Subsequential transducers: a coalgebraic perspective

Subsequential transducers combine (input) language recognition with transduction and thereby generalise classic deterministic automata as well as Mealy and Moore type state machines. These well known subclasses all have a natural coalgebraic characterisation, and the question arises whether their coalgebraic modelling can be extended to subsequential transducers and their underlying structures. In this paper, we show that although subsequential structures cannot generally be regarded as coalgebras, the subclass of normalised structures do form a subcategory of coalgebras. Moreover, normalised structures are reflective in the category of all subsequential structures, and a final normalised structure exists. The existence and properties of the minimal subsequential transducer can be derived from this result. We also show that for the class of subsequential structures in which all states are accepting, an alternative coalgebraic representation is obtained by taking differentials. This differential representation gives rise to a new method of deciding equivalence and computing minimal representations which does not involve normalisation. Both normalisation and taking differentials can be formalised as functors into reflective subcategories of coalgebras, and we can therefore see these constructions as coalgebraisation.     

Comparative spectroscopic and rheological studies on crude and purified soluble barley and oat β-glucan preparations

The rheology of crude and purified barley (BBG) and oat (OBG) β-glucan samples were characterized. Sample content and major impurities was characterized by Fourier-transform near infrared Raman and infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealing substantial differences between the β-glucan samples. The purification procedure increased the β-glucan content from 66.7 to 82.4% and from 30.1 to 68.4% for BBG and OBG, respectively. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) analysis was applied to estimate the β-(1 → 3) to β-(1 → 4) linkage ratio of the β-glucans. The molar mass of BBG and OBG was determined by high performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) using β-glucan standards and was found to be 126 and 355 kDa, respectively.The viscosity of crude and purified β-glucans was studied at various concentrations (2.5, 5% w/v), temperatures (10–80 °C) and shear rates (1–100 s^? 1). BBG was characterized as a low-viscosity β-glucan with Newtonian flow behavior while OBG was characterized as a high-viscosity β-glucan with shear thinning flow behavior. At equivalent β-glucan concentration in solutions the viscosity for OBG was found to be ~ 100 fold higher than for BBG. A direct viscosity dependence on exact β-glucan content regardless of amount and composition of α-glucan impurities was found for both OBG and BBG. This study suggests that the structural characteristics of the β-glucan polymers such as molar mass are of greater functional importance than the presence of lager amounts of starch/α-dextrins as long as the β-glucan samples are compared at equivalent β-glucan doses.     

The effect of slaughter operations on the contamination of chicken carcasses with thermotolerant Campylobacter

To evaluate the effect of specific slaughter operations on the contamination of broiler carcasses with naturally occurring thermotolerant Campylobacter, experiments were carried out in two Danish commercial slaughter plants (Plant I and Plant II). Six broiler flocks determined Campylobacter positive prior to slaughter were investigated at four sampling locations within each slaughter plant. Quantification of thermotolerant Campylobacter in 30 neck skin samples per flock per sampling location showed that the evisceration operation in Plant I led to a significant increase in the Campylobacter concentration of 0.5 log(10) cfu/g in average, whereas no significant changes were observed during this operation in Plant II. Air chilling (Plant I) and water chilling (Plant II), both including a carcass wash prior to the chilling operation, caused similar, but significant reductions of 0.83 and 0.97 log(10) cfu/g, respectively. In packed frozen chickens (Plant II) an additional reduction of 1.38 log(10) cfu/g in average was obtained due to the freezing operation. In packed chilled chickens (Plant I), however, the number of thermotolerant Campylobacter per gram remained at the same level as after air chilling. Enumeration of thermotolerant Campylobacter in 30 intestinal samples per flock showed that in two of the six flocks examined the within flock colonization was very low (<3% and 27% positive samples). The remaining four flocks were colonized at percentages of 100 (three flocks) and 97 (one flock) and had intestinal mean counts ranging from 6.65 to 8.20 log(10) cfu/g. A correlation between Campylobacter concentrations in intestinal content and on chicken carcasses after the defeathering operation was documented. This finding indicates that a reduction in the Campylobacter concentration on chicken carcasses may also be obtained by interventions aimed at reducing the concentration of Campylobacter in the intestines of the living birds.     

Technical note: Validation and comparison of 2 commercially available activity loggers

To validate the accuracy of 2 commercially available activity loggers in determining lying, standing, walking, and number of steps in dairy cows, 30 cows were fitted with the CowScout Leg (GEA Farm Technologies, Bönen, Germany) system and the IceTag (IceRobotics Ltd., Edinburgh, Scotland) system. The CowScout Leg logger reports standing and lying in 15-min periods, whereas the IceTag logger reports standing and lying every second. To make data comparable, the IceTag data were therefore also summarized over 15-min periods corresponding to the paired CowScout Leg sensor. These data from the 2 systems were then analyzed (more than 1,000 cow days in total). Video recordings of a total of 29.5 h were used for labeling the behaviors of the selected cows (n = 10) and these labels were used as a gold standard to determine the accuracy with which these 2 loggers can record behavioral states lying, standing, walking, and the behavioral event number of steps. A concordance correlation coefficient analysis showed that both the standing and lying durations obtained with the 2 systems were almost perfectly correlated with the video labeling (IceTag: ρ_c = 0.999 and 0.999, respectively; CowScout Leg: ρ_c = 0.995 and 0.996, respectively). However, both loggers performed poorly regarding number of steps (classified as an event; IceTag: ρ_c = 0.629; CowScout Leg: ρ_c = 0.678) and CowScout Leg did not detect walking (classified as a state) very accurately (ρ_c = 0.860). The IceTag system does not measure walking behavior. When comparing the 2 loggers, the correlation between them for standing and lying was substantial (ρ_c = 0.953 and ρ_c = 0.953, respectively). The number of steps poorly correlated between the 2 loggers (ρ_c = 0.593), which might be due to the CowScout Leg logger being attached to the front leg and the IceTag logger being attached to the hind leg. We conclude that both the IceTag and the CowScout Leg logger are able to record standing and lying almost perfectly, but the step counting by both loggers and the walking recording by the CowScout Leg logger are not very accurate.     

The influence of rock characteristics on acid leach extraction and re-extraction of Cu-oxide and sulfide minerals

The response of Cu-oxide and sulfide ores is studied by the leaching of sulfuric acid. Exotic and supergenic enrichment samples were contrasted by assaying three Chilean copper deposits in order to develop a predictive methodology of the industrial process. The mineralogical and chemical characteristics of the ores were described, including clay-size fraction X-ray diffraction, cation exchange capacity and hydraulic conductivity. Leaching experiments included the re-extraction of Cu remaining in the heap and were performed in stages of rinsing and elution in order to quantify the Cu physically or chemically retained in the residues. The integral characterization and the assays permit to predict the leaching behavior of the studied units and make possible the necessary blend of them in the industrial process. A relevant conclusion was to confirm that the removal of clay minerals from the rock framework during leaching is dependent of the rock texture which resulted as the limiting variable for the final copper liberation or retention.     

Actant model of an extraction plant

Facing a growing complexity of industrial plants, we recognise the need for qualitative modelling methods capturing functional and causal complexity in a human-centred way. The present paper presents actant modelling as a functional modelling method rooted in linguistics and semiotics. Actant modelling combines actant models from linguistics with multilevel flow modelling (MFM). Thus the semantics of MFM functions is developed further and given an interpretation in terms of actant functions. The present challenge is to provide coherence between seemingly different categories of knowledge. Yet the gap between functional and causal modelling methods can be bridged. Actant modelling provides an open and provisional, but in no way exhaustive or final answer as to how teleological concepts like goals and functions relate to causal concepts. As the main focus of the paper an actant model of an extraction plant is presented. It is shown how the actant model merges functional and causal knowledge in a natural way.     

Understanding the influence of multiple levels of governments on the development of inter-organizational systems

In the arena of international trade, multiple levels of governments (ranging from national to supranational) play an important role in regulating and controlling cross-border trade activities. Recently, they have also become powerful players in influencing decisions about inter-organizational systems (IOS). The influences of these multiple levels of governments on IOS are of an enormous scale and impact on businesses and national economies. Understanding them is a prerequisite for informed actions. From a theoretical point of view we contribute with the MLxMC framework, a conceptual framework, which combines a processual, multi-level approach with the motors of change. We use the MLxMC framework to explicitly highlight the influences of multiple levels of governments on IOS developments that take place in the highly regulated environment of international trade. We demonstrate how the framework can be applied to analyze such developments, extending the existing IOS research with models that explicitly acknowledge the role of government. The framework makes use of multi-level analysis by taking the political and institutional aspects into account. As an analytical tool, the framework can support business practitioners as well as policy-makers in their strategic choices of which level to engage at and with whom to collaborate in order to influence the debate.     

Physico-Chemical Properties and the Degradation of Oat Bran Polysaccharides in the Gut of Pigs

Physico-chemical properties and the digestibility of carbohydrates (starch, β-glucan and arabinoxylan (AX)) were studied in the gastrointestinal contents of pigs fed diets based on oat bran. One diet was made of commercially prepared oat bran and another of oat bran milled to pass a 1 mm screen. The pigs were slaughtered and samples were collected quantitatively from 10 sites of the gastrointestinal tract either 1 or 3 h after the morning feeding. The viscosity of the liquid phase (obtained by centrifugation) of the stomach and small intestinal contents varied greatly between animals, and was not significantly different between segments of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The molecular weight of β-glucan was reduced up to 20-fold in the upper gastrointestinal tract but was of a relatively low digestibility until the terminal ileum. The solubility (the fraction of the total content in the liquid phase of digesta after centrifugation) of β-glucan varied from 0·25 to 0·58 in the stomach and small intestine, whereas the solubility of AX was in the range of 0·04–0·16. Microscopic examination of digesta showed that β-glucan was retained in intact endospermic cell wall structures, which remained evident until the distal small intestine but was completely disrupted in the caecum. In spite of a cumulative digestibility of non-starch polysaccharides and AX of ∽0·90 in the large intestine, identifiable fragments of aleurone cell walls resistant to complete microbial degradation remained. © 1997 SCI.     

Modeling the effectiveness of oil combating from an ecological perspective--a Bayesian network for the Gulf of Finland; the Baltic Sea

Maritime traffic poses a major threat to marine ecosystems in the form of oil spills. The Gulf of Finland, the easternmost part of the Baltic Sea, has witnessed a rapid increase in oil transportation during the last 15 years. Should a spill occur, the negative ecological impacts may be reduced by oil combating, the effectiveness of which is, however, strongly dependent on prevailing environmental conditions and available technical resources. This poses increased uncertainty related to ecological consequences of future spills. We developed a probabilistic Bayesian network model that can be used to assess the effectiveness of different oil combating strategies in minimizing the negative effects of oil on six species living in the Gulf of Finland. The model can be used for creating different accident scenarios and assessing the performance of various oil combating actions under uncertainty, which enables its use as a supportive tool in decision-making. While the model is confined to the western Gulf of Finland, the methodology is adaptable to other marine areas facing similar risks and challenges related to oil spills.