Program analysis, debugging and optimization using the ciao system preprocessor

We present a tutorial overview of Ciaopp, the Ciao system preprocessor. Ciao is a public-domain, next-generation logic programming system, which subsumes ISO-Prolog and is specifically designed to a) be highly extensible via librarles and b) support modular program analysis, debugging, and optimization. The latter tasks are performed in an integrated fashion by Ciaopp. Ciaopp uses modular, incremental abstract interpretation to infer properties of program predicates and literals, including types, variable instantiation properties (including modes), non-failure, determinacy, bounds on computational cost, bounds on sizes of terms in the program, etc. Using such analysis information, Ciaopp can find errors at compile-time in programs and/or perform partial verification. Ciaopp checks how programs cali system librarles and also any assertions present in the program or in other modules used by the program. These assertions are also used to genérate documentation automatically. Ciaopp also uses analysis information to perform program transformations and optimizations such as múltiple abstract specialization, parallelization (including granularity control), and optimization of run-time tests for properties which cannot be checked completely at compile-time. We illustrate "hands-on" the use of Ciaopp in all these tasks. By design, Ciaopp is a generic tool, which can be easily tailored to perform these and other tasks for different LP and CLP dialects.

Tools for Search Tree Visualization: The APT Tool

The control part of the execution of a constraint logic program can be conceptually shown as a search-tree, where nodes correspond to calis, and whose branches represent conjunctions and disjunctions. This tree represents the search space traversed by the program, and has also a direct relationship with the amount of work performed by the program. The nodes of the tree can be used to display information regarding the state and origin of instantiation of the variables involved in each cali. This depiction can also be used for the enumeration process. These are the features implemented in APT, a tool which runs constraint logic programs while depicting a (modified) search-tree, keeping at the same time information about the state of the variables at every moment in the execution. This information can be used to replay the execution at will, both forwards and backwards in time. These views can be abstracted when the size of the execution requires it. The search-tree view is used as a framework onto which constraint-level visualizations (such as those presented in the following chapter) can be attached.

A program transformation for continuation call-based tabled execution

The advantages of tabled evaluation regarding program termination and reduction of complexity are well known —as are the significant implementation, portability, and maintenance efforts that some proposals (especially those based on suspensión) require. This implementation effort is reduced by program transformation-based continuation cali techniques, at some eñrciency cost. However, the traditional formulation of this proposal by Ramesh and Cheng limits the interleaving of tabled and non-tabled predicates and thus cannot be used as-is for arbitrary programs. In this paper we present a complete translation for the continuation cali technique which, using the runtime support needed for the traditional proposal, solves these problems and makes it possible to execute arbitrary tabled programs. We present performance results which show that CCall offers a useful tradeoff that can be competitive with state-of-the-art implementations.

Functional notation and lazy evaluation in Ciao

Certain aspects of functional programming provide syntactic convenience, such as having a designated implicit output argument, which allows function cali nesting and sometimes results in more compact code. Functional programming also sometimes allows a more direct encoding of lazy evaluation, with its ability to deal with infinite data structures. We present a syntactic functional extensión of Prolog covering function application, predefined evaluable functors, functional definitions, quoting, and lazy evaluation. The extensión is also composable with higher-order features. We also highlight the Ciao features which help implementation and present some data on the overhead of using lazy evaluation with respect to eager evaluation.

Modelling diffusion of photovoltaic: concepts and applications

Innovation studies have been interest of not only the scholars from various fields such as economics, management and sociology but also industrial practitioners and policy makers. In this vast and fruitful field, the theory of diffusion of innovations, which has been driven by a sociological approach, has played a vital role in our understanding of the mechanisms behind industrial change. In this paper, our aim is to give a state of art review of diffusion of innovation models in a structural and conceptual way with special reference to photovoltaic. We argue firstly, as an underlying background, how diffusion of innovations theory differs from other innovation studies. Secondly we give a brief taxonomical review of modelling methodologies together with comparative discussions. And finally we put the wealth of modelling in the context of photovoltaic diffusion and suggest some future directions.

Diffusion of photovoltaic in Germany: policy vs. consumers

In some countries photovoltaic (PV) technology has already achieved a stage of development at which it can compete with conventional electricity sources. Germany provides a good illustration of this where PV market has reached a mature stage. As a manifest of this, the German government has recently reduced subsidies for households and industry by decreasing the feed in tariff for PV. This development raises fundamental questions: could the PV industry survive? Will consumers be motivated to continue to adopt PV when feed-in tariff diminish? The point of departure for the relevant literature on diffusion of PV has been on the effect of subsidies but little attention has paid to consumer motives when the policy support is scaled down. This paper introduces an in-depth analysis on understanding the consumer motives for adopting photovoltaic applications. Anchored in an extensive exploratory case study on PV consumers and PV system providers, this study aims to provide an encompassing explanation of diffusion of PV by revealing the link between consumer motives and the impact of policy.

Diffusion of Eco-innovations: exploring the literature

In recent years, the importance of the management of eco-innovations has been growing, more in practice than in academia. However, although in the literature there are already some evidences focussed on management of eco-innovations, there is no comprehensive review on the knowledge base of diffusion of eco-innovations. This paper provides a current overview of the existing body of literature, identifying the most active scholars and relevant publications in this field, and deepening in the major disciplines and research streams. Results show that the theory of diffusion of innovations which provided the philosophical underpinnings of how innovations are diffused is not the main knowledge base to explain the diffusion of eco-innovations. Lead market hypothesis, sustainable transitions and the ecological modernization appear as the initial base of the cognitive platform that can contribute to the understanding of diffusion of eco-innovations.

Diffusion of photovoltaic in Germany: roles of policy, system suppliers and adopters

In some countries photovoltaic (PV) technology is at a stage of development at which it can compete with conventional electricity sources. A case in point is Germany where PV market has reached a mature stage. As a manifest of this, the German government has recently reduced the feed-in-tariff, which had been the strongest driver of PV diffusion. This development raises a fundamental question: Why would potential adopters be motivated to adopt PV when feed-in tariff diminishes? The point of departure for the literature on diffusion of PV has been on the effect of subsidies but little attention has paid to adopter motives when the policy support is scaled down. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the adopter motives for photovoltaic applications. Anchored in an extensive exploratory case study we provide an encompassing explanation of roles of policy, adopters and system suppliers on diffusion of PV.

A multi-level analysis of innovation diffusion: The case of solar photovoltaic systems in Germany and the disillusion of grid parity

¿Suministrarán las fuentes de energía renovables toda la energía que el mundo necesita algún día? Algunos argumentan que sí, mientras que otros dicen que no. Sin embargo, en algunas regiones del mundo, la producción de electricidad a través de fuentes de energía renovables ya está en una etapa prometedora de desarrollo en la que su costo de generación de electricidad compite con fuentes de electricidad convencionales, como por ejemplo la paridad de red. Este logro ha sido respaldado por el aumento de la eficiencia de la tecnología, la reducción de los costos de producción y, sobre todo, los años de intervenciones políticas de apoyo financiero. La difusión de los sistemas solares fotovoltaicos (PV) en Alemania es un ejemplo relevante. Alemania no sólo es el país líder en términos de capacidad instalada de sistemas fotovoltaicos (PV) en todo el mundo, sino también uno de los países pioneros donde la paridad de red se ha logrado recientemente. No obstante, podría haber una nube en el horizonte. La tasa de difusión ha comenzado a declinar en muchas regiones. Además, las empresas solares locales – que se sabe son importantes impulsores de la difusión – han comenzado a enfrentar dificultades para manejar sus negocios. Estos acontecimientos plantean algunas preguntas importantes: ¿Es ésta una disminución temporal en la difusión? ¿Los adoptantes continuarán instalando sistemas fotovoltaicos? ¿Qué pasa con los modelos de negocio de las empresas solares locales? Con base en el caso de los sistemas fotovoltaicos en Alemania a través de un análisis multinivel y dos revisiones literarias complementarias, esta tesis doctoral extiende el debate proporcionando riqueza múltiple de datos empíricos en un conocimiento de contexto limitado. El primer análisis se basa en la perspectiva del adoptante, que explora el nivel "micro" y el proceso social que subyace a la adopción de los sistemas fotovoltaicos. El segundo análisis es una perspectiva a nivel de empresa, que explora los modelos de negocio de las empresas y sus roles impulsores en la difusión de los sistemas fotovoltaicos. El tercero análisis es una perspectiva regional, la cual explora el nivel "meso", el proceso social que subyace a la adopción de sistemas fotovoltaicos y sus técnicas de modelado. Los resultados incluyen implicaciones tanto para académicos como políticos, no sólo sobre las innovaciones en energía renovable relativas a la paridad de red, sino también, de manera inductiva, sobre las innovaciones ambientales impulsadas por las políticas que logren la competitividad de costes. ABSTRACT Will renewable energy sources supply all of the world energy needs one day? Some argue yes, while others say no. However, in some regions of the world, the electricity production through renewable energy sources is already at a promising stage of development at which their electricity generation costs compete with conventional electricity sources’, i.e., grid parity. This achievement has been underpinned by the increase of technology efficiency, reduction of production costs and, above all, years of policy interventions of providing financial support. The diffusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Germany is an important frontrunner case in point. Germany is not only the top country in terms of installed PV systems’ capacity worldwide but also one of the pioneer countries where the grid parity has recently been achieved. However, there might be a cloud on the horizon. The diffusion rate has started to decline in many regions. In addition, local solar firms – which are known to be important drivers of diffusion – have started to face difficulties to run their businesses. These developments raise some important questions: Is this a temporary decline on diffusion? Will adopters continue to install PV systems? What about the business models of the local solar firms? Based on the case of PV systems in Germany through a multi-level analysis and two complementary literature reviews, this PhD Dissertation extends the debate by providing multiple wealth of empirical details in a context-limited knowledge. The first analysis is based on the adopter perspective, which explores the “micro” level and the social process underlying the adoption of PV systems. The second one is a firm-level perspective, which explores the business models of firms and their driving roles in diffusion of PV systems. The third one is a regional perspective, which explores the “meso” level, i.e., the social process underlying the adoption of PV systems and its modeling techniques. The results include implications for both scholars and policymakers, not only about renewable energy innovations at grid parity, but also in an inductive manner, about policy-driven environmental innovations that achieve the cost competiveness.

Vehicle-induced loads on traffic sign panels

The determination of the loads on traffic sign panels in the current standards does not, in general, take into account the vehicle-induced loads, as explained by Quinn, Baker and Wright (QBW in what follows) (J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 89 (2001) 831). On the other hand, a report from Cali and Covert (CC) (J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 84 (2000) 87) indicates that in highway sign support structures, vehicle-induced loads have led to premature failures in some cases. The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model for the vehicle-induced load on a flat sign panel, simple enough to give analytical results, but able to explain the main characteristics of the phenomenon. The results of the theoretical model help to explain the behaviour observed in the experiments performed in previous studies.

El proyecto de vivienda como laboratorio de estrategias para Sejima y Nishizawa de 1987 a 2010

Como indica el título, esta tesis plantea el estudio de la arquitectura doméstica elaborada por los arquitectos japoneses Kazuyo Sejima y Ryue Nishizawa. Más concretamente, la investigación se ciñe a un conjunto integrado por veinticinco casas que los arquitectos proyectaron entre 1987, momento en el que Sejima establece su propia oficina, y 2010, fecha en la que el reconocimiento del trabajo que ambos venían desarrollando queda certificado a nivel internacional, ya que ese año son galardonados con el premio Pritzker y comisarían la Bienal deVenecia. Del estudio conjunto y sistemático de estos proyectos, y de sus distintas versiones se espera poder obtener una serie de criterios exegéticos que permitan comprenderlos y explicarlos mejor, relacionándolos entre sí de manera coherente. A estos criterios es a lo que hemos denominado estrategias. En el momento en el que se inicia esta investigación se detectó un vacío editorial respecto al tema tratado, apenas había textos, propios o ajenos que abordaran esta faceta de la obra de Sejima y Nishizawa en profundidad. No en vano, algunos críticos han acuñado el apelativo de "arquitectos sin palabras" para referirse, tanto a ellos como a la generación de arquitectos que la pareja encabeza, dando a entender que se trata de una arquitectura carente de explicación.1 Sin embargo, esta investigación sostiene que el hecho de que los arquitectos no hablen en exceso de su obra y mantengan una actitud centrada en desarrollar de forma práctica su trabajo no quiere decir que prescindan de realizar operaciones compositivas altamente idealizadas y abstractas, refrendadas por un marco cultural y teórico que se pueda describir. Tras recopilar, ordenar y analizar un número lo suficientemente amplio como para ser significativo de las manifestaciones verbales que los arquitectos han realizado a lo largo del periodo estudiado, se ha observado que de entre todos los términos que los dos socios que integran SANAA emplean para describir sus proyectos, uno de los más relevantes y quizás también el más general resulta la palabra “sistema”.2 El modo en el que ambos describen los principios de su arquitectura, diferenciando entre los componentes del programa, y las relaciones que se establecen entre éstos, y entre ellos y el exterior permiten sostener que no se trata de un uso accidental término. Paralelamente, al mismo tiempo que se indaga sobre el corpus intelectual de esta teoría se intenta detallar las circunstancias que favorecieron tal trasvase de ideas entre Occidente y Japón y como acabaron llegando al ámbito de estos arquitectos. Al amparo de este marco teórico y tras redibujar las viviendas documentadas, se intentará describir los rasgos de la estructura material de las viviendas analizadas, así como cartografiar los patrones organizativos que las caracterizan. Para ello se empleará el rigor instrumental que aporta la teoría de grafos como método habitual para la representación, estudio y caracterización de sistemas. Los resultados de la investigación evidencian que hay una serie de estrategias — tanto materiales como organizativas— que enunciadas en sus primeros proyectos se van desarrollando en obras posteriores, conformado sistemas que están paulatinamente más organizados. Y que llegado un punto en la trayectoria de estos arquitectos, se observa que tales estrategias, se van superponiendo de distinta forma en diversos proyectos, por lo que es posible agruparlos y hablar de ellos atendiendo a características comunes. Finalmente, el estudio concluye que tanto a nivel material como reladonal, bien podría decirse que en el periodo estudiado, las estrategias empleadas por Sejima y Nishizawa para elaborar su arquitectura doméstica persiguen un objetivo común que se fundamenta en la elaboración de planteamientos sintéticos que les permiten explorar y responder creativamente ante las disyuntivas previamente establecidas, precisamente explotando el potencial de las paradojas que las originan. ABSTRACT As the title suggest itself, this thesis deals about the study of domestic architecture developed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. More specifically, research focus its attention on a group of twenty five houses that both architects projected from 1987, when Sejima establishes her own practice, and 2010, as the moment in which their work obtains international acknowledgment, since this year they are awarded the Pritzker prize and cúrate the Venice Biennale. From the combined and systematic study of all these projects, and their different versions are expected to obtain a series of exegetical criteria to relate to each other, understand and explain better. These criteria are what we cali strategies. By the time when this research began, an editorial emptiness about the treaty issue was detected; there were barely texts that addressed this aspect of the work of Sejima and Nishizawa in depth, neither the ones written by the architects themselves ñor by other authors. Some critics have coined the ñame "wordless generation" to refer to both them as to the generation of architects that the couple leads, implying that it is an architecture devoid of explanation.3 However, this study argües that the fact that architects do not speak too much about his work and keep themselves focused on developing practical work attitude does not mean that dispense perform highly idealized and abstract compositional operations, fueled by a frame cultural and theoretical that can be described. After collect, sort and analyze a large enough number of verbal statements done by the architects about their work as to be meaningful, it was observed that of all the terms that the two partners that intégrate SANAA used to describe their projects, one of the most important and, perhaps one of the most general, is the word "system".4 The way in which both describe the principies of their architecture distinguishing between program components and the relationships established between them, and between them and the outside allow us the view that it is not accidental use of a term. Similarly, while it investigates the intellectual corpus of this theory it attempts to explain some of the circumstances that favored such transfer of ideas between the West and Japan and how eventually reaching the scope of these architects. Under this framework and after redraw the documented houses we attempt to describe the characteristics of the material structure of the projects tested, as well as mapping the organizational patterns that characterize them. For this, we use the instrumental rigor that brings graph theory, as a regular method of representation, study and characterization of systems used. The research results show that there are a number of strategies -both material and organizational level- that once they are set out in its first projects are developed in later works. Bringing up systems that are gradually more and more organized. And at one point in the career of these architects, such strategies are observed, they are superimposed differently on various projects, making it possible to group them and discuss them according to common characteristics. Finally, the study condueles that both materially and organizational it could be said that in the period studied, the strategies employed by Sejima and Nishizawa to develop its domestic architecture pursue a common goal, which is based on the development of synthetic approaches that allow them explore and respond creatively to the previously established dilemmas precisely exploiting the paradoxical potential that originates them.

Motivators for adoption of photovoltaic systems at grid parity: A case study from Southern Germany

In some countries, photovoltaic (PV) technology is at a stage of development at which it can compete with conventional electricity sources in terms of electricity generation costs, i.e., grid parity. A case in point is Germany, where the PV market has reached a mature stage, the policy support has scaled down and the diffusion rate of PV systems has declined. This development raises a fundamental question: what are the motives to adopt PV systems at grid parity? The point of departure for the relevant literature has been on the impact of policy support, adopters and, recently, local solar companies. However, less attention has been paid to the motivators for adoption at grid parity. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the diffusion of PV systems, explaining the impact of policy measures, adopters and system suppliers. Anchored in an extensive and exploratory case study in Germany, we provide a context-specific explanation to the motivations to adopt PV systems at grid parity.

“O CRISTO AFOGADO: UMA NÃO-CRISTOLOGIA” RELIGIÃO, LITERATURA E PÓS-COLONIALISMO

O objetivo dessa tese é aprofundar, a partir do discurso pós-colonial, uma crise na perspectiva teológica da libertação. Esta promoveu, na década de 1970, uma reviravolta nos estudos teológicos no terceiro mundo. Para tanto, leremos um conto de Gabriel García Márquez chamado “El ahogado más hermosodel mundo” (1968) analizando e avaliando as estratégias políticas e culturais ali inscritas. Para levar a frente tal avaliação é preciso ampliar o escopo de uma visão que divide o mundo em secular/religioso, ou em ideias/práticas religiosas e não religiosas, para dar passo a uma visão unificada que compreende a mundanalidade, tanto do que é catalogado como ‘religioso’ quanto do que se pretende ‘não religioso’. A teologia/ciências da religião, como discurso científico sobre a economia das trocas que lidam com visões, compreensões e práticas de mundo marcadas pelo reconhecimento do mistério que lhes é inerente, possuem um papel fundamental na compreensão, explicitação, articulação e disponibilização de tais forças culturais. A percepção de existirem elementos no conto que se relacionam com os símbolos sobre Jesus/Cristo nos ofereceu um vetor de análise; entretanto, não nos deixamos limitar pelos grilhões disciplinares que essa simbologia implica. Ao mesmo tempo, esse vínculo, compreendido desde a relação imperial/colonial inerente aos discursos e imagens sobre Jesus-Cristo, embora sem centralizar a análise, não poderia ficar intocado. Partimos para a construção de uma estrutura teórica que explicitasse os valores, gestos, e horizontes mundanos do conto, cristológicos e não-cristológicos, contribuindo assim para uma desestabilização dos quadros tradicionais a partir dos quais se concebem a teologia e as ciências da religião, a obra de García Márquez como literatura, e a geografia imperial/colonial que postula o realismo ficcional de territórios como “América Latina”. Abrimos, assim, um espaço de significação que lê o conto como uma “não-cristologia”, deslocando o aprisionamento disciplinar e classificatório dos elementos envolvidos na análise. O discurso crítico de Edward Said, Homi Bhabha e GayatriSpivak soma-se à prática teórica de teólogas críticas feministas da Ásia, da África e da América Latina para formular o cenário político emancipatório que denominaremos teologia crítica secular.

Chromophore-assisted light inactivation and self-organization of microtubules and motors

Chromophore-assisted light inactivation (CALI) offers the only method capable of modulating specific protein activities in localized regions and at particular times. Here, we generalize CALI so that it can be applied to a wider range of tasks. Specifically, we show that CALI can work with a genetically inserted epitope tag; we investigate the effectiveness of alternative dyes, especially fluorescein, comparing them with the standard CALI dye, malachite green; and we study the relative efficiencies of pulsed and continuous-wave illumination. We then use fluorescein-labeled hemagglutinin antibody fragments, together with relatively low-power continuous-wave illumination to examine the effectiveness of CALI targeted to kinesin. We show that CALI can destroy kinesin activity in at least two ways: it can either result in the apparent loss of motor activity, or it can cause irreversible attachment of the kinesin enzyme to its microtubule substrate. Finally, we apply this implementation of CALI to an in vitro system of motor proteins and microtubules that is capable of self-organized aster formation. In this system, CALI can effectively perturb local structure formation by blocking or reducing the degree of aster formation in chosen regions of the sample, without influencing structure formation elsewhere.

Nerve growth factor is an autocrine factor essential for the survival of macrophages infected with HIV

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin with the ability to exert specific effects on cells of the immune system. Human monocytes/macrophages (M/M) infected in vitro with HIV type 1 (HIV-1) are able to produce substantial levels of NGF that are associated with enhanced expression of the high-affinity NGF receptor (p140 trkA) on the M/M surface. Treatment of HIV-infected human M/M with anti-NGF Ab blocking the biological activity of NGF leads to a marked decrease of the expression of p140 trkA high-affinity receptor, a concomitant increased expression of p75NTR low-affinity receptor for NGF, and the occurrence of apoptotic death of M/M. Taken together, these findings suggest a role for NGF as an autocrine survival factor that rescues human M/M from the cytopathic effect caused by HIV infection.