A New role of ontologies and advanced scientific visualization in big data analytics

Accessing and contextual semantic searching structured, semi-structured and unstructured information resources and their ontology based analysis in a uniform way across text-free Big Data query implementation is a main feature of approach under discussion. To increase the semantic power of query results’ analysis the ontology based implementation of multiplatform adaptive tools of scientific visualization are demonstrated. The ontologies are used not for integration of heterogeneous resources in traditional way but for parallel analysis of recourses and its related ontologies to achieve the effect of a virtual integration

The Analysis of Nonstationary Time Series Using Regression, Correlation and Cointegration with an Application to Annual Mean Temperature and Sea Level

There are simple well-known conditions for the validity of regression and correlation as statistical tools. We analyse by examples the effect of nonstationarity on inference using these methods and compare them to model based inference. Finally we analyse some data on annual mean temperature and sea level, by applying the cointegrated vector autoregressive model, which explicitly takes into account the nonstationarity of the variables.regression correlation cointegration; model based inference; likelihood inference; annual mean temperature; sea level

'There's more than meets the eye': analysing verbal protocols, gazes and sketches on external mathematical representations

When learners are asked to verbalise their thoughts about multiple mathematical representations, some researchers are left to analyse utterances based on video records of activity which may have ambiguous signifiers. They are also faced with post hoc analysis of paper-based worksheets, in which temporal order has to be guessed. In this paper, attempts to minimise such methodological problems by means of recent technologies such as eye-tracking, tablet PC screen capture, digital video cameras and the latest video analysis tools are illustrated in the context of a study of the effect of varying representational instantiations on learners' problem-solving strategies

Life Cycle Assessment across the Food Supply Chain

The environmental impact is one of the major pillars of concerns when addressing the sustainability of food production and sustainable food consumption strategies. To assess to what extent food production affects the environment, one needs to choose a proper environmental assessment tool. Different types of assessment tools have been developed to establish environmental indicators, which can be used to determine the environmental impact of livestock production systems or agricultural products. The environmen¬tal assessment tools can be divided into the area based or product based (Halberg et al., 2005). Area-based indicators are, for example, nitrate leached per hectare from a pig farm, and product-based indicators are, for example, global warming potential per kg pork (Dalgaard, 2007). The area-based indicators are useful for evaluating farm emissions of nutrients such as nitrate that has an effect on the local environment. On the other hand, when considering the greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural production, the product-based indicators are useful for evaluating the impact of food productions on the global environment (e. g., climate change) and have the advantage that in addition to emis-sions from the farms, emissions related to the production of input s (e.g., soybean and artificial fertilizer) and outputs (e.g., slurry exported to other farms) are also included. In that way it is easier to avoid pollution swapping, which means that the solving of one pollution problem creates a new (Dalgaard, 2007)

Red-emitting Ba2Si5N8Eu2+ conversion phosphor: A new selection for enhancing the optical performance of the in-cup packaging MCW-LEDs

In this research, the influence of the red-emitting Ba2Si5N8Eu2+ convention phosphor on the optical performance of the 7,000K and 7,700K in-cup packaging multi-chip white LEDs (MCW-LEDs) is investigated. The effect of the red-emitting Ba2Si5N8Eu2+ convention phosphor is demonstrated based on Mie Theory by Mat Lab and Light Tools software. The research results indicated that the optical performance of MCW-LEDs was crucially affected by the red-emitting Ba2Si5N8Eu2+ phosphor's concentration. This paper provides an essential recommendation for selecting and developing the phosphor materials for MW-LEDs manufacturing.Web of Science51art. no. 148615

CampProf: A Visual Performance Analysis Tool for Memory Bound GPU Kernels

Current GPU tools and performance models provide some common architectural insights that guide the programmers to write optimal code. We challenge these performance models, by modeling and analyzing a lesser known, but very severe performance pitfall, called 'Partition Camping', in NVIDIA GPUs. Partition Camping is caused by memory accesses that are skewed towards a subset of the available memory partitions, which may degrade the performance of memory-bound CUDA kernels by up to seven-times. No existing tool can detect the partition camping effect in CUDA kernels. We complement the existing tools by developing 'CampProf', a spreadsheet based, visual analysis tool, that detects the degree to which any memory-bound kernel suffers from partition camping. In addition, CampProf also predicts the kernel's performance at all execution configurations, if its performance parameters are known at any one of them. To demonstrate the utility of CampProf, we analyze three different applications using our tool, and demonstrate how it can be used to discover partition camping. We also demonstrate how CampProf can be used to monitor the performance improvements in the kernels, as the partition camping effect is being removed. The performance model that drives CampProf was developed by applying multiple linear regression techniques over a set of specific micro-benchmarks that simulated the partition camping behavior. Our results show that the geometric mean of errors in our prediction model is within 12% of the actual execution times. In summary, CampProf is a new, accurate, and easy-to-use tool that can be used in conjunction with the existing tools to analyze and improve the overall performance of memory-bound CUDA kernels

Design for Additive Manufacturing of Conformal Cooling Channels Using Thermal-Fluid Topology Optimization and Application in Injection Molds

Additive manufacturing allows the fabrication parts and tools of high complexity. This capability challenges traditional guidelines in the design of conformal cooling systems in heat exchangers, injection molds, and other parts and tools. Innovative design methods, such as network-based approaches, lattice structures, and structural topology optimization have been used to generate complex and highly efficient cooling systems; however, methods that incorporate coupled thermal and fluid analysis remain scarce. This paper introduces a coupled thermal-fluid topology optimization algorithm for the design of conformal cooling channels. With this method, the channel position problem is replaced to a material distribution problem. The material distribution directly depends on the effect of flow resistance, heat conduction, as well as forced and natural convection. The problem is formulated based on a coupling of Navier-Stokes equations and convection-diffusion equation. The problem is solved by gradient-based optimization after analytical sensitivity derived using the adjoint method. The algorithm leads a two -dimensional conceptual design having optimal heat transfer and balanced flow. The conceptual design is converted to three-dimensional channels and mapped to a morphological surface conformal to the injected part. The method is applied to design an optimal conformal cooling for a real three dimensional injection mold. The feasibility of the final designs is verified through simulations. The final designs can be exported as both three-dimensional graphic and surface mesh CAD format, bringing the manufacture department the convenience to run the tool path for final fitting

How are "teaching the teachers" courses in evidence based medicine evaluated? A systematic review

Background Teaching of evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become widespread in medical education. Teaching the teachers (TTT) courses address the increased teaching demand and the need to improve effectiveness of EBM teaching. We conducted a systematic review of assessment tools for EBM TTT courses. To summarise and appraise existing assessment methods for teaching the teachers courses in EBM by a systematic review. Methods We searched PubMed, BioMed, EmBase, Cochrane and Eric databases without language restrictions and included articles that assessed its participants. Study selection and data extraction were conducted independently by two reviewers. Results Of 1230 potentially relevant studies, five papers met the selection criteria. There were no specific assessment tools for evaluating effectiveness of EBM TTT courses. Some of the material available might be useful in initiating the development of such an assessment tool. Conclusion There is a need for the development of educationally sound assessment tools for teaching the teachers courses in EBM, without which it would be impossible to ascertain if such courses have the desired effect

Effect of vegetation on sound fields in idealised urban open spaces

Noise pollution is a major environmental problem within the EU and during the last years vegetation was examined for its benefits in increasing health and well-being of citizens from different viewpoints, including noise control and soundscape enhancement. This work focuses on numerical simulations to investigate the effectiveness of vegetation for controlling sound fields, especially in terms of the abatement of traffic noise. Two idealised urban squares were studied, one rectangular and one octagonal. Three plant types, climbing plants (ivy), living green walls with soil substrate and plants in pots (nephrolepis exaltata), were used in this investigation, based on their measured properties in laboratory, and four aspects of the use of vegetation were evaluated: effect of the amount of vegetation, effect of changing in the scattering coefficient of vegetation, effect of vegetation in different receiver positions and effect of vegetation on different groups of receivers. Parametric studies on the determination of a line source and on the definition of sound power levels referred to traffic noise were also developed. Three simulation tools were used, namely CATT-Acoustic®, CRR (Combined Ray-tracing and Radiosity) and Odeon