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Publications

2022

Fifty Years of Prolog and Beyond

Authors
Korner, P; Leuschel, M; Barbosa, J; Costa, VS; Dahl, V; Hermenegildo, MV; Morales, JF; Wielemaker, J; Diaz, D; Abreu, S; Ciatto, G;

Publication
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LOGIC PROGRAMMING

Abstract
Both logic programming in general and Prolog in particular have a long and fascinating history, intermingled with that of many disciplines they inherited from or catalyzed. A large body of research has been gathered over the last 50 years, supported by many Prolog implementations. Many implementations are still actively developed, while new ones keep appearing. Often, the features added by different systems were motivated by the interdisciplinary needs of programmers and implementors, yielding systems that, while sharing the classic core language, in particular, the main aspects of the ISO-Prolog standard, also depart from each other in other aspects. This obviously poses challenges for code portability. The field has also inspired many related, but quite different languages that have created their own communities. This article aims at integrating and applying the main lessons learned in the process of evolution of Prolog. It is structured into three major parts. First, we overview the evolution of Prolog systems and the community approximately up to the ISO standard, considering both the main historic developments and the motivations behind several Prolog implementations, as well as other logic programming languages influenced by Prolog. Then, we discuss the Prolog implementations that are most active after the appearance of the standard: their visions, goals, commonalities, and incompatibilities. Finally, we perform a SWOT analysis in order to better identify the potential of Prolog and propose future directions along with which Prolog might continue to add useful features, interfaces, libraries, and tools, while at the same time improving compatibility between implementations.

2022

Effect of models uncertainties on the emission constrained economic dispatch. A prediction interval-based approach

Authors
Carrillo-Galvez A.; Flores-Bazán F.; Parra E.L.;

Publication
Applied Energy

Abstract
Although electricity is a clean and relatively safe form of energy when it is used, the generation and transmission of electricity have severe effects on the environment. An alternative to diminish the polluting emissions released by the generating units is the Emission Constrained Economic Dispatch (ECED). This is an optimization problem where the total fuel cost is minimized while treating emissions as a constraint with a pre-specified limit. Usually, the fuel cost and emission functions of the generating units must be experimentally derived, introducing then uncertainties in the obtained models. However, these uncertainties are often neglected and the ECED problem is solved considering the coefficients of the functions involved as exact (totally known) values. In this investigation we analyzed the effect of the uncertainties associated to the experimental derivation of the input–output curves of thermal power plants. Particularly, when polynomial models are fitted through multiple linear regression, we proposed an approach that, based on the respectively prediction intervals, can provide solutions immunized, in some sense, against variability in the coefficients estimates. We tested the proposed approach in a real system from the Chilean electrical power network. For the analyzed system we noted that, when uncertainties are not considered, the deterministic optimal solutions can be environmentally infeasible in some scenarios; whereas solutions obtained through the proposed approach, can significantly diminish the risk of environmental violations. The robustness of the prediction interval-based solutions was obtained with a negligible increase of the total fuel cost in all the cases studied.

2022

Does the type of seizure influence heart rate variability changes?

Authors
Faria, MT; Rodrigues, S; Campelo, M; Dias, D; Rego, R; Rocha, H; Sa, F; Tavares Silva, M; Pinto, R; Pestana, G; Oliveira, A; Pereira, J; Cunha, JPS; Rocha Goncalves, F; Goncalves, H; Martins, E;

Publication
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR

Abstract
Objective: Heart rate variability (HRV), an index of the autonomic cardiac activity, is decreased in patients with epilepsy, and a low HRV is associated with a higher risk of sudden death. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are one of the most consistent risk factors for SUDEP, but the influence (and relative risk) of each type of seizure on cardiac function is still unknown. Our objective was to assess the impact of the type of seizure (focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure - FBTCS - versus non-FBTCS) on periictal HRV, in a group of patients with refractory epilepsy and both types of seizures. Methods: We performed a 48-hour Holter recording on 121 patients consecutively admitted to our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. We only included patients with both FBTCS and non-FBTCS on the Holter recording and selected the first seizure of each type to analyze. To evaluate HRV parameters (AVNN, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN20, LF, HF, and LF/HF), we chose 5-min epochs pre-and postictally. Results: We included 14 patients, with a median age of 36 (min-max, 16-55) years and 64% were female. Thirty-six percent had cardiovascular risk factors, but no previously known cardiac disease. In the preictal period, there were no statistically significant differences in HRV parameters, between FBTCS and non-FBTCS. In the postictal period, AVNN, RMSSD, pNN20, LF, and HF were significantly lower, and LF/HF and HR were significantly higher in FBTCS. From preictal to postictal periods, FBTCS elicited a statistically significant rise in HR and LF/HF, and a statistically significant fall in AVNN, RMSSD, pNN20, and HF. Non-FBTCS only caused statistically significant changes in HR (decrease) and AVNN (increase). Significance/conclusion: This work emphasizes the greater effect of FBTCS in autonomic cardiac function in patients with refractory epilepsy, compared to other types of seizures, with a significant reduction in vagal tonus, which may be associated with an increased risk of SUDEP.

2022

An overview of pruning and harvesting manipulators

Authors
Tinoco, V; Silva, MF; Santos, FN; Valente, A; Rocha, LF; Magalhaes, SA; Santos, LC;

Publication
INDUSTRIAL ROBOT-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH AND APPLICATION

Abstract
Purpose The motivation for robotics research in the agricultural field has sparked in consequence of the increasing world population and decreasing agricultural labor availability. This paper aims to analyze the state of the art of pruning and harvesting manipulators used in agriculture. Design/methodology/approach A research was performed on papers that corresponded to specific keywords. Ten papers were selected based on a set of attributes that made them adequate for review. Findings The pruning manipulators were used in two different scenarios: grapevines and apple trees. These manipulators showed that a light-controlled environment could reduce visual errors and that prismatic joints on the manipulator are advantageous to obtain a higher reach. The harvesting manipulators were used for three types of fruits: strawberries, tomatoes and apples. These manipulators revealed that different kinematic configurations are required for different kinds of end-effectors, as some of these tools only require movement in the horizontal axis and others are required to reach the target with a broad range of orientations. Originality/value This work serves to reduce the gap in the literature regarding agricultural manipulators and will support new developments of novel solutions related to agricultural robotic grasping and manipulation.

2022

Large Semantic Graph Summarization Using Namespaces

Authors
da Costa, ARSL; Santos, A; Leal, JP;

Publication
11th Symposium on Languages, Applications and Technologies, SLATE 2022, July 14-15, 2022, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal.

Abstract
We propose an approach to summarize large semantics graphs using namespaces. Semantic graphs based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF) use namespaces on their serializations. Although these namespaces are not part of RDF semantics, they have intrinsic meaning. Based on this insight, we use namespaces to create summary graphs of reduced size, more amenable to be visualized. In the summarization, object literals are also reduced to their data type and the blank nodes to a group of their own. The visualization created for the summary graph aims to give insight of the original large graph. This paper describes the proposed approach and reports on the results obtained with representative large semantic graphs. © Ana Rita Santos Lopes da Costa, André Santos, and José Paulo Leal.

2022

Combining Multiple Data Sources to Predict IUCN Conservation Status of Reptiles

Authors
Soares, N; Goncalves, JF; Vasconcelos, R; Ribeiro, RP;

Publication
ADVANCES IN INTELLIGENT DATA ANALYSIS XX, IDA 2022

Abstract
Biodiversity loss is a hot topic. We are losing species at a high rate, even before their extinction risk is assessed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is the most complete assessment of all species conservation status, yet it only covers a small part of the species identified so far. Additionally, many of the existing assessments are outdated, either due to the ever-evolving nature of taxonomy, or to the lack of reassessments. The assessment of the conservation status of a species is a long, mostly manual process that needs to be carefully done by experts. The conservation field would gain by having ways of automating this process, for instance, by prioritising the species where experts and financing should focus on. In this paper, we present a pipeline used to derive a conservation dataset out of openly available data and obtain predictions, through machine learning techniques, on which species are most likely to be threatened. We applied this pipeline to the different groups within the Reptilia class as a model of one of the most under-assessed taxonomic groups. Additionally, we compared the performance of models using datasets that include different sets of predictors describing species ecological requirements and geographical distributions such as IUCN's area and extent of occurrence. Our results show that most groups benefit from using ecological variables together with IUCN predictors. Random Forest appeared as the best method for most species groups, and feature selection was shown to improve results.

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