644 research outputs found

    Visibly Pushdown Transducers with Well-nested Outputs

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    Visibly pushdown transducers (VPTs) are visibly pushdown automata extended with outputs. They have been introduced to model transformations of nested words, i.e. words with a call/return structure. When outputs are also structured and well nested words, VPTs are a natural formalism to express tree transformations evaluated in streaming. We prove the class of VPTs with well-nested outputs to be decidable in PTIME. Moreover, we show that this class is closed under composition and that its type-checking against visibly pushdown languages is decidable

    A polynomial procedure for trimming visibly pushdown automata

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    We describe a polynomial procedure which, given a visibly pushdown automaton that accepts only well-nested words, returns an equivalent visibly pushdown automaton that is trimmed. We also show that this procedure can be applied to weighted visibly pushdown automata such as visibly pushdown transducers

    Star formation in the outer regions of the early type galaxy NGC 4203

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    NGC 4203 is a nearby early-type galaxy surrounded by a very large, low-column-density HI disc. In this paper we study the star formation efficiency in the gas disc of NGC 4203 by using the UV, deep optical imaging and infrared data. We confirm that the HI disc consists of two distinct components: an inner star forming ring with radius from \sim 1 to \sim 3 Reff_{eff}, and an outer disc. The outer HI disc is 9 times more massive than the inner HI ring. At the location of the inner HI ring we detect spiral-like structure both in the deep grg'-r' image and in the 8 μ\mum SpitzerSpitzer-IRAC image, extending in radius up to \sim 3 Reff_{eff}. These two gas components have a different star formation efficiency likely due to the different metallicity and dust content. The inner component has a star formation efficiency very similar to the inner regions of late-type galaxies. Although the outer component has a very low star formation efficiency, it is similar to that of the outer regions of spiral galaxies and dwarfs. We suggest that these differences can be explained with different gas origins for the two components such as stellar mass loss for the inner HI ring and accretion from the inter galactic medium (IGM) for the outer HI disc. The low level star formation efficiency in the outer HI disc is not enough to change the morphology of NGC 4203, making the depletion time of the HI gas much too long.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 12 pages, 7 figure

    Trimming Visibly Pushdown Automata

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    Abstract We study the problem of trimming visibly pushdown automata (VPA). We first describe a polynomial time procedure which, given a visibly pushdown automaton that accepts only well-nested words, returns an equivalent visibly pushdown automaton that is trimmed. We then show how this procedure can be lifted to the setting of arbitrary VPA. Furthermore, we present a way of building, given a VPA, an equivalent VPA which is both deterministic and trimmed. Last, our trimming procedures can be applied to weighted VPA

    1st INEXO Symposium: Alternative models in vitro, ex ovo and organisms: From research to applications in pathologies and aging

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    International audience123 gation and subsequent differentiation into complex tissue-like structures with reproducible ratios of neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The generated neurons elicit spontaneous calcium transients and stimuli-induced neurotransmitter release. Whole-cell current-and-voltage clamp recordings show polarized neurons and voltage-dependent ion currents. Differentiated glial cells present astrocytic functions. Moreover, expression of genes involved in synaptic and ion transport machinery and the accumulation of neural proteoglycans suggests that this 3D differentiation strategy mimics the neural tissue microenvironment better than other differentiation methods. These models have applications as tools for preclinical assessment and in disease modelling. In the next session on reconstituted tissues and 3D bioprint-ing, Dr Christian Pellevoisin (Episkin Academy, Lyon, France) spoke about reconstructed skin, which is a powerful and highly versatile technology already used at all stages of cosmetic product development (toxicology, UV sensitivity, skin allergy, skin aging, skin microbiome, etc). The ability to reproduce several functions of human skin in vitro broadens the scope for industrial applications. He demonstrated that it is now possible to predict positive or negative effects of cosmetics early in their development process using in vitro skin models instead of animal testing. Reconstructed human skin is also used for screening and assessing the efficacy of new active ingredients, deciphering their mechanism of action, and optimizing the composition of formulations

    Weighted Automata and Expressions over Pre-Rational Monoids

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    The Kleene theorem establishes a fundamental link between automata and expressions over the free monoid. Numerous generalisations of this result exist in the literature; on one hand, lifting this result to a weighted setting has been widely studied. On the other hand, beyond the free monoid, different monoids can be considered: for instance, two-way automata, and even tree-walking automata, can be described by expressions using the free inverse monoid. In the present work, we aim at combining both research directions and consider weighted extensions of automata and expressions over a class of monoids that we call pre-rational, generalising both the free inverse monoid and graded monoids. The presence of idempotent elements in these pre-rational monoids leads in the weighted setting to consider infinite sums. To handle such sums, we will have to restrict ourselves to rationally additive semirings. Our main result is thus a generalisation of the Kleene theorem for pre-rational monoids and rationally additive semirings. As a corollary, we obtain a class of expressions equivalent to weighted two-way automata, as well as one for tree-walking automata

    Cancer risk management strategies and perceptions of unaffected women 5 years after predictive genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations

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    In a French national cohort of unaffected females carriers/non-carriers of a BRCA1/2 mutation, long-term preventive strategies and breast/ovarian cancer risk perceptions were followed up to 5 years after test result disclosure, using self-administered questionnaires. Response rate was 74%. Carriers (N=101) were younger (average age±SD=37±10) than non-carriers (N=145; 42±12). There were four management strategies that comprised 88% of the decisions made by the unaffected carriers: 50% opted for breast surveillance alone, based on either magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging (31%) or mammography alone (19%); 38% opted for either risk reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) and breast surveillance, based on MRI and other imaging (28%) or mammography alone (10%). The other three strategies were: risk reducing mastectomy (RRM) and RRSO (5%), RRM alone (2%) and neither RRM/RRSO nor surveillance (6%). The results obtained for various age groups are presented here. Non-carriers often opted for screening despite their low cancer risk. Result disclosure increased carriers' short-term high breast/ovarian cancer risk perceptions (P⩽0.02) and decreased non-carriers' short- and long-term perceptions (P<0.001). During follow-up, high breast cancer risk perceptions increased with time among those who had no RRM and decreased in the opposite case; high ovarian cancer risk perceptions increased further with time among those who had no RRSO and decreased in the opposite case; RRSO did not affect breast cancer risk perceptions. Informed decision-making involves letting women know whether opting for RRSO and breast MRI surveillance is as effective in terms of survival as RRM and RRSO

    Acute and late-onset optic atrophy due to a novel OPA1 mutation leading to a mitochondrial coupling defect

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    PurposeAutosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA, OMIM 165500), an inherited optic neuropathy that leads to retinal ganglion cell degeneration and reduced visual acuity during the early decades of life, is mainly associated with mutations in the OPA1 gene. Here we report a novel ADOA phenotype associated with a new pathogenic OPA1 gene mutation. Methods The patient, a 62-year-old woman, was referred for acute, painless, and severe visual loss in her right eye. Acute visual loss in her left eye occurred a year after initial presentation. MRI confirmed the diagnosis of isolated atrophic bilateral optic neuropathy. We performed DNA sequencing of the entire coding sequence and the exon/intron junctions of the OPA1 gene, and we searched for the mitochondrial DNA mutations responsible for Leber hereditary optic atrophy by sequencing entirely mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activity and mitochondrial morphology were investigated in skin fibroblasts from the patient and controls. Results We identified a novel heterozygous missense mutation (c.2794C&gt;T) in exon 27 of the OPA1 gene, resulting in an amino acid change (p.R932C) in the protein. This mutation, which affects a highly conserved amino acids, has not been previously reported, and was absent in 400 control chromosomes. Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis did not reveal any mutation associated with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy or any pathogenic mutations. The investigation of skin fibroblasts from the patient revealed a coupling defect of oxidative phosphorylation and a larger proportion of short mitochondria than in controls. Conclusions The presence of an OPA1 mutation indicates that this sporadic, late-onset acute case of optic neuropathy is related to ADOA and to a mitochondrial energetic defect. This suggests that the mutational screening of the OPA1 gene would be justified in atypical cases of optic nerve atrophy with no evident cause

    Mitochondrial DNA parameters in blood of infants receiving lopinavir/ritonavir or lamivudine prophylaxis to prevent breastfeeding transmission of HIV-1

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    Children who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed but uninfected (CHEU) accumulate maternal HIV and antiretroviral exposures through pregnancy, postnatal prophylaxis, and breastfeeding. Here, we compared the dynamics of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) parameters in African breastfed CHEU receiving lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or lamivudine (3TC) pre-exposure prophylaxis during the first year of life. The number of mtDNA copies per cell (MCN) and the proportion of deleted mtDNA (MDD) were assessed at day 7 and at week 50 post-delivery (PrEP group). mtDNA depletion was defined as a 50% or more decrease from the initial value, and mtDNA deletions was the detection of mtDNA molecules with large DNA fragment loss. We also performed a sub-analysis with CHEU who did not receive a prophylactic treatment in South Africa (control group). From day seven to week 50, MCN decreased with a median of 41.7% (interquartile range, IQR: 12.1; 64.4) in the PrEP group. The proportion of children with mtDNA depletion was not significantly different between the two prophylactic regimens. Poisson regressions showed that LPV/r and 3TC were associated with mtDNA depletion (reference: control group; LPV/r: PR = 1.75 (CI95%: 1.15–2.68), p < 0.01; 3TC: PR = 1.54 (CI95%: 1.00–2.37), p = 0.05). Moreover, the proportion of children with MDD was unexpectedly high before randomisation in both groups. Long-term health impacts of these mitochondrial DNA parameters should be investigated further for both CHEU and HIV-infected children receiving LPV/r- or 3TC- based regimens.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/jcmpm2021Paediatrics and Child Healt
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