ASPAL. Proof of soundness and completeness

We provide here a brief introduction and proof of soundness and completeness of the ILP system ASPAL. This document is in support of our ICLP 2011 submission, for the reviewers' bene ts

Collaborative Privacy Policy Authoring in a Social Networking Context.

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the popularity of social networking services. These online services enable users to construct groups of contacts, referred to as friends, with which they can share digital content and communicate. This sharing is actively encouraged by the social networking services, with users privacy often seen as a secondary concern. In this paper we first propose a privacy-aware social networking service and then introduce a collaborative approach to authoring privacy policies for the service. In addressing user privacy, our approach takes into account the needs of all parties affected by the disclosure of information and digital content. © 2010 Crown

Privacy Butler: A personal privacy rights manager for online presence.

The online presence projected by a person is comprised of all the information about them available on the Internet. In online communities and social networking services, it is often possible for third-parties to modify this content by, for example, commenting on existing content or uploading new content. This has the potential to negatively impact the privacy of a presence owner (the person referred to by the on-line content) by disclosing information about them without consent. In this paper we propose a Privacy Butler, an automated service that can monitor a persons online presence and attempt to make corrections based on policies specified by the owner of the online presence. © 2010 IEEE.Accepted versio

Characterization of a polylactic acid (PLA) produced by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology

PLA is an organic polymer that lends itself to multiple applications. It is commonly used in fused deposition modeling technology (FDM), which operates by depositing successive layers of material. The material extrusion, in the form of a wire, follows an imposed pattern, which influences the static and dynamic behavior of the final component. In the literature there are many works concerning the mechanical characterization of the PLA but, due to the natural orthotropy of the FDM process and, above all, to the ascertained influence of the particular technical system with which the operations are performed, it is necessary to characterize the extruded material through different metrological techniques. In order to allow the use of this technology for structural elements production, in the present work, quasi-static tests have been carried out to characterize the material and the process considering the three spatial growth directions (x, y and z). In particular, uniaxial tensile tests were performed for the determination of mechanical strength, modulus of elasticity and percentage elongation

Normative design using inductive learning

In this paper we propose a use-case-driven iterative design methodology for normative frameworks, also called virtual institutions, which are used to govern open systems. Our computational model represents the normative framework as a logic program under answer set semantics (ASP). By means of an inductive logic programming approach, implemented using ASP, it is possible to synthesise new rules and revise the existing ones. The learning mechanism is guided by the designer who describes the desired properties of the framework through use cases, comprising (i) event traces that capture possible scenarios, and (ii) a state that describes the desired outcome. The learning process then proposes additional rules, or changes to current rules, to satisfy the constraints expressed in the use cases. Thus, the contribution of this paper is a process for the elaboration and revision of a normative framework by means of a semi-automatic and iterative process driven from specifications of (un)desirable behaviour. The process integrates a novel and general methodology for theory revision based on ASP.Comment: Theory and Practice of Logic Programming, 27th Int'l. Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP'11) Special Issue, volume 11, issue 4-5, 201

Induction of T Lymphocytes Specific for Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Calves with Maternal Antibody

Passive antibody to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) acquired through colostrum intake may interfere with the development of a protective immune response by calves to this virus. The objective of this study was to determine if calves, with a high level of maternal antibody to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), develop CD4+, CD8+, or γδ T lymphocyte responses to BVDV in the absence of a measurable humoral immune response. Colostrum or milk replacer fed calves were challenged with virulent BVDV at 2-5 weeks of age and/or after maternal antibody had waned. Calves exposed to BVDV while passive antibody levels were high did not mount a measurable humoral immune response to BVDV. However, compared to nonexposed animals, these animals had CD4+, CD8+, and γδ T lymphocytes that were activated by BVDV after exposure to in vitro BVDV. The production of IFNγ by lymphocytes after in vitro BVDV exposure was also much greater in lymphocytes from calves exposed to BVDV in the presence of maternal antibody compared to the nonexposed calves. These data indicate that calves exposed to BVDV while maternal antibody levels are high can develop antigen specific CD4+, CD8+, and γδ T lymphocytes in the absence of an active antibody response. A manuscript presented separately demonstrates that the calves with T lymphocytes specific for BVDV in this study were also protected from virulent BVDV genotype 2 challenge after maternal antibody became undetectable

Detecting conflicts in legal systems

Abstract. When acting in different jurisdictions (e.g. under the laws of different countries) at the same time, it can be of great value for individuals to be able to determine whether disparities among the laws of these different systems exist and allowing them to identify the consequences that may follow from these dispari-ties. For individuals, it is typically not of interest to find all the ways in which these legal systems differ, but rather to establish whether a particular course of action may have different legal interpretations, depending on the jurisdiction. In this paper we present a formal and computational framework that, given specific scenarios (descriptions of courses of action), can automatically detect whether these scenarios could lead to different outcomes. We demonstrate our approach by means of a private international law case-study where a company drafts a con-tract clause after examining the consequences in the available jurisdictions.