Why Do Folksonomies Need Semantic Web Technologies?

This paper is to investigate some general features of social tagging and folksonomies along with their advantages and disadvantages, and to present an overview of a tag ontology that can be used to represent tagging data at a semantic level using Semantic Web technologies. Several tag ontologies have been developed with a specific purpose and used in various websites. However, in order to represent tagging data at semantic level existing tag ontologies need to be interlinked, since individual tag ontology cannot represent overall features of tagging activities. After introducing conceptual overview of tagging and folksonomies and tag ontologies, we will propose the combinational model for linking tag ontologies

Camera Motion Estimation for Multi-Camera Systems

The estimation of motion of multi-camera systems is one of the most important tasks in computer vision research. Recently, some issues have been raised about general camera models and multi-camera systems. Using many cameras as a single camera is studied [60], and the epipolar geometry constraints of general camera models is theoretically derived. Methods for calibration, including a self-calibration method for general camera models, are studied [78, 62]. Multi-camera systems are an example of practically implementable general camera models and they are widely used in many applications nowadays because of both the low cost of digital charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and the high resolution of multiple images from the wide field of views. To our knowledge, no research has been conducted on the relative motion of multi-camera systems with non-overlapping views to obtain a geometrically optimal solution. ¶ In this thesis, we solve the camera motion problem for multi-camera systems by using linear methods and convex optimization techniques, and we make five substantial and original contributions to the field of computer vision. ..

The analysis of oral microbial communities of wild-type and toll-like receptor 2-deficient mice using a 454 GS FLX Titanium pyrosequencer

Background: Although mice have long served as an animal model for periodontitis, information on the composition of their indigenous oral microbiota is limited. The aim of the current study was to characterize mouse oral bacterial flora by applying extensive parallel pyrosequencing using the latest model pyrosequencer, a Roche/454 Genome Sequencer FLX Titanium. In addition, the effect of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 deficiency on oral microbiota was evaluated. Results: Eight oral bacterial communities of wild-type (n = 4) and TLR2 knock-out (n = 4) C57BL/6 mice were characterized by analyzing 80,046 reads of 16S rRNA genes obtained by pyrosequencing. Excluding the PCR primers, the average length of each sequencing product was 443 bp. The average species richness of the murine oral bacterial communities was estimated to be about 200, but the communities were dominated by only two main phyla and several species. Therefore, the bacterial communities were relatively simple. The bacterial composition of the murine oral microbiota was significantly different from that of humans, and the lack of TLR2 had a negligible effect on the murine oral microbiota. Conclusion: Pyrosequencing using the Roche/454 FLX Titanium successfully characterized mouse oral bacterial communities. The relatively simple oral bacterial communities of mice were not affected by TLR2 deficiency. These findings will provide a basis for future studies on the role of periodontal pathogens in the murine model of periodontitis.This study was supported by grants R13-2008-008-01003-0 from the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation.

Visual Odometry for Non-overlapping Views Using Second-Order Cone Programming

We present a solution for motion estimation for a set of cameras which are firmly mounted on a head unit and do not have overlapping views in each image. This problem relates to ego-motion estimation of multiple cameras, or visual odometry. We reduce motion estimation to solving a triangulation problem, which finds a point in space from multiple views. The optimal solution of the triangulation problem in L-infinity norm is found using SOCP (Second-Order Cone Programming) Consequently, with the help of the optimal solution for the triangulation, we can solve visual odometry by using SOCP as well

Association between polymorphisms of arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12) and schizophrenia in a Korean population

Arachidonic acid (AA), an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, is one of the major components of neural membranes, which show an altered phospholipid composition in schizophrenia. Arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12), an important enzyme, metabolizes AA to 12-HPETE, which affects catecholamine synthesis. However, research has yet to show the genetic association between ALOX12 and schizophrenia. Therefore, we investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the ALOX12 gene in schizophrenia, recruiting patients with schizophrenia (n = 289) and normal controls (n = 306) from a Korean population. We selected three SNPs (rs1126667, rs434473, and rs1042357) of the ALOX12 gene and genotyped them by direct sequencing. We reviewed the schizophrenic patients' medical records and assessed them clinically using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and the Operational Criteria Checklist (OPCRIT). Then we statistically analyzed the genetic associations between the SNPs and schizophrenia, finding a genetic association between both rs1126667 and rs1042357 and schizophrenia, in the recessive model (p = 0.015 and 0.015, respectively). We also found an association between rs434473 and negative symptoms, defined through a factor analysis of the OPCRIT data (p = 0.040). Consequently, we suggest that SNPs of the ALOX12 gene might be associated with schizophrenia and negative symptoms in this Korean population. These weak positives require additional study

Maximized performance of dye solar cells on plastic: a combined theoretical and experimental optimization approach

We demonstrate that a combined optimization approach based on the sequential alternation of theoretical analysis and experimental realization gives rise to plastic supported dye solar cells for which both light harvesting efficiency and electron collection are maximized. Rationalized configurations with optimized light trapping and charge extraction are realized to achieve photoanodes on plastic prepared at low temperature, showing a power conversion efficiency of 8.55% and a short circuit photocurrent of 16.11 mA cm 2, unprecedented for plastic based dye solar cell devices. Furthermore, the corresponding fully flexible designs present stable mechanical properties after several bending cycles, displaying 7.79% power conversion efficiency, an average broadband internal quantum efficiency above 90%, and a short circuit photocurrent of 15.94 mA cm 2, which is the largest reported value for bendable cells of this sort to dateEuropean Union 307081, 622533Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT2014-54852-R, MAT2011–2359

Teratogenicity and brain aromatase-induction of monosodium glutamate in estrogen-responsive mosaic transgenic zebra fish Danio rerio

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been used as a flavor enhancer for decades. It has various teratogenicity effects on tested animals but has not been examined in zebra fish model to date. This experiment was conducted to study the teratogenic effects of MSG on wild-type zebra fish embryos and also to study the estrogenic potential of MSG on the transient zebrafish embryos with a brain aromatase-based reporter gene. Different concentrations of MSG (0, 10, 50 and 100 μg/ml) were tested. Wild-type and transient embryos were exposed to the solutions at about 2 h post fertilization (hpf). Hatching and survival decreased in all treatments with significant difference (p < 0.05) at 50 and 100 μg/ml concentrations with control. Stunted skeletal structure was observed at 100 μg/ml treatment. At 96 hpf, MSG induced enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) expression in the olfactory bulb at 100 μg/ml treatment. Various malformations were found in all treatments. The current results demonstrate that MSG or MSG-containing foods may harm the human offspring if they take it in a high dose. MSG in high concentration may disrupt the endocrine function. Zebra fish embryo with a brain aromatase-based reporter gene is a good model for the detection of estrogenic potential of any controversial chemical.Keywords: Monosodium glutamate (MSG), teratogenicity, aromatase, embryos, zebra fis

TRAIL sensitize MDR cells to MDR-related drugs by down-regulation of P-glycoprotein through inhibition of DNA-PKcs/Akt/GSK-3β pathway and activation of caspases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of new modulator possessing high efficacy, low toxicity and high selectivity is a pivotal approach to overcome P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer treatment. In this study, we suggest a new molecular mechanism that TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) down-regulates P-glycoprotein (P-gp) through inhibition of DNA-PKcs/Akt/GSK-3β pathway and activation of caspases and thereby sensitize MDR cells to MDR-related drugs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MDR variants, CEM/VLB_10-2, CEM/VLB_55-8and CEM/VLB₁₀₀cells, with gradually increased levels of P-gp derived from human lymphoblastic leukemia CEM cells, were gradually more susceptible to TRAIL-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity than parental CEM cells. The P-gp level of MDR variants was positively correlated with the levels of DNA-PKcs, pAkt, pGSK-3β and c-Myc as well as DR5 and negatively correlated with the level of c-FLIPs. Hypersensitivity of CEM/VLB₁₀₀cells to TRAIL was accompanied by the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway as well as the activation of initiator caspases. In addition, TRAIL-induced down-regulation of DNA-PKcs/Akt/GSK-3β pathway and c-FLIP and up-regulation of cell surface expression of death receptors were associated with the increased susceptibility to TRAIL of MDR cells. Moreover, TRAIL inhibited P-gp efflux function via caspase-3-dependent degradation of P-gp as well as DNA-PKcs and subsequently sensitized MDR cells to MDR-related drugs such as vinblastine and doxorubicin. We also found that suppression of DNA-PKcs by siRNA enhanced the susceptibility of MDR cells to vincristine as well as TRAIL via down-regulation of c-FLIP and P-gp expression and up-regulation of DR5.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed for the first time that the MDR variant of CEM cells was hypersensitive to TRAIL due to up-regulation of DR5 and concomitant down-regulation of c-FLIP, and degradation of P-gp and DNA-PKcs by activation of caspase-3 might be important determinants of TRAIL-induced sensitization of MDR cells to MDR-related drugs. Therefore, combination of TRAIL and chemotherapeutic drugs may be a good strategy for treatment of cancer with multidrug resistance.</p