Network control for a multi-user transputer-based system.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in EngineeringThe MC2/64 system is a configureable multi-user transputer- based system which was designed using a modular approach. The MC2/64 consists of MC2 Clusters which are connected using a modified Clos network. The MC2 Clusters were designed and realised as completely configurable modules using and extending an algorithm based on Eulerian cycles through a requested graph. This dissertation discusses the configuration algorithm and the extensions made to the algorithm for the MC2 Clusters. The total MC2/64 system is not completely configurable as a MC2 Cluster releases only a limited number of links for inter-cluster connections. This dissertation analyses the configurability of MC2/64, but also presents algorithms which enhance the usability of the system from the user's point of view. The design and the implementation of the network control software are also submitted as topics in this dissertation. The network control software must allow multiple users to use the system, but without them influencing each other's transputer domains. This dissertation therefore seeks to give an overview of network control problems and the solutions implemented in current MC2/64 systems. The results of the research done for this dissertation will hopefully aid in the design of future MC2 systems which will provide South Africa with much needed, low cost, high performance computing power.Andrew Chakane 201

Human alternatives to foetal bovine serum for the expansion of human adipose-derived stem cells

The use of human adipose derived stem/stromal cells (hASCs) in a therapeutic setting is has increased research in the field with various clinical trials currently being conducted (REF).However, the use of foetal bovine serum (FBS) as a standard hASC culture media supplement poses challenges towards a good manufacturing practices (GMP) compliant therapeutic hASC product. Human blood component alternatives to FBS for cell culture serum supplementation were investigated for compliance to good manufacturing practices (GMP) when considering hASCs for therapeutic use. A head-to-head comparison of five human alternatives to FBS for hASC culture medium supplementation was completed. hASCs were expanded in five human alternatives and FBS, and the morphology, proliferation, viability, and retention of adipogenic potential of ASCs were investigated and compared. All human alternatives resulted in faster proliferation compared to FBS. Pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) and platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) were identified as the best alternatives for hASC expansion in vitro as they resulted in faster hASC proliferation than human serum (HS), fresh-frozen plasma (FFP), platelet-poor plasma (PPP), and FBS. hASCs were able to differentiate into adipocytes in pHPL and PRP (the two human alternatives resulting in the fastest proliferation) and FBS. The study results lead to a conclusion that it is possible to use human alternatives to FBS for in vitro hASC expansion as the first step towards producing a GMP compliant hASC product for use in regenerative medicine and cellular therapy approaches.Dissertation (MSc (Medical Immunology))--University of Pretoria, 2021.NRFImmunologyMSc (Medical Immunology)Unrestricte

Towards citizen-expert knowledge exchange for biodiversity informatics: A conceptual architecture

This article proposes a conceptual architecture for citizen-expert knowledge exchange in biodiversity management. Expert services, such as taxonomic identification, are required in many biodiversity management activities, yet these services remain inaccessible to poor communities, such as small-scale farmers. The aim of this research was to combine ontology and crowdsourcing technologies to provide taxonomic services to such communities. The study used a design science research (DSR) approach to develop the conceptual architecture. The DSR approach generates knowledge through building and evaluation of novel artefacts. The research instantiated the architecture through the development of a platform for experts and farmers to share knowledge on fruit flies. The platform is intended to support rural fruit farmers in Kenya with control and management of fruit flies. Expert knowledge about fruit flies is captured in an ontology that is integrated into the platform. The non-expert citizen participation includes harnessing crowdsourcing technologies to assist with organism identification. An evaluation of the architecture was done through an experiment of fruit fly identification using the platform. The results showed that the crowds, supported by an ontology of expert knowledge, could identify most samples to species level and in some cases to sub-family level. The conceptual architecture may guide and enable creation of citizen-expert knowledge exchange applications, which may alleviate the taxonomic impediment, as well as allow poor citizens access to expert knowledge. Such a conceptual architecture may also enable the implementation of systems that allow non-experts to participate in sharing of knowledge, thus providing opportunity for the evolution of comprehensive biodiversity knowledge systems.CA2016www.wits.ac.za/linkcentre/aji

Eliciting and Representing High-Level Knowledge Requirements to Discover Ecological Knowledge in Flower-Visiting Data

Observations of individual organisms (data) can be combined with expert ecological knowledge of species, especially causal knowledge, to model and extract from flower–visiting data useful information about behavioral interactions between insect and plant organisms, such as nectar foraging and pollen transfer. We describe and evaluate a method to elicit and represent such expert causal knowledge of behavioral ecology, and discuss the potential for wider application of this method to the design of knowledge-based systems for knowledge discovery in biodiversity and ecosystem informatics

An analysis of fundamental concepts in the conceptual framework using ontology technologies

The interpretation of financial data obtained from the accounting process for reporting purposes is regulated by financial accounting standards (FAS). The history and mechanisms used for the development of ʻThe Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting’ (the Conceptual Framework) as well as the financial accounting standards resulted in impressive volumes of material that guides modern financial reporting practices, but unfortunately, as is often the case with textual manuscripts, it contains descriptions that are vague, inconsistent or ambiguous. As part of the on-going initiatives to improve International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) promotes the development of principle-based IFRS, which aim to address the problems of vagueness, inconsistency and ambiguity. This paper reports on the findings of a design science research (DSR) project that, as artefact, developed a first version ontology-based formal language representing the definitions of asset, liability and equity (the fundamental elements of the statement of financial position as defined in the Conceptual Framework) through the application of knowledge representation (ontology) techniques as used within computing. We suggest that this artefact may assist with addressing vagueness, inconsistencies and ambiguities within the definitions of the Conceptual Framework. Based on our findings, we include suggestions for the further development of a formal language and approach to assist the formulation of the Conceptual Framework. The project focuses on the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting after the incorporation of Phase A in the convergence project between the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and IASB.http://www.sajems.org/am201

Informative Armstrong RDF datasets for n-Ary relations

The W3C standardized Semantic Web languages enable users to capture data without a schema in a manner which is intuitive to them. The challenge is that, for the data to be useful, it should be possible to query the data and to query it efficiently, which necessitates a schema. Understanding the structure of data is thus important to both users and storage implementers: The structure of the data gives insight to users in how to query the data while storage implementers can use the structure to optimize queries. In this paper we propose that data mining routines be used to infer candidate n-ary relations with related uniqueness- and null-free constraints, which can be used to construct an informative Armstrong RDF dataset. The benefit of an informative Armstrong RDF dataset is that it provides example data based on the original data which is a fraction of the size of the original data, while capturing the constraints of the original data faithfully. A case study on a DBPedia person dataset showed that the associated informative Armstrong RDF dataset contained 0.00003% of the statements of the original DBPedia dataset.https://www.iospress.nl/bookserie/frontiers-in-artificial-intelligence-and-applicationsam2019Informatic

Mapping a design science research cycle to the postgraduate research report

Design science research (DSR) is well-known in different domains, including information systems (IS), for the construction of artefacts. One of the most challenging aspects of IS postgraduate studies (with DSR) is determining the structure of the study and its report, which should reflect all the components necessary to build a convincing argument in support of such a study’s claims or assertions. Analysing several postgraduate IS-DSR reports as examples, this paper presents a mapping between recommendable structures for research reports and the DSR process model of Vaishnavi and Kuechler, which several of our current postgraduate students have found helpful.http://www.springer.com/series/78992018-11-18hj2018Informatic

Ontology-driven taxonomic work ows for Afrotropical Bees

This poster presents the results of an investigation into the use of ontology technologies to support taxonomy functions. Taxonomy is the science of naming and grouping biological organisms into a hierarchy. A core function of biological taxonomy is the classi cation and revised classi cation of biological organisms into an agreed upon taxonomic structure based on sets of shared characteristics. Recent developments in knowledge representation within Computer Science include the establishment of computational ontologies. Such ontologies are particularly well suited to support classi cation functions such as those used in biological taxonomy. Using a speci c genus of Afrotropical bees, this research project captured and represented the taxonomic knowledge base into an OWL2 ontology. In addition, the project used and extended available reasoning algorithms over the ontology to draw inferences that support the necessary taxonomy functions, and developed an application, the web ontology classi er (WOC). The WOC uses the Afrotropical bee ontology and demonstrates the taxonomic functions namely: identi cation (keys) as well as the description and comparison of taxa (taxonomic revision)

Towards citizen-expert knowledge exchange for biodiversity informatics : a conceptual architecture

This article proposes a conceptual architecture for citizen-expert knowledge exchange in biodiversity management. Expert services, such as taxonomic identification, are required in many biodiversity management activities, yet these services remain inaccessible to poor communities, such as small-scale farmers. The aim of this research was to combine ontology and crowdsourcing technologies to provide taxonomic services to such communities. The study used a design science research (DSR) approach to develop the conceptual architecture. The DSR approach generates knowledge through building and evaluation of novel artefacts. The research instantiated the architecture through the development of a platform for experts and farmers to share knowledge on fruit flies. The platform is intended to support rural fruit farmers in Kenya with control and management of fruit flies. Expert knowledge about fruit flies is captured in an ontology that is integrated into the platform. The non-expert citizen participation includes harnessing crowdsourcing technologies to assist with organism identification. An evaluation of the architecture was done through an experiment of fruit fly identification using the platform. The results showed that the crowds, supported by an ontology of expert knowledge, could identify most samples to species level and in some cases to sub-family level. The conceptual architecture may guide and enable creation of citizen-expert knowledge exchange applications, which may alleviate the taxonomic impediment, as well as allow poor citizens access to expert knowledge. Such a conceptual architecture may also enable the implementation of systems that allow non-experts to participate in sharing of knowledge, thus providing opportunity for the evolution of comprehensive biodiversity knowledge systems.https://www.wits.ac.za/linkcentre/ajicam2017Informatic