Describing and communicating uncertainty within the semantic web

The Semantic Web relies on carefully structured, well defined, data to allow machines to communicate and understand one another. In many domains (e.g. geospatial) the data being described contains some uncertainty, often due to incomplete knowledge; meaningful processing of this data requires these uncertainties to be carefully analysed and integrated into the process chain. Currently, within the SemanticWeb there is no standard mechanism for interoperable description and exchange of uncertain information, which renders the automated processing of such information implausible, particularly where error must be considered and captured as it propagates through a processing sequence. In particular we adopt a Bayesian perspective and focus on the case where the inputs / outputs are naturally treated as random variables. This paper discusses a solution to the problem in the form of the Uncertainty Markup Language (UncertML). UncertML is a conceptual model, realised as an XML schema, that allows uncertainty to be quantified in a variety of ways i.e. realisations, statistics and probability distributions. UncertML is based upon a soft-typed XML schema design that provides a generic framework from which any statistic or distribution may be created. Making extensive use of Geography Markup Language (GML) dictionaries, UncertML provides a collection of definitions for common uncertainty types. Containing both written descriptions and mathematical functions, encoded as MathML, the definitions within these dictionaries provide a robust mechanism for defining any statistic or distribution and can be easily extended. Universal Resource Identifiers (URIs) are used to introduce semantics to the soft-typed elements by linking to these dictionary definitions. The INTAMAP (INTeroperability and Automated MAPping) project provides a use case for UncertML. This paper demonstrates how observation errors can be quantified using UncertML and wrapped within an Observations & Measurements (O&M) Observation. The interpolation service uses the information within these observations to influence the prediction outcome. The output uncertainties may be encoded in a variety of UncertML types, e.g. a series of marginal Gaussian distributions, a set of statistics, such as the first three marginal moments, or a set of realisations from a Monte Carlo treatment. Quantifying and propagating uncertainty in this way allows such interpolation results to be consumed by other services. This could form part of a risk management chain or a decision support system, and ultimately paves the way for complex data processing chains in the Semantic Web.

Pichia pastoris regulates its gene-specific response to different carbon sources at the transcriptional, rather than the translational, level

Background: The methylotrophic, Crabtree-negative yeast Pichia pastoris is widely used as a heterologous protein production host. Strong inducible promoters derived from methanol utilization genes or constitutive glycolytic promoters are typically used to drive gene expression. Notably, genes involved in methanol utilization are not only repressed by the presence of glucose, but also by glycerol. This unusual regulatory behavior prompted us to study the regulation of carbon substrate utilization in different bioprocess conditions on a genome wide scale. Results: We performed microarray analysis on the total mRNA population as well as mRNA that had been fractionated according to ribosome occupancy. Translationally quiescent mRNAs were defined as being associated with single ribosomes (monosomes) and highly-translated mRNAs with multiple ribosomes (polysomes). We found that despite their lower growth rates, global translation was most active in methanol-grown P. pastoris cells, followed by excess glycerol- or glucose-grown cells. Transcript-specific translational responses were found to be minimal, while extensive transcriptional regulation was observed for cells grown on different carbon sources. Due to their respiratory metabolism, cells grown in excess glucose or glycerol had very similar expression profiles. Genes subject to glucose repression were mainly involved in the metabolism of alternative carbon sources including the control of glycerol uptake and metabolism. Peroxisomal and methanol utilization genes were confirmed to be subject to carbon substrate repression in excess glucose or glycerol, but were found to be strongly de-repressed in limiting glucose-conditions (as are often applied in fed batch cultivations) in addition to induction by methanol. Conclusions: P. pastoris cells grown in excess glycerol or glucose have similar transcript profiles in contrast to S. cerevisiae cells, in which the transcriptional response to these carbon sources is very different. The main response to different growth conditions in P. pastoris is transcriptional; translational regulation was not transcript-specific. The high proportion of mRNAs associated with polysomes in methanol-grown cells is a major finding of this study; it reveals that high productivity during methanol induction is directly linked to the growth condition and not only to promoter strength.

Public scientific communication on Twitter:visual analytic approach

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess high-dimensional visualisation, combined with pattern matching, as an approach to observing dynamic changes in the ways people tweet about science topics. Design/methodology/approach - The high-dimensional visualisation approach was applied to three scientific topics to test its effectiveness for longitudinal analysis of message framing on Twitter over two disjoint periods in time. The paper uses coding frames to drive categorisation and visual analytics of tweets discussing the science topics. Findings - The findings point to the potential of this mixed methods approach, as it allows sufficiently high sensitivity to recognise and support the analysis of non-trending as well as trending topics on Twitter. Research limitations/implications - Three topics are studied and these illustrate a range of frames, but results may not be representative of all scientific topics. Social implications - Funding bodies increasingly encourage scientists to participate in public engagement. As social media provides an avenue actively utilised for public communication, understanding the nature of the dialog on this medium is important for the scientific community and the public at large. Originality/value - This study differs from standard approaches to the analysis of microblog data, which tend to focus on machine driven analysis large-scale datasets. It provides evidence that this approach enables practical and effective analysis of the content of midsize to large collections of microposts.

A Two Layered Model for Evolving Web Resources

In this paper the key features of a two-layered model for describing the semantic of dynamical web resources are introduced. In the current Semantic Web proposal [Berners-Lee et al., 2001] web resources are classified into static ontologies which describes the semantic network of their inter-relationships [Kalianpur, 2001][Handschuh & Staab, 2002] and complex constraints described by logical quantified formula [Boley et al., 2001][McGuinnes & van Harmelen, 2004][McGuinnes et al., 2004], the basic idea is that software agents can use techniques of automatic reasoning in order to relate resources and to support sophisticated web application. On the other hand, web resources are also characterized by their dynamical aspects, which are not adequately addressed by current web models. Resources on the web are dynamical since, in the minimal case, they can appear or disappear from the web and their content is upgraded. In addition, resources can traverse different states, which characterized the resource life-cycle, each resource state corresponding to different possible uses of the resource. Finally most resources are timed, i.e. they information they provide make sense only if contextualised with respect to time, and their validity and accuracy is greatly bounded by time. Temporal projection and deduction based on dynamical and time constraints of the resources can be made and exploited by software agents [Hendler, 2001] in order to make previsions about the availability and the state of a resource, for deciding when consulting the resource itself or in order to deliberately induce a resource state change for reaching some agent goal, such as in the automated planning framework [Fikes & Nilsson, 1971][Bacchus & Kabanza,1998].

Modular Digital Watermarking for Image Verification and Secure Data Storage in Web Applications

Our modular approach to data hiding is an innovative concept in the data hiding research field. It enables the creation of modular digital watermarking methods that have extendable features and are designed for use in web applications. The methods consist of two types of modules – a basic module and an application-specific module. The basic module mainly provides features which are connected with the specific image format. As JPEG is a preferred image format on the Internet, we have put a focus on the achievement of a robust and error-free embedding and retrieval of the embedded data in JPEG images. The application-specific modules are adaptable to user requirements in the concrete web application. The experimental results of the modular data watermarking are very promising. They indicate excellent image quality, satisfactory size of the embedded data and perfect robustness against JPEG transformations with prespecified compression ratios. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): C.2.0.

Low-temperature isothermal Rankine cycle for desalination

In brackish groundwater desalination, high recovery ratio (of fresh water from saline feed) is desired to minimise concentrate reject. To this effect, previous studies have developed a batch reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system, DesaLink, which proposed to expand steam in a reciprocating piston cylinder and transmit the driving force through a linkage crank mechanism to pressurise batches of saline water (recirculating) in a water piston cylinder unto RO membranes. However, steam is largely disadvantaged at operation from low temperature (< 150oC) thermal sources; and organic working fluids are more viable, though, the obtainable thermal cycle efficiencies are generally low with low temperatures. Consequently, this thesis proposed to investigate the use of organic working fluid Rankine cycle (ORC) with isothermal expansion, to drive the DesaLink machine, at improved thermal efficiency from low temperature thermal sources. Following a review of the methods of achieving isothermal expansion, ‘liquid flooded expansion’ and ‘expansion chamber surface heating’ were identified as potential alternative methods. Preliminary experimental comparative analysis of variants of the heated expansion chamber technique of effecting isothermal expansion favoured a heated plain wall technique, and as such was adopted for further optimisation and development. Further, an optimised isothermal ORC engine was built and tested at < 95oC heat source temperature, with R245fa working fluid – which was selected from 16 working fluids that were analysed for isothermal operation. Upon satisfactory performance of the test engine, a larger (10 times) version was built and coupled to drive the DesaLink system. Operating the integrated ORC-RO DesaLink system, gave freshwater (approximately 500 ppm) production of about 12 litres per hour (from 4000 ppm feed water) at a recovery ratio of about 0.7 and specific energy consumption of 0.34 kWh/m3; and at a thermal efficiency of 7.7%. Theoretical models characterising the operation and performance of the integrated system was developed and utilised to access the potential field performance of the system, when powered by two different thermal energy sources – solar and industrial bakery waste heat – as case studies.

Design of information architecture of the web site of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas (Cuba)

The information architecture supports information retrieval by users in Web environment. The design should be center in the information user, favoring usability. The Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas, lacks a site that enhances the disclosure of information to its members. Are presented as objectives of the study: 1) conduct a user survey to identify information needs of users, 2) establish guidelines for information architecture for the institution focused on users, 3) designing the information architecture for the institution and 4) designed to evaluate the proposal. Are presented as objectives of the study: 1) to realize a user study to identify the information needs of users, 2) establish guidelines for information architecture for the institution focused on users, 3) to design the information architecture for the institution and 4) to evaluate the proposal designed. To obtain results are used methods in the theoretical and empirical levels. Besides, are use techniques that favored the design and evaluation. Is designed the intranet of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Tourism. Is evaluated the proposed design for the validation of the results.

Database-backed library web sites: a case study of the use of PHP and MySQL at the University of Nottingham

This paper discusses the advantages of database-backed websites and describes the model for a library website implemented at the University of Nottingham using open source software, PHP and MySQL. As websites continue to grow in size and complexity it becomes increasingly important to introduce automation to help manage them. It is suggested that a database-backed website offers many advantages over one built from static HTML pages. These include a consistency of style and content, the ability to present different views of the same data, devolved editing and enhanced security. The University of Nottingham Library Services website is described and issues surrounding its design, technological implementation and management are explored.

Applied web traffic analysis for numerical encoding of SQL Injection attack features.

SQL Injection Attack (SQLIA) remains a technique used by a computer network intruder to pilfer an organisation’s confidential data. This is done by an intruder re-crafting web form’s input and query strings used in web requests with malicious intent to compromise the security of an organisation’s confidential data stored at the back-end database. The database is the most valuable data source, and thus, intruders are unrelenting in constantly evolving new techniques to bypass the signature’s solutions currently provided in Web Application Firewalls (WAF) to mitigate SQLIA. There is therefore a need for an automated scalable methodology in the pre-processing of SQLIA features fit for a supervised learning model. However, obtaining a ready-made scalable dataset that is feature engineered with numerical attributes dataset items to train Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Machine Leaning (ML) models is a known issue in applying artificial intelligence to effectively address ever evolving novel SQLIA signatures. This proposed approach applies numerical attributes encoding ontology to encode features (both legitimate web requests and SQLIA) to numerical data items as to extract scalable dataset for input to a supervised learning model in moving towards a ML SQLIA detection and prevention model. In numerical attributes encoding of features, the proposed model explores a hybrid of static and dynamic pattern matching by implementing a Non-Deterministic Finite Automaton (NFA). This combined with proxy and SQL parser Application Programming Interface (API) to intercept and parse web requests in transition to the back-end database. In developing a solution to address SQLIA, this model allows processed web requests at the proxy deemed to contain injected query string to be excluded from reaching the target back-end database. This paper is intended for evaluating the performance metrics of a dataset obtained by numerical encoding of features ontology in Microsoft Azure Machine Learning (MAML) studio using Two-Class Support Vector Machines (TCSVM) binary classifier. This methodology then forms the subject of the empirical evaluation.

Aplicación Web para la Comercialización y Administración de la Asociación Cooperativa de Producción Pesquera y Servicios Múltiples “Bocana Lempa - Jaltepec de R.L”, en el Cantón Las Mesas del Municipio de Tecoluca del Departamento de San Vicente.

El trabajo de graduación describe el desarrollo de una Aplicación web desarrollada para la Asociación cooperativa de producción pesquera y servicios múltiples “Bocana Lempa - Jaltepec de R.L”, en el Cantón las Mesas del municipio de Tecoluca del departamento de San Vicente, con dicha aplicación se automatizaron los procesos de las áreas de comercialización y administración de la cooperativa, los cuales son, Activo fijo, Recursos Humanos, Facturación, Inventario y el desarrollo de una página web a la que accesan los clientes para la realización de pedidos. Con el desarrollo de dicha aplicación se ha obtenido una mayor agilización en los procesos, los cuales conllevan a adquirir mayores logros entre los cuales podemos mencionar: información detallada de los movimientos de inventario, presentación de informes, mejoras en el control de activo fijo, salarios, vacaciones, permisos de los empleados, registro de pedidos realizados desde la página web, impresión de facturas y la reducción del tiempo en el desarrollo de los procesos. SUMMARY The graduation work describes the development of a web application developed for the cooperative association of fish production and multiple services "Bocana Lempa - Jaltepec RL" in the Canton Tables Township Tecoluca the department of San Vicente, with such application they automated processes as the marketing and administration of the cooperative, which are, fixed Assets, Human Resources, Billing, Inventory and development of a website that access to customers for ordering. With the development of this application has gained greater streamlining processes, which lead to acquire greater achievements among which include: detailed information on inventory movements, reporting, improved control of fixed assets, wages holidays, permits employees record orders made from the website, print invoices and time reduction in development processes. Keywords : Online ordering , fixed assets, payroll employees , billing, control fishing. The graduation work describes the development of a web application developed for the cooperative association of fish production and multiple services "Bocana Lempa - Jaltepec RL" in the Canton Tables Township Tecoluca the department of San Vicente, with such application they automated processes as the marketing and administration of the cooperative, which are, fixed Assets, Human Resources, Billing, Inventory and development of a website that access to customers for ordering. With the development of this application has gained greater streamlining processes, which lead to acquire greater achievements among which include: detailed information on inventory movements, reporting, improved control of fixed assets, wages holidays, permits employees record orders made from the website, print invoices and time reduction in development processes.

Aplicación web para enseñanza/aprendizaje de cálculo y álgebra

El principal objetivo de este trabajo fin de grado es la implementación de una aplicación web que permita realizar actividades de enseñanza/aprendizaje en las ramas de cálculo y álgebra de las matemáticas, enfocada principalmente en los contenidos impartidos en las asignaturas de matemáticas en Bachillerato, concretamente de la unidad de realización de derivadas. Se han desarrollado dos modelos: Uno para el profesor, que permite la generación de los ejercicios, así como la consulta de las posibles soluciones. Esta aplicación ofrece al docente la posibilidad de mediante una serie de ajustes, generar de forma dinámica las actividades deseadas. Otro para el alumno, que permite la realización de las actividades y la inclusión de respuestas paso a paso, además de la visualización de las correcciones a sus procedimientos. Para el desarrollo de estas aplicaciones se ha usado el lenguaje Java con ayuda de JSON para el intercambio de datos. También se ha utilizado el motor de respuestas Wolfram Alpha para realizar las correcciones paso a paso de las respuestas de los alumnos.

Sistema colaborativo para monitoramento remoto de equipamentos biomédicos para a videolaparoscopia através do framework web-engineering e o padrão MVC sistema vera-3C

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, 2015.

Implementación de una aplicación web usando el sistema gestor de contenidos drupal

El proceso de desarrollo de software define una secuencia de actividades que se aplican en la creación de un producto o aplicación de tipo software.Entre las actividades que se pueden realizar dentro del ciclo de vida del desarrollo software destacamos algunas como pueden ser la captura de requisitos, el análisis, el diseño, la implementación, las pruebas, la documentación, el despliegue o el mantenimiento. En este trabajo fin de grado se propone desarrollar una aplicación web desde sus primeras etapas hasta las últimas, indicando como aplica cada una de ellas al ejemplo de un proyecto real. Para nuestro caso,el desarrollo de software consistirá en la creación de una aplicación web para una clínica podológica, en la que vamos a tener un cliente, en este caso el propietario de la clínica, que demanda funcionalidades y que necesita que el software cumpla con sus necesidades. Dicha página Web servirá para promocionar los servicios de la clínica, mostrar una galería de fotos, tendrá un formulario de contacto, gran cantidad de páginas de información, un mapa de geo-­ localización para mostrar la ubicación, menús de navegación, mapa web, buscador y otras funcionalidades más típicas de cualquier página Web. Además, la aplicación deberá cumplir ciertos requisitos de usabilidad así como ser navegable en dispositivos móviles, responsivo. La creación de la aplicación se hará con el sistema gestor de contenidos Drupal, una herramienta muy utilizada actualmente para crear y gestionar aplicaciones Web y con la que podremos implementar todas las funcionalidades demandadas por nuestro cliente.

Os efeitos do mundo digital (internet, redes sociais e videojogos) em crianças com PHDA

O presente estudo tem por objetivo perceber quais os efeitos que a internet, as redes sociais e os videojogos (adiante também designados por Mundo Digital) podem ter nas crianças com Perturbação de Hiperatividade e Défice de Atenção (PHDA), quando usadas como ferramentas pedagógicas em contexto de sala de aula. Pretende-se verificar em que medida o seu uso pode influenciar positiva ou negativamente o comportamento e o sucesso escolar destas crianças. A metodologia é quantitativa e a recolha de dados fez-se através de um inquérito por questionário que foi enviado por e-mail (tecnologia Google Drive). A amostra é não probabilística de conveniência da população alvo - professores do 3º ciclo e secundário a lecionar em escolas públicas do distrito do Porto. A área disciplinar e/ou de formação dos sujeitos é diversa, com o intuito de aferir da transversalidade dos eventuais efeitos destas ferramentas digitais enquanto metodologias pedagógicas em diferentes áreas do saber. Os resultados, na opinião dos inquiridos, foram tendencialmente indicadores do potencial pedagógico que este tipo de tecnologias pode constituir no processo de ensino e aprendizagem das crianças com PHDA, no entanto, simultaneamente, apontam para os riscos que essa utilização, quando excessiva, indiscriminada e sem supervisão pode acarretar, nomeadamente fora do contexto escolar, na medida em que consideram que se pode refletir e traduzir em problemas comportamentais que, por sua vez, geram e/ou ampliam dificuldade de concentração e interesses paralelos às atividades escolares. A esse alerta soma-se, ainda, a ideia generalizada de que é imperioso limitar o seu tempo de acesso/uso. Julga-se que este estudo possa contribuir para ajudar e clarificar a ação e práticas dos professores e educadores, mas também dos encarregados de educação, visando, não só o sucesso escolar destes alunos, mas também oferecendo-lhes oportunidades para se sentirem bem e felizes com a sua diferença.

Factores a considerar para la implementación de un Modelo o Modalidad de aprendizaje en el Centro Universitario de los Valles de la Universidad de Guadalajara

En el presente trabajo, se analiza la creación y el desarrollo del Centro Universitario de los Valles, el cual es una dependencia de la Universidad de Guadalajara, institución con doscientos años de tradición. El interés en el estudio de este Centro Universitario radica en su novedosa propuesta educativa, consistente en una mezcla entre los modelos presencial y a distancia, mismo que ha hecho posible que un mayor número de jóvenes cursen sus estudios de educación superior en la región en donde se ubica este campus. El Centro Universitario de los Valles se distingue en el ámbito de la Red Universitaria por la implementación de un Modelo Académico no Convencional, el cual, como se mencionó líneas arriba, es una combinación entre la educación a distancia y la presencial. Respecto a esta propuesta se analizan los conceptos subyacentes a las nociones de estudiante, asesor/profesor, tutorías, aprendizaje, autogestión y trabajo a distancia. La información vertida por los encuestados permitió elaborar las conclusiones y recomendaciones, propósito de la presente Tesis. El instrumento tipo encuesta empleado fue de corte seccional, el cual constó, de cuestionamientos dirigidos tanto a los estudiantes como a los asesores/profesores, algunos de sus apartados son similares, con el propósito de triangular la información vertida entre los segmentos encuestados, lo que permitirá, de ser el caso, hacer comparaciones entre los segmentos. Dado que se conoce la población de cada subgrupo que compone la comunidad universitaria del CUValles a estudiar, esto es, el número total de estudiantes y académicos que la componen, se aplicó un muestreo probabilístico aleatorio simple, ya que cualquiera de los elementos de la población tiene la probabilidad de ser elegido. A pesar de que los estudiantes en la mayoría de los casos trabajan haciendo uso de las TIC’s, los asesores/profesores en una proporción cercana al 50 %, no lo hacen con la misma frecuencia. Los profesores argumentan que participan en los foros de discusión y revisan las actividades que solicitan a los estudiantes, en contraste, en opinión de los estudiantes, entre un 30 y un 40 por ciento de los asesores, requiere elevar sus niveles de desempeño, que se traduce en un dominio y en el manejo de la plataforma Moodle, así como en el diseño instruccional, además requiere hacer uso de herramientas pedagógico-didácticas, por otra parte, es fundamental que sea capacitado en el diseñar adecuadamente los materiales que emplea en sus sesiones presenciales así como incorporar y usar herramientas, que permitan compartir el aprendizaje, como las redes sociales, Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Google Drive, etc., como herramientas de apoyo en sus clases, incorporando la enseñanza móvil y el trabajo en Academia. Dado que los factores expresados, son elementos con los que de alguna manera ya ha venido trabajando el CUValles, lo que se requiere es plantear las estrategias a implementar para el logro de la consolidación del Modelo de Aprendizaje. Por lo anterior y con base a las opiniones de los encuestados, se hacen las siguientes recomendaciones: • Redefinir los preceptos filosóficos, pedagógicos, didácticos y de aprendizaje del Modelo CUValles, aprobarlos en los órganos colegiados y de gobierno que corresponda y oficializarlos; • Diseñar y ejecutar cursos de inducción al Modelo Académico, tanto para estudiantes como para asesores, que permitan identificar de manera clara las características y roles de los estudiantes, los asesores y directivos; • Capacitar a lo comunidad universitaria del CUValles para que trabaje en el Modelo Académico, • Diseñaran los programas y planeaciones de las asignaturas, con base al Modelo, erradicando esquemas tradicionales de aprendizaje, recordemos que el aprendizaje no es producto de la presencia o de la distancia, sino de un buen diseño y método pedagógico; • Capacitar a los asesores/profesores en el diseño istruccional y en el manejo de la plataforma Moodle; • Actualizar a los asesores/profesores en el uso de herramientas en la enseñanza móvil, con el propósito de compartir el aprendizaje; • Incentivar el uso de la Biblioteca, bases de datos y demás herramientas de éste tipo, en las tareas cotidianas de aprendizaje; • Fortalecer los procesos de tutoría y de asesoría que realizan los asesores a sus estudiantes; • Combinar materiales que permitan solventar los requerimientos teóricos y prácticos de las asignaturas en los distintos PE; • Promover los procesos que permitan una enseñanza y aprendizaje integrados; • Promover la generación de entornos centrados en lo personal y en lo colaborativo del aprendizaje, fomentando el trabajo en grupo con proyectos conjuntos, en donde se supervise el progreso colectivo. Una de las premisas filosóficas que debe prevalecer en el Modelo de Aprendizaje del CUValles, es sin lugar a dudas, el armonizar las distintas estrategias que se implementen con un propósito común de “Brindar una educación de calidad”, tanto en sus procesos que involucran las actividades presenciales, como aquellas que se involucran en los procesos a distancia.