Learning-Based Synthesis of Safety Controllers

We propose a machine learning framework to synthesize reactive controllers for systems whose interactions with their adversarial environment are modeled by infinite-duration, two-player games over (potentially) infinite graphs. Our framework targets safety games with infinitely many vertices, but it is also applicable to safety games over finite graphs whose size is too prohibitive for conventional synthesis techniques. The learning takes place in a feedback loop between a teacher component, which can reason symbolically about the safety game, and a learning algorithm, which successively learns an overapproximation of the winning region from various kinds of examples provided by the teacher. We develop a novel decision tree learning algorithm for this setting and show that our algorithm is guaranteed to converge to a reactive safety controller if a suitable overapproximation of the winning region can be expressed as a decision tree. Finally, we empirically compare the performance of a prototype implementation to existing approaches, which are based on constraint solving and automata learning, respectively

DNA methylation profiling to assess pathogenicity of BRCA1 unclassified variants in breast cancer

Germline pathogenic mutations in BRCA1 increase risk of developing breast cancer. Screening for mutations in BRCA1 frequently identifies sequence variants of unknown pathogenicity and recent work has aimed to develop methods for determining pathogenicity. We previously observed that tumor DNA methylation can differentiate BRCA1-mutated from BRCA1-wild type tumors. We hypothesized that we could predict pathogenicity of variants based on DNA methylation profiles of tumors that had arisen in carriers of unclassified variants. We selected 150 FFPE breast tumor DNA samples [47 BRCA1 pathogenic mutation carriers, 65 BRCAx (BRCA1-wild type), 38 BRCA1 test variants] and analyzed a subset (n=54) using the Illumina 450K methylation platform, using the remaining samples for bisulphite pyrosequencing validation. Three validated markers (BACH2, C8orf31, and LOC654342) were combined with sequence bioinformatics in a model to predict pathogenicity of 27 variants (independent test set). Predictions were compared with standard multifactorial likelihood analysis. Prediction was consistent for c.5194-12G>A (IVS 19-12 G>A) (P>0.99); 13 variants were considered not pathogenic or likely not pathogenic using both approaches. We conclude that tumor DNA methylation data alone has potential to be used in prediction of BRCA1 variant pathogenicity but is not independent of estrogen receptor status and grade, which are used in current multifactorial models to predict pathogenicity

Time reversibility from visibility graphs of nonstationary processes

Visibility algorithms are a family of methods to map time series into networks, with the aim of describing the structure of time series and their underlying dynamical properties in graph-theoretical terms. Here we explore some properties of both natural and horizontal visibility graphs associated to several non-stationary processes, and we pay particular attention to their capacity to assess time irreversibility. Non-stationary signals are (infinitely) irreversible by definition (independently of whether the process is Markovian or producing entropy at a positive rate), and thus the link between entropy production and time series irreversibility has only been explored in non-equilibrium stationary states. Here we show that the visibility formalism naturally induces a new working definition of time irreversibility, which allows to quantify several degrees of irreversibility for stationary and non-stationary series, yielding finite values that can be used to efficiently assess the presence of memory and off-equilibrium dynamics in non-stationary processes without needs to differentiate or detrend them. We provide rigorous results complemented by extensive numerical simulations on several classes of stochastic processes

Pigmented clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue: an important diagnostic mimic

Clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue (CCSST) is a rare and aggressive soft tissue tumour associated with tendons and aponeuroses of the lower extremities. Due to its melanocytic differentiation, distinguishing CCSST from melanocytic neoplasms and other pigmented lesions can be challenging. We report a peculiar case of CCSST and discuss the histological, immunohistochemical and molecular features which can aid in accurate diagnosis of this entity

Noether symmetry in f(R)f(R) cosmology

The Noether symmetry of a generic $f(R)$ cosmological model is investigated by utilizing the behavior of the corresponding Lagrangian under the infinitesimal generators of the desired symmetry. We explicitly calculate the form of $f(R)$ for which such symmetries exist. It is shown that the resulting form of $f(R)$ yields a power law expansion for the cosmological scale factor. We also obtain the effective equation of state parameter for the corresponding cosmology and show that our model can provide a gravitational alternative to the quintessence.Comment: 9 pages,no figures,typos corrected,references added, to appear in PL

Scaling Bounded Model Checking By Transforming Programs With Arrays

Bounded Model Checking is one the most successful techniques for finding bugs in program. However, model checkers are resource hungry and are often unable to verify programs with loops iterating over large arrays.We present a transformation that enables bounded model checkers to verify a certain class of array properties. Our technique transforms an array-manipulating (ANSI-C) program to an array-free and loop-free (ANSI-C) program thereby reducing the resource requirements of a model checker significantly. Model checking of the transformed program using an off-the-shelf bounded model checker simulates the loop iterations efficiently. Thus, our transformed program is a sound abstraction of the original program and is also precise in a large number of cases - we formally characterize the class of programs for which it is guaranteed to be precise. We demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of our technique on both industry code as well as academic benchmarks

Engineering a static verification tool for GPU kernels

We report on practical experiences over the last 2.5 years related to the engineering of GPUVerify, a static verification tool for OpenCL and CUDA GPU kernels, plotting the progress of GPUVerify from a prototype to a fully functional and relatively efficient analysis tool. Our hope is that this experience report will serve the verification community by helping to inform future tooling efforts. © 2014 Springer International Publishing

Brane World Cosmology, the CMB and the Radion

Recent developments in the theory of extra dimensions have opened up avenues to confront such theories with cosmological tests. We discuss a brane-world model with a bulk scalar field, motivated by supergravity. The low-energy effective action is derived and physical constraints on the parameters of the model discussed. The cosmological evolution of the brane-world moduli is investigated and it is shown that one of the moduli is a quintessence field. The CMB predictions are computed. Finally, the possibility that the radion field in brane-worlds could be a chameleon field is investigated.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the DPU Workshop: The Density Fluctuations in the Universe: Beyond the Inflaton Paradigm (Athens, June 2004

Gravitational wave background from Population III black hole formation

We study the generation of a stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background produced from a population of core-collapse supernovae, which form black holes in scenarios of structure formation. We obtain, for example, that the formation of a population (Population III) of black holes, in cold dark matter scenarios, could generate a stochastic GW background with a maximum amplitude of $h_{\rm BG} \simeq 10^{-24}$ and corresponding closure energy density of $\Omega_{\rm{GW}}\sim 10^{-7}$, in the frequency band $\nu_{\rm{obs}} \simeq 30-470 {\rm Hz}$ (assuming a maximum efficiency of generation of GWs, namely, $\epsilon_{\rm GW_{\rm max}} = 7\times 10^{-4}$) for stars forming at redshifts $z\simeq 30-10.$ We show that it will be possible in the future to detect this isotropic GW background by correlating signals of a pair of `advanced' LIGO observatories (LIGO III) at a signal-to-noise ratio of $\simeq 40$. We discuss what astrophysical information could be obtained from a positive (or even a negative) detection of such a GW background generated in scenarios such as those studied here. One of them is the possibility of obtaining the initial and final redshifts of the emission period from the observed spectrum of GWs.Comment: 10 pages (mn2e Latex), 3 eps figures, MNRAS (in press