper₁ (Th1) to T helper₂ (Th2) response. Regular exercise in the elderly may improve the alterations in acquired immunity which follow the physiological process of aging, allowing a major resistance against external pathogens and a better quality of life.     

Offspring Migration and Parents' Emotional and Psychological Well‐being in Mexico

In Mexico, offspring migration disrupts familial norms of coresidence and geographic proximity. This article examines how an adult child's migration, both domestically and to the United States, affects the emotional and psychological well‐being of parents who remain in the place of origin. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (N = 4,718), the authors found limited evidence that parents whose offspring emigrated to the United States experience worse outcomes than parents of offspring who did not migrate. Although they found that offspring U.S. migration was not associated with changes in parents' overall depressive syndrome, a child's U.S. migration increased the likelihood of experiencing loneliness and led to a lower likelihood of recovery from parental sadness over time. Children's domestic migration did not affect parental well‐being. These findings add to a growing body of literature that should be considered when assessing the broader impact of migration on family members who remain behind.