Read Operators and their Expressiveness in Process Algebras

We study two different ways to enhance PAFAS, a process algebra for modelling asynchronous timed concurrent systems, with non-blocking reading actions. We first add reading in the form of a read-action prefix operator. This operator is very flexible, but its somewhat complex semantics requires two types of transition relations. We also present a read-set prefix operator with a simpler semantics, but with syntactic restrictions. We discuss the expressiveness of read prefixes; in particular, we compare them to read-arcs in Petri nets and justify the simple semantics of the second variant by showing that its processes can be translated into processes of the first with timed-bisimilar behaviour. It is still an open problem whether the first algebra is more expressive than the second; we give a number of laws that are interesting in their own right, and can help to find a backward translation.Comment: In Proceedings EXPRESS 2011, arXiv:1108.407

Possible Implication of Red Blood Cells in the Prothrombotic Risk in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that can be considered as a prothrombotic state1. A great number of studies have investigated the possible role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease. The presence of large amounts of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide produced by activated neutrophils has been reported in the synovial fluid of patients with RA. This may cause lipid peroxidation that yields a wide variety of end products, including malondialdehyde (MDA), a known marker of oxidative stress. These products are therefore transported from the synovial fluid to the blood circulation system2. Considering that elevated levels of MDA have been observed in the blood plasma of patients with RA2, the aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether the elevated levels of plasmatic MDA could be associated with a modification of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of blood plasma that is usually indicative of a “systemic” oxidative imbalance3. In addition, in view of their activity as redox effectors or scavengers4, as well as determinants of thrombus formation5, we evaluated red blood cell (RBC) features in terms of their redox state and lifespan marker molecules

Recommender systems fairness evaluation via generalized cross entropy

Fairness in recommender systems has been considered with respect to sensitive attributes of users (e.g., gender, race) or items (e.g., revenue in a multistakeholder setting). Regardless, the concept has been commonly interpreted as some form of equality – i.e., the degree to which the system is meeting the information needs of all its users in an equal sense. In this paper, we argue that fairness in recommender systems does not necessarily imply equality, but instead it should consider a distribution of resources based on merits and needs.We present a probabilistic framework based ongeneralized cross entropy to evaluate fairness of recommender systems under this perspective, wherewe showthat the proposed framework is flexible and explanatory by allowing to incorporate domain knowledge (through an ideal fair distribution) that can help to understand which item or user aspects a recommendation algorithm is over- or under-representing. Results on two real-world datasets show the merits of the proposed evaluation framework both in terms of user and item fairnessThis work was supported in part by the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval and in part by project TIN2016-80630-P (MINECO

Dolphin Morbillivirus Associated with a Mass Stranding of Sperm Whales, Italy

In September 2014, 7 sperm whales stranded along the Adriatic Italian coastlines. Postmortem investigations on 3 dead females dead and in 1 fetus harbored by the largest one revealed molecular and immunoistochemical evidences of dolphin morbillivirus infection. A possible role of the virus in the stranding event was considered

Draft Genome of Shewanella frigidimarina Ag06-30, a Marine Bacterium Isolated from Potter Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica

We present the draft genome of Shewanella frigidimarina Ag06-30, a marine bacterium from King George Island, Antarctica,which encodes the carbapenemase SFP-1. The assembly contains 4,799,218 bp (GC content 41.24%). This strain harbors severalmobile genetic elements that provide insight into lateral gene transfer and bacterial plasticity and evolution.Fil: Parmeciano Di Noto, Gisela Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Vázquez, Susana Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología; ArgentinaFil: MacCormack, Walter P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología; Argentina. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Interno y Culto. Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Instituto Antártico Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Iriarte, Andrés. Universidad de la República; Uruguay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas ; UruguayFil: Quiroga, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; Argentin

Sind unsere Kühe für die Weide noch geeignet?

In vielen Ländern ist in den letzten Jahrzehnten ein deutlicher Anstieg der Milchleistung bei Kühen in der Milchviehhaltung zu beobachten. Gleichzeitig ging bei steigendem Kraftfuttereinsatz der Weidegrasanteil in den Milchviehrationen zurück und wurden die Kühe auch größer und schwerer. Fasst man die Literaturergebnisse zur Eignung von Hochleistungstieren für die (konsequente) Weidehaltung zusammen, dann zeigt sich folgendes Bild: • Die tägliche Weidefutteraufnahme ist im Gegensatz zur Stallhaltung mit 15–20 kg T pro Tier stärker begrenzt. Als Ursachen dafür werden die begrenzte Fresszeit, Bissfrequenz und Bissanzahl diskutiert. • Hochleistungstiere mobilisieren zu Laktationsbeginn im Vergleich zu niedrig leistenden Kühen über einen längeren Zeitraum und auch deutlich stärker Körperreserven. • Mit steigender Einzeltierleistung muss bei Weidehaltung mit einer stärkeren Stoffwechselbelastung (Nährstoffmobilisation, erhöhte Stoffwechselrate, Hitzestress, etc.) gerechnet werden. Diese kann auch zu einer Verschlechterung der Fruchtbarkeitsergebnisse und Nutzungsdauer führen. • Wenn hohe Einzeltierleistungen mit größeren und schwereren Kühen verbunden sind, dann ist von stärkeren Trittschäden auf den Weiden auszugehen. In Österreich greift ein Großteil der Weidebetriebe auf Stunden- oder Halbtagsweidehaltung mit entsprechend hoher Beifütterung zurück. Darüber hinaus ist die saisonale Abkalbung nicht üblich. Bei diesen eingeschränkten (Weide-) Systemen ist daher (noch) nicht zu erwarten, dass die derzeitigen gezüchteten Kuhtypen nicht mehr weidetauglich sind. Je stärker jedoch „Low-Input“ Strategien am Milchviehbetrieb umgesetzt werden, desto weniger geeignet dürften dafür Kühe mit hohen Laktations(einsatz)leistungen sein. Grundsätzlich kann extensiver wirtschaftenden Betrieben bzw. biologisch wirtschaftenden Betrieben empfohlen werden, bei der Zuchttierauswahl verstärktes Augenmerk auf die Fitnessmerkmale zu legen. Bei zunehmender Differenzierung der Leistungs- und Fütterungsbedingungen zwischen den Betriebssystemen ist nämlich zu erwarten, dass die unter intensiveren Bedingungen ausgelesen Tiere nicht mehr automatisch auch die besten Kühe für extensive Fütterungsbedingungen (Genotyp-Umwelt-Interaktion) sind. Stellt man einen Vergleich der Zuchtwerte der eingesetzten Zuchtstiere auf biologisch und konventionell wirtschaftenden Betrieben an, dann zeigen sich nämlich noch keine wesentlichen Unterschiede. Bio-Betriebe greifen (noch) nicht stärker als die konventionellen Berufskollegen/innen auf Tiere mit hohen Fitnesszuchtwerten zurück (Fürst 2006)

Energiepflanzenproduktion in biologischen Marktfruchtbetrieben

On organic crop farms mobile nitrogen sources are scarce. One possible source can be degassed biomass from fermented energy crops produced on organic farms. This study analyses the effects of an investment in a cooperative biogas plant on the production program and the net farm income using a linear planning model. The production of green electricity from biogas yields in a higher net farm income. Alfalfa grass is a more efficient energy crop than maize in organic farms. Fewer legumes and more cash crops are produced. The yearly labour requirement rises due to the production of energy crops, operation of the biogas plant and spreading the degassed biomass

Valuing environmental education as a cultural ecosystem service at Hudson River Park

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecosystem Services 31C (2018): 387-394, doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.03.005.The Hudson River and its estuary is once again an ecologically, economically, and culturally functional component of New York City’s natural environment. The estuary's cultural significance may derive largely from environmental education, including marine science programs for the public. These programs are understood as “cultural” ecosystem services but are rarely evaluated in economic terms. We estimated the economic value of the Hudson River Park’s environmental education programs. We compiled data on visits by schools and summer camps from 32 New York City school districts to the Park during the years 2014 and 2015. A “travel cost” approach was adapted from the field of environmental economics to estimate the value of education in this context. A small—but conservative—estimate of the Park’s annual education program benefits ranged between $7,500-$25,500, implying an average capitalized value on the order of $0.6 million. Importantly, organizations in districts with high proportions of minority students or English language learners were found to be more likely to participate in the Park’s programs. The results provide an optimistic view of the benefits of environmental education focused on urban estuaries, through which a growing understanding of ecological systems could lead to future environmental improvements.We thank the Hudson River Foundation and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Summer Student Fellow program for financial support