Integrity constraints in logic databases

AbstractWe consider logic databases as logic programs and suggest how to deal with the problem of integrity constraint checking. Two methods for integrity constraint handling are presented. The first one is based on a metalevel consistency proof and is particularly suitable for an existing database which has to be checked for some integrity constraints. The second method is based on a transformation of the logic program which represents the database into a logic program which satisfies the given integrity constraints. This method is specially suggested for databases that have to be built specifying, separately, which are the deductive rules and the facts and which are the integrity constraints on a specific relation. Different tools providing for the two mechanisms are proposed for a flexible logic database management system

Pandemia desde la academia: experiencias transdisciplinarias de la universidad cuencana en tiempos de COVID-19

Pandemia es una palabra con origen profundo que en el tiempo se ha cargado con la historia de pueblos y naciones, alcanzando su plena expresión en nuestra sociedad globalizada. No solamente por las estadísticas que atraen la atención de todo el mundo y nos obligan a razonar de manera lógico-numérica, cuantitativa, olvidando que muchas veces los números son personas, y no rinden la justa cuenta de todos aquellos seres humanos que representan estas cifras. Una pandemia logra su máxima expresión al alcanzar el mayor número de personas, esto refleja en su etimología proveniente del griego pan (todo) y demos (pueblo) y desde sus orígenes ha significado principalmente una cosa, la “reunión del pueblo”. Dicha noción invita a reflexionar sobre el porqué de las medidas sanitarias, del aislamiento y confinamiento, y, más aún, nos recuerda la importancia de la unión como decisión ancestral al origen de nuestras sociedades, columna portante de la familia, fortaleza de cualquier sistema en desequilibrio. Reconociendo esto, se evidencia la capacidad de transformar juntos las debilidades en fortalezas, de saber demostrar nuestro mejor impulso a la solidaridad y colaboración cuando sentimos que nos necesitan, que permite terminar con alegría un capítulo con la seguridad de que el próximo será mucho mejor. Este espíritu es responsable de la iniciativa de quienes enfrentamos los desafíos del contexto desde la unión, con la aspiración de formar seres humanos en un espacio compartido de generación de conocimiento y conformación de valores humanos y sociales que llamamos Universidad

Indra-Industry Trade, Endogenous Technical Change, Wage Inequality and Welfare

By using alternative intra-industry trade models (1. New goods cannot be introduced into the economy; 2. The possibility for a set of capital goods available in the economy to vary; the models consider the existence of intersectoral linkages), I show by means of Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) analysis that trade rises wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers; but the impact on wage inequality is far larger, when countries are assumed to exchange differentiated capital goods. The latter result has been obtained by using an imperfect competitive model, which embodies a sector bias technological change that arises from trade. In addition, the gains from trade, insignificant under the standard trade hypotheses, are extraordinarily large when endogenous technological change is taken into account. The main policy conclusion is that if policy makers of flexible wage economies introduce trade barriers to reduce wage inequality, these protective measures, by affecting the diffusion of technology, would cause a large welfare loss. [D58, f12, F43, J3, O3]

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation, copy number variation, and gene expression in monozygotic twins discordant for primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an uncommon autoimmune disease with a homogeneous clinical phenotype that reflects incomplete disease concordance in monozygotic (MZ) twins. We have taken advantage of a unique collection consisting of genomic DNA and mRNA from peripheral blood cells of female MZ twins (n = 3 sets) and sisters of similar age (n = 8 pairs) discordant for disease. We performed a genome-wide study to investigate differences in (i) DNA methylation (using a custom tiled four-plex array containing tiled 50-mers 19,084 randomly chosen methylation sites), (ii) copy number variation (CNV) (with a chip including markers derived from the 1000 Genomes Project, all three HapMap phases, and recently published studies), and/or (iii) gene expression (by whole-genome expression arrays). Based on the results obtained from these three approaches we utilized quantitative PCR to compare the expression of candidate genes. Importantly, our data support consistent differences in discordant twins and siblings for the (i) methylation profiles of 60 gene regions, (ii) CNV of 10 genes, and (iii) the expression of 2 interferon-dependent genes. Quantitative PCR analysis showed that 17 of these genes are differentially expressed in discordant sibling pairs. In conclusion, we report that MZ twins and sisters discordant for PBC manifest particular epigenetic differences and highlight the value of the epigenetic study of twins

Association between low-grade inflammation and Breast cancer and B-cell Myeloma and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma : Findings from two prospective cohorts

Chronic inflammation may be involved in cancer development and progression. Using 28 inflammatory-related proteins collected from prospective blood samples from two case-control studies nested in the Italian component of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (n = 261) and in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (n = 402), we tested the hypothesis that an inflammatory score is associated with breast cancer (BC) and Β-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (B-cell NHL, including 68 multiple myeloma cases) onset. We modelled the relationship between this inflammatory score and the two cancers studied: (BC and B-cell NHL) using generalised linear models, and assessed, through adjustments the role of behaviours and lifestyle factors. Analyses were performed by cancer types pooling both populations, and stratified by cohorts, and time to diagnosis. Our results suggested a lower inflammatory score in B-cell NHL cases (β = -1.28, p = 0.012), and, to lesser, extent with BC (β = -0.96, p = 0.33) compared to controls, mainly driven by cancer cases diagnosed less than 6 years after enrolment. These associations were not affected by subsequent adjustments for potential intermediate confounders, notably behaviours. Sensitivity analyses indicated that our findings were not affected by the way the inflammatory score was calculated. These observations call for further studies involving larger populations, larger variety of cancer types and repeated measures of larger panel of inflammatory markers

Commento agli articoli 75-81 c.p.c., Delle parti, in Codice di procedura civile. Commentario diretto da Claudio Consolo. Vol. 1

Commento sistematico agli articoli da 75 a 81 del c.p.c. alla luce delle interpretazioni dottrinali e degli orientamenti giurisprudenzial