The DLV System for Knowledge Representation and Reasoning

This paper presents the DLV system, which is widely considered the state-of-the-art implementation of disjunctive logic programming, and addresses several aspects. As for problem solving, we provide a formal definition of its kernel language, function-free disjunctive logic programs (also known as disjunctive datalog), extended by weak constraints, which are a powerful tool to express optimization problems. We then illustrate the usage of DLV as a tool for knowledge representation and reasoning, describing a new declarative programming methodology which allows one to encode complex problems (up to $\Delta^P_3$-complete problems) in a declarative fashion. On the foundational side, we provide a detailed analysis of the computational complexity of the language of DLV, and by deriving new complexity results we chart a complete picture of the complexity of this language and important fragments thereof. Furthermore, we illustrate the general architecture of the DLV system which has been influenced by these results. As for applications, we overview application front-ends which have been developed on top of DLV to solve specific knowledge representation tasks, and we briefly describe the main international projects investigating the potential of the system for industrial exploitation. Finally, we report about thorough experimentation and benchmarking, which has been carried out to assess the efficiency of the system. The experimental results confirm the solidity of DLV and highlight its potential for emerging application areas like knowledge management and information integration.Comment: 56 pages, 9 figures, 6 table

Angiosome-targeted revascularisation in diabetic foot ulcers.

Peripheral vascular disease is a common complication of type 2 diabetes and is often more severe and diffuse than in non-diabetic individuals with a higher risk of major amputations in the lower limbs. Diabetic foot revascularisation using both traditional bypass surgery and endovascular therapy are often burdened by the failure and the inevitable subsequent massive amputation. In this study, we examined the clinical response of diabetic patients with critical limb ischaemia and extended ischaemic wounds, treated with a new angiosome-based revascularisation technique. In a 3-year period, nine diabetic patients with imminent amputation threatening and foot ulcers with no feasible arterial revascularisation options were treated by the angiosome- based surgical technique by means of deep vein arterialisation. The postoperative tcPO2 evaluation showed a mean increase in the cutaneous oxygen tension in all patients treated. The overall survival rates were 88·88%, 88·88% and 77·77% at 12, 24 and 36 months, respectively. Limb salvage was 100% at 1year and steady at 88·88% thereafter. Surgical deep venous arterialisation might be considered as an extreme alternative to attempt tissue preservation in limbs unfit for conventional arterial revascularisations. This technique would give advantages to the patients in terms of better compliance to the minor amputations and thus avoiding major limb amputation

Aortic banding and endovascular aneurysm repair in a case of juxtarenal aortic aneurysm with unsuitable infrarenal neck

The proximal aortic neck is one of the limiting factors for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and represents a crucial factor for success or failure of the procedure. In contrast to open surgery, where a clamp can be placed suprarenally but the repair performed infrarenally, EVAR requires a good infrarenal neck for durable fixation and seal. In a high-risk surgical 79-year-old patient with juxtarenal aortic aneurysm with unsuitable infrarenal neck, a hybrid procedure was chosen: juxtarenal aortic banding and EVAR. The banding allowed a successful EVAR by reshaping the juxtarenal aneurysmal aortic segment, hence converting a previously untreatable anatomy into a treatable one

Dialysis Catheter Insertion Through Chronically Occluded Iliac Vein And Inferior Vena Cava.

In this report it is described a successful positioning of a Tesio dialysis catheter in occluded inferior vena cava of a 42 year old male patient, with longstanding end-stage renal disease, who presented to our department with two occluded dialysis catheters left iliofemoral-inferior vena cava. The increasing number of patients requiring hemodialysis has determined in the last period a major request of endovascular procedures for the “terminal access problems” as in this particular case of thrombosed venous access

Effects of glucocorticoids and tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors on both clinical and molecular parameters in patients with Takayasu arteritis

Objective: To explore the effect of sequential treatment with glucocorticoid and tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA). Materials and Methods: In five patients with TA, the effects of the sequential treatment with prednisone for 5-7 months and then with adalimumab (ADA) + methotrexate (MTX) or infliximab + MTX, or with ADA only, for 12 months on both clinical and laboratory findings were evaluated. Results: All treatments improved both symptoms and laboratory parameters without the development of side-effects. Conclusions: It was hypothesized that MMP-9 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin could be markers of the response to the treatments. © 2014 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics. All Rights Reserved