Efficient Open World Reasoning for Planning

We consider the problem of reasoning and planning with incomplete knowledge and deterministic actions. We introduce a knowledge representation scheme called PSIPLAN that can effectively represent incompleteness of an agent's knowledge while allowing for sound, complete and tractable entailment in domains where the set of all objects is either unknown or infinite. We present a procedure for state update resulting from taking an action in PSIPLAN that is correct, complete and has only polynomial complexity. State update is performed without considering the set of all possible worlds corresponding to the knowledge state. As a result, planning with PSIPLAN is done without direct manipulation of possible worlds. PSIPLAN representation underlies the PSIPOP planning algorithm that handles quantified goals with or without exceptions that no other domain independent planner has been shown to achieve. PSIPLAN has been implemented in Common Lisp and used in an application on planning in a collaborative interface.Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures. to appear in Logical Methods in Computer Scienc

Profile - Not-for-Profit as Urban Neighbor: The Bowery Residents’ Committee

From the very beginning of its new headquarters project, The Bowery Residents’ Committee set out not only to serve its mission but to be the very best neighbor. Seriously, how many of us freeze our garbage before putting it out for collection? Muzzy Rosenblatt, Christine Lalor-Chisholm, and John Johnson of The Bowery Residents’ Committee, and Charles Thanhauser and Sarah Corcoran of its architectural firm, TEK Architects, talk with the Rooftops Project’s Tamara Salzman an Professor James Hagy about their approach to this unique project in the heart of Manhattan.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/rooftops_project/1005/thumbnail.jp

Profile - Not-for-Profit as Urban Neighbor: The Bowery Residents’ Committee

From the very beginning of its new headquarters project, The Bowery Residents’ Committee set out not only to serve its mission but to be the very best neighbor. Seriously, how many of us freeze our garbage before putting it out for collection? Muzzy Rosenblatt, Christine Lalor-Chisholm, and John Johnson of The Bowery Residents’ Committee, and Charles Thanhauser and Sarah Corcoran of its architectural firm, TEK Architects, talk with the Rooftops Project’s Tamara Salzman an Professor James Hagy about their approach to this unique project in the heart of Manhattan.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/rooftops_project/1005/thumbnail.jp

Prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in Mechanically Deboned Turkey

In the winter survey, Arcobacter spp. was isolated from 92% of the mechanically deboned turkey (MDT) samples with 80% of the samples positive for A. butzleri. The summer survey had 83% of the MDT samples positive for Arcobacter spp. The high rate of positives from the two surveys, clearly indicates that Arcobacter spp. is prevalent in MDT. This may be cause for concern, especially if food testing laboratories are relying on the traditional isolation methods for Campylobacter from meat. Some of the samples could be misinterpretedCampylobacter for Arcobacter and Arcobacter for Campylobacter. This survey uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the presence of Arcobacter spp. in the enriched samples, thus bypassing the typical plating and visual identification. Arcobacter butzleri species-specific probes were used to identify the A. butzleri positive samples

Visual pathway function and structure in Wolfram syndrome: Patient age, variation and progression

Background/aimsTo report alterations in visual acuity and visual pathway structure over an interval of 1–3 years in a cohort of children, adolescents and young adults who have Wolfram syndrome (WFS) and to describe the range of disease severity evident in patients with WFS whose ages differed by as much as 20 years at first examination.MethodsAnnual, prospective ophthalmological examinations were performed in conjunction with retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) analysis. Diffusion tensor MRI-derived fractional anisotropy was used to assess the microstructural integrity of the optic radiations (OR FA).ResultsMean age of the 23 patients with WFS in the study was 13.8 years (range 5–25 years). Mean log minimum angle resolution visual acuity was 0.66 (20/91). RNFL thickness was subnormal in even the youngest patients with WFS. Average RNFL thickness in patients with WFS was 57±8 µ or ~40% thinner than that measured in normal (94±10 µ) children and adolescents (P&lt;0.01). Lower OR FA correlated with worse visual acuity (P=0.006). Subsequent examinations showed declines (P&lt;0.05) in visual acuity, RNFL thickness and OR FA at follow-up intervals of 12–36 months. However, a wide range of disease severity was evident across ages: some of the youngest patients at their first examination had deficits more severe than the oldest patients.ConclusionThe genetic mutation of WFS causes damage to both pregeniculate and postgeniculate regions of the visual pathway. The damage is progressive. The decline in visual pathway structure is accompanied by declines of visual function. Disease severity differs widely in individual patients and cannot be predicted from their age.</jats:sec

Biphasic Culture of Arcobacter spp.

Arcobacter spp. have recently been genetically differentiated as a genus distinct from Campylobacter. Physiologically, Arcobacter spp. are aerotolerant bacteria, while Campylobacter spp. are microaerophilic. However, since Arcobacter spp. have been difficult to grow to high population densities in broth media, alternative culture techniques were investigated. A biphasic culture system was developed in 25 cm2 tissue culture flasks. Biphasic culture, consisting of a solid phase of 10% bovine blood agar and a liquid phase of Brain Heart Infusion broth, was found to increase bacterial population densities by more than 2 log10 cycles for strains of A. butzleri and A. skirrowii. A strain of A. cryaerophilus, which was non-culturable in broth culture, attained population densities of 109 cells ml-1 in biphasic culture. Neither the addition of fetal bovine serum to the liquid nor an increase in the surface area from 25 to 75 cm2 resulted in increased cell densities

CT Contrast in Radiation Oncology Simulation

Objectives: With IMRT and advanced radiation planning, anatomy and contouring is becoming increasingly important in the field of radiation oncology. The use of iodinated computed tomography (CT) contrast for radiation simulation CT scans can help define anatomy more precisely and thus improve contouring.  The major risks of CT contrast (which at least partly accounts for the aversion by some departments to its routine use) are contrast induced nephropathy and allergic-like reactions.Results: The evidence of complications attributable to standard doses of contrast for diagnostic CT examinations is weak.  The preponderance of data on contrast induced nephropathy has been compiled from interventional cardiology procedures, and the current guidelines regarding diagnostic CT contrast require extrapolation on mostly retrospective data.  The evidence available suggests that CT contrast related adverse events are rare, and contrast related nephropathy most often spontaneously resolves without further decline in baseline renal function.Conclusion: The current data regarding safety of CT contrast provides a limited foundation on which to make evidence-based recommendations. We have reviewed the literature on CT contrast. By following some simple algorithms CT contrast can be safely utilized

Use of wire line logs for estimation of strength variability in cap-­‐rock lithologies

The characterization of cap-rock, low permeability and high capillary entry pressure lithologies is important for modeling the response of cap-rocks to increased pressures due to CO2 injection. We evaluate the use of publically available wireline log data to provide empirical estimate of rock strength in order to determine the strength of top seal over a range of scales. This method is being used to characterize cap-rock lithologies in systems proposed for CO2 geosequestration, these data will be combined with outcrop fracture density observations, petrology, lithologic stacking patterns and mineralogy to predict the potential for bypass. Analysis to date includes wells with monopole and dipole sonic logs for comparison of the relationships established empirically by other workers and used in this study to estimate the dynamic values for Poisson’s Ratio and Young’s Modulus from publically available vintage well log data in Utah. This study focuses specifically on the Jurassic Carmel Formation, which is a cap-rock to the underlying proposed CO2 injection reservoir, the Navajo Sandstone. This study compliments the well data with outcrop characterization of the Carmel Formation, which we split into 3 mechanical units based on lithologic stacking patterns, fracture density, and relationships observed between the percent shale and fracture spacing ratio. Results obtained from the well log analysis fall within the published ranges for these rock types, however the data show a variability which is being evaluated further to understand if these observations are related to geology or artifacts associated with the wireline data. In future the use of these empirical estimates will provide a lower estimate for subsurface rock strength, as well as provide a means to closely tie outcrop observations to those made from subsurface data