Composable partial multiparty session types for open systems

Session types are a well-established framework for the specification of interactions between components of a distributed systems. An important issue is how to determine the type for an open system, i.e., obtained by assembling subcomponents, some of which could be missing. To this end, we introduce partial sessions and partial (multiparty) session types. Partial sessions can be composed, and the type of the resulting system is derived from those of its components without knowing any suitable global type nor the types of missing parts. To deal with this incomplete information, partial session types represent the subjective views of the interactions from participants’ perspectives; when sessions are composed, different partial views can be merged if compatible, yielding a unified view of the session. Incompatible types, due to, e.g., miscommunications or deadlocks, are detected at the merging phase. In fact, in this theory the distinction between global and local types vanishes. We apply these types to a process calculus for which we prove subject reduction and progress, so that well-typed systems never violate the prescribed constraints. In particular, we introduce a generalization of the progress property, in order to accommodate the case when a partial session cannot progress not due to a deadlock, but because some participants are still missing. Therefore, partial session types support the development of systems by incremental assembling of components

tribological properties of wear resistant coatings obtained by cold gas dynamic spray

Abstract The aim of this study was obtaining good deposits of stellite-6 by Cold Gas Dynamic Spray (CGDS), in terms of low porosity and good adhesion and cohesion. In fact, the high strength and melting point of the investigated alloy lead to a high value of the particle critical velocity in CGDS and, therefore, good quality results are difficult to achieve. The tribological properties of the coatings were analyzed by micro-hardness measurements and pin-on-disk wear tests. Results revealed that spraying parameters can be optimized to obtain almost pore-free coatings

Retrograde Positive Contrast Urethrocystography of the Fish Urogenital System

The radiological differences between the urinary tract of  Dicentrarchus labrax, Sparus aurata, Tinca tinca, and Cyprinus carpio are shown. In fresh water teleosts the urinary bladder is sigmoid and a short urethra leads to the urinary pore. Genital and anal pores are present. In Sparus aurata the urinary bladder has a globoid shape. In Dicentrarchus labrax the urinary bladder is smaller and elongate. In both marine teleosts a single urogenital pore is visible. Positive contrast was used to survey the urogenital system and evaluate shape and size of the bladder, urethra, ureter, and gonadal ducts. Results demonstrate the morphological variability of the urinary bladder and the craniodorsal entry of the ureters into the bladder. It is envisaged that this work will provide baseline information for further imaging studies for investigating the urogenital morphology and can be applied to identify disorders in fishes. Furthermore, the main interest of this study is that it demonstrates the morphological variability of the lower urinary system that exists between different species of fishes

Combination of peripheral neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio is predictive of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

The immune system seems to play a fundamental role in breast cancer responsiveness to chemotherapy. We investigated two peripheral indicators of immunity/inflammation, i.e. neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in order to reveal a possible relationship with pathological complete response (pCR) in patients with early or locally advanced breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We retrospectively analyzed 373 consecutive patients affected by breast cancer and candidates to NACT. The complete blood cell count before starting NACT was evaluated to calculate NLR and PLR. ROC curve analysis determined threshold values of 2.42 and 104.47 as best cut-off values for NLR and PLR, respectively. The relationships between NLR/PLR and pCR, along with other clinical-pathological characteristics, were evaluated by Pearson's χ 2 or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using a logistic regression model. NLR and PLR were not significantly associated with pCR if analyzed separately. However, when combining NLR and PLR, patients with a NLRlow/PLRlow profile achieved a significantly higher rate of pCR compared to those with NLRhigh and/or PLRhigh (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.22-4.27, p 0.009). Importantly, the predictive value of NLRlow/PLRlow was independent from common prognostic factors such as grading, Ki67, and molecular subtypes. The combination of NLR and PLR may reflect patients' immunogenic phenotype. Low levels of both NLR and PLR may thus indicate a status of immune system activation that may predict pCR in breast cancer patients treated with NACT

Syncope and sudden death from the emergency physician's perspective: is there room for new biomarkers?

Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness due to temporary global cerebral hypoperfusion characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous complete recovery. Syncope represents 1-2% of emergency department (ED) visits and is coupled with a high risk for mortality, prolonged hospital admission, and immediate false diagnosis. Many patients who present to the ED with aspecific symptoms are mainly hospitalized because of diagnostic uncertainty. It is always very important to immediately distinguish syncope of cardiac and non-cardiac origins. Cardiac syncope has higher risk for mortality especially for sudden cardiac death, while non-cardiac one shows risk of repeated events of syncope with poor quality of life. Sudden cardiac death is defined as rapid and unexpected natural death due to cardiac etiology. Researchers from the GREAT Network hypothesized to evaluate some novel biomarkers in order to test acute cardiac condition that can suggest the presence of heart structural diseases, heart failure, and electrical disorders. The primary objective of this study is to test the diagnostic performance from patient history, clinical judgment, and novel biomarkers in the diagnosis of cardiac syncope in patients admitted to the ED. The trial is designed as a prospective international multicenter observational study accounting for 730 patients aged over 40 admitted to the ED with syncope within the last 12 h. A multimarker approach combining markers of different origin and mode of relapse, should add diagnostic information to correctly identify the cardiac conditions and to therefore be pertinent in the early diagnosis of cardiac syncope and in the prediction of cardiac events including sudden death. Future data should be needed to confirm the hypothesis presented here

Multi-systemic alterations by chronic exposure to a low dose of bisphenol a in drinking water: Effects on inflammation and nad+-dependent deacetylase sirtuin1 in lactating and weaned rats

Bisphenol A (BPA) is largely used as a monomer in some types of plastics. It accumulates in tissues and fluids and is able to bypass the placental barrier, affecting various organs and systems. Due to huge developmental processes, children, foetuses, and neonates could be more sensitive to BPA-induced toxicity. To investigate the multi-systemic effects of chronic exposure to a low BPA dose (100 µg/L), pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to BPA in drinking water during gestation and lactation. At weaning, newborn rats received the same treatments as dams until sex maturation. Free and conjugated BPA levels were measured in plasma and adipose tissue; the size of cerebral ventricles was analysed in the brain; morpho-functional and molecular analyses were carried out in the liver with a focus on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1). Higher BPA levels were found in plasma and adipose tissue from BPA treated pups (17 PND) but not in weaned animals. Lateral cerebral ventricles were significantly enlarged in lactating and weaned BPA-exposed animals. In addition, apart from microvesicular steatosis, liver morphology did not exhibit any statistically significant difference for morphological signs of inflammation, hypertrophy, or macrovesicular steatosis, but the expression of inflammatory cytokines, Sirt1, its natural antisense long non-coding RNA (Sirt1-AS LncRNA) and histone deacetylase 1 (Hdac1) were affected in exposed animals. In conclusion, chronic exposure to a low BPA dose could increase the risk for disease in adult life as a consequence of higher BPA circulating levels and accumulation in adipose tissue during the neonatal period

Fungal model systems and the elucidation of pathogenicity determinants

Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Higher resolution physical numerical model of the Mediterranean Sea in the Copernicus Marine Service

INGV is responsible for the operational production of the physical component of the Mediterranean Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Centre (Med-MFC) of the Copernicus Marine Service Monitoring System (CMEMS). The system was implemented in 2000 by the INGV National Group of Operational oceanography (GNOO) and has been developed in years thanks to a number of European projects. The Med-MFC is a coupled hydrodynamic-wave model with data assimilation component with a resolution of 1/16°. The model solutions are corrected by the variational assimilation (based on a 3DVAR scheme) of Temperature and Salinity vertical profiles (from ARGO, CTD, XBT and Gliders observations) and along track satellite Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) observations. In order to meet the requirements for Copernicus Marine Service Phase I the increase of the horizontal (to 1/24°) and vertical resolution of the hydrodynamic component of Med-MFC has been planned. The major improvements expected from this development are the following: 1) to better resolve the mesoscale processes in the Mediterranean region where the Rossby radius of deformation is about 12-15 km (1/24° is about 4-5 km); 2) to resolve the tidal forcing at Gibraltar, entering from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean, known to provide about 30% amplitude of the tidal signal in the Mediterranean; 3) to better resolve vertical mixing processes.UnpublishedIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. Sede Centrale. Roma3SR. AMBIENTE - Servizi e ricerca per la Societ