6,742 research outputs found
Digital Repositories and the Semantic Web: Semantic Search and Navigation for DSpace
4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : DSpace User Group PresentationsDate: 2009-05-21 08:30 AM â 10:00 AMIn many digital repository implementations, resources are often described against some flavor of metadata schema, popularly the Dublin Core Element Set (DCMES), as is the case with the DSpace system. However, such an approach cannot capture richer semantic relations that exist or may be implied, in the sense of a Semantic Web ontology. Therefore we first suggest a method in order to semantically intensify the underlying data model and develop an automatic translation of the flatly organized metadata information to this new ontology. Then we propose an implementation that provides for inference-based knowledge discovery, retrieval and navigation on top of digital repositories, based on this ontology. We apply this technique to real information stored in the University of Patras Institutional Repository that is based on DSpace, and confirm that more powerful, inference-based queries can indeed be performed
The social ecology of food: where agroecology and heritage meet
The current food system is unsustainable and no longer able to cope with the challenges caused by climate change and consumer behaviours. In this context, agroecology, with its commitment to crossing disciplinary boundaries, has been endorsed as one of the main approaches to the creation of a sustainable food system. Despite this, the integration of the social research on food has not been evident enough in agroecology as a discipline. To be sure, studies related to foodways, food traditions, and, more recently, food heritage have long been present, and have provided important insights into the social and cultural aspects of food. However, there appears to be little convergence between this body of research and the mainstream agroecology literature. This paper aims to address this disconnection between the sociocultural and environmental aspects of the food system, and to propose ways of moving forward. We argue that knowledge about food heritage can be a catalyst for the achievement of agroecologyâs vision for whole-system transformative change, and a moving towards global food security and nutrition. Using the agroecology framework of the United Nationâs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and looking at the examples of the subak system in Indonesia and the EU-funded BigPicnic project, we employ the elements of âco-creation and sharing of knowledgeâ, âculture and food traditionsâ and âhuman and social valuesâ as entry points for the creation of sustainable transitions of the food and agricultural systems
Maternal pomegranate juice intake and brain structure and function in infants with intrauterine growth restriction: A randomized controlled pilot study.
Polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice has been shown to have benefit as a neuroprotectant in animal models of neonatal hypoxic-ischemia. No published studies have investigated maternal polyphenol administration as a potential neuroprotectant in at-risk newborns, such as those with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot study to investigate the impact of maternal pomegranate juice intake in pregnancies with IUGR, on newborn brain structure and function at term-equivalent age (TEA). Mothers with IUGR at 24-34 weeks\u27 gestation were recruited from Barnes-Jewish Hospital obstetrical clinic. Consented mothers were randomized to treatment (8 oz. pomegranate juice) or placebo (8 oz. polyphenol-free juice) and continued to take juice daily from enrollment until delivery (mean 20.1 and 27.1 days, respectively). Infants underwent brain MRI at TEA (36-41 weeks\u27 gestation). Brain measures were compared between groups including: brain injury score, brain metrics, brain volumes, diffusion tensor imaging and resting state functional connectivity. Statistical analyses were undertaken as modified intention-to-treat (including randomized participants who received their allocated intervention and whose infants received brain MRI) and per-protocol (including participants who strictly adhered to the protocol, based on metabolite status). Seventy-seven mothers were randomized to treatment (n = 40) or placebo (n = 37). Of these, 28 and 27 infants, respectively, underwent term-equivalent MRI. There were no group differences in brain injury, metrics or volumes. However, treatment subjects displayed reduced diffusivity within the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule compared with placebo. Resting state functional connectivity demonstrated increased correlation and covariance within several networks in treatment subjects, with alterations most apparent in the visual network in per-protocol analyses. Direct effects on health were not found. In conclusion, maternal pomegranate juice intake in pregnancies with known IUGR was associated with altered white matter organization and functional connectivity in the infant brain, suggesting differences in brain structure and function following in utero pomegranate juice exposure, warranting continued investigation. Clinical trial registration. NCT00788866, registered November 11, 2008, initial participant enrollment August 21, 2012
The determinants of loan loss provisions:an analysis of the Greek banking systemin light of the sovereign debt crisis
We utilize a new set of macroeconomic and regulatory data to analyze the evolution of loan loss provisioning practices in the Greek banking system over the period 2005-2015. We explore the determinants of the aggregate loan loss reserves to total loans ratio, which reflects the accumulation of provisions net of write-offs, and constitutes an important metric of the credit quality of loan portfolios. Our results suggest that domestic credit institutions respond relatively quickly to macroeconomic shocks, though the latterâs effects on the provisioning behavior of the domestic banking system show significant persistence. Furthermore, the impact of macroeconomic shocks on the loan loss reserves ratio has become stronger (both in terms of magnitude and statistical significance) following the outbreak of the Greek sovereign debt crisis. From a macro policy perspective, this result indicates that a sustainable stabilization of macroeconomic conditions is a key precondition for safeguarding domestic financial stability. For a regulatory standpoint, it suggests that the possibility of macroeconomic regime-related effects on banksâ provisioning policies should be taken into account when macro prudential stress tests of the banking system are designed and implemented
Explaining non-performing loans in Greece: a comparative study on the effects of recession and banking practices
Using a new dataset of macroeconomic and banking-related variables we attempt to explain the evolution of âbadâ loans in Greece over the period 2005-2015. Our findings suggest that the primary cause of the sharp increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) following the outbreak of the sovereign debt crisis can be mainly attributed to the unprecedented contraction of domestic economic activity and the subsequent rise in unemployment. Furthermore, our results offer no empirical evidence in support of a range of examined hypotheses assuming overly aggressive lending practices by major Greek credit institutions or any systematic efforts to boost current earnings by extending credit to lower credit quality clients. We find that the transmission of macroeconomic shocks to NPLs takes place relatively fast, with the estimated magnitude of the respective responses being broadly comparable with that documented in some earlier studies for other euro area periphery economies. Overall, our results support a swift implementation of reforms agreed with official lenders in the context of the new (3rd) bailout programme. These envisage the modernization the countyâs private sector insolvency framework and the creation of a more efficient model for the management of NPLs. A vigorous implementation of these reforms is key for allowing a resumption of positive credit creation, by freeing up valuable resources that are currently trapped in unproductive sectors of the domestic economy. This, in turn, would facilitate a speedier return to positive economic growth and a gradual reduction in unemployment
On signals of new physics in global event properties in pp collisions in the TeV energy domain
In the framework of the weighted superposition mechanism of different classes
of minimum bias events (or substructures), described by the negative binomial
multiplicity distribution, in possible scenarios for pp collisions in the TeV
energy domain, we explore global properties of an eventual new class of events,
characterised by high hadron and clan densities, to be added to the soft
(without minijets) and semihard (with minijets) ones. It turns out that the
main signal of the mentioned new physical expectations at 14 TeV c.m. energy
would be an ``elbow structure'' in the tail of the total charged particle
multiplicity distribution in complete disagreement with the second shoulder
structure predicted by Pythia Monte Carlo calculations: a challenging problem
for new experimental work.Comment: 14 pages, 6 ps figures include
A fossil assemblage from the midâlate Maastrichtian of Gavdos Island, Greece, provides insights into the pre-extinction pelagic ichthyofaunas of the Tethys
The global body-fossil record of marine âfishesâ from the time interval immediately preceding the CretaceousâPaleogene Extinction is markedly poor. This deficiency appears to be further exacerbated with regards to offshore and deep-water taxa, obscuring our understanding of the state and composition of corresponding vertebrate faunas at the onset of this major extinction event. Recent fieldwork in the midâlate Maastrichtian exposures of the Pindos Unit in Gavdos Island, Greece, yielded a small but informative sample of fossil âfishesâ, which inhabited the Tethys approximately three to four million years before the extinction. In this work we describe this sample, which comprises between eight and nine discrete morphotypes of various size classes, belonging to â Ichthyodectoidei, Aulopiformes (â Dercetidae, â Enchodontidae, â Ichthyotringidae), cf. â Sardinioididae, as well as the hexanchid shark â Gladioserratus sp. The new material expands the faunal list for the Maastrichtian of Gavdos Island, and the Pindos Unit as a whole, and further allows for the description of a new genus and species of â Enchodontidae and a new species of â Ichthyotringidae. The two new taxa are found to be widespread in the Maastrichtian of the Pindos Unit. The overall character of the assemblage agrees with previous interpretations of an offshore and rather deep depositional environment for the fossiliferous horizons. Furthermore, it exhibits a higher diversity than, and little taxonomic overlap with penecontemporaneous teleost assemblages from the Tethys, and informs on the otherwise poorly known Maastrichtian offshore and deep-water marine ichthyofaunas of the region
Geological modelling for investigating CO2 emissions in Florina Basin, Greece
Published version also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/geo-2015-0039This paper presents an investigation of naturally
occurring CO2 emissions from the Florina natural analogue
site in Greece. The main objective was to interpret
previously collected depth sounding data, convert them
into surfaces, and use them as input to develop, for the
rst time, 3D geological models of the Florina basin. By
also locating the extent of the aquifer, the location of the
CO2 source, the location of other natural CO2 accumulations,
and the points where CO2 reaches the surface, we
were able to assess the potential for CO2 leakage. Geological
models provided an estimate of the lithological composition
of the Florina Basin and allowed us to determine
possible directions of groundwater ow and pathways of
CO2 ow throughout the basin.
Important modelling parameters included the spatial positions
of boundaries, faults, and major stratigraphic units
(which were subdivided into layers of cells). We used various
functions in Petrel software to rst construct a structural
model describing the main rock boundaries. We then
de ned a 3D mesh honouring the structural model, and
nally we populated each cell in the mesh with geologic
properties, such as rock type and relative permeability.
According to the models, the thickest deposits are located
around Mesochorion village where we estimate that
around 1000 m of sediments were deposited above the
basement. Initiation of CO2 ow at Florina Basin could
have taken place between 6.5 Ma and 1.8 Ma ago. The NESW
oriented faults, which acted as uid ow pathways,
are still functioning today, allowing for localised leakage
at the surface. CO2 leakage may be spatially variable and
episodic in rate. The episodicity can be linked to the timing
of Almopia volcanic activity in the area
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