Novelty Detection in Knowledge Base Acceleration

Knowledge bases provide the users of the World Wide Web with a vast amount of structured information. They are meant to represent what we know about the world the way it is today. Therefore, every time something happens, knowledge bases need to be updated according to the new happening. A knowledge base is most often organized around entities and their relations. Entities represent an object in the real world, such as religions, persons or places, and a relation is a connection between two entities. Today, the process of updating knowledge bases is purely done by humans, who unfortunately are not able to keep up with everything that happen in the world. In order to make this job easier, systems for doing Knowledge base acceleration, KBA, are proposed. They are meant to, given a stream of news, pick out what is relevant updates for the different entities in a knowledge base. To make the most of such a system, and to make sure that it only return news that provide useful information to the content managers, it should only return news that contain \textit{new} information, that is, it should perform novelty detection. This thesis explore the properties a KBA system need to fulfil in order to solve the task it is supposed to as good as possible. It argues that a KBA system need to include novelty detection to be useful, and present a prototype for novelty detection in a KBA system. The prototype is implemented using different approaches to novelty detection, and compare these

Die Rolle antimikrobieller Peptide in der COPD: Expressionsmuster und möglicheRegulationsmechanismen in der Lungevon Patienten mit chronisch obstruktiver Lungenerkrankung

Die chronisch obstruktive Lungenerkrankung (COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) ist eine Volkskrankheit. Bisher ist jedoch unklar, inwieweit und durch welche Parameter der Verlust der Lungenfunktion, welcher das wesentliche klinische Merkmal der COPD darstellt, determiniert ist. Genomweite Kopplungsstudien haben hierfür relevante Regionen mit einer Kopplung auf dem Chromosom 8p identifiziert, in der die humanen Defensin-Gene innerhalb eines Gen-Clusters vorliegen. Für das Gen des humanen Defensin, beta 1 (DEFB1) konnte ein Allel mit einer signifikanten Assoziation zur COPD nachgewiesen werden. Die Bedeutung von DEFB1 und seine klinische Relevanz für die vielfältigen Phänomene der COPD-Pathogenese wurden bisher jedoch nicht eingehend untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigen, dass die COPD mit einer gesteigerten Expression von DEFB1 in der Lunge einhergeht. Des Weiteren wurde eine signifikante Korrelation der DEFB1-Expression in Bronchialschleimhautbiopsien mit allen relevanten Parametern der COPD-Diagnostik einschließlich der allgemeinen Leistungsfähigkeit der Patienten wie 6-Min-Gehtest, Zigarettenkonsum und Lungenfunktionstests nachgewiesen. Da diese Parameter Informationen über die Prognose einer COPD liefern, stellt die DEFB1-Expression auch einen potentiellen prognostischen Marker für das Fortschreiten dieser Erkrankung dar. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde nach Mechanismen gesucht, die an der Regulation von DEFB1 in der Lunge von COPD-Patienten beteiligt sind. Dabei zeigte sich, dass eine Störung der epigenetischen Regulationsvorgänge bei der Pathogenese der COPD eine Rolle spielen könnte. Während kein Zusammenhang zwischen der CpG-Methylierung im DEFB1-Gen und dessen Expression im Biopsiematerial von COPD-Patienten festgestellt werden konnte, zeigte eine allgemeine Inhibierung der DNA-Methylierung durch 5-Aza-2'-Desoxycytidin im Zellkulturmodell hingegen einen starken Einfluss auf die DEFB1-Expression. Durch Verwendung des Histon-Deacetylase-Inhibitors Trichostatin A konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Acetylierung bei der transkriptionellen Aktivierung von DEFB1 ebenfalls eine Rolle spielt. Chromatinimmunpräzipitations-Analysen mit Zellen der bronchoalveolären Lavage-Flüssigkeit zeigten eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen der DEFB1-Expression und dem Aufbau eines aktiven "Histon-Codes" und deuten ebenfalls auf eine wichtige Rolle von kovalenten Histon-Modifikationen im DEFB1 und damit der epigenetischen Regulation bei der COPD hin. Insgesamt bekräftigen diese Daten die Hypothese, dass DEFB1 in die molekulare Maschinerie der COPD-Pathogenese eingebunden ist. Die ersten Einblicke in die epigenetischen Kontroll-Mechanismen der DEFB1-Regulation liefern neue Erkenntnisse über funktionelle Zusammenhänge, die auf ein besseres Verständnis der komplexen Pathomechanismen der COPD hoffen lassen und somit zur Entwicklung neuer innovativer Therapien beitragen könnten.Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widespread disease. However, the key factors determining the decline in lung function, which is the most important clinical parameter of COPD, are not yet clear. Genome-wide linkage analyses provide evidence for significant linkage to airway obstruction susceptibility loci on chromosome 8p, the location of the human defensin gene cluster. Moreover, a genetic variation in the human defensin, beta 1 (DEFB1) gene was found to be associated with COPD. However, the role of DEFB1 and its clinical relevance in diverse phenomena of COPD pathogenesis has not been extensively studied so far. The results of this dissertation demonstrate a significant increase of DEFB1 expression in the lung of COPD patients. Furthermore, a significant correlation could be detected between DEFB1 gene expression in biopsies of the bronchial mucosa and the relevant diagnostic parameter for COPD including exercise capacity as measured by the six-minute-walk test, cigarette smoking and lung function tests. Since these parameters are used to predict the outcome of COPD, DEFB1 gene expression may thus be considered as a new potential predictive marker for the outcome of COPD patients. Mechanisms involved in the regulation of DEFB1 gene expression in the lung of COPD patients were also studied, showing that a dysfunction of the epigenetic regulation could play a role in the pathogenesis of COPD. Whereas bisulfite sequencing analysis of the bronchial mucosa revealed no differences in the methylation state of DEFB1 between COPD patients and healthy controls, an inhibition of DNA methylation by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine in cell lines resulted in a remarkable induction of DEFB1 gene expression. Additionally, treatment of the cells with the deacetylases inhibitor trichostatin A revealed a role for acetylation in the transcriptional activation of DEFB1. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells showed that DEFB1 activation was associated with the establishment of an active "histone code" suggesting the important role of covalent histone modifications in the regulation of DEFB1 expression. In conclusion, these data support the hypothesis that DEFB1 is associated with pathological changes characteristic for COPD. The first insight into epigenetic control mechanisms of DEFB1 regulation provides new knowledge about their functional contexts, which hopefully will lead to a better understanding of the complex pathomechanisms of COPD and thus may contribute to developing new innovative therapies

Respect and tolerance.

Bacheloroppgave, grunnskolelærerutdanning, 2016.Norsk: Dagens samfunn består av et stort mangfold med mennesker med ulike bakgrunner, kulturer og språk. For å fungere i et samfunn er det derfor helt nødvendig at mennesker både respekterer og tolererer hverandre. Som andre grunnleggende ferdigheter må dette læres, og derfor er det viktig at fokuset på respekt og toleranse i skolen blir opprettholdt. For å legge et godt grunnlag for disse verdiene er det viktig å starte arbeidet med respekt og toleranse fra barna er små, og derfor har jeg valgt å belyse dette gjennom problemstillingen: Hvordan kan en KRLE-lærer på 1.trinn arbeide for å legge et godt grunnlag for elevenes respekt og toleranse? Jeg redegjør først begrepene respekt og toleranse, før jeg videre ser på hvordan lærerens rolle og undervisning kan legge et godt grunnlag for elevene.English: Today’s society consists of a large community of people with different backgrounds, cultures and languages. It is therefore of great importance that people both respect and tolerate each other. These skills, like other basic skills, needs to be learned, and for this reason it is important to focus on respect and tolerance being maintained in school. To create a sustainable foundation for these values, it is essential to start working on how to show respect and tolerance with and around the children from a young age, and I have chosen to emphasise this through the question: How can a 1st grade KRLE-teacher work to create a good foundation for the students respect and tolerance? I will begin by clarifying the terms respect and tolerance, before I move on towards how a teacher’s role and lessons can create a good foundation for the pupils

Dung Beetle community and functions along a habitat-disturbance gradient in the Amazon:a rapid assessment of ecological functions associated to biodiversity

Although there is increasing interest in the effects of habitat disturbance on community attributes and the potential consequences for ecosystem functioning, objective approaches linking biodiversity loss to functional loss are uncommon. The objectives of this study were to implement simultaneous assessment of community attributes (richness, abundance and biomass, each calculated for total-beetle assemblages as well as small- and large-beetle assemblages) and three ecological functions of dung beetles (dung removal, soil perturbation and secondary seed dispersal), to compare the effects of habitat disturbance on both sets of response variables, and their relations. We studied dung beetle community attributes and functions in five land-use systems representing a disturbance gradient in the Brazilian Amazon: primary forest, secondary forest, agroforestry, agriculture and pasture. All response variables were affected negatively by the intensification of habitat disturbance regimes, but community attributes and ecological functions did not follow the same pattern of decline. A hierarchical partitioning analysis showed that, although all community attributes had a significant effect on the three ecological functions (except the abundance of small beetles on all three ecological functions and the biomass of small beetles on secondary dispersal of large seed mimics), species richness and abundance of large beetles were the community attributes with the highest explanatory value. Our results show the importance of measuring ecological function empirically instead of deducing it from community metrics

Attitudes and knowledge of shade-coffee farmers towards vertebrates and their ecological functions.

The purpose of this study was to assess farmers&rsquo; attitudes, as well as perceptions and knowledge that shape those attitudes, toward the ecological role of vertebrates inhabiting shaded-coffee farms. We also aimed to determine whether differences existed among two groups of farmers: one that had attended environmental education workshops, and one that had not. We conducted 36 oral interviews of farmers in the region of Cuetzalan, Mexico. All farmers were members of an important regional cooperative, Tosepan Titataniske. In general, farmers&rsquo; attitudes towards birds were positive. Snakes were perceived as useful but dangerous animals. Attitudes towards nonflying mammals were mostly indifferent. Bats were poorly understood and badly perceived. Seed dispersal was perceived as an important ecological function performed by animals. Pollination was also perceived as important, but to a lesser degree. Knowledge about ecological functions was high for seed dispersal, and low for pollination. We found a positive correlation between attendance of educational workshops and the presence of &ldquo;environmentally-friendly&rdquo; attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge. However, a cause-effect relationship could not be clearly established. We suggest that environmental education programs include the objective of increasing the knowledge of people about the ecological functions played by different groups of animals that live in agroecosystems. Particular efforts should be directed toward improving the way in which certain non-charismatic groups of animals, such as bats, are perceived.<br /

Temporal changes in the structure of a plant-frugivore network are influenced by bird migration and fruit availability

Background.Ecological communities are dynamic collections whose composition and structure change over time, making up complex interspecific interaction networks. Mutualistic plant–animal networks can be approached through complex network analysis; these networks are characterized by a nested structure consisting of a core of generalist species, which endows the network with stability and robustness against disturbance. Those mutualistic network structures can vary as a consequence of seasonal fluctuations and food availability, as well as the arrival of new species into the system that might disorder the mutualistic network structure (e.g., a decrease in nested pattern). However, there is no assessment on how the arrival of migratory species into seasonal tropical systems can modify such patterns. Emergent and fine structural temporal patterns are adressed here for the first time for plant-frugivorous bird networks in a highly seasonal tropical environment.Methods.In a plant-frugivorous bird community, we analyzed the temporal turnover of bird species comprising the network core and periphery of ten temporal interaction networks resulting from different bird migration periods. Additionally, we evaluated how fruit abundance and richness, as well as the arrival of migratory birds into the system, explained the temporal changes in network parameters such as network size, connectance, nestedness, specialization, interaction strength asymmetry and niche overlap. The analysis included data from 10 quantitative plant-frugivorous bird networks registered from November 2013 to November 2014.Results.We registered a total of 319 interactions between 42 plant species and 44 frugivorous bird species; only ten bird species were part of the network core. We witnessed a noteworthy turnover of the species comprising the network periphery during migration periods, as opposed to the network core, which did not show significant temporal changes in species composition. Our results revealed that migration and fruit richness explain the temporal variations in network size, connectance, nestedness and interaction strength asymmetry. On the other hand, fruit abundance only explained connectance and nestedness.Discussion.By means of a fine-resolution temporal analysis, we evidenced for the first time how temporal changes in the interaction network structure respond to the arrival of migratory species into the system and to fruit availability. Additionally, few migratory bird species are important links for structuring networks, while most of them were peripheral species. We showed the relevance of studying bird–plant interactions at fine temporal scales, considering changing scenarios of species composition with a quantitative network approach.</jats:p

The use of indigenous knowledge in development: problems and challenges

The use of indigenous knowledge has been seen by many as an alternative way of promoting development in poor rural communities in many parts of the world. By reviewing much of the recent work on indigenous knowledge, the paper suggests that a number of problems and tensions has resulted in indigenous knowledge not being as useful as hoped for or supposed. These include problems emanating from a focus on the (arte)factual; binary tensions between western science and indigenous knowledge systems; the problem of differentiation and power relations; the romanticization of indigenous knowledge; and the all too frequent decontextualization of indigenous knowledge