Knowledge-based Development Research Articles

Developing a smart greenhouse for a personal subsidiary farm

Тhe article considers the problem of development and application of robotic greenhouse on a non-industrial scale, mainly for garden and garden plots, owned by about 50 % of the population of Russia. The main problem is the high cost of existing technologies for building smart greenhouses, which makes them inaccessible to a large number of Russian gardeners. The concept of «smart greenhouse» is specified, an overview of modern trends in the construction of robotic greenhouse is given, as well as a description of the production of the experiment, which consisted in the development of the technology of «smart greenhouse», and its results. Analysis of the results showed that the creation of a «smart greenhouse» implies that the developer has skills in the field of mechanics, electrical engineering and microelectronics, programming, including the programming of microcontrollers and the development of knowledge bases, as well as knowledge of the technology of growing various crops in greenhouse complexes. The ill-thinking of any aspect of a robotic greenhouse reduces the efficiency of technology, and investments do not pay off. On the contrary, a competent approach to the creation of a «smart greenhouse» can significantly increase yields while reducing the labor costs of garden owners. Thus, timely (instantaneous) notification of abnormal situations (values of controlled parameters go beyond technological boundaries, equipment failure, etc.) will minimize losses from accidents and violations of technological mode. At the same time, the increase in the intellectual level of greenhouses involves an increase in the cost of its development. At the moment, the cost of a robotic greenhouse is quite high for the target audience, which suggests further research in the field of creating complex and economical solutions for «smart greenhouse».

Tracing Knowledge Development Trajectories of the Internet of Things Domain: A Main Path Analysis

The Internet of Things (IoT), as an important technical domain in the future, has received wide attention globally from different disciplines. The research output in this domain, therefore, grew rapidly in the past ten years. This article deeply investigates the knowledge base and knowledge development trajectory of the domain since the IoT was proffered in 1999. By adopting basic statistical and keyword cooccurrence methods, the most influential countries, institutions, journals, and scholars in the domain, as well as the division of core, hot keywords, and subdomains, are investigated. By using the main path analysis method, a survey is conducted on the development trajectory of the domain on the basis of knowledge inheritance; the four core branches—industry, big data, cloud computing, and IoT security; and the three application studies of industry, healthcare, and smart city.

The integrative knowledge base for miRNA-mRNA expression in colorectal cancer

“miRNA colorectal cancer” (https://mirna-coadread.omics.si/) is a freely available web application for studying microRNA and mRNA expression and their correlation in colorectal cancer. To the best of our knowledge, “miRNA colorectal cancer” has the largest knowledge base of miRNA-target gene expressions and correlations in colorectal cancer, based on the largest available sample size from the same source of data. Data from high-throughput molecular profiling of 295 colon and rectum adenocarcinoma samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas was analyzed and integrated into our knowledge base. The objective of developing this web application was to help researchers to discover the behavior and role of miRNA-target gene interactions in colorectal cancer. For this purpose, results of differential expression and correlation analyses of miRNA and mRNA data collected in our knowledge base are available through web forms. To validate our knowledge base experimentally, we selected genes FN1, TGFB2, RND3, ZEB1 and ZEB2 and miRNAs hsa-miR-200a/b/c-3p, hsa-miR-141-3p and hsa-miR-429. Both approaches revealed a negative correlation between miRNA hsa-miR-200b/c-3p and its target gene FN1 and between hsa-miR-200a-3p and its target TGFB2, thus supporting the usefulness of the developed knowledge base.

The impact of university-based teacher education on EFL teachers’ self-efficacy: the case of bachelor and master programmes in Iran

ABSTRACT This study examined whether and how attending university-based teacher education programmes may alter EFL teachers’ self-efficacy. Comparisons were drawn across teachers with no academic credentials in L2 teacher education (uncertified teachers), teachers with Bachelor of Arts in L2 teacher education (BA teachers) and teachers with master of art in L2 teacher education (MA teachers). Quantitative data were collected from 150 Iranian EFL teachers using Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale and supplemented by gaining insights from a smaller sample of teachers and teacher educators through focus group and individual interviews respectively. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed that, save for instructional strategies, B.A./M.A. teachers significantly scored better than their uncertified counterparts in the self-efficacy subscales as well as overall self-efficacy. No measurable discrepancy was however detected between B.A. and M.A. teachers’ self-efficacy. Analysing the interview data, on the other hand, indicated that L2 teacher education programmes improved teachers’ self-efficacy through presenting opportunities for knowledge base development, exposure to various teaching models and provision of professional advice. Conversely, M.A. programmes had no superiority over B.A. teacher education due to their theory-driven nature and inadequate infrastructure. The findings are discussed based on the range and frequency of self-efficacy sources incorporated in L2 teacher education programmes.

Research and Application of Question Answering System Based on Subject Knowledge Base

The intelligent subject knowledge base question-and-answer system has a positive effect on improving the self-learning ability of the students, and designs a subject knowledge base question-and-answer system based on man-machine interaction. The system design includes the design of the question and answer algorithm of the subject knowledge base and the software development and design of the system. The semantic ontology structure mapping method is adopted to control the semantic information in the question-and-answer process of the subject knowledge base, and the expert subject knowledge base is constructed. The semantic concept tree analysis is carried out in combination with the feature construction method of the subject word feature, the human-computer interaction design of a subject knowledge base question-and-answer system is carried out by adopting a networked information interaction mode, and a corpus of words, phrases and sentences of a subject knowledge base question-and-answer system is constructed, in that concept of the semantic subject word, the sentence division of the question and answer of the subject knowledge base is realized, and the subject word characteristic matching method is adopted to realize the algorithm design of the network subject knowledge base question and answer, and the intelligence of the question and answer of the subject knowledge base is improved. In the embedded industrial control host, the system development and human-computer interaction design of the subject knowledge base are carried out, and the system is mainly composed of an information processing module, a subject knowledge base information acquisition module, a DMA controller, an output module and the like. The test results show that the system can effectively realize the question-and-answer of the network subject knowledge base and improve the reliability and intelligence of the subject-and-answer system of the subject knowledge base.

Formal Framework for Semi-Automation of Validation of Software and its Metrics and of Development of Relevant Knowledge-Base

Formal Framework for Semi-Automation of Validation of Software and its Metrics and of Development of Relevant Knowledge-Base

Cannabis and Health Research: Rapid Progress Requires Innovative Research Designs

The United States has witnessed enormous changes concerning the acceptance of medicinal and recreational cannabis use. Sixty-three percent of the US population has access to medicinal cannabis markets, which offer increasingly diverse and potent cannabis products. Considering the rapidly changing cultural, political, and legal landscape, the scientific literature does not adequately inform public policy, medical decision making, or harm reduction approaches. The goals of this paper are to (1) investigate the state of cannabis research on medical conditions commonly treated with cannabis, (2) review the barriers that have led to large gaps between cannabis use and available empirical data, and (3) suggest a path forward with new research designs to address these gaps. Thus, we aim to advance a more nuanced understanding of the barriers to cannabis research and suggest innovative research designs necessary for rapid development of a meaningful knowledge base.

Domain ontology development of knowledge base in cardiovascular personalized health management

In China, cardiovascular disease has become the leading killer in recent years, and mortality from cardiovascular disease is continuing to rapidly increase. Extant medical research has proven that personal health management (prevention, intervention, and recuperation) of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, is the best strategy for their prevention and treatment. Currently, the public can obtain health management knowledge through the Internet, newspapers, books, and other channels. However, with the explosive growth of available information, the public is limited to obtain effective health management guidance due to the characteristics of multiple sources, uneven accuracy (even some contradictory knowledge) and a major paucity of personalization, especially for the general public who lack professional medical knowledge. To address these problems, this paper proposes a knowledge base framework (i.e. domain ontology library) of health management programs based on the cardiovascular disease domain, which can standardize knowledge of health management programs both logically and structurally. In order to satisfy the needs of personalized health management, the core ontology of the domain ontology library is health-management-program ontology. In addition to common ontologies (e.g. disease ontology, drug ontology, etc.), basic ontologies include the ontology of individual health characteristics (e.g. individual-health-characteristics and environmental-characteristics ontology), and ontologies comprising diet and sport (e.g. ingredients, recipes, physical exercise, etc.). We then construct the ontology library through the professional ontology tool, Protégé. With a case study, we translate a piece of text health management knowledge into instances of an ontology library. At the same time, we present a personalized health management program recommendation algorithm based on the ontology library, and a recommendation case is realized according to this algorithm. As a basic research, the results of this paper can also support other health management applications in the future.

A Methodology for Architecture Theory and Practices Research: Design Practices Evaluation Studio

This article presents the initial findings of the design research carried out during the last semester by the master of architecture students at Wollega University, Ethiopia. The research goal is the creation of new knowledge to improve the design process. The dissatisfaction with the outcomes of the conventional design approach has led to rising concern and growing awareness of the need to evaluate design outcomes and to learn from the failure. That inadequate understanding of design problems leads frequently to design failure suggests that the evaluation of design outcomes can be made by assessing the way architects develop understanding of design problems, and how they use that understanding for developing knowledge base of the design process. The assumption is that architects’ understanding of design problems can be assessed by examining the way data is used for developing the knowledge base of the design process. The students surveyed the architects’ views in order to produce knowledge, which can be used to develop methods for discovering how inadequate data contributes to miss-informed design decisions; and methods for assessing the architects’ understanding of design problems. In this article the survey findings are analyzed and documented; and, the way the insight drawn from the inquiry can be used in future research for developing design theory, is discussed.Keywords: design outcomes, failure, evaluation, questionnaire, analyze

Conceptual frameworks of innovation district place quality: An opinion paper

Innovation districts are the nexus of knowledge-based development in cities, where public and private actors work towards fostering, attracting and retaining investment and talent, e.g., creative class of knowledge workers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, business incubators, with an aim of revitalising urban areas, and boosting knowledge and innovation economy activities. Place quality has been an important factor in the success of these districts, and there is a growing literature on the topic. This opinion paper brings further clarity to the previously developed conceptual frameworks of innovation district place quality.

Medicinal Chemistry of Alternative Therapeutics: Novelty and Hopes with Genus Ammannia.

The plants have formed the basis of folklore remedy since the beginning of human civilization. The cumulative human endeavor and experience over a period of thousands of years developed into well to organize traditional medicine systems viz. Ayurvedic, Unani, Chinese amongst others. Across the world, traditional medicine is either the mainstay of health care or serves as a complement to modern drugs. In view of worldwide use of traditional medicines, World Health Organization launched 'WHO-Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023' for the development of strong policies regarding knowledge-base, safety, quality-control and effectiveness of traditional/alternative therapeutics for national health systems. Besides their use in traditional medicine, plants have always been a good source of modern drug/pharmacologically active molecules. More than half of the modern pharmaceuticals are either plant isolates or their derivatives. The plant-based drugs are not only effective, but have better compatibility with human biological systems because of more biologically relevant chemistry, hence lesser side effects. Some of the species of genus Ammannia (Lythraceae) have been reported for their magical medicinal values. Many herbal formulations containing Ammannia spp. have been patented for treatment of serious diseases/disorders like cancer, spinal disease, human female infertility, chronic tonsillitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, treatment of bladder stones, urinary tract infections, dermatitis etc. The uses of Ammannia spp. in traditional medicine have been further verified by the biological activities of their extracts as well as isolation of bioactive phytomolecules. The current review provides details about Ammannia spp.; its use in folklore remedy, herbal formulations, biological activities of extracts, isolation of bioactive phytomolecules and SAR study of semi-synthetic derivatives to analyze the possibility of new drug molecules of plant origin.

Roles of Ontologies in Cartography

Roles of Ontologies in Cartography

Reasoning on objects and grasping using description logics

In the growing interest about robot ontologies, the role of description logics (DL) used to query the ontology is often neglected. After discussing the representation problems of using ontologies for robotics problems, we develop two case studies relevant for dexterous manipulation, grasping unknown objects and understanding objects as the sum of their parts. We develop knowledge bases for solving those problems, and examine the possible queries that could be answered. We observe that the creation of such relationships in ontologies can follow an embodied approach, letting the robot to create new relationships from experiments, so making knowledge acquisition an embodied and iterative process. From those two cases we conclude that the creation of robot ontologies able to improve reasoning in manipulation is still a challenge itself. However ontologies are expected to be a necessary tool to share knowledge between humans and robots, and their role in integrating available symbolic knowledge and experimental data is still to be exploited.

Archaeological landscape and heritage. Innovative knowledge-based dissemination and development strategies in the “Distretto Culturale Evoluto Flaminia NextOne”

The adoption of dissemination strategies based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has generated a paradigm shift, empowering users to identify, customize and exploit tourism services. The paper outlines an innovative way to disseminate the archaeological landscape, based on the Flaminia NextOne Distretto Culturale Evoluto (DCE) research project. The contribution summarizes the main achievements of the project in the light of technical improvements in AR applications and mobile cloud management, and also describes the collaborative approach of a public-private partnership. Data analytics from the web platform are also provided, in order to understand the potential and the drawbacks of this methodology. The discussion of the method, the pilot cases and their scalability derive from the main objective of the project which is to promote cultural heritage throughout the territory and to study the socio-economic implications of digital mediation, as discussed in the 2016 L&A En Route seminar. L’adozione di strategie di comunicazione basate su tecnologie dell’informazione e della comunicazione (TIC) ha generato un cambio di paradigma, consentendo agli utenti di identificare, personalizzare e sfruttare i servizi turistici. L’articolo delinea un modo innovativo per veicolare il paesaggio archeologico, basato sul progetto di ricerca Flaminia NextOne Distretto Culturale Evoluto (DCE). Il contributo riassume i principali risultati del progetto alla luce dei miglioramenti tecnici ottenuti nelle applicazioni AR e nella gestione di un cloud dati, nonche nell’approccio collaborativo del partenariato pubblico-privato. Viene fornita anche un’analisi dei dati della piattaforma web, al fine di comprendere le potenzialita e gli svantaggi della metodologia. La discussione del metodo, i casi pilota e la loro scalabilita derivano dal valore intrinseco del progetto per promuovere il patrimonio culturale diffuso sul territorio e studiare le implicazioni socio-economiche della mediazione digitale, come discusso nel seminario L&A En route del 2016.

Keep on rating – on the systematic rating and comparison of authentication schemes

PurposeSix years ago, Bonneau et al. (2012) proposed a framework to compare authentication schemes to the ubiquitous text password. Even though their work did not reveal an alternative outperforming the text password on every criterion, the framework can support decision makers in finding suitable solutions for specific authentication contexts. The purpose of this paper is to extend and update the database, thereby discussing benefits, limitations and suggestions for continuing the development of the framework.Design/methodology/approachThis paper revisits the rating process and describes the application of an extended version of the original framework to an additional 40 authentication schemes identified in a literature review. All schemes were rated in terms of 25 objective features assigned to the three main criteria: usability, deployability and security.FindingsThe rating process and results are presented along with a discussion of the benefits and pitfalls of the rating process.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the extended framework, in general, proves suitable for rating and comparing authentication schemes, ambiguities in the rating could be solved by providing clearer definitions and cut-off values. Further, the extension of the framework with subjective user perceptions that sometimes differ from objective ratings could be beneficial.Originality/valueThe results of the rating are made publicly available in an authentication choice support system named ACCESS to support decision makers and researchers and to foster the further extension of the knowledge base and future development of the extended rating framework.

Materials for production of protective boots for workers in forestry

The effectiveness of forestry boots depends primarily on the materials of which they are made, the manner and location of incorporation. The use of highly sophisticated materials, highly developed technological processes and knowledge-based development provide a good basis for the production of quality forestry boots. This paper gives an overview of the technological phases of manufacturing forestry boots that meet the standards defining full human protection against mechanical and other injuries when using motor saws and possible crushing. The complexity of the manufacturing process of forestry boots is reflected in the use of special high-quality materials, their functions, and how to incorporate them into in the boot. To achieve full protection of the foot and lower leg, the forestry boot contains multi-layered advanced composite materials, appropriately processed leather, fabrics, steel, non-woven textiles, and waterproof and vapour-permeable membranes.

Knowledge-based agriculture in Central and Eastern European Countries' bioeconomy

The European Union’s agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and food industry sees significant internal disparities in terms of research and innovation performance to the disadvantage of the CEE countries. This divide hinders the unlocking of excellence in low-performing research, development and innovation regions and the establishment of transnational cooperation for knowledge-based development, thus the appearance of specific research topics relevant to the CEE macro-region among others in Horizon 2020 work programmes. To bridge the gap the specific challenges in the sector should be faced through the lens of bioeconomy. At the same time there is no doubt that bioeconomy requires accompanying strategies and shared strategic research and innovation framework. As this framework has already been offered by the Central-Eastern European Initiative for Knowledge-based Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in the Bioeconomy, i.e. by the BIOEAST Initiative the CEE countries are provided with an opportunity to achieve further progress in sustainable growth of agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and food industry. The paper is aimed at providing a brief theoretical background on bioeconomy and related bioeconomy strategies and policies and analysing key socio-economic indicators of the ‘BIOEAST countries’ bioeconomy (Visegrad Countries, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia). Furthermore, it interprets the results of the ‘BIOEAST Bioeconomy Capacity Building Survey’, the respondents of which were chosen randomly through personal contacts of experts (who created a judgement sample) and by snowball sampling to get further contacts. The questionnaire was sent to a small subset of the target groups – business, academic, public sector stakeholders - and the answers were examined through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The focus was set on what stakeholders think the most beneficial for the CEE macro region in developing the bioeconomy and what type of intervention they identify as necessary to overcome barriers, to manage bottlenecks. The results highlight some implications for policymakers and point out that the creation of sustainable bioeconomy requires triple-helix stakeholders to find efficient collaboration mechanisms and build synergies.

Knowledge Base and Rule Base Safety Management Systems Development Strategies and Applications for Petrochemical Industries: A Brief Outline

This review paper discussed about the development tactics and applications of knowledge based and rule-based decision support systems for health and safety in oil and gas sector. It recommends the users on the extent of health and safety concerns for risk and hazard investigation and prevention in which the system developers and researchers mostly face issues during selection and adaptation of development approaches. A complete and systematic review and classification of articles from last seven years has been conducted and briefly analysed, to investigate various methodologies employed in previously developed rule based (RB) and knowledge based (KB) decision support systems. All major bibliographic databases covering a broad series of health and safety fields were searched in various oil and gas production sector related studies. Eighteen articles met the KB and RB study. Twelve of these met the methodological prospective of required investigation. In this review paper, researchers briefly explain about the methodological aspects and industrial applications of rule and knowledge-based decision support systems for reducing work place risks and hazards in safety and health domain. Conclusions that can be extracted from this analytical review paper of the methodological variation and applications of rule based and knowledge-based decision support system is that both inferences are interrelated to each other. RB and KB inferences techniques and methods are used in both interpretations for developing decision support systems in the context of oil and gas extraction and production sector. But safety and health consider KB decision systems as more effective for taking suitable decisions due to real time information and experts’ opinions which facilities safety professionals to take appropriate decision then RB reasoning decision support systems.

Sensitivity of inherent optical properties from ocean reflectance inversion models to satellite instrument wavelength suites.

The Earth science community seeks to develop climate data records (CDRs) from satellite measurements of ocean color, a continuous data record which now exceeds twenty years. Space agencies will launch additional instruments in the coming decade that will continue this data record, including the NASA PACE spectrometer. Inherent optical properties (IOPs) quantitatively describe the absorbing and scattering constituents of seawater and can be estimated from satellite-observed spectroradiometric data using semi-analytical algorithms (SAAs). SAAs exploit the contrasting optical signatures of constituent matter at spectral bands observed by satellite sensors. SAA performance, therefore, depends on the spectral resolution of the satellite spectroradiometer. A CDR spanning SeaWiFS, MODIS, OLCI, and PACE, for example, would include IOPs derived using varied wavelength suites if all available wavelengths were considered. Here, we explored differences in derived IOPs that stem simply from the use of (eight) different wavelength suites of input radiometric measurements. Using synthesized data and SeaWiFS Level-3 mission-long composites, we demonstrated equivalent SAA performance for all wavelength suites, but that IOP retrievals vary by several percent across wavelength suites and as a function of water type. The differences equate to roughly ≤ 6, 12, and 7% for adg (443), aph (443), and bbp (443), respectively, for waters with Ca ≤ 1 mg m-3. These values shrink for sensors with similar wavelength suites (e.g., SeaWiFS, MODIS, and MERIS) and rise to substantially larger values for higher Ca waters. Our results also indicate that including 400 nm (in the case of OLCI) influences the derived IOPs, using longer wavelengths (>600 nm) influences the derived IOPs when there is a red signal, and, including additional spectral information shows potential for improved IOP estimation, but not without revisiting SAA parameterizations and execution. While modest in scope, we believe this study contributes to the knowledge base for CDR development. The implication of ignoring such an analysis as CDRs continue to be developed is a prolonged inability to distinguish between algorithmic and environmental contributions to trends and anomalies in the IOP time-series.

Vietnam’s national science and technology parks: An overview and some suggestions

Vietnam has three national science and technology parks (STP) and several local and specialized ones. In fact, the activities of STPs show that they have made great contributions to technology transfer and regional economic development. Building an STP is a trend and even a difficult alternative to the needs and policies of knowledge-based economic development, but they are not well-known. This paper, therefore, identifies and recommends some policy implications for the establishment and improvement of the STPs in Vietnam. This paper focuses on some key issues such as the existing models of STPs, their successful factors as well as effective approaches of STPs’ ownership and management.