583 research outputs found

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    Current and Future Challenges in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning

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    Knowledge Representation and Reasoning is a central, longstanding, and active area of Artificial Intelligence. Over the years it has evolved significantly; more recently it has been challenged and complemented by research in areas such as machine learning and reasoning under uncertainty. In July 2022 a Dagstuhl Perspectives workshop was held on Knowledge Representation and Reasoning. The goal of the workshop was to describe the state of the art in the field, including its relation with other areas, its shortcomings and strengths, together with recommendations for future progress. We developed this manifesto based on the presentations, panels, working groups, and discussions that took place at the Dagstuhl Workshop. It is a declaration of our views on Knowledge Representation: its origins, goals, milestones, and current foci; its relation to other disciplines, especially to Artificial Intelligence; and on its challenges, along with key priorities for the next decade

    The Public Performance Of Sanctions In Insolvency Cases: The Dark, Humiliating, And Ridiculous Side Of The Law Of Debt In The Italian Experience. A Historical Overview Of Shaming Practices

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    This study provides a diachronic comparative overview of how the law of debt has been applied by certain institutions in Italy. Specifically, it offers historical and comparative insights into the public performance of sanctions for insolvency through shaming and customary practices in Roman Imperial Law, in the Middle Ages, and in later periods. The first part of the essay focuses on the Roman bonorum cessio culo nudo super lapidem and on the medieval customary institution called pietra della vergogna (stone of shame), which originates from the Roman model. The second part of the essay analyzes the social function of the zecca and the pittima Veneziana during the Republic of Venice, and of the practice of lu soldate a castighe (no translation is possible). The author uses a functionalist approach to apply some arguments and concepts from the current context to this historical analysis of ancient institutions that we would now consider ridiculous. The article shows that the customary norms that play a crucial regulatory role in online interactions today can also be applied to the public square in the past. One of these tools is shaming. As is the case in contemporary online settings, in the public square in historic periods, shaming practices were used to enforce the rules of civility in a given community. Such practices can be seen as virtuous when they are intended for use as a tool to pursue positive change in forces entrenched in the culture, and thus to address social wrongs considered outside the reach of the law, or to address human rights abuses

    Electron Thermal Runaway in Atmospheric Electrified Gases: a microscopic approach

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    Thesis elaborated from 2018 to 2023 at the Instituto de AstrofĂ­sica de AndalucĂ­a under the supervision of Alejandro Luque (Granada, Spain) and Nikolai Lehtinen (Bergen, Norway). This thesis presents a new database of atmospheric electron-molecule collision cross sections which was published separately under the DOI : With this new database and a new super-electron management algorithm which significantly enhances high-energy electron statistics at previously unresolved ratios, the thesis explores general facets of the electron thermal runaway process relevant to atmospheric discharges under various conditions of the temperature and gas composition as can be encountered in the wake and formation of discharge channels

    Belief Revision in Expressive Knowledge Representation Formalisms

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    We live in an era of data and information, where an immeasurable amount of discoveries, findings, events, news, and transactions are generated every second. Governments, companies, or individuals have to employ and process all that data for knowledge-based decision-making (i.e. a decision-making process that uses predetermined criteria to measure and ensure the optimal outcome for a specific topic), which then prompt them to view the knowledge as valuable resource. In this knowledge-based view, the capability to create and utilize knowledge is the key source of an organization or individual’s competitive advantage. This dynamic nature of knowledge leads us to the study of belief revision (or belief change), an area which emerged from work in philosophy and then impacted further developments in computer science and artificial intelligence. In belief revision area, the AGM postulates by Alchourrón, Gärdenfors, and Makinson continue to represent a cornerstone in research related to belief change. Katsuno and Mendelzon (K&M) adopted the AGM postulates for changing belief bases and characterized AGM belief base revision in propositional logic over finite signatures. In this thesis, two research directions are considered. In the first, by considering the semantic point of view, we generalize K&M’s approach to the setting of (multiple) base revision in arbitrary Tarskian logics, covering all logics with a classical model-theoretic semantics and hence a wide variety of logics used in knowledge representation and beyond. Our generic formulation applies to various notions of “base”, such as belief sets, arbitrary or finite sets of sentences, or single sentences. The core result is a representation theorem showing a two-way correspondence between AGM base revision operators and certain “assignments”: functions mapping belief bases to total — yet not transitive — “preference” relations between interpretations. Alongside, we present a companion result for the case when the AGM postulate of syntax-independence is abandoned. We also provide a characterization of all logics for which our result can be strengthened to assignments producing transitive preference relations (as in K&M’s original work), giving rise to two more representation theorems for such logics, according to syntax dependence vs. independence. The second research direction in this thesis explores two approaches for revising description logic knowledge bases under fixed-domain semantics, namely model-based approach and individual-based approach. In this logical setting, models of the knowledge bases can be enumerated and can be computed to produce the revision result, semantically. We show a characterization of the AGM revision operator for this logic and present a concrete model-based revision approach via distance between interpretations. In addition, by weakening the KB based on certain domain elements, a novel individual-based revision operator is provided as an alternative approach

    Statistical Arbitrage Trading on Electricity Markets Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

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    On-premise containerized, light-weight software solutions for Biomedicine

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    Bioinformatics software systems are critical tools for analysing large-scale biological data, but their design and implementation can be challenging due to the need for reliability, scalability, and performance. This thesis investigates the impact of several software approaches on the design and implementation of bioinformatics software systems. These approaches include software patterns, microservices, distributed computing, containerisation and container orchestration. The research focuses on understanding how these techniques affect bioinformatics software systems’ reliability, scalability, performance, and efficiency. Furthermore, this research highlights the challenges and considerations involved in their implementation. This study also examines potential solutions for implementing container orchestration in bioinformatics research teams with limited resources and the challenges of using container orchestration. Additionally, the thesis considers microservices and distributed computing and how these can be optimised in the design and implementation process to enhance the productivity and performance of bioinformatics software systems. The research was conducted using a combination of software development, experimentation, and evaluation. The results show that implementing software patterns can significantly improve the code accessibility and structure of bioinformatics software systems. Specifically, microservices and containerisation also enhanced system reliability, scalability, and performance. Additionally, the study indicates that adopting advanced software engineering practices, such as model-driven design and container orchestration, can facilitate efficient and productive deployment and management of bioinformatics software systems, even for researchers with limited resources. Overall, we develop a software system integrating all our findings. Our proposed system demonstrated the ability to address challenges in bioinformatics. The thesis makes several key contributions in addressing the research questions surrounding the design, implementation, and optimisation of bioinformatics software systems using software patterns, microservices, containerisation, and advanced software engineering principles and practices. Our findings suggest that incorporating these technologies can significantly improve bioinformatics software systems’ reliability, scalability, performance, efficiency, and productivity.Bioinformatische Software-Systeme stellen bedeutende Werkzeuge für die Analyse umfangreicher biologischer Daten dar. Ihre Entwicklung und Implementierung kann jedoch aufgrund der erforderlichen Zuverlässigkeit, Skalierbarkeit und Leistungsfähigkeit eine Herausforderung darstellen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Auswirkungen von Software-Mustern, Microservices, verteilten Systemen, Containerisierung und Container-Orchestrierung auf die Architektur und Implementierung von bioinformatischen Software-Systemen zu untersuchen. Die Forschung konzentriert sich darauf, zu verstehen, wie sich diese Techniken auf die Zuverlässigkeit, Skalierbarkeit, Leistungsfähigkeit und Effizienz von bioinformatischen Software-Systemen auswirken und welche Herausforderungen mit ihrer Konzeptualisierungen und Implementierung verbunden sind. Diese Arbeit untersucht auch potenzielle Lösungen zur Implementierung von Container-Orchestrierung in bioinformatischen Forschungsteams mit begrenzten Ressourcen und die Einschränkungen bei deren Verwendung in diesem Kontext. Des Weiteren werden die Schlüsselfaktoren, die den Erfolg von bioinformatischen Software-Systemen mit Containerisierung, Microservices und verteiltem Computing beeinflussen, untersucht und wie diese im Design- und Implementierungsprozess optimiert werden können, um die Produktivität und Leistung bioinformatischer Software-Systeme zu steigern. Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde mittels einer Kombination aus Software-Entwicklung, Experimenten und Evaluation durchgeführt. Die erzielten Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Implementierung von Software-Mustern, die Zuverlässigkeit und Skalierbarkeit von bioinformatischen Software-Systemen erheblich verbessern kann. Der Einsatz von Microservices und Containerisierung trug ebenfalls zur Steigerung der Zuverlässigkeit, Skalierbarkeit und Leistungsfähigkeit des Systems bei. Darüber hinaus legt die Arbeit dar, dass die Anwendung von SoftwareEngineering-Praktiken, wie modellgesteuertem Design und Container-Orchestrierung, die effiziente und produktive Bereitstellung und Verwaltung von bioinformatischen Software-Systemen erleichtern kann. Zudem löst die Implementierung dieses SoftwareSystems, Herausforderungen für Forschungsgruppen mit begrenzten Ressourcen. Insgesamt hat das System gezeigt, dass es in der Lage ist, Herausforderungen im Bereich der Bioinformatik zu bewältigen und stellt somit ein wertvolles Werkzeug für Forscher in diesem Bereich dar. Die vorliegende Arbeit leistet mehrere wichtige Beiträge zur Beantwortung von Forschungsfragen im Zusammenhang mit dem Entwurf, der Implementierung und der Optimierung von Software-Systemen für die Bioinformatik unter Verwendung von Prinzipien und Praktiken der Softwaretechnik. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Einbindung dieser Technologien die Zuverlässigkeit, Skalierbarkeit, Leistungsfähigkeit, Effizienz und Produktivität bioinformatischer Software-Systeme erheblich verbessern kann

    Application of metabolomic profiling and fingerprinting approaches to food fraud cases

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    [eng] Food fraud is an intentional and misleading act in food that generally does not comply with food law and is motivated by economic gain. It encompasses several fraudulent practices such as deception during manufacture, diversion into illicit supply chains, interventions with the food product, or misrepresentation. In this context, the coming to light of the horse meat scandal at the beginning of 2013 highlighted the shortcomings of the European system against food fraud, increasing concern and interest among European citizens and administrative bodies. Under these circumstances, in recent years, omics tools —comprising genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and elementomics/isotopollomics— have been applied to solve food fraud issues, along with biostatistics and chemometrics. In most cases, their application has relied on profiling (focusing on determining targeted secondary chemical markers) or fingerprinting approaches (based on the unspecific detection of instrumental responses without assuming any previous knowledge about the sample composition), overcoming the traditional targeted analysis. In particular, since a food product’s metabolome varies according to its biological nature and several external conditions (i.e., either from a natural or anthropogenic origin), metabolomics has shown excellent potential to assess several issues related to its authenticity and quality. Therefore, in this thesis, several metabolomic profiling and fingerprinting approaches were developed to address different food fraud cases. In this line, liquid chromatography coupled to low- or high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–LRMS, LC–HRMS) was proposed for the targeted approaches. In contrast, non-targeted methods were based on liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (LC-UV) or fluorescence detection (LC-FLD), LC–HRMS, or direct mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques. Furthermore, non-supervised and supervised chemometric techniques allowed sample assignation and classification. As a result, the proposed analytical methodologies were successfully applied to several food products —including paprika, nuts and seeds, hen eggs, vegetable oils, and red wine— guaranteeing their classification and authentication regarding the geographical origin, botanical origin, production system, or quality category.[cat] El frau alimentari és un acte intencionat i enganyós produït en els aliments que, generalment, no compleix amb la legislació alimentària i que està motivat per un benefici econòmic. La sortida a la llum de l’escàndol de la carn de cavall a principis del 2013 va posar de manifest les mancances del sistema europeu contra el frau alimentari, augmentant la preocupació i l’interès entre els ciutadans i els organismes administratius europeus. En aquestes circumstàncies, en els darrers anys, s’han aplicat eines òmiques —que inclouen la genòmica, la transcriptòmica, la proteòmica, la metabolòmica i l’elementòmica/isotopol·lòmica— per resoldre qüestions relacionades amb el frau alimentari, juntament amb bioestadística i quimiometria. En la majoria dels casos, la seva aplicació s’ha efectuat mitjançant estratègies basades en perfils (centrant-se en la determinació dirigida de marcadors químics secundaris) o empremtes dactilars (basades en la detecció inespecífica de respostes instrumental sense assumir cap coneixement previ sobre la composició de la mostra), superant l’anàlisi dirigida tradicional. En concret, com que el metaboloma d’un producte alimentari varia segons la seva naturalesa biològica i un seguit de condicions externes (siguin d’origen natural o antropogènic), la metabolòmica ha demostrat un excel·lent potencial per avaluar diverses qüestions relacionades amb la seva autenticitat i qualitat. En aquesta tesi, es van desenvolupar diverses estratègies de perfils i empremtes dactilars metabolòmiques per abordar alguns casos de frau alimentari. Així, es va proposar la cromatografia líquida acoblada a l’espectrometria de masses de baixa o alta resolució (LC–LRMS, LC–HRMS) per als enfocaments dirigits. En canvi, els mètodes no dirigits es van basar en la cromatografia líquida amb detecció ultraviolada (LC-UV) o fluorescent (LC-FLD), LC–HRMS o tècniques basades en l’espectrometria de masses (MS) directa. A més, tècniques quimiomètriques no supervisades i supervisades van permetre l’assignació i classificació de les mostres. Com a resultat, les metodologies analítiques proposades es van aplicar amb èxit a diferents productes alimentaris —incloent el pebre vermell, fruits secs i llavors, ous de gallina, olis vegetals i vi negre— garantint-ne la classificació i autenticació pel que fa a l’origen geogràfic, l’origen botànic, el sistema de producció o la categoria de qualitat

    Statistical Arbitrage Trading on Electricity Markets Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

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