Processing continuous range queries with spatiotemporal tolerance

Continuous queries are often employed to monitor the locations of mobile objects (MOs), which are determined by sensing devices like GPS receivers. In this paper, we tackle two challenges in processing continuous range queries (CRQs): coping with data uncertainty inherently associated with location data, and reducing the energy consumption of battery-powered MOs. We propose the concept of spatiotemporal tolerance for CRQ to relax a query's accuracy requirements in terms of a maximal acceptable error. Unlike previous works, our definition considers tolerance in both the spatial and temporal dimensions, which offers applications more flexibility in specifying their individual accuracy requirements. As we will show, these tolerance bounds can provide well-defined query semantics in spite of different sources of data uncertainty. In addition, we present efficient algorithms that carefully control when an MO should sense or report a location, while satisfying these tolerances. Thereby, we particularly reduce the number of position sensing operations substantially, which constitute a considerable source of energy consumption. Extensive simulations confirm that the proposed algorithms result in large energy savings compared to nontolerant query processing. © 2006 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Uma “Mesquita” (lugar de culto) no Alentejo – invisibilidades na cidade

Este artigo visa refletir sobre as novas práticas culturais que se estabeleceram numa cidade do Baixo Alentejo, como resultado da chegada de estudantes estrangeiros, refugiados e migrantes económicos do Médio Oriente, China e de diferentes países africanos, bem como da Europa de Leste. Há mudanças óbvias e imediatamente visíveis no rosto da cidade, mas outras estão como que “cercadas” por um secretismo de que só os mais atentos parecem dar-se conta. Referimo-nos à existência de um local de culto, vulgarmente designado por “Mesquita” instalado em Beja, há cerca de dois anos. Nada a identifica – é uma casa de um único andar, com uma porta e uma janela – situada numa rua estreita, em pleno centro histórico da cidade. Muitos dos habitantes de Beja desconhecem a sua existência. Porém, nesta cidade, templos católicos e protestantes são visíveis e identificados sem qualquer problema. Portanto, o facto de a “Mesquita” emergir como um edifício de alguma forma “oculto” levanta questões sobre identidade social e processos sociais de exclusão e incorporação subjacentes àqueles que a frequentam. A cidade reivindica um forte passado islâmico, pelo que seria expectável que a presença de comunidades muçulmanas enviasse os habitantes deste território para um tempo e espaço comuns de pertença; um tempo que lhes permita aceitar a religião muçulmana de forma pacífica e inclusiva. Sendo a existência da “Mesquita” desconhecida para tantos habitantes, impõe-se a necessidade de conhecer as razões pelas quais isso acontece

RCAN1.4 regulates VEGFR-2 internalisation, cell polarity and migration in human microvascular endothelial cells

Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is an endogenous inhibitor of the calcineurin pathway in cells. It is expressed as two isoforms in vertebrates: RCAN1.1 is constitutively expressed in most tissues, whereas transcription of RCAN1.4 is induced by several stimuli that activate the calcineurin-NFAT pathway. RCAN1.4 is highly upregulated in response to VEGF in human endothelial cells in contrast to RCAN1.1 and is essential for efficient endothelial cell migration and tubular morphogenesis. Here, we show that RCAN1.4 has a role in the regulation of agonist-stimulated VEGFR-2 internalisation and establishment of endothelial cell polarity. siRNA-mediated gene silencing revealed that RCAN1 plays a vital role in regulating VEGF-mediated cytoskeletal reorganisation and directed cell migration and sprouting angiogenesis. Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of RCAN1.4 resulted in increased endothelial cell migration. Antisense-mediated morpholino silencing of the zebrafish RCAN1.4 orthologue revealed a disrupted vascular development further confirming a role for the RCAN1.4 isoform in regulating vascular endothelial cell physiology. Our data suggest that RCAN1.4 plays a novel role in regulating endothelial cell migration by establishing endothelial cell polarity in response to VEGF

Considering Polymorphism in Change-Based Test Suite Reduction

With the increasing popularity of continuous integration, algorithms for selecting the minimal test-suite to cover a given set of changes are in order. This paper reports on how polymorphism can handle false negatives in a previous algorithm which uses method-level changes in the base-code to deduce which tests need to be rerun. We compare the approach with and without polymorphism on two distinct cases ---PMD and CruiseControl--- and discovered an interesting trade-off: incorporating polymorphism results in more relevant tests to be included in the test suite (hence improves accuracy), however comes at the cost of a larger test suite (hence increases the time to run the minimal test-suite).Comment: The final publication is available at link.springer.co

Fokker-Planck Equation for Boltzmann-type and Active Particles: transfer probability approach

Fokker-Planck equation with the velocity-dependent coefficients is considered for various isotropic systems on the basis of probability transition (PT) approach. This method provides the self-consistent and universal description of friction and diffusion for Brownian particles. Renormalization of the friction coefficient is shown to occur for two dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) cases, due to the tensorial character of diffusion. The specific forms of PT are calculated for the Boltzmann-type of collisions and for the absorption-type of collisions (the later are typical for dusty plasmas and some other systems). Validity of the Einstein's relation for the Boltzmann-type collisions is analyzed for the velocity-dependent friction and diffusion coefficients. For the Boltzmann-type collisions in the region of very high grain velocity as well as it is always for non-Boltzmann collisions, such as, e.g., absorption collisions, the Einstein relation is violated, although some other relations (determined by the structure of PT) can exist. The generalized friction force is investigated in dusty plasma in the framework of the PT approach. The relation between this force, negative collecting friction force and scattering and collecting drag forces is established.+AFwAXA- The concept of probability transition is used to describe motion of active particles in an ambient medium. On basis of the physical arguments the PT for a simple model of the active particle is constructed and the coefficients of the relevant Fokker-Planck equation are found. The stationary solution of this equation is typical for the simplest self-organized molecular machines.+AFwAXA- PACS number(s): 52.27.Lw, 52.20.Hv, 52.25.Fi, 82.70.-yComment: 18 page

Synchronous Infra-Slow Oscillations Organize Ensembles of Accessory Olfactory Bulb Projection Neurons into Distinct Microcircuits

The accessory olfactory system controls social and sexual behavior. In the mouse accessory olfactory bulb, the first central stage of information processing along the accessory olfactory pathway, projection neurons (mitral cells) display infra-slow oscillatory discharge with remarkable periodicity. The physiological mechanisms that underlie this default output state, however, remain controversial. Moreover, whether such rhythmic infra-slow activity patterns exist in awake behaving mice and whether such activity reflects the functional organization of the accessory olfactory bulb circuitry remain unclear. Here, we hypothesize that mitral cell ensembles form synchronized microcircuits that subdivide the accessory olfactory bulb into segregated functional clusters. We use a miniature microscope to image the Ca2+ dynamics within the apical dendritic compartments of large mitral cell ensembles in vivo. We show that infra-slow periodic patterns of concerted neural activity, indeed, reflect the idle state of accessory olfactory bulb output in awake male and female mice. Ca2+ activity profiles are distinct and glomerulus-specific. Confocal time-lapse imaging in acute slices reveals that groups of mitral cells assemble into microcircuits that exhibit correlated Ca2+ signals. Moreover, electrophysiological profiling of synaptic connectivity indicates functional coupling between mitral cells. Our results suggest that both intrinsically rhythmogenic neurons and neurons entrained by fast synaptic drive are key elements in organizing the accessory olfactory bulb into functional microcircuits, each characterized by a distinct default pattern of infra-slow rhythmicity

Effects of Timber Harvest on Amphibian Populations: Understanding Mechanisms from Forest Experiments

Accompanying appendix may be accessed at: http://hdl.handle.net/10355/1365Harvesting timber is a common form of land use that has the potential to cause declines in amphibian populations. It is essential to understand the behavior and fate of individuals and the resulting consequences for vital rates (birth, death, immigration, emigration) under different forest management conditions.We report on experimental studies conducted in three regions of the United States to identify mechanisms of responses by pond-breeding amphibians to timber harvest treatments. Our studies demonstrate that life stages related to oviposition and larval performance in the aquatic stage are sometimes affected positively by clearcutting, whereas effects on juvenile and adult terrestrial stages are mostly negative

PEDF and GDNF are key regulators of photoreceptor development and retinal neurogenesis in reaggregates from chick embryonic retina

Here, role(s) of pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF) and glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on photoreceptor development in three-dimensional reaggregates from the retinae of the E6 chick embryo (rosetted spheroids) was investigated. Fully dispersed cells were reaggregated under serum-reduced conditions and supplemented with 50 ng/ml PEDF alone or in combination with 50 ng/ml GDNF. The spheroids were analyzed for cell growth, differentiation, and death using proliferating cell nuclear antigen, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling, and other immunocytochemical stainings and semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. PEDF strongly promoted synthesis of the messenger RNAs for blue and violet cone opsins and to a lesser extent on the red and green cone opsins. This correlated with an increase in the number of cone photoreceptors, as determined by the cone cell marker CERN906. Likewise, PEDF nearly completely inhibited rod differentiation, as detected by immunostaining with anti-rho4D2 and RT-PCR. Furthermore, PEDF accelerated proliferation of cells in the spheroids and inhibited apoptosis. As negative effects, PEDF inhibited the normal histotypic tissue formation of retinal aggregates and reduced the frequency of photoreceptor rosettes and IPL-like areas. Noticeably, supplementation of PEDF-treated cultures with GDNF reversed the effects of PEDF on spheroid morphology and on rod differentiation. This study establishes that PEDF strongly affects three-dimensional retinogenesis in vitro, most notably by inhibiting rod development and supporting proliferation and differentiation of cones, effects which are partially counteracted by GDNF

Insights from the NeurIPS 2021 NetHack Challenge

In this report, we summarize the takeaways from the first NeurIPS 2021 NetHack Challenge. Participants were tasked with developing a program or agent that can win (i.e., ‘ascend’ in) the popular dungeon-crawler game of NetHack by interacting with the NetHack Learning Environment (NLE), a scalable, procedurally generated, and challenging Gym environment for reinforcement learning (RL). The challenge showcased community-driven progress in AI with many diverse approaches significantly beating the previously best results on NetHack. Furthermore, it served as a direct comparison between neural (e.g., deep RL) and symbolic AI, as well as hybrid systems, demonstrating that on NetHack symbolic bots currently outperform deep RL by a large margin. Lastly, no agent got close to winning the game, illustrating NetHack’s suitability as a long-term benchmark for AI research