Formalizing Cyber--Physical System Model Transformation via Abstract Interpretation

Model transformation tools assist system designers by reducing the labor--intensive task of creating and updating models of various aspects of systems, ensuring that modeling assumptions remain consistent across every model of a system, and identifying constraints on system design imposed by these modeling assumptions. We have proposed a model transformation approach based on abstract interpretation, a static program analysis technique. Abstract interpretation allows us to define transformations that are provably correct and specific. This work develops the foundations of this approach to model transformation. We define model transformation in terms of abstract interpretation and prove the soundness of our approach. Furthermore, we develop formalisms useful for encoding model properties. This work provides a methodology for relating models of different aspects of a system and for applying modeling techniques from one system domain, such as smart power grids, to other domains, such as water distribution networks.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; to appear in HASE 2019 proceeding

Expression and function of the atypical chemokine receptor CCX-CKR

The ability to clear infections and repair injury is dependent on the coordinated migration of immune cells, or leukocytes. These cells can directly destroy invading pathogens and also produce a variety of bioactive factors that promote pathogen clearance. Interactions between immune cells occur both at the site of inflammation and in specialised lymphoid organs throughout the body. The efficiency and specificity of these interactions relies on the production of a family of molecules called chemotactic cytokines, or chemokines, that drive leukocyte migration. Cells express specific profiles of chemokine receptors to ensure they are directed to the appropriate location to exert their immunological function. The field of chemokine biology, already complex, has been further complicated by the discovery of a subfamily of receptors, the atypical chemokine receptors. These molecules lack the ability to couple to signal transduction pathways used by the other chemokine receptors, and are proposed to act as chemokine scavengers or transport molecules. The atypical chemokine receptor CCX-CKR was discovered more than a decade ago but its function in vivo remains unclear. At the beginning of my project, information about this molecule was very limited. The murine receptor binds the CC chemokines CCL19, CCL21 and CCL25, which have well-characterised and critical roles in the development and homeostasis of the immune system as well as in the immune response to infection. Thus, identification of this new receptor, which unlike classical receptors does not induce cell migration in response to ligand binding, presented some exciting possibilities as to how these processes might be regulated in vivo. Reports describing the pattern of expression of CCX-CKR have thus far provided only limited and sometimes contradictory information. Additionally, while in vitro studies from our lab have provided some important clues as to the potential role of the receptor, published in vivo studies were, at the time of commencing this work, limited to one report describing an unvalidated EGFP reporter knock-in transgenic mouse and a conflicting online resource detailing data generated using a LacZ reporter mouse. To understand the true function of this molecule, it is critical to know where it is expressed in vivo and to explore its function on these cells. In this project I set out with the aim of identifying murine tissues and cells expressing CCX-CKR, as well as examining its potential as an in vivo scavenger of chemokine. Related to this, I hoped to uncover any impact of deletion of CCX-CKR on lymphoid tissue cellularity and/or function, both in resting and inflamed conditions. In chapter 3, I present data that identify lymphoid tissues and “barrier” tissues as sites of robustly detectable CCX-CKR mRNA expression. I describe how I have established a novel fluorescent chemokine tetramer-based protocol for the detection of CCL19 receptors, with emphasis on the application of this protocol to identify CCX-CKR activity on specific cell subsets. Using this method, I present evidence that some CD11b+ CD11c+ myeloid subsets in the inguinal lymph node exhibit CCX-CKR dependent internalisation of chemokine. I also describe attempts to fractionate tissues to identify cell populations responsible for the detected whole-tissue expression of CCX-CKR mRNA. The results described in chapter 4 provide support for the hypothesis that CCX-CKR regulates levels of its ligands in vivo, with alterations in chemokine levels in serum and inguinal lymph nodes in the absence of CCX-CKR. I also present evidence demonstrating that deletion of the receptor can influence mRNA levels of the related receptor CCR7. Following on from this, chapter 5 details my analysis of the impact of CCX-CKR on the cellularity of various lymphoid compartments. I present evidence that CCX-CKR influences lymphocyte populations in the peritoneal cavity, with both innate-like and conventional lymphocytes significantly overrepresented in this compartment. The cellularity of the inguinal lymph node, but not the spleen, is subtly altered by deletion of the receptor. Splenic leukocyte cellularity is not affected, either in number or in localisation. In chapter 6, I turn my attention to the possible role of CCX-CKR during the inflammatory response by examining various experimental parameters during a short-term model of induced cutaneous inflammation. This study shows that CCX-CKR deletion alters the cellularity of the myeloid compartment in the draining lymph node and again highlights myeloid subsets as displaying CCX-CKR dependent chemokine internalisation. Finally, I present preliminary data suggesting a protective effect of CCX-CKR deletion during a long-term model of inflammation-driven tumorigenesis. Taken together, my data provide tentative support for the theory that CCX-CKR acts as a chemokine scavenger in vivo. They further indicate that CCX-CKR is involved in regulating cellularity of various lymphoid compartments both at rest and during induced inflammation. In chapter 7 I discuss in detail the implications of my findings in the context of work published since my project began, and highlight growing evidence to suggest a role for CCX-CKR in regulating immune function

Proposed Rule of Evidence 609: Impeachment of Criminal Defendants by Prior Convictions

This comment describes current Washington law on the use of criminal convictions to impeach the testimony of criminal defendants and examines the factors which are relevant to the formation of a more acceptable rule. Adoption of the proposed rule would also affect the rules for impeaching nondefendant witnesses. Only a criminal defendant, however, is in jeopardy of actually being convicted as a result of a jury\u27s misuse of evidence of prior convictions. Because the interests of the criminal defendant witness will be so drastically affected by the prior conviction rule which the Washington Supreme Court ultimately adopts, this comment will focus on how Proposed Rule of Evidence 609 would change such a defendant\u27s rights. This comment concludes that Proposed Rule 609 is a considerable improvement over the present Washington rule, but that certain modifications would be desirable. Finally, because the Washington Supreme Court\u27s adoption of Proposed Rule 609 would indicate its intent to adopt existing federal law, a critique of federal cases in which Federal Rule 609 has been applied is offered

Domestic Relations—Breach of Promise to Marry: Relic Revisited to Exclude Expectation Damages—Stanard v. Bolin, 88 Wn. 2d 614, 565 P.2d 94 (1977)

Plaintiff, relying on defendant\u27s proposal of marriage, trained a replacement for her job, placed her home for sale, sold her furniture, and incurred normal expenses incidental to a future union. One month before the date of marriage, defendant informed plaintiff he would not fulfill his promise of marriage; she subsequently became ill, repurchased her home furnishings, and cancelled all wedding plans. Plaintiff brought suit for breach of promise to marry, seeking damages for (1) direct pecuniary losses; (2) pain, impairment to health, humiliation, embarrassment; and (3) loss of the expected financial security of marriage. The superior court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. In a seven to two decision, the Washington Supreme Court reversed and remanded for trial, modifying the remedy of the cause of action to exclude damages for loss of future financial security. Stanard v. Bolin, 88 Wn. 2d 614, 565 P.2d 94 (1977)

Equality Archive: Open Educational Resources as Feminist Praxis

Statement on EqualityArchive.com as an instance of open educational resources as feminist praxis

Structuring portfolio selection criteria for interactive decision support

A trichotomic evaluation system for portfolio selection support is proposed through this paper. The methodology works in two phases: First, Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) is used to estimate portfolios’ expected return and to identify influence factors and risk origins. ELECTRE TRI method aggregates all the common risk criteria into a unique one, which is more understandable by real investors or portfolio managers. By this way each alternative portfolio is evaluated on three criteria only including return, residual risk and common risk. In the second phase, the MINORA multicriteria interactive system based on preference disaggregation is proposed to select attractive portfolios. The whole methodological framework is illustrated by an application to the French stock market.peer-reviewe

Window Query Processing with Proxy Cache

A location dependent query (LDQ) result set is valid only in a specific region called the validity region (VR). While limiting the validity of a particular result set to a given area, the VR may also be used in caching implementations to determine if cached results satisfy semantically equivalent queries. Existing LDQ caching schemes rely on the database servers to provide the VR at a cost of high computational overhead. Alternatively, a LDQ proxy cache, which approximates the VR can be employed, freeing the database servers from the high cost of calculating the VR. A LDQ proxy cache architecture is proposed to compute an estimated validity region (EVR) based on the observed querying history at the proxy server. We present an algorithm - Window_EVR - for the LDQ proxy to compute the EVR for a window query result set. The simulation results show that LDQ proxy caching using the Window_EVR algorithm significantly reduces both the window query response time and the workload at the database servers while maintaining query result set accuracy

Transactional Agents for Pervasive Computing

Pervasive computing enables seamless integration of computing technology into everyday life to make upto- date information and services proactively available to the users based on their needs and behaviors. We aim to develop a transaction management scheme as a pertinent component for such environment supported by either structured or ad hoc networks. We propose Transactional Agents for Pervasive COmputing (TAPCO), which utilizes a dynamic hierarchical meta data structure that captures the semantic contents of the underlying heterogeneous data sources. Mobile agents process the transactions collaboratively, to preserve ACID properties without violating local autonomy of the data sources. TAPCO is simulated and compared against Decentralized Serialization Graph Testing (DSGT) protocol. The results show that TAPCO outperforms DSGT in several ways. In contrast to DSGT that did not consider local transactions, TAPCO supports both local and global transactions without violating the local autonomy

Noncommutative geometry and star products

Räume und Zahlen sind zwei wichtige philosophische Konzepte für die Beschreibung natürlichen Phänomene. Von Anfang an schien es, dass eine Art von Ä quivalenz (Dualität) zwischen geometrischen Räumen (also der Geometrie) und Zahlen (also Algebren) existiert. In der modernen Mathematik kann diese Äquivalenz z.B. mittels der Kategorientheorie ausgedrückt werden. Ein wichtiges Beispiel ist dabei die Dualität zwischen kommutativen C Stern Algebren und lokal kompakten topologischen Hausdorff Räumen. Neben diesen kommutativen Algebren gibt es aber auch eine breite Palette von nichtkommutativen Algebren, d.h. Algebren deren Multiplikation von der Reihenfolge der Faktoren abhängt. Nichtkommutative Geometrie ist demnach das Studium von topologischen R¨aumen, wobei jeweils eine nichtkommutative Funktionenalgebra (C Stern-Algebra) das duale Gegenstück bildet. Es gibt einige physikalische Hinweise auf eine nichtkommutative Struktur der Raumzeit für sehr kleine Läengenskalen. Das Ziel meiner Arbeit ist es, ausgehend von einer nichtkommutativer Raumzeit Deformationsquantisierungen von Funktionenalgebren zu diskutieren. In dieser Hinsicht erscheint eine Deformationsquantisierung als nichtkommutatives Produkt auf der Algebra der glatten Funktionen auf der Raumzeit-Mannigfaltigkeit. Dieses assoziative und nichtkommutative Produkt wird als Sternprodukt (star product) bezeichnet. Kontsevich konnte zeigen, dass für jede Mannigfaltigkeit mit einer sogenannten Poisson Struktur ein Sternprodukt definiert werden kann und konnte eine explizite Formel dafür angeben. Allerdings ist diese Zuweisung nicht eindeutig möglich, es müssen Äquivalenzklassen von Sternprodukten betrachtet werden. Eine physikalische Interpretation von Sternprodukten wird im Rahmen von Poisson Sigmamodelle klar. Poisson Sigmamodelle sind topologische Quantenfeldtheorien und eine Verallgemeinerung einer großen Klasse von Feldtheorien. Es deutet sehr vieles darauf hin, dass die Nichtkommutativität von Raum und Zeit wertvolle Hinweise für die Struktur einer möglichen großen vereinheitlichten Theorie, also einer grand unified field theory, geben könnte

Personalizing Student Graduation Paths Using Expressed Student Interests

This paper proposes an intelligent recommendation approach to facilitate personalized education and help students in planning their path to graduation. The goal is to identify a path that aligns with a student\u27s interests and career goals and approaches optimality with respect to one or more criteria, such as time-to-graduation or credit hours taken. The approach is illustrated and verified through application to undergraduate curricula at the Missouri University of Science and Technology