Comparing knowledge bases: on the organisation and geography of knowledge flows in the regional innovation system of Scania, southern Sweden

This paper deals with knowledge flows and collaboration between firms in the regional innovation system of southern Sweden. It focuses on industries which draw on different types of knowledge bases. The aim is to analyse how the functional and spatial organisation of knowledge interdependencies among firms and other actors vary between different types of industries which are part of the same regional innovation system. We argue that knowledge sourcing and exchange in geographical proximity is especially important for industries that rely on a synthetic or symbolic knowledge base, since the interpretation of the knowledge they deal with tend to differ between places. This is less the case for industries drawing on an analytical knowledge base, which rely more on scientific knowledge that is codified, abstract and universal, and therefore less sensitive to geographical distance. Thus, geographic clustering of firms in analytical industries builds on other rationale than the need of proximity for knowledge sourcing and exchange. To analyse these assumptions empirically, we draw on data from three case studies of firm clusters in the region of southern Sweden: (1) the life science cluster represents an analytical (science) based industry, (2) the food cluster includes mainly synthetic (engineering) based industries, and (3) the moving media cluster is considered as symbolic (artistic) based. Knowledge sourcing and knowledge exchange in each of the cases are explored and compared using social network analysis in association with a dataset gathered through interviews with firm representatives.knowledge bases; life science; food cluster; moving media; Sweden

Universal OWL Axiom Enrichment for Large Knowledge Bases

Abstract. The Semantic Web has seen a rise in the availability and usage of knowledge bases over the past years, in particular in the Linked Open Data initiative. Despite this growth, there is still a lack of knowl-edge bases that consist of high quality schema information and instance data adhering to this schema. Several knowledge bases only consist of schema information, while others are, to a large extent, a mere collec-tion of facts without a clear structure. The combination of rich schema and instance data would allow powerful reasoning, consistency check-ing, and improved querying possibilities as well as provide more generic ways to interact with the underlying data. In this article, we present a light-weight method to enrich knowledge bases accessible via SPARQL endpoints with almost all types of OWL 2 axioms. This allows to semi-automatically create schemata, which we evaluate and discuss using DB-pedia.

On the biological activity of cytokinin free bases and their ribosides

Main conclusion The free bases of cytokinins are the biologically active forms of the hormone while cytokinin ribosides become active only upon removal of the ribose residue. Abstract Cytokinins (CKs) belong to the classical plant hormones. They were discovered more than 65 years ago, but which molecular forms possess genuine CK activity is still matter of debate. Numerous studies support the view that only the free bases are the biologically active molecules. This standpoint has been challenged in a recent review (Nguyen et al. in Planta 254: 45, 2021) proposing that also CK ribosides may have genuine own CK activity. Here we critically discuss the pros and cons of this viewpoint considering the results of biological assays, CK binding studies, 3D structural data of CK-receptor interaction and mutant analyses. It is concluded that all types of study provide clear and convincing evidence only for biological activity of free bases and not ribosides; the latter are rather a transport form of the hormone without their own biological activity

e-Science Infrastructure for the Social Sciences

"When the term 'e-Science' became popular, it frequently was referred to as 'enhanced science' or 'electronic science'. More telling is the definition 'e-Science is about global collaboration in key areas of science and the next generation of infrastructure that will enable it' (Taylor, 2001). The question arises to what extent can the social sciences profit from recent developments in e-Science infrastructure? While computing, storage and network capacities so far were sufficient to accommodate and access social science data bases, new capacities and technologies support new types of research, e.g. linking and analysing transactional or audiovisual data. Increasingly collaborative working by researchers in distributed networks is efficiently supported and new resources are available for e-learning. Whether these new developments become transformative or just helpful will very much depend on whether their full potential is recognized and creatively integrated into new research designs by theoretically innovative scientists. Progress in e-Science was very much linked to the vision of the Grid as 'a software infrastructure that enables flexible, secure, coordinated resource sharing among dynamic collections of individuals, institutions and resources' and virtually unlimited computing capacities (Foster et al. 2000). In the Social Sciences there has been considerable progress in using modern IT-technologies for multilingual access to virtual distributed research databases across Europe and beyond (e.g. NESSTAR, CESSDA - Portal), data portals for access to statistical offices and for linking access to data, literature, project, expert and other data bases (e.g. Digital Libraries, VASCODA/ SOWIPORT). Whether future developments will need GRID enabling of social science databases or can be further developed using WEB 2.0 support is currently an open question. The challenges here are seamless integration and interoperability of data bases, a requirement that is also stipulated by internationalisation and trans-disciplinary research. This goes along with the need for standards and harmonisation of data and metadata. Progress powered by e-infrastructure is, among others, dependent on regulatory frameworks and human capital well trained in both, data science and research methods. It is also dependent on sufficient critical mass of the institutional infrastructure to efficiently support a dynamic research community that wants to 'take the lead without catching up'." (author's abstract

Zhi# OWL Aware Compilation

Abstract. The usefulness of the Web Ontology Language to describe domains of discourse and to facilitate automatic reasoning services has been widely acknowledged. However, the programmability of ontological knowledge bases is severely impaired by the dierent conceptual bases of statically typed object-oriented programming languages such as Java and C# and ontology languages such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL). In this work, a novel programming language is presented that integrates OWL and XSD data types with C#. The Zhi# programming language is the rst solution of its kind to make XSD data types and OWL class descriptions rst-class citizens of a widely-used programming language. The Zhi# programming language eases the development of Semantic Web applications and facilitates the use and reuse of knowledge in form of ontologies. The presented approach was successfully validated to reduce the number of possible runtime errors compared to the use of XML and OWL APIs

RESEMBLANCE OF INDIRECTNESS IN POLITENESS OF EFL LEARNERS’ REQUEST REALIZATIONS

Abstract: Politeness principles are universally utilized by the speakers of any language when realizing various speech acts. However, the speakers of particular languages relatively apply politeness due to the cultural norms embedded. The present study attempts to delineate how the Indonesian learners of English (ILE) apply the politeness principles in request realizations. Specifically it devotes to the types of politeness strategies applied and resemblance of the indirectness in politeness strategies in requesting acts. The FTAs and indirectness are the theoretical bases used to trace the typologies of both politeness and request strategies. The data werere collected by means of certain elicitation techniques, i.e. DCTs and Role-plays. The analyses werere done through three stages; determining request strategies, politeness strategies, and resemblance of indirectness in politeness. The results show that the indirectness generally is parallel to politeness. Besides, some pragmatic transfers are found in terms of applying native-culture norms in realizing target speech acts

EEG functional connectivity metrics wPLI and wSMI account for distinct types of brain functional interactions

Abstract: The weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI) and the weighted Symbolic Mutual Information (wSMI) represent two robust and widely used methods for MEG/EEG functional connectivity estimation. Interestingly, both methods have been shown to detect relative alterations of brain functional connectivity in conditions associated with changes in the level of consciousness, such as following severe brain injury or under anaesthesia. Despite these promising findings, it was unclear whether wPLI and wSMI may account for distinct or similar types of functional interactions. Using simulated high-density (hd-)EEG data, we demonstrate that, while wPLI has high sensitivity for couplings presenting a mixture of linear and nonlinear interdependencies, only wSMI can detect purely nonlinear interaction dynamics. Moreover, we evaluated the potential impact of these differences on real experimental data by computing wPLI and wSMI connectivity in hd-EEG recordings of 12 healthy adults during wakefulness and deep (N3-)sleep, characterised by different levels of consciousness. In line with the simulation-based findings, this analysis revealed that both methods have different sensitivity for changes in brain connectivity across the two vigilance states. Our results indicate that the conjoint use of wPLI and wSMI may represent a powerful tool to study the functional bases of consciousness in physiological and pathological conditions

EasyBDI: integração automática de big data e consultas analíticas de alto nível

Abstract The emergence of new areas, such as the internet of things, which require access to the latest data for data analytics and decision-making environments, created constraints for the execution of analytical queries on traditional data warehouse architectures. In addition, the increase of semi-structure and unstructured data led to the creation of new databases to deal with these types of data, namely, NoSQL databases. This led to the information being stored in several different systems, each with more suitable characteristics for different use cases, which created difficulties in accessing data that are now spread across various systems with different models and characteristics. In this work, a system capable of performing analytical queries in real time on distributed and heterogeneous data sources is proposed: EasyBDI. The system is capable of integrating data logically, without materializing data, creating an overview of the data, thus offering an abstraction over the distribution and heterogeneity of data sources. Queries are executed interactively on data sources, which means that the most recent data will always be used in queries. This system presents a user interface that helps in the configuration of data sources, and automatically proposes a global schema that presents a generic and simplified view of the data, which can be modified by the user. The system allows the creation of multiple star schemas from the global schema. Finally, analytical queries are also made through a user interface that uses drag-and-drop elements. EasyBDI is able to solve recent problems by using recent solutions, hiding the details of several data sources, at the same time that allows users with less knowledge of databases to also be able to perform real-time analytical queries over distributed and heterogeneous data sources.O aparecimento de novas áreas, como a Internet das Coisas, que requerem o acesso aos dados mais recentes para ambientes de tomada de decisão, criou constrangimentos na execução de consultas analíticas usando as arquiteturas tradicionais de data warehouses. Adicionalmente, o aumento de dados semi-estruturados e não estruturados levou a que outras bases de dados fossem criadas para lidar com esse tipo de dados, nomeadamente bases NoSQL. Isto levou a que a informação seja armazenada em sistemas com características distintas e especializados em diferentes casos de uso, criando dificuldades no acesso aos dados que estão agora espalhados por vários sistemas com modelos e características distintas. Neste trabalho, propõe-se um sistema capaz de efetuar consultas analíticas em tempo real sobre fontes de dados distribuídas e heterogéneas: o EasyBDI. O sistema é capaz de integrar dados logicamente, sem materializar os dados, criando uma vista geral dos dados que oferece uma abstração sobre a distribuição e heterogeneidade das fontes de dados. As consultas são executadas interativamente nas fontes de dados, o que significa que os dados mais recentes serão sempre usados nas consultas. Este sistema apresenta uma interface de utilizador que ajuda na configuração de fontes de dados, e propõe automaticamente um esquema global que apresenta a vista genérica e simplificada dos dados, podendo ser modificado pelo utilizador. O sistema permite a criação de múltiplos esquema em estrela a partir do esquema global. Por fim, a realização de consultas analíticas é feita também através de uma interface de utilizador que recorre ao drag-and-drop de elementos. O EasyBDI é capaz de resolver problemas recentes, utilizando também soluções recentes, escondendo os detalhes de diversas fontes de dados, ao mesmo tempo que permite que utilizadores com menos conhecimentos em bases de dados possam também realizar consultas analíticas em tempo-real sobre fontes de dados distribuídas e heterogéneas.Mestrado em Engenharia Informátic