Comparing the Update Expressivity of Communication Patterns and Action Models

Any kind of dynamics in dynamic epistemic logic can be represented as an action model. Right? Wrong! In this contribution we prove that the update expressivity of communication patterns is incomparable to that of action models. Action models, as update mechanisms, were proposed by Baltag, Moss, and Solecki in 1998 and have remained the nearly universally accepted update mechanism in dynamic epistemic logics since then. Alternatives, such as arrow updates that were proposed by Kooi and Renne in 2011, have update equivalent action models. More recently, the picture is shifting. Communication patterns are update mechanisms originally proposed in some form or other by Agotnes and Wang in 2017 (as resolving distributed knowledge), by Baltag and Smets in 2020 (as reading events), and by Velazquez, Castaneda, and Rosenblueth in 2021 (as communication patterns). All these logics have the same expressivity as the base logic of distributed knowledge. However, their update expressivity, the relation between pointed epistemic models induced by such an update, was conjectured to be different from that of action model logic. Indeed, we show that action model logic and communication pattern logic are incomparable in update expressivity. We also show that, given a history-based semantics and when restricted to (static) interpreted systems, action model logic is (strictly) more update expressive than communication pattern logic. Our results are relevant for distributed computing wherein oblivious models involve arbitrary iteration of communication patterns.Comment: In Proceedings TARK 2023, arXiv:2307.0400

Communication Pattern Logic: Epistemic and Topological Views

We propose communication pattern logic. A communication pattern describes how processes or agents inform each other, independently of the information content. The full-information protocol in distributed computing is the special case wherein all agents inform each other. We study this protocol in distributed computing models where communication might fail: an agent is certain about the messages it receives, but it may be uncertain about the messages other agents have received. In a dynamic epistemic logic with distributed knowledge and with modalities for communication patterns, the latter are interpreted by updating Kripke models. We propose an axiomatization of communication pattern logic, and we show that collective bisimilarity (comparing models on their distributed knowledge) is preserved when updating models with communication patterns. We can also interpret communication patterns by updating simplicial complexes, a well-known topological framework for distributed computing. We show that the different semantics correspond, and propose collective bisimulation between simplicial complexes

Review of Current Developments on High Strength Pipeline Steels for HIC Inducing Service

Nowadays, an increasing number of oil and gas transmission pipes are constructed with high-strength low alloy steels (HSLA); however, many of these pipelines suffer from different types of hydrogen damages, such as hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC). So many research efforts are being carried out to reduce the detrimental effects of hydrogen damage in HSLA steel pipes. The thermomechanical control process (TMCP) is a microstructural control technique that is able to eliminate the conventional heat treatment after hot rolling. Recent research demonstrated that TMCP provides high HIC resistance without adding high amounts of alloying elements or expensive heat treatments. However, once these HSLA steel pipes are put into service, they experience HIC damage, and the prediction of its kinetics is a necessary condition to perform Fitness-For-Service assessments. To develop a reliable predictive model for the kinetics of HIC, the relations among the microstructural features, environmental parameters, and mechanical properties have to be fully understood. This paper presents a review of the key metallurgical and processing factors to develop HSLA steel pipes, as well as a review of the phenomenological and empirical models of HIC kinetics in order to identify specific research directions for further investigations aimed to establish a reliable and sound model of HIC kinetics. &nbsp

Materialismo consumista e (in)felicidad: una revisión de la bibliografía

In this paper we carry out an extensive review of the scientific literature on the links between materialism and happiness, from a multidisciplinary approach that includes psychology, communication, economics and ethics. The dominant line in the literature insists on linking greater materialism with a lower self-perception of happiness and well-being, and with a greater propensity for depression. In this review, we take into account the evidence accumulated in this regard, the current course of research and the challenges still not clarified by the academy.En este artículo llevamos a cabo una extensa revisión de la literatura científica en lo relativo a los vínculos entre materialismo y felicidad, desde un enfoque multidisciplinar que incluye la psicología, la comunicación, la economía y la ética. La línea dominante en la bibliografía insiste en vincular un mayor materialismo con una menor auto-percepción de felicidad y de bienestar, y con una mayor propensión a la depresión. En esta revisión atendemos a los aspectos que así lo evidencian, al rumbo actual de las investigaciones y a los retos aún pendientes de clarificación por parte de la comunidad investigadora

Gelatin–chitosan–PVA hydrogels and their application in agriculture

This work demonstrated the ability of a fabrication process in the preparation of gelatin-chitosan-PVA hydrogels for potential agricultural applications. The hydrogels showed a dense, tridimensional, interconnected and reticulated structure that was more evident in the hydrogel loaded with inulin. The hydrogels showed a water absorption capacity of ≤12 times its mass. FTIR and light microscopy demonstrated that the hydrogels were biodegradable. The percentage of degradation of hydrogels in inoculated soil was higher than in sterile soil using the soil burial test. Hydrogel loaded with inulin was found to be capable of inducing resistance in chili plants against Phytophthora capsici.ITESO, A.C

Saber etnobotánico, riqueza y valor de uso de plantas medicinales en Monterrey, Villa Corzo, Chiapas (México)

Se registraron 73 especies de plantas medicinales naturalizadas o nativas de la comunidad Monterrey, municipio de Villa Corzo, Chiapas, México. Para el levantamiento de la información, se aplicó una entrevista semiestructurada a una muestra de 119 personas, categorizadas por edad y sexo. Se determinó la familia botánica de cada una de las plantas identificadas, así como el índice de riqueza de conocimiento, el valor de uso y la frecuencia de uso. Dentro de las especies más usadas se encuentran la Verbena (Verbena officinalis L.), la Manzanilla (Chamaemelum nobile L.) y la Albahaca (Ocimum basilicum L.), la Sábila (Aloe barbadensis Miller) y la Ruda (Ruta chalepensis L.), que presentan el mayor índice de riqueza de conocimiento, así como de valor de uso. Las familias más representadas por especies de uso botánico fueron Asteraceae con diez especies, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae con cuatro y Annonaceae, Apiaceae, Lauraceae y Rubiaceae, con tres especies

Detecting Microglial Density With Quantitative Multi-Compartment Diffusion MRI

Neuroinflammation plays a central role in the neuropathogenesis of a wide-spectrum of neurologic and psychiatric disease, but current neuroimaging methods to detect and characterize neuroinflammation are limited. We explored the sensitivity of quantitative multi-compartment diffusion MRI, and specifically neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), to detect changes in microglial density in the brain. Monte Carlo simulations of water diffusion using a NODDI acquisition scheme were performed to measure changes in a virtual MRI signal following modeled cellular changes within the extra-neurite space. 12-week-old C57BL/6J male mice (n = 48; 24 control, 24 treated with colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor, PLX5622) were sacrificed at 0, 1, 3, and 7 days following withdrawal of CSF1R inhibition and were imaged ex-vivo to obtain measures of the orientation dispersion index (ODI). Following imaging, all brains were immunostained with Iba-1, NeuN, and GFAP for quantitative fluorescence microscopy. Cell populations were calculated with the ImageJ particle analyzer tool; correlation between microglial density and mean ODI values were calculated with Kendall's tau. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the sensitivity and positive correlation of ODI to increased occupancy in the extra-neurite space. Commensurate with our simulation data, ex-vivo NODDI imaging demonstrates an increase in ODI as microglia repopulate the brain following the withdrawal of CSF1R inhibition. Quantitative immunofluorescence of microglial density reveals that microglial density is positively correlated with ODI and greater hindered diffusion in the extra-neurite space (τ = 0.386, p < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that clinically feasible multi-compartment diffusion weighted imaging techniques such as NODDI are sensitive to microglial density and the cellular changes associated with microglial activation and highlights its potential to improve clinical diagnostic accuracy, patient risk stratification, and therapeutic monitoring of neuroinflammation in neurologic and psychiatric disease

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) in Spanish-speaking pediatric populations. METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the PPVT-III as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. PPVT-III scores were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses. RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models showed main effects for age in all countries, such that scores increased linearly as a function of age. In addition, age2 had a significant effect in all countries, except Guatemala and Paraguay. Models showed that children whose parent(s) had a MLPE >12 years obtained higher scores compared to children whose parent(s) had a MLPE ≤12 years in all countries, except for Cuba, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Sex affected scores for Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate interpretation of the PPVT-III when used in pediatric populations

Shortened Version of the Token Test: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Shortened Version of the Token Test in Spanish-speaking pediatric populations. METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the Shortened Version of the Token Test as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Shortened Version of the Token Test total scores were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses. RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models showed main effects for age in all countries, such that score increased linearly as a function of age. In addition, age2 had a significant effect in all countries, except Guatemala and Puerto Rico. Models showed that children whose parent(s) had a MLPE >12 years obtained higher score compared to children whose parents had a MLPE ≤12 years in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Spain. The child’s sex did not have an effect in the Shortened Version of the Token Test total score for any of the countries. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate interpretation of the Shortened Version of the Token Test when used in pediatric populations