On the Complexity of Optimization Problems based on Compiled NNF Representations

Optimization is a key task in a number of applications. When the set of feasible solutions under consideration is of combinatorial nature and described in an implicit way as a set of constraints, optimization is typically NP-hard. Fortunately, in many problems, the set of feasible solutions does not often change and is independent from the user's request. In such cases, compiling the set of constraints describing the set of feasible solutions during an off-line phase makes sense, if this compilation step renders computationally easier the generation of a non-dominated, yet feasible solution matching the user's requirements and preferences (which are only known at the on-line step). In this article, we focus on propositional constraints. The subsets L of the NNF language analyzed in Darwiche and Marquis' knowledge compilation map are considered. A number of families F of representations of objective functions over propositional variables, including linear pseudo-Boolean functions and more sophisticated ones, are considered. For each language L and each family F, the complexity of generating an optimal solution when the constraints are compiled into L and optimality is to be considered w.r.t. a function from F is identified

Optimisation multicritère pour la gestion de dépendances logicielles : utilisation de la norme de Tchebycheff

Session "Posters"National audienceLe problème de gestion de dépendances logicielles concerne l'installation d'applications informatiques modulaires. Il s'agit de programmes ayant la faculté d'être configurés par l'utilisateur, qui peut choisir à tout moment les modules qu'il souhaite installer ou enlever. Un module peut nécessiter la présence d'autres modules pour fonctionner, il peut entrer en conflit avec certains modules, et parfois il peut recommander l'installation de modules spécifiques pour pouvoir être utilisé au meilleur de ses capacités. Il existe généralement plusieurs solutions (listes de paquets à installer et à enlever) pour passer d'une configuration courante à une configuration souhaitée. On peut se donner des critères pour ordonner ces solutions, passant alors d'un problème de décision (" est-ce que je peux ajouter tous ces modules ? ") à un problème d'optimisation (" quelle est la meilleure solution pour ajouter tous ces modules ? "). Dans de nombreux cas, il faut prendre en compte plusieurs critères. Cet article se concentre sur des méthodes algorithmiques capables de calculer des solutions équilibrées en utilisant la norme de Tchebycheff comme méthode d'agrégation de critères. Cette approche est ensuite évaluée sur des problèmes de gestion de dépendances entre paquets GNU/Linux

A bond graph representation of an optimal control problem: the example of the DC motor

International audienceOptimization has become of great importance in present day Systems Engineering. Also, bond graph language proves to be a very efficient tool for modelling, analysing and designing mechatronic systems from an energy and dynamic point of view. The idea presented in this paper is to combine an optimization formulation in the optimal control context with bond graph language. The objective is to transpose the optimization problem into bond graph formalism so that its exploitation will solve this optimization problem. This paper, being a primary investigation, restricts itself to an optimal control problem formulation applied to the example of the classical DC motor. Developments are based on the use of Pontryagin's classical Maximum Principle where the cost function is expressed as the integral of a quadratic form of the state space vector and the control input to be determined. This type of expression may correspond to a certain energy loss-minimization. It is shown that the formulation of this optimal control problem in bond graph makes logical use of the adjoint system concept. Later variable mapping enables an augmented bond graph representation of the whole problem to be set up. Finally the bicausality assignment to this augmented bond graph representation furnishes the solution to the optimal control problem under consideration

“Take an Ounce of Suffolk Cheese”: Home Repair of Eighteenth Century Ceramics at Ferry Farm, George Washington’s Boyhood Home

The archaeological discovery at Ferry Farm of eighteenth century glue residues on tea and tablewares belonging to George Washington’s mother, Mary, raised a number of questions. Although recent research in the archaeological and decorative arts community on repaired ceramic and glasswares was helpful to some extent it primarily focused on professional repairs. At-home mending remained a mystery. Archaeologists at Ferry Farm responded by conducting extensive experimental archaeology on historic glues, replicating period glue recipes to determine the properties of these historic adhesives. Additionally, residue samples of suspected glue were analyzed by chemists from Eastern Michigan and Lourdes Universities utilizing Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) Mass Spectrometry. The resulting data have shed light on what these sociotechnic artifacts say about a woman in Mary Washington’s social and economic position while highlighting an extremely common yet archaeologically ephemeral activity

Bond Graph Representation of Standard Interconnection Model

International audienceThe study of the robustness of a system's parametric uncertainties is based on state representations which separate the nominal part of the system from the uncertain part. The most used form is the standard interconnection model. Recent works have been formulated so as to find this representation graphically by the bond graph approach. A new procedure is proposed in this paper to determine an uncertain model adapted to the study of robustness and for robust control. The advantage of this procedure is in simplifying the resulting graphical model

Structural analysis by bond graph approach: Duality between causal and bicausal procedure

Postprint version.International audienceThe infinite structure of linear time-invariant systems has been principally used to solve control problems. Nevertheless, this system characterization appears interesting in the design and sizing of mechatronic systems as well. Indeed, based on the bond graph language and inverse modelling, a methodology has already been developed for sizing mechatronic systems according to energy and dynamic criteria. One of the novelties of this methodology is its structural analysis step. This step enables structural properties to be deduced and helps in the formulation of the specifications. The aim of this paper is to add new graphical procedures to the structural analysis step to determine some structural properties (infinite pole orders and relative orders) from the inverse model (bicausal bond graph model). The structural analysis of the inverse model remains interesting since the essential orders are immediately obtained on the bicausal model. A discussion is carried out regarding the duality between the causal and bicausal procedures

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Persistent household food insecurity, HIV, and maternal stress in Peri-Urban Ghana

BACKGROUND: The mental health of caregivers has been shown to be important for improving HIV prevention and treatment. Household food insecurity affects hundreds of millions of individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that experiences a disproportionate burden of the HIV pandemic. Both maternal HIV diagnosis and household food insecurity may be linked with maternal stress. This in turn may lead to unhealthy coping behaviors. We examined the independent associations of HIV, persistent household food insecurity and the synergistic effect of both on maternal stress. METHODS: Ghanaian women recruited prenatally from hospitals offering voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) were followed for 12 months after childbirth (N = 232). A locally adapted 7-item version of the US Household Food Security Survey Module was applied at four time points postpartum. We dichotomized participant households as being persistently food insecure (i.e., food insecure at each time point) or not (i.e., food secure at any time point). We dichotomized participant women as not perceiving vs. perceiving stress at 12 months postpartum in reference to the median sample score on the 4-item Cohen’s stress scale. Binary multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the independent and interactive effects of maternal HIV and persistent household food insecurity on maternal stress. RESULTS: The proportion of HIV-positive women that lived in severe food insecure households increased over time. By contrast, the HIV-negative group living in severely food insecure households experienced a steady decline across time. HIV-infection (AOR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.29-4.12) and persistent household food insecurity (AOR = 3.55, 95% CI 1.13-11.13) were independently associated with maternal stress in a multivariate model. Being both HIV-positive and persistently food insecure strongly and synergistically increased the risk for maternal perceived stress (AOR = 15.35, 95% CI 1.90-124.14). CONCLUSION: In agreement with syndemic theory there is a powerful synergism between maternal HIV diagnosis and household food insecurity on maternal stress. Comprehensive multi-dimensional intervention studies are needed to better understand how to reduce stress among HIV-positive women living in persistently food insecure households and how to reduce the likelihood of food insecurity in HIV-affected households in Sub-Saharan Africa

Variability in frost occurrence under climate change and consequent risk of damage to trees of western Quebec, Canada

Climate change affects timings, frequency, and intensity of frost events in northern ecosystems. However, our understanding of the impacts that frost will have on growth and survival of plants is still limited. When projecting the occurrence of frost, the internal variability and the different underlying physical formulations are two major sources of uncertainty of climate models. We use 50 climate simulations produced by a single-initial large climate ensemble and five climate simulations produced by different pairs of global and regional climate models based on the concentration pathway (RCP 8.5) over a latitudinal transect covering the temperate and boreal ecosystems of western Quebec, Canada, during 1955–2099 to provide a first-order estimate of the relative importance of these two sources of uncertainty on the occurrence of frost, i.e. when air temperature is < 0 °C, and their potential damage to trees. The variation in the date of the last spring frost was larger by 21 days (from 46 to 25 days) for the 50 climate simulations compared to the 5 different pairs of climate models. When considering these two sources of uncertainty in an eco-physiological model simulating the timings of budbreak for trees of northern environment, results show that 20% of climate simulations expect that trees will be exposed to frost even in 2090. Thus, frost damage to trees remains likely under global warming

Rescue of a severe mouse model for spinal muscular atrophy by U7 snRNA-mediated splicing modulation

In spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of early childhood death, the survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1) is deleted or inactivated. The nearly identical SMN2 gene has a silent mutation that impairs the utilization of exon 7 and the production of functional protein. It has been hypothesized that therapies boosting SMN2 exon 7 inclusion might prevent or cure SMA. Exon 7 inclusion can be stimulated in cell culture by oligonucleotides or intracellularly expressed RNAs, but evidence for an in vivo improvement of SMA symptoms is lacking. Here, we unambiguously confirm the above hypothesis by showing that a bifunctional U7 snRNA that stimulates exon 7 inclusion, when introduced by germline transgenesis, can efficiently complement the most severe mouse SMA model. These results are significant for the development of a somatic SMA therapy, but may also provide new means to study pathophysiological aspects of this devastating diseas