Extending Ascribed Intensional Ontologies with Taxonomical Relations in Anthropological Descriptions of Multi-Agent Systems

The paper presents an approach to the description of ontologies used in Multi-Agent Systems as a means to allow interoperability of such systems. It is inspired by a pragmatic theory of intensionality worked out as part of an anthropological approach to agent migration. A new formalisation of how an intensional ontology can be ascribed to a society of agents is presented, together with a first formalisation of the recovery of taxonomical relations from such ontologies. This process of discovering taxonomies is inspired by ethnographic studies in social anthropology. The formalisations are developed using a framework for agent theories, based on the Z specification language. Further, the approach is illustrated by the ascription of an ontology and associated taxonomies for an exotic application: the game of cricket. Finally, several issues related to this approach are discussed.Interoperability of Multi-Agent Systems, Pragmatic Intensionality, Cultural Anthropology, Inference of Taxonomies

Self-Field Effects in Magneto-Thermal Instabilities for Nb-Sn Strands

Recent advancements in the critical current density (Jc) of Nb$_{3}$Sn conductors, coupled with a large effective filament size, have drawn attention to the problem of magnetothermal instabilities. At low magnetic fields, the quench current of such high Jc Nb$_{3}$Sn strands is significantly lower than their critical current because of the above-mentioned instabilities. An adiabatic model to calculate the minimum current at which a strand can quench due to magneto-thermal instabilities is developed. The model is based on an 'integral' approach already used elsewhere [1]. The main difference with respect to the previous model is the addition of the self-field effect that allows to describe premature quenches of non-magnetized Nb$_{3}$Sn strands and to better calculate the quench current of strongly magnetized strands. The model is in good agreement with experimental results at 4.2 K obtained at Fermilab using virgin Modified Jelly Roll (MJR) strands with a low Residual Resistivity Ratio (RRR) of the stabilizing copper. The prediction of the model at 1.9 K and the results of the tests carried out at CERN, at 4.2 K and 1.9 K, on a 0.8 mm Rod Re-Stack Process (RRP) strand with a low RRR value are discussed. At 1.9 K the test revealed an unexpected strand performance at low fields that might be a sign of a new stability regime

RV4JaCa - Runtime Verification for Multi-Agent Systems

This paper presents a Runtime Verification (RV) approach for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) using the JaCaMo framework. Our objective is to bring a layer of security to the MAS. This layer is capable of controlling events during the execution of the system without needing a specific implementation in the behaviour of each agent to recognise the events. MAS have been used in the context of hybrid intelligence. This use requires communication between software agents and human beings. In some cases, communication takes place via natural language dialogues. However, this kind of communication brings us to a concern related to controlling the flow of dialogue so that agents can prevent any change in the topic of discussion that could impair their reasoning. We demonstrate the implementation of a monitor that aims to control this dialogue flow in a MAS that communicates with the user through natural language to aid decision-making in hospital bed allocation

Iron causes lipid oxidation and inhibits proteasome function in multiple myeloma cells: A proof of concept for novel combination therapies

Adaptation to import iron for proliferation makes cancer cells potentially sensitive to iron toxicity. Iron loading impairs multiple myeloma (MM) cell proliferation and increases the efficacy of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. Here, we defined the mechanisms of iron toxicity in MM.1S, U266, H929, and OPM-2 MM cell lines, and validated this strategy in preclinical studies using Vk*MYC mice as MM model. High-dose ferric ammonium citrate triggered cell death in all cell lines tested, increasing malondialdehyde levels, the by-product of lipid peroxidation and index of ferroptosis. In addition, iron exposure caused dose-dependent accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins in highly iron-sensitive MM.1S and H929 cells, suggesting that proteasome workload contributes to iron sensitivity. Accordingly, high iron concentrations inhibited the proteasomal chymotrypsin-like activity of 26S particles and of MM cellular extracts in vitro. In all MM cells, bortezomib-iron combination induced persistent lipid damage, exacerbated bortezomib-induced polyubiquitinated proteins accumulation, and triggered cell death more efficiently than individual treatments. In Vk*MYC mice, addition of iron dextran or ferric carboxymaltose to the bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone (VMP) regimen increased the therapeutic response and prolonged remission without causing evident toxicity. We conclude that iron loading interferes both with redox and protein homeostasis, a property that can be exploited to design novel combination strategies including iron supplementation, to increase the efficacy of current MM therapies

Reasoning about the executability of goal-plan trees

User supplied domain control knowledge in the form of hierarchically structured agent plans is at the heart of a number of approaches to reasoning about action. This knowledge encodes the “standard operating procedures” of an agent for responding to environmental changes, thereby enabling fast and effective action selection. This paper develops mechanisms for reasoning about a set of hierarchical plans and goals, by deriving “summary information” from the conditions on the execution of the basic actions forming the “leaves” of the hierarchy. We provide definitions of necessary and contingent pre-, in-, and postconditions of goals and plans that are consistent with the conditions of the actions forming a plan. Our definitions extend previous work with an account of both deterministic and non-deterministic actions, and with support for specifying that actions and goals within a (single) plan can execute concurrently. Based on our new definitions, we also specify requirements that are useful in scheduling the execution of steps in a set of goal-plan trees. These requirements essentially define conditions that must be protected by any scheduler that interleaves the execution of steps from different goal-plan trees

Explaining Semantic Reasoning Using Argumentation

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are popular because they provide a paradigm that naturally meets the current demand to design and implement distributed intelligent systems. When developing a multi-agent application, it is common to use ontologies to provide the domain-specific knowledge and vocabulary necessary for agents to achieve the system goals. In this paper, we propose an approach in which agents can query semantic reasoners and use the received inferences to build explanations for such reasoning. Also, thanks to an internal representation of inference rules used to build explanations, in the form of argumentation schemes, agents are able to reason and make decisions based on the answers from the semantic reasoner. Furthermore, agents can communicate the built explanation to other agents and humans, using computational or natural language representations of arguments. Our approach paves the way towards multi-agent systems able to provide explanations from the reasoning carried out by semantic reasoners

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after elective hip, knee and shoulder arthroplasty: Protocol for a prospective cohort study

Background The number of hip, knee and shoulder arthroplasties continues to rise worldwide. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has launched an initiative (called PaRIS Initiative) for the systematic collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in patients undergoing elective hip and knee arthroplasty. The Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (IOR) was selected as a pilot center for the launch of the Initiative in Italy given that IOR hosts the Registry of Orthopedic Prosthetic Implants (RIPO), a region-wide registry which collects joint implant data from all the hospitals in the Emilia-Romagna Region. In this specific geographic area information related to PROMs after joint replacement is unknown. This paper describes the protocol of a study (PaRIS-IOR) that aims to implement the collection of a set of PROMs within an existing implant registry in Italy. The study will also investigate the temporal trend of PROMs in relation to the type of prosthesis and the type of surgical intervention. Methods The PaRIS-IOR study is a prospective, single site, cohort study that consists of the administration of PROMs questionnaires to patients on the list for elective arthroplasty. The questionnaires will be administered to the study population within 30 days before surgery, and then at 6 and 12 months following surgery. The study population will consist of consecutive adult patients undergoing either hip, knee or shoulder arthroplasty. The collected data will be linked with those routinely collected by the RIPO in order to assess the temporal trend of PROMs in relation to the type of prosthesis and the type of surgical intervention. Discussion The PaRIS-IOR study could have important implications in targeting the factors influencing functional outcomes and quality of life reported by patients after hip, knee and shoulder arthroplasty, and will also represent the first systematic collection of PROMs related to arthroplasty in Italy

Incorporating social practices in BDI agent systems

When agents interact with humans, either through embodied agents or because they are embedded in a robot, it would be easy if they could use fixed interaction protocols as they do with other agents. However, people do not keep fixed protocols in their day-to-day interactions and the environments are often dynamic, making it impossible to use fixed protocols. Deliberating about interactions from fundamentals is not very scalable either, because in that case all possible reactions of a user have to be considered in the plans. In this paper we argue that social practices can be used as an inspiration for designing flexible and scalable interaction mechanisms that are also robust. However, using social practices requires extending the traditional BDI deliberation cycle to monitor landmark states and perform expected actions by leveraging existing plans. We define and implement this mechanism in Jason using a periodically run meta-deliberation plan, supported by a metainterpreter, and illustrate its use in a realistic scenario.Comment: An extended abstract of this paper has been accepted for the Eighteenth International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 201

Impact of previous lumbar spine surgery on total hip arthroplasty and vice versa: How long should we be concerned about mechanical failure?

Introduction: This registry study aims to assess the prevalence and demographic characteristics of patients with lumbar spine (LS) surgical procedures who undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA), to compare the long-term survival and causes of failure of THA in patients who previously underwent LS fusion and non-fusion surgical procedures, and to evaluate the risk of undergoing a revision LS surgery after THA. Materials and methods: Patients who underwent LS surgery followed by THA were identified by cross-referencing data from the Orthopedic Prosthetic Implants Registry and the Regional Hospital Discharge Database. Three groups of THA patients were identified: patients who underwent previous lumbar surgery with fusion (LS fusion-THA), without fusion (LS non-fusion-THA), and a control group with only THA (No LS surgery–THA). Demographic data, THA survival, number and causes of failure, and data on revision procedures on THA and LS were collected. Results: Of the total of 79,984 THA, 2.2% of patients had a history of LS procedures. THA only patients showed better results, while patients in the LS fusion-THA group had worse implant survival at 5-year follow-up. In the LS fusion-THA and LS non-fusion-THA, mechanical THA failures were more frequent in the first two years after implantation. There were no differences between groups regarding the risk of undergoing LS revision surgery. Conclusions: LS surgery negatively affects THA survivorship. In patients who previously underwent LS fusion and non-fusion surgical procedures, most THA failure occurs in the first two years after implant. The study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the hip and the LS and provides useful guidance for clinical practice