4,376 research outputs found
Towards engineering ontologies for cognitive profiling of agents on the semantic web
Research shows that most agent-based collaborations
suffer from lack of flexibility. This is due to the fact that
most agent-based applications assume pre-defined
knowledge of agents’ capabilities and/or neglect basic
cognitive and interactional requirements in multi-agent
collaboration. The highlight of this paper is that it brings
cognitive models (inspired from cognitive sciences and HCI)
proposing architectural and knowledge-based requirements
for agents to structure ontological models for cognitive
profiling in order to increase cognitive awareness between
themselves, which in turn promotes flexibility, reusability
and predictability of agent behavior; thus contributing
towards minimizing cognitive overload incurred on humans.
The semantic web is used as an action mediating space,
where shared knowledge base in the form of ontological
models provides affordances for improving cognitive
awareness
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Overcoming restrictive technologies in police call centres: A human agency perspective
Call centres in the police force are restrictive information systems which tend to present call
operators with constraints that they need to overcome using their experience in order to offer
better services to the public. This paper is looking at how elements of human agency come in
to play and help users’ enactment against restrictive technologies. Information systems
research on human agency has been mainly focused on the examination of whether agency
lies within human or machines or both while in this paper we take a different approach and
we clearly describe how human agency is enacted in practice. We use empirical data from
contact centres and operational rooms of five UK police forces. After extensive observations
we present how police call handlers manipulate digital information efficiently through human
agency. The theoretical framework is based on the three elements of agency theory (iteration,
projectivity and practical evaluation) The research findings assert that call handlers
overcome the restrictions of the system by forming human-digital networks and using mental
structures from their past experience in order to cope with the task at hand. The paper
concludes by drawing implications for theory and practice and suggests future research
directions
A Multi-Channel Low-Power System-on-Chip for in vivo NeuralSpike Recording
This paper reports a multi-channel neural spike
recording system-on-chip (SoC) with digital data compression
and wireless telemetry. The circuit consists of a 64-channel
low-power low-noise analog front-end, a single 8-bit analog-todigital
converter (ADC), followed by digital signal compression
and transmission units. The 400-MHz transmitter employs a
Manchester-Coded Frequency Shift Keying (MC-FSK) modulator
with low modulation index. In this way a 1.25-Mbit/s data
rate is delivered within a band of about 3 MHz. Compression of
the raw data is implemented by detecting the action potentials
(APs) and storing 20 samples for each spike waveform. The choice
greatly improves data quality and allows single neuron identification.
A larger than 10-m transmission range is reached with
an overall power consumption of 17.2 mW. This figure translates
into a power budget of 269 ÎĽW per channel, which is in line
with the results in literature but allowing a larger transmission
distance and more efficient wireless link bandwidth occupation.
The implemented IC was mounted on a small and light printed
circuit board to be used during neuroscience experiments with
freely-behaving rats. Powered by 2 AAA batteries the system can
work continuously for more than 100 hours allowing long-lasting
neural spike recordings
Video-assisted two-stage basilic vein transposition for creation of brachio-basilic arteriovenous fistulae
We report our experience in a mixed minimally-in-
vasive technique for the two-stage transposition of basilic
vein on a small series of eight patients. The operative tech-
nique consisted of a modified endoscopic (1) approach
for the two-stage transposition (2). The intervention was
performed under Brachial Plexus Block (3)
Automated detection of lung nodules in low-dose computed tomography
A computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the identification of pulmonary
nodules in low-dose multi-detector computed-tomography (CT) images has been
developed in the framework of the MAGIC-5 Italian project. One of the main
goals of this project is to build a distributed database of lung CT scans in
order to enable automated image analysis through a data and cpu GRID
infrastructure. The basic modules of our lung-CAD system, consisting in a 3D
dot-enhancement filter for nodule detection and a neural classifier for
false-positive finding reduction, are described. The system was designed and
tested for both internal and sub-pleural nodules. The database used in this
study consists of 17 low-dose CT scans reconstructed with thin slice thickness
(~300 slices/scan). The preliminary results are shown in terms of the FROC
analysis reporting a good sensitivity (85% range) for both internal and
sub-pleural nodules at an acceptable level of false positive findings (1-9
FP/scan); the sensitivity value remains very high (75% range) even at 1-6
FP/scanComment: 4 pages, 2 figures: Proceedings of the Computer Assisted Radiology
and Surgery, 21th International Congress and Exhibition, Berlin, Volume 2,
Supplement 1, June 2007, pp 357-35
Un generatore di impulso ad alta tensione per l'eccitazione di trasduttori piezoelettrici: un metodo per studiare la propagazione delle onde elastiche su campioni di rocce
Il dispositivo qui presentato è stato realizzato per lo studio della propagazione di onde elastiche in campioni di roccia [Wood A. W. Et al. 1955]. Mediante tale tecnica si riescono a determinare alcune caratteristiche fisiche delle rocce. Si tratta di un generatore di impulsi ad alta tensione, necessario per l’eccitazione di trasduttori piezoelettrici. La durata dell’impulso generato è di 1 s, l’ampiezza dell’ordine del kVolt. Il metodo utilizzato per effettuare la misura consiste nell’eccitare il trasduttore in trasmissione con un singolo impulso e quindi misurarne il tempo di volo con il trasduttore di ricezione. Il lavoro, oltre alla descrizione dello strumento, mostra alcuni esperimenti condotti su campioni di alluminio e diversi tipi di roccia. Tali esperimenti si sono resi necessari sia per il collaudo dello strumento che per la messa a punto del metodo
Post-transcriptional regulatory patterns revealed by protein-RNA interactions
The coordination of the synthesis of functionally-related proteins can be achieved at the post-transcriptional level by the action of common regulatory molecules, such as RNA–binding proteins (RBPs). Despite advances in the genome-wide identification of RBPs and their binding transcripts, the protein–RNA interaction space is still largely unexplored, thus hindering a broader understanding of the extent of the post-transcriptional regulation of related coding RNAs. Here, we propose a computational approach that combines protein–mRNA interaction networks and statistical analyses to provide an inferred regulatory landscape for more than 800 human RBPs and identify the cellular processes that can be regulated at the post-transcriptional level. We show that 10% of the tested sets of functionally-related mRNAs can be post-transcriptionally regulated. Moreover, we propose a classification of (i) the RBPs and (ii) the functionally-related mRNAs, based on their distinct behaviors in the functional landscape, hinting towards mechanistic regulatory hypotheses. In addition, we demonstrate the usefulness of the inferred functional landscape to investigate the cellular role of both well-characterized and novel RBPs in the context of human diseases
Nitrogen Experiments on a Supersonic Linear Cascade For ORC Applications
A novel experiment has been conceived at Politecnico di Milano for the study of the flow within and downstream of supersonic cascades of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines. This paper documents the first phase of the research, focused on the preliminary tests and studies performed by operating the facility with nitrogen as working fluid, to demonstrate the technical relevance of the experiment and the validity of the measurement system in a simplified thermodynamic condition. The set of measured data includes, beside the inlet total thermodynamic state, eight static pressure values obtained via taps manufactured on the test section rear end-wall, both within the bladed and semi-bladed region of the cascade, as well as a total pressure probe to retrieve the cascade performance. A double-passage Schlieren equipment was also employed to visualize the density gradients. Experiments show an outstanding repeatability, indicate a quasi -steady cascade operation during the blow-down process for all the pressure signal considered, and demonstrate a remarkable periodicity among two consecutive channels also in off-design conditions. Experimental data were also compared with CFD simulations, resulting in an excellent agreement for the pressure data acquired both within and downstream of the cascade
Time Dynamics of the Down-Coupling Phenomenon in 3-D NAND Strings
We present a detailed analysis of the time
dynamics of the down-coupling phenomenon (DCP) in 3-D
NAND Flash memory strings. The transient time dynamics
of the channel potential following the wordline (WL) bias
transition fromthe pass voltage to zero is studied via numerical
simulation, highlighting the existence of three temporal
regimes controlledby different physical processes: electron
emission from traps, hole injection from the string edges
followed by capture, and propagation along the string. The
impact of these processes is separately studied, followed
by an analysis of the dependence of the DCP recovery time
on architectural parameters. Results highlight the relevant
physics and can be used as a design guideline for NAND
strings with reduced sensitivity to the DCP
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