Decidable Classes of Tree Automata Mixing Local and Global Constraints Modulo Flat Theories

We define a class of ranked tree automata TABG generalizing both the tree automata with local tests between brothers of Bogaert and Tison (1992) and with global equality and disequality constraints (TAGED) of Filiot et al. (2007). TABG can test for equality and disequality modulo a given flat equational theory between brother subterms and between subterms whose positions are defined by the states reached during a computation. In particular, TABG can check that all the subterms reaching a given state are distinct. This constraint is related to monadic key constraints for XML documents, meaning that every two distinct positions of a given type have different values. We prove decidability of the emptiness problem for TABG. This solves, in particular, the open question of the decidability of emptiness for TAGED. We further extend our result by allowing global arithmetic constraints for counting the number of occurrences of some state or the number of different equivalence classes of subterms (modulo a given flat equational theory) reaching some state during a computation. We also adapt the model to unranked ordered terms. As a consequence of our results for TABG, we prove the decidability of a fragment of the monadic second order logic on trees extended with predicates for equality and disequality between subtrees, and cardinality.Comment: 39 pages, to appear in LMCS journa

L'Agricultura social a Catalunya. Una doble alternativa: desenvolupament local i ocupació de col·lectius en risc d'exclusió social

A Catalunya, com en molts països de la Unió Europea, hi ha una crisi econòmica i social de les activitats agràries. En aquest context, des del territori han sorgit iniciatives alternatives que busquen aconseguir la sostenibilitat ambiental, social i econòmica de les seves explotacions, com són l'agricultura de proximitat i l'agricultura social (AS). L'AS és un fenomen emergent en el món rural i en el periurbà dels països europeus, però és una pràctica encara incipient a Catalunya. L'AS dóna funcionalitats i significats nous a la pràctica agrícola, més enllà de la funció productiva. En la situació socioeconòmica actual, l'AS sorgeix com una pràctica de baix a dalt (bottom-up) d'innovació social en tant que sorgeix de la societat civil amb la finalitat de crear llocs d'ocupació nous per a les persones en risc d'exclusió social i al mateix temps ajudar al desenvolupament rural. En aquesta aportació es pretén explicar breument les característiques i les possibilitats de l'AS, posant en relleu les formes d'organització col·lectiva com el cooperativisme. La diagnosi s'ha realitzat a partir de la construcció d'una base de dades i entrevistes a promotors i informadors clau. La metodologia qualitativa ha permès fer aquesta diagnosi emprant instruments d'anàlisi com el DAFO i el fluxgrama. L'aplicació d'aquesta metodologia posa en relleu, per una banda, el potencial i la contribució de l'AS en diversos àmbits (dotar de serveis sociosanitarisàrees rurals, desenvolupament local, agricultura ecològica, innovació social, alternatives econòmiques) i, per l'altra, les manques i necessitats del sector que en condicionen el desenvolupament. D'acord amb la influència d'aquests factors s'han dissenyat algunes estratègies per contribuir a la seva difusió i al seu impuls a Catalunya.In Catalonia, as in many countries of the European Union, there is an economic and social crisis in the agricultural field. Some initiatives have arisen in the territory, including local agriculture or social farming (SF), which seek to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability. SF is an emerging phenomenon in rural and periurban areas in the European countries but it is still a new practice in Catalonia. SF provides new functions and meanings to agricultural practice beyond the scope of production. In the current socio-economic situation, SF is a bottom-up practice of social innovation in civil society aimed to create new employment for people at risk of social exclusion, while helping rural development. This paper seeks to briefly explain the characteristics and potential of SF, highlighting forms of collective organization like cooperatives. The analysis was based on the building of a database and on interviews with key developers and informants. Qualitative methodology has provided a diagnosis using tools such as SWOT analysis and flowcharts. This methodology has highlighted, on the one hand, the potential and contribution of SF in various areas (provision of social services in rural areas, local development, organic farming, social innovation, and economic alternatives) and, on the other, the gaps and needs of the sector that influence its development. Based on the effect of these factors, some strategies have been designed to contribute to the dissemination and promotion of SF in Catalonia.En Cataluña, como en muchos países de la Unión Europea, hay una crisis económica y social de las actividades agrarias. Desde el territorio han surgido iniciativas diversas que buscan conseguir la sostenibilidad ambiental, social y económica de sus explotaciones, como son la agricultura de proximidad o la agricultura social (AS). La AS es un fenómeno emergente en el ámbito rural y en el periurbano de los países europeos, aunque es una práctica incipiente en Cataluña. La AS da nuevas funcionalidades y nuevos significados a la práctica agrícola, más allá de la propia función productiva. En la actual situación socioeconómica, la AS aparece como una práctica de abajo arriba (bottom-up) de innovación social desde la sociedad civil con el fin de crear nueva ocupación para las personas en riesgo de exclusión social y a la vez ayudar al desarrollo rural. En esta aportación se pretende explicar brevemente las características y las posibilidades de la AS, poniendo de relieve las formas de organización colectiva como el cooperativismo. El diagnóstico se ha realizado a partir de la construcción de una base de datos y entrevistas a promotores e informadores clave. La metodología cualitativa ha permitido hacer este diagnóstico empleando instrumentos de análisis como el DAFO y el flujograma. La aplicación de esta metodología pone de relieve, por un lado, el potencial y la contribución de la AS en diversos ámbitos (dotar de servicios sociosanitarios áreas rurales, desarrollo local, agricultura ecológica, innovación social, alternativas económicas) y, por el otro, las carencias y necesidades del sector que condicionan su desarrollo. De acuerdo con la influencia de estos factores se han diseñado algunas estrategias para contribuir a su difusión e impulso en Cataluña

Neural repetition suppression to vocal and non-vocal sounds

Adaptation to the sensory environment is essential in everyday life, to anticipate future events and quickly detect and respond to changes; and to distinguish vocal variations in congeners, for communication. The aim of the current study was to explore the effects of the nature (vocal/non-vocal) of the information to be encoded, on the establishment of auditory regularities. In electrophysiology, neural adaptation is measured by the ‘Repetition Positivity’ (RP), which refers to an increase in positive potential, with the increasing number of repetitions of a same stimulus. The RP results from the combined variation of several ERP components; the P1, the first positivity (∼100 ms) may reflect the onset of repetition effects. We recorded auditory evoked potentials during a roving paradigm in which trains of 4, 8 or 16 repetitions of the same stimulus were presented. Sequences of vocal and non-vocal complex stimuli were delivered, to study the influence of the type of stimulation on the characteristics of the brain responses. The P1 to each train length, and the RP responses were recorded between 90 and 200 ms, reflecting adaptation for both vocal and non-vocal stimuli. RP was not different between vocal and non-vocal sequences (in latency, amplitude and spatial organization) and was found to be similar to that found in previous studies using pure tones, suggesting that the repetition suppression phenomena is somehow independent of the nature of the stimulus. However, results showed faster stabilization of the P1 amplitude for non vocal stimuli than for vocal stimuli, which require more repetitions. This revealed different dynamics for the establishment of regularity encoding for non-vocal and vocal stimuli, indicating that the richness of vocal sounds may require further processing before full neural adaptation occurs

L'agricultura social a Catalunya : una doble alternativa : desenvolupament local i ocupació de col·lectius em risc d'exclusió social

A Catalunya, com en molts països de la Unió Europea, hi ha una crisi econòmica i social de les activitats agràries. En aquest context, des del territori han sorgit iniciatives alternatives que busquen aconseguir la sostenibilitat ambiental, social i econòmica de les seves explotacions, com són l'agricultura de proximitat i l'agricultura social (AS). L'AS és un fenomen emergent en el món rural i en el periurbà dels països europeus, però és una pràctica encara incipient a Catalunya. L'AS dóna funcionalitats i significats nous a la pràctica agrícola, més enllà de la funció productiva. En la situació socioeconòmica actual, l'AS sorgeix com una pràctica de baix a dalt (bottom-up) d'innovació social en tant que sorgeix de la societat civil amb la finalitat de crear llocs d'ocupació nous per a les persones en risc d'exclusió social i al mateix temps ajudar al desenvolupament rural. En aquesta aportació es pretén explicar breument les característiques i les possibilitats de l'AS, posant en relleu les formes d'organització col·lectiva com el cooperativisme. La diagnosi s'ha realitzat a partir de la construcció d'una base de dades i entrevistes a promotors i informadors clau. La metodologia qualitativa ha permès fer aquesta diagnosi emprant instruments d'anàlisi com el DAFO i el fluxgrama. L'aplicació d'aquesta metodologia posa en relleu, per una banda, el potencial i la contribució de l'AS en diversos àmbits (dotar de serveis sociosanitaris àrees rurals, desenvolupament local, agricultura ecològica, innovació social, alternatives econòmiques) i, per l'altra, les manques i necessitats del sector que en condicionen el desenvolupament. D'acord amb la influència d'aquests factors s'han dissenyat algunes estratègies per contribuir a la seva difusió i al seu impuls a CatalunyaEn Cataluña, como en muchos países de la Unión Europea, hay una crisis económica y social de las actividades agrarias. Desde el territorio han surgido iniciativas diversas que buscan conseguir la sostenibilidad ambiental, social y económica de sus explotaciones, como son la agricultura de proximidad o la agricultura social (AS). La AS es un fenómeno emergente en el ámbito rural y en el periurbano de los países europeos, aunque es una práctica incipiente en Cataluña. La AS da nuevas funcionalidades y nuevos significados a la práctica agrícola, más allá de la propia función productiva. En la actual situación socioeconómica, la AS aparece como una práctica de abajo arriba (bottom-up) de innovación social desde la sociedad civil con el fin de crear nueva ocupación para las personas en riesgo de exclusión social y a la vez ayudar al desarrollo rural. En esta aportación se pretende explicar brevemente las características y las posibilidades de la AS, poniendo de relieve las formas de organización colectiva como el cooperativismo. El diagnóstico se ha realizado a partir de la construcción de una base de datos y entrevistas a promotores e informadores clave. La metodología cualitativa ha permitido hacer este diagnóstico empleando instrumentos de análisis como el DAFO y el flujograma. La aplicación de esta metodología pone de relieve, por un lado, el potencial y la contribución de la AS en diversos ámbitos (dotar de servicios sociosanitarios áreas rurales, desarrollo local, agricultura ecológica, innovación social, alternativas económicas) y, por el otro, las carencias y necesidades del sector que condicionan su desarrollo. De acuerdo con la influencia de estos factores se han diseñado algunas estrategias para contribuir a su difusión e impulso en CataluñaIn Catalonia, as in many countries of the European Union, there is an economic and social crisis in the agricultural field. Some initiatives have arisen in the territory, including local agriculture or social farming (SF), which seek to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability. SF is an emerging phenomenon in rural and periurban areas in the European countries but it is still a new practice in Catalonia. SF provides new functions and meanings to agricultural practice beyond the scope of production. In the current socio-economic situation, SF is a bottom-up practice of social innovation in civil society aimed to create new employment for people at risk of social exclusion, while helping rural development. This paper seeks to briefly explain the characteristics and potential of SF, highlighting forms of collective organization like cooperatives. The analysis was based on the building of a database and on interviews with key developers and informants. Qualitative methodology has provided a diagnosis using tools such as SWOT analysis and flowcharts. This methodology has highlighted, on the one hand, the potential and contribution of SF in various areas (provision of social services in rural areas, local development, organic farming, social innovation, and economic alternatives) and, on the other, the gaps and needs of the sector that influence its development. Based on the effect of these factors, some strategies have been designed to contribute to the dissemination and promotion of SF in Cataloni

PLoS One

The assessment of residential exposure to agricultural pesticides is a major issue for public health, regulatory and management purposes. In recent years, research into this field has developed considerably. The purpose of this scoping review is to provide an overview of scientific literature characterizing residential exposure to agricultural pesticides and to identify potential gaps in this research area. This work was conducted according to the JBI and PRISMA guidelines. Three databases were consulted. At least two experts selected the eligible studies. Our scoping review enabled us to identify 151 articles published between 1988 and 2019 dealing with the assessment of residential exposure to agricultural pesticides. Of these, 98 (64.9%) were epidemiological studies investigating possible links between pesticide exposure and the onset of adverse health effects, principally cancers and reproductive outcomes. They predominantly used Geographic Information Systems and sometimes surveys or interviews to calculate surrogate exposure metrics, the most common being the amounts of pesticides applied or the surface area of crops around the dwelling. Twenty-six (17.2%) were observational measurement studies conducted to quantify levels of pesticide exposure and identify their possible determinants. These studies assessed exposure by measuring pesticides in biological and environmental matrices, mostly in urines and house dust. Finally, we found only eight publications (5.3%) that quantified the risk to human health due to residential exposure for management purposes, in which exposure was mainly determined using probabilistic models. Pesticide exposure appears to be largely correlated with the spatial organization of agriculture activities in a territory. The determinants and routes of exposure remain to be explored to improve the conduct of epidemiological and risk assessment studies and to help prevent future exposures. Improvement could be expected from small-scale studies combining different methods of exposure assessment

Exceptional skull of huayqueriana (mammalia, litopterna, macraucheniidae) from the late miocene of Argentina: Anatomy, systematics, and peleobiological implications

The Huayquerías Formation (Late Miocene, Huayquerian SALMA) is broadly exposed in westcentral Argentina (Mendoza). The target of several major paleontological expeditions in the first half of the 20th century, the Mendozan Huayquerías (badlands) have recently yielded a significant number of new fossil finds. In this contribution we describe a complete skull (IANIGLA-PV 29) and place it systematically as Huayqueriana cf. H. cristata (Rovereto, 1914) (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae). The specimen shares some nonexclusive features with H. cristata (similar size, rostral border of the orbit almost level with distal border of M3, convergence of maxillary bones at the level of the P3/P4 embrasure, flat snout, very protruding orbits, round outline of premaxillary area in palatal view, and small diastemata between I3/C and C/P1). Other differences (e.g., lack of sagittal crest) may or may not represent intraspecific variation. In addition to other features described here, endocast reconstruction utilizing computer tomography (CT) revealed the presence of a derived position of the orbitotemporal canal running below the rhinal fissure along the lateroventral aspect of the piriform lobe. CT scanning also established that the maxillary nerve (CN V2) leaves the skull through the sphenoorbital fissure, as in all other litopterns, a point previously contested for macraucheniids. The angle between the lateral semicircular canal and the plane of the base of the skull is about 26°, indicating that in life the head was oriented much as in modern horses. Depending on the variables used, estimates of the body mass of IANIGLA-PV 29 produced somewhat conflicting results. Our preferred body mass estimate is 250 kg, based on the centroid size of 36 3D cranial landmarks and accompanying low prediction error. The advanced degree of tooth wear in IANIGLA-PV 29 implies that the individual died well into old age. However, a count of cementum lines on the sectioned left M2 is consistent with an age at death of 10 or 11 years, younger than expected given its body mass. This suggests that the animal had a very abrasive diet. Phylogenetic analysis failed to resolve the position of IANIGLA-PV 29 satisfactorily, a result possibly influenced by intraspecific variation. There is no decisive evidence for the proposition that Huayqueriana, or any other litoptern, were foregut fermenters.Fil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: MacPhee, Ross D. E.. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Hernández del Pino, Santiago Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Schmidt, Gabriela Ines. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; ArgentinaFil: Amson, Eli. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Grohé, Camille. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados Unido

Common variants in Alzheimer’s disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores

Funder: Funder: Fundación bancaria ‘La Caixa’ Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: Grifols SA Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: European Union/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Number: 115975 Funder: JPco-fuND FP-829-029 Number: 733051061Genetic discoveries of Alzheimer's disease are the drivers of our understanding, and together with polygenetic risk stratification can contribute towards planning of feasible and efficient preventive and curative clinical trials. We first perform a large genetic association study by merging all available case-control datasets and by-proxy study results (discovery n = 409,435 and validation size n = 58,190). Here, we add six variants associated with Alzheimer's disease risk (near APP, CHRNE, PRKD3/NDUFAF7, PLCG2 and two exonic variants in the SHARPIN gene). Assessment of the polygenic risk score and stratifying by APOE reveal a 4 to 5.5 years difference in median age at onset of Alzheimer's disease patients in APOE ɛ4 carriers. Because of this study, the underlying mechanisms of APP can be studied to refine the amyloid cascade and the polygenic risk score provides a tool to select individuals at high risk of Alzheimer's disease

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Common variants in Alzheimer's disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores.

Funder: Funder: Fundación bancaria ‘La Caixa’ Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: Grifols SA Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: European Union/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Number: 115975 Funder: JPco-fuND FP-829-029 Number: 733051061Genetic discoveries of Alzheimer's disease are the drivers of our understanding, and together with polygenetic risk stratification can contribute towards planning of feasible and efficient preventive and curative clinical trials. We first perform a large genetic association study by merging all available case-control datasets and by-proxy study results (discovery n = 409,435 and validation size n = 58,190). Here, we add six variants associated with Alzheimer's disease risk (near APP, CHRNE, PRKD3/NDUFAF7, PLCG2 and two exonic variants in the SHARPIN gene). Assessment of the polygenic risk score and stratifying by APOE reveal a 4 to 5.5 years difference in median age at onset of Alzheimer's disease patients in APOE ɛ4 carriers. Because of this study, the underlying mechanisms of APP can be studied to refine the amyloid cascade and the polygenic risk score provides a tool to select individuals at high risk of Alzheimer's disease