Parallelization of SAT on Reconfigurable Hardware

Quoique très difficile à résoudre, le problème de satisfiabilité Booléenne (SAT) est fréquemment utilisé lors de la modélisation d’applications industrielles. À cet effet, les deux dernières décennies ont vu une progression fulgurante des outils conçus pour trouver des solutions à ce problème NP-complet. Deux grandes avenues générales ont été explorées afin de produire ces outils, notamment l’approche logicielle et matérielle. Afin de raffiner et améliorer ces solveurs, de nombreuses techniques et heuristiques ont été proposées par la communauté de recherche. Le but final de ces outils a été de résoudre des problèmes de taille industrielle, ce qui a été plus ou moins accompli par les solveurs de nature logicielle. Initialement, le but de l’utilisation du matériel reconfigurable a été de produire des solveurs pouvant trouver des solutions plus rapidement que leurs homologues logiciels. Cependant, le niveau de sophistication de ces derniers a augmenté de telle manière qu’ils restent le meilleur choix pour résoudre SAT. Toutefois, les solveurs modernes logiciels n’arrivent toujours pas a trouver des solutions de manière efficace à certaines instances SAT. Le but principal de ce mémoire est d’explorer la résolution du problème SAT dans le contexte du matériel reconfigurable en vue de caractériser les ingrédients nécessaires d’un solveur SAT efficace qui puise sa puissance de calcul dans le parallélisme conféré par une plateforme FPGA. Le prototype parallèle implémenté dans ce travail est capable de se mesurer, en termes de vitesse d’exécution à d’autres solveurs (matériels et logiciels), et ce sans utiliser aucune heuristique. Nous montrons donc que notre approche matérielle présente une option prometteuse vers la résolution d’instances industrielles larges qui sont difficilement abordées par une approche logicielle.Though very difficult to solve, the Boolean satisfiability problem (SAT) is extensively used to model various real-world applications and problems. Over the past two decades, researchers have tried to provide tools that are used, to a certain degree, to find solutions to the Boolean satisfiability problem. The nature of these tools is broadly divided in software and reconfigurable hardware solvers. In addition, the main algorithms used to solve this problem have also been complemented with heuristics of various levels of sophistication to help overcome some of the NP-hardness of the problem. The end goal of these tools has been to provide solutions to industrial-sized problems of enormous size. Initially, reconfigurable hardware tools provided a promising avenue to accelerating SAT solving over traditional software based solutions. However, the level of sophistication of software solvers overcame their hardware counterparts, which remained limited to smaller problem instances. Even so, modern state-of-the-art software solvers still fail unpredictably on some instances. The main focus of this thesis is to explore solving SAT on reconfigurable hardware in order to gain an understanding of what would be essential ingredients to add (and discard) to a very efficient hardware SAT solver that obtains its processing power from the raw parallelism of an FPGA platform. The parallel prototype solver that was implemented in this work has been found to be comparable with other hardware and software solvers in terms of execution speed even though no heuristics or other helping techniques were implemented. We thus show that our approach provides a very promising avenue to solving large, industrial SAT instances that might be difficult to handle by software solvers

Engajamento ético, responsabilidade e comunicação estratégica na era digital: abordagens dos profissionais

Digital communication channels can be subject to exploitation, resulting in harming individuals or societies by promoting fake news, disinformation, radicalization, or social polarization. It is important that communicators are well prepared in identifying, preventing, and responding to such actions, in understanding the vulnerabilities of their audience, while respecting the rights and liberties of the population. Thus, ethical and strategic communication should be of top priority for institutional communicators, academia, journalists, or stakeholders when addressing security or sensitive issues. The article presents the results of an empirical sociological study, part of an extensive exploratory research within the CRESCEnt project, aiming at identifying elements of enhancing critical thinking, responsible communication and accountable behaviour. Three European states were targeted by the study: Romania, Spain and Greece, while 28 practitioners in communication, intelligence and security and law enforcement contributed to the research with significant input on topics related to ethical, successful, and strategic communication characteristics. Ethical communication implies acting by ethical principles, like being truthful, accurate, and well-intentioned. Responsibility is the central element of ethical engagement when informing the public. Effective messages are characterized by clearness, validity of information, novelty and presented in real time. Different types of authorities come into action for the communicators, such as the journalism code of practice, European values, or possible negative social impact.Los canales de comunicación digital pueden estar sujetos a explotación, lo que resulta en daños a las personas o sociedades promoviendo noticias falsas, desinformación, radicalización o polarización social. Es importante que los comunicadores estén bien preparados para identificar, prevenir y responder a tales acciones, comprender las vulnerabilidades de su audiencia y respetar los derechos y libertades de la población. Por lo tanto, la comunicación ética y estratégica debe ser la máxima prioridad para los comunicadores de instituciones, la academia, los periodistas o las partes interesadas al abordar temas delicados o de seguridad. El artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio sociológico empírico, parte de una extensa investigación exploratoria dentro del proyecto CRESCEnt, con el objetivo de identificar elementos para mejorar el pensamiento crítico, la comunicación responsable y el comportamiento responsable. El estudio se centró en tres estados europeos: Rumanía, España y Grecia, mientras 28 profesionales en comunicación, inteligencia y seguridad y aplicación de la ley contribuyeron a la investigación con aportes significativos sobre temas relacionados con la ética, el éxito. y características de la comunicación estratégica. La comunicación ética implica actuar de acuerdo con principios éticos, como ser veraz y bien intencionado. La responsabilidad es el elemento central del compromiso ético al informar al público. Los mensajes efectivos se caracterizan por la claridad, validez de la información, novedad y se presentan en tiempo real. Diferentes tipos de autoridades entran en acción para los comunicadores, como el código de práctica del periodismo, los valores europeos o el posible impacto social negativo.Os canais de comunicação digital podem estar sujeitos à exploração, resultando em danos a indivíduos ou sociedades ao promover notícias falsas, desinformação, radicalização ou polarização social. É importante que os comunicadores estejam bem preparados para identificar, prevenir e responder a tais ações, para entender as vulnerabilidades de seu público, respeitando os direitos e liberdades da população. Portanto, a comunicação ética e estratégica deve ser de alta prioridade para comunicadores institucionais, acadêmicos, jornalistas ou partes interessadas ao abordar questões de segurança ou delicadas. O artigo apresenta os resultados de um estudo sociológico empírico, parte de uma extensa pesquisa exploratória dentro do projeto CRESCEnt, com o objetivo de identificar elementos de reforço do pensamento crítico, da comunicação responsável e do comportamento responsável. Três estados europeus foram alvo do estudo: Romênia, Espanha e Grécia, enquanto 28 profissionais de comunicação, inteligência e segurança e aplicação da lei contribuíram para a pesquisa com contribuições significativas sobre tópicos relacionados à ética, sucesso e características de comunicação estratégica. A comunicação ética implica agir por princípios éticos, como ser verdadeiro, correto e bem intencionado. A responsabilidade é o elemento central do compromisso ético ao informar o público. Mensagens eficazes são caracterizadas pela clareza, validade da informação, novidade e apresentadas em tempo real. Diferentes tipos de autoridades entram em ação para os comunicadores, como o código de prática do jornalismo, os valores europeus ou o possível impacto social negativo. Palavras-chave: engajamento ético, responsabilidade, comunicação responsável, comunicação estratégica, profissionais da comunicação, ameaça à seguranç

AI Use in Criminal Matters as Permitted Under EU Law and as Needed to Safeguard the Essence of Fundamental Rights

In this article we shall attempt to systematically chart the curent AI legislation, as well as the most important proposals for legislation at the level of the EU and to point the clashes and common ground with some of the major aspects present in criminal law that are linked with the protection of the essence of fundamental rights. The image of man as a natural prey to suggestion and influence has made some believe that artificial intelligence represents the proper solution for ensuring not only impartiality in a justice system, but also efficiency. This encouraged a relatively uncomplicated view on the AI applications that would facilitate the work of police and judicial authorities through identification, data management, facial recognition, crime prevention and risk assessment. Underpinning this reassuring hope is the concern for the protection of the essence of fundamental rights. Anchored in the practical examples arriving via the professional experience of magistrates, the use of AI can have adverse effects, undermining fundamental rights, such as the right to non-discrimination, the right to protection of personal data and to a private life, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to a fair trial given the increased risk of reproducing bias and perpetrating discrimination, not to mention the ability of criminals to make use of it for their own illegal purposes. Assumptions on the interaction of AI and the essence of fundamental rights start from the very nature of man and the structure of society and the EU legislator has tried to gather all of these essential elements under the roof of a limited number of policies and legislation instruments

Development of traumatological activities at the surgical department of the Zabok General Hospital (1983-1998)

Retrospektivno je prikazan razvoj Traumatološkog odjela Opće bolnice Zabok u razdoblju od 1983. - 1998. godine, uz iznošenje osnovnih statističkih podataka o stručnoj djelatnosti iz područja traumatologije u Krapinsko-zagorskoj županiji.The paper is a retrospective review of the Traumatology Ward at the Zabok General Hospital in the period 1983-1998. The basic statistical data on the expertise in traumatology in Krapinsko-zagorska County are presented

Modelo prolab: Plan de negocio para implementación de servicio de capacitación y tutoría virtual en nivel primaria en el Perú

La finalidad de toda institución educativa es transmitir conocimientos adecuados a sus estudiantes, a través de aprendizajes que se puedan aplicar en su vida diaria, sobre todo durante los niveles básicos de educación; también es muy importante que estos colegios y los padres de familia ofrezcan y hagan uso de las diferentes metodologías, herramientas de formación y TIC para permitir a los estudiantes obtener una adecuada enseñanza y un óptimo rendimiento académico. Por tanto, una necesidad primordial para el desarrollo y mejora del rendimiento en los estudiantes del nivel de educación primaria se fundamenta en proponer programas de asesoría y reforzamiento innovadores y efectivos, cuyos resultados mejoren el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes y a la vez complementen la falta de tiempo que tienen sus padres o apoderados para apoyarles óptimamente con sus deberes escolares, es bajo esta perspectiva que nace “Tutor Class”, un proyecto innovador de tutoría virtual para escolares del nivel primario. Este estudio buscó evaluar la viabilidad económica, técnica y financiera para el proyecto propuesto. El proyecto busca atender una demanda a nivel nacional y ofrecer sus servicios a las familias de NSE A, B y C, cuya unidad familiar incluya niños en edad escolar del nivel primara; que presenten problemas de rendimiento académico y busquen reforzar sus capacidades escolares. Se realizó un análisis del sector educativo del nivel primario, sobre la realidad actual del sistema educativo y determinar los factores que influyen en el rendimiento escolar de los estudiantes y las necesidades que estos y sus apoderados tienen, para proponer una alternativa que permita a los niños mejorar su rendimiento y calidad educativa. Este análisis se realizó mediante un análisis misto del sector y las necesidades de los posibles consumidores, el instrumento utilizado fue una encuesta aplicada a una muestra de 586 familias. Los resultados permitieron concluir la factibilidad y viabilidad del proyecto propuesto, cuyos resultados, arrojaron un VAN financiero de 2’822,975 mayor a cero y una TIR financiera de 78.48%, mayor al WACC propuesto, el costo beneficio arrojó un valor 1.40 (40% de rentabilidad por cada sol invertido) y una recuperación de las inversiones para el mes cinco del segundo año.The purpose of every educational institution is to transmit adequate knowledge to its students, through learning that can be applied in their daily lives, especially during the basic levels of education; It is also very important that these schools and parents offer and make use of the different methodologies, training tools and ICT to allow students to obtain adequate teaching and optimal academic performance. Therefore, a primary need for the development and improvement of performance in students at the primary education level is based on proposing innovative and effective counseling and reinforcement programs, whose results improve the academic performance of students and at the same time complement the lack of time that their parents or guardians have to optimally support them with their homework, it is from this perspective that “Tutor Class” was born, an innovative virtual tutoring project for primary school students. This study sought to assess the economic, technical, and financial feasibility for the proposed project. The project seeks to meet a demand at the national level, and offer its services to families of NSE A, B and C, whose family unit includes children of primary school age; who present academic performance problems and seek to strengthen their academic abilities. An analysis of the educational sector of the primary level was carried out, on the current reality of the educational system and to determine the factors that influence the school performance of the students and the needs that these and their parents have, to propose an alternative that allows children improve their performance and educational quality. This analysis was carried out through a mixed analysis of the sector and the needs of potential consumers, the instrument used was a survey applied to a sample of 586 families. The results allowed to conclude the feasibility and viability of the proposed project, whose results showed a financial VPN of 2'822,975 greater than zero and a financial IRR of 78.48%, greater than the proposed WACC, the benefit cost yielded a value of 1.40 (40% of profitability for each sol invested) and a recovery of investments for month five of the second year

31P-NMR metabolomics revealed species-specific use of phosphorous in trees of a French Guiana rainforest

Productivity of tropical lowland moist forests is often limited by availability and functional allocation of phosphorus (P) that drives competition among tree species and becomes a key factor in determining forestall community diversity. We used non-target³¹P-NMR metabolic profiling to study the foliar P-metabolism of trees of a French Guiana rainforest. The objective was to test the hypotheses that P-use is species-specific, and that species diversity relates to species P-use and concentrations of P-containing compounds, including inorganic phosphates, orthophosphate monoesters and diesters, phosphonates and organic polyphosphates. We found that tree species explained the 59% of variance in ³¹P-NMR metabolite profiling of leaves. A principal component analysis showed that tree species were separated along PC 1 and PC 2 of detected P-containing compounds, which represented a continuum going from high concentrations of metabolites related to non-active P and P-storage, low total P concentrations and high N:P ratios, to high concentrations of P-containing metabolites related to energy and anabolic metabolism, high total P concentrations and low N:P ratios. These results highlight the species-specific use of P and the existence of species-specific P-use niches that are driven by the distinct species-specific position in a continuum in the P-allocation from P-storage compounds to P-containing molecules related to energy and anabolic metabolism