INTELLIGENT RESOURCE DISCOVERY USING ONTOLOGYBASED RESOURCE PROFILES

Successful resource discovery across heterogeneous repositories is highly dependent on the semantic and syntactic homogeneity of the associated resource descriptions in each repository. Ideally, consistent resource descriptions are easily extracted from each repository, expressed using standard syntactic and semantic structures, and managed and accessed within a distributed, flexible, and scalable software framework. In practice however, seldom do all three of these elements exist. To help address this situation, the Object Oriented Data Technology (OODT) project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed an extensible, standards-based resource description scheme that provides the necessary description and management facilities for the discovery of resources across heterogeneous repositories. The OODT resource description scheme can be used across scientific domains to describe any resource. It uses a small set of generally accepted, broadly-scoped descriptors while also providing a mechanism for the inclusion of domain-specific descriptors. In addition, the OODT scheme can be used to capture hierarchical, relational and recursive relationships between resources. In this paper we expand on prior work and describe an intelligent resource discovery framework that consists of separate software and data architectures focusing on the standard resource description scheme. We illustrate intelligent resource discovery using a case study that provides efficient search across distributed repositories using common interfaces and a hierarchy of resource descriptions derived from a complex, domain-specific ontology

Ontology-based data integration between clinical and research systems

Data from the electronic medical record comprise numerous structured but uncoded elements, which are not linked to standard terminologies. Reuse of such data for secondary research purposes has gained in importance recently. However, the identification of relevant data elements and the creation of database jobs for extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) are challenging: With current methods such as data warehousing, it is not feasible to efficiently maintain and reuse semantically complex data extraction and trans-formation routines. We present an ontology-supported approach to overcome this challenge by making use of abstraction: Instead of defining ETL procedures at the database level, we use ontologies to organize and describe the medical concepts of both the source system and the target system. Instead of using unique, specifically developed SQL statements or ETL jobs, we define declarative transformation rules within ontologies and illustrate how these constructs can then be used to automatically generate SQL code to perform the desired ETL procedures. This demonstrates how a suitable level of abstraction may not only aid the interpretation of clinical data, but can also foster the reutilization of methods for un-locking it

Topologies of agents interactions in knowledge intensive multi-agentsystems for networked information services

Agents in a multi-agent system (mAS) could interact and cooperate in many different ways. The topology of agent interaction determines how the agents control and communicate with each other, what are the control and communication capabilities of each agent and the whole system, and how efficient the control and communications are. In consequence, the topology affects the agents’ ability to share knowledge, integrate knowledge, and make efficient use of knowledge in MAS. This paper presents an overview of four major MAS topologic models, assesses their advantages and disadvantages in terms of agent autonomy, adaptation, scalability, and efficiency of cooperation. Some insights into the applicability for each of the topologies to different environment and domain specific applications are explored. A design example of the topological models to an information service management application is attempted to illustrate the practical merits of each topology

Global diversity and antimicrobial resistance of typhoid fever pathogens: Insights from a meta-analysis of 13,000 Salmonella Typhi genomes

Background: The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000). Methods: This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch. Results: Compared with previous global snapshots, the data highlight that genotype 4.3.1 (H58) has not spread beyond Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa; in other regions, distinct genotypes dominate and have independently evolved AMR. Data gaps remain in many parts of the world, and we show the potential of travel-associated sequences to provide informal ‘sentinel’ surveillance for such locations. The data indicate that ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility (>1 resistance determinant) is widespread across geographies and genotypes, with high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (=3 determinants) reaching 20% prevalence in South Asia. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid has becomedominant in Pakistan (70% in 2020) but has not yet become established elsewhere. Ceftriaxone resistance has emerged in eight non-XDR genotypes, including a ciprofloxacin-resistant lineage (4.3.1.2.1) in India. Azithromycin resistance mutations were detected at low prevalence in South Asia, including in two common ciprofloxacin-resistant genotypes. Conclusions: The consortium’s aim is to encourage continued data sharing and collaboration to monitor the emergence and global spread of AMR Typhi, and to inform decision-making around the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) and other prevention and control strategies

Global diversity and antimicrobial resistance of typhoid fever pathogens: insights from a meta-analysis of 13,000 Salmonella Typhi genomes

Background: The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000). Methods: This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch. Results: Compared with previous global snapshots, the data highlight that genotype 4.3.1 (H58) has not spread beyond Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa; in other regions, distinct genotypes dominate and have independently evolved AMR. Data gaps remain in many parts of the world, and we show the potential of travel-associated sequences to provide informal ‘sentinel’ surveillance for such locations. The data indicate that ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility (>1 resistance determinant) is widespread across geographies and genotypes, with high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (≥3 determinants) reaching 20% prevalence in South Asia. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid has become dominant in Pakistan (70% in 2020) but has not yet become established elsewhere. Ceftriaxone resistance has emerged in eight non-XDR genotypes, including a ciprofloxacin-resistant lineage (4.3.1.2.1) in India. Azithromycin resistance mutations were detected at low prevalence in South Asia, including in two common ciprofloxacin-resistant genotypes. Conclusions: The consortium’s aim is to encourage continued data sharing and collaboration to monitor the emergence and global spread of AMR Typhi, and to inform decision-making around the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) and other prevention and control strategies

Global diversity and antimicrobial resistance of typhoid fever pathogens : insights from a meta-analysis of 13,000 Salmonella Typhi genomes

Background: The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000). Methods: This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch. Results: Compared with previous global snapshots, the data highlight that genotype 4.3.1 (H58) has not spread beyond Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa; in other regions, distinct genotypes dominate and have independently evolved AMR. Data gaps remain in many parts of the world, and we show the potential of travel-associated sequences to provide informal ‘sentinel’ surveillance for such locations. The data indicate that ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility (>1 resistance determinant) is widespread across geographies and genotypes, with high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (=3 determinants) reaching 20% prevalence in South Asia. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid has becomedominant in Pakistan (70% in 2020) but has not yet become established elsewhere. Ceftriaxone resistance has emerged in eight non-XDR genotypes, including a ciprofloxacin-resistant lineage (4.3.1.2.1) in India. Azithromycin resistance mutations were detected at low prevalence in South Asia, including in two common ciprofloxacin-resistant genotypes. Conclusions: The consortium’s aim is to encourage continued data sharing and collaboration to monitor the emergence and global spread of AMR Typhi, and to inform decision-making around the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) and other prevention and control strategies. © Carey et al. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Andrew Greenhill” is provided in this record*

Security and Privacy of Resource Constrained Devices

The thesis aims to present a comprehensive and holistic overview on cybersecurity and privacy & data protection aspects related to IoT resource-constrained devices. Chapter 1 introduces the current technical landscape by providing a working definition and architecture taxonomy of ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘resource-constrained devices’, coupled with a threat landscape where each specific attack is linked to a layer of the taxonomy. Chapter 2 lays down the theoretical foundations for an interdisciplinary approach and a unified, holistic vision of cybersecurity, safety and privacy justified by the ‘IoT revolution’ through the so-called infraethical perspective. Chapter 3 investigates whether and to what extent the fast-evolving European cybersecurity regulatory framework addresses the security challenges brought about by the IoT by allocating legal responsibilities to the right parties. Chapters 4 and 5 focus, on the other hand, on ‘privacy’ understood by proxy as to include EU data protection. In particular, Chapter 4 addresses three legal challenges brought about by the ubiquitous IoT data and metadata processing to EU privacy and data protection legal frameworks i.e., the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR. Chapter 5 casts light on the risk management tool enshrined in EU data protection law, that is, Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and proposes an original DPIA methodology for connected devices, building on the CNIL (French data protection authority) model

Security and privacy of resource constrained devices

The thesis aims to present a comprehensive and holistic overview on cybersecurity and privacy & data protection aspects related to IoT resource-constrained devices. Chapter 1 introduces the current technical landscape by providing a working definition and architecture taxonomy of ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘resource-constrained devices’, coupled with a threat landscape where each specific attack is linked to a layer of the taxonomy. Chapter 2 lays down the theoretical foundations for an interdisciplinary approach and a unified, holistic vision of cybersecurity, safety and privacy justified by the ‘IoT revolution’ through the so-called infraethical perspective. Chapter 3 investigates whether and to what extent the fast-evolving European cybersecurity regulatory framework addresses the security challenges brought about by the IoT by allocating legal responsibilities to the right parties. Chapters 4 and 5 focus, on the other hand, on ‘privacy’ understood by proxy as to include EU data protection. In particular, Chapter 4 addresses three legal challenges brought about by the ubiquitous IoT data and metadata processing to EU privacy and data protection legal frameworks i.e., the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR. Chapter 5 casts light on the risk management tool enshrined in EU data protection law, that is, Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and proposes an original DPIA methodology for connected devices, building on the CNIL (French data protection authority) model

Fourth Generation Wireless Systems: Requirements and Challenges for the Next Frontier

Fourth generation wireless systems (4G) are likely to reach the consumer market in another 4-5 years. 4G comes with the promise of increased bandwidth, higher speeds, greater interoperability across communication protocols, and user friendly, innovative, and secure applications. In this article, I list the requirements of the 4G systems by considering the needs of the users in the future. These requirements can be met if technical and business challenges can be overcome. Technical challenges include mobility management, quality of service, interoperability, high data rate, security, survivability, spectrum, intelligent mobile devices, middleware, and network access. I discuss the most plausible solutions to these technical challenges in this paper. Business-related challenges include billing, payment methods, pricing, size of investments, content provision and mediation, and the trade-off between richness and reach. If these technical and business challenges can be met, then 4G will become the next frontier in data and voice communication infrastructure