Bounded LTL Model Checking with Stable Models

In this paper bounded model checking of asynchronous concurrent systems is introduced as a promising application area for answer set programming. As the model of asynchronous systems a generalisation of communicating automata, 1-safe Petri nets, are used. It is shown how a 1-safe Petri net and a requirement on the behaviour of the net can be translated into a logic program such that the bounded model checking problem for the net can be solved by computing stable models of the corresponding program. The use of the stable model semantics leads to compact encodings of bounded reachability and deadlock detection tasks as well as the more general problem of bounded model checking of linear temporal logic. Correctness proofs of the devised translations are given, and some experimental results using the translation and the Smodels system are presented.Comment: 32 pages, to appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programmin

Multiple independent colonizations into the Congo Basin during the continental radiation of African Mastacembelus spiny eels

AIM: There has been recent interest in the origin and assembly of continental biotas based on densely sampled species-level clades, however, studies from African freshwaters are few so that the commonality of macroevolutionary patterns and processes among continental clades remain to be tested. Within the Afrotropics, the Congo Basin contains the highest diversity of riverine fishes, yet it is unclear how this fauna was assembled. To address this, and the diversification dynamics of a continental radiation, we focus on African Mastacembelus spiny eels. LOCATION: Afrotropical freshwaters. METHODS: The most complete molecular phylogeny to date was reconstructed for African spiny eels. Divergence times were estimated applying a Bayesian relaxed clock comparing fossil and geological calibrations across nuclear and mitochondrial trees. Biogeographic reconstructions, applying a dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis model and lineage diversification dynamics were examined. RESULTS: Spiny eels originated in Asia and colonized Africa c. 15.4 Ma (95% HPD: 23.9–8.8 Ma) from which their subsequent radiation across the Afrotropics was best fitted by a constant rate model. Ancestral state estimation identified multiple colonization events into the Congo Basin, whereas all other regions were likely to have been colonized once indicating considerable geographic constraints. Application of the fossil calibration gave similar age estimates across datasets, whereas a geological calibration estimated considerably older nuclear divergences. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Despite profound environmental events during the evolutionary history of the group, there is no evidence for rapid lineage diversification. This finding supports several recent studies on tropical continental radiations that contrast to the common pattern of density-dependent diversification. We further show that dispersal has occurred into, as well as out of the Congo Basin, indicating the importance of this region in the generation of biodiversity

Cocoa Butter Saturated with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: Measurements and Modelling of Solubility, Volumetric Expansion, Density and Viscosity

International audienceThe use of supercritical carbon dioxide technology for lipid processing has recently developed at the expense of traditional processes. For designing new processes the knowledge of thermophysical properties is a prerequisite. This work is focused on the characterization of physical and thermodynamic properties of CO2-cocoa butter (CB) saturated mixture. Measurements of density, volumetric expansion, viscosity and CO2 solubility were carried out on CB-rich phase at 313 and 353 K and pressures up to 40 MPa. The experimental techniques have previously been compared and validated. Density measurements of CB and CB saturated with CO2, were performed using the vibrating tube technology at pressures ranging from 0.1 to 25 MPa. Experimental values correlated well with the modified Tait equation. CO2 solubility measurements were coupled to those of density in the same pressures ranges. At 25 MPa, the solubility of CO2 is 31.4 % and 28.7 % at 313 and 353 K. Phase behaviour was investigated using a view cell in order to follow the expansion of the CB-rich phase with the rise in pressure. Volumetric expansion up to 47 % was measured and correlated to the CO2 solubility. Phase inversion was observed at 313 K and 40 MPa. Lastly, we developed an innovative falling ball viscometer for high pressure measurements. Viscosity measurements were carried out up to 25 MPa showing a viscosity reduction up to 90 % upon CO2 dissolution. These results were correlated with two empirical models. A new model here presented, was favourably compared with the Grunberg and Nissan model. All the experimental results are consistent with the available literature data for the CB-CO2 mixture and other fat systems. This work is a new contribution to the characterization of physical and thermodynamic behaviour of fats in contact with CO2 which is necessary to design supercritical fluid processes for fats processing

Cell-Degradation of Calcium Phosphate Ceramics

Calcium phosphate ceramics are used in bone surgery under different forms: dense or porous ceramic s as bone substitute, thin ceramic coatings on metallic implants as an osseointegration enhancer. Their degradation depends on their physico-chemical properties and particularly on their chemical composition. Natural calcium phosphates of bone are degraded by mononuclear or multinuclear cells and the extracellular matrix induces the differentiation of the degrading-cells. Hydroxyapatite, which is one of the most used calcium phosphates , is known as a low degradation material. However, the histological analysis of implanted HA-materials both in animals and in humans showed that a cellular degradation took place on the surface of the material

Development of Characterization Techniques of Thermodynamic and Physical Properties Applied to the CO2-DMSO Mixture

International audienceThis work is focused on the development of new characterization techniques of physical and thermodynamic properties. These techniques have been validated using the binary system DMSO-CO2 for which several studies of characterization have been well documented. We focused on the DMSO-rich phase and we carried out measurements of volumetric expansion, density, viscosity and CO2 solubility at 298.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K and pressures up to 9 MPa. The experimental procedures were compared and validated with the available literature data on SC-CO2-DMSO system. We made density and CO2 solubility measurements, using respectively the vibrating tube technology and two static analytical methods. Lastly, we developed an innovative falling body viscosimeter for high pressure measurements. All the measurements made are in good agreement with the already published data in spite of very different experimental techniques. This work is a contribution to the understanding of the DMSO-CO2 binary as it implements new viscosity data. Moreover, it opens new perspectives about the determination of the properties of other systems such as polymers-CO2 and fats-CO2, which are essential for supercritical process design such as extraction, crystallization, chromatography and synthesis reaction

Hybrid Rules with Well-Founded Semantics

A general framework is proposed for integration of rules and external first order theories. It is based on the well-founded semantics of normal logic programs and inspired by ideas of Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) and constructive negation for logic programs. Hybrid rules are normal clauses extended with constraints in the bodies; constraints are certain formulae in the language of the external theory. A hybrid program is a pair of a set of hybrid rules and an external theory. Instances of the framework are obtained by specifying the class of external theories, and the class of constraints. An example instance is integration of (non-disjunctive) Datalog with ontologies formalized as description logics. The paper defines a declarative semantics of hybrid programs and a goal-driven formal operational semantics. The latter can be seen as a generalization of SLS-resolution. It provides a basis for hybrid implementations combining Prolog with constraint solvers. Soundness of the operational semantics is proven. Sufficient conditions for decidability of the declarative semantics, and for completeness of the operational semantics are given

Efficient Parallel Statistical Model Checking of Biochemical Networks

We consider the problem of verifying stochastic models of biochemical networks against behavioral properties expressed in temporal logic terms. Exact probabilistic verification approaches such as, for example, CSL/PCTL model checking, are undermined by a huge computational demand which rule them out for most real case studies. Less demanding approaches, such as statistical model checking, estimate the likelihood that a property is satisfied by sampling executions out of the stochastic model. We propose a methodology for efficiently estimating the likelihood that a LTL property P holds of a stochastic model of a biochemical network. As with other statistical verification techniques, the methodology we propose uses a stochastic simulation algorithm for generating execution samples, however there are three key aspects that improve the efficiency: first, the sample generation is driven by on-the-fly verification of P which results in optimal overall simulation time. Second, the confidence interval estimation for the probability of P to hold is based on an efficient variant of the Wilson method which ensures a faster convergence. Third, the whole methodology is designed according to a parallel fashion and a prototype software tool has been implemented that performs the sampling/verification process in parallel over an HPC architecture