Intestinal Specific Gene Regulation by Transcription Factors Gata4 and Hnfla in Vivo

The mammalian small intestine is responsible for the terminal digestion and absorption of nutrients, water homeostasis, and the elimination of waste products, which in turn, are essential processes for life. These processes however, are easily disrupted by infection, inflammatory processes such as Crohn’s disease, cancer, and resection. The small intestine is equipped with specific proteins, such as enzymes to digest nutrients (digestion) and ‘transporters’ to carry the nutrients into the body (absorption). These tools for digestion and absorption are specifically expressed in the enterocytes of the small intestine and this expression is regulated by a complex of regulatory proteins among which intestinal transcription factors. These regulatory proteins are proposed to be important for intestinal gene expression, differentiation and development and are central to intestinal function. A better insight into the role that specific transcription factors play in these processes will thus complement our understanding of the regulation of intestinal function. Such fundamental knowledge will provide critical insight into disease processes and repair mechanisms of the intestinal epithelium, and identify potential avenues of intervention to correct lost or deficient intestinal function. The research described in this thesis investigates the role of the transcription factors Gata4 and Hnf1< in intestinal gene expression in vivo

Formal Interpretation of a Multi-Agent Society as a Single Agent

Contains fulltext : 194702.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In this paper the question is addressed to what extent the collective processes in a multi-agent society can be interpreted as single agent processes. This question is answered by formal analysis and simulation. It is shown for an example process how it can be conceptualised, formalised and simulated in two different manners: from a single agent (or cognitive) and from a multi-agent (or social) perspective. Moreover, it is shown how an ontological mapping can be formally defined between the two formalisations, and how this mapping can be extended to a mapping of dynamic properties. Thus it is shown how collective behaviour can be interpreted in a formal manner as single agent behaviour.23 p

Social Simulation and Analysis of the Dynamics of Criminal Hot Spots

Contains fulltext : 194199.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Within the field of Criminology, the spatio-temporal dynamics of crime are an important subject of study. In this area, typical questions are how the behaviour of offenders, targets, and guardians can be explained and predicted, as well as the emergence and displacement of criminal hot spots. In this article we present a combination of software tools that can be used as an experimental environment to address such questions. In particular, these tools comprise an agent-based simulation model, a verification tool, and a visualisation tool. The agent-based simulation model specifically focuses on the interplay between hot spots and reputation. Using this environment, a large number of simulation runs have been performed, of which results have been formally analysed. Based on these results, we argue that the presented environment offers a valuable approach to analyse the dynamics of criminal hot spots.19 p

Reducing the size and number of linear programs in a dynamic Gr\"obner basis algorithm

The dynamic algorithm to compute a Gr\"obner basis is nearly twenty years old, yet it seems to have arrived stillborn; aside from two initial publications, there have been no published followups. One reason for this may be that, at first glance, the added overhead seems to outweigh the benefit; the algorithm must solve many linear programs with many linear constraints. This paper describes two methods of reducing the cost substantially, answering the problem effectively.Comment: 11 figures, of which half are algorithms; submitted to journal for refereeing, December 201

Formalisation of Dynamic Properties of Multi-Issue Negotiation

This document contains a number of formal dynamic properties that are relevant for multi-issue negotiation

Experimental designs for field and semi-field studies with solitary wild bees

The newly proposed EFSA risk assessment of plant protection products for pollinators includes for the first time not only honey bees but also non-Apis pollinators (OEPP/EPPO 2010, EFSA 2013). No official guidelines for standardized tests exist so far. We performed field and semi-field studies to evaluate suitable test designs and handling procedures for the test organisms. The objective of these studies was the development of a test system for trials under field- and semi-field conditions with the red mason bee Osmia bicornis L. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). The trials were conducted in two different crops, winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), with different nesting materials, test designs and release techniques