Multiparty motion coordination: from choreographies to robotics programs

We present a programming model and typing discipline for complex multi-robot coordination programming. Our model encompasses both synchronisation through message passing and continuous-time dynamic motion primitives in physical space. We specify continuous-time motion primitives in an assume-guarantee logic that ensures compatibility of motion primitives as well as collision freedom. We specify global behaviour of programs in a choreographic type system that extends multiparty session types with jointly executed motion primitives, predicated refinements, as well as a separating conjunction that allows reasoning about subsets of interacting robots. We describe a notion of well-formedness for global types that ensures motion and communication can be correctly synchronised and provide algorithms for checking well-formedness, projecting a type, and local type checking. A well-typed program is communication safe, motion compatible, and collision free. Our type system provides a compositional approach to ensuring these properties. We have implemented our model on top of the ROS framework. This allows us to program multi-robot coordination scenarios on top of commercial and custom robotics hardware platforms. We show through case studies that we can model and statically verify quite complex manoeuvres involving multiple manipulators and mobile robots---such examples are beyond the scope of previous approaches

Motion session types for robotic interactions

Robotics applications involve programming concurrent components synchronising through messages while simultaneously executing motion primitives that control the state of the physical world. Today, these applications are typically programmed in low-level imperative programming languages which provide little support for abstraction or reasoning. We present a unifying programming model for concurrent message-passing systems that additionally control the evolution of physical state variables, together with a compositional reasoning framework based on multiparty session types. Our programming model combines message-passing concurrent processes with motion primitives. Processes represent autonomous components in a robotic assembly, such as a cart or a robotic arm, and they synchronise via discrete messages as well as via motion primitives. Continuous evolution of trajectories under the action of controllers is also modelled by motion primitives, which operate in global, physical time. We use multiparty session types as specifications to orchestrate discrete message-passing concurrency and continuous flow of trajectories. A global session type specifies the communication protocol among the components with joint motion primitives. A projection from a global type ensures that jointly executed actions at end-points are communication safe and deadlock-free, i.e., session-typed components do not get stuck. Together, these checks provide a compositional verification methodology for assemblies of robotic components with respect to concurrency invariants such as a progress property of communications as well as dynamic invariants such as absence of collision. We have implemented our core language and, through initial experiments, have shown how multiparty session types can be used to specify and compositionally verify robotic systems implemented on top of off-the-shelf and custom hardware using standard robotics application libraries

The N-Terminal Domain and Glycosomal Localization of Leishmania Initial Acyltransferase LmDAT Are Important for Lipophosphoglycan Synthesis

Ether glycerolipids of Leishmania major are important membrane components as well as building blocks of various virulence factors. In L. major, the first enzyme of the ether glycerolipid biosynthetic pathway, LmDAT, is an unusual, glycosomal dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase important for parasite's growth and survival during the stationary phase, synthesis of ether lipids, and virulence. The present work extends our knowledge of this important biosynthetic enzyme in parasite biology. Site-directed mutagenesis of LmDAT demonstrated that an active enzyme was critical for normal growth and survival during the stationary phase. Deletion analyses showed that the large N-terminal extension of this initial acyltransferase may be important for its stability or activity. Further, abrogation of the C-terminal glycosomal targeting signal sequence of LmDAT led to extraglycosomal localization, did not impair its enzymatic activity but affected synthesis of the ether glycerolipid-based virulence factor lipophosphoglycan. In addition, expression of this recombinant form of LmDAT in a null mutant of LmDAT did not restore normal growth and survival during the stationary phase. These results emphasize the importance of this enzyme's compartmentalization in the glycosome for the generation of lipophosphoglycan and parasite's biology

The communication chain of genetic risk: analyses of narrative data exploring proband-provider and proband-family communication in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

Low uptake of genetic services among members of families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) suggests limitations of proband-mediated communication of genetic risk. This study explored how genetic information proceeds from healthcare providers to probands and from probands to relatives, from the probands' perspectives. Using a grounded-theory approach, we analyzed narrative data collected with individual interviews and focus groups from a sample of 48 women identified as carriers of HBOC-associated pathogenic variants from three linguistic regions of Switzerland. The findings describe the "communication chain", confirming the difficulties of proband-mediated communication. Provider-proband communication is impacted by a three-level complexity in the way information about family communication is approached by providers, received by probands, and followed-up by the healthcare system. Probands' decisions regarding disclosure of genetic risk are governed by dynamic and often contradictory logics of action, interconnected with individual and family characteristics, eventually compelling probands to engage in an arbitrating process. The findings highlight the relevance of probands' involvement in the communication of genetic risk to relatives, suggesting the need to support them in navigating the complexity of family communication rather than replacing them in this process. Concrete actions at the clinical and health system levels are needed to improve proband-mediated communication

Intention to Inform Relatives, Rates of Cascade Testing, and Preference for Patient-Mediated Communication in Families Concerned with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Lynch Syndrome: The Swiss CASCADE Cohort.

Cascade screening for Tier 1 cancer genetic conditions is a significant public health intervention because it identifies untested relatives of individuals known to carry pathogenic variants associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and Lynch syndrome (LS). The Swiss CASCADE is a family-based, open-ended cohort, including carriers of HBOC- and LS-associated pathogenic variants and their relatives. This paper describes rates of cascade screening in relatives from HBOC- and LS- harboring families, examines carriers' preferences for communication of testing results, and describes theory-based predictors of intention to invite relatives to a cascade screening program. Information has been provided by 304 index cases and 115 relatives recruited from September 2017 to December 2021. On average, 10 relatives per index case were potentially eligible for cascade screening. Approximately 65% of respondents wanted to invite relatives to the cohort, and approximately 50% indicated a preference for patient-mediated communication of testing results, possibly with the assistance of digital technology. Intention to invite relatives was higher for first- compared to second- and third-degree relatives, but was not different between syndromes or based on relatives' gender. The family environment and carrying pathogenic variants predicts intention to invite relatives. Information helps optimize delivery of tailored genetic services

Enteric Neurospheres Are Not Specific to Neural Crest Cultures: Implications for Neural Stem Cell Therapies

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited

Initial Considerations Before Designing a Promoter Construct.

Before designing a synthetic promoter, it can be helpful to think about its final application. Is the study purely an in vitro exercise in monitoring short-term promoter activity from an episomal vector, or does the promoter eventually need to be permanently active and be integrated into the genome or perhaps even to function in vivo? The final application will have a bearing on promoter design and vector of choice from the start of the study. In this chapter I highlight some of the vector attributes to consider and features that should be thought about

CURVACE - CURVed Artificial Compound Eyes

International audienceCURVACE aims at designing, developing, and assessing CURVed Artificial Compound Eyes, a radically novel family of vision systems. This innovative approach will provide more efficient visual abilities for embedded applications that require motion analysis in low-power and small packages. Compared to conventional cameras, artificial compound eyes will offer a much larger field of view with negligible distortion and exceptionally high temporal resolution in smaller size and weight that will fit the requirements of a wide range of applications

Relatives from Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Lynch Syndrome Families Forgoing Genetic Testing: Findings from the Swiss CASCADE Cohort.

Cascade genetic testing of relatives from families with pathogenic variants associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) or Lynch syndrome (LS) has important implications for cancer prevention. We compared the characteristics of relatives from HBOC or LS families who did not have genetic testing (GT (-) group) with those who had genetic testing (GT (+) group), regardless of the outcome. Self-administered surveys collected cross-sectional data between September 2017 and December 2021 from relatives participating in the CASCADE cohort. We used multivariable logistic regression with LASSO variable selection. Among n = 115 relatives who completed the baseline survey, 38% (n = 44) were in the GT (-) group. Being male (OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.10-7.10) and without a previous cancer diagnosis (OR: 4.47, 95% CI: 1.03-19.42) increased the odds of being untested by almost three times. Individuals from families with fewer tested relatives had 29% higher odds of being untested (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.55-0.92). Reasons for forgoing cascade testing were: lack of provider recommendation, lack of time and interest in testing, being afraid of discrimination, and high out-of-pocket costs. Multilevel interventions designed to increase awareness about clinical implications of HBOC and LS in males, referrals from non-specialists, and support for testing multiple family members could improve the uptake of cascade testing