Resource-driven Substructural Defeasible Logic

Linear Logic and Defeasible Logic have been adopted to formalise different features relevant to agents: consumption of resources, and reasoning with exceptions. We propose a framework to combine sub-structural features, corresponding to the consumption of resources, with defeasibility aspects, and we discuss the design choices for the framework

Molecular identification of Contracaecum rudolphii A and B (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from cormorants collected in a freshwater ecosystem of the pre-alpine area in Northern Italy

Contracaecum rudolphii (s.l.) is a complex of sibling species with different genetic structure and ecological preference. This study reports the presence of specimens of Contracaecum rudolphii (s.l.) from sedentary and wintering cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) from the pre-mountain area of the Alps in Northern Italy, an important crossroads for most of the bird migration routes. A total of 48 specimens of cormorants collected from two adjacent freshwater habitats were analysed and C. rudolphii nematodes were retrieved in 100% of the examined specimens. A subsamples of 115 C. rudolphii individuals were genetically characterized and found to belong to the sibling species C. rudolphii B (n = 90) and C. rudolphii A (n = 25). C. rudolphii B were retrieved from both locations and included adults as well as larvae, while only adults of C. rudolphii A were detected, and in just one location. As expected for a freshwater environment, C. rudolphii B constitutes the largest sibling fraction, indicating that this likely is the endemic species, while cormorants originating from the breeding brackish lagoons and marine coastal environments of central and northern Europe could have brought C. rudolphii A from their breeding sites or migration stopovers

Experimental assessment of a new form of scaling law for near-wall turbulence

Scaling laws and intermittency in the wall region of a turbulent flow are addressed by analyzing moderate Reynolds number data obtained by single component hot wire anemometry in the boundary layer of a flat plate. The paper aims in particular at the experimental validation of a new form of refined similarity recently proposed for the shear dominated range of turbulence, where the classical Kolmogorov-Oboukhov inertial range theory is inappropriate. An approach inspired to the extended self-similarity allows for the extraction of the different power laws for the longitudinal structure functions at several wall normal distances. A double scaling regime is found in the logarithmic region, confirming previous experimental results. Approaching the wall, the scaling range corresponding to the classical cascade-dominated range tends to disappear and, in the buffer layer, a single power law is found to describe the available range of scales. The double scaling is shown to be associated with two different forms of refined similarity. The classical form holds below the shear scale L s . The other, originally introduced on the basis of DNS data for a turbulent channel, is experimentally confirmed to set up above L s . Given the experimental diffulties in the evaluation of the instantaneous dissipation rate, some care is devoted to check that its one-dimensional surrogate does not bias the results. The increased intermittency as the wall is approached is experimentally found entirely consistent with the failure of the refined Kolmogorov-Oboukhov similarity and the establishment of its new form near the wall.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure

Measuring impairments of functioning and health in patients with axial spondyloarthritis by using the ASAS Health Index and the Environmental Item Set : translation and cross-cultural adaptation into 15 languages

Introduction: The Assessments of SpondyloArthritis international society Health Index (ASAS HI) measures functioning and health in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) across 17 aspects of health and 9 environmental factors (EF). The objective was to translate and adapt the original English version of the ASAS HI, including the EF Item Set, cross-culturally into 15 languages. Methods: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation has been carried out following the forward-backward procedure. In the cognitive debriefing, 10 patients/country across a broad spectrum of sociodemographic background, were included. Results: The ASAS HI and the EF Item Set were translated into Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish. Some difficulties were experienced with translation of the contextual factors indicating that these concepts may be more culturally-dependent. A total of 215 patients with axial SpA across 23 countries (62.3% men, mean (SD) age 42.4 (13.9) years) participated in the field test. Cognitive debriefing showed that items of the ASAS HI and EF Item Set are clear, relevant and comprehensive. All versions were accepted with minor modifications with respect to item wording and response option. The wording of three items had to be adapted to improve clarity. As a result of cognitive debriefing, a new response option 'not applicable' was added to two items of the ASAS HI to improve appropriateness. Discussion: This study showed that the items of the ASAS HI including the EFs were readily adaptable throughout all countries, indicating that the concepts covered were comprehensive, clear and meaningful in different cultures

Uniparental Genetic Heritage of Belarusians: Encounter of Rare Middle Eastern Matrilineages with a Central European Mitochondrial DNA Pool

Ethnic Belarusians make up more than 80% of the nine and half million people inhabiting the Republic of Belarus. Belarusians together with Ukrainians and Russians represent the East Slavic linguistic group, largest both in numbers and territory, inhabiting East Europe alongside Baltic-, Finno-Permic- and Turkic-speaking people. Till date, only a limited number of low resolution genetic studies have been performed on this population. Therefore, with the phylogeographic analysis of 565 Y-chromosomes and 267 mitochondrial DNAs from six well covered geographic sub-regions of Belarus we strove to complement the existing genetic profile of eastern Europeans. Our results reveal that around 80% of the paternal Belarusian gene pool is composed of R1a, I2a and N1c Y-chromosome haplogroups – a profile which is very similar to the two other eastern European populations – Ukrainians and Russians. The maternal Belarusian gene pool encompasses a full range of West Eurasian haplogroups and agrees well with the genetic structure of central-east European populations. Our data attest that latitudinal gradients characterize the variation of the uniparentally transmitted gene pools of modern Belarusians. In particular, the Y-chromosome reflects movements of people in central-east Europe, starting probably as early as the beginning of the Holocene. Furthermore, the matrilineal legacy of Belarusians retains two rare mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, N1a3 and N3, whose phylogeographies were explored in detail after de novo sequencing of 20 and 13 complete mitogenomes, respectively, from all over Eurasia. Our phylogeographic analyses reveal that two mitochondrial DNA lineages, N3 and N1a3, both of Middle Eastern origin, might mark distinct events of matrilineal gene flow to Europe: during the mid-Holocene period and around the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, respectively

The valuation of guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefit options in variable annuity contracts and the impact of mortality risk

n light of the growing importance of the variable annuities market, in this paper we introduce a theoretical model for the pricing and valuation of guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefit (GLWB) options embedded in variable annuity products. As the name suggests, this option offers a lifelong withdrawal guarantee; therefore, there is no limit on the total amount that is withdrawn over the term of the policy because if the account value becomes zero while the insured is still alive, he or she continues to receive the guaranteed amount annually until death. Any remaining account value at the time of death is paid to the beneficiary as a death benefit. We offer a specific framework to value the GLWB option in a market-consistent manner under the hypothesis of a static withdrawal strategy, according to which the withdrawal amount is always equal to the guaranteed amount. The valuation approach is based on the decomposition of the product into living and death benefits. The model makes use of the standard no-arbitrage models of mathematical finance, which extend the Black-Scholes framework to insurance contracts, assuming the fund follows a geometric Brownian motion and the insurance fee is paid, on an ongoing basis, as a proportion of the assets. We develop a sensitivity analysis, which shows how the value of the product varies with the key parameters, including the age of the policyholder at the inception of the contract, the guaranteed rate, the risk-free rate, and the fund volatility. We calculate the fair fee, using Monte Carlo simulations under different scenarios. We give special attention to the impact of mortality risk on the value of the option, using a flexible model of mortality dynamics, which allows for the possible perturbations by mortality shock of the standard mortality tables used by practitioners. Moreover, we evaluate the introduction of roll-up and step-up options and the effect of the decision to delay withdrawing. Empirical analyses are performed, and numerical results are provided

Autozygosity islands and ROH patterns in Nellore lineages: evidence of selection for functionally important traits.

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to assess genome-wide autozygosity in a Nellore cattle population and to characterize ROH patterns and autozygosity islands that may have occurred due to selection within its lineages. It attempts also to compare estimates of inbreeding calculated from ROH (FROH), genomic relationship matrix (FGRM), and pedigree-based coefficient (FPED). Results The average number of ROH per animal was 55.15&#8201;±&#8201;13.01 with an average size of 3.24 Mb. The Nellore genome is composed mostly by a high number of shorter segments accounting for 78% of all ROH, although the proportion of the genome covered by them was relatively small. The genome autozygosity proportion indicates moderate to high inbreeding levels for classical standards, with an average value of 7.15% (178.70 Mb). The average of FPED and FROH, and their correlations (&#8722;&#8201;0.05 to 0.26) were low. Estimates of correlation between FGRM-FPED was zero, while the correlation (&#8722;&#8201;0.01 to &#8722;&#8201;0.07) between FGRM-FROH decreased as a function of ROH length, except for FROH&#8201;>&#8201;8Mb (&#8722;&#8201;0.03). Overall, inbreeding coefficients were not high for the genotyped animals. Autozygosity islands were evident across the genome (n&#8201;=&#8201;62) and their genomic location did not largely differ within lineages. Enriched terms (p&#8201;<&#8201;0.01) associated with defense response to bacteria (GO:0042742), immune complex reaction (GO:0045647), pregnancy-associated glycoproteins genes (GO:0030163), and organism growth (GO:0040014) were described within the autozygotic islands. Conclusions Low FPED-FROH correlation estimates indicate that FPED is not the most suitable method for capturing ancient inbreeding when the pedigree does not extend back many generations and FROH should be used instead. Enriched terms (p <&#8201;0.01) suggest a strong selection for immune response. Non-overlapping islands within the lineages greatly explain the mechanism underlying selection for functionally important traits in Nellore cattle

2010 update of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis

This first update of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations on the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is based on the original paper, a systematic review of existing recommendations and the literature since 2005 and the discussion and agreement among 21 international experts, 2 patients and 2 physiotherapists in a meeting in February 2010. Each original bullet point was discussed in detail and reworded if necessary. Decisions on new recommendations were made — if necessary after voting. The strength of the recommendations (SOR) was scored on an 11-point numerical rating scale after the meeting by email. These recommendations apply to patients of all ages that fulfill the modified NY criteria for AS, independent of extra-articular manifestations, and they take into account all drug and non-drug interventions related to AS. Four overarching principles were introduced, implying that one bullet has been moved to this section. There are now 11 bullet points including 2 new ones, one related to extra-articular manifestations and one to changes in the disease course. With a mean score of 9.1 (range 8-10) the SOR was generally very good

Allelic HLA Matching and Pair Origin Are Favorable Prognostic Factors for Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Neoplastic Hematologic Diseases: An Italian Analysis by the Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Cellule Staminali e Terapie Cellulari, Italian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and Associazione Italiana di Immunogenetica e Biologia dei Trapianti

HLA molecules are important for immunoreactivity in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Cellule Staminali e Terapie Cellulari, Italian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and Associazione Italiana di Immunogenetica e Biologia dei Trapianti promoted a retrospective observational study to evaluate HLA matching and the impact of allelic HLA mismatching and non-HLA factors on unrelated Italian HSCT outcomes. From 2012 to 2015, 1788 patients were enrolled in the study. The average donor age was 29 years and the average recipient age was 49 years. As a conditioning regimen, 71% of the patients received myeloablative conditioning. For GVHD prophylaxis, 76% received either antithymocyte or anti-T lymphocyte globulin, cyclosporine A, and methotrexate. Peripheral blood was the stem cell source in 80%. The median duration of follow-up was 53 months. Regarding HLA matching, 50% of donor-recipient pairs were 10/10 matched, 38% had 1 mismatch, and 12% had 2 or more mismatches. A total of 302 pairs shared Italian origin. Four-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, GVHD-free relapse-free survival, and relapse rates were 49%, 40%, 22%, and 34%, respectively. The 4-year NRM was 27%, and the 100-day cumulative incidence of grade 65II acute GVHD (aGVHD) was 26%. In multivariate analysis, 9/10 and 648/10 HLA allele-matched pairs were associated with worse OS (P = .04 and .007, respectively), NRM (P = .007 and P < .0001, respectively), and grade III-IV aGVHD (P = .0001 and .01, respectively). Moreover, the incidences of grade II-IV aGVHD (P = .001) and chronic GVHD (P = .002) were significantly lower in Italian pairs. In conclusion, 10/10 HLA matching is a favorable prognostic factor for unrelated HSCT outcome in the Italian population. Moreover, the presence of 2 HLA-mismatched loci was associated with a higher NRM (P < .0001) and grade II-IV aGVHD (P = .006) and a poorer OS (P = .001) compared with 1 HLA-mismatched locus in early or intermediate disease phases. Finally, we found that Italian donor and recipient origin is a favorable prognostic factor for GVHD occurrence

Saudi Arabian Y-Chromosome diversity and its relationship with nearby regions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human origins and migration models proposing the Horn of Africa as a prehistoric exit route to Asia have stimulated molecular genetic studies in the region using uniparental loci. However, from a Y-chromosome perspective, Saudi Arabia, the largest country of the region, has not yet been surveyed. To address this gap, a sample of 157 Saudi males was analyzed at high resolution using 67 Y-chromosome binary markers. In addition, haplotypic diversity for its most prominent J1-M267 lineage was estimated using a set of 17 Y-specific STR loci.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Saudi Arabia differentiates from other Arabian Peninsula countries by a higher presence of J2-M172 lineages. It is significantly different from Yemen mainly due to a comparative reduction of sub-Saharan Africa E1-M123 and Levantine J1-M267 male lineages. Around 14% of the Saudi Arabia Y-chromosome pool is typical of African biogeographic ancestry, 17% arrived to the area from the East across Iran, while the remainder 69% could be considered of direct or indirect Levantine ascription. Interestingly, basal E-M96* (n = 2) and J-M304* (n = 3) lineages have been detected, for the first time, in the Arabian Peninsula. Coalescence time for the most prominent J1-M267 haplogroup in Saudi Arabia (11.6 ± 1.9 ky) is similar to that obtained previously for Yemen (11.3 ± 2) but significantly older that those estimated for Qatar (7.3 ± 1.8) and UAE (6.8 ± 1.5).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Y-chromosome genetic structure of the Arabian Peninsula seems to be mainly modulated by geography. The data confirm that this area has mainly been a recipient of gene flow from its African and Asian surrounding areas, probably mainly since the last Glacial maximum onwards. Although rare deep rooting lineages for Y-chromosome haplogroups E and J have been detected, the presence of more basal clades supportive of the southern exit route of modern humans to Eurasian, were not found.</p