Fault Localization in Multi-Threaded C Programs using Bounded Model Checking (extended version)

Software debugging is a very time-consuming process, which is even worse for multi-threaded programs, due to the non-deterministic behavior of thread-scheduling algorithms. However, the debugging time may be greatly reduced, if automatic methods are used for localizing faults. In this study, a new method for fault localization, in multi-threaded C programs, is proposed. It transforms a multi-threaded program into a corresponding sequential one and then uses a fault-diagnosis method suitable for this type of program, in order to localize faults. The code transformation is implemented with rules and context switch information from counterexamples, which are typically generated by bounded model checkers. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective, in such a way that sequential fault-localization methods can be extended to multi-threaded programs.Comment: extended version of paper published at SBESC'1

Phantom Friedmann Cosmologies and Higher-Order Characteristics of Expansion

We discuss a more general class of phantom ($p < -\varrho$) cosmologies with various forms of both phantom ($w -1$) matter. We show that many types of evolution which include both Big-Bang and Big-Rip singularities are admitted and give explicit examples. Among some interesting models, there exist non-singular oscillating (or "bounce") cosmologies, which appear due to a competition between positive and negative pressure of variety of matter content. From the point of view of the current observations the most interesting cosmologies are the ones which start with a Big-Bang and terminate at a Big-Rip. A related consequence of having a possibility of two types of singularities is that there exists an unstable static universe approached by the two asymptotic models - one of them reaches Big-Bang, and another reaches Big-Rip. We also give explicit relations between density parameters $\Omega$ and the dynamical characteristics for these generalized phantom models, including higher-order observational characteristics such as jerk and "kerk". Finally, we discuss the observational quantities such as luminosity distance, angular diameter, and source counts, both in series expansion and explicitly, for phantom models. Our series expansion formulas for the luminosity distance and the apparent magnitude go as far as to the fourth-order in redshift $z$ term, which includes explicitly not only the jerk, but also the "kerk" (or "snap") which may serve as an indicator of the curvature of the universe.Comment: REVTEX 4, 23 pages, references updated, to appear in Annals of Physics (N.Y.

Liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals - enhanced light-matter interactions for lab-on-a-chip applications

Optical techniques are finding widespread use in analytical chemistry for chemical and bio-chemical analysis. During the past decade, there has been an increasing emphasis on miniaturization of chemical analysis systems and naturally this has stimulated a large effort in integrating microfluidics and optics in lab-on-a-chip microsystems. This development is partly defining the emerging field of optofluidics. Scaling analysis and experiments have demonstrated the advantage of micro-scale devices over their macroscopic counterparts for a number of chemical applications. However, from an optical point of view, miniaturized devices suffer dramatically from the reduced optical path compared to macroscale experiments, e.g. in a cuvette. Obviously, the reduced optical path complicates the application of optical techniques in lab-on-a-chip systems. In this paper we theoretically discuss how a strongly dispersive photonic crystal environment may be used to enhance the light-matter interactions, thus potentially compensating for the reduced optical path in lab-on-a-chip systems. Combining electromagnetic perturbation theory with full-wave electromagnetic simulations we address the prospects for achieving slow-light enhancement of Beer-Lambert-Bouguer absorption, photonic band-gap based refractometry, and high-Q cavity sensing.Comment: Invited paper accepted for the "Optofluidics" special issue to appear in Microfluidics and Nanofluidics (ed. Prof. David Erickson). 11 pages including 8 figure

Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens

We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region's past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene "Earthmovers" of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged. © 2013 Lombardo et al

Androgen stimulates growth of mouse preantral follicles in vitro: Interaction with follicle-stimulating hormone and with growth factors of the TGFβ super family

Androgens are essential for the normal function of mature antral follicles but also have a role in the early stages of follicle development. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common cause of anovulatory infertility, is characterized by androgen excess and aberrant follicle development that includes accelerated early follicle growth. We have examined the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on development of isolated mouse preantral follicles in culture with the specific aim of investigating interaction with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), the steroidogenic pathway, and growth factors of the TGFβ superfamily that are known to have a role in early follicle development. Both testosterone and DHT stimulated follicle growth and augmented FSH-induced growth and increased the incidence of antrum formation among the granulosa cell layers of these preantral follicles after 72 hours in culture. Effects of both androgens were reversed by the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide. FSH receptor expression was increased in response to both testosterone and DHT, as was that of Star, whereas Cyp11a1 was down-regulated. The key androgeninduced changes in the TGFβ signaling pathway were down-regulation of Amh, Bmp15, and their receptors. Inhibition of Alk6 (Bmpr1b), a putative partner for Amhr2 and Bmpr2, by dorsomorphin resulted in augmentation of androgen-stimulated growth and modification of androgen-induced gene expression. Our findings point to varied effects of androgen on preantral follicle growth and function, including interaction with FSH-activated growth and steroidogenesis, and, importantly, implicate the intrafollicular TGFb systemas a keymediator of androgen action. These findings provide insight into abnormal early follicle development in PCOS

Ocupação Progresso e o espaço urbano: a contribuição do movimento socioterritorial para o desenvolvimento da cidade

Este trabalho faz uma análise sobre a história da Ocupação Progresso, tomando-a como um caso ilustrativo da realidade urbana excludente que impera nas cidades brasileiras. Partindo do princípio de que o direito à moradia está previsto na constituição e é fundamental para a garantia da dignidade humana, a perspectiva da pesquisa foi de buscar compreender o porquê deste direito ser sistematicamente negligenciado, especialmente quando se contrapõe ao direito à propriedade privada e à lógica de mercado. Para tanto, tomou-se a Ocupação Progresso como estudo de caso, por ter conseguido se consolidar por quatro anos como um movimento sócio-territorial, e por ter sido destruída em um processo de reintegração de posse perpetrado pelo Estado. O uso do arcabouço teórico desenvolvido por geógrafos e cientistas de áreas afins possibilita então a análise e o debate sobre a financeirização da moradia, os processos de exclusão e a relação entre os agentes urbanos envolvidos nesse contexto.This work analyzes the history of Ocupação Progresso, taking it as an illustrative case of the exclusionary urban reality that prevails in Brazilian cities. Assuming that the right to housing is foreseen in the constitution and is fundamental to the guarantee of human dignity, the perspective of the research was to understand why this right is systematically neglected, especially when it opposes the right to private property and market logic. For this purpose, Ocupação Progresso was taken as a case study, because it managed to consolidate itself for four years as a socioterritorial movement, and because it was destroyed in a process of reintegration of possession perpetrated by the State. The use of the theoretical framework developed by geographers and scientists from related areas makes it possible to analyze and debate the financialization of housing, exclusion processes and the relationship between urban agents involved in this context

Iniciação Científica em Extração e Uniformização de Resumos Estruturados de Páginas de Índice

O conteúdo de uma página Web é tipicamente organizado através de blocos de informações presentes em seu interior, obedecendo a estrutura interna e o layout da página. Um problema pouco explorado na literatura é como selecionar os blocos de informações mais importantes de uma página, e então dispô-los de forma a criar uma versão miniaturizada da página original. A essa versão miniaturizada damos o nome de resumo estruturado da página Web (vide Figura 1). Através deste trabalho de iniciação científica, pretendemos criar um método de geração automática de resumos estruturados de páginas Web. Uma forma bastante simples para se alcançar esse objetivo é através das páginas de índice, que são páginas Web contendo resumos estruturados de outras páginas do mesmo Web site. Um problema com a extração direta de resumos estruturados a partir das páginas de índice é que o formato dos resumos pode variar muito de site para site. O objetivo deste trabalho é criar um método para padronizar a disposição das informações dos resumos extraídos a partir de páginas de índice. Para tanto, pretendemos criar formatos padrões de resumos para determinados domínios de aplicação (produtos, filmes, notícias, etc), de forma que os resumos de um mesmo domínio sejam sempre reestruturados em um mesmo formato. Desta forma, uma vez que um resumo tenha sido extraído de uma página de índice, suas informações deverão ser rearranjadas conforme o domínio da aplicação do resumo. Uma possível estratégia a ser avaliada é rotular cada um dos seus blocos de informação usando a estratégia proposta em [Altigran et al., 2007], e então preencher o modelo de domínio correspondente com base nos rótulos encontrados.CNP

A possibilidade de exclusão da indenização securitária em virtude do agravamento do risco nos casos de embriaguez

Este trabalho elucida os motivos que levam as seguradoras a negar a indenização securitária pretendida pelos segurados em razão do sinistro ocorrido com os seus veículos. Além desse ponto, são identificadas as cláusulas que eximem as companhias securitárias da obrigação contratual presente nos contratos de seguro, em razão do agravamento de risco causado pelo segurado ou pelo condutor do veículo segurado, tendo em vista que o risco foi agravado pela embriaguez, ou pelo simples uso de bebida alcóolica, fato que, por si só, já caracteriza o agravamento de risco. Ademais, menciona-se que ao agravar o risco do contrato, o segurado, automaticamente, está descumprindo uma das suas obrigações contratuais. Desse modo, será evidenciada a consequência que este descumprimento causa para o seguro contratado. Nesse contexto, ante à negativa da seguradora, o segurado passa a responder pelos seus atos praticados, assim, a ingestão de bebida alcóolica ou a embriaguez, associada à condução de veículo automotor, são caracterizadas como atos ilícitos, sendo assim, não há que se falar em dever de indenizar pelas seguradoras, tendo em vista a não observância do princípio da boa-fé pelos segurados.The present monography clarifies the reasons that lead insurers to deny the insurance claim sought by the insured due to the accident occured with their vehicles. In addition to this, clauses exempting insurance companies from the contractual obligation contained in the contracts are identified because of the risk increase caused by the insured or the insured vehicle driver, since the risk was aggravated by drunkenness, or by the simple use of alcohol, a fact that, by itself, already characterizes the risk increase. Moreover, it is mentioned that by increasing the risk of the contract, the insured is automatically breaching one of his contractual obligations. That way, it will be evident the consequence that this breach causes for the contracted insurance. In this context, considering the insurer's refusal, the insured person is now liable for his / her acts, thus, drinking alcohol or drunkenness, associated with driving a motor vehicle, are characterized as unlawful acts, so there is no need to talk about to indemnify by the insurers in view of the breach of the principle of good faith by the insured