Using Event Calculus to Formalise Policy Specification and Analysis

As the interest in using policy-based approaches for systems management grows, it is becoming increasingly important to develop methods for performing analysis and refinement of policy specifications. Although this is an area that researchers have devoted some attention to, none of the proposed solutions address the issues of analysing specifications that combine authorisation and management policies; analysing policy specifications that contain constraints on the applicability of the policies; and performing a priori analysis of the specification that will both detect the presence of inconsistencies and explain the situations in which the conflict will occur. We present a method for transforming both policy and system behaviour specifications into a formal notation that is based on event calculus. Additionally it describes how this formalism can be used in conjunction with abductive reasoning techniques to perform a priori analysis of policy specifications for the various conflict types identified in the literature. Finally, it presents some initial thoughts on how this notation and analysis technique could be used to perform policy refinement

Scalar radiation from Chameleon-shielded regions

I study the profile of the Chameleon field around a radially pulsating mass. Focusing on the case in which the background (static) Chameleon profile exhibits a thin-shell, I add small perturbations to the source in the form of time-dependent radial pulsations. It is found that the Chameleon field inherits a time-dependence, there is a resultant scalar radiation from the region of the source and the metric outside the spherically symmetric mass is not static. This has several interesting and potentially testable consequences.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, slightly edited version matching the journal versio

Domains of analyticity of Lindstedt expansions of KAM tori in dissipative perturbations of Hamiltonian systems

Many problems in Physics are described by dynamical systems that are conformally symplectic (e.g., mechanical systems with a friction proportional to the velocity, variational problems with a small discount or thermostated systems). Conformally symplectic systems are characterized by the property that they transform a symplectic form into a multiple of itself. The limit of small dissipation, which is the object of the present study, is particularly interesting. We provide all details for maps, but we present also the modifications needed to obtain a direct proof for the case of differential equations. We consider a family of conformally symplectic maps $f_{\mu, \epsilon}$ defined on a $2d$-dimensional symplectic manifold $\mathcal M$ with exact symplectic form $\Omega$; we assume that $f_{\mu,\epsilon}$ satisfies $f_{\mu,\epsilon}^*\Omega=\lambda(\epsilon) \Omega$. We assume that the family depends on a $d$-dimensional parameter $\mu$ (called drift) and also on a small scalar parameter $\epsilon$. Furthermore, we assume that the conformal factor $\lambda$ depends on $\epsilon$, in such a way that for $\epsilon=0$ we have $\lambda(0)=1$ (the symplectic case). We study the domains of analyticity in $\epsilon$ near $\epsilon=0$ of perturbative expansions (Lindstedt series) of the parameterization of the quasi--periodic orbits of frequency $\omega$ (assumed to be Diophantine) and of the parameter $\mu$. Notice that this is a singular perturbation, since any friction (no matter how small) reduces the set of quasi-periodic solutions in the system. We prove that the Lindstedt series are analytic in a domain in the complex $\epsilon$ plane, which is obtained by taking from a ball centered at zero a sequence of smaller balls with center along smooth lines going through the origin. The radii of the excluded balls decrease faster than any power of the distance of the center to the origin

GKW representation theorem and linear BSDEs under restricted information. An application to risk-minimization

In this paper we provide Galtchouk-Kunita-Watanabe representation results in the case where there are restrictions on the available information. This allows to prove existence and uniqueness for linear backward stochastic differential equations driven by a general c\`adl\`ag martingale under partial information. Furthermore, we discuss an application to risk-minimization where we extend the results of F\"ollmer and Sondermann (1986) to the partial information framework and we show how our result fits in the approach of Schweizer (1994).Comment: 22 page

TREM1/3 deficiency impairs tissue repair after acute kidney injury and mitochondrial metabolic flexibility in tubular epithelial cells

Long-term sequelae of acute kidney injury (AKI) are associated with incomplete recovery of renal function and the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD), which can be mediated by aberrant innate immune activation, mitochondrial pathology, and accumulation of senescent tubular epithelial cells (TECs). Herein, we show that the innate immune receptor Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) links mitochondrial metabolism to tubular epithelial senescence. TREM-1 is expressed by inflammatory and epithelial cells, both players in renal repair after ischemia/reperfusion (IR)-induced AKI. Hence, we subjected WT and TREM1/3 KO mice to different models of renal IR. TREM1/3 KO mice displayed no major differences during the acute phase of injury, but increased mortality was observed in the recovery phase. This detrimental effect was associated with maladaptive repair, characterized by persistent tubular damage, inflammation, fibrosis, and TEC senescence. In vitro, we observed an altered mitochondrial homeostasis and cellular metabolism in TREM1/3 KO primary TECs. This was associated with G2/M arrest and increased ROS accumulation. Further exposure of cells to ROS-generating triggers drove the cells into a stress-induced senescent state, resulting in decreased wound healing capacity. Treatment with a mitochondria anti-oxidant partly prevented the senescent phenotype, suggesting a role for mitochondria herein. In summary, we have unraveled a novel (metabolic) mechanism by which TREM1/3 deficiency drives senescence in TECs. This involves redox imbalance, mitochondrial dysfunction and a decline in cellular metabolic activities. These finding suggest a novel role for TREM-1 in maintaining tubular homeostasis through regulation of mitochondrial metabolic flexibility

A Leafhopper Pest of Plants in the Mint Family, Eupteryx decemnotata Rey (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), Ligurian Leafhopper, New to North America

The Ligurian leafhoppter, Eupteryx decemnotata Rey (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), is reported for the first time in North America (USA: Florida and California). Diagnostic characters for species identification, summary of hosts and damage, and U.S. known distribution are given

How Do Maternal Subclinical Symptoms Influence Infant Motor Development during the First Year of Life?

An unavoidable reciprocal influence characterizes the mother-child dyad. Within this relationship, the presence of depression, somatization, hostility, paranoid ideation, and interpersonal sensitivity symptoms at a subclinical level and their possible input on infant motor competences has not been yet considered. Bearing in mind that motor abilities represent not only an indicator of the infant\u2019s health-status, but also the principal field to infer his/her needs, feelings and intentions, in this study the quality of infants\u2019 movements were assessed and analyzed in relationship with the maternal attitudes. The aim of this research was to investigate if/how maternal symptomatology may pilot infant\u2019s motor development during his/her first year of life by observing the characteristics of motor development in infants aged 0\u201311 months. Participants included 123 mothers and their infants (0\u201311 months-old). Mothers\u2019 symptomatology was screened with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), while infants were tested with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-Second Edition. All dyads belonged to a non-clinical population, however, on the basis of SCL-90-R scores, the mothers\u2019 sample was divided into two groups: normative and subclinical. Descriptive, t-test, correlational analysis between PDMS-2 scores and SCL-90-R results are reported, as well as regression models results. Both positive and negative correlations were found between maternal perceived symptomatology, Somatization (SOM), Interpersonal Sensitivity (IS), Depression (DEP), Hostility (HOS), and Paranoid Ideation (PAR) and infants\u2019 motor abilities. These results were further verified by applying regression models to predict the infant\u2019s motor outcomes on the basis of babies\u2019 age and maternal status. The presence of positive symptoms in the SCL-90-R questionnaire (subclinical group) predicted good visual-motor integration and stationary competences in the babies. In particular, depressive and hostility feelings in mothers seemed to induce an infant motor behavior characterized by a major control of the environmental space. When mothers perceived a higher level of hostility and somatization, their babies showed difficulties in sharing action space, such as required in the development of stationary positions and grasping abilities. In a completely different way, when infants can rely on a mother with low-perceived symptoms (normative group) his/her motor performances develop with a higher degree of freedom/independence. These findings suggest, for the first time, that even in a non- clinical sample, mother\u2019s perceived-symptoms can produce important consequences not in infant motor development as a whole, but in some specific areas, contributing to shape the infant\u2019s motor ability and his/her capability to act in the world

LUNA: Nuclear Astrophysics Deep Underground

Nuclear astrophysics strives for a comprehensive picture of the nuclear reactions responsible for synthesizing the chemical elements and for powering the stellar evolution engine. Deep underground in the Gran Sasso laboratory the cross sections of the key reactions of the proton-proton chain and of the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle have been measured right down to the energies of astrophysical interest. The salient features of underground nuclear astrophysics are summarized here. The main results obtained by LUNA in the last twenty years are reviewed, and their influence on the comprehension of the properties of the neutrino, of the Sun and of the Universe itself are discussed. Future directions of underground nuclear astrophysics towards the study of helium and carbon burning and of stellar neutron sources in stars are pointed out.Comment: Invited review, submitted to Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Scienc