160 research outputs found
Asynchronous Multi-Context Systems
In this work, we present asynchronous multi-context systems (aMCSs), which
provide a framework for loosely coupling different knowledge representation
formalisms that allows for online reasoning in a dynamic environment. Systems
of this kind may interact with the outside world via input and output streams
and may therefore react to a continuous flow of external information. In
contrast to recent proposals, contexts in an aMCS communicate with each other
in an asynchronous way which fits the needs of many application domains and is
beneficial for scalability. The federal semantics of aMCSs renders our
framework an integration approach rather than a knowledge representation
formalism itself. We illustrate the introduced concepts by means of an example
scenario dealing with rescue services. In addition, we compare aMCSs to
reactive multi-context systems and describe how to simulate the latter with our
novel approach.Comment: International Workshop on Reactive Concepts in Knowledge
Representation (ReactKnow 2014), co-located with the 21st European Conference
on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2014). Proceedings of the International
Workshop on Reactive Concepts in Knowledge Representation (ReactKnow 2014),
pages 31-37, technical report, ISSN 1430-3701, Leipzig University, 2014.
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-15056
Data quality assurance in monitoring of wastewater quality: Univariate on-line and off-line methods
Towards a lightweight mobile semantic-based approach for enhancing interaction with smart objects
This work describes a semantic extension for a user-smart object interaction model based on the ECA paradigm (Event-Condition-Action). In this approach, smart objects publish their sensing (event) and action capabilities in the cloud and mobile devices are prepared to retrieve them and act as mediators to configure personalized behaviours for the objects. In this paper, the information handled by this interaction system has been shaped according several semantic models that, together with the integration of an embedded ontological and rule-based reasoner, are exploited in order to (i) automatically detect incompatible ECA rules configurations and to (ii) support complex ECA rules definitions and execution. This semantic extension may significantly improve the management of smart spaces populated with numerous smart objects from mobile personal devices, as it facilitates the configuration of coherent ECA rules
A tuberculosis molecular bacterial load assay (TB-MBLA)
Funding: European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) – Pan African Biomarker Expansion program (PanBIOME) grant SP.2011.41304.008. Support was also obtained the University of St Andrews School of Medicine research grant.Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a pathogen classified by the United Nations (UN) as a dangerous category B biological substance. For the sake of the workers’ safety, handling of all samples presumed to carry Mtb must be conducted in a containment level (CL) 3 laboratory. The TB molecular bacterial load assay (TB-MBLA) test is a reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) test that quantifies Mtb bacillary load using primers and dual-labelled probes for 16S rRNA. We describe the use of heat inactivation to render TB samples noninfectious while preserving RNA for the TB-MBLA. A 1 mL aliquot of the sputum sample in tightly closed 15 mL centrifuge tubes is boiled for 20 min at either 80 °C, 85 °C, or 95 °C to inactivate Mtb bacilli. Cultivation of the heat inactivated and control (live) samples for 42 days confirmed the death of TB. The inactivated sample is then spiked with 100 µL of the extraction control and RNA is extracted following the standard RNA isolation procedure. No growth was observed in the cultures of heat treated samples. The isolated RNA is subjected to real-time RT-qPCR, which amplifies a specific target in the Mtb 16S rRNA gene, yielding results in the form of quantification cycles (Cq). A standard curve is used to translate Cq into bacterial load, or estimated colony forming units per mL (eCFU/mL). There is an inverse relationship between Cq and the bacterial load of a sample. The limitation is that heat inactivation lyses some cells, exposing the RNA to RNases that cause a loss of <1 log10eCFU/mL (i.e., <10 CFU/mL). Further studies will determine the proportion of very low burden patients that cause false negative results due to heat inactivation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
From ''Chastity as a gift'' to ''Doing it as a sign of love'': a longitudinal analysis of the discourses on female sexuality in popular magazines in Portugal
Female sexuality published in six types of magazines between 1965 and 2006 were content analyzed. The results showed
that Portuguese media’s discourse on sexuality is not only becoming more liberal but is also characterized by ambiguity
and contradiction. Within a “progressive” discursive framework for sexuality, tensions and double standards for women are
still noticeable. The media discourse in Portugal continues to reinforce the established gender hierarchy and inequality in
heterosexual relationships and maintain traditional gender roles
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Attribution-based motivation treatment efficacy in an online learning environment for students who differ in cognitive elaboration
Attribution-based motivation treatments can boost performance in competitive achievement settings (Perry and Hamm 2017), yet their efficacy relative to mediating processes and affect-based treatments remains largely unexamined. In a two-semester, pre-post, randomized treatment study (n = 806), attributional retraining (AR) and stress-reduction (SR) treatments were administered in an online learning environment to first-year college students who differed in cognitive elaboration (low, high). Low elaborators who received AR outperformed their SR peers by nearly a letter grade on a class test assessed 5 months post-treatment. Path analysis revealed this AR-performance linkage was mediated by causal attributions, perceived control, and positive and negative achievement emotions in a hypothesized causal sequence. Results advance the literature by showing AR (vs. SR) improved performance indirectly via cognitive and affective process variables specified by Weiner’s (1985a, 2012) attribution theory of motivation and emotion
Um pacto curricular: o pacto nacional pela alfabetização na idade certa e o desenho de uma base comum nacional
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