News recommendations using CF-IDF

Most of the traditional recommendation algorithms are based on TF-IDF, a term-based weighting method. This paper proposes a new method for recommending news items based on the weighting of the occurrences of references to concepts, which we call Concept Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (CFIDF). In an experimental setup we apply CF-IDF to a set of newswires in which we detect 1; 167 instances of a set of 65 concepts from a domain ontology. The proposed method yields significantly better results with respect to accuracy, recall, and F1 than the TF-IDF method we use as a basis for comparison

A Temporal Web Ontology Language

The Web Ontology Language (OWL) is the most expressive standard language for modeling ontologies on the Semantic Web. In this paper, we present a temporal extension of the very expressive fragment SHIN(D) of the OWL-DL language resulting in the tOWL language. Through a layered approach we introduce 3 extensions: i) Concrete Domains, that allows the representation of restrictions using concrete domain binary predicates, ii) Temporal Representation, that introduces timepoints, relations between timepoints, intervals, and Allen’s 13 interval relations into the language, and iii) TimeSlices/Fluents, that implements a perdurantist view on individuals and allows for the representation of complex temporal aspects, such as process state transitions. We illustrate the expressiveness of the newly introduced language by providing a TBox representation of Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) processes in financial applications and an ABox representation of one specific LBO

Prediction of the MSCI EURO index based on fuzzy grammar fragments extracted from European central bank statements

We focus on predicting the movement of the MSCI EURO index based on European Central Bank (ECB) statements. For this purpose we learn and extract fuzzy grammars from the text of the ECB statements. Based on a set of selected General Inquirer (GI) categories, the extracted fuzzy grammars are grouped around individual content categories. The frequency at which these fuzzy grammars are encountered in the text constitute input to a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS). The FIS maps these frequencies to the levels of the MSCI EURO index. Ultimately, the goal is to predict whether the MSCI EURO index will exhibit upward or downward movement based on the content of ECB statements, as quantified through the use of fuzzy grammars and GI content categories

Financial news analysis using a semantic web approach

In this paper we present StockWatcher, an OWL-based web application that enables the extraction of relevant news items from RSS feeds concerning the NASDAQ-100 listed companies. The application's goal is to present a customized, aggregated view of the news categorized by different topics. We distinguish between four relevant news categories: i) news regarding the company itself, ii) news regarding direct competitors of the company, iii) news regarding important people of the company, and iv) news regarding the industry in which the company is active. At the same time, the system presented in this chapter is able to rate these news items based on their relevance. We identify three possible effects that a news message can have on the company, and thus on the stock price of that company: i) positive, ii) negative, and iii) neutral. Currently, StockWatcher provides support for the NASDAQ-100 companies. The selection of the relevant news items is based on a customizable user portfolio that may consist of one or more of these companies

Computational content analysis of European Central Bank statements

In this paper we present a framework for the computational content analysis of European Central Bank (ECB) statements. Based on this framework, we provide two approaches that can be used in a practical context. Both approaches use the content of ECB statements to predict upward and downward movement in the MSCI EURO index. General Inquirer (GI) is used for the quantification of the content of the statements. In the first approach, we rely on the frequency of adjectives in the text of the ECB statements in relation to the content categories they represent. The second approach uses fuzzy grammar fragments composed of economic terms and content categories. Our results indicate that the two proposed approaches perform better than a random classifier for predicting upward or downward movement of the MSCI EURO index

Microsatellite development for the genus Guibourtia (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) reveals diploid and polyploid species

Premise of the study: Nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) were designed for Guibourtia tessmannii (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae), a highly exploited African timber tree, to study population genetic structure and gene flow. Methods and Results: We developed 16 polymorphic nSSRs from a genomic library tested in three populations of G. tessmannii and two populations of G. coleosperma. These nSSRs display three to 14 alleles per locus (mean 8.94) in G. tessmannii. Cross-amplification tests in nine congeneric species demonstrated that the genus Guibourtia contains diploid and polyploid species. Flow cytometry results combined with nSSR profiles suggest that G. tessmannii is octoploid. Conclusions: nSSRs revealed that African Guibourtia species include both diploid and polyploid species. These markers will provide information on the mating system, patterns of gene flow, and genetic structure of African Guibourtia species

EffEcts of food PrEsErvativE NatamyciN oN LivEr ENzymEs aNd totaL ProtEiN iN Mus Musculus

abstract RasGele, P. G. and F. KaymaK, 2013. effects of food preservative natamycin on liver enzymes and total protein in mus musculus. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Natamycin is a food preservative of which is used to inhibit yeast and fungi growth on cheese and sausages. In the present study, effects of natamycin on the levels of liver enzymes and total protein were investigated in mice by using serum enzyme activity assay. Natamycin was intraperitoneally injected to female and male mice at 200, 400and 800 mg/kg for 6, 12 and 24 hours. Blood samples were taken for determination of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, total protein and all of samples were performed by using a spectrophometer. The present results revealed a significant increase in the levels of ALT of female and male mice treated with different concentrations of natamycin when compared with the negative control. Furthermore, natamycin induced a significant decrease in serum LDH and alP in female and male mice, respectively. In conclusion, natamycin may affect adversely and cause degenerative disorders in liver, and so it may alter levels of enzymes in liver being a vital organ

Semantic web-based knowledge acquisition using key events from news

Abstract Hermes is an ontology-based framework for building news personalization services, which focuses on news classification and knowledge base updating. The framework also allows for news querying and result presentation. In this paper, we focus on the techniques involved in keeping Hermes' internal knowledge base up-to-date. Essentially, our semi-automatic approach to knowledge acquisition from news is based on ontologies and lexico-semantic patterns

The European Union, borders and conflict transformation: the case of Cyprus

Much of the existing literature on the European Union (EU), conflict transformation and border dynamics has been premised on the assumption that the nature of the border determines EU intervention and the consequences that flow from this in terms of EU impact. The article aims to transcend this literature through assessing how domestic interpretations influence EU border transformation in conflict situations, taking Cyprus as a case study. Moreover, the objective is to fuse the literature on EU bordering impact and perceptions of the EU’s normative projection in conflict resolution. Pursuing this line of inquiry is an attempt to depart from the notion of borders being constructed solely by unidirectional EU logics of engagement or bordering practices to a conceptualization of the border as co-constituted space, where the interpretations of the EU’s normative projections by conflict parties, and the strategies that they pursue, can determine the relative openness of the EU border