Foundations of Software Science and Computation Structures

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Foundations of Software Science and Computational Structures, FOSSACS 2020, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, in April 2020, and was held as Part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2020. The 31 regular papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 98 submissions. The papers cover topics such as categorical models and logics; language theory, automata, and games; modal, spatial, and temporal logics; type theory and proof theory; concurrency theory and process calculi; rewriting theory; semantics of programming languages; program analysis, correctness, transformation, and verification; logics of programming; software specification and refinement; models of concurrent, reactive, stochastic, distributed, hybrid, and mobile systems; emerging models of computation; logical aspects of computational complexity; models of software security; and logical foundations of data bases.

Foundations of Software Science and Computation Structures

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Foundations of Software Science and Computational Structures, FOSSACS 2020, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, in April 2020, and was held as Part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2020. The 31 regular papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 98 submissions. The papers cover topics such as categorical models and logics; language theory, automata, and games; modal, spatial, and temporal logics; type theory and proof theory; concurrency theory and process calculi; rewriting theory; semantics of programming languages; program analysis, correctness, transformation, and verification; logics of programming; software specification and refinement; models of concurrent, reactive, stochastic, distributed, hybrid, and mobile systems; emerging models of computation; logical aspects of computational complexity; models of software security; and logical foundations of data bases.

Is the digital forensic tool user interface broken?

The NPCC (2020, p.5) states that: Digital forensic (DF) science - examining digital evidence to support investigations and prosecutions - was once niche but is now very much mainstream. Over 90% of all crime is recognised as having a digital element, and society's accelerating use of technology means the critical role DF science plays will only grow. They identify three core challenges: 1. the sheer volume of data and devices leading to backlogs and delays in investigations; 2. the complexity of digital examinations including the variety of devices available, use of encryption, the number of data formats used, and the increasing use of cloud storage; and  3. the need to maintain the legitimacy of the police in the digital landscape given 1 and 2 and law enforcement's need to work in new ways to deal with these issues. (ibid.) Given the volume of data and complexity of the examinations this research interviewed 12 DF practitioners in an attempt to understand how the user interface of DF tools may exacerbate these issues, and what their suggestions may be to mitigate these. This work explores the responses, provides an initial analysis, and provides suggestions for how these findings may feed into the next generation of DF tools

Caracterització de sistemes HILIC: sílice sense derivatitzar com a fase estacionària

Treballs Finals de Grau de Química, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2020, Tutors: Martí Rosés Pascual, Xavier Subirats VilaHydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) is a type of chromatography especially used for the analysis of polar substances, using mobile phases with a high content of organic solvent and polar stationary phases. Nowadays, its retention mechanism still under study due to its complexity. In this work, the Abraham’s model based on linear free energy relationships (LFER) has been used in order to characterize the study column (Kinetex® with silica support), obtaining information about the mobile phase volume inside the column and the retention mode under certain working conditions. As a way of characterizing this column, the behavior of different homologous series (n-alkyl benzenes, n-alkyl phenones and n-alkyl ketones) has been analyzed with different proportions of mobile phase (acetonitrile and water mixture). According to the mobile phase composition, significative variations on the retention mode and on the mobile phase volume inside the column can be observed. In fact, this study could be useful for the determination of possible hold-up volume markers, depending on the prevailing retention mod

Changes in Emergency Department Care Intensity from 2007-16: Analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Introduction: Emergency departments (ED) in the United States (US) have increasingly taken the central role for the expedited diagnosis and treatment of acute episodic illnesses and exacerbations of chronic diseases, allowing outpatient management to be possible for many conditions that traditionally required hospitalization and inpatient care. The goal of this analysis was to examine the changes in ED care intensity in this context through the changes in ED patient population and ED care provided.Methods: We analyzed the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 2007-2016. Incorporating survey design and weight, we calculated the changes in ED patient characteristics and ED care provided between 2007 and 2016. We also calculated changes in the proportion of visits with low-severity illnesses that may be safely managed at alternative settings. Lastly, we compared ED care received and final ED dispositions by calculating adjusted relative risk (aRR) comparing ED visits in 2007 to 2016, using survey weighted multivariable logistic regression.Results: NHAMCS included 35,490 visits in 2007 and 19,467 visits in 2016, representing 117 million and 146 million ED visits, respectively. Between 2007 and 2016, there was an increase in the proportion of ED patients aged 45-64 (21.0% to 23.6%) and 65-74 (5.9% to 7.5%), while visits with low-severity illnesses decreased from 37.3% to 30.4%. There was a substantial increase in the proportion of Medicaid patients (22.2% to 34.0%) with corresponding decline in the privately insured (36.2% to 28.3%) and the uninsured (15.4% to 8.6%) patients. After adjusting for patient and visit characteristics, there was an increase in the utilization of advanced imaging (aRR 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.41), blood tests (aRR 1.16; 95% CI, 1.10-1.22), urinalysis (aRR 1.22; 95% CI, 1.13-1.31), and visits where the patient received four or more medications (aRR 2.17; 95% CI, 1.88-2.46). Lastly, adjusted hospitalization rates declined (aRR 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64-0.84) while adjusted discharge rates increased (aRR 1.06; 95%CI 1.03-1.08). Conclusion: From 2007 to 2016, ED care intensity appears to have increased modestly, including aging of patient population, increased illness severity, and increased resources utilization. The role of increased care intensity in the decline of ED hospitalization rate requires further study

Systemic Design Method Guide for Policymaking: a Circular Europe on the Way

This volume aims at clarifying the role of Circular Economy according to a sustainable development and how policymakers can target it effectively in their activities. It is a guide to Systemic Design as a key methodology to establish sustainable regional action plans towards a Circular Economy. As the result of an intense dialogue between people who present different perspectives and seek for a common language in the current complexity of policymaking and designing, this is the first of a three book series published across a four-year period (2016–2020) as part of the RETRACE Project funded by the Interreg Europe Programme

Optimizing genetics online resources for diverse readers.

PurposeClear and accurate genetic information should be available to health-care consumers at an individualized level of comprehension. The objective of this study is to evaluate the complexity of common online resources and to simplify text content using automated text processing tools.MethodsWe extracted all text from Genetics Home Reference and MedlinePlus in bulk and analyzed content using natural language processing. We applied custom tools to improve the readability and compared readability before and after text optimization.ResultsCommonly used educational materials were more complex than the recommended reading level for the general public. Genetic health information entries from Genetics Home Reference (n = 1279) were written at a median 13.0 grade level. MedlinePlus entries, which are not exclusively genetic (n = 1030), had a median grade level of 7.7. When we optimized text for the 59 actionable conditions by prioritizing medical details using a standard structure, the average reading grade level improved.ConclusionFactors that increase complexity are long sentences and difficult words. Future strategies to reduce complexity include prioritizing relevant details and using more illustrations. Simplifying and providing standardized online health resources would benefit diverse consumers and promote inclusivity

ROV's Video Recordings as a Tool to Estimate Variation in Megabenthic Epifauna Diversity and Community Composition in the Guaymas Basin

Patterns in benthic megafauna diversity in littoral and intertidal zones in the Gulf of California have been associated with both habitat heterogeneity and substrate type. Current knowledge of invertebrate communities in hard bottom habitats at depths > 200 m in the Gulf is poor due to the methodological limitations inherent in sampling deep habitats. Using video imagery of benthic habitats coupled with environmental data from the Remotely Operated Vehicle Doc Ricketts, we documented variation in the diversity and community composition of the benthos from 849 to 990 m depth in the NW limit of the Guaymas Basin, in relation to dissolved oxygen and substrate characteristics. This depth range overlaps an oxygen minimum zone where oxygen drops to levels < 0.5 ml L-1 and strong gradients in a narrow depth range occur. Dissolved oxygen varied along our benthic survey from 0.200 to 0.135 ml L-1. We observed high taxonomic richness across an area of rocky outcrops through the lower transition zone. This megafaunal pattern differs from reports from other oxygen minimum zones characterized by a great abundance of a few species. Taxonomic richness diminished at depths with reduced dissolved oxygen in the lower boundary of the oxygen minimum zone with increasing soft sediment cover. We found that rocky outcrops and structure-forming organisms such as corals, sponges, and oyster aggregations supported a higher diversity (H' = 0.8) than soft sediment (H' = 0.7) as have been observed in other habitats such as seamounts. Environmental variables that explained most of the megafaunal variation were substrate type (18.4%), depth (1.14%) and temperature (0.9%). Salinity (0.45%) and dissolved oxygen (0.3%) were less important factors to explain the megafaunal composition variance. Substrate type played a key role in the diversity and composition of benthic megafauna. These results broaden our understanding concerning the potential roles of substrate characteristics in the community composition of the deep-sea benthic megafaunal assemblages in the Gulf of California and oxygen minimum zones in general