Precise subtyping for asynchronous multiparty sessions

Session subtyping is a cornerstone of refinement of communicating processes: a process implementing a session type (i.e., a communication protocol) T can be safely used whenever a process implementing one of its supertypes T0 is expected, in any context, without introducing deadlocks nor other communication errors. This paper presents the first formalisation of the precise subtyping relation for asynchronous multiparty sessions: we show that the relation is sound (i.e., guarantees safe process replacement, as outlined above) and also complete: any extension of the relation is unsound. Previous work studies precise subtyping for binary sessions (with two participants), or multiparty sessions (with any number of participants) and synchronous interaction. Here, we cover multiparty sessions with asynchronous interaction, where messages are transmitted via FIFO queues (as in the TCP/IP protocol). In this setting, the subtyping relation becomes highly complex: under some conditions, participants can permute the order of their inputs and outputs, by sending some messages earlier, or receiving some later, without causing errors; the precise subtyping relation must capture all such valid permutations, and consequently, its formalisation and proofs become challenging. Our key discovery is a methdology to decompose session types into single input/output session trees, and then express the subtyping relation as a composition of refinement relations between such trees

A Vinča potscape: formal chronological models for the use and development of Vinča ceramics in south-east Europe.

Recent work at Vinča-Belo Brdo has combined a total of more than 200 radiocarbon dates with an array of other information to construct much more precise narratives for the structural history of the site and the cultural materials recovered from it. In this paper, we present the results of a recent attempt to construct formal models for the chronology of the wider Vinča potscape, so that we can place our now detailed understanding of changes at Belo Brdo within their contemporary contexts. We present our methodology for assessing the potential of the existing corpus of more than 600 radiocarbon dates for refining the chronology of the five phases of Vinča ceramics proposed by Milojčić across their spatial ranges, including a total of 490 of them in a series of Bayesian chronological models. Then we outline our main results for the development of Vinča pottery. Finally, we discuss some of the major implications for our understanding of the source, character and tempo of material change

Dimensions of wisdom perception across twelve countries on five continents.

Wisdom is the hallmark of social judgment, but how people across cultures recognize wisdom remains unclear-distinct philosophical traditions suggest different views of wisdoms cardinal features. We explore perception of wise minds across 16 socio-economically and culturally diverse convenience samples from 12 countries. Participants assessed wisdom exemplars, non-exemplars, and themselves on 19 socio-cognitive characteristics, subsequently rating targets wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Analyses reveal two positively related dimensions-Reflective Orientation and Socio-Emotional Awareness. These dimensions are consistent across the studied cultural regions and interact when informing wisdom ratings: wisest targets-as perceived by participants-score high on both dimensions, whereas the least wise are not reflective but moderately socio-emotional. Additionally, individuals view themselves as less reflective but more socio-emotionally aware than most wisdom exemplars. Our findings expand folk psychology and social judgment research beyond the Global North, showing how individuals perceive desirable cognitive and socio-emotional qualities, and contribute to an understanding of mind perception

To which countries do European psychiatric trainees want to move to and why?

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: To which countries do European psychiatric trainees want to move to and why? journaltitle: European Psychiatry articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.06.010 content_type: article copyright: © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: To which countries do European psychiatric trainees want to move to and why? journaltitle: European Psychiatry articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.06.010 content_type: article copyright: © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND: There is a shortage of psychiatrists worldwide. Within Europe, psychiatric trainees can move between countries, which increases the problem in some countries and alleviates it in others. However, little is known about the reasons psychiatric trainees move to another country. METHODS: Survey of psychiatric trainees in 33 European countries, exploring how frequently psychiatric trainees have migrated or want to migrate, their reasons to stay and leave the country, and the countries where they come from and where they move to. A 61-item self-report questionnaire was developed, covering questions about their demographics, experiences of short-term mobility (from 3 months up to 1 year), experiences of long-term migration (of more than 1 year) and their attitudes towards migration. RESULTS: A total of 2281 psychiatric trainees in Europe participated in the survey, of which 72.0% have 'ever' considered to move to a different country in their future, 53.5% were considering it 'now', at the time of the survey, and 13.3% had already moved country. For these immigrant trainees, academic was the main reason they gave to move from their country of origin. For all trainees, the overall main reason for which they would leave was financial (34.4%), especially in those with lower (2500€) incomes, personal reasons were paramount (44.5%). CONCLUSIONS: A high number of psychiatric trainees considered moving to another country, and their motivation largely reflects the substantial salary differences. These findings suggest tackling financial conditions and academic opportunities

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed

Exploratory study of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation and age of onset of bipolar disorder

Background: Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation that triggers the production of vitamin D by skin. Vitamin D has widespread effects on brain function in both developing and adult brains. However, many people live at latitudes (about > 40 N or S) that do not receive enough UVB in winter to produce vitamin D. This exploratory study investigated the association between the age of onset of bipolar I disorder and the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production in a large global sample. Methods: Data for 6972 patients with bipolar I disorder were obtained at 75 collection sites in 41 countries in both hemispheres. The best model to assess the relation between the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production and age of onset included 1 or more months below the threshold, family history of mood disorders, and birth cohort. All coefficients estimated at P ≤ 0.001. Results: The 6972 patients had an onset in 582 locations in 70 countries, with a mean age of onset of 25.6 years. Of the onset locations, 34.0% had at least 1 month below the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production. The age of onset at locations with 1 or more months of less than or equal to the threshold for UVB was 1.66 years younger. Conclusion: UVB and vitamin D may have an important influence on the development of bipolar disorder. Study limitations included a lack of data on patient vitamin D levels, lifestyles, or supplement use. More study of the impacts of UVB and vitamin D in bipolar disorder is needed to evaluate this supposition

Vitamin D pathway-related gene polymorphisms and their association with metabolic diseases: a literature review

Purpose: Given that the relationship between vitamin D status and metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unclear, this review will focus on the genetic associations, which are less prone to confounding, between vitamin D-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and metabolic diseases. Methods: A literature search of relevant articles was performed on PubMed up to December 2019. Those articles that had examined the association of vitamin D-related SNPs with obesity and/or T2D were included. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility for the inclusion criteria and extracted the data. In total, 73 articles were included in this review. Results: There is a lack of research focussing on the association of vitamin D synthesis-related genes with obesity and T2D; however, the limited available research, although inconsistent, is suggestive of a protective effect on T2D risk. While there are several studies that investigated the vitamin D metabolism-related SNPs, the research focussing on vitamin D activation, catabolism and transport genes is limited. Studies on CYP27B1, CYP24A1 and GC genes demonstrated a lack of association with obesity and T2D in Europeans; however, significant associations with T2D were found in South Asians. VDR gene SNPs have been extensively researched; in particular, the focus has been mainly on BsmI (rs1544410), TaqI (rs731236), ApaI (rs7975232) and FokI (rs2228570) SNPs. Even though the association between VDR SNPs and metabolic diseases remain inconsistent, some positive associations showing potential effects on obesity and T2D in specific ethnic groups were identified. Conclusion: Overall, this literature review suggests that ethnic-specific genetic associations are involved. Further research utilizing large studies is necessary to better understand these ethnic-specific genetic associations between vitamin D deficiency and metabolic diseases

Triiodothyronine uptake by the isolated rat heart

Rad se bavi računalnim postupcima analize medijske agende (engl. Media Agenda) temeljenima na tematskim modelima (engl. Topic Models) te metodama vrednovanja tematskih modela. Analiza medijske agende provodi se radi stjecanja uvida u strukturu i zastupljenost medijskih tema, što je od interesa za društvenoznanstvena istraživanja te za medijsku industriju i druge komercijalne i političke aktere. Računalni postupci analize medijske agende omogućuju automatsko otkrivanje tema u velikim skupovima tekstova i mjerenje njihove zastupljenosti. Ovi postupci pružaju analitičaru uvid u teme prisutne u medijima i uvid u zastupljenost tema u pojedinim medijima i vremenskim razdobljima te omogućuju analizu korelacije zastupljenosti tema sa podacima poput ljudske percepcije njihove važnosti. Cilj istraživanja bio je razvoj računalnih postupaka za eksplorativnu analizu i mjerenje medijske agende temeljenih na tematskim modelima, klasi modela strojnog učenja pogodnih za analizu tematske strukture teksta. Istraživanje obuhvaća razvoj postupaka primjene tematskih modela na otkrivanje medijskih tema i mjerenje njihove zastupljenosti te razvoj računalnih alata za unaprijeđenje i provedbu tih postupaka. Ti alati obuhvaćaju metode vrednovanja tematskih modela te programsku potporu za implementaciju postupaka analize agende i vrednovanja modela. Primjena postupaka na analizu medijskih tekstova brzo je pokazala potrebu za razvojem novih metoda vrednovanja tematskih modela radi povećanja efikasnosti na modelima temeljenih postupaka. Iz tog je razloga poseban naglasak istraživanja bio na razvoju i analizi metoda vrednovanja tematskih modela. Prvo je provedeno istraživanje postupaka primjene tematskih modela na analizu medijske agende. Na temelju istraživanja postojećih postupaka predložen je poboljšani postupak koji se sastoji od tri koraka: koraka otkrivanja tema, koraka definicije tema i koraka mjerenja tema. Predloženi postupak otklanja uočene nedostatke ranijih metoda: upotrebu samo jednog modela za otkrivanje tema, nemogućnost prilagodbe i definicije novih tema te izostanak kvantitativnog vrednovanja metoda mjerenja. Postupak je primijenjen u dvije analize medijske agende provedene na zbirkama američkih i hrvatskih političkih vijesti. Na temelju opažanja i podataka iz tih analiza uočena je potreba za mjerom interpretabilnosti tema modela te za metodom mjerenja pokrivenosti skupa koncepata od strane modela. Drugi istraženi problem bio je problem mjerenja interpretabilnosti tema modela. Standardni pristup ovom problemu je mjerenje semantičke koherentosti tema, a postojeće mjere koherentnosti temelje se na računanju koherentosti skupa uz temu vezanih riječi. Ove mjere pokazale su se nepogodnima u slučaju prolaznih medijskih tema karakteriziranih semantički nepovezanim riječima. Predložena je nova klasa mjera koherentosti medijskih tema temeljenih na uz teme vezanim dokumentima. Vrednovanje niza predloženih mjera na skupovima engleskih i hrvatskih medijskih tema otkrilo je najbolju mjeru koja računa koherentnost agregacijom lokalne povezanosti grafa dokumenata. Provedena je kvantitativna i kvalitativna usporedba razvijenih mjera dokumentne koherentosti s postojećim mjerama koherentnosti riječi koja je otkrila komplementarnost ova dva tipa mjera. Treći istraženi problem je problem pokrivenosti tema, motiviran podacima iz primjene postupka analize medijske agende, koji su pokazali da jedan tematski model pokriva samo dio svih otkrivenih koncepata. Problem pokrivenosti nadilazi domenu medijskih tekstova i unatoč važnosti ovog problema dosadašnja istraživanja na tu temu su rudimentarana. Problem pokrivenosti razmotren je u općenitosti i definiran kao problem mjerenja poklapanja između skupa automatski naučenih tema modela i skupa referentnih tema koji sadrži od ljudi uočene koncepte. Predložena je metoda izrade skupa referentnih tema i dvije metode mjerenja pokrivenosti temeljene na računanju poklapanja tema. Predložene mjere vrednovane su na dva raznorodna skupa podataka, medijskom i biološkom, te primijenjene na analizu četiri različite klase standardnih tematskih modela. Završni korak istraživanja postupka analize medijske agende bio je poboljšanje postupka na temelju predloženih metoda vrednovanja tematskih modela i iskustava iz primjena postupka na analizu hrvatskih i američkih medija. Glavna poboljšanja odnose se na korak eksplorativne analize odnosno otkrivanja tema i temelje se na razvijenim mjerama pokrivenosti i dokumentne koherentosti tema. Ova poboljšanja imaju za cilj brže otkrivanje većeg broja koncepata. Ostala poboljšanja odnose se na povećanje efikasnosti postupka interpretacije tema modela. Tijekom istraživanja postupka analize medijske agende i metoda vrednovanja tematskih modela uočen je niz problema vezanih uz upotrebu, izgradnju, pohranu i dohvat tematskih modela i vezanih resursa. Ovi problemi javljaju se kod implementacije grafičkog korisničkog sučelja za provedbu postupka i kod provedbe eksperimenata vrednovanja. Rješavanju ovih problema pristupilo se sustavno i oblikovan je radni okvir za izgradnju i upravljanje resursima u tematskom modeliranju. Arhitektura okvira temelji se na četiri načela koja u kombinaciji definiraju općenitu i fleksibilnu metodu izrade programske potpore za primjenu i vrednovanje tematskih modela. Razvijeni su i grafičko korisničko sučelje za eksplorativnu analizu i potporu mjerenju zastupljenosti tema te aplikacija namijenjena izradi zbirki medijskih tekstova koja tijekom duljeg vremenskog razdoblja sakuplja tekstove iz niza web-izvora.This thesis focuses on computational methods for media agenda analysis based on topic models and methods of topic model evaluation. The goal of a media agenda analysis is gaining insights into the structure and frequency of media topics. Such analyses are of interest for social scientists studying news media, journalists, media analysts, and other commercial and political actors. Computational methods for media agenda analysis enable automatic discovery of topics in large corpora of news text and measuring of topics’ frequency. Data obtained by such analyses provides insights into the type and structure of topics occurring in the media, enables the analysis of topic cooccurrence, and analysis of correlation between topics and other variables such as text metadata and human perception of topic significance. The goal of the research presented in the thesis is development of efficient computational methods for the discovery of topics that constitute the media agenda and methods for measuring frequencies of these topics. The proposed methods are based on topic models – a class of unsupervised machine learning models widely used for exploratory analysis of topical text structure. The research encompasses the development of applications of topic models for discovery of media topics and for measuring topics’ frequency, as well as development of methods for improvement and facilitation of these applications. The improvement and facilitation methods encompass methods of topic model evaluation and software tools for working with topic models. Methods of topic model evaluation can be used for selection of high-quality models and for accelerating the process of topic discovery. Namely, topic models are a useful tool, but due to the stohasticity of the model learning algorithms the quality of learned topics varies. For this reason the methods of topic model evaluation have the potential to increase the efficiency of the methods based on topic models. In the first phase of the research, an analysis of existing computational methods for media agenda analysis is performed and a new method that improves and systematizes the existing ones is proposed. The application of the proposed method in two use-cases underlined the need for new methods of topic model evaluation that would improve the efficiency of topic-model based tools. Consequently, two new methods of topic model evaluation are proposed – document-based measures of topic coherence and methods for analysis of topic coverage. These evaluation methods are then applied to improve the initially proposed method for media agenda analysis. In addition, research of topic model applications and methods of topic model evaluation led to a framework for resource building and management in topic modelling. The four main contributions of the thesis are: a method for computational analysis of the media agenda based on topic models, document-based measures of topic coherence, methods for analysis of topic coverage, and the framework for resource building and management in topic modelling