246 research outputs found
On the quantification of intertest variability in ecotoxicity data with application to species sensitivity distributions
Ecotoxicological hazard assessment relies on species effect data to estimate quantities such as the predicted no-effect concentration. While there is a concerted effort to quantify uncertainty in risk assessments, the uncertainty due to intertest variability in species effect measurements is an overlooked component. The European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) guidance document suggests that multiple toxicity records for a given chemicalāspecies combination should be aggregated by the geometric mean. Ignoring this issue or applying unjustified so-called harmonization methods weakens the defensibility of uncertainty quantification and interpretation about properties of ecological models, for example, the predicted no-effect concentration. In the present study, the authors propose a simple and broadly theoretically justifiable model to quantify intertest variability and analyze it using Bayesian methods. The value of data in ecotoxicity databases is maximized by using (interval-)censored data. An exploratory analysis is provided to support the model. The authors conclude, based on a large ecotoxicity database of acute effects to aquatic species, that the standard deviation of intertest variability is approximately a factor (or fold-difference) of 3. The consequences for decision makers of (not) adjusting for intertest variability are demonstrated. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1903ā1910. Ā© 2012 SETA
On the Axiomatisability of Parallel Composition
This paper studies the existence of finite equational axiomatisations of the
interleaving parallel composition operator modulo the behavioural equivalences
in van Glabbeek's linear time-branching time spectrum. In the setting of the
process algebra BCCSP over a finite set of actions, we provide finite,
ground-complete axiomatisations for various simulation and (decorated) trace
semantics. We also show that no congruence over BCCSP that includes
bisimilarity and is included in possible futures equivalence has a finite,
ground-complete axiomatisation; this negative result applies to all the nested
trace and nested simulation semantics
Towards Model Checking Executable UML Specifications in mCRL2
We describe a translation of a subset of executable UML (xUML) into the process algebraic specification language mCRL2. This subset includes class diagrams with class generalisations, and state machines with signal and change events. The choice of these xUML constructs is dictated by their use in the modelling of railway interlocking systems. The long-term goal is to verify safety properties of interlockings modelled in xUML using the mCRL2 and LTSmin toolsets. Initial verification of an interlocking toy example demonstrates that the safety properties of model instances depend crucially on the run-to-completion assumptions
Linearization of CIF Through SOS
Linearization is the procedure of rewriting a process term into a linear
form, which consist only of basic operators of the process language. This
procedure is interesting both from a theoretical and a practical point of view.
In particular, a linearization algorithm is needed for the Compositional
Interchange Format (CIF), an automaton based modeling language.
The problem of devising efficient linearization algorithms is not trivial,
and has been already addressed in literature. However, the linearization
algorithms obtained are the result of an inventive process, and the proof of
correctness comes as an afterthought. Furthermore, the semantic specification
of the language does not play an important role on the design of the algorithm.
In this work we present a method for obtaining an efficient linearization
algorithm, through a step-wise refinement of the SOS rules of CIF. As a result,
we show how the semantic specification of the language can guide the
implementation of such a procedure, yielding a simple proof of correctness.Comment: In Proceedings EXPRESS 2011, arXiv:1108.407
Graphical representation of covariant-contravariant modal formulae
Covariant-contravariant simulation is a combination of standard (covariant)
simulation, its contravariant counterpart and bisimulation. We have previously
studied its logical characterization by means of the covariant-contravariant
modal logic. Moreover, we have investigated the relationships between this
model and that of modal transition systems, where two kinds of transitions (the
so-called may and must transitions) were combined in order to obtain a simple
framework to express a notion of refinement over state-transition models. In a
classic paper, Boudol and Larsen established a precise connection between the
graphical approach, by means of modal transition systems, and the logical
approach, based on Hennessy-Milner logic without negation, to system
specification. They obtained a (graphical) representation theorem proving that
a formula can be represented by a term if, and only if, it is consistent and
prime. We show in this paper that the formulae from the covariant-contravariant
modal logic that admit a "graphical" representation by means of processes,
modulo the covariant-contravariant simulation preorder, are also the consistent
and prime ones. In order to obtain the desired graphical representation result,
we first restrict ourselves to the case of covariant-contravariant systems
without bivariant actions. Bivariant actions can be incorporated later by means
of an encoding that splits each bivariant action into its covariant and its
contravariant parts.Comment: In Proceedings EXPRESS 2011, arXiv:1108.407
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