spatio temporal contextualization of queries for microtexts in social media mathematical modeling

Abstract In this paper, we present our ongoing project on query contextualization by integrating all possible IoT-based data sources. Most importantly, mobile users are regarded as the IoT sensors which can be the textual data sources with spatio-temporal contexts. Given a large amount of text streams, it has been difficult for the traditional information retrieval systems to conduct the searching tasks. The goal of this work is i ) to understand and process microtexts in social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook), and ii ) to reformulate the queries for searching for relevant microtexts in these social media

Genomic Insights Into the Acid Adaptation of Novel Methanotrophs Enriched From Acidic Forest Soils

Soil acidification is accelerated by anthropogenic and agricultural activities, which could significantly affect global methane cycles. However, detailed knowledge of the genomic properties of methanotrophs adapted to acidic soils remains scarce. Using metagenomic approaches, we analyzed methane-utilizing communities enriched from acidic forest soils with pH 3 and 4, and recovered near-complete genomes of proteobacterial methanotrophs. Novel methanotroph genomes designated KS32 and KS41, belonging to two representative clades of methanotrophs (Methylocystis of Alphaproteobacteria and Methylobacter of Gammaproteobacteria), were dominant. Comparative genomic analysis revealed diverse systems of membrane transporters for ensuring pH homeostasis and defense against toxic chemicals. Various potassium transporter systems, sodium/proton antiporters, and two copies of proton-translocating F1F0-type ATP synthase genes were identified, which might participate in the key pH homeostasis mechanisms in KS32. In addition, the V-type ATP synthase and urea assimilation genes might be used for pH homeostasis in KS41. Genes involved in the modification of membranes by incorporation of cyclopropane fatty acids and hopanoid lipids might be used for reducing proton influx into cells. The two methanotroph genomes possess genes for elaborate heavy metal efflux pumping systems, possibly owing to increased heavy metal toxicity in acidic conditions. Phylogenies of key genes involved in acid adaptation, methane oxidation, and antiviral defense in KS41 were incongruent with that of 16S rRNA. Thus, the detailed analysis of the genome sequences provides new insights into the ecology of methanotrophs responding to soil acidification

Flood fragility analysis for bridges with multiple failure modes

Bridges are one of the most important infrastructure systems that provide public and economic bases for humankind. It is also widely known that bridges are exposed to a variety of flood-related risk factors such as bridge scour, structural deterioration, and debris accumulation, which can cause structural damage and even failure of bridges through a variety of failure modes. However, flood fragility has not received as much attention as seismic fragility despite the significant amount of damage and costs resulting from flood hazards. There have been few research efforts to estimate the flood fragility of bridges considering various flood-related factors and the corresponding failure modes. Therefore, this study proposes a new approach for bridge flood fragility analysis. To obtain accurate flood fragility estimates, reliability analysis is performed in conjunction with finite element analysis, which can sophisticatedly simulate the structural response of a bridge under a flood by accounting for flood-related risk factors. The proposed approach is applied to a numerical example of an actual bridge in Korea. Flood fragility curves accounting for multiple failure modes, including lack of pier ductility or pile ductility, pier rebar rupture, pile rupture, and deck loss, are derived and presented in this study.ope

Expression of the RERG Gene is Gender-Dependent in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Regulated by Histone Deacetyltransferases

Ras-related, estrogen-regulated, and growth-inhibitory gene (RERG) is a novel gene that was first reported in breast cancer. However, the functions of RERG are largely unknown in other tumor types. In this study, RERG expression was analyzed in hepatocellular carcinomas of human patients using reverse transcriptase PCR analysis. In addition, the possible regulation of RERG expression by histone deacetyltransferases (HDACs) was studied in several cell lines. Interestingly, the expression of RERG gene was increased in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of male patients (57.9%) but decreased in HCC of females (87.5%) comparison with paired peri-tumoral tissues. Moreover, RERG gene expression was increased in murine hepatoma Hepa1-6 cells, human breast tumor MDA-MB-231 cells, and mouse normal fibroblast NIH3T3 cells after treated by HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A. Our results suggest that RERG may function in a gender-dependent manner in hepatic tumorigenesis and that the expression of this gene may be regulated by an HDAC-related signaling pathway