What kind of semantics and why to use it in patents: part 1 – Semantic search

The term semantics means to add meanings to text. The world "sematic" entered in patent information circles about ten years ago, as "semantic search", i.e. a new query paradigm, which starts searching from a prototype text. The interest about this topic, is increasing now, as demonstrated by new presentations on recent patent events, as CEPIUG 2018 and EPOPIC 2018. This topic still attracts some concerns, mostly due to the fact that semantic searches are perceived as black box solutions. This contribution will try to "open the box" of semantic searches, summarizing different features of semantic searches, which can be used for a first assessment of specific solutions. Moreover, from these features we can infer that semantic searches available today are very different together, and can be differentiated into two categories or generations. Finally we suggest that the preferred use today for semantic searches is to increase the recall after a "traditional" search

Industry 4.0 and manufacturing in the city: a possible vertical development

Deindustrialization has moved factories and jobs elsewhere, creating voids, not just space, in Western cities. The definition of the fourth industrial revolution incorporates the tendency of modern manufacturing to produce with innovative methodologies and systems, exploiting the ever-increasing development of ICT technologies and adapting it for factory applications. The production plant changes, both for the conformation of several systems that interact with each other and for a consequent occupation of the spaces. The article analyzes the evolutionary scenario of industrial production and describes the ways in which some activities can develop vertically, creating the conditions for a location in the city

A new frontier in construction investments: Data Centres and technical factors affecting risk profile

Abstract. The interest of Construction investors towards Data Centres is a novelty that however is not supported by an adequate level of knowledge of the technical characteristics that distinguish this particular building type. In fact, these are complex buildings, which are rarely dealt with in the literature (real estate and construction) and very different from the typical asset class of the real estate market, for which it requires a very high level of specialization. From an investor's point of view, although there are some reference standards that define some minimum quality standards, we need to widen our attention, focusing on all the technical / technological factors that influence the business model. The paper deals with this problem, trying to identify the different elements that influence the risk profile of the investment (thus omitting risk factors of another kind) and structuring them in clusters. Specifically, the paper focuses on the cost factors (passive cycle of the business model) that accompany the investment or the real estate asset "data centres" in its life cycle

Assessing the effects of Bt maize on the non-target pest Rhopalosiphum maidis by demographic and life-history measurement endpoints.

AbstractThe most commercialized Bt maize plants in Europe were transformed with genes which express a truncated form of the insecticidal delta-endotoxin (Cry1Ab) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) specifically against Lepidoptera. Studies on the effect of transgenic maize on non-target arthropods have mainly converged on beneficial insects. However, considering the worldwide extensive cultivation of Bt maize, an increased availability of information on their possible impact on non-target pests is also required. In this study, the impact of Bt-maize on the non-target corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis, was examined by comparing biological traits and demographic parameters of two generations of aphids reared on transgenic maize with those on untransformed near-isogenic plants. Furthermore, free and bound phenolics content on transgenic and near-isogenic plants were measured. Here we show an increased performance of the second generation of R. maidis on Bt-maize that could be attributable to indirect effects, such as the reduction of defense against pests due to unintended changes in plant characteristics caused by the insertion of the transgene. Indeed, the comparison of Bt-maize with its corresponding near-isogenic line strongly suggests that the transformation could have induced adverse effects on the biosynthesis and accumulation of free phenolic compounds. In conclusion, even though there is adequate evidence that aphids performed better on Bt-maize than on non-Bt plants, aphid economic damage has not been reported in commercial Bt corn fields in comparison to non-Bt corn fields. Nevertheless, Bt-maize plants can be more easily exploited by R. maidis, possibly due to a lower level of secondary metabolites present in their leaves. The recognition of this mechanism increases our knowledge concerning how insect-resistant genetically modified plants impact on non-target arthropods communities, including tritrophic web interactions, and can help support a sustainable use of genetically modified crops

Modeling Green Peach Aphid populations exposed to elicitors inducing plant resistance on peach

Matrix Population Models (MPMs) are not commonly used to simulate arthropod population dynamics with applications to pest control assessment in agricultural context. However, an increasing body of studies are prompting the finding of optimization techniques to reduce uncertainty in matrix parameters estimation. Indeed, uncertainty in parameters estimates may lead to significant management implications. Here we present a case study where MPMs are used for assessing the efficacy of treatment with elicitors inducing plant resistance against pathogen, such as laminarin, for the control of the Green Peach Aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) populations on peach. Such demographic approach could be particularly suitable to study this kind of compounds, which are mainly characterized by causing sub-lethal effects rather than acute mortality. An artificially assembled system [1] was arranged since it is well suited to follow the fate and behavior of a population exposed to elicitors activating chemical defense in plant. The obtained data, consisting of population time series, were used to generate a stage-classified projection matrix. The general model used to simulate population dynamics consists of a matrix containing i) survival probabilities (the probability of growing and moving to the next stage and the probability of surviving and remaining in the same stage), and ii) fecundities of the population. Most of the used methods for estimating the parameter values of stage-classified models rely on following cohorts of identified individuals [2]. However, in this study the observed data consisted of a time-series of population vectors where individuals are not distinguished. The relationship between the observed data and the values of the matrix parameters that produced the series involves an estimation process called inverse problem. Since all demographic analyses rely on how much the estimated parameters of the matrix are able to represent population dynamics, a Genetic algorithm for inverse parameter estimation was used in order to find a better model fit for the observed stage class distributions. These results were compared to those obtained by the quadratic programming method [3] used for determining the set of parameters that minimizes the residual between the collected data and the model output. REFERENCES: 1. Macfadyen, S., Banks, J.E., Stark, J.D., Davies, A.P., 2014. Using semifield studies to examine the effects of pesticides on mobile terrestrial invertebrates. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 59, 383-404. 2. Caswell, H., 2001. Matrix population models, second ed. Sinauer Associates Inc., Massachusetts. 3. Wood, S.N., 1994. Obtaining birth and mortality patterns from structured population trajectories. Ecol. Monogr. 64, 23-44

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development

Quality processes and transparency of information for a new market

Abstract: This article deals with the issue of quality in construction and its processes and transparency of information in Italy as determining factors in the design and manufacture of products in line with the needs and demands of the end customer, in accordance with resources, common interest and the environment. By analysing the relevant literature, the article describes the approach, methodology and tools typically used in manufacturing and production. Based on these ideas, which are strongly oriented to encompass the needs of this context, the paper attempts to assess similar actions that can be undertaken as part of the process of creation or alteration of a building product, considering its constraints and uniqueness. Some elements in particular are investigated in depth. The first is the consideration of the specifications of the "customer" and the stakeholders that revolve around the building product; many of the inefficiencies in the system come from processes that are complementary to the physical process of manufacturing the goods and are not directly related to the perception that the end user has of the product, also due to the context of demand, which in recent years has changed significantly. The second is the influence of the crisis, which has highlighted the need to investigate the reasons that have led to the failure to absorb the building product in recent years. The article analyses the characteristics of the stock of unsold assets, identifying the reasons for this, and proposes an approach where centrality is represented by the needs of the application, the quality of the processes that characterise building production and their mapping. The final objective of this work is to provide useful insights into the housing market in different contexts, identifying tools and referring to some international experiences, in order to manage the quantities produced in relation to what the market can actually absorb

Perspective Chapter: Minimizing Risk in Real Estate Development: An Industrial Approach

Urban regeneration projects in many European countries involve private entrepreneurs who specialize in real estate development. Compared to the past, the demand for real estate products has assumed a level of specialization that cannot be separated from careful market analysis but above all from the observation of emerging economic and social trends and processes similar to the industrial world. It is not possible to design an urban redevelopment intervention, without considering key factors such as demographic trends, consumption behavior and orientation, well-being and health, infrastructures, urban density. The chapter charts a course that aims to minimize risks for real estate development and urban regeneration interventions, emphasizing a holistic approach and industrial processes

A new frontier in construction investments: Data Centres and technical factors affecting risk profile

The interest of Construction investors towards Data Centres is a novelty that however is not supported by an adequate level of knowledge of the technical characteristics that distinguish this particular building type. In fact, these are complex buildings, which are rarely dealt with in the literature (real estate and construction) and very different from the typical asset class of the real estate market, for which it requires a very high level of specialization. From an investor's point of view, although there are some reference standards that define some minimum quality standards, we need to widen our attention, focusing on all the technical / technological factors that influence the business model. The paper deals with this problem, trying to identify the different elements that influence the risk profile of the investment (thus omitting risk factors of another kind) and structuring them in clusters. Specifically, the paper focuses on the cost factors (passive cycle of the business model) that accompany the investment or the real estate asset “data centres” in its life cycle