Towards Generic Monitors for Object-Oriented Real-Time Maude Specifications

Non-Functional Properties (NFPs) are crucial in the design of software. Specification of systems is used in the very first phases of the software development process for the stakeholders to make decisions on which architecture or platform to use. These specifications may be an- alyzed using different formalisms and techniques, simulation being one of them. During a simulation, the relevant data involved in the anal- ysis of the NFPs of interest can be measured using monitors. In this work, we show how monitors can be parametrically specified so that the instrumentation of specifications to be monitored can be automatically performed. We prove that the original specification and the automati- cally obtained specification with monitors are bisimilar by construction. This means that the changes made on the original system by adding monitors do not affect its behavior. This approach allows us to have a library of possible monitors that can be safely added to analyze different properties, possibly on different objects of our systems, at will.Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Spanish MINECO/FEDER project TIN2014-52034-R, NSF Grant CNS 13-19109

Contribution of Xenopus model to a better understanding of cardiac outflow tract

Contribution of Xenopus model to a better understanding of cardiac outflow tract. A Torres-Prioris 1, SJ Smith 2, TJ Mohun 2, B Fernández 1, AC Durán 1. 1 Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, and Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA), University of Málaga, Spain. 2 Developmental Biology Division, The Francis Crick Institute, Mill Hill Laboratory, London, UK. The morphology and morphogenesis of the cardiac outflow tract is a major topic in the study of the vertebrate circulatory system, especially regarding the pathologies affecting this region in humans. Recent studies have demonstrated that, in fish, the cardiac outflow tract consists of a myocardial conus arteriosus and a nonmyocardial bulbus arteriosus. Moreover, the bulbus arteriosus of fish has been considered homologous to the intrapericardial base of the aortic and pulmonary trunks of birds and mammals. Under this perspective, we have conducted a study on the outflow tract of Xenopus laevis, using histological, immunohistochemical and 3D reconstruction techniques. It has been assumed that the outflow tract of Xenopus, which is intercalated between the ventricle and the great arterial trunks, is of myocardial nature. At its luminal side, it contains two sets of valves between which the so-called spiral valve lies. Our results demonstrate that, together with a proximal myocardial segment, a distal, nonmyocardial, intrapericardial segment is also present in amphibians. We propose that this distal segment, from which the pulmocutaneous and systemic arteries arise, is homologous to the bulbus arteriosus of fish. Therefore, the bulbus arteriosus is an evolutionarily conserved structure, which has become the aortic and pulmonary roots of birds and mammals. Our findings contribute to strengthening Xenopus as a good model to better understand the outflow tract morphology and evolution, and as an emerging model for studying human congenital heart diseases. This work was supported by CGL2010-16417, BES-2011-046901, Estancias Breves para FPI (2012, 2013) and FEDER funds.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. CGL2010-16417, BES-2011-046901, Estancias Breves para FPI (2012, 2013), FEDER funds

Application of biological based biomaterials, bioactive molecules and tissue engineering in periodontal plastic surgery: A review

Indexación: Web of Science; ScieloObjetivo: Describir, clasificar y discutir las indicaciones de los biomateriales de base biológica, moléculas bioactivas e ingeniería de tejidos que se están usando para el manejo de recesiones y aumento de encía en cirugía plástica periodontal. En esta revisión de la literatura, se utilizó una combinación de los términos de búsqueda específicos que consideraran los materiales en revisión, para el aumento de encía adherida, y el recubrimiento radicular. Materiales y Métodos: Se usaron las siguientes fuentes: Medline, Biblioteca Cochrane, y búsqueda manual de revistas específicas como el Journal of Periodontology, International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry y Journal of Clinical Periodontology entre años 1985 y 2011. Se revisaron un total de 117 artículos y se seleccionaron 74 entre estudios clínicos controlados, estudios clínicos randomizados, reportes de casos y estudios en animales. Los artículos fueron revisados por los autores y aceptados por consenso para su discusión. Conclusiones: 1) Existe una serie de materiales que presentan gran potencial y podrían ser una alternativa viable a los injertos autógenos, pero se requiere más estudios a largo plazo. 2) Existe necesidad de estudios con la investigación de estos procedimientos en relación a resultados orientados a la estabilidad, seguridad y efectividad de los diferentes materiales existentes.Objective: To describe, classify and discuss the clinical applications of biologically based biomaterials, bioactive molecules and tissue engineering being utilized in gingival recession therapy and gingival augmentation procedures in plastic periodontal surgery. In this literature review, a combination of specific search key words were used, including materials being reviewed, indicated for gingival augmentation and root coverage procedures. Materials and Methods: The following sources were consulted: Medline, Cochrane Library and manual search of specific scientific journals such as Journal of Periodontology, International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry and Journal of Clinical Periodontology between the years 1985 and 2011. A total of 117 articles were reviewed with 74 being selected unanimously by the authors for discussion in the manuscript. These articles included controlled clinical studies, randomized clinical studies, case reports and animal studies. The selected articles were reviewed by the authors and accepted by consensus. Conclusions: 1) There is a cohort of materials that exhibit great potential which could be a viable alternative to autografts but are in need of further long term studies. 2) There is a need of research of these materials in relation to stability, safety and efficacy.http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0719-01072012000300009&nrm=is

Dune formation on the present Mars

We apply a model for sand dunes to calculate formation of dunes on Mars under the present Martian atmospheric conditions. We find that different dune shapes as those imaged by Mars Global Surveyor could have been formed by the action of sand-moving winds occuring on today's Mars. Our calculations show, however, that Martian dunes could be only formed due to the higher efficiency of Martian winds in carrying grains into saltation. The model equations are solved to study saltation transport under different atmospheric conditions valid for Mars. We obtain an estimate for the wind speed and migration velocity of barchan dunes at different places on Mars. From comparison with the shape of bimodal sand dunes, we find an estimate for the timescale of the changes in Martian wind regimes.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Adaptive FE-BE Coupling for Strongly Nonlinear Transmission Problems with Coulomb Friction

We analyze an adaptive finite element/boundary element procedure for scalar elastoplastic interface problems involving friction, where a nonlinear uniformly monotone operator such as the p-Laplacian is coupled to the linear Laplace equation on the exterior domain. The problem is reduced to a boundary/domain variational inequality, a discretized saddle point formulation of which is then solved using the Uzawa algorithm and adaptive mesh refinements based on a gradient recovery scheme. The Galerkin approximations are shown to converge to the unique solution of the variational problem in a suitable product of L^p- and L^2-Sobolev spaces.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figure

Structural analysis, magnetic and transport properties of the (Ru1-xCox)Sr2GdCu2O8 system

The effects of Co substitution on structural and superconducting properties of RuSr2GdCu2O8 compound have been studied. Rietveld refinements of the X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the cobalt ion progressively replaces ruthenium sites. This replacement induces significant changes on the crystal structure and on the magnetic and superconducting properties. The effects Co substitution on the superconducting behaviour, and more particulary on the changes induce by the hole doping mechanism, were investigated in (Ru1-xCox)Sr2GdCu2O8 by a "bond valence sum" analysis with Co content from x= 0.0 to x = 0.2. The weak ferromagnetic transition at Tm= 138.2 K is shifted to lower temperature, and suppressed at higher Co content. From the crystallographic point of view the Ru-O(1)-Cu bond angle, associated to the rotation of the RuO6 octahedra, around the c-axis remain essetially constant when Ru is substituted by Co. Furthermore, increasing Co content has the effect to increase the weak ferromagnetic moment, which may be interpreted as the main responsible for breaking the delicate balance between magnetic and superconducting ordering.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure

Vortex Plastic Motion in Twinned Superconductors

We present simulations, without electrodynamical assumptions, of $B(x,y,H(t)), M(H(t))$, and $J_c(H(t))$, in hard superconductors, for a variety of twin-boundary pinning potential parameters, and for a range of values of the density and strength of the pinning sites. We numerically solve the overdamped equations of motion of up to 10^4 flux-gradient-driven vortices which can be temporarily trapped at $\sim 10^6$ pinning centers. These simulations relate macroscopic measurements (e.g., M(H), ``flame'' shaped $B(x,y)$ profiles) with the underlying microscopic pinning landscape and the plastic dynamics of individual vortices