Investigando o uso do sentido háptico na visualização de dados multivariados em gráficos de dispersão bidimensionais

Data Visualization is widely used to facilitate the comprehension of information and find relationships between data. One of the most widely used techniques for multivariate data (4 or more variables) visualization is the 2D scatterplot. This technique associates each data item to a visual mark in the following way: two variables are mapped to Cartesian coordinates so that a visual mark can be placed on the Cartesian plane; the others variables are mapped gradually to visual properties of the mark, such as size, color, shape, among others. As the number of variables to be visualized increases, the amount of visual properties associated to the mark increases as well. As a result, the complexity of the final visualization is higher. However, increasing the complexity of the visualization does not necessarily implies a better visualization and, sometimes, it provides an inverse situation, producing a visually polluted and confusing visualization—this problem is called visual properties overload. This work aims to investigate whether it is possible to work around the overload of the visual channel and improve insight about multivariate data visualized through a modification in the 2D scatterplot technique. In this modification, we map the variables from data items to multisensoriy marks. These marks are composed not only by visual properties, but haptic properties, such as vibration, viscosity and elastic resistance, as well. We believed that this approach could ease the insight process, through the transposition of properties from the visual channel to the haptic channel. The hypothesis was verified through experiments, in which we have analyzed (a) the accuracy of the answers; (b) response time; and (c) the grade of personal satisfaction with the proposed approach. However, the hypothesis was not validated. The results suggest that there is an equivalence between the investigated visual and haptic properties in all analyzed aspects, though in strictly numeric terms the multisensory visualization achieved better results in response time and personal satisfaction.

Materiais zeolíticos de estrutura MWW: síntese e caracterização

In this paper a synthesis parameters study was conducted in order to optimize the obteinment of MCM-22 (MWW structure) and increase its accessibility, getting higher external surface and generating mesopores. Syntheses with Si / Al = 15 and Si / Al = 50 ratios were performed under static conditions at different temperatures and with seeds induction, which resulted in MCM-22 pure and crystalline (Si / Al ratio = 15) after 3 days and Si / Al = 50 after 11 days. The reduction of hexamethyleneimine content (HMI) was studied in the stirring synthesis and a HMI reduction of 47% was possible through the mother liquor reuse, in addition, a specific area of 481 m² / g has been obtained in the fourth synthesis day. Regarding the increase of accessibility of the MCM-22 zeolite skeins of MCM-22 plates with about 2 μm were obtained, through the use of dissolved silica, addition of seeds, increased temperature and synthesis time of 2 days. A significant value of specific area was found for this material, around 500 m² / g. Also with respect to the increase of MCM-22 accessibility, treatment with oxalic acid concentration of 0.5 mol / L and silanization of proto-zeolitic units resulted in the mesopores formation . Furthermore, silanization still favored reduction of 70 % in crystal size and a specific area of 566 m² / g.