Are there Hilbert-style Pure Type Systems?

For many a natural deduction style logic there is a Hilbert-style logic that is equivalent to it in that it has the same theorems (i.e. valid judgements with empty contexts). For intuitionistic logic, the axioms of the equivalent Hilbert-style logic can be propositions which are also known as the types of the combinators I, K and S. Hilbert-style versions of illative combinatory logic have formulations with axioms that are actual type statements for I, K and S. As pure type systems (PTSs)are, in a sense, equivalent to systems of illative combinatory logic, it might be thought that Hilbert-style PTSs (HPTSs) could be based in a similar way. This paper shows that some PTSs have very trivial equivalent HPTSs, with only the axioms as theorems and that for many PTSs no equivalent HPTS can exist. Most commonly used PTSs belong to these two classes. For some PTSs however, including lambda* and the PTS at the basis of the proof assistant Coq, there is a nontrivial equivalent HPTS, with axioms that are type statements for I, K and S.Comment: Accepted in Logical Methods in Computer Scienc

'Unbearable suffering': a qualitative study on the perspectives of patients who request assistance in dying

BACKGROUND One of the objectives of medicine is to relieve patients' suffering. As a consequence, it is important to understand patients' perspectives of suffering and their ability to cope. However, there is poor insight into what determines their suffering and their ability to bear it. PURPOSE To explore the constituent elements of suffering of patients who explicitly request euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) and to better understand unbearable suffering from the patients' perspective. PATIENTS AND METHODS A qualitative study using in-depth face-to-face interviews was conducted with 31 patients who had requested EAS. The grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. RESULTS Medical, psycho-emotional, socio-environmental and existential themes contributed to suffering. Especially fatigue, pain, decline, negative feelings, loss of self, fear of future suffering, dependency, loss of autonomy, being worn out, being a burden, loneliness, loss of all that makes life worth living, hopelessness, pointlessness and being tired of living were constituent elements of unbearable suffering. Only patients with a psychiatric (co)diagnosis suffered unbearably all the time. CONCLUSIONS Unbearable suffering is the outcome of an intensive process that originates in the symptoms of illness and/or ageing. According to patients, hopelessness is an essential element of unbearable suffering. Medical and social elements may cause suffering, but especially when accompanied by psycho-emotional and existential problems suffering will become 'unbearable'. Personality characteristics and biographical aspects greatly influence the burden of suffering. Unbearable suffering can only be understood in the continuum of the patients' perspectives of the past, the present and expectations of the future.This study was supported by the Dutch Cancer Society (grant number KUN2007-03736)

Total cost estimation for implementing genome-enabled selection in a multi-level swine production system

Background: Determining an animal’s genetic merit using genomic information can improve estimated breeding value (EBV) accuracy; however, the magnitude of the accuracy improvement must be large enough to recover the costs associated with implementing genome-enabled selection. One way to reduce costs is to genotype nucleus herd selection candidates using a low-density chip and to use high-density chip genotyping for animals that are used as parents in the nucleus breeding herd. The objective of this study was to develop a tool to estimate the cost structure associated with incorporating genome-enabled selection into multi-level commercial breeding programs. Results: For the purpose of this deterministic study, it was assumed that a commercial pig is created from a terminal line sire and a dam that is a cross between two maternal lines. It was also assumed that all male and female selection candidates from the 1000 sow maternal line nucleus herds were genotyped at low density and all animals used for breeding at high density. With the assumptions used in this analysis, it was estimated that genome-enabled selection costs for a maternal line would be approximately US$0.082 per weaned pig in the commercial production system. A total of US$0.164 per weaned pig is needed to incorporate genome-enabled selection into the two maternal lines. Similarly, for a 600 sow terminal line nucleus herd and genotyping only male selection candidates with the low-density panel, the cost per weaned pig in the commercial herd was estimated to be US$0.044. This means that US$0.21 per weaned pig produced at the commercial level and sired by boars obtained from the nucleus herd breeding program needs to be added to the genetic merit value in order to break even on the additional cost required when genome-enabled selection is used in both maternal lines and the terminal line. Conclusions: By modifying the input values, such as herd size and genotyping strategy, a flexible spreadsheet tool developed from this work can be used to estimate the additional costs associated with genome-enabled selection. This tool will aid breeders in estimating the economic viability of incorporating genome-enabled selection into their specific breeding program

Effects of the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on estimated plasma volume in patients with type 2 diabetes

Aims To compare the effects of the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor dapagliflozin on estimated (ePV) and measured plasma volume (mPV) and to characterize the effects of dapagliflozin on ePV in a broad population of patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods The Strauss formula was used to calculate changes in ePV. Change in plasma volume measured with I-125-human serum albumin (mPV) was compared with change in ePV in 10 patients with type 2 diabetes randomized to dapagliflozin 10 mg/d or placebo. Subsequently, changes in ePV were measured in a pooled database of 13 phase 2b/3 placebo-controlled clinical trials involving 4533 patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to dapagliflozin 10 mg daily or matched placebo. Results The median change in ePV was similar to the median change in mPV (-9.4% and -9.0%) during dapagliflozin treatment. In the pooled analysis of clinical trials, dapagliflozin decreased ePV by 9.6% (95% confidence interval 9.0 to 10.2) compared to placebo after 24 weeks. This effect was consistent in various patient subgroups, including subgroups with or without diuretic use or established cardiovascular disease. Conclusions ePV may be used as a proxy to assess changes in plasma volume during dapagliflozin treatment. Dapagliflozin consistently decreased ePV compared to placebo in a broad population of patients with type 2 diabetes

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior From Discharge to 1 Year After Inpatient Rehabilitation in Ambulatory People With Spinal Cord Injury:A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Objective: To evaluate changes in duration of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) from discharge to 1 year after inpatient rehabilitation in ambulatory people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Longitudinal cohort study with objective measurements of physical behavior at discharge and at 6 and 12 months post discharge. Setting: Three rehabilitation centers and the participant's home environment. Participants: Participants (N= 47) with ambulatory function were consecutively recruited from the self-management and self-efficacy in patients with SCI cohort (age 18 years or older, recent SCI, expected inpatient stay >4wk). Mean age was 54.5 +/- 12.9 years, all had incomplete lesions, 53% were men, 49% had tetraplegia, and 51% were community ambulators at discharge. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Duration (min) of PA (summed duration of walking, cycling, running, and wheeling) and SB (sitting/lying). Results: Mean duration of PA increased by 21 min/d (95% confidence interval, 7-35) and SB decreased by 64 min/d (95% confidence interval, -94 to -35) from discharge to 6 months after inpatient rehabilitation. No changes were found in the second half-year. One year after discharge mean PA was 116 +/- 59 min/d and mean SB was 665 +/- 121 min/d. The increase in PA was the result of an almost doubling of time spent walking. Variability in physical behavior and its change was large. Older age and lower ambulation level were associated with lower PA, lower ambulation level with higher SB, and tetraplegia was associated with a reduced increase in PA. Conclusions: At group level, duration of PA and SB improved following inpatient rehabilitation in ambulatory people with SCI. However, there were large differences between individuals. Levels 1 year after discharge were still unfavorable, particularly regarding SB. (C) 2020 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicin

Predicting urinary creatinine excretion and its usefulness to identify incomplete 24h urine collections

Studies using 24 h urine collections need to incorporate ways to validate the completeness of the urine samples. Models to predict urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) have been developed for this purpose; however, information on their usefulness to identify incomplete urine collections is limited. We aimed to develop a model for predicting UCE and to assess the performance of a creatinine index using para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) as a reference. Data were taken from the European Food Consumption Validation study comprising two non-consecutive 24 h urine collections from 600 subjects in five European countries. Data from one collection were used to build a multiple linear regression model to predict UCE, and data from the other collection were used for performance testing of a creatinine index-based strategy to identify incomplete collections. Multiple linear regression (n 458) of UCE showed a significant positive association for body weight (ß = 0·07), the interaction term sex × weight (ß = 0·09, reference women) and protein intake (ß = 0·02). A significant negative association was found for age (ß = - 0·09) and sex (ß = - 3·14, reference women). An index of observed-to-predicted creatinine resulted in a sensitivity to identify incomplete collections of 0·06 (95 % CI 0·01, 0·20) and 0·11 (95 % CI 0·03, 0·22) in men and women, respectively. Specificity was 0·97 (95 % CI 0·97, 0·98) in men and 0·98 (95 % CI 0·98, 0·99) in women. The present study shows that UCE can be predicted from weight, age and sex. However, the results revealed that a creatinine index based on these predictions is not sufficiently sensitive to exclude incomplete 24 h urine collections

Impact of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Lawsonia intracellularis on the performance of pigs divergently selected for feed efficiency

Feed efficiency (FE) is a valuable trait, yet how genetic selection for enhanced FE affects other processes such as response to disease is unknown. Disease from endemic respiratory and enteric pathogens such as Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) and Lawsonia intracellularis (LI) are common in swine production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if pigs selected for high versus low FE based on residual feed intake (RFI) respond differently to a dual respiratory and enteric challenge. Pigs selected for low RFI (LRFI, high feed efficiency) pigs are considered more FE compared to their high RFI (HRFI, low feed efficiency) selected counterparts. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, 25 littermate pairs from the HRFI and 25 littermate pairs from the LRFI line (barrows, 50 ± 7 kg BW) were selected, with one pig from each pair assigned to individual pens in either the challenge or the non-challenge (control) rooms (n = 25 barrows per line/challenge). On days post inoculation (dpi) 0, the challenged pigs were inoculated with LI and Mh (MhLI). Feed intake, body weight, fecal swabs, and serum samples were collected and recorded weekly for 42 days. On dpi -2 and 47, 14 littermate pairs (n=7 barrows per line/challenge) were utilized for initial and final body composition scans using dual X-ray absorptiometry to calculate longitudinal whole body tissue accretion rates for lean, protein, fat, and bone mineral content. Serum antibody levels and fecal shedding of LI were used to confirm infection. Control pigs remained negative by all measures during the 6 week trial and MhLI inoculated pigs were confirmed positive via serological antibody responses by dpi 14 for LI and Mh. There were no interactions between RFI line and challenge status for any overall performance parameter (P \u3e 0.05). The six week MhLI challenge resulted in a 17% reduction in ADG, a 12% reduction in ADFI, and a 7% reduction in G:F versus controls (P \u3c 0.05). In addition, compared to the control pigs, MhLI challenge reduced lean, protein, and lipid accretion rates by 16% (P \u3c 0.05). Genetic selection for high FE resulted in decreased ADFI and increased G:F (P \u3c 0.01), but did not impact ADG or tissue accretion versus low FE pigs. Collectively, these results demonstrate that a dual enteric and respiratory pathogen challenge reduced ADG, ADFI, G:F and tissue accretion in growing pigs. Further, there was no evidence that selection for enhanced FE based on RFI index affects response to disease

New alleles in calpastatin gene are associated with meat quality traits in pigs

Suggestive QTL affecting raw firmness scores and average Instron force, tenderness, juiciness, and chewiness on cooked meat were mapped to pig chromosome 2 using a three-generation intercross between Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs. Based on its function and location, the calpastatin (CAST) gene was considered to be a good candidate for the observed effects. Several missense and silent mutations were identified in CAST and haplotypes covering most of the coding region were constructed and used for association analyses with meat quality traits. Results demonstrated that one CAST haplotype was significantly associated with lower Instron force and cooking loss and higher juiciness and, therefore, this haplotype is associated with higher eating quality. Some of the sequence variation identified may be associated with differences in phosphorylation of CAST by adenosine cyclic 3′, 5′-monophosphate- dependent protein kinase and may in turn explain the meat quality phenotypic differences. The beneficial haplotype was present in all the commercial breeds tested and may provide significant improvements for the pig industry and consumers because it can be used in marker-assisted selection to produce naturally tender and juicy pork without additional processing steps

Effects of selection for decreased residual feed intake on composition and quality of fresh pork

The objectives of this study were to determine the extent to which selection for decreased residual feed intake (RFI) affects pork composition and quality. Pigs from the fifth generation of selection for decreased RFI (select) and a randomly selected line (control) were utilized. Two experiments were conducted. In Exp. 1, barrows (22.6 ± 3.9 kg) from select and control lines were paired based on age and BW. The test was conducted in 8 replicates of pairs for the test period of 6 wk. Calpastatin activity and myosin isoforms profile were determined on samples from the LM. Control barrows were heavier (59.1 vs. 55.0 kg; P \u3c 0.01) at the end of the test period. Calpastatin activity was greater (P \u3c 0.01) in LM of select barrows than control barrows. In Exp. 2, composition and quality of gilts (114 kg) from control and select lines were determined. The model included fixed effects of line, slaughter date, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) genotype, barn group, line × slaughter date, genotype × line interactions, a covariate of off-test BW, and sire, pen, and litter fitted as random effects. The select line (n = 80) had 0.043 kg less (P \u3c 0.05) RFI per day than the control line (n = 89). Loin quality and composition were determined at 2 d postmortem. Desmin degradation was measured at 2 and 7 d postmortem. Purge, cook loss, sensory traits, and star probe texture were measured at 7 to 10 d postmortem on cooked chops. Residual correlations between RFI and composition and quality traits were calculated. Compared with the control line, carcasses from the select line tended to have less (P = 0.09) backfat, greater (P \u3c 0.05) loin depth, and greater (P \u3c 0.05) fat free lean. Loin chops from the select line had less (P\u3c 0.01) intramuscular lipid content than loin chops from control line. Significant residual correlations between RFI and both tenderness (r = 0.24, P \u3c 0.01) and star probe (r = −0.26, P \u3c 0.01) were identified. Selection for decreased RFI has the potential to improve carcass composition with few effects on pH and water-holding capacity. However, decreased RFI could negatively affect tenderness and texture because of decreased lipid content and decreased postmortem protein degradation