An integration of partial evaluation in a generic abstract interpretation framework

Information generated by abstract interpreters has long been used to perform program specialization. Additionally, if the abstract interpreter generates a multivariant analysis, it is also possible to perform múltiple specialization. Information about valúes of variables is propagated by simulating program execution and performing fixpoint computations for recursive calis. In contrast, traditional partial evaluators (mainly) use unfolding for both propagating valúes of variables and transforming the program. It is known that abstract interpretation is a better technique for propagating success valúes than unfolding. However, the program transformations induced by unfolding may lead to important optimizations which are not directly achievable in the existing frameworks for múltiple specialization based on abstract interpretation. The aim of this work is to devise a specialization framework which integrates the better information propagation of abstract interpretation with the powerful program transformations performed by partial evaluation, and which can be implemented via small modifications to existing generic abstract interpreters. With this aim, we will relate top-down abstract interpretation with traditional concepts in partial evaluation and sketch how the sophisticated techniques developed for controlling partial evaluation can be adapted to the proposed specialization framework. We conclude that there can be both practical and conceptual advantages in the proposed integration of partial evaluation and abstract interpretation.

Towards Integrating Partial Evaluation in a Specialization Framework based on Generic Abstract Interpretation

Abstract is not available

Multilingual variation in the context of Linked Data

In this paper we present a revisited classification of term variation in the light of the Linked Data initiative. Linked Data refers to a set of best practices for publishing and connecting structured data on the Web with the idea of transforming it into a global graph. One of the crucial steps of this initiative is the linking step, in which datasets in one or more languages need to be linked or connected with one another. We claim that the linking process would be facilitated if datasets are enriched with lexical and terminological information. Being that the final aim, we propose a classification of lexical, terminological and semantic variants that will become part of a model of linguistic descriptions that is currently being proposed within the framework of the W3C Ontology- Lexica Community Group to enrich ontologies and Linked Data vocabularies. Examples of modeling solutions of the different types of variants are also provided.

3LD: towards high quality, industry-ready linguistic Linked Licensed Data

The application of Linked Data technology to the publication of linguistic data promises to facilitate interoperability of these data and has lead to the emergence of the so called Linguistic Linked Data Cloud (LLD) in which linguistic data is published following the Linked Data principles. Three essential issues need to be addressed for such data to be easily exploitable by language technologies: i) appropriate machine-readable licensing information is needed for each dataset, ii) minimum quality standards for Linguistic Linked Data need to be defined, and iii) appropriate vocabularies for publishing Linguistic Linked Data resources are needed. We propose the notion of Licensed Linguistic Linked Data (3LD) in which different licensing models might co-exist, from totally open to more restrictive licenses through to completely closed datasets.

Language resources and linked data: a practical perspective

Recently, experts and practitioners in language resources have started recognizing the benefits of the linked data (LD) paradigm for the representation and exploitation of linguistic data on the Web. The adoption of the LD principles is leading to an emerging ecosystem of multilingual open resources that conform to the Linguistic Linked Open Data Cloud, in which datasets of linguistic data are interconnected and represented following common vocabularies, which facilitates linguistic information discovery, integration and access. In order to contribute to this initiative, this paper summarizes several key aspects of the representation of linguistic information as linked data from a practical perspective. The main goal of this document is to provide the basic ideas and tools for migrating language resources (lexicons, corpora, etc.) as LD on the Web and to develop some useful NLP tasks with them (e.g., word sense disambiguation). Such material was the basis of a tutorial imparted at the EKAW’14 conference, which is also reported in the paper.

O PAPEL DA COMUNICAÇÃO FACE A FACE NAS ORGANIZAÇÕES NO CONTEXTO DA SOCIEDADE MIDIATIZADA

Este estudo trata da comunicação face a face nas organizações sob diferentes abordagens teóricas. Considera a perspectiva da simultaneidade dos meios, já que as empresas utilizam diversos canais para dialogar com seus p��blicos de interesse. Leva em conta o fenômeno da midiatização, que reestrutura o modo como as pessoas se relacionam na sociedade contemporânea. O objetivo geral da pesquisa é sistematizar papeis potencialmente exercidos pela interação face a face e conhecer algumas circunstâncias que envolvem sua prática nas organizações. Por se tratar de uma tese teórica, a pesquisa bibliográfica se apresenta como um dos principais procedimentos metodológicos; análises de casos emp��ricos e um estudo de caso desenvolvido na Embrapa Pantanal constituem situações ilustrativas. Conclui-se que a comunicação face a face nas empresas ocorre de forma simultânea e combinada a outros canais de comunicação, porém, ela proporciona resultados práticos e filosóficos ainda pouco explorados. É rara a utilização estratégica de contatos presenciais como mecanismo para estabelecer relacionamentos, conhecer as reações alheias e ajustar a comunicação, aliar o discurso corporativo às práticas empresariais e avaliar o contexto onde se desenvolvem as interações, o que pode ser decisivo para a comunicação organizacional.

O BOCA A BOCA ON-LINE: AS IMPLICAÇÕES DA VOZ DO CONSUMIDOR NA COMUNICAÇÃO DE MERCADO

O consumidor contemporâneo, inserido em um novo ambiente de comunicação, potencializa suas expressões, capaz de avaliar uma marca ou produto e transmitir sua opinião pelas redes sociais, ou seja, o consumidor expressa suas opiniões e desejos dialogando com seus pares de forma espontânea nas redes sociais on-line. É neste ambiente de participação e interação (ciberespaço) que está nosso objeto de estudo, o boca a boca on-line – a voz do consumidor contemporâneo, também conhecido como uma manifestação informativa pessoal ou uma conversa, a opinion sharing. Proporcionado pelos consumidores nas redes sociais on-line, o boca a boca se fortalece em função das possibilidades de interação, característica da sociedade em rede. Nesse cenário, oobjetivo desta pesquisa é caracterizar o boca a boca on-line como um novo fluxo comunicacional entre consumidores, hoje potencializado pelas novas tecnologias da comunicação, capazes de alterar a percep��ão da marca e demonstrar o uso, pelas marcas, das redes sociais on-line ainda como um ambiente de comunicação unidirecional. Mediante três casos selecionados por conveniência (dois casos nacionais e um internacional), o corpus de análise de nossa pesquisa se limitou aos 5.084 comentários disponibilizados ap��s publicação de matérias jornalísticas no Portal G1 e nas fanpages (Facebook), ambos relativos aos casos selecionados. Com a Análise de Conteúdo dos posts, identificamos e categorizamos a fala do consumidor contemporâneo, sendo assim possível comprovar que as organizações/marcas se valem da cultura do massivo, não dialogando com seus consumidores, pois utilizam as redes sociais on-line ainda de forma unidirecional, além de não darem a devida atenção ao atual fluxo onde se evidencia a opinião compartilhada dos consumidores da sociedade em rede.

Social stress results in altered glucocorticoid regulation and shorter survival in simian acquired immune deficiency syndrome

From early in the AIDS epidemic, psychosocial stressors have been proposed as contributors to the variation in disease course. To test this hypothesis, rhesus macaques were assigned to stable or unstable social conditions and were inoculated with the simian immunodeficiency virus. Animals in the unstable condition displayed more agonism and less affiliation, shorter survival, and lower basal concentrations of plasma cortisol compared with stable animals. Early after inoculation, but before the emergence of group differences in cortisol levels, animals receiving social threats had higher concentrations of simian immunodeficiency virus RNA in plasma, and those engaging in affiliation had lower concentrations. The results indicate that social factors can have a significant impact on the course of immunodeficiency disease. Socially induced changes in pituitary–adrenal hormones may be one mechanism mediating this relationship.

Recessive and dominant mutations in the ethylene biosynthetic gene ACS5 of Arabidopsis confer cytokinin insensitivity and ethylene overproduction, respectively

We identified a set of cytokinin-insensitive mutants by using a screen based on the ethylene-mediated triple response observed after treatment with low levels of cytokinins. One group of these mutants disrupts ACS5, a member of the Arabidopsis gene family that encodes 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, the first enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis. The ACS5 isoform is mainly responsible for the sustained rise in ethylene biosynthesis observed in response to low levels of cytokinin and appears to be regulated primarily by a posttranscriptional mechanism. Furthermore, the dominant ethylene-overproducing mutant eto2 was found to be the result of an alteration of the carboxy terminus of ACS5, suggesting that this domain acts as a negative regulator of ACS5 function.

Linking topography of its potential surface with the dynamics of folding of a protein model

The “3-color, 46-bead” model of a folding polypeptide is the vehicle for adapting to proteins a mode of analysis used heretofore for atomic clusters, to relate the topography of the potential surface to the dynamics that lead to formation of selected structures. The analysis is based on sequences of stationary points—successive minima, joined by saddles—that rise monotonically in energy from basin bottoms. Like structure-seeking clusters, the potential surface of the model studied here is staircase-like, rather than sawtooth-like, with highly collective motions required for passage from one minimum to the next. The surface has several deep basins whose minima correspond to very similar structures, but which are separated by high energy barriers.

Maternal smoking dysregulates protein expression in second trimester human fetal livers in a sex-specific manner

Acknowledgments The staff at Grampian National Health Service Pregnancy Counseling Service were essential for collecting fetuses. We thank the Aberdeen Proteomics Core Facility (University of Aberdeen) for their expert assistance. Support for the study was provided by the Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Executive, CZG/1/109, & CZG/4/742), National Health Service Grampian Endowments (08/02), the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 212885, and the Medical Research Council, UK (MR/L010011/1).

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Body Condition in the Australasian Gannet

Funding: The research was financially supported by the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment.