Open ebusiness ontology usage: investigating community implementation of goodrelations

The GoodRelations Ontology is experiencing the first stages of mainstream adoption, with its appeal to a range of enterprises as the eCommerce ontology of choice to promote its offerings and product catalogue. As adoption increases, so too does the need to critically review and analyze current implementation of the ontology to better assist future usage and uptake. To comprehensively understand the implementation approaches, usage patterns, instance data and model coverage, data was collected from 105 different web based sources that have published their business and product-related information using the GoodRelations Ontology. This paper analyses the ontology usage in terms of data instantiation, and conceptual coverage using a SPARQL queries to evaluate quality, usefulness and inference provisioning. Experimental results highlight that early publishers of structured eCommerce data benefit more due to structured data being more readily search engine indexable, but the lack of available product ontologies and product master datasheets is impeding the creation of a semantically interlinked eCommerce Web

The Experience of Discrimination in Ireland. Analysis of the QNHS Equality Module

This is the first report arising from the ‘Research Programme on Equality and Discrimination’ which is being carried out by The Economic and Social Research Institute on behalf of The Equality Authority. This study draws on the first national survey of experiences of discrimination carried out by the Central Statistics Office in 2004. The Central Statistics Office survey revealed significant levels of reported discrimination. Overall 12.5 per cent of the Irish population aged 18 years and over said that they had been discriminated against in the preceeding two years. This survey provided a valuable benchmark against which to assess progress in combating discrimination. It provided information that raised questions in relation to the adequacy of the current equality legislation and of the level of investment in the existing equality infrastructure to eliminate this reported discrimination. It is important, therefore, that this data be further examined to increase our understanding of this reported discrimination

On the Fence: The Impact of Education on Support for Electric Fencing to Prevent Conflict between Humans and Baboons in Kommetjie, South Africa

Few studies test whether education can help increase support for wildlife management interventions. This mixed methods study sought to test the importance of educating a community on the use of a baboon-proof electric fence to mitigate negative interactions between humans and Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in a residential suburb of the City of Cape Town, South Africa. An educational video on the welfare, conservation and lifestyle benefits of a baboon-proof electric fence was included in a short online survey. The positioning of the video within the survey was randomised either to fall before or after questions probing the level of support for an electric fence. The results showed that watching the video before most survey questions increased the average marginal probability of supporting an electric fence by 15 percentage points. The study also explored whether the educational video could change people’s minds. Those who saw the video towards the end of the survey were questioned again about the electric fence. Many changed their minds after watching the video, with support for the fence increasing from 36% to 50%. Of these respondents, the results show that being female raised the average marginal probability of someone changing their mind in favour of supporting the fence by 19%. Qualitative analysis revealed that support for or against the fence was multi-layered and that costs and concern for baboons were not the only relevant factors influencing people’s choices. Conservation often needs to change people’s behaviours. We need to know what interventions are effective. We show in the real world that an educational video can be effective and can moderately change people’s opinions and that women are more likely to change their position in light of the facts than men. This study contributes to the emerging literature on the importance of education in managing conservation conflicts and the need for evidence-based interventions

Challenges in imaging analyses of biomolecular condensates in cells infected with influenza A virus

Biomolecular condensates are crucial compartments within cells, relying on their material properties for function. They form and persist through weak, transient interactions, often undetectable by classical biochemical approaches. Hence, microscopy-based techniques have been the most reliable methods to detail the molecular mechanisms controlling their formation, material properties, and alterations, including dissolution or phase transitions due to cellular manipulation and disease, and to search for novel therapeutic strategies targeting biomolecular condensates. However, technical challenges in microscopy-based analysis persist. This paper discusses imaging, data acquisition, and analytical methodologies’ advantages, challenges, and limitations in determining biophysical parameters explaining biomolecular condensate formation, dissolution, and phase transitions. In addition, we mention how machine learning is increasingly important for efficient image analysis, teaching programs what a condensate should resemble, aiding in the correlation and interpretation of information from diverse data sources. Influenza A virus forms liquid viral inclusions in the infected cell cytosol that serve as model biomolecular condensates for this study. Our previous work showcased the possibility of hardening these liquid inclusions, potentially leading to novel antiviral strategies. This was established using a framework involving live cell imaging to measure dynamics, internal rearrangement capacity, coalescence, and relaxation time. Additionally, we integrated thermodynamic characteristics by analysing fixed images through Z-projections. The aforementioned paper laid the foundation for this subsequent technical paper, which explores how different modalities in data acquisition and processing impact the robustness of results to detect bona fide phase transitions by measuring thermodynamic traits in fixed cells. Using solely this approach would greatly simplify screening pipelines. For this, we tested how single focal plane images, Z-projections, or volumetric analyses of images stained with antibodies or live tagged proteins altered the quantification of thermodynamic measurements. Customizing methodologies for different biomolecular condensates through advanced bioimaging significantly contributes to biological research and potential therapeutic advancements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Leopard density and the ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing density in a mixed-use landscape in the Western Cape, South Africa

Large carnivores face numerous threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, direct killing, and prey depletion, leading to significant global range and population declines. Despite such threats, leopards (Panthera pardus) persist outside protected areas throughout most of their range, occupying diverse habitat types and land uses, including peri-urban and rural areas. Understanding of leopard population dynamics in mixed-use landscapes is limited, especially in South Africa, where the majority of leopard research has focused on protected areas. We use spatially explicit capture-recapture models to estimate leopard density across a mixed-use landscape of protected areas, farmland, and urban areas in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Data from 86 paired camera stations provided 221 independent captures of 25 leopards at 50 camera trap stations with a population density estimate of 0.64 leopards per 100 km2 (95% CI: 0.55–0.73). Elevation, terrain ruggedness, and vegetation productivity were important drivers of leopard density in the landscape, being highest on elevated remnants of natural land outside of protected areas. These results are similar to previous research findings in other parts of the Western Cape, where high-lying natural vegetation was shown to serve as both a refuge and a corridor for leopard movement in otherwise transformed landscapes. Given the low leopard density and the prevalence of transformed land intermixed with patches of more suitable leopard habitat, prioritising and preserving connectivity for leopards is vital in this shared landscape. Ecological corridors should be developed in partnership with private landowners through an inclusive and multifaceted conservation strategy which also incorporates monitoring of and rapid mitigation of emerging threats to leopards

Phylogenetic Evidence That Two Distinct Trichuris Genotypes Infect both Humans and Non-Human Primates

Although there has been extensive debate about whether Trichuris suis and Trichuris trichiura are separate species, only one species of the whipworm T. trichiura has been considered to infect humans and non-human primates. In order to investigate potential cross infection of Trichuris sp. between baboons and humans in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, we sequenced the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of adult Trichuris sp. worms isolated from five baboons from three different troops, namely the Cape Peninsula troop, Groot Olifantsbos troop and Da Gama Park troop. This region was also sequenced from T. trichiura isolated from a human patient from central Africa (Cameroon) for comparison. By combining this dataset with Genbank records for Trichuris isolated from other humans, non-human primates and pigs from several different countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, we confirmed the identification of two distinct Trichuris genotypes that infect primates. Trichuris sp. isolated from the Peninsula baboons fell into two distinct clades that were found to also infect human patients from Cameroon, Uganda and Jamaica (named the CP-GOB clade) and China, Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Uganda (named the DG clade), respectively. The divergence of these Trichuris clades is ancient and precedes the diversification of T. suis which clustered closely to the CP-GOB clade. The identification of two distinct Trichuris genotypes infecting both humans and non-human primates is important for the ongoing treatment of Trichuris which is estimated to infect 600 million people worldwide. Currently baboons in the Cape Peninsula, which visit urban areas, provide a constant risk of infection to local communities. A reduction in spatial overlap between humans and baboons is thus an important measure to reduce both cross-transmission and zoonoses of helminthes in Southern Africa

Summer at the beach: spatio-temporal patterns of white shark occurrence along the inshore areas of False Bay, South Africa

Background Understanding white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) habitat use in coastal areas adjacent to large cities, is an important step when formulating potential solutions to the conservation conflict that exists between humans and large predatory sharks. In this study, we present the findings of a 2.5-year study of white shark occurrence and movement patterns adjacent to the City of Cape Town in False Bay, South Africa, with a focus on spring and summer months. Fifty-one white sharks were monitored annually at three offshore and twelve inshore sites by VR2 acoustic receivers, over 975 days from 1 May 2005 to 31 December 2007. Results Occurrence patterns at inshore sites during spring and summer were analysed using a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with a spatial term (longitude, latitude), time of day and year included as explanatory variables for site use. We found that sharks occurred more frequently at inshore sites along the northern and northwestern shores, compared to the rest of the bay, and they transitioned most frequently between four adjacent beach sites that encompass the most popular recreational water use areas in Cape Town. There was significant diel variation, with higher shark occurrence around midday, and a peak in shark occurrence in 2005, when human-shark interactions also peaked. However, we found no effect of shark size on occurrence patterns at inshore sites. Conclusions White sharks showed the highest levels of occurrence at specific inshore sites between Muizenberg and Strandfontein beach, and thus inclusion of these sites within False Bay’s marine protected area (MPA) network or recognition as Ecological or Biological Significant Areas (EBSAs) should be a future consideration. These insights into white shark habitat use at inshore sites in False Bay are important for successfully applying the principles of marine spatial planning (MSP) and for making science-based policy decisions. Furthermore, this information can be used to reduce potential shark-human conflict by incorporating it into future shark safety education campaigns

Sociality does not drive the evolution of large brains in eusocial African mole-rats

The social brain hypothesis (SBH) posits that the demands imposed on individuals by living in cohesive social groups exert a selection pressure favouring the evolution of large brains and complex cognitive abilities. Using volumetry and the isotropic fractionator to determine the size of and numbers of neurons in specific brain regions, here we test this hypothesis in African mole-rats (Bathyergidae). These subterranean rodents exhibit a broad spectrum of social complexity, ranging from strictly solitary through to eusocial cooperative breeders, but feature similar ecologies and life history traits. We found no positive association between sociality and neuroanatomical correlates of information-processing capacity. Solitary species are larger, tend to have greater absolute brain size and have more neurons in the forebrain than social species. The neocortex ratio and neuronal counts correlate negatively with social group size. These results are clearly inconsistent with the SBH and show that the challenges coupled with sociality in this group of rodents do not require brain enlargement or fundamental reorganization. These findings suggest that group living or pair bonding per se does not select strongly for brain enlargement unless coupled with Machiavellian interactions affecting individual fitness.The Czech Science Foundation (14–2758 S, to P.N.), Grant Agency of Charles University (325515, to K.K.) and the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic (CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0022, to S.O.).http://www.nature.com/srepam2018Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

FKBPL-based peptide, ALM201, targets angiogenesis and cancer stem cells in ovarian cancer

Background ALM201 is a therapeutic peptide derived from FKBPL that has previously undergone preclinical and clinical development for oncology indications and has completed a Phase 1a clinical trial in ovarian cancer patients and other advanced solid tumours. Methods In vitro, cancer stem cell (CSC) assays in a range of HGSOC cell lines and patient samples, and in vivo tumour initiation, growth delay and limiting dilution assays, were utilised. Mechanisms were determined by using immunohistochemistry, ELISA, qRT-PCR, RNAseq and western blotting. Endogenous FKBPL protein levels were evaluated using tissue microarrays (TMA). Results ALM201 reduced CSCs in cell lines and primary samples by inducing differentiation. ALM201 treatment of highly vascularised Kuramochi xenografts resulted in tumour growth delay by disruption of angiogenesis and a ten-fold decrease in the CSC population. In contrast, ALM201 failed to elicit a strong antitumour response in non-vascularised OVCAR3 xenografts, due to high levels of IL-6 and vasculogenic mimicry. High endogenous tumour expression of FKBPL was associated with an increased progression-free interval, supporting the protective role of FKBPL in HGSOC. Conclusion FKBPL-based therapy can (i) dually target angiogenesis and CSCs, (ii) target the CD44/STAT3 pathway in tumours and (iii) is effective in highly vascularised HGSOC tumours with low levels of IL-6

How Attractive Is the Girl Next Door? An Assessment of Spatial Mate Acquisition and Paternity in the Solitary Cape Dune Mole-Rat, Bathyergus suillus

Behavioural observations of reproduction and mate choice in wild fossorial rodents are extremely limited and consequently indirect methods are typically used to infer mating strategies. We use a combination of morphological, reproductive, spatial, and genetic data to investigate the reproductive strategy of a solitary endemic species, the Cape dune mole-rat Bathyergus suillus. These data provide the first account on the population dynamics of this species. Marked sexual dimorphism was apparent with males being both significantly larger and heavier than females. Of all females sampled 36% had previously reproduced and 12% were pregnant at the time of capture. Post-partum sex ratio was found to be significantly skewed in favour of females. The paternity of fifteen litters (n = 37) was calculated, with sires assigned to progeny using both categorical and full probability methods, and including a distance function. The maximum distance between progeny and a putative sire was determined as 2149 m with males moving between sub-populations. We suggest that above-ground movement should not be ignored in the consideration of mate acquisition behaviour of subterranean mammals. Estimated levels of multiple paternity were shown to be potentially as high as 26%, as determined using sibship and sire assignment methods. Such high levels of multiple paternity have not been found in other solitary mole-rat species. The data therefore suggest polyandry with no evidence as yet for polygyny