From logical forms to SPARQL query with GETARUNS

We present a system for Question Answering which computes a prospective answer from Logical Forms produced by a full-fledged NLP for text understanding, and then maps the result onto schemata in SPARQL to be used for accessing the Semantic Web. As an intermediate step, and whenever there are complex concepts to be mapped, the system looks for a corresponding amalgam in YAGO classes. It is just by the internal structure of the Logical Form that we are able to produce a suitable and meaningful context for concept disambiguation. Logical Forms are the final output of a complex system for text understanding - GETARUNS - which can deal with different levels of syntactic and semantic ambiguity in the generation of a final structure, by accessing computational lexical equipped with sub-categorization frames and appropriate selectional restrictions applied to the attachment of complements and adjuncts. The system also produces pronominal binding and instantiates the implicit arguments, if needed, in order to complete the required Predicate Argument structure which is licensed by the semantic component

Composable collaboration infrastructures based on programming patterns

In general, collaboration infrastructures have supported sharing of an object based on its logical structure. However, current implementations assume an implicit binding between this logical structure and particular system-defined abstractions. We present a new composable design based on programming patterns that eliminates this binding, thereby increasing the range of supported objects and supporting extensibility

Layered, server-based support for Object-Oriented application development

Journal ArticleThis paper advocates the idea that the physical modularity (file structure) of application components supported by conventional OS environments can be elevated to the level of logical modularity, which in turn can directly support application development in an object-oriented manner. We demonstrate this idea through a system-wide server process that manages a separate logical layer of components. The server is designed to be a central operating system service responsible for mapping component instances into client address spaces. We show how this model solves some longstanding problems with the management and binding of application components in existing operating system environments. We illustrate with examples that this model's effectiveness derives from its support for the cornerstones of 0-0 programming: classes and their instances, encapsulation, and several forms of inheritance

Can the Euro Be Saved?

A sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has morphed into a crisis of the euro itself, revealing three deep flaws in the euro’s design. Escalating inter‐country debt is the predictable result of locking together the currencies of countries as different as Germany and Greece. There is no governance structure to make binding decisions about debt restructuring. Most importantly, the ECB itself holds so many risky assets that it is frightened at the otherwise logical solution of debt restructuring. Only radical action could save the common currency

De-novo design of complementary (antisense) peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of interleukin 18 (IL-18).

Complementary (antisense) peptide mini-receptor inhibitors are complementary peptides designed to be receptor-surrogates that act by binding to selected surface features of biologically important proteins thereby inhibiting protein-cognate receptor interactions and subsequent biological effects. Previously, we described a complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) that was designed to bind to an external surface loop (beta-bulge) of IL-1beta (Boraschi loop) clearly identified in the X-ray crystal structure of this cytokine. Here, we report the de-novo design and rational development of a complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18), a protein for which there is no known X-ray crystal structure. Using sequence homology comparisons with IL-1beta, putative IL-18 surface loops are identified and used as a starting point for design, including a loop region 1 thought to be equivalent with the Boraschi loop of IL-1beta. Only loop region 1 complementary peptides are found to be promising leads as mini-receptor inhibitors of IL-18 but these are prevented from being properly successful owing to solubility problems. The application of "M-I pair mutagenesis" and inclusion of a C-terminal arginine residue are then sufficient to solve this problem and convert one lead peptide into a functional complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of IL-18. This suggests that the biophysical and biological properties of complementary peptides can be improved in a rational and logical manner where appropriate, further strengthening the potential importance of complementary peptides as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions, even when X-ray crystal structural information is not readily available

Ways of licensing Hungarian external possessors

This paper examines the status of Hungarian dative noun phrases interpreted as external possessors of a sister constituent. It challenges the widely accepted view put forth by Szabolcsi (1983; 1992, etc.) that external possessors are uniformly assigned a theta role by the possessum, and they are uniformly raised from its maximal projection via A-bar movement. It argues instead that external possessors can also be base-generated outside the projection of the possessum, binding its internal possessor, and can receive an ‘affected’ theta role from the verb. The paper distinguishes three different types of external possession, showing that they have different licensing conditions, and different agreement properties. (i) The external possessor can be generated externally, and be assigned an ‘affected’ theta role by the verb. The referential identity of the dative marked affected participant and the pro-dropped internal possessor is due to a binding relation between them. (ii) The external possessor can be licensed by information structure/logical structure: a case marked possessor can assume a topic, focus, or quantifier role on its own, and can be raised into the corresponding A-bar position independently, without its possessum. (iii) The external possessor can also be licensed by the semantic incorporation of its possessum. External possessors binding a pro and external possessors binding a trace in the projection of the possessum elicit different agreement on the possessum. The choice of agreement in the different types of external possession constructions has been tested with 40 native speakers, and the results have been used as evidence in their structural analyses

The Process-Interaction-Model: a common representation of rule-based and logical models allows studying signal transduction on different levels of detail

BACKGROUND: Signaling systems typically involve large, structured molecules each consisting of a large number of subunits called molecule domains. In modeling such systems these domains can be considered as the main players. In order to handle the resulting combinatorial complexity, rule-based modeling has been established as the tool of choice. In contrast to the detailed quantitative rule-based modeling, qualitative modeling approaches like logical modeling rely solely on the network structure and are particularly useful for analyzing structural and functional properties of signaling systems. RESULTS: We introduce the Process-Interaction-Model (PIM) concept. It defines a common representation (or basis) of rule-based models and site-specific logical models, and, furthermore, includes methods to derive models of both types from a given PIM. A PIM is based on directed graphs with nodes representing processes like post-translational modifications or binding processes and edges representing the interactions among processes. The applicability of the concept has been demonstrated by applying it to a model describing EGF insulin crosstalk. A prototypic implementation of the PIM concept has been integrated in the modeling software ProMoT. CONCLUSIONS: The PIM concept provides a common basis for two modeling formalisms tailored to the study of signaling systems: a quantitative (rule-based) and a qualitative (logical) modeling formalism. Every PIM is a compact specification of a rule-based model and facilitates the systematic set-up of a rule-based model, while at the same time facilitating the automatic generation of a site-specific logical model. Consequently, modifications can be made on the underlying basis and then be propagated into the different model specifications – ensuring consistency of all models, regardless of the modeling formalism. This facilitates the analysis of a system on different levels of detail as it guarantees the application of established simulation and analysis methods to consistent descriptions (rule-based and logical) of a particular signaling system