With the increased complexity of ontologies, building and using large-scale ontologies require cooperative and scalable mechanisms. In this paper, we propose a modular ontology approach for such challenge. A large ontology has multiple smaller modules called packages, which are sets of highly related terms and term relations; packages can be nested in other packages, forming a package hierarchy...

In the interactive algorithms for multicriteria optimization the decision maker (DM) may express his/her preferences among the separate Pareto optimal solutions with the help of the values of the scalarizing problem parameters. The DM must choose the final (most preferred) solution and be responsible for this selection. The interactive methods are the best developed and wide spread methods. Thi...

In a recent issue of Critical Care, 0.5 M sodium lactate infusion for 24 hours was reported to increase cardiac output in patients with acute heart failure. This effect was associated with a concomitant metabolic alkalosis and a negative water balance. Growing data strongly support the role of lactate as a preferential oxidizable substrate to supply energy metabolism leading to improved organ f...

Procedure related factors define the success of root canal procedures in majority of the cases. While there are several guidelines available, the compliance rate is substantially low. This study evaluates the attitudes, materials and methods preferred in root canal therapy by dentists in Palestine. An online self-administered questionnaire was sent to 200 Palestinian dentists. The questionnaire...

A knee point is almost always a preferred trade-off solution, if it exists in a bicriteria optimization problem. In this paper, we make an attempt to better understand knee points and investigate the properties of bicriteria problems that may exhibit a knee on its Pareto-optimal front. Specifically, we review past studies and suggest a couple of new definitions of a knee point. One of the defin...

To understand water-protein interactions in solution, the electrostatic field is calculated by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, and the free energy surface of water is mapped by translating and rotating an explicit water molecule around the protein. The calculation is applied to T4 lysozyme with data available on the conservation of solvent binding sites in 18 crystallographically indepe...

We show that atmospheres having a nonnegligible radiative support undergo a second order phase transition above a critical radiative ux. This ux is less than but of order of the ux that corresponds to the Eddington luminosity limit. The trivial exponentially decaying solution, namely, the horizontally uniform solution, is energetically preferred for uxes below the critical one. However, the pre...