Oyster – Sharing and Re-using Ontologies in a Peer-to-Peer Community

In this paper, we present Oyster, a Peer-to-Peer system for exchanging ontology metadata among communities in the Semantic Web. Oyster exploits semantic web techniques in data representation, query formulation and query result presentation to provide an online solution for sharing ontologies, thus assisting researchers in re-using existing ontologies

Coherence stabilization of a two-qubit gate by AC fields

We consider a CNOT gate operation under the influence of quantum bit-flip noise and demonstrate that ac fields can change bit-flip noise into phase noise and thereby improve coherence up to several orders of magnitude while the gate operation time remains unchanged. Within a high-frequency approximation, both purity and fidelity of the gate operation are studied analytically. The numerical treatment with a Bloch-Redfield master equation confirms the analytical results.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

An Editorial Workflow Approach For Collaborative Ontology Development

The widespread use of ontologies in the last years has raised new challenges for their development and maintenance. Ontology development has transformed from a process normally performed by one ontology engineer into a process performed collaboratively by a team of ontology engineers, who may be geographically distributed and play different roles. For example, editors may propose changes, while authoritative users approve or reject them following a well defined process. This process, however, has only been partially addressed by existing ontology development methods, methodologies, and tool support. Furthermore, in a distributed environment where ontology editors may be working on local copies of the same ontology, strategies should be in place to ensure that changes in one copy are reflected in all of them. In this paper, we propose a workflow-based model for the collaborative development of ontologies in distributed environments and describe the components required to support them. We illustrate our model with a test case in the fishery domain from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

A holistic approach to collaborative ontology development based on change management

This paper describes our methodological and technological approach for collaborative ontology development in inter-organizational settings. It is based on the formalization of the collaborative ontology development process by means of an explicit editorial workflow, which coordinates proposals for changes among ontology editors in a flexible manner. This approach is supported by new models, methods and strategies for ontology change management in distributed environments: we propose a new form of ontology change representation, organized in layers so as to provide as much independence as possible from the underlying ontology languages, together with methods and strategies for their manipulation, version management, capture, storage and maintenance, some of which are based on existing proposals in the state of the art. Moreover, we propose a set of change propagation strategies that allow keeping distributed copies of the same ontology synchronized. Finally, we illustrate and evaluate our approach with a test case in the fishery domain from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The preliminary results obtained from our evaluation suggest positive indication on the practical value and usability of the work here presented

Change Representation For OWL 2 Ontologies

Ontologies are entities that evolve over time; therefore it is essential to represent and manage changes to ontologies along with the ontologies themselves. In this paper we propose a change ontology for the OWL 2 ontology language. This change ontology comprises a fine-grained taxonomy of ontology changes that considers the lowest-level atomic operations that can be performed in an ontology, but in addition also on other abstraction levels (ontology entity, composite). It thus allows to describe on a fine grained level how an ontology has changed from one version to another, and it also provides the vocabulary to talk about the changes that enables, for instance, to associate provenance or other rich metadata, such as argumentation structures. Additionally, we discuss some useful applications of our change ontology and its technological support

Microreactors for biodiesel synthesis: design, fabrication, and characterization

The present work describes microreactors for biodiesel continuous synthesis that have been designed, fabricated, characterized, and aimed at achieving a reproducible microfluidic device to compose a modular portable biodiesel production demonstration unit. A straightforward method is presented for the microfabrication and sealing of the microfluidic device that performs the role of a microreactor for biodiesel synthesis, built on a brass metal base and sealed with either a metal cover or a glass cover for easy microscopic observation of two-phase flow patterns. The microfluidic device contains a Υ-junction squared microchannel architecture with width and depth of 400 µm. Microchannels were engraved using a micromilling technique and sealed either by welding, with tin as an additional material, in the case of the all metal device, or by using an epoxy glue, which served as an adhesive to seal a metal−glass device. The quality of the metal-on-metal seal was examined using microscopic analysis of multiple cross sections of the device, whereas the quality of the metal-on-glass seal was analyzed via direct visual inspection of flows within the device using an optical microscope to verify the existence or absence of leaks. An experimental setup was then built to carry out biodiesel synthesis in the metal−metal microreactor, using soybean oil of food grade, absolute ethanol, and sodium hydroxide, NaOH, as a catalyst for the reaction. For a molar ratio ethanol/oil 20:1, a quantity of NaOH catalyst of 1.0 wt.% at a controlled temperature of 47.5°C, it was possible to achieve a yield of fatty acids ethyl esters of 87.2% with 98% of triglyceride converted, for a residence time of 10 min. The experimental analysis confirms the applicability potential of the designed microreactor in the synthesis proposed.Indisponível

Do reduced numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells contribute to the aggressive clinical course of COVID-19 in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia?

Infections with SARS-CoV-2 have been unduly severe in patients with haematological malignancies, in particular in those with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Based on a series of observations, we propose that an underlying mechanism for the aggressive clinical course of COVID-19 in CLL is a paucity of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in these patients. Indeed, pDCs express Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), which together with interferon-regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), enables pDCs to produce large amounts of type I interferons, essential for combating COVID-19. Treatment of CLL with Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors increased the number of pDCs, likely secondarily to the reduction in the tumour burden.publishedVersio

D2.3 : Proposal of EVs for selected themes

Report on the first proposal of EVs for selected themes. It will include description and justification of inclusion. It will collect drafts of SBA-specific EVs for Carbon (CMCC), Health and Pollution (CNR-IIA), Ecosystems (CNRISAC), Biodiversity (CNR- ISSIA), Energy (ARMINES), Disasters (TIWAH) and Oceans (CSIC). It will also include a report on the Co-located Essential Variables Workshop on M7

Voltage-Driven Conformational Switching with Distinct Raman Signature in a Single-Molecule Junction

Precisely controlling well-defined, stable single-molecule junctions represents a pillar of single-molecule electronics. Early attempts to establish computing with molecular switching arrays were partly challenged by limitations in the direct chemical characterization of metalâEuro"moleculeâEuro"metal junctions. While cryogenic scanning probe studies have advanced the mechanistic understanding of current- and voltage-induced conformational switching, metalâEuro"moleculeâEuro"metal conformations are still largely inferred from indirect evidence. Hence, the development of robust, chemically sensitive techniques is instrumental for advancement in the field. Here we probe the conformation of a two-state molecular switch with vibrational spectroscopy, while simultaneously operating it by means of the applied voltage. Our study emphasizes measurements of single-molecule Raman spectra in a room-temperature stable single-molecule switch presenting a signal modulation of nearly 2 orders of magnitude