Higher-order infinite horizon variational problems in discrete quantum calculus

We obtain necessary optimality conditions for higher-order infinite horizon problems of the calculus of variations via discrete quantum operators.Comment: Submitted 11-May-2011; revised 16-Sept-2011; accepted 02-Dec-2011; for publication in Computers & Mathematics with Application

Constructing the Optimal Solutions to the Undiscounted Continuous-Time Infinite Horizon Optimization Problems

We aim to construct the optimal solutions to the undiscounted continuous-time infinite horizon optimization problems, the objective functionals of which may be unbounded. We identify the condition under which the limit of the solutions to the finite horizon problems is optimal for the infinite horizon problems under the overtaking criterion

Evaluation of a socialization and training program for rabbits in medical research : a pilot study

2018 var kaninen det tredje vanligaste försöksdjuret inom EU. I egenskap av ett litet bytesdjur medföljer dock naturlig rädsla för människan och låg stresströskel vid hantering, vilket riskerar äventyra såväl djurvälfärd som forskningskvalitet. Hittills har ett fåtal studier utvärderat strategier för att reducera stressen hos vuxna kaniner i djurförsök. Däremot har resultat indikerat att potentialen är lika stor för denna ålderskategori som för kaniner innan avvänjning, där effekten av tillvänjning till hantering främst är studerad. Standardiserade riktlinjer gällande förfarandet för tillvänjning är ännu ej formulerade. Av det skälet ämnade denna studie utvärdera ett socialiserings-och träningsprogram för vuxna kaniner utvecklat på S:t Eriks Ögonsjukhus i Stockholm, tidigare beskrivet av Ersbring 2021. Programmet utvärderades på en grupp om tre hankaniner av rasen New Zealand White i jämförelse med en lika stor icke hanterad kontrollgrupp. Effekterna tolkades förutom med blindad subjektiv beteendeanalys och approach-tester även genom analys av blodglukos och plasmakortisol. Efter programmets fullföljande tränades även kontrollgruppen enligt samma schema medan testgruppen fick fortsatt daglig socialisering och en utvärdering av beteendet upprepades. Strategin möjliggjorde utvärdering av eventuella bibehållna effekter samt resultat av programmets fördröjda start. Sammantaget detekterades inga signifikanta skillnader mellan tränade och otränade kaniner i någon testparameter vilket sannolikt berodde på gruppernas begränsade storlek. Däremot observerades tydliga trender i beteende, förknippade med reducerad rädsla. Störst effekt av träning observerades hos gruppen vilken genomgått programmet innan blodprovstagning ägde rum. Det fanns även tecken på att träning och socialisering har viss omedelbar påverkan och att daglig socialisering efter en veckas fullföljd träning ger kumulativa resultat. Dock iakttogs ingen påverkan på blodparametrarar, möjligtvis på grund av låg stress över lag, inadekvata mätintervall eller att acklimatisering har samma effekt på dessa som socialisering och träning. I sin helhet stödjer studien resultaten från tidigare forskning inom ämnet men ytterligare studier erfordras för att säkerställa resultaten.In 2018 the rabbit was the third most used research animal within the EU. However, as a small prey species, it possesses an innate fear of humans and a low stress threshold during handling, which puts both animal welfare and research quality at risk. While only a few studies have evaluated strategies toward reducing stress in adult rabbits undergoing experimental trials so far, combined results show a similarly strong potential of reducing stress through application of habituation methods on this age group, as the more extensive research conducted on pups before weaning have done. Still any standardized protocol for such methods remains to be defined. For this reason, this study aimed to evaluate a training and socialization program developed for adult rabbits at S:t Eriks Eye Hospital in Stockholm, previously described by Ersbring 2021. The program was incorporated for a group of 3 male New Zealand White rabbits and evaluated in comparison to a corresponding non handled control group. Impacts were measured repeatedly through methods of both blinded subjective behavior analysis and approach tests, as well as blood glucose and plasma cortisol evaluation. Following completion of the program the test group was subject to continuous daily socialization whereas the controls initiated the training and socialization protocol. Another evaluation of behavior was then conducted which allowed for further assessment regarding possible sustained effects from training in the test group, in conjunction with consequences of delayed start of the program in the control group. In conclusion, none of the various tests revealed statistically significant differences between trained and untrained rabbits, which in large probably was due to the limited number of rabbits in each group. There was however strong indication on behavior associated with reduced fear after training, most prominently within the group which enrolled the program prior to blood collection. Furthermore, results were indicative of some immediate positive impact following training together with a further lasting reduction of fear achieved by continuous daily socialization up on completion of the training protocol. Regarding the physiological variables on the other hand, no effects of training were observed. This was likely either due to low stress in general, inadequate measuring intervals or acclimatization having similar effect on these as socialization and training. In final, the study outcome was in concurrence with previous relevant research. However further studies on larger groups of rabbits are required in order to assure the investigated effects

General principles of viral vector systems and their application in veterinary medicine

Under lång tid betraktades virus enbart som ett hot mot djur och människor med stor risk att åsamka skada. Framgångar i molekylär virologi kom att bredda den uppfattningen och visa att den virala infektionsvägen var användbar för terapeutiska syften. Idén gick ut på att avlägsna virala replikations- och sjukdomsalstrande gener från virusets genom och infoga terapeutiska gener i deras plats varpå viruset fungerade som en vektor i patienten. Denna litteraturstudie har för avsikt att redogöra för allmänna principer bakom denna mekanism och tillämpningen av virala vektorer inom veterinärmedicin. Frågeställningen löd: ”På vilket sätt kan virus programmeras om till vektorer för genetiskt material och vilka funktioner fyller de i genterapi, cancerterapi och immunoterapi för profylaktisk och terapeutisk behandling av djur?”. Litteratur erhölls från internationella referensdatabaser och inkluderade vetenskapliga artiklar från både human- och veterinärmedicin. De virusvektorer som för närvarande angavs ha störst betydelse för veterinärmedicin var adenovirusvektorer, retrovirusvektorer, lentivirusvektorer och adeno-associerade virala vektorer, men att respektive virus hade för- och nackdelar och att samtliga krävde någon form av modifiering för att lämpa sig som vektorer. Framställningsprocessen bestod i stora drag av att co-infektera en särskilt framtagen cellinje med vektor-DNA innehållande cis-sekvenser och terapeutiska gener, och hjälpar-DNA i form av ett virus eller en plasmid innehållande kompletterande trans-sekvenser. Tillsammans åstadkom de produktion av rekombinanta vektorer och både små- och storskaliga metoder hade tagits fram. Transduktionsmekanismen gick ut på den rekombinanta vektorns infektion av målcellen och uttryck av dess genetiska information. Utav genterapeutiska behandlingar var cancerterapi ett område där intresset för virala vektorer var utmärkande och lovande resultat hade demonstrerats från kliniska studier. Däremot hävdades att ytterligare forskning behövdes innan sådana behandlingar kunde tillämpas på klinik och i fält. Där tillämpningen av virala vektorer kommit längst var inom vaccinteknologi, där behandlingar redan fanns tillgängliga på marknaden. Behovet av ytterligare forskning motiverades dels med anledning av patientsäkerhet. Risken för insertionell mutagenes för integrerande vektorer betraktades som en av de största farorna samtidigt som dessa vektorer var bättre lämpade än icke integrerande vektorer i andra viktiga avseenden. Mer forskning krävdes också för framställning av effektiva metoder för storskalig produktion av vektorer vilket är en förutsättning för att de ska kunna tillämpas i behandlingar. För några virala vektorer ansågs det redan finnas tillgängligt men långt ifrån för alla. Slutsatsen flera författare drog är att virala vektorer kommer att få stor betydelse för sjukdomar där effektiva konventionella behandlingsmetoder saknas eller att de kan komma att användas som komplementbehandling mot dessa.Until recently, the general perception of viruses was limited to their strong potential of causing harm to animals and humans. However, advances in molecular biology helped to expand this view by demonstrating that the viral infectious pathway could be utilized for therapeutic purposes. The idea was based on the general principle of replacing viral genes coding for replication and pathogenicity, with DNA coding for therapeutic genes and to subsequently use these recombinant vectors to infect patients. The aim of this literature study is to examine this mechanism and the application of viral vectors in veterinary medicine, specifically their role in gene therapy, cancer therapy and immunotherapy for prophylactic and therapeutic treatments. Literature was obtained from international reference databases and included articles from both the human medicine and veterinary field. Viral vectors of adenoviruses, retroviruses, lentiviruses and adeno-associated viruses were described as having the greatest importance for veterinary medicine at this time, however all of them had pros and cons and each required modification to serve as vectors. The manufacturing process involved, in short, the co-infection of a specific cell line with vector-DNA, containing cis-acting sequences and therapeutic genes, as well as helper-DNA (virus or plasmid), containing complementary trans-acting sequences. Both large-scale and small-scale production methods had been developed to this end. The transduction mechanism was mediated through infection of the target cell with the recombinant vector and expression of the viral encoding genes in the host. In the vast range of gene therapy treatments, those targeted against various cancer forms showed a specific interest in viral vector strategies. Promising results had been demonstrated by clinical studies, yet it was argued more research was required before these therapies could be clinically applied. In contrast, viral vector-based vaccines had already been made available for commercial use. The need for further research was mainly argued as a concern for patient safety. Insertional mutagenesis caused by integrating vectors was considered one of the greatest threats, however in other important aspects, they were better suited than non-integrating vectors. Another reason was lack of efficient methods for large-scale vector production for some of the different vector types. Sufficient manufacturing methods was a precondition for application in clinical settings and therefore most significant. In conclusion, several authors argued that viral vectors will be of great importance for diseases lacking efficient conventional methods for treatment, or that they can be presented as a complementary treatment to these

Wild or Domestic? Biometric Variation in the Cat Felis silvestris Schreber

Investigation of modern biometric data indicates that it may be possible to distinguish wildcats from house cats in many instances. Applying the log-ratio (log-difference) technique to archaeological samples from medieval northern Europe, and to mixed samples of wildcats and house cats, shows that the differentiation may not always be clear, and the possibility that some samples include hybrids is discussed. The technique is applied to samples from the Orkney Islands to demonstrate that single wildcat specimens can be identified in small samples. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Framework For The Domain-Driven Utilization Of Manufacturing Sensor Data In Process Mining: An Action Design Approach

Manufacturers install and rely on a large number of sensors to operate and control their processes. However, the collected sensor data is rarely used to analyse and improve the higher-level, aggregated business processes. Process mining (PM) appears to be a promising solution, with the ability to automatically generate and analyse business process models based on data. However, the atomic events of sensor measurements need to be refined, aggregated, and enriched to properly represent a business process. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to make manufacturing sensor data analysable with PM. The framework allows manufacturers with batch and continuous processes (BCP) to systematically enrich their sensor data to use it for optimization purposes. Following the action design research, we demonstrate the applicability of the framework in a use case study using sensor data from a BCP beverage production

A process mining maturity model: Enabling organizations to assess and improve their process mining activities

Organizations employ process mining to discover, check, or enhance process models based on data from information systems to improve business processes. Even though process mining is increasingly relevant in academia and organizations, achieving process mining excellence and generating business value through its application is elusive. Maturity models can help to manage interdisciplinary teams in their efforts to plan, implement, and manage process mining in organizations. However, while numerous maturity models on business process management (BPM) are available, recent calls for process mining maturity models indicate a gap in the current knowledge base. We systematically design and develop a comprehensive process mining maturity model that consists of five factors comprising 23 elements, which organizations need to develop to apply process mining sustainably and successfully. We contribute to the knowledge base by the exaptation of existing BPM maturity models, and validate our model through its application to a real-world scenario

Arctic air pollution: Challenges and opportunities for the next decade

The Arctic is a sentinel of global change. This region is influenced by multiple physical and socio-economic drivers and feedbacks, impacting both the natural and human environment. Air pollution is one such driver that impacts Arctic climate change, ecosystems and health but significant uncertainties still surround quantification of these effects. Arctic air pollution includes harmful trace gases (e.g. tropospheric ozone) and particles (e.g. black carbon, sulphate) and toxic substances (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) that can be transported to the Arctic from emission sources located far outside the region, or emitted within the Arctic from activities including shipping, power production, and other industrial activities. This paper qualitatively summarizes the complex science issues motivating the creation of a new international initiative, PACES (air Pollution in the Arctic: Climate, Environment and Societies). Approaches for coordinated, international and interdisciplinary research on this topic are described with the goal to improve predictive capability via new understanding about sources, processes, feedbacks and impacts of Arctic air pollution. Overarching research actions are outlined, in which we describe our recommendations for 1) the development of trans-disciplinary approaches combining social and economic research with investigation of the chemical and physical aspects of Arctic air pollution; 2) increasing the quality and quantity of observations in the Arctic using long-term monitoring and intensive field studies, both at the surface and throughout the troposphere; and 3) developing improved predictive capability across a range of spatial and temporal scales

Necessary Optimality Conditions for Higher-Order Infinite Horizon Variational Problems on Time Scales

We obtain Euler-Lagrange and transversality optimality conditions for higher-order infinite horizon variational problems on a time scale. The new necessary optimality conditions improve the classical results both in the continuous and discrete settings: our results seem new and interesting even in the particular cases when the time scale is the set of real numbers or the set of integers.Comment: This is a preprint of a paper whose final and definite form will appear in Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications (JOTA). Paper submitted 17-Nov-2011; revised 24-March-2012 and 10-April-2012; accepted for publication 15-April-201