Aplib: An agent programming library for testing games

Testing modern computer games is notoriously hard. Highly dynamic behavior, inherent non-determinism, and fine grained interactivity blow up their state space; too large for traditional automated testing techniques. An agent-based testing approach offers an alternative as agents' goal driven planning, adaptivity, and reasoning ability can provide an extra edge. This paper provides a summary of aplib, a Java library for programming intelligent test agents, featuring tactical programming as an abstract way to exert control on agents' underlying reasoning based behavior. Aplib is implemented in such a way to provide the fluency of a Domain Specific Language (DSL) while still staying in Java, and hence aplib programmers will keep all the advantages that Java programmers get: rich language features and a whole array of development tools

Aplib: An agent programming library for testing games

Testing modern computer games is notoriously hard. Highly dynamic behavior, inherent non-determinism, and fine grained interactivity blow up their state space; too large for traditional automated testing techniques. An agent-based testing approach offers an alternative as agents' goal driven planning, adaptivity, and reasoning ability can provide an extra edge. This paper provides a summary of aplib, a Java library for programming intelligent test agents, featuring tactical programming as an abstract way to exert control on agents' underlying reasoning based behavior. Aplib is implemented in such a way to provide the fluency of a Domain Specific Language (DSL) while still staying in Java, and hence aplib programmers will keep all the advantages that Java programmers get: rich language features and a whole array of development tools

Lower serum extracellular superoxide dismutase levels are associated with polyneuropathy in recent-onset diabetes

Increased oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of experimental diabetic neuropathy, but translational evidence in recent-onset diabetes is scarce. We aimed to determine whether markers of systemic oxidative stress are associated with diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) in recent-onset diabetes. In this cross-sectional study, we measured serum concentrations of extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and reduced glutathione (GSH) in 107 type 1 and 215 type 2 diabetes patients from the German Diabetes Study baseline cohort and 37 glucose-tolerant individuals (controls). DSPN was defined by electrophysiological and clinical criteria (Toronto Consensus, 2011). SOD3 and GSH concentrations were lower in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes compared with concentrations in controls (P<0.0001). In contrast, the TBARS concentration was higher in participants with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes compared with levels in controls (P<0.0001). In addition, the SOD3 concentration was higher in participants with type 1 diabetes compared to concentrations in those with type 2 diabetes (P<0.0001). A low SOD3 concentration was associated with DSPN in individuals with type 1 diabetes (β=−0.306, P=0.002), type 2 diabetes (β=−0.164, P=0.017), and in both groups combined (β=−0.206, P=0.0003). Lower SOD3 concentrations were associated with decreased motor nerve conduction velocity (NCV) in men and, to a lesser degree, with reduced sensory NCV in women with diabetes. In conclusion, several biomarkers of oxidative stress are altered in recent-onset diabetes, with only a lower SOD3 concentration being linked to the presence of DSPN, suggesting a role for reduced extracellular antioxidative defense against superoxide in the early development of DSPN

Remission after treatment of osteoarticular infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa versus Staphylococcus aureus: a case-controlled study

PURPOSE: Osteoarticular infections due to methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) or its methicillin-resistant variant (MRSA) are feared due to treatment failures. According to clinical experience, Pseudomonas aeruginosa may reveal less long-term remission than S. aureus. METHODS: A case-controlled study comparing outcomes of osteoarticular infections due to P. aeruginosa vs S. aureus was performed at Geneva University Hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 111 S. aureus (including 37 MRSA) and 20 P. aeruginosa osteoarticular infections were analysed in 131 patients: arthroplasties (n = 38), fracture fixation devices (n = 56), native joint arthritis (n = 7) and osteomyelitis without implant (n = 30). The median active follow-up time was 4 years. The patients underwent a median number of two surgical interventions for P. aeruginosa infections compared to two for S. aureus (two for MRSA), while the median duration of antibiotic treatment was 87 days for P. aeruginosa and 46 days for S. aureus infections (58 days for MRSA) (all p > 0.05). Overall, Pseudomonas-infected patients tended towards a lower remission rate than those infected with S. aureus (12/20 vs 88/111; p = 0.06). This was similar when P. aeruginosa was compared with MRSA alone (12/20 vs 30/37; p = 0.08). In multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusting for case mix, odds ratios (OR) for remission were as follows: P. aeruginosa vs S. aureus [OR 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1–1.2], number of surgical interventions (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5–1.0) and duration of antibiotic treatment (OR 1.0, 95% CI 1.0–1.0). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a similar number of surgical interventions and longer antibiotic treatment, osteoarticular infections due to P. aeruginosa tended towards a lower remission rate than infections due to S. aureus in general or MRSA in particular