Neural Networks Reduction via Lumping

The increasing size of recently proposed Neural Networks makes it hard to implement them on embedded devices, where memory, battery and computational power are a non-trivial bottleneck. For this reason during the last years network compression literature has been thriving and a large number of solutions has been published to reduce both the number of operations and the parameters involved with the models. Unfortunately, most of these reducing techniques are actually heuristic methods and usually require at least one re-training step to recover the accuracy. The need of procedures for model reduction is well-known also in the fields of Verification and Performances Evaluation, where large efforts have been devoted to the definition of quotients that preserve the observable underlying behaviour. In this paper we try to bridge the gap between the most popular and very effective network reduction strategies and formal notions, such as lumpability, introduced for verification and evaluation of Markov Chains. Elaborating on lumpability we propose a pruning approach that reduces the number of neurons in a network without using any data or fine-tuning, while completely preserving the exact behaviour. Relaxing the constraints on the exact definition of the quotienting method we can give a formal explanation of some of the most common reduction techniques

Efektivitas Biaya Penggunaan Ampisilin Dansefotaksim pada Pasien Anak Demam Tifoid

Demam tifoid merupakan penyakit endemik yang angka kejadiannya masih tinggi di Indonesia. Pengobatan demam tifoid dapat dilakukan dengan cara pemberian terapi antibiotik, yaitu ampisilin dan sefotaksim. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui perbandingan efektivitas biaya penggunaan sefotaksim dan ampisilin pada pasien anak demam tifoid di RST TK II Kartika Husada Kubu Raya Tahun 2015. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini merupakan penelitian observasional dengan rancangan penelitian secara potong lintang (cross sectional) yangbersifat deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan secara retrospektif berdasarkan basis data rekam medik pasien demam tifoid yang dirawat inap di RST TK II Kartika Husada Kubu Raya periode Januari sampai dengan Desember 2015. Data efektivitas dan biaya pengobatan demam tifoid dianalisis secara ACER dan ICER. Dari hasil analisis data diperoleh nilai ACER pada penggunaan sefotaksim sebesar Rp.1.571.014,474 per efektivitas, sedangkan pada penggunaan ampisilin sebesar Rp.2.629.026,316 per efektivitas. Nilai ICER diperoleh sebesar Rp.513.002,632 perefektivitas. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah sefotaksim lebih cost effective dibandingkan ampisilin

Impronta ambientale degli allevamenti montani di vacche da latte

L’obiettivo era quello dianalizzare l’impronta ambientale (metodo Life Cycle Assessment) della produzione di latte inallevamenti bovini delle Alpi orientali. Lo studio (Progetto TOPValue, Programma Interreg V-A Italia-Austria 2014-2020)ha coinvolto 75 aziende (38±25 UBA, 20.9±5.4 kg/vacca/ddi latte corretto per il tenore di proteina e grasso), per le quali sono stati raccolti dati circa la gestione degli animali e dei reflui, le produzioni agrarie e gli approvvigionamenti extra-aziendali. Gli indicatori di sostenibilità sono stati i seguenti: impronta del carbonio (CC, kg CO2-eq), del potenziale eutrofizzante (EP, g PO4-eq), per 1 kg di latte (1.2±0.2 kg CO2-eq e 6.0±1.7 g PO4-eq) e per 1 m2di superficie agraria (0.5±0.2 kg CO2-eq e 2.7±1.0 g PO4-eq), e l’efficienza di conversione dell’energia grezza degli alimenti potenzialmente edibilida parte dell’uomo (HeECR, MJ alimenti/MJ latte). Gli indicatori sono stati testati per l’effetto della classe di dimensione aziendale (3 classi) e per l’effetto dell’uso del pascolo per le vacche in produzione (presenza/assenza). L’effetto dimensionale non è risultato significativo per nessun indicatore. Le aziende con vacche in produzione al pascolo presentano valori simili di impatto (CC e EP) per 1 kg di latte, significativamente inferiori (P<0.01) per 1 m2e circa HeECR (-41%), rispetto le aziende con vacche in stalla tutto l’anno. I risultati mostrano come le aziende a gestione più tradizionale (aziende di piccola scala che utilizzano il pascolo) riescano a sfruttare in modo ottimale le risorse foraggere locali senza penalizzazioni circa la loro impronta ambientale

AI-enhanced blockchain technology: A review of advancements and opportunities

Blockchain technology has rapidly gained popularity, permeating various fields due to its inherent features of security, transparency, and decentralization. Blockchain-based applications, spanning from financial transactions to supply chain management, have revolutionized numerous industries. Concurrently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques have emerged as a powerful tool for efficiently solving complex problems. The integration of AI into blockchain applications has shown promise in addressing key challenges such as security, consensus, scalability, and interoperability. While existing literature offers several surveys on the intersection of AI and blockchain, our work takes a distinct perspective by focusing on how AI solutions can enhance and optimize blockchain technology and its applications. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive literature overview of the methods that have been employed to improve blockchain technology through AI, encompassing machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and reinforcement learning. Our contribution highlights AI's potential to enhance blockchain, improving efficiency, security, and reliability of blockchain-based applications. By exploring AI's role in consensus, smart contracts, and data privacy, it advances theory and practical applications, fostering innovation across sectors for a more secure and efficient digital future

Animal Welfare and Farmers' Satisfaction in Small-Scale Dairy Farms in the Eastern Alps: A “One Welfare” Approach

The multidimensional concept of animal welfare includes physical health, good emotional state, and appropriate behavior of the animals. The most recent methods for its assessment are inspired by the Welfare Quality, a project compiling animal-, resource-, and management-based measures. Recently, animal welfare assessment has also considered the human factor in a so-called “One Welfare” approach. The One Welfare framework highlights the interconnections between animal welfare, human well-being, and the environment. The concept seems to fit particularly well to mountain areas where the relationship between human, animals, and the environment is stronger. In such disadvantaged areas, farmers' well-being plays a key role in maintaining livestock farming profitably and sustainably. This study aims to investigate the relationship between farmers' satisfaction, animal welfare outcomes, and overall farm performance in 69 small-scale dairy farms in the Eastern Alps. Animal welfare assessment consisted of animal-based measures and was performed using the methodology proposed by the European Food Safety Authority for this type of farm. Moreover, the farmers were interviewed to retrieve data on farm characteristics and on their level of satisfaction toward workload, land organization, relationship with the agricultural/non-agricultural community, and the future of local agriculture. The results show that good animal welfare can be obtained in a mountain farming system. Clinical indicators show a low prevalence of diseases and of very lean cows as opposed to integument alterations. The workload is not perceived as a problem in traditional farms (i.e., tie-stall and with no participation in quality-certification schemes). Animal welfare is higher in those farms where farmers have a positive engagement with both the agricultural and non-agricultural community and where farmers are satisfied with their land organization. A One Welfare approach could be applied on a larger scale to fully understand the links between animal and human well-being in mountain areas

Environmental footprint and efficiency of mountain dairy farms

The study presents the results of a project (IR VA Italia- 6sterreich \u2018TOPValue\u2019) aiming at identifying the added value of livestock \u2018mountain products\u2019 in terms of multifunctionality. The specific aim of this paper is to analyse the environmental footprint (Life Cycle Assessment method) and production efficiency (gross energy and potentially human-edible conversion ratios, ECR and HeECR respectively). Data originated from 75 farms (38\ub125 LU, 20.9\ub15.4 kg fat protein corrected milk \u2013 FPCM/cow/day), associated to 9 cooperative dairies in the eastern Alps. Herd and manure management, on-farm feedstuffs production, purchased feedstuffs and materials were included into the system boundaries. Impact categories assessed were Climate Change, Cumulative Energy Demand, Land Occupation (LO). Two functional units were used: 1 kg of FPCM and 1 m2 of farming land. Milk vs meat allocation (IDF method) was used. Mean impact values were 1.2\ub10.2 kg CO2-eq, 3.3\ub11.6 MJ, 2.3\ub11.0 m2/y per 1 kg FPCM, and 0.5\ub10.2 kg CO2-eq, 1.4\ub10.7 MJ per 1 m2. Mean ECR was 6.5\ub10.9 MJ feed/MJ milk, with 93% of gross energy deriving from non-human-edible feedstuffs, nearly totally produced on-farm. We tested the effect of herd size (3 classes) and management strategies (use of pasture and/or summer farms). Herd size did not affect impact categories, ECR and HeECR. Farms using pasture and/or summer farms for lactating cows showed significant greater values for LO per 1 kg FPCM and lower values for impact categories per 1 m2, probably because of a lower stocking rate (-35%). Besides, farms with pastures showed a greater diet self-sufficiency ratio (+32%) and a lower HeECR (-41%) due to lower use of potentially human-edible concentrates. The results evidenced that the traditional managing options in the mountain dairy farming system (small-scale farms using pasture and summer transhumance) generally do not worsen the environmental footprint indicators but enhance the decoupling of milk production from crop production intended for direct human consumption

The added value of mountain livestock products: an ecosystem services approach

The socio-economic evolution of mountain areas is challenging local productions, leading to the abandonment of traditional jobs and rural areas. The multifunctionality of mountain livestock systems can be addressed using the ecosystem services (ES) approach, to ascribe values to products and services that contribute to human well-being and the attractiveness of mountain areas. In this study we present the preliminary results of a project (IR VA Italia-Österreich “TOPValue”) aiming at: 1) implementing the optional quality term “mountain product” (MP) as defined by EU Reg. 665/2014; 2) empowering the optional MP quality term by identifying and quantifying ES delivered by local food chains, with a particular focus on mountain dairy cattle farming. A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted to identify and quantify ES delivered in eastern Alps: 1 - participatory approaches (questionnaires and focus groups) have been used to identify stakeholders (local communities, tourists and producers) perception of mountain products and associated ES delivered;2 - on a sample of 80 dairy farms associated to 7 dairy cooperatives the following methodological approaches were applied: analysis of biodiversity in the grasslands managed by each farm; environmental footprint (Life Cycle Assessment); animal welfare (Welfare Quality adapted protocol for small scale farms); landscape aesthetic and cultural value.The preliminary results evidenced that the dairy cattle systems investigated are able to provide several ecosystem services, particularly when the management of local open areas is considered. Synergies and trade-offs between different indicators are useful to address the “global“ sustainability of MP chains. The results will be used in the last part of the project to address effective communication strategies for ES in order to develop labels (e.g. smart labels) that better meet consumers expectations and understanding