Efficient compliance checking of RDF data

Automated compliance checking, i.e. the task of automatically assessing whether states of affairs comply with normative systems, has recently received a lot of attention from the scientific community, also as a consequence of the increasing investments in Artificial Intelligence technologies for the legal domain (LegalTech). The authors of this paper deem as crucial the research and implementation of compliance checkers that can directly process data in RDF format, as nowadays more and more (big) data in this format are becoming available worldwide, across a multitude of different domains. Among the automated technologies that have been used in recent literature, to the best of our knowledge, only two of them have been evaluated with input states of affairs encoded in RDF format. This paper formalizes a selected use case in these two technologies and compares the implementations, also in terms of simulations with respect to shared synthetic datasets

Asbestos Fibers Enhance the TMEM16A Channel Activity in Xenopus Oocytes

Background: The interaction of asbestos fibers with target cell membranes is still poorly investigated. Here, we detected and characterized an enhancement of chloride conductance in Xenopus oocyte cell membranes induced by exposure to crocidolite (Croc) asbestos fibers. Methods: A two-microelectrode voltage clamp technique was used to test the effect of Croc fiber suspensions on outward chloride currents evoked by step membrane depolarization. Calcium imaging experiments were also performed to investigate the variation of 'resting' oocyte [Ca2+]i following asbestos exposure. Results: The increase in chloride current after asbestos treatment, was sensitive to [Ca2+]e, and to specific blockers of TMEM16A Ca2+-activated chloride channels, MONNA and Ani9. Furthermore, asbestos treatment elevated the 'resting' [Ca2+]i likelihood by increasing the cell membrane permeability to Ca2 in favor of a tonic activation of TMEME16A channels. Western blot analysis confirmed that TMEME16A protein was endogenously present in the oocyte cell membrane and absorbed by Croc. Conclusion: the TMEM16A channels endogenously expressed by Xenopus oocytes are targets for asbestos fibers and represent a powerful tool for asbestos-membrane interaction studies. Interestingly, TMEM16A channels are highly expressed in many types of tumors, including some asbestos-related cancers, suggesting them, for the first time, as a possible early target of crocidolite-mediated tumorigenic effects on target cell membranes

Multiple myeloma presenting as CEA-producing rectal cancer

We report the case of a 57-year-old patient with multiple myeloma, characterized by extramedullary involvement of the rectum at presentation. Malignant plasma cells were found to produce carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a tumor antigen more commonly associated with rectal adenocarcinomas

Raising awareness of non-hodgkin lymphoma in HIV-infected adolescents: Report of 2 cases in the HAART era

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) chronically infected patients are at increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma compared with the general population. Highly active antiretroviral therapy has had a dramatic effect on the natural history of HIV infection, reducing the incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma and improving overall survival. However, problems related to adherence to treatment, frequently experienced during adolescence, may increase the risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related cancers. Optimizing highly active antiretroviral therapy and monitoring noncompliant patients with persisting HIV replication should be considered by physicians who take care of these patients. We herein report 2 cases of relapsed/progressive Burkitt lymphoma in HIV vertically infected adolescents

Improved understanding of self-sustained, sub-micrometric multi-composition surface Constantan wires interacting with H2 at high temperatures: experimental evidence of Anomalous Heat Effects

This article is an extension of what presented by our team at 17th International Conference on Cold Fusion, ICCF-17, in Daejon, Korea, in 2012 [1]. It documents the improvements on Constantan-related experiments, started in 2011, in order to study the feasibility of new Nickel based alloys that are able to absorb proper amounts of Hydrogen (H2) and/or Deuterium (D2) and that have, in principle, some possibility to generate anomalous thermal effects at temperatures >100°C. The interest in Ni comes in part because there is the possibility to use also H2 instead of expensive D2. Moreover, cross-comparison of results using H2 instead of D2 can be made and could help the understanding of the phenomena involved (atomic, nuclear, super-chemical origin?) due to the use of such isotopes. Keywords: calorimeter, LENR, Nickel based alloys, sub-micrometric surface

Estimating Portfolio Risk for Tail Risk Protection Strategies

We forecast portfolio risk for managing dynamic tail risk protection strategies, based on extreme value theory, expectile regression, Copula-GARCH and dynamic GAS models. Utilizing a loss function that overcomes the lack of elicitability for Expected Shortfall, we propose a novel Expected Shortfall (and Value-at-Risk) forecast combination approach, which dominates simple and sophisticated standalone models as well as a simple average combination approach in modelling the tail of the portfolio return distribution. While the associated dynamic risk targeting or portfolio insurance strategies provide effective downside protection, the latter strategies suffer less from inferior risk forecasts given the defensive portfolio insurance mechanics

The EcoThermo project: key and innovative aspects

In this paper we present the most innovative aspects of the EC-FP7 EcoThermo project. The main aim of the project consists on innovating the technique of heat cost allocation in buildings with a centralized heating system, overcoming the heat cost allocator drawbacks for reliability, measurement reproducibility and traceability and contexts of applications. Given the complexity of the project, we will focus on its main aspects, such as the use of a virtual sensor to estimate the radiators heating power, the design of electronic valves fitted out with an energy harvesting system and the original wireless communication protocol

The Massive Star Content of NGC 3603

We investigate the massive star content of NGC 3603, the closest known giant H II region. We have obtained spectra of 26 stars in the central cluster using the Baade 6.5-m telescope (Magellan I). Of these 26 stars, 16 had no previous spectroscopy. We also obtained photometry of all of the stars with previous or new spectroscopy, primarily using archival HST ACS/HRC images. We use these data to derive an improved distance to the cluster, and to construct an H-R diagram for discussing the masses and ages of the massive star content of this cluster.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. This revision updates the coordinates in Table 1 by (-0.18sec, +0.2") to place them on the UCAC2 syste