A commentary on standardization in the Semantic Web, Common Logic and MultiAgent Systems

Given the ubiquity of the Web, the Semantic Web (SW) offers MultiAgent Systems (MAS) a most wide-ranging platform by which they could intercommunicate. It can be argued however that MAS require levels of logic that the current Semantic Web has yet to provide. As ISO Common Logic (CL) ISO/IEC IS 24707:2007 provides a firstorder logic capability for MAS in an interoperable way, it seems natural to investigate how CL may itself integrate with the SW thus providing a more expressive means by which MAS can interoperate effectively across the SW. A commentary is accordingly presented on how this may be achieved. Whilst it notes that certain limitations remain to be addressed, the commentary proposes that standardising the SW with CL provides the vehicle by which MAS can achieve their potential.</p

Safety of short-term dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stents:An updated meta-analysis with direct and adjusted indirect comparison of randomized control trials

Background: Duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following drug-eluting stents (DES) remains controversial and is a topic of ongoing research. Methods: Direct and adjusted indirect comparisons of all the recent randomized control trials (RCTs) were performed to evaluate the safety of short-term versus long-term DAPT following DES. Results: 8 RCTs were identified and 7 (16,318 subjects) were included. 4 groups of 3 vs 12 months, 6 vs 12 months, 6 vs 24 months and 12 vs 24 months of DAPT were used for direct comparison. There was no significant difference in stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and revascularization, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality between the different durations in all 4 groups. Pooling trials of 3–6 months of DAPT against 12 months, we found a significant reduction in the risk of total bleeding (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43–0.87). Adjusted indirect comparison between 3 vs 6 months, 3 vs 24 months and 6 vs 24 month duration of DAPT showed no significant differences in risk of death or MI, or revascularization between 3 or 6 months and 24 months. However, 24 months of DAPT was associated with significantly more bleeding than 3 or 6 months. Conclusions: 3 to 6 months of DAPT following second generation DES and above is safe with no increased risk of thrombotic complications and mortality, and lower bleeding risk. However a tailored approach may be more appropriate for high-risk patients. Keywords: Percutaneous coronary intervention; Drug-eluting stent; Acute coronary syndrome; Dual antiplatelet treatment; Duration of therap

Toolkits, cards and games–a review of analogue tools for collaborative ideation

Analogue tools offer distinct benefits for collaborative design ideation and can take a variety of tailored forms including card decks, templates, toys and board games. However, owing to the disparate and multidisciplinary sources of these tools, there is currently no easy way to gain a coherent view of the tool landscape. To resolve this, we conducted a survey of analogue ideation tools within the design and HCI literatures, and within commercial practice. Of 3,395 results, 76 met the inclusion criteria. The resulting collection is presented and classified according to 10 descriptors including a novel taxonomy for distinguishing 7 tool types (methods, prompts, components, concepts, stories, embodiment, and construction). We also discuss gaps and opportunities for future tool development in inclusivity, cultural-tailoring and embodiment. Our aim is to help designers and design teams more fluently select, customize, critique, analyse and/or build tools to support collaborative designerly inquiry

Distributed Interactive Audio Devices: Creative strategies and audience responses to novel musical interaction scenarios

With the rise of ubiquitous computing, comes new possibilities for experiencing audio, visual and tactile media in distributed and situated forms, disrupting modes of media experience that have been relatively stable for decades. We present the Distributed Interactive Audio Devices (DIADs) project, a set of experimental interventions to explore future ubiquitous computing design spaces in which electronic sound is presented as distributed, interactive and portable. The DIAD system is intended for creative sound and music performance and interaction, yet it does not conform to traditional concepts of musical performance, suggesting instead a fusion of music performance and other forms of collaborative digital interaction. We describe the thinking behind the project, the state of the DIAD system’s technical development, and our experiences working with userinteraction in lab-based and public performance scenarios

Smoothness-constrained time-lapse inversion of data from 3D resistivity surveys

Three-dimensional resistivity surveys and their associated inversion models are required to accurately resolve structures exhibiting very complex geology. In the same light, 3D resistivity surveys collected at multiple times are required to resolve temporally varying conditions. In this work we present 3D data sets, both synthetic and real, collected at different times. The large spatio-temporal data sets are then inverted simultaneously using a least-squares methodology that incorporates roughness filters in both the space and time domains. The spatial roughness filter constrains the model resistivity to vary smoothly in the x-, y- and z-directions. A temporal roughness filter is also applied that minimizes changes in the resistivity between successive temporal inversion models and the L-curve method is used to determine the optimum weights for both spatial and temporal roughness filters. We show that the use of the temporal roughness filter can accurately resolve changes in the resistivity even in the presence of noise. The L1- and L2-norm constraints for the temporal roughness filter are first examined using a synthetic model. The synthetic data test shows that the L1-norm temporal constraint produces significantly more accurate results when the resistivity changes abruptly with time. The model obtained with the L1-norm temporal constraint is also less sensitive to random noise compared with independent inversions (i.e., without any temporal constraint) and the L2-norm temporal constraint. Anomalies that are common in models using independent inversions and the L2-norm and L1-norm temporal constraints are likely to be real. In contrast, anomalies present in a model using independent inversions but that are significantly reduced with the L2-norm and L1-norm constraints are likely artefacts. For field data sets, the method successfully recovered temporal changes in the subsurface resistivity from a landfill monitoring survey due to rainwater infiltration, as well as from an experiment to map the migration of sodium cyanide solution from an injection well using surface and borehole electrodes in an area with significant topography

Bariatric surgery and its impact on cardiovascular disease and mortality : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPostprin

Transfer of K-types on local theta lifts of characters and unitary lowest weight modules

In this paper we study representations of the indefinite orthogonal group O(n,m) which are local theta lifts of one dimensional characters or unitary lowest weight modules of the double covers of the symplectic groups. We apply the transfer of K-types on these representations of O(n,m), and we study their effects on the dual pair correspondences. These results provide examples that the theta lifting is compatible with the transfer of K-types. Finally we will use these results to study subquotients of some cohomologically induced modules

Ultrafast phase-change logic device driven by melting processes.

The ultrahigh demand for faster computers is currently tackled by traditional methods such as size scaling (for increasing the number of devices), but this is rapidly becoming almost impossible, due to physical and lithographic limitations. To boost the speed of computers without increasing the number of logic devices, one of the most feasible solutions is to increase the number of operations performed by a device, which is largely impossible to achieve using current silicon-based logic devices. Multiple operations in phase-change-based logic devices have been achieved using crystallization; however, they can achieve mostly speeds of several hundreds of nanoseconds. A difficulty also arises from the trade-off between the speed of crystallization and long-term stability of the amorphous phase. We here instead control the process of melting through premelting disordering effects, while maintaining the superior advantage of phase-change-based logic devices over silicon-based logic devices. A melting speed of just 900 ps was achieved to perform multiple Boolean algebraic operations (e.g., NOR and NOT). Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations and in situ electrical characterization revealed the origin (i.e., bond buckling of atoms) and kinetics (e.g., discontinuouslike behavior) of melting through premelting disordering, which were key to increasing the melting speeds. By a subtle investigation of the well-characterized phase-transition behavior, this simple method provides an elegant solution to boost significantly the speed of phase-change-based in-memory logic devices, thus paving the way for achieving computers that can perform computations approaching terahertz processing rates.This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final version is published by PNAS here: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/08/27/1407633111.full.pdf+html?with-ds=yes