Cooperation between expert knowledge and data mining discovered knowledge: Lessons learned

Expert systems are built from knowledge traditionally elicited from the human expert. It is precisely knowledge elicitation from the expert that is the bottleneck in expert system construction. On the other hand, a data mining system, which automatically extracts knowledge, needs expert guidance on the successive decisions to be made in each of the system phases. In this context, expert knowledge and data mining discovered knowledge can cooperate, maximizing their individual capabilities: data mining discovered knowledge can be used as a complementary source of knowledge for the expert system, whereas expert knowledge can be used to guide the data mining process. This article summarizes different examples of systems where there is cooperation between expert knowledge and data mining discovered knowledge and reports our experience of such cooperation gathered from a medical diagnosis project called Intelligent Interpretation of Isokinetics Data, which we developed. From that experience, a series of lessons were learned throughout project development. Some of these lessons are generally applicable and others pertain exclusively to certain project types

Functional properties of sodium and calcium caseinate antimicrobial active films containing carvacrol

Active edible films were prepared by adding carvacrol into sodium caseinate (SC) and calcium caseinate (CC) matrices plasticized with two different glycerol concentrations (25 and 35 wt%) prepared by solvent casting. Functional characterisation of these bio-films was carried out by determination of some of their physico-chemical properties, such as colour, transparency, oxygen barrier, wettability, dye permeation properties and antibacterial effectiveness against Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. All films exhibited good performance in terms of optical properties in the CIELab space showing high transparency. Carvacrol was able to reduce CC oxygen permeability and slightly increased the surface hydrophobicity. Dye diffusion experiments were performed to evaluate permeation properties. The diffusion of dye through films revealed that SC was more permeable than CC. The agar diffusion method was used for the evaluation of the films antimicrobial effectiveness against Escherichia cell and Staphylococcus aureus. Both SC and CC edible films with carvacrol showed inhibitory effects on both bacteria. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain through the projects MAT2011-28468-C02-01, MAT2011-28468-C02-02 and HP2008-0080. M.P. Arrieta thanks Fundacion MAPFRE for "Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi 2009-Medio Ambiente" fellowship (MAPFRE-IHL-01). Authors thank Ferrer Alimentacion S.A., for providing the caseinates powders.Arrieta, MP.; Peltzer, MA.; López Martínez, J.; Garrigós Selva, MDC.; Valente, AJM.; Jimenez Migallon, A. (2014). Functional properties of sodium and calcium caseinate antimicrobial active films containing carvacrol. Journal of Food Engineering. 121:94-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2013.08.015S9410112

A simple dynamic model explains the diversity of island birds worldwide

International audienc

Dark sectors 2016 Workshop: community report

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years

The Loss of PGAM5 Suppresses the Mitochondrial Degeneration Caused by Inactivation of PINK1 in Drosophila

PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), which is required for mitochondrial homeostasis, is a gene product responsible for early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). Another early onset PD gene product, Parkin, has been suggested to function downstream of the PINK1 signalling pathway based on genetic studies in Drosophila. PINK1 is a serine/threonine kinase with a predicted mitochondrial target sequence and a probable transmembrane domain at the N-terminus, while Parkin is a RING-finger protein with ubiquitin-ligase (E3) activity. However, how PINK1 and Parkin regulate mitochondrial activity is largely unknown. To explore the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between PINK1 and Parkin, we biochemically purified PINK1-binding proteins from human cultured cells and screened the genes encoding these binding proteins using Drosophila PINK1 (dPINK1) models to isolate a molecule(s) involved in the PINK1 pathology. Here we report that a PINK1-binding mitochondrial protein, PGAM5, modulates the PINK1 pathway. Loss of Drosophila PGAM5 (dPGAM5) can suppress the muscle degeneration, motor defects, and shorter lifespan that result from dPINK1 inactivation and that can be attributed to mitochondrial degeneration. However, dPGAM5 inactivation fails to modulate the phenotypes of parkin mutant flies. Conversely, ectopic expression of dPGAM5 exacerbated the dPINK1 and Drosophila parkin (dParkin) phenotypes. These results suggest that PGAM5 negatively regulates the PINK1 pathway related to maintenance of the mitochondria and, furthermore, that PGAM5 acts between PINK1 and Parkin, or functions independently of Parkin downstream of PINK1

Heavy Quarkonium Production in Z Decays

We report measurements of the inclusive production of heavy quarkonium states in $\mathrm {Z}$ decays based on the analysis of 3.6 million hadronic events collected by the L3 detector at LEP. The measurement of inclusive J production and an improved $95\%$ confidence level upper limit on $\Upsilon$ production are presented. In addition, two independent measurements of the ratio, $f_{\mathrm{p}}$, of prompt J mesons to those from B decay are made using two different isolation cuts to separate prompt J mesons from J mesons produced in the decays of b hadrons. The results are: % \begin{eqnarray} \mathrm{Br}(\mathrm{Z} \rightarrow \mathrm{J} + \mathrm{X}) & = & (3.21 \pm 0.21 \; \mathrm{(stat.)} \; ^{+ 0.19}_{- 0.28} \; \mathrm{(sys.)} ) \times 10^{-3} \; , \nonumber \\ \mathrm{Br}(\mathrm {Z} \rightarrow \Upsilon(\mathrm{1S} + X) & < & 4.4 \times 10^{-5} \; , \nonumber \\ %% f_{\mathrm{p}} & = & (7.1 \pm 2.1 \; \mathrm{(stat.)} \; \pm 1.2 \; \mathrm{(sys.)} \; ^{+1.5}_{-0.8} \;\mathrm{(theo.)} ) \times 10^{-2} \; . \nonumbe

Measurement of the W-Pair Production Cross Section and W-Decay Branching Fractions in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} Interactions at s\sqrt{s}= 189 GeV

The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of $188.6~\rm{Ge\kern -0.1em V}$ are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8~pb$^{-1}$. The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be $\sigma_{\rm{WW}}= 16.24 \pm 0.37~(stat.) \pm 0.22~(syst.)$~pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be $B(\rm{W} \rightarrow \rm{qq})= \left[ 68.20 \pm 0.68~(stat.) \pm 0.33~(syst.)\right]~\%$. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions.The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be sigma_WW = 16.24 +/- 0.37(stat.) +/- 0.22(syst.) pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be B(W ->qq) = [68.20 +/- 0.68 (stat.) +/- 0.33 (syst.) ] %. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions.The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8 pb −1 . The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be σ WW =16.24±0.37 (stat.)±0.22 (syst.) pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be B (W→qq)=[68.20±0.68 (stat.)±0.33 (syst.)]%. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions

Study of Neutral-Current Four-Fermion and ZZ Production in e+e−e^+ e^- Collisions at s\sqrt{s}= 183 GeV

Study of Neutral--Current Four--Fermion and ZZ \\ Production in $\rm e^+ e^-$ Collisions at $\rm \sqrt{s}=$ 183 GeV A study of neutral--current four--fermion processes is performed using a data sample corresponding to 55.3~pb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected by the L3 detector at LEP at an average centre--of--mass energy of 183~\GeV. The neutral--current four--fermion cross sections for final states with a pair of charged leptons plus jets and with four charged leptons are measured to be consistent with the Standard Model predictions. Events with fermion pair masses close to the Z boson mass are selected in all observable final states and the ZZ production cross section is measured to be %\begin{center} $\rm \sigma_{ZZ} = 0.30 ^{+0.22\,\,+0.07}_{-0.16\,\,-0.03}\,\mathrm{pb},$ %\end{center} in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. No evidence for the existence of anomalous triple gauge boson ZZZ and ZZ$\gamma$ couplings is found and limits on these couplings are set

Inclusive Charm Production in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP

The cross section of charm production in $\mathrm{\gamma \gamma}$ collisions $\mathrm{\sigma (e^+e^- \rightarrow e^+e^-c\bar{c} X)}$ is measured at LEP with the L3 detector at centre of mass energies from 91 GeV to 183 GeV. Charmed hadrons are identified by electrons and muons from semi-leptonic decays. The direct process $\mathrm{\gamma \gamma \rightarrow c \bar{c}}$ is found to be insufficient to describe the data. The measured cross section values and event distributions require contributions from resolved processes, which are sensitive to the gluon density in the photon

Search for R-Parity Breaking Sneutrino Exchange at LEP

We report on a search for R--parity breaking effects due to supersymmetric tau--sneutrino exchange in the reactions e+e- to e+e- and e+e- to mu+mu- at centre--of--mass energies from 91~{\GeV} to 172~{\GeV}, using the L3 detector at LEP. No evidence for deviations from the Standard Model expectations of the measured cross sections and forward--backward asymmetries for these reactions is found. Upper limits for the couplings $\lambda_{131}$ and $\lambda_{232}$ for sneutrino masses up to m_{\SNT} \leq 190~\GeV are determined from an analysis of the expected effects due to tau sneutrino exchange