Automatic Annotation and Semantic Search from Protégé

Semantic search has been one of the major envisioned benefits of the Semantic Web since its emergence in the late 90’s [1]. Our demo shows a proposal towards this goal. One way to view a semantic search engine is as a tool that gets formal queries (e.g. in RDQL, RQL, SPARQL, or the like) from a client, executes them against an ontology-based knowledge base, and returns tuples of ontology values (resources) that satisfy the query [2]. While this conception of semantic search brings enormous advantages already, our work aims at taking a step beyond this. In our view of Information Retrieval in the Semantic Web, a search engine returns documents, rather than (or in addition to) exact values, in response to user queries. The engine should rank the documents, according to concept-based relevance criteria. The overall retrieval process is illustrated in Figure 1 (see [3] for more details of our research)

Functional Promoter Polymorphisms Govern Differential Expression of HMG-CoA Reductase Gene in Mouse Models of Essential Hypertension

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A [HMG-CoA] reductase gene (Hmgcr) is a susceptibility gene for essential hypertension. Sequencing of the Hmgcr locus in genetically hypertensive BPH (blood pressure high), genetically hypotensive BPL (blood pressure low) and genetically normotensive BPN (blood pressure normal) mice yielded a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). BPH/BPL/BPN Hmgcr promoter-luciferase reporter constructs were generated and transfected into liver HepG2, ovarian CHO, kidney HEK-293 and neuronal N2A cells for functional characterization of the promoter SNPs. The BPH-Hmgcr promoter showed significantly less activity than the BPL-Hmgcr promoter under basal as well as nicotine/cholesterol-treated conditions. This finding was consistent with lower endogenous Hmgcr expression in liver and lower plasma cholesterol in BPH mice. Transfection experiments using 5′-promoter deletion constructs (strategically made to assess the functional significance of each promoter SNP) and computational analysis predicted lower binding affinities of transcription factors c-Fos, n-Myc and Max with the BPH-promoter as compared to the BPL-promoter. Corroboratively, the BPH promoter-luciferase reporter construct co-transfected with expression plasmids of these transcription factors displayed less pronounced augmentation of luciferase activity than the BPL construct, particularly at lower amounts of transcription factor plasmids. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays also showed diminished interactions of the BPH promoter with HepG2 nuclear proteins. Taken together, this study provides mechanistic basis for the differential Hmgcr expression in these mouse models of human essential hypertension and have implications for better understanding the role of this gene in regulation of blood pressure

REV-ERBα Participates in Circadian SREBP Signaling and Bile Acid Homeostasis

The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα shapes the daily activity profile of Sterol Response Element Binding Protein (SREBP) and thereby participates in the circadian control of cholesterol and bile acid synthesis in the liver

Child Abuse Reporting and Education Laws: Effective Incentives for Policy Actor Change

The policy process emphasizes various stages of policy development and implementation. Essential to the stages within the policy process are the individuals who create, implement, and correct public policy. Employing three separate essays, I examine the actions of legislators, street-level bureaucrats (teachers, law enforcement, and social workers), and a policy entrepreneur in regards to child abuse prevention and education policies. These three groups of actors play a valuable role within the policy process and have various incentives which drive their actions in regards to a policy. Better understanding the incentives and actions of these groups expands the policy research and provides a practical application to policy design and implementation. With these essays, I first investigate why legislators adopt mandatory child abuse reporting laws and demonstrate if these laws meet their legislative objective. Second, I examine the reporting laws from the perspective of street-level bureaucrats and reveal how these bureaucrats respond to a top-down policy. Finally, I explore the factors of policy innovation and diffusion in regards to a child abuse prevention and education policy. Significant to this study is the role a policy entrepreneur plays in steering the policy through the innovation and diffusion process. Employing various statistical models, I establish how each of these groups of individuals significantly influences the policy process. Overall, the contributions of these studies advance the public policy literature, particularly the understanding of the policy process, and encourages further academic research

Social interaction in a virtual environment: Examining socio-spatial interactivity and social presence using behavioral analytics

A behavioral observation methodology was employed in this study to examine how social behavior unfolds within a virtual environment and to identify what might perpetuate this behavior. Partial interval recording sampling was used to code social interactions (Socio-Spatial Interactivity and Social Presence) that occurred between experienced World of Warcraft players during their game play. Given the bidirectional nature of social interactions, Socio-Spatial Interactivity and Social Presence variables (Affective Association, Community Cohesion, Interaction Intensity, and Knowledge & Experience) were employed as both dependent and independent variables in two separate sets of regression analyses. Findings suggest that a positive feedback loop exists between Socio-Spatial Interactivity and Social Presence. Based on these findings, the researchers discuss implications for designers and end-users of virtual environments