A Novel Approach to Multimedia Ontology Engineering for Automated Reasoning over Audiovisual LOD Datasets

Multimedia reasoning, which is suitable for, among others, multimedia content analysis and high-level video scene interpretation, relies on the formal and comprehensive conceptualization of the represented knowledge domain. However, most multimedia ontologies are not exhaustive in terms of role definitions, and do not incorporate complex role inclusions and role interdependencies. In fact, most multimedia ontologies do not have a role box at all, and implement only a basic subset of the available logical constructors. Consequently, their application in multimedia reasoning is limited. To address the above issues, VidOnt, the very first multimedia ontology with SROIQ(D) expressivity and a DL-safe ruleset has been introduced for next-generation multimedia reasoning. In contrast to the common practice, the formal grounding has been set in one of the most expressive description logics, and the ontology validated with industry-leading reasoners, namely HermiT and FaCT++. This paper also presents best practices for developing multimedia ontologies, based on my ontology engineering approach

Designing novel applications for emerging multimedia technology

Current R&D in media technologies such as Multimedia, Semantic Web and Sensor Web technologies are advancing in a fierce rate and will sure to become part of our important regular items in a 'conventional' technology inventory in near future. While the R&D nature of these technologies means their accuracy, reliability and robustness are not sufficient enough to be used in real world yet, we want to envision now the near-future where these technologies will have matured and used in real applications in order to explore and start shaping many possible new ways these novel technologies could be utilised. In this talk, some of this effort in designing novel applications that incorporate various media technologies as their backend will be presented. Examples include novel scenarios of LifeLogging application that incorporate automatic structuring of millions of photos passively captured from a SenseCam (wearable digital camera that automatically takes photos triggered by environmental sensors) and an interactive TV application incorporating a number of multimedia tools yet extremely simple and easy to use with a remote control in a lean-back position. The talk will conclude with remarks on how the design of novel applications that have no precedence or existing user base should require somewhat different approach from those suggested and practiced in conventional usability engineering methodology

Experimental implementation of a biometric laser synaptic sensor

We fabricate a biometric laser fiber synaptic sensor to transmit information from one neuron cell to the other by an optical way. The optical synapse is constructed on the base of an erbium-doped fiber laser, whose pumped diode current is driven by a pre-synaptic FitzHugh–Nagumo electronic neuron, and the laser output controls a post-synaptic FitzHugh–Nagumo electronic neuron. The implemented laser synapse displays very rich dynamics, including fixed points, periodic orbits with different frequency-locking ratios and chaos. These regimes can be beneficial for efficient biorobotics, where behavioral flexibility subserved by synaptic connectivity is a challenge

Comparing ecosystem and soil respiration : Review and key challenges of tower-based and soil measurements

The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) is the difference between ecosystem CO2 assimilation and CO2 losses to the atmosphere. Ecosystem respiration (R-eco), the efflux of CO2 from the ecosystem to the atmosphere, includes the soil-to-atmosphere carbon flux (i.e., soil respiration; R-soil) and aboveground plant respiration. Therefore, R-soil is a fraction of R-eco and theoretically has to be smaller than R-eco at daily, seasonal, and annual scales. However, several studies estimating R-eco with the eddy covariance technique and measuring R-soll within the footprint of the tower have reported higher R-soil than R-eco, at different time scales. Here, we compare four different and contrasting ecosystems (from forest to grasslands, and from boreal to semiarid) to test if measurements of R-eco are consistently higher than R-soil. In general, both fluxes showed similar temporal patterns, but R-eco, was not consistently higher than R-soil from daily to annual scales across sites. We identified several issues that apply for measuring NEE and measuring/upscaling R-soil that could result in an underestimation of R-eco and/or an overestimation of R-soil. These issues are discussed based on (a) nighttime measurements of NEE, (b) R-soil measurements, and (c) the interpretation of the functional relationships of these fluxes with temperature (i.e., Q(10)). We highlight that there is still a need for better integration of R-soil with eddy covariance measurements to address challenges related to the spatial and temporal variability of R-eco, and R-soil.Peer reviewe

Patients with aortic stenosis referred for TAVI: treatment decision, in-hospital outcome and determinants of survival

Aims To assess treatment decision and outcome in patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in addition to predictive factors of mortality after TAVI. Methods Three-centre prospective observational study including 358 patients. Endpoints were defined according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium. Results Of the 358 patients referred for TAVI, TAVI was performed in 235 patients (65%), surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) in 24 (7%) and medical therapy (MT) in 99 (28%). Reasons to decline TAVI in favour of AVR/MT were patient preference (29%), peripheral vascular disease (15%) and non-severe aortic stenosis (11%). The logistic EuroSCORE was significantly higher in patients who underwent TAVI and MT in comparison with those undergoing AVR (19 vs. 10%, p=0.007). At 30 days, all-cause mortality and the combined safety endpoint were 9 and 24% after TAVI and 8 and 25% after AVR, respectively. All-cause mortality was significantly lower in the TAVI group compared with the MT group at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years (12% vs. 22%, 21% vs. 33% and 31% vs. 55%, respectively, p<0.001). Multivariable analysis revealed that blood transfusion (HR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.05-1.33), pre-existing renal failure (HR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.06-1.33) and STS score (HR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) were independent predictors of mortality at a median of 10 (IQR: 3-23) months after TAVI. Conclusions Approximately two-thirds of the patients referred for TAVI receive this treatment with gratifying short- and long-term survival. Another 7% underwent AVR. Prognosis is poor in patients who do not receive valve replacement therapy

<i>Spitzer</i> microlens measurement of a massive remnant in a well-separated binary

We report the detection and mass measurement of a binary lens OGLE-2015-BLG-1285La,b, with the more massive component having M1 > 1.35 M⊙ (80% probability). A main-sequence star in this mass range is ruled out by limits on blue light, meaning that a primary in this mass range must be a neutron star (NS) or black hole (BH). The system has a projected separation r⊥ = 6.1 ± 0.4 AU and lies in the Galactic bulge. These measurements are based on the "microlens parallax" effect, i.e., comparing the microlensing light curve as seen from Spitzer, which lay at 1.25 AU projected from Earth, to the light curves from four ground-based surveys, three in the optical and one in the near-infrared. Future adaptive optics imaging of the companion by 30 m class telescopes will yield a much more accurate measurement of the primary mass. This discovery both opens the path and defines the challenges to detecting and characterizing BHs and NSs in wide binaries, with either dark or luminous companions. In particular, we discuss lessons that can be applied to future Spitzer and Kepler K2 microlensing parallax observations

Ventilación líquida. Metaanálisis y revisión sistemática de la literatura

Introducción: En 1990 con base en las propiedades de los pfc (perfluorocarbonos) se realizó el primer ensayo clínico de ventilación líquida en humanos, en seis recién nacidos prematuros con insuficiencia respiratoria grave observándose mejoría significativa en la oxigenación y en la distensibilidad pulmonar. ¿Qué son los pfc? Producidas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, son sustancias químicas cuyas propiedades dependen de la unión de los átomos de Fluor-Carbono. Su utilidad para la ventilación mecánica depende de su capacidad de disolver 20 veces más O2 y 3 veces más CO2, que el plasma, evaporándose más rápidamente que el agua a temperatura corporal. Los pfc han sido aprobados para aplicaciones biomédicas como transportadores de oxigeno aplicados intravenosos en situaciones de desastres o en individuos que rechazan ser transfundidos, sin embargo, el interés se ha despertado para su uso en la ventilación mecánica y en el síndrome de insuficiencia respiratoria aguda (sira). Por ello, el objetivo de este metaanálisis y revisión sistemática es la valoración de su uso, en especial de la década de los 90 hasta 2020. Analizando lo que dice la literatura y cómo ha funcionado en pacientes con Covid-19 y sira que ameritaron internamiento en unidades de cuidados intensivos. Material y métodos: Se buscaron revisiones sistemáticas, metaanálisis y ensayos clínicos de las revistas The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet , Science, Journal of Apply Physiology, Crit Care Med, Chest, Lung, Journal of Pediatrics, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Medicina Intensiva, Revista de la Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM, utilizando las bases de datos de Pubmed, medline, y www.mdconsult.com. Se buscó que los artículos estuvieran enfocados en los resultados del uso de la Ventilación Líquida, tanto en recién nacidos, prematuros, en lactantes y en adultos. El estudio se llevó a cabo de agosto de 2021 a febrero de 2022 y se realizó en el Departamento de Neumología de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Resultados y Discusión: Para el año 2000 existían 1104 publicaciones sobre ventilación líquida, y 564 de ellas eran ensayos clínicos en humanos (medline), que demostraban que la Ventilación Líquida Parcial resulta más ventajosa en neonatos. En adultos sólo ha habido pocos resultados buenos con la Ventilación Líquida Total que mantiene recirculando los pfc dentro de un sistema cerrado. En las revisiones de la Fundación Cochrane se ha demostrado en dos revisiones sistemáticas y en dos metaanálisis que no hay pruebas de efectos beneficiosos de la ventilación líquida parcial en adultos con lesión pulmonar aguda. Sin embargo, surge la pregunta del uso de los pfc asociados al surfactante artificial y de mayor número de estudios con grandes grupos comparativos. La pandemia ocasionada por el Covid-19 ha generalizado el uso de la ventilación mecánica en las unidades de cuidados intensivos. Conclusiones: La ventilación líquida con pfc es una realidad y constituye una nueva alternativa terapéutica para el manejo de los enfermos con síndrome de insuficiencia respiratoria aguda. Su uso con la ventilación líquida parcial no ha demostrado la utilidad esperada en adultos, que seguramente requerirán de la ventilación líquida total. En los neonatos con la ventilación líquida parcial existe ya suficiente evidencia para tenerla como una alternativa en los prematuros y el uso combinado con la administración de surfactante no se debe pasar por alto en los Hospitales de Perinatología a nivel mundial

High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing - VI. WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013/) under grant agreement nos. 229517 and 268421. This publication was supported by grants NPRP 09-476-1-078 and NPRP X-019-1-006 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). TCH acknowledges financial support from the Korea Research Council for Fundamental Science and Technology (KRCF) through the Young Research Scientist Fellowship Programme and is supported by the KASI (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) grant 2012-1-410-02/2013-9-400-00. SG, XW and XF acknowledge the support from NSFC under the grant no. 10873031. The research is supported by the ASTERISK project (ASTERoseismic Investigations with SONG and Kepler) funded by the European Research Council (grant agreement no. 267864). DR, YD, AE, FF (ARC), OW (FNRS research fellow) and J Surdej acknowledge support from the Communauté française de Belgique – Actions de recherche concertées – Académie Wallonie-Europe.We present time series photometric observations of 13 transits in the planetary systems WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26. All three systems have orbital obliquity measurements, WASP-24 and WASP-26 have been observed with Spitzer, and WASP-25 was previously comparatively neglected. Our light curves were obtained using the telescope-defocussing method and have scatters of 0.5–1.2 mmag relative to their best-fitting geometric models. We use these data to measure the physical properties and orbital ephemerides of the systems to high precision, finding that our improved measurements are in good agreement with previous studies. High-resolution Lucky Imaging observations of all three targets show no evidence for faint stars close enough to contaminate our photometry. We confirm the eclipsing nature of the star closest to WASP-24 and present the detection of a detached eclipsing binary within 4.25 arcmin of WASP-26.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Imaging response assessment for CNS germ cell tumours: consensus recommendations from the European Society for Paediatric Oncology Brain Tumour Group and North American Children's Oncology Group

Homogeneous and common objective disease assessments and standardised response criteria are important for better international clinical trials for CNS germ cell tumours. Currently, European protocols differ from those of North America (the USA and Canada) in terms of criteria to assess radiological disease response. An international working group of the European Society for Paediatric Oncology Brain Tumour Group and North American Children's Oncology Group was therefore established to review existing literature and current practices, identify major challenges regarding imaging assessment, and develop consensus recommendations for imaging response assessment for patients with CNS germ cell tumours. New clinical imaging standards were defined for the most common sites of CNS germ cell tumour and for the definition of locoregional extension. These new standards will allow the evaluation of response to therapy in patients with CNS germ cell tumours to be more consistent, and facilitate direct comparison of treatment outcomes across international studies